Overestimated my own capabilities. I thought I could manage seven or eight thousand today, but it turned out to be only five thousand.
Two quarters of an hour earlier, in the Front Hall of the Crown Prince's Residence.
Hearing Sun Shaozong suddenly speak of "the interdependence of good fortune and disaster," the Crown Prince instinctively straightened his back. Yet he failed to sit up straight, and could only awkwardly grasp the armrest for support before finally settling himself upright.
Frowning suspiciously, he asked, "What do you mean by that, my dear minister?"
"Your Highness."
Seeing the Crown Prince sitting properly, Sun Shaozong rose and continued, "Grand Secretary Xu's full support will naturally be of great benefit to Your Highness. However, given Grand Secretary Xu's standing at court, such a public declaration of his position will inevitably draw suspicion toward Your Highness. Should there be any misstep then, disaster will surely not be far off!"
Such empty verbal intimidation would have had no effect on anyone competent and shrewd—or even on a reckless fool.
But the Crown Prince was outwardly fierce but inwardly weak. Recently, rumors that he would be stripped of his position and replaced had frightened him into becoming as skittish as a startled bird.
The moment he heard the words "disaster will not be far off," he panicked. Forgetting all about imperial ambitions, he stamped his feet and complained in rapid succession, "Grand Secretary Xu is too much! Couldn't he have just quietly sent word to me? Why did he have to summon you so publicly and let everyone know?!"
One wondered how Xu Furen would react if he saw this side of him.
Still, this was not a bad thing for Sun Shaozong. Since the Crown Prince had already lost his nerve, persuading him to lie low