Insufficient balance

  There were four people in the hall: Taiping Princess and her son, and two prime ministers. Except for Xue Chongxun, the other three people's emotions seemed to be very good, Taiping Princess was majestic and composed, Dou Huaijian was elegant and refined, Xiao Zhizhong was calm and self-possessed.

  Recently, Princess Taiping was demoted to Puzhou, which was very humiliating for her. However, after she returned, the situation has turned around and is now favorable to her side. Four of the chancellors who supported the Crown Prince were either demoted or promoted in name only, while Princess Taiping now controls five chancellors and holds more than half of the power in court, with immense influence. Although the Crown Prince still nominally oversees the government, no one dares to order him around.

  "What's the situation with the Crown Prince? Haha, it's quite amusing. This morning, a ninth-rank official named Wang Jue rushed to Lin De Hall to express his gratitude, thanking the Crown Prince for plucking him from the Jianghu and making him an official...” Dou Huai Zhen said up to this point before bursting into laughter herself, “Guess what happened next?”

  Dong Huai Zhen immediately performed in the temple, imitating Wang Ju, raising his head and straightening his waist, swinging his arms exaggeratedly, as if the emperor had arrived, and he walked back and forth on the floor in a comical manner.

  Dou Huaijian's face lit up with a smile as he saw the princess enjoying herself. He became even more energetic in his performance, and his tone of voice was perfectly controlled. Suddenly, he bowed low and assumed an obsequious air, saying in a shrill voice: "What are you doing? Your Highness is still behind, don't you know any etiquette?"

  Everyone knows that Dou Huaijian is imitating a eunuch at this time. Then Dou Huaijian coughed, walked to the other side, and immediately looked up with his head held high, looking down with an air of superiority, saying: "Your Highness? Who is Your Highness? Are you referring to Princess Taiping's Highness? In today's world, only Princess Taiping's Highness exists."

  After the performance, the princess and Xiao Zhizhong both chuckled for a while. Xue Chongxun also accompanied them with a slight smile, but his smile was quite ugly. His face was smiling, but his eyes still looked worried.

  The princess smiled and said: "This Wang Ju, is just dissatisfied with his small official position, wants to provoke the crown prince, in order to curry favor, this kind of sycophant, is not a good thing."

  Dong Huai Zhen said: "That's the case, but I think Wang Jue didn't lie. In today's court, who still cares about the crown prince?"

  At this moment, Xiao Zhizhong stroked his chin whiskers and said: "Under the sunshine, there is a storm. The Crown Prince is currently at a disadvantage, but we can't be careless because of this... I came to see the princess today for this matter..." He glanced at Xue Chongxun who was not very talkative on one side.

  The princess said: "Whatever you want to say, just say it. Chongxun is my son, there's no need to be reserved."

  Xiao Zhizhong listened and then said in a low voice: "The Crown Prince still has a very dangerous force, the Imperial Guard!"

  The princess's eyebrows slightly raised, obviously somewhat moved. She had been through several coups and was familiar with those tactics, of course understanding the importance of the Imperial Guard in extreme situations.

  Xiao Zhizhong continued: "The 'Ten Thousand Riders' General Zhang Wei of the Imperial Guard was originally just a local tyrant, completely promoted by the Crown Prince. There is no doubt that Zhang Wei is the Crown Prince's man, and it is extremely inappropriate for this person to stay in the Imperial Guard; there are also several mid-to-low-level generals who followed the Crown Prince during the Tanglong Coup (the coup against Empress Wei) still in the Ten Thousand Riders, when the time comes they will sing in harmony with each other, won't the Ten Thousand Riders all listen to the Crown Prince?"

  Princess Taiping said, "What you said is not wrong, but we can't be too pressing at the moment. It's better to be steady than hasty. The Crown Prince recently took the initiative to write to me and ask me to return to the capital from Puzhou, in order to ease tensions; after I returned, I also deliberately didn't mention anything about replacing the elder with the younger. That's why we have such a good situation today. Do you know why?"

  "At this time, Dou Huaijian showed a worried look and immediately took over the conversation, saying: "In my opinion, I'm afraid that His Majesty feels that the Crown Prince's merits are too high and his power is too strong, so he wants to use Princess Yonghe to balance the Crown Prince... Last year when the Crown Prince was appointed, His Majesty nominated Yongping County King (eldest son Li Chengqi) and asked the ministers to discuss it. This shows that from the beginning of His Majesty's reign, he had already anticipated today's situation. Since His Majesty has this intention, balance is what he wants to see. If the situation becomes too tense, it will be unfavorable to Princess Yonghe."

  Xiao Zhizhong also expressed his agreement, nodding: "I and Dou Gong Lao have the same view. On one hand, the Emperor is wary of the Crown Prince; on the other hand, he wants to find a way to protect the Crown Prince, because he does not want to see the country in turmoil again, nor does he want to repeat the mistakes of Tianhuang Da Sheng Huangdi. If we show our sharp edges too much and reach the point where we can completely control the Crown Prince, beware that the Emperor will put the overall situation first, abandon his own power, and directly push the Crown Prince onto the throne. At that time, it would be very unfavorable to us."

  Xiao Zhizhong said, "Although that's the case, it's still impossible to put the Imperial Guard of 10,000 cavalrymen in the Crown Prince's hands. That would be too dangerous for us. My suggestion is to play it safe and find a legitimate way to get rid of Zhang Wei and his cohorts."

  "Does General Xiao have a clever plan?" asked Princess Taiping.

  "This...," Xiao Zhizhong said with some embarrassment, "I have not thought of a foolproof plan for the time being."

  Princess Taiping looked at Dou Huaijian, and Dou Huaijian also said: "Today I came to pay respects to the princess, just like usual. After my shift, I took a stroll along the way, unlike Xiao Ge Lao who would climb up to the Three Treasures Hall for no reason."

  "It doesn't matter, this thing should be considered from a long-term perspective, let's think of a solution first." Taiping Princess said calmly. At this time, she found that Xue Chongxun seemed to have something to say, so she paused for a moment, waiting to hear his opinion, but Xue Chongxun still didn't speak up. Taiping Princess then stood up: "Let's stop here for today, you all go back home first."

  Xiao Zhizhong and Dou Huaijian then bowed together and said: "Your subjects bid farewell."

  Xue Chongxun followed his mother out of the front hall and into the corridor in the courtyard when Princess Taiping suddenly stopped, looked up at the sky and said: "It's been a long time since it rained, I didn't even notice today." As she spoke, she waved her hand lightly without looking back, and the eunuchs and maids who followed her retreated tactfully and stood far away.

  "You seemed like you wanted to say something just now in the grand hall. Was it inconvenient for you to speak with them present?" Princess Taiping continued to gaze at the rain curtain.

  Xue Chongxun said, "The two chancellors and my mother are in the same boat, originally there's nothing to hide from them. I really have something to say, but hesitated and didn't speak out because I didn't want to miss the opportunity to have dinner with my mother tonight... Mother, I don't even remember when was the last time we had a meal together..." At this point, Xue Chongxun's voice became somewhat unusual.

  The Princess Taiping sensed his emotions and was also moved. She asked: "Are you going to say something that will make me unhappy?"

  "It's probably like that." Xue Chongxun recalled the last time he and his second brother came to see their mother together, they were originally supposed to have dinner with her that time. This time... but what was different was that this time he would not be suspected or scolded when advising his mother.

  Taiping Princess fell silent for a moment, then said: "Speak up, are you advising me not to deal with the Crown Prince?" If Xue Chongxun was making the same suggestion as Xue Erlang, Taiping Princess would also think that their starting points were different.

  But Xue Chongxun said: "No. My suggestion is just the opposite... kill the crown prince!"

  "Ah!" Suddenly a flash of light appeared in the sky, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Without warning, Princess Taiping was startled and her shoulders shook. Her face also changed color. On the other hand, Xue Chongxun remained expressionless, unmoved. He said in a deep voice, "Think of every possible way to kill the Crown Prince. Nothing else matters. Only by killing him will it be useful."

  Xue Chongxun originally wanted to use the phrase "by any means necessary", but ultimately hesitated and changed his words.

  Princess Taiping turned her head to look at his face, apparently somewhat surprised and puzzled, because killing the crown prince was not easy. The crown prince had the protection of the six imperial guards of the East Palace, and it would be difficult to put him to death unless a palace coup was launched.

  Xue Chongxun said: "The two chancellors say they want to deal with Zhang Wei, but even if they get rid of Zhang Wei, what then? On the surface, the imperial court and the army are all in the empress's hands, can we really rest easy? In the past, Empress Wei controlled the entire court, and all the generals of the Imperial Guard were her trusted followers. She even summoned 600,000 troops to guard the capital, but in the end, she only had a few days of sweet dreams."

  It's not that Xue Chongxun's political vision is much stronger than Taiping Princess, but Taiping Princess has been involved in politics all her life, with rich experience and effective means. Xue Chongxun may not be able to compare with his mother, but he was able to come to such a conclusion, which shows that he had foreseen the severity of Li Longji, it can be described as reversing heaven.

  Historically, the great Tang Xuanzong was a quite extraordinary figure in his early years. His greatest strengths were his boldness and broad-mindedness. Later on, however, he ended up with a tragic finale simply because as people get older, after enjoying so many years of peace, their fighting spirit and vigor had been worn down to almost nothing.

  The Princess Taiping did not fly into a rage, nor did she immediately turn up her nose at him. She lowered her head and fell deep in thought. Xue Chongxun's words had some effect, if he hadn't done those wicked things before with ulterior motives, the Princess Taiping might not have taken it seriously, or even suspected something.

  "You mean that if the Crown Prince is desperate, he will use extreme measures?" The Princess Taiping said after a long silence.

  Xue Chongxun nodded and said, "Mother understands the nature of the crown prince, there is this possibility, but this is not the most dangerous thing. Because the current emperor is still on the throne, he will help his mother out of affection and consideration for his own power at critical moments, and the crown prince's chances of success are not great. The most dangerous thing is that once the crown prince ascends to the throne, we will be powerless to turn back, and may die without a place to bury our bodies... I am not the prime minister, I have no way to participate in court discussions, but I heard news that the current emperor has mentioned abdication, because mother and the ministers strongly opposed it, so he gave up. Therefore, it is possible for the crown prince to ascend to the throne soon, it's all up to the current emperor alone, and what's even more ominous is that the current emperor often hesitates in his decisions, we can't entrust our fate to him."