The moon rose above the branches.
Ye Jingtang walked back with Niao Niao on his shoulder, still studying the 《Secret History of the Seductress》 in his hands by the moonlight along the way.
Although the little incident when he entered the palace had been nowhere near as momentous as Silly's head-on bodily assault last time, it had nonetheless stirred a few ripples on the lake of his heart.
And the Eldest Imperial Son Silly had mentioned had given Ye Jingtang a few ideas.
The Eldest Imperial Son was the deposed emperor who had been ousted. According to the official account, he should not yet have been granted poisoned wine or died of a sudden illness.
As Great Wei's rightful heir, the deposed emperor was certainly a huge hidden explosive as long as he remained alive. Whether a vassal prince or an enemy nation, anyone who could get hold of the Eldest Imperial Son might be able to install a puppet emperor of Great Wei, thereby gaining legitimate grounds to campaign against the Empress.
And Cao Gonggong was utterly loyal to Great Wei, effectively a minister entrusted with the late emperor's heir. Whatever his disciple had surfaced in the Capital City to do was most likely inseparable from the deposed emperor.
From these clues and conjectures, a thread gradually emerged in Ye Jingtang's mind-Prince Wu had recruited the deposed emperor's remnants and wanted to restore Great Wei's legitimate line, but lacked the strength, so he had approached the Sky-Pacifying Sect to discuss cooperation.
Even if the Sky-Pacifying Sect agreed, Prince Wu, hemmed in on three sides, would not dare raise his banner and proclaim himself emperor. Thus, he needed a proper cause.
If he had the deposed emperor in his hands, Prince Wu could use the banner of "upholding Great Wei"