The child's identity was real but even if he was beaten to death, he must not acknowledge this, especially from his own lips! If he acknowledged it, he would be giving away the throne that was so close within his grasp.
"But mere denial doesn't have much meaning."
"All this time, father had always missed brother. Always thinking that he had wronged him. With such mentality, naturally father would want to compensate by recognising this child, he'll give everything that brother should have inherited to this child!"
"Everything, including the crown prince title and the throne."
"I have no chance of winning with father's current mental state! No matter how much I work for it, it'll be futile!"
His Highness paced around in the residence of the crown prince with a glowering face.
"Then, there's only one way to go now!"
"Only when this child dies can I reacquire everything! Father will have no other choice again, just like before!"
The crown prince's thinking was clear and precise. He held onto his thought with full determination. In fact, he had already been considering it since the child had appeared at the golden court; various tactics and tricks had been considered and processed in his mind hundreds and thousands of times over.
"Yu Qiankun has to die! This is the path to being an emperor, those who are obstacles must die!"
The crown prince gritted his teeth.
Despite the bright and handsome face that came from being a direct Yu descendant and the royal yellow gown that symbolized the elegant imperial aristocratic identity, his gaze was exceptionally wicked and sinister.
There was also a small meek voice that stopped him deep in his heart – "You can't do that. That's the only blood left of your big brother, your biological nephew; you can't kill your family, you shouldn't be destructive!"
In spite of this, another vile voice erupted like a volcano within him, crushing the meek voice to naught – "The only bloodline of your big brother? All these things are meaningless in comparison to the throne!
There was nothing that could stop him on his way to imperial power.
As long as he was enthroned, he could have anything he wanted; the entire world was his and everything would be within reach! However, if he fell from the position of crown prince, then there was no future to be regarded in this lifetime! – A fallen phoenix was lesser than a chicken, a dethroned crown prince was worse than an ordinary citizen!
"A fallen crown prince is truly at the lowest rung of the whole nation!"
This was the lament of a crown prince from the previous dynasty who had exclaimed from the bottom of his heart when his status was shed due to a mistake he committed – every time the crown prince recalled this line, he would shudder in empathy.
"A step forward overlooks the whole world while half a step back is an abysmal valley without tomorrow!"
"What choice can I make?"
"What choice do I have?!"
The crown prince walked into his study with an ominous expression and arms on his back, speaking up loudly, "Gather Sir Wen, Sir Yi, and Si Gu. A meeting is to be held."
Similarly, the other princes were also scowling once they heard about the episode. The third and fourth prince's expressions were even more sullen than the crown prince's!
"Meeting!"
No matter how secretive an assembly was now, it would still garner attention for sure but the princes were willing to risk it due to the sheer state of their panic.
The fifth prince had moved promptly for a visit to Residence of Leng Daoyin while the sixth prince was led by the imperial consort to Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan's residence to show concern for the man.
…
After the morning assembly, His Majesty returned leisurely to the palace and had gone to the royal study. Along the way, there was a faint smile playing on his face yet the vague lines carving his face described shame.
In the royal study, the Emperor gazed at the portrait of his late eldest son and said softly, "Son, I don't know if this decision is correct but I have to do it. Only if your younger brothers make a move and contend fairly based on their own merit, I will opt to give them a fair chance. The ultimate successor to the throne will be decided by time, it may not be in Bao'er hands. This is the fate and despair of a royal descendant. I sacrificed you then, now, I'm using Bao'er. I am sorry to both of you, father and son!"
"But if they do indeed choose to make a move…" His Majesty mumbled, his eyes glowing eerily, "I shall be stricken with heartache! Do you understand?"
In the portrait, the eldest prince stood tall and proud as usual but his eyes looked thoughtful; there seemed to be an actual sense of sorrow that was watching over his father. It was as if he had already seen a tragedy that could have been avoided.
"The most merciless people are within the emperor's own family, this has been the case since the beginning of time." The Emperor closed his eyes, murmuring, "Will our family be an exception? I hope so…"
…
Yun Xiaoyao took Bao'er under everyone's meaningful gazes. They moved towards Residence of Yun without haste, leisurely and without change.
In fact, Yun Xiaoyao was truly at peace inwardly; there was no ripple in his calm heart, like the surface of a still lake.
The officials' doubt and arguments, as well as the princes' schemes, held no meaning for Yun Xiaoyao.
Yun Xiaoyao's thinking was different from Yun Yang as much as it also differed from the emperor's. The truth was that he was not invested emotionally, be it towards the eldest prince, the crown prince, or even the other princes. It was not important who it was who ultimately took the throne.
The only issue that mattered was who his older brother wanted to succeed the reign!
This was the crux of Yun Xiaoyao's concern.
Of course, it would be the best if the next ruler of Yutang was bold-visionary, courageous, and wise; after all, he did not want himself to be serving a vile unscrupulous man or a timid conservative emperor!
Therefore, he had cast occasional glances at Bao'er, whose face held barely concealed panic along the trip home, murmuring a question to himself, "Is he the one?"
…
Yun Yang was currently in the Residence of Yun, alone in the study room. He was chuckling bitterly and feeling helpless as he contemplated all that was happening.
What Yun Yang needed to solve first and foremost now was his true identity but the difficulty or perhaps, the crux, was on Bao'er.
Adults could control their words and actions maximally to avoid any possibility of disclosing his identity but a child was not capable of doing so.
How could his identity be concealed during their first meeting that was to come?
His immediate father, Marquis Yun, was a downright cunning old fox; he would definitely find clues in the encounter. As long as there were certain loopholes, it was indeed very easy to expose the secret he wanted very much to hide!
Yun Yang empty chuckles were void of humour, he could do nothing else. He realized that there was no room for avoidance in this matter. He could only face it head-on.
Actually, Lao Mei's attitude towards him was already a discernible loophole. It was only because Marquis Yun was assured that he harbored no ill intention towards Yutang or the Yu imperial family, that he had turned a blind eye. But now, Yun Yang was putting his last card on the table, wasn't he?
As Yun Yang pondered these things to himself, he heard people calling out an expected greeting from the door, "The lord has returned!"