"Yes, it had almost become a foregone conclusion."
Wild Daoist's words left everyone even more exhilarated. Yet though they were delighted, nearly everyone frowned as well.
By dawn, Jian Qu still seemed to be dreaming. He took the oil tea and drank a mouthful, scalded so badly that he could neither spit nor swallow it, yet he still said, "Could His Majesty truly feel remorse? Is that why he named my lord the Imperial Grandson?"
What he said did follow logic.
After all, other than that reason, no one could think of another.
Could it be that my lord had grown so powerful that the Emperor no longer dared touch him? But my lord's foundation was shallow; he was nowhere near that point.
Other than the reason that the Emperor could not touch him and had no choice but to select my lord, did that not leave only one possibility—that the Emperor wanted to make amends to my lord?
After all, this was the solid, undeniable position of heir apparent!
It was not as though the Emperor had no other choices. Even if Prince Qi had been deposed, there was still Prince Shu.
Besides, even Prince Ninghe, who had once been rumored not to be the Emperor's biological son, had in fact been blood-tested long ago and proven to be his real son. If there were no other choice, the Emperor would very likely choose Prince Ninghe rather than my lord, simply because my lord's father had been the Crown Prince!
And the entire Crown Prince's family had died at the Emperor's hands.
So long as the Emperor harbored even a trace of wariness or dislike, he would not give the position of heir apparent to the Crown Prince's son, for fear of being called to account someday!
For him