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Since the old emperor secretly summoned Prime Minister Zhang a month ago, he met with the old Prime Minister Su next.

The two of them are the mainstays of the Sui Dynasty's court. Now, His Majesty's condition is getting worse. Previously, Immortal Wuji and Taoist Yuan'an had been using golden elixirs to prolong His Majesty's life, so that he could barely attend the morning court. However, half a year ago, the master and disciple suddenly disappeared, and there are not many golden elixirs left to prolong His Majesty's life. I'm afraid that his life span is coming to an end.

Therefore, when various forces saw the old emperor summoning the key elders in the court, they began to get restless, and everyone was guessing what big move would happen in the imperial city next.

Not long after the old emperor met with the two elders, a series of major events indeed occurred in the court and the inner court.

In the harem, the fifth prince's mother, Concubine De, was caught committing adultery with a guard. The old emperor was furious and wanted to sentence Concubine De to death. The fifth prince knelt outside the Taiji Palace and begged for three whole days, but the old emperor was unmoved. He gave Concubine De a white silk and let her go on her own, while the guard was directly tortured to death.

The downfall of Concubine De indicated that the Fifth Prince's faction would not be able to make any waves. Concubine De's promiscuous harem was unclean. With such a mother, the Fifth Prince had no chance of becoming emperor.

If we were to say who was the happiest after the downfall of Concubine De and the Fifth Prince, it would be the Queen and the Third Prince.

Ever since the fall of the Feng family, the old emperor has been wary of the harem interfering in politics. In the previous dynasty, he would also try his best to control the power of external relatives, and the method he adopted was divide and rule.

Although the harem was headed by Queen Zhao, the old emperor favored Concubine De more, and the Fifth Prince was also a son because of his mother's status. The Sixth Prince's biological mother, Concubine Li, was from the aristocratic family Wen, which was one of the four largest families after Qinghe Cui. A large number of her family members and retainers also entered the court as officials. This force should not be underestimated, so gradually a long-lasting confrontation between the three forces was formed.

The art of being an emperor is all about checks and balances. The more fiercely they fight from the court to the inner court, the more stable his throne will be.

After the death of Concubine De, the three-court struggle in the harem turned into an opposition between two sides. However, the Sixth Prince was not outstanding in talent and character, and his prestige in the court was far inferior to that of the Third Prince Ye Lanxuan. So now that Concubine De had such an incident, Queen Zhao's faction naturally benefited the most.

However, this joyful mood did not last long, as they were caught off guard by the news that the old emperor had asked Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Su to personally teach the seventh prince.

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Inside Fengyi Palace

Queen Zhao and Ye Lanxuan and his mother are urgently discussing countermeasures.

"What does your father mean by this? He just invited Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Su to the Taiji Palace for a secret talk a while ago, and now he's handing the seventh child over to them for instruction. It's obvious that he wants to enthrone the seventh child as the crown prince."

Ye Lanxuan's face was gloomy, and his eyes were full of anger and unwillingness.

"Father always said that he loved me the most among all the princes, but everything changed after the seventh prince came back! Mother, I am unwilling to lose to a fool who came back from the countryside. What qualifications does he have to inherit the throne? I am the son of the queen and the legitimate first choice for the crown prince. Father is clearly trying to embarrass me in front of the civil and military officials!"

Queen Zhao looked at her furious son and rubbed her temples with her index finger.

"Xuan'er, your mother always taught you to be steady in the face of difficulties. As long as your father has not explicitly appointed that little bastard as the crown prince, we will have plenty of opportunities. Sit down and listen to what your mother has to say."

Ye Lanxuan took a deep breath, and his violently heaving chest showed that he was on the verge of a rage. After a moment's silence, he walked to the chair beside Queen Zhao and sat down.

"Does the Queen Mother have any solution?"

Queen Zhao snorted coldly and said, "Even if your father really wants to pass the throne to him, it depends on whether he has the fate to sit on it. Now we have dealt with Concubine De and the fifth prince. The sixth prince, that idiot, is nothing to be afraid of. Looking at the many princes, only the seventh prince has some strengths. I guess your father is afraid of your grandfather's family. He is worried that if he passes the throne to you, another Feng family will be cultivated in the future. What he hates most in his life is the monopoly of power by foreign relatives. Therefore, compared with you, the seventh prince who has no backing is more suitable for that position!"

After listening to Queen Zhao's analysis, Ye Lanxuan frowned.

He said irritably, "I have long reminded my grandfather and uncle not to be too ostentatious, but they never took my words to heart. How could my father not know about the things they have done overtly and covertly over the years? I am really killed by them."

Queen Zhao patted Ye Lanxuan on the shoulder and said, "Your grandfather and uncle did this to expand your power. They have promoted many people over the years, and they can all be used by you at critical moments. Humph, our Zhao family has been planning in the court for many years. How can we be replaced by a little bastard with no background? Your father is really old and confused. Since he is determined to support the seventh brother to ascend to the throne, he will have to let the seventh brother accompany him to heaven early."

Ye Lanxuan's eyes were startled: "Does the Queen Mother want to..."

There was a hint of ferocity in Queen Zhao's eyes.

"Xuan'er, there are only two ways to fight for the throne, either life or death. There is no turning back. Once your father dies, with the hatred between us and the Feng family, will the Seventh Master let us go easily?"

Ye Lanxuan clenched his fists and remained silent for a long time, his eyes gradually became sharp: "He won't let us go, so either he dies or I live!"

"Your father won't live for many days. We need to make preparations as soon as possible. I heard that you have been getting close to the fourth daughter of the Su family recently. Do you like her?"

Thinking of Su Qingqing, Ye Lanxuan said truthfully, "I can't say I like her, but I think this woman is quite clever, and she seems to have the ability to predict the future. On the day of the royal hunting, she suddenly advised me not to go to the dense forest east of the hunting grounds, because there might be wild beasts there. As a result, I didn't listen to her and encountered a wolf pack that day, and I almost died. Fortunately, Su Qingqing brought people to me in time and I was able to escape."

Queen Zhao pondered for a moment, "After her treatment, my nightmare problem has gradually improved. It seems that this girl is indeed capable. Although she is a concubine, I heard that she is very popular with Prime Minister Su in the Su Mansion. She can be taken as a concubine. In the future, she can help you with her divination skills. In addition, taking Su Qingqing as a concubine can help us win over the Su family. Prime Minister Su will never go against you for an unrelated seventh son."

Ye Lanxuan felt that Queen Zhao's analysis made sense, and his expression eased a little: "What the Queen Mother said is right, let's do as the Queen Mother said."

Queen Zhao said with hatred: "The second girl of the Liu family has no interest in you. It seems that the old fox Liu Bin only wants to live in peace in a corner. He has 50,000 private soldiers in his hands. If you don't stand with us now, when you sit on the throne in the future, you will first kill the Liu family to scare the monkeys."

Speaking of Liu Hanyue, Ye Lanxuan felt very unwilling.

He really liked the look of the second young lady Liu. If he could marry her, not only would he have a beautiful woman in his arms, but he could also recruit the powerful general Liu Bin under his command. It would be a win-win situation. However, the Liu family was ungrateful and dared to refuse the marriage even after His Majesty's decree, and even used the verbal engagement with the seventh young master as a shield.

Thinking of this, Ye Lanxuan gnashed his teeth in hatred.

When he becomes emperor, he will definitely recruit her into the harem. Humph! Since she doesn't want to be the queen, then just be his pet.

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