We don't need to enter the fray ourselves, but we must prepare for both outcomes! (Please send a few recommendation votes!)

Those Feng Huai had invited were all veteran ministers loyal to the Previous Emperor.

They had served as officials for years, with many protégés and considerable authority. Every one of them wielded real power.

They were old hands at court. Anyone who wanted to move against them would first have to weigh whether they had what it took.

None of those present today had expected Feng Huai, the Minister of Justice, to start taking sides-much less to side with the Second Prince.

It seemed the Second Prince must have promised him certain benefits. Coupled with his dissatisfaction with Li Chen, that had made him firmly choose the Second Prince.

When Feng Huai said those words, quite a few ministers present thought, Feng Huai is a slippery old fox, not an impulsive man. As a rule, he won't do anything unless he's confident.

After the Second Prince, Li Xian, had returned from his humiliation at the Imperial Court last time, he must have sought his master's help.

That was the renowned sect powerhouse whose fame resounded throughout the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty.

They had never dealt with Heaven-Topping High Person, but they knew such a figure existed.

It was said that his influence extended not only throughout the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty, but even to other parts of the continent.

He was a true heavyweight among powerhouses.

From the look of things, Heaven-Topping High Person had most likely already agreed to help.

Feng Huai must have known that as well, which was why he had decided to side with the Second Prince.

If he had judged that the Second Prince had no sure way to deal with Li Chen, he certainly would not have dared to take sides so readily.

No one believed that someone as young as Li Chen could be a match for Heaven-Topping High Person.

Unless Li Chen could enlist other help.

But with Li Chen's current connections, who could possibly help him?

Wasn't he a sovereign standing utterly alone?

Many of the veteran ministers attending Feng Huai's banquet followed his lead. On hearing his proposal, they simply agreed and began envisioning a bright future.

A few veteran ministers still felt uncertain. They truly did not want to get involved in the struggle for the throne.

They had worked so hard to reach their current positions. Li Chen had only revoked their privileges; the authority of their offices remained intact.

They had dealt with the new emperor, Li Chen, for some time now, and felt that he was not a particularly suspicious man.

As long as they did what they were supposed to do, the official robes on their backs would remain secure.

Taking sides meant staking their lives on a gamble, adding risk for no good reason.

It would be fine if the Second Prince won, but if he lost, wouldn't they be implicated too?

Having their homes confiscated, being executed, and having their nine degrees of kin exterminated was no joke.

Several ministers wanted to leave, but just then, they sensed movement outside the door.

The Ministry of Justice had many experts, and Feng Huai himself had cultivated quite a few retainers.

Those presences outside most likely belonged to men Feng Huai had stationed there in advance, serving as a warning.

Only then did the ministers understand: since Feng Huai had dared to say this today, he intended to bind them all to the same boat.

Offending Feng Huai at this point was clearly unwise. They could only abandon the thought of leaving and agree together to side with the Second Prince.

While everyone was united against a common enemy, Feng Huai produced a "pledge of allegiance" and had everyone present sign it.

Once you sign this, don't even think about running away or betraying me.

If I die, you'll all die with me.

The drinking party Feng Huai had arranged was not so simple. If anyone refused to sign, he certainly would not let that person leave alive.

This was a matter of life and death now. He could not afford the slightest carelessness.

He could never have held the position of Minister of Justice for so many years without a few tricks up his sleeve.

Deep within the palace, in the Empress Dowager's bedchamber.

At that moment, the Empress Dowager lay lazily on her side, her breasts pressed together against the bed to form an astonishingly deep cleft.

Her thin gauze robe revealed every graceful curve of her figure.

Had Chu Ruoyan been there, she probably would have gotten a nosebleed.

The Empress Dowager was very fond of the girl, Chu Ruoyan.

She felt that Chu Ruoyan's gaze was exceptionally focused. The girl kept staring at her, as though engraving every word she said in her heart.

When others spoke to the Empress Dowager, they either lowered their heads or let their eyes dart away, giving the impression that they harbored schemes of their own.

Of course, Li Chen was an exception. The Empress Dowager could not read him.

Chu Ruoyan's gaze was very "sincere," and her "admiration" for the Empress Dowager was written all over her face.

Most importantly, Chu Ruoyan was a girl of few words, without that desperate desire to show off.

Nor did she deliberately try to curry favor by spouting awkward declarations of loyalty.

That made the Empress Dowager feel she was a good, obedient girl.

Thus, the Empress Dowager and Li Chen were of one mind: Chu Ruoyan entering the palace would be a happy outcome for everyone.

Just as she was about to rest, her trusted palace maid slipped quietly inside.

Seeing that the Empress Dowager had not yet fallen asleep, the maid presented the Second Prince's secret letter.

The Empress Dowager picked up the letter and read it for a while, without much interest.

Naturally, the letter began with the Second Prince flattering the Empress Dowager. She could skip over all that bootlicking.

Toward the end of the secret letter, the Second Prince obliquely expressed his wish to return to the capital.

He was testing the waters, trying to find out whether the Empress Dowager supported his return.

Only after she replied could he plan his next move.

The Empress Dowager was different from Feng Huai. Feng Huai was deeply dissatisfied with Li Chen, so the Second Prince only needed to paint him a grand picture of future rewards to win him over.

Besides, he had served the Previous Emperor. Being loyal to the Second Prince did not count as betraying the imperial family.

In the past, the Crown Prince, the Second Prince, and the others had treated Feng Huai very well, even visiting the veteran minister during festivals and holidays.

Now that the Crown Prince was dead, Feng Huai naturally looked favorably upon the Second Prince.

As for Li Chen, there was even less to say. He truly was not acquainted with Feng Huai.

The Second Prince did not find it particularly surprising that he could recruit such an important court minister as Feng Huai.

But the Empress Dowager was different. After all, she was the one who had raised Li Chen to the throne. Provided her demands were not excessive, Li Chen would generally agree to them.

In effect, the Second Prince's letter told the Empress Dowager, I'm not asking you to help me, but please don't stand in my way when I make my move.

If you do help me, then once I ascend the throne, I will certainly give you the power you want.

The Second Prince's approach was to drive a wedge between Li Chen and the neutral factions, then win over the factions that disliked him.

The Empress Dowager naturally understood the letter's meaning.

Her trusted palace maid asked, "Your Majesty, whom should we help, then?"

The Empress Dowager yawned and said languidly, "Compared with the second, I actually prefer the sixth."

It seemed the Empress Dowager still remembered the "kindness" of Li Chen's hotpot meal.

Her trusted palace maid nodded and asked, "Then should I inform His Majesty?"

The Empress Dowager asked in return, "If you tell His Majesty, are you going to resolve it for him?"

That question left her trusted palace maid at a loss for an answer.

That did seem to be the case. With Li Chen's temperament, whoever brought him a problem would be made to deal with it.

Wasn't the Minister of War still absent from the capital precisely because he had yet to complete the task Li Chen had assigned him?

If she told him about this, Li Chen really might make her deal with the Second Prince.

"Then what do you mean, Your Majesty?"

Since she could not figure it out, the trusted palace maid simply asked her mistress.

The Empress Dowager closed her eyes and said lightly, "We don't need to enter the fray ourselves, but we must prepare for both outcomes. Prepare a little more for the sixth."

Now her trusted palace maid understood. Essentially, they were to lay out various arrangements to handle whichever prince took the throne.

What the Empress Dowager wanted was for Li Chen to come and ask her for help. She had ways to deal with the Second Prince and the Third Prince.

But unless Li Chen asked her, she certainly would not act.

Her goal was Li Chen himself!

Holding a Saint Realm emperor in the palm of her hand-wasn't that more thrilling than gaining even greater power?

Could anything under heaven feel more satisfying?

Though the Empress Dowager had said little, her trusted palace maid still understood her meaning.

Within the Heavenly Evolution Divine Sect stood a private pavilion reserved exclusively for Li Xian.

His subordinate was reporting the latest developments to him.