Dragon's Origin

The Third Prince really took the Emperor's words as an examination. He had been tied up and taken to the Imperial Study in the palace during his sleep, but now he was sitting and answering questions with a gentle expression. This change in treatment fully demonstrated that his guess was correct.

Since this was the case, the Third Prince naturally had to perform diligently in front of the Emperor, thoroughly expressing his thoughts so that the Emperor would know that he was not completely useless.

“I plan to use a three-step approach,” the Third Prince said excitedly, beginning to explain his plan and steps to the Emperor in detail: “First, I will replace the chief manager of Lizhen Lane, as well as the chief manager of the treasury and the leader of the guards, with people from the royal family.”

“What's next?” The Emperor cooperated, showing no emotion, but the Third Prince clearly saw a glimmer of light in the Emperor's eyes. This glimmer of light was undoubtedly an encouragement to him.

“Next, after these chief managers have become familiar with things for a while and have won over some people, we will gradually arrange for people to go in and replace all the old staff.” The Third Prince quickly revealed his idea completely, and even before the Emperor continued to ask, he spoke of his next plan: “When the people are almost replaced and all of them are our own, then we will have almost complete control. Finally, Father, you can give that lowly woman some rewards, ensuring her wealth for life, and Lizhen Lane will completely fall into the hands of our royal family.”

“Behind Mei'er, there is also the Duke of Changsheng. How do you plan to deal with the Duke of Changsheng?” The Emperor didn't know how to describe the Third Prince. His plan was simply too direct, so direct that even Eunuch Shen at the entrance of the Imperial Study kept shaking his head. Could Lizhen Lane be taken down so easily? Did he really think the Eight Great Lords were pushovers? Or did he really think the Duke of Changsheng wouldn't dare to kill people in the capital?

“Father, wasn't it your grace that allowed that barbarian to become the Duke of Changsheng?” The Third Prince said confidently, “He is now in a precarious situation. According to the analysis of my teachers, in a few months, I am afraid he won't even be able to be the Duke of Changsheng. Therefore, I think we need to prepare early, lest he sees that the situation is not good and does something that damages the reputation of our royal family.”

“What if he comes to your door?” The Emperor smiled and asked kindly, “You also know that he is not alone. If he is willing to exchange the core map of the Thousand Desolation Lands with the Eight Great Lords for your head, what will you do?”

“Uh?” The Third Prince didn't seem to have thought about this much. Hearing the Emperor's question, he was immediately dumbfounded. After a long while, he said, “A person cannot stand without trust. Since the Eight Great Lords have already promised Father that they will never use force in the capital, how can they go back on their word? Wouldn't they be laughed at by the world if they spread the word? They will definitely not act. As for that barbarian, if he wants to act, Father, you immediately strip him of his title as the Duke of Changsheng. Lizhen Lane is already in the hands of the royal family. He has no power, no gold coins, and isn't he at our mercy?”

“A person cannot stand without trust, well said!” The Emperor nodded slightly, praising this sentence, “Did your teachers teach you this?”

“Yes!” The Third Prince was very proud, “Several teachers and senior brothers have taught me a lot, and I am very grateful for their hard work.”

“Did they not add anything to your plan?” The Emperor still asked kindly. At this moment, the Emperor had begun to reflect on whether he had chosen the wrong people to be the Third Prince's teachers.

Scholar Lin's learning was good. Before the Third Prince was a candidate for the crown prince, the Third Prince was not valued, so the Emperor found Scholar Lin, a great scholar, to teach the Third Prince some principles of life. By the time he favored the Third Prince not long ago, Scholar Lin had already taught the Third Prince for more than ten years, so it was not easy to find a reason to replace him.

To be able to become a scholar, Scholar Lin's learning was definitely beyond question. But there was one thing, a common problem among scholars, they liked to engage in empty talk. When talking eloquently, they always made surprising remarks, but in practice, they were always unrealistic.

If he was just teaching an ordinary Third Prince, then naturally it didn't matter. The prince cultivated in this way had no great ambitions, and everything was reassuring, making him the perfect choice for teaching. However, it was a bit insufficient to use his set of things to teach the current Third Prince.

For example, now, the Third Prince they taught actually believed that the Eight Great Lords' promise to the Emperor not to use force in the capital was an iron rule and would never be violated again. How politically naive would one have to be to have such an idea?

Naive people can do scholarship, but they shouldn't get involved in politics. But these people first saw the power that the Third Prince might gain, and then saw the gold coins of Lizhen Lane. They really had comprehensive interests!

“These plans were originally discussed by me and several teachers.” The Third Prince said proudly, “Teacher Lin also gave me a lot of guidance.”

“The elders of the Clan Affairs Office should not have interfered, right?” The Emperor asked again.

“The elders only support my ideas, but they have not yet reached the point of wanting to guide me.” The Third Prince said respectfully.

“Didn't you try to arrange for a few chief managers? What was the result?” The Emperor no longer had any hope for the Third Prince. A fool taught by a pedant or a greedy pedant. He was quite a smart person, so how could he not see that relying solely on a few scholars was useless in this world?

“They don't know how to appreciate favors, and they dare to resist the imperial decree!” The Third Prince was filled with anger when he spoke of this, “They don't even listen to me in the capital. This is clearly resisting the imperial decree and is treasonous! Several teachers and I unanimously believe that a small punishment should be given as a warning to others!”

“So you sent people to act outside the capital to kill Mei'er?” The Emperor continued to ask calmly.

“It wasn't to kill that lowly woman, after all, she was personally conferred by Father, so spare her life.” The Third Prince shook his head and said, “Give her a lesson she will never forget, only kill the lowly woman next to her, the chief manager of Mengzhi Lane. With her dead, we can justifiably arrange for a chief manager to go in.”

The people of the clan supported the Third Prince, but they were watching the show from the sidelines. The Third Prince thought that his plans with his teachers and staff were foolproof, and decisively sent people to act. Now it seemed that he was just waiting for the harvest.

“There is one more question.” The Emperor took a long breath, slowly exhaled, and asked the Third Prince, “Who taught you, or what made you think that your order is an imperial decree, and that others who don't listen are resisting the imperial decree and are treasonous?”

The Third Prince was just dizzy from the flattery of his teachers and staff, but he wasn't really stupid. Especially when it came to the imperial power, hearing the Emperor's question, he was suddenly struck by lightning, dumbfounded, and could no longer say a word.