53: You have your brilliant strategies, and I have my countermeasures.

The next day during the morning court, The Emperor did not speak, merely smiling as he looked at the assembled officials. Afterward, his gaze settled on Zhou Chutian, who stood at the head of the officials.

On the surface, petitioning to establish a Crown Prince seemed harmless. But placing this within the context of the Daxing Dynasty, especially when applied to The Emperor, it became quite intriguing.

Emperor Chengzong established the Crown Prince early, yet he himself lived for a long time. This resulted in the Late Emperor serving as Crown Prince for nearly thirty years, constantly anxious and treading on thin ice. Above, he had to face his father; below, he had to face the civil and military officials. Most importantly, his brothers constantly watched him, seeking mistakes, and even fabricating them if none existed.

For no other reason than to pull this Crown Prince down from his position.

When it came to the Late Emperor, to prevent his chosen successor from repeating his own difficult path, the Late Emperor selected The Emperor, who was outstanding in character and ability. He hid his intentions while secretly fostering him.

Little did he know that this approach only made the other Princes more restless, ultimately leading to the tragedy of the Struggle for succession among the seven sons.

In fact, it is difficult to say whether establishing the Crown Prince early is better, or waiting until the end. Chengzong believed that establishing the Crown Prince early would deter others' ambitions.

The Late Emperor had suffered and felt that the position of Crown Prince, while seemingly glorious, was in reality a living target, with everyone fixing their gaze upon him.

In truth, neither of them was wrong; it was simply human nature that no matter what was done, someone would ultimately harbor malicious intent.

"My esteemed ministers, yesterday I received a memorial that was quite interesting." The Emperor slowly picked up the memorial he had shown to Eunuch Fang last night and waved it. "Yesterday, the Minister of Rites submitted a joint memorial, stating that since I have been on the throne for a year, perhaps it is time to consider establishing the foundation of the state early."

At this, The Emperor's gaze suddenly turned toward the Minister of Rites. Sensing The Emperor's cold stare, the Minister of Rites knelt down in fear. Before he could speak, The Emperor smiled and interrupted him: "My dear minister, why are you so nervous? Your intentions are good, but I believe I am still quite healthy. May I ask why you submitted this memorial?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, when the Late Emperor was on the throne, the failure to establish a Crown Prince early led to the six Rebel Princes harboring treacherous intentions." The Minister of Rites' tone was calm, but his face was pale. "Though Your Majesty is in the prime of life, the foundation of the state must be settled sooner rather than later."

"Oh, I see..." The Emperor nodded, and his tone sounded quite satisfied, but he suddenly changed the subject. "My dear minister, since you mentioned the Late Emperor, you must know that before the Late Emperor ascended the throne, he was established as the Crown Prince early by Emperor Chengzong. How... did the Late Emperor fare?"

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Rites couldn't help but tremble. He had only submitted this memorial reluctantly, following the orders of his Esteemed Teacher, Zhou Chutian.

Although The Emperor had not yet expressed anger or reprimand, under the pressure of these few sentences, he truly did not know how to respond. The question itself was difficult; it had been brought up during the Grand Secretariat's deliberations, but without any resolution.

"I say, this is aimed right at the two of us..." Luo Yongze whispered to his older brother. "They're waiting for Father to establish one of us, and then they'll incite the other..."

"It's not that simple," Luo Yongfu shook his head. "We still have younger brothers below us, and their birth mothers each have their own powerful maternal clans backing them. Although they can't surpass the order of the legitimate eldest son, who among our Imperial Grandfather's brothers—our uncles—isn't truly eyeing that dragon throne?"

"Bringing this up now, I fear that old immortal has already started running around making connections. Whether we fight or not, it won't stop them from plotting."

Hearing this, Luo Yongze glared fiercely at Zhou Chutian. That old immortal would resort to any dirty trick just to avoid relinquishing power!

"So what should we do? Should we say something?"

"It's fine. Eunuch Fang contacted us this morning; Father will handle it."

Hearing his older brother say this, Luo Yongze finally nodded in relief, then whispered, "Look how much Father trusts you! He even had Eunuch Fang speak to you about this. You should quickly request the position of Crown Prince!"

"Have some shame! You're trying to climb the ladder now?" Luo Yongfu was nearly driven to laughter by his younger brother's brazenness. "You were out relieving yourself then! When you came back, it was already time for court, and I didn't get a chance to tell you!"

Actually, The Emperor himself hadn't decided which of the two brothers should be the next emperor. Although Luo Yongfu and Luo Yongze constantly claimed they didn't want to be emperor, their capabilities were truly impressive, even strong.

It's just that although the two brothers were capable and responsible, they had an extremely high level of tacit understanding: neither of them wanted to be The Emperor.

There was no helping it. The two brothers had a harmonious relationship and both felt it wouldn't be bad if the other took the position. Secondly... they were genuinely terrified of their two crazy younger sisters.

Although becoming emperor might mean they wouldn't have to fear them anymore... the problem was, this had already become a psychological shadow. While the brothers were Prince Heirs in the Former Residence, and later became Princes after The Emperor ascended the throne, those two sisters constantly treated them like mules.

If they became emperor later, wouldn't they be treated even more like oxen and horses by the sisters? The problem was, they couldn't beat them, couldn't scold them, and when the sisters went crazy, they might even stab them.

Therefore, the two brothers genuinely did not want to be this emperor. After all, if they were just Princes, the sisters might still hold back a little when causing mischief. But if they became emperor, what then?

The Emperor paid no mind to his two whispering Rebel Princes, instead turning to Zhou Chutian: "Grand Chancellor, what is your view on this matter?"

"Your Majesty must already have a decision in mind. This old subject dare not speak rashly." Zhou Chutian bowed slightly, his tone extremely calm, as if the matter truly had nothing to do with him. "The matter of the Crown Prince must ultimately be decided by Your Majesty personally. Your subjects will simply await Your Majesty's command."

Old fox... The Emperor cursed inwardly. Those words were certainly well-phrased. Firstly, it told The Emperor that he would neither interfere nor inquire. Secondly, by mentioning that the Crown Prince must be decided personally by him, it seemed like he said nothing, but in fact, he was clearly stating that he supported the establishment of the Crown Prince.

But if The Emperor were to question him later, that old fellow would surely say: "Your subject only said that Your Majesty must decide, and that your subject awaits command. I did not express a stance, did I?"

He had seen too many of these schemes over the past year; he was sick of them. That old fellow always acted this way, only offering advice and suggestions like a charity when The Emperor was overwhelmed and distraught.

Yet every time, it was he who instructed his Disciples to create trouble for The Emperor. His so-called plans were nothing more than empty platitudes meant to go through the motions.

That old immortal's goal was simply to tell him: You are The Emperor, but throughout the court, the Disciples of Grand Chancellor Zhou are everywhere in every Government Office.

You must rely on my people to carry out your work, and you must rely on my people to govern the court. What I tell you to do, you must do!

He doesn't want to rebel; he wants to remain the head of all officials, and even keep The Emperor under his control!

"In that case, let us postpone discussion on this matter for now," The Emperor said, no longer looking at Zhou Chutian. "It has only been a year since I ascended the throne; establishing a Crown Prince now is still too early..."

"However, I have another memorial here. Perhaps we should discuss... how to allocate the Provisions and Military Funds for suppressing the jin man people along the border?"

Having said that, he picked up another memorial and instructed Eunuch Fang: "Take this and hand it to Grand Chancellor Zhou. Let him take a look."

Old bastard, if you won't let me have peace, then I won't let you have peace either!

You have your strategy, I have my countermeasure. If anything goes wrong, don't say I didn't warn you!