Translated by Eve

　　Edited by Wuxian

　　Setting aside the matter of Sui Yuan entering the palace to discuss with Zhao Xihe how the protagonist gong and shou's actions have been completely different from that of the plot, let us mention what happened after Situ Yu finally escaped from the palace. That day, the first thing he did upon returning to his residence was to gather all of his trusted aids, advisors, and tacticians.

　　He told them in detail all that had occurred within the palace, especially every word and action of His Majesty the Emperor. In the end, he raised his own hypothesis, hoping that this group of sophisticates could dispel his doubts and make a painstaking investigation of his Emperor Father's true meaning.

　　Although Lin Xiao was the protagonist shou with an innate ability and wisdom that superseded others and an astute and calm-headed demeanour, he was still young, after all. He had always been shut deeply within his residence's courtyard, so his experience with worldly matters was very limited. The person with the highest status he had contact with had only been the Fourth Prince's Mufei who also resided deep within the palace. When he heard that he had been specifically called out and criticized by the Emperor, who also knew about his crossdressing, with his black history of having disobeyed and disrespected the Emperor, he immediately paled, becoming frightened, worried, and helpless.

　　——His beautiful dream of relying on the imperial examination to become an official and stand out among his peers, was completed wasted, ne! Instead, he received a wake up call: he suddenly discovered that he had already been mentioned by the Emperor, but this remark was nothing good. He immediately felt like the world had collapsed.

　　On the contrary, Xie Ling, an heir of an aristocratic family, was much more calm. He muttered to himself for a while and made specific inquiries about His Majesty the Emperor's words and tone. Only then did he sigh in slight relief, "His Highness need not fret. This matter is not overly terrible. If handled properly, this could still be considered a fortunate affair."

　　Situ Yu's expression slightly eased up. He had always trusted Xie Ling's intelligence. Furthermore, he had also sincerely wished to hear good news, so he couldn't help but trust Xie Ling a bit more, "Speak."

　　Xie Ling smiled and complied, telling him of his conjecture.

　　Although the Emperor had given Situ Yu a lesson, he did not actually punish him. In addition, the last words he uttered were in fact an 'encouragement'. This made Xie Ling feel rather a.s.sured. He believed that His Majesty the Emperor also wished to see the compet.i.tion between his sons and for the winner to become the next ruler.

　　Perhaps from start to finish, His Majesty the Emperor knew of their plans. However, he did not obstruct nor expose them. Instead, he cooperated. This probably meant that he was sincere. His warning towards Situ Yu…perhaps it was because he disliked how he always put on an act of 'not partic.i.p.ating' only to benefit from the others' dispute. Perhaps he was warning him to have propriety and not go overboard. Or, perhaps…cough…he was seizing this opportunity to attack a rival-in-love. In short, since his ambition for the throne had already been exposed, then Situ Yu ought not hesitate nor hold back, nor stay silent and pa.s.sive, but take another step forward and project himself.

　　The Emperor was in his prime and he had not yet become kind and self-composed as it will in his old age. He does not yet place a high importance to his heir nor does he take familial affection into much consideration. When linked to his glorious achievement that was seizing the throne in the past, his current action of coldly idly standing by while his sons fought between each other makes it evident that the Emperor's methods are cruel and his conduct, extreme. This kind of ruler will inevitably dislike a cowardly and timid successor. If one moves forward, there is the possibility of victory. If one retreats, then one is destined to have no chance of attaining that grand position.

　　"Henceforth, what we need to do is to push forward with our agenda, but that does not mean that we ought to advance prematurely. At the very least, this time, we must perform this play impeccably to the end. Even if that one—" Xie Ling raised his right hand and pointed to the sky, "is very clear about our every move and action , we must act for the rest of the world to see. Afterwards, we will seize the opportunity to use this as a pretext to change our original stance of not wanting to partic.i.p.ate in the struggle for succession."

　　Situ Yu nodded in understanding.

　　Since he hoped to be known as a wise ruler throughout the ages, he definitely did not want to leave any stains on his reputation. To transition from being a meek and ordinary 'non-partic.i.p.ant' to an extremely ambitious 'partic.i.p.ant', it inevitably required a suitable excuse. Otherwise, he would become a hypocrite who did not live up to his name. Right now, 'the death of the Fourth Prince's Cefei' gave him an appropriate entry-point to cut into.

　　His beloved woman had become a sacrificial victim of a political struggle. The Fourth Prince was so aggrieved that he wished he were dead. However, after pulling himself together, he achieved supreme enlightenment: so as to never allow such a tragedy to repeat itself, so as to protect the people most important to him, he needed to step foot onto the b.l.o.o.d.y road from now on. Once one thought like this, it sounded quite moving, ne! It could be said to be a rather tragic yet heroic legend!

　　Situ Yu and his group of advisors discussed things over and changed their strategy for the battle over succession. On one hand, he had to fight and display his capabilities so as to change the Emperor's bad impression of him. On the other, he also had to make sure not to touch Emperor Father's bottom line so as to not make him displeased.

　　Getting things just right was difficult to do, but it was extremely important that he did so.

　　Even if he would end up bringing out his brothers' vigilance and end up coming out of the dark—which would make it more difficult to act—the most crucial point right now was Emperor Father's att.i.tude. Situ Yu was not afraid of directly facing off against his brothers. Originally, the reason he was in hibernation was because there was no need to act.