Chapter Thirty-Three Backstage

  Li Xuan's servant sat there stupidly, dazed and confused, seemingly not listening to Crown Prince Zhu Youxiao's words at all, nor did she know what this woman was thinking.

  Li Xuan's servant suddenly raised his head, looking at Zhu Youxiao with a ferocious expression, and shouted: "Who is it? Who is the third force he left behind?"

  With a pitiful glance at Li Xuan's crazed appearance, Zhu Youxiao slowly shook his head and said in a low voice: "Father's life was very miserable. His own father didn't love him, but instead favored that woman and her son. For Father, Mother died early, and since birth, there was no one who treated her well by her side. But when Father was at his most difficult time, there was someone by his side, accompanying him in his most painful moments. Naturally, the person Father trusted the most was this person."

  With a soft sigh, Zhu Youxiao's expression was somewhat complicated, and his tone was sorrowful as he said: "Because of the love for this person and the gratitude towards this person, Father Emperor has intentionally turned a blind eye to many things. Even if this person killed the woman who gave birth to his son, even if this person spoke harshly to his own son, even if this person often looked down on him, Father Emperor could tolerate it. Perhaps it was because of love, perhaps it was because of gratitude, or perhaps both."

  As the conversation reached this point, Zhu Yuxiao's gaze towards Li Xuan's servant was filled with complex emotions and a hint of pity. Perhaps due to her circumstances, this woman never truly understood until the end, perhaps she didn't know the man she called trash.

  "It's impossible, how could it be possible? What did that man leave me with? He didn't leave me anything, everything I have is what I earned myself." Li Xuan Shi shouted frantically, but tears couldn't help but fall. At this moment, he suddenly remembered the life of the couple in the past, remembering the man who used to wash his feet for him, that man who always smiled at whatever he did. Li Xuan Shi finally understood the complex gaze of Emperor Taichang when he looked at him before his death, that deep reluctance, that deep attachment.

  "The Emperor left you the most precious thing in his life, the thing he treasured the most, and that is his own son. The Emperor knew what you wanted, but he didn't have the chance to give it to you. However, he knew that as long as he left his son with you, everything you wanted would be given to you." Looking at Li Xuan's tearful face, Zhu Youxiao let out a deep sigh and continued: "The Emperor calculated everything, you might resent him for not making you the Empress, but that man knew what you wanted."

  When Li Xuan heard Zhu Youxiao's words, he suddenly raised his head and stared straight at him, saying miserably: "Yes! I've always hated him, he shouldn't have done that."

  Slowly standing up, Zhu Youxiao walked to the edge of Li Xuan's table, picked up a private seal from the table, which was the private seal of Emperor Taichang. Looking at Li Xuan, Zhu Youxiao said: "Power has blinded your eyes, you can't see anything. Father emperor appointed you as imperial noble consort before his death and handed over this palace to you for nurturing. Once I ascend to the throne, what will you get? You will be empress dowager. Father emperor knew he was running out of time, what's the point of giving you a title of empress? It would only make you the target of criticism."

  "It's just that you've been made a noble consort for now, have you seen those people outside? What are they doing? If you were to become the empress, what would happen then? Father knows that once you become the empress, neither the Qi Ze Chu Party nor the Donglin Party will let you off, because they don't want to see someone who can make decisions by the new emperor's side. Father knows that even if you become a noble consort, these people won't let you off either, so father left you with a group of people, which is an opportunity to win over the Qi Ze Chu Party. Do you think Fang Congzhe is really that kind and genuinely helping you? Because he knows that as long as you fall, the entire imperial court will be under the control of the Donglin Party. Due to this achievement in supporting the new emperor, the Donglin Party will gain even more trust from the new emperor, and by then, the Qi Ze Chu Party won't have any chance."

  He let out a deep sigh, and Zhu Youxiao violently slammed the unsealed letter away, saying loudly: "That man was still making arrangements for you until his death, even I, this son of yours, became nothing more than a tool to solidify your position. Father's treatment of you is truly... leaving me speechless."

  Seated on the ground with a stern expression, Li Xuan's voice was low and even: "Since you know all this was arranged by him before his death, why are those people outside doing what they're doing?"

  "Although it was arranged, yet there was no intention left behind, these things were all private. The people outside just understood this point and wanted to do so, they absolutely could not bear to see you in power, because every time a woman takes power, these officials are doomed to die without a place to bury them. Only by overthrowing you can they survive, and at this time, the Donglin Party is already close to taking control of the government, how can these people give up?" Zhu Youxiao smiled, but his smile was somewhat mournful, and his body kept trembling, it could be seen that his emotions were also very agitated.

  "Yes! How could they give up? Although I couldn't understand it, but these didn't surprise me. What surprised me the most is you, how did you know about this? Did he tell you before he died?" At this point, Li Xuan was also unbelievable, all of these were figured out by Zhu Youxiao himself, how could that ignorant and incompetent crown prince possibly know about these things.

  "The Emperor made two mistakes. The first was you - he didn't think you'd be so foolish and mess up the path that had been laid out for you. The second is me, perhaps like others, he doesn't understand his own son." Zhu Youxiao couldn't possibly reveal the real reason, this was his greatest secret, something no one could know.

  He smiled softly and Li Xuan had a hint of understanding, saying: "All of this was you manipulating from behind the scenes, right? Since you knew about your father's plan and also knew that this is the way for your father to keep your throne safe, why didn't you come tell me? Why didn't you come help me?"

  "Help you? Why help you? You killed my mother, that poor woman, who didn't even get to enjoy everything before being harmed by you. If I had a son, probably I wouldn't be alive now either. I'm not killing you only because of Father Emperor's sake, and yet you come asking for my help?" Zhu Yubing's voice was full of mockery, hoarse and ferocious, as if the resentment suppressed in the deepest part of his heart had finally been awakened.

  "Really! I didn't expect that everyone would underestimate you. But then what will you do? Without me holding back those officials, how will you handle it? What about your empire? I don't believe you'll just let them go." At this time, Li Xuan's expression seemed to calm down, her voice calmly asking as if all of this had nothing to do with her.

  "Strength needs to be cultivated by oneself, and as long as one can control it, those literary officials will naturally not be worth fearing." Zhu Youxiao's expression was very determined, and his voice was also full of confidence.

  It's finally time to ascend the throne. I've been thinking about these two chapters for a long time and wrote them with great difficulty, so I hope everyone will give me lots of feedback. Also, thank you to my Scandinavian wolf friend for your reward. Lastly, I'm asking for some votes of support; if there are any brothers who read books, please help collect them - the collection is rising very slowly, thank you!

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