The Eldest and Second Princes' Secret Struggle, as the Envoy Finally Reaches the Front Lines

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Zichuan Mingyue reorganized the Southeast Legion and dispatched 100,000 soldiers to garrison and defend Valen Gorge.

She secured this vital chokepoint for the Empire's eastern campaign in advance.

She then sent another 100,000 troops south to all parts of the Southeastern Plains, occupying every city there and completely taking control of the region.

The Eldest Prince and Second Prince had not been idle either. Taking advantage of this time, they hosted banquets for the various bannermen of the Royal Legion, seeking to win their support.

During this time, a mysterious man arrived at the Second Prince's residence.

He gained the Second Prince's respect and trust.

Whenever the Second Prince had matters to discuss, he summoned this mysterious man to deliberate in his study.

"Strategist, just as you said, the Zichuan Clan has completely pledged itself to my elder brother. My elder brother is currently proposing marriage to the Zichuan Clan and intends to marry Zichuan Mingyue!"

"Once he succeeds, my elder brother will completely control the entire 300,000-strong Southeast Legion as well."

"At that point, I'll have no hope left of competing with him for the position of heir!"

"Sir, save me!"

The day after Lin Junyu had been driven to his death by his elder brother and himself, he had gone to a tavern in the city to drink away his troubles.

There, he encountered this gentleman, who immediately told him that bloody disaster awaited him.

The man then told him that his elder brother had already secretly won over many frontline generals, commanders, and bannermen.

For example, the entire Zichuan Clan had secretly sworn loyalty to the Eldest Prince.

When Lin Huiyu first heard this stranger's wild nonsense, he had not believed it at all.

But after several days of covert investigation, the Second Prince had confirmed that the Zichuan Clan had indeed sworn allegiance to his elder brother.

His elder brother's influence was even greater than he had imagined.

An intense sense of danger swept through him. A bloody disaster truly awaited him.

"Second Prince, do not panic. We only need to wait a little longer—for the right opportunity."

"I have already sent people to gather evidence of secret correspondence between the Eldest Prince and ten bannermen of Danna Crossing."

"The contents of these letters are enough to utterly ruin your elder brother's reputation!"

A person standing in the darkness spoke in a hoarse, chilling voice.

At the same time, he handed the stack of letters in his hand to the Second Prince.

As the Second Prince read the letters, excitement drove him nearly mad.

"Ha ha ha! Sir, I only just placed the Blood Shadow Guard in your hands, and you've already made such an enormous gain!"

"If I ascend the imperial throne, I will certainly appoint you Imperial Grand Preceptor! You are simply heaven-sent to aid me."

Who would have thought that someone he had encountered by chance in a tavern would suddenly make the path before him so clear?

"Elder Brother, do not blame your second brother. You brought all this upon yourself."

"I truly want to be Emperor. I want it so badly."

Watching the Second Prince go mad and begin fantasizing about becoming the Empire's heir, the person in the shadows also revealed an inscrutable smile.

As though he, too, was delighted that the Second Prince's great undertaking was about to succeed.

"What did you say? The letters between me and the ten bannermen of Danna Camp have fallen into my second brother's hands?"

The Eldest Prince had just finished hosting a banquet for the many bannermen of the Royal Legion and returned to his residence.

There, he heard that someone claiming to be under his command, and now a deputy bannerman at Danna Camp, had come to see him regarding an important matter.

He had not expected that this meeting would bring him such a terrifying revelation.

As one of the parties involved, he knew better than anyone what information had been exchanged between himself and the ten bannermen.

If his second brother delivered those letters to their Imperial Father, his life could be in danger.

He no longer cared how those letters had ended up in his second brother's hands. He had to find a way to destroy them.

Otherwise, he might have no choice but to send his second brother down to accompany their third brother.

Once the matter was exposed, he would be the one to die.

He had to strike first.

"Immediately send out every man we have here! Those letters must be destroyed!"

In the great city of Bartley, because of the two princes, treacherous currents began to swirl beneath the surface.

"Whew, I finally made it!"

After rushing day and night, the Emperor's personal attendant finally arrived at the gates of Bartley City with the imperial decree.

The soldiers guarding the gate immediately stopped the man who had come galloping over on horseback.

"Stop! Who are you?"

"Hmph, I am the Emperor's envoy. Seeing this edict is like seeing the Emperor himself. Hurry and inform the three princes—the Emperor has issued a decree!"

The city guard immediately dropped to his knees in respect.

"But, Royal Envoy, only the First Prince and Second Prince are in the city now. The Third Prince has already been granted death by the Emperor's decree!"

Seeing that the envoy had come from afar and did not understand the current situation, the city guard immediately explained the recent events to him.

"It's over, it's all over!"

The envoy's vision went dark, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.

"Wrong! You're all wrong! Take me to see the two princes at once!"

The moment the envoy learned that the Third Prince was dead, he felt that he could no longer return to face the Emperor.

Seeing the envoy's anxious, miserable expression, the city guards did not dare delay and immediately stepped forward to lead the way.

The council hall of the City Lord's Manor.

The First Prince, the Second Prince, Liu Fengchuan, Zichuan Shengxing, Zichuan Mingyue, and many commanders were gathered together.

Everyone knew perfectly well what the Emperor's decree contained.

"Y-you... why didn't you stop this? What are we supposed to do now? How are we to face the wrath of the Emperor and the entire Empire?"

"Let me make this clear: the Emperor and the entire Empire place great importance on the Third Prince now. They had even planned to groom him into the next generation's Emperor!"

"Now that you people have driven the Third Prince to his death, just wait until you return to Far Capital and face the scorn of the Emperor and the entire Empire."

"I will depart for the capital tomorrow and truthfully report everything that happened here to the Emperor!"

"The Third Prince's final words, and every one of your actions... I am ashamed to be associated with you!"

After learning the full story, the envoy had not expected the two princes to be so ruthless. They had not even delayed for a moment before ordering the Third Prince's execution.

When he further learned of the righteousness and loyalty displayed by the Third Prince—who had always been overlooked by the Empire—before his death, he angrily left the hall.

When the two princes heard that the Emperor had intended to choose their third brother as his heir, they both secretly rejoiced that they had acted early enough.

The two began to scheme in earnest. As for punishment from their father, they were not worried.

After all, he had given the order, and they had merely acted on it.

At most, they would bear the infamy of ruthlessly killing their own kin.

The greater responsibility would still fall on their father, the Emperor.

Now, the only obstacle standing between them and becoming the Empire's heir was the person before them.

The tension between the two had already reached freezing point.

The Emperor's decree had arrived, and they would soon have to return to the capital to report.

The Second Prince could not wait to return to the capital, because he intended to expose everything his elder brother had done to their father. A valiant ruler would never tolerate someone harboring treasonous intentions, even if that person was his most beloved son.

The First Prince now wanted to remain at the front lines a little longer and find an opportunity to destroy the letters his second brother had obtained. Otherwise, once he returned to the capital, he would certainly die.

If he could not destroy them before his second brother returned to the capital, then he could only kill him. After all, once he returned to the capital, killing him and destroying the evidence would become difficult.

He had never expected to end up in the same situation as his third brother. The only difference was that his own guilt was real, while his third brother had been framed.

"Elder Brother, I'll return to the capital with the envoy tomorrow. When does Elder Brother plan to return?"

Lin Huiyu did not know that his elder brother had already learned he possessed evidence of his conspiracy to rebel.

Nor did he know that his elder brother had begun to consider killing him.