Chapter 174 What's the fun?
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Nianting came to life. He was stunned at first, and then he listened to the people from Yuexi Mansion explaining the situation in a covert manner. He smiled and returned home contentedly.
Afterwards, Gu Nianting announced the news and recruited doctors from all over the world to develop a prescription for him to treat his father's old illness, and he also gained the reputation of being a filial son.
In the Di Sheng Palace, Lin Mu came happily. After paying his respects, he sat down as he was told.
"Your Majesty, there is very good news coming from outside the palace."
Gu Mengzhen smiled in surprise.
"Oh?"
"What's the good news?"
Lin Mu straightened his clothes and sat upright, looking extremely respectful.
"His Royal Highness Prince Chen has been recruiting doctors, but he is now busy researching and developing prescriptions, and has no time to spare."
Gu Mengzhen put away his surprise and his expression fell.
"I know about this."
"He pretends to be a filial son, but he has bad intentions. He has always been selfish, and I am used to it."
"He has put a lot of effort into satisfying the people's wishes. I'm afraid he has already forgotten about sharing my worries and working together to check and balance me."
Lin Mu's expression darkened, leaving only a slight smile on his face.
"The Emperor's Holy Might."
"I humbly believe that when His Royal Highness Prince Chen is concentrating on the prescription, it is the best time for His Majesty to seize the throne."
Gu Mengzhen's dragon eyes were filled with sorrow, and he let out a sigh.
"Most of the people in Fengzhengtai are the Prince of Chen's men, and there are also Fengzheng Chengcheng Qi Lei and Fengzheng Xiang Tao Kangping, who are friends with the Zhong family in times of trouble. Even if I want to persuade them, they will never abandon the Prince of Chen."
Lin Mu smiled deeply, yet remained respectful.
"Since persuasion is impossible, it is better to remove him directly."
"After the dismissal, the emperor can arrange his own people to get involved in the Fengzhengtai. No matter how the people below are loyal to the Prince of Chen, the final decision lies with the emperor."
"If there is dissatisfaction, it would be a good idea to ask the adults in power to target them at will and force the people below to leave on their own."
"As long as we seize the throne, everything will be easy."
"His Royal Highness Prince Chen ordered Feng Zhengtai to be on guard against Prince Di Jin, thinking that the Emperor was willing to conspire and would not do anything. It's hard to find a good opportunity, and the Emperor took advantage of it."
Gu Mengzhen gently stroked the armrest of the dragon throne, thinking deeply.
“It’s true that good opportunities are hard to come by.”
"But after the plot to seize Feng Zhengtai, the Prince of Chen will be angry. How can I conspire with him?"
Lin Mu revealed an unpredictable sly look.
"With Fengzhengtai, the emperor will be invincible. Why would he need to conspire with him?"
"As the emperor said, he has no intention of colluding. Why should the emperor care about the relationship between father and son?"
"I have a plan, shall I tell you?"
Gu Mengzhen raised his eyebrows with interest.
"tell me the story."
Lin Mu's eyebrows and eyes were curved, just like the gentle evening breeze.
"Lord Tao has only one beloved son, named Tao Muzhan. He passed the imperial examination and became an official, but because of his mediocre ranking, he has been working in Tuobin County for the past two years. Recently, he was promoted to Fengzhengshi and finally returned to Beijing."
"Your Majesty, please send someone to hint to the magistrate of Tuobin County that there are still some remaining matters that have not been fully handed over, and ask Master Tao to return to the county."
"When he returns, the people of the county will accuse him of taking advantage of his position to embezzle money."
"Lord Tao is naturally very anxious about his beloved son's misfortune, but as the Prime Minister, he cannot leave Shengjing without permission. Even if there is something wrong in the local area, the most he can do is to arrange for Prime Minister Feng to go there. If he wants to come to rescue in person, he has to go to the palace to ask for permission from the emperor to leave the capital."
"Then the Emperor will use the excuse of urgency to order him to go first. As for the imperial edict allowing him to leave the capital, Lord Zhao, the Minister of Yinsi, will deliver it together with the edict. He will also help Lord Tao and redress the injustice for little Lord Tao."
"He was so anxious that he had no time to suspect anything. After hearing the so-called oral instructions, he left the capital in a hurry."
"When he rescues his beloved son and returns to Shengjing, the emperor will directly issue an order to dismiss him for dereliction of duty, punish him to stay in the palace, and not be allowed to hold office for the next few years."
"During this period, if any of the subjects in the capital get into trouble because of his absence, then it is only natural for the emperor to punish them with white silk."
"Besides, Lord Zhao doesn't know anything about this matter. Even if Lord Tao comes to confront him, it will be useless."
The corners of Gu Mengzhen's lips curled up, and his dragon eyes were once again filled with surprise.
"My dear, this is a great idea."
"I just don't know how I should deal with Qi Lei after dealing with Tao Kangping."
Lin Mu responded with a smile and told the story slowly.
"The same goes for Master Qi..."
A few days later, the sun was shining brightly, and the sky was clear and the breeze was gentle near noon.
Gu Nianting worked out a complete prescription, but he kept it a secret. He only ordered people to boil the medicine, and personally brought the medicine to present to his father.
Gu Mengzhen naturally would not take the medicine that was sent to him without any reason. He made up an excuse and asked Gu Nianting to temporarily leave and wait in a side hall, and then summoned An Song.
After Ansong checked it, he smiled happily.
"Your Majesty, this decoction is the old recipe that the princess came up with last year."
"Although it is not as good as the new prescription we have come up with this year, it is enough to relieve the emperor's old illness."
Gu Mengzhen sighed.
"It's a pity that the prince's move is not just to entertain his parents with colorful clothes, but he has other intentions."
"Someone, summon Zhuang Shao to come into the palace to see him."
As he said this, he waved his sleeves and signaled Ansong.
"You should step back first."
Ansong saluted in response.
"Wei Chen retire."
After a while, Fang Zhixuan arrived, looked around and saw no outsiders, then bowed.
"Greetings, my dear brother."
"My brother has summoned me. What do you want me to do?"
Gu Mengzhen glanced at Tang Yao and explained the matter of Prince Chen to him.
"In your opinion, what is the king's intention?"
After thinking for a while, Fang Zhixuan gave his answer.
"Reporting to my Royal Brother, I think he may be targeting the Secret Office."
"As everyone knows, the Secret Office is responsible for managing the national treasury. If the prince of Chen causes unrest, he will inevitably spend money there. For him, seizing the Secret Office is of vital importance."
"But he doesn't know that my brother has already placed the overall situation in the Bronze Platform. To put it bluntly, the Secret Platform is just an empty shell. Even if he takes it away, it will be a drop in the bucket."
Gu Mengzhen looked worried.
"Indeed."
"But many of our people are stationed in the secret room."
"The Secret Service is also responsible for training the children of the noble families, serving the kings, princes, generals and ministers, and planning the affairs of the civil officials. With it in my hands, it will be easy to arrange informants."
"What's more, if there is trouble at the Tongshitai, the Mishutai can be used as a retreat. Everything has a place to go."
"So it's not a complete empty shell."
"I, it's really hard to let go."
Fang Zhixuan looked worried, pretending to be in deep thought.
"Please let me think about it..."
"There is."
"Doesn't he just want the national treasury? My brother, you don't have to entrust it to the secret council, and you don't have to depose any adults. You just need to hand over the key to the national treasury to the prince for safekeeping."
"It's just an empty warehouse, let him squander it."
"To the outside world, my brother can also benefit from the reputation of being a kind father."
"In addition, if the other princes and princesses knew that the prince was so highly regarded, they would strive to be the best and not be left behind."
"When the prince sees this and knows that he will not gain any benefit, he will return the key to the treasury and thank the emperor for his favor."
"If there is no chance of failure, we can get the prescription. Why not do it, my royal brother?"