Zhao Yi is quite satisfied with his current situation.
A prince that falls into disfavor, though he is of a lower status right now, but the advantage is that no matter what happens, n.o.body would doubt for a minute it is because of him.
Who would suspect a man that has always had so little ambition?
Zhao Yi has been gathering a bunch of trusted subordinates in secret and the first target that he’s going to get rid of is Prince Yan, Zhao Yin.
Since Prince Yan, Zhao Yin, is the one that’s meant to be the emperor according to history.
Zhao Yin is also the most favored son of their father, Emperor Huizong of Yan.
To what extent does Emperor Huizong favor this son of his?
This all goes back to Prince Yan, Zhao Yin’s origin.
The Empress of Emperor Huizong died of disease untimely and didn’t give birth to any child. After her death, there was no lack of women in Emperor Huizong’s imperial harem, however, he never made another woman the Empress.
Emperor Huizong was not the kind who’s charmed by beauties. He treated every consort of his harem equally favorably.
Except the birth mother of his third son.
Since she, Imperial n.o.ble Consort w.a.n.g died for him.
When spies from enemy country a.s.sa.s.sinated him, it was she, who at that time was still Lady w.a.n.g, the birth mother of his third son, that was accompanying him.
That woman was from a family of scholars and ministers. She’s a gentle and soft soul. At the time when the sword went towards them, she sheltered him from the sword without the slightest hesitation.
Though Emperor Huizong didn’t doted on Lady w.a.n.g that much, at that exact moment, he was really moved by what she did for him.
But Lady w.a.n.g was rather unfortunate and didn’t make it through the incident and left behind the third prince who was just born half of a year ago.
This mother, at the last moment of her life, didn’t beg the Emperor to look after or promote the status of her family but she earnestly asked him to treat the third prince well.
All the people thought that the Emperor would ask Lady w.a.n.g’s biological sister, who was t.i.tled Consort He since she gave birth to the first and second prince, to bring up the third prince Lady w.a.n.g left behind.
But Emperor Huizong made a decision that was unexpected by everyone that he was going to raise the third prince himself.
When this news was out, the whole court was shocked.
There was no precedent that an emperor raised a prince in person in the history of this dynasty.
Many senior ministers voiced their objection, but the young Emperor back then already made up his mind.
When an emperor really decides something, there would be no going back.
Therefore, the third prince grew up in the emperor’s palace.
The third prince was the first one who was ever fed by the Emperor, the first one to ever pee on the Emperor, the first one to be put to bed by the Emperor as well as the first one to be instructed by the Emperor.
People are meant to see things into which they put their heart and soul much differently.
The Emperor saw the third prince turned from a small kid who knew nothing into a handsome young man.
Zhao Yin has never let him down. Be it literature or politics, equestrian sport or archery, he has always been the best among his peers.
Zhao Yin was t.i.tled Prince at the age of 19. Emperor Huizong chose “Yan” as his t.i.tle and ordered Prince Yan’s engagement with the Princess of Prince Beiding’s Manor as his n.o.ble consort.
Up to that, it’s obvious what was on the Emperor’s mind.
“Yan” is the official name of the nation. The t.i.tle Prince Yan explained everything.
Let alone his n.o.ble consort was the Princess of Prince Beiding who had enormous power among the imperial court and the ordinary people.
Anyone of good sense would have known that the Emperor has been paving a road to the throne for the third prince.
He had chosen the third prince as his successor.
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