Do You Want to Sit on That Throne?

Xiao Lingyan went to the battlefield for his brother, narrowly escaping death. He is still caught in the vortex of political struggle and his life is in danger at any time.

He sacrificed so much, sharing life and death with Xiao Lingpu, and shouldering the enormous risks of the struggle for the throne together. But in the end, Xiao Lingpu ascended the throne, and what did Xiao Lingyan gain?

When Xiao Ge was in power, he was a prince, and he could still participate in politics and do what he wanted. Because the future throne was uncertain, the ministers and various factions did not dare to disrespect him openly.

Once Xiao Lingpu, Xiao Lingyan will lose even his current power, becoming less powerful than even the court officials. After all, these princes are always viewed with suspicion and distrust by the emperor, and everything they do will arouse his suspicion. Therefore, the best way of life for him is to travel and enjoy nature, becoming a carefree prince who doesn't concern himself with politics, and to follow Kang Shilin's code of conduct. Only then can he live a peaceful life.

As a mother, how could Noble Consort Cen bear to see her son suffer further setbacks in his marriage?

"So now... do you have a girl you like? If so, tell your mother. No matter who she is or what her status is, your mother will help you marry her and will never let you suffer any grievances in your marriage." Noble Consort Cen said this very cautiously, for fear of Xiao Lingyan's suspicion.

Xiao Lingyan shook his head. "Not yet. When I'm pregnant and want to get married, I'll tell my mother first. I want to decide my own marriage and won't marry a girl from the Wei Kingdom's mansion. Don't mention that marriage again."

"Alright, Mother understands what you mean. Don't worry, I will talk to your maternal grandparents properly," said Noble Consort Cen.

After thinking for a moment, she added, "You should know how your brother treats you. He's just like your mother; he would never force you."

Xiao Lingyan nodded.

When he returned from the border, Xiao Lingpu felt Xiao Lingpu's heartache, gratitude, guilt, and desire to make amends. He had sensed all of these feelings during this time.

The original owner of this body grew up following Xiao Lingpu around like a little shadow. Xiao Lingpu genuinely loved his younger brother, and he felt that too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the border, much less risked his life to seize the throne for Xiao Lingpu.

If he didn't want to get involved in this vortex, he could have avoided these political struggles and saved his life, just like Zhao Ruxi did, without having to get involved.

After leaving the palace, he returned to his Prince of Qi's Residence. He sat there until evening, then summoned a bodyguard with a similar build to change into his own clothes and sit inside reading and writing. He then quietly left the Prince of Qi's Residence with a few bodyguards and went to the Earl of Suiping's Residence.

He missed Zhao Ruxi and wanted to see her.

When Zhao Yuanxun and Lady Zhu left, they only took two of the original guards from the Earl of Suiping's Residence, but they took eight guards that Zhao Ruxi had selected from the estate. In addition to the original guards, Zhao Ruxi also selected several people from the estate to supplement the Earl of Suiping's Residence's current guards.

These were all young men from the manor who had grown up in the last two years. They were tall and strong, and after being trained by Ma Sheng for a while, they knew some basic martial arts. They were good enough to do errands and chores, and to protect their master when facing ordinary people. But they couldn't detect the comings and goings of a master like Xiao Lingyan, let alone stop him.

"The guards here are inadequate," Xiao Lingyan said to Zhao Ruxi as soon as they met.

"As long as our relationship remains unexposed, this number of guards is sufficient. Besides, aren't there the secret guards you sent to protect us?" Zhao Ruxi looked at him with a half-smile.

Xiao Lingyan coughed lightly. "Wasn't I worried about your safety? Although I didn't say it explicitly, I knew I couldn't hide it from you."

The two were talking about how, at the very beginning, Xiao Lingyan secretly sent guards to protect Zhao Ruxi. Later, after their relationship became official, Xiao Lingyan sent guards openly.

"Your Agility Pill and Great Strength Pill are quite effective; most people can't get close to you. It wouldn't be easy for anyone to hurt you," he said.

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

She only dared to use ordinary people as guards because she had the secret guards Xiao Lingyan gave her, plus the boost from her Agility Pill and Great Strength Pill, and because she had been practicing the boxing techniques Xiao Lingyan gave her.

Having died once, she still cherishes her life.

"You've come here now, is there something you need?" she asked.

Xiao Lingyan nodded and told her about the marriage arranged for him by Noble Consort Cen.

He had a strong will to survive; knowing that such a thing had happened, he wanted to explain it clearly as soon as possible. Otherwise, if Zhao Ruxi found out from elsewhere, his life would be in danger.

"Qi Xuan from the Duke of Wei's Residence?" Zhao Ruxi raised an eyebrow.

She didn't know many noble ladies, but Qi Xuan was one of them. What a coincidence.

"I have already explained things to Noble Consort Cen." Xiao Lingyan recounted his conversation with Noble Consort Cen again.

Zhao Ruxi was not a petty person, so naturally she wouldn't blame Xiao Lingyan for such a thing.

She was considering another question, "If your second brother becomes emperor in the future, will he really not suspect you?"

She and Xiao Lingyan were not people who could stay idle. Now that there was no more political struggle, they would definitely reform the industry of the Great Jin and vigorously develop the productivity of the imperial examination system on the existing basis.

If doing such a thing could still arouse Xiao Lingpu's suspicion, then they might as well just give up now. In any case, Xiao Lingyan's brush with death is over, and while Xiao Ge is still in power, Xiao Lingyan can ask his father for a job away from the capital and extricate himself from the situation.

This is better than helping Xiao Lingpu rise to power only to be suspected by him.

Xiao Lingyan shook his head. "Probably not, otherwise I wouldn't have chosen to assist him in the first place, but instead chose to stay away from the capital. However, people change. Once he sits in that position, it's hard to say whether he will still be the same as he is now."

He sighed and shook his head, "There's nothing I can do about it. Who else can I trust to take that position besides myself?"

"As for that..." he pointed to the sky, "His reign is also ineffective. As long as the throne remains undecided, the struggle will never cease. He's not even as good as my second brother."

Zhao Ruxi nodded.

Xiao Lingyan looked at her. "Do you want me to sit in that position?"

"Whatever you want."

Zhao Ruxi naturally didn't want this. But she'd only had this one boyfriend in two lifetimes, and she hoped to spend her whole life with him. What could she do? Spoil him, of course.

"If you want to sit, I support you; if you don't want to sit, after your second brother takes over, we'll be more careful and cautious in our actions, and nothing will happen. You didn't use gunpowder when you were at the border, wasn't that because you were thinking of keeping a backup plan?"

Both of them were top students with excellent memories, and they weren't just bookworms; they had read all sorts of books and knew a lot of miscellaneous knowledge. Especially someone like Xiao Lingyan who liked military channels, she didn't believe he didn't have a few gunpowder formulas memorized.