At the mention of the Crown Prince, a subtle expression crossed Yunxiao’s face.
“Your Highness, according to our informants, Prince Ling’s residence is in complete chaos.”
Xiao Yi raised his eyes and looked at Yunxiao.
“In complete chaos?” Xiao Yi asked, clearly disbelieving him.
Yunxiao nodded.
“The Crown Princess and the secondary consort are competing for the Crown Prince’s favor. The secondary consort framed the Crown Princess, and after the Crown Prince confined her to her residence, the Crown Princess fell ill.”
“Secondary Consort Wei poisoned the Crown Prince and was locked away in a secluded room.”
“The Crown Prince’s second son deliberately pretended to be ill in order to save his mother, but ended up with such a high fever that he became an idiot.”
“The Crown Prince was so enraged that he vomited blood several times.”
Xiao Yi’s expression shifted.
“He vomited blood?”
“When did it begin?”
Yunxiao froze for a moment.
Was the prince concerned about the Crown Prince’s health?
After thinking for a while, Yunxiao replied, “According to the information this subordinate received, the Crown Prince vomited twice after returning to his residence.”
“What did the physician say?” Xiao Yi continued to press.
“The physician said that the Crown Prince’s internal heat was too strong. His rage had affected his heart, which caused him to vomit blood.”
Xiao Yi fell into deep thought.
He remembered that Imperial Physician Li had said Imperial Father’s vomiting of blood was also caused by rage affecting his heart.
They had both vomited blood, but was there some difference between the two cases?
Seeing that his master was deep in thought, Yunxiao did not dare to make a sound.
“Have someone keep a close watch on the Crown Prince.”
“If anything seems amiss, report it immediately!”
If he wanted to determine whether there was any difference, he could only wait.
“Yes!” Yunxiao answered.
“By the way, Your Highness, Princess Consort Rui sent someone to deliver a message to the Princess. She wishes to meet with her.”
Yunxiao suddenly remembered something.
“What does she want with Duoduo?” Xiao Yi asked, knitting his brows.
Prince Rui was currently overseeing the government, and Princess Consort Rui wanted to meet Duoduo. Was this her way of showing goodwill toward him?
“The person who came is Princess Consort Rui’s trusted aide.”
“She said that Princess Consort Rui has something to discuss with the Princess. They are to meet at the Great Buddha Temple outside the city.”
“Absolutely not!”
The moment he heard this, Xiao Yi refused.
The capital was fraught with danger on all sides. There was no way he would let Duoduo go out and put herself at risk.
It did not matter which princess consort was involved—none of it had anything to do with Duoduo.
“You are not to let Duoduo hear a single word about this.”
“If I find out that she has learned of it, you know what my temper is like.”
Prince Ling’s voice was extremely stern.
Yunxiao hurriedly lowered his head.
“This subordinate would never dare disobey Your Highness’s orders!”
Xiao Yi lowered his head and glanced at the official documents on the table.
“Grind the ink,” he ordered Yunxiao.
Yunxiao quickly stepped forward and prepared the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Once the ink was ready, Xiao Yi picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and swiftly wrote a letter.
He then sealed the letter and handed it to Yunxiao.
“Send this out immediately!”
Yunxiao accepted it with both hands, his face filled with concern.
Xiao Yi had not concealed the contents of the letter from him.
In it, Xiao Yi ordered the troops secretly stationed at the border to launch a covert attack against the Xiongnu.
“Your Highness, if our men mobilize without warning, they will certainly alert the court,” Yunxiao said anxiously.
Xiao Yi gave him a deep look.
“Although the border is a long distance from the capital, it is not so far that horses and carriages cannot make the journey.”
“If the Xiongnu seize the border and pour through Shanhai Pass like a breaking bamboo, the capital will fall within days!”
Yunxiao was shocked.
“Your Highness, how is that possible?”
“There are so many military commanders in the court. Would they simply stand by and watch the capital fall?”
Xiao Yi leaned back.
“The military commanders who requested sick leave today—all of them were military officers, weren’t they?”
Yunxiao thought back and nodded.
“Yes.”
“Today they merely requested sick leave. Before long, they will be resigning from office.”
“In just a few days, there will be fewer than ten military commanders left in the court.”
Yunxiao was dumbfounded.
“Why? They have perfectly good official positions. Why would they resign?”
From Lingfeng and the others, Yunxiao knew just how difficult it was for a military officer to rise from the lowest rank to a position of power.
Civil officials only needed to take the imperial examinations. If they failed one year, they could simply try again the next.
Military officers were different.
Most military officers had fought their way up through sheer ability.
An ordinary soldier had to cut down hundreds of enemy soldiers before he might have a chance to become a centurion.
After that came the rank of battalion commander.
Every battle was both a summons from death and an opportunity to climb higher.
It could be said that every step a military officer took upward had been bought with his own life.
How could they bear to give it all up so suddenly?
“Wise birds choose the trees on which to perch.”
Xiao Yi offered only that one sentence.
Military officers were different from civil officials.
Military officers valued ability above all else.
The stronger a commander was, the more willing they were to submit to him.
Xiao Yi remembered that when he had first begun leading troops into battle, the soldiers under his command had all refused to accept him.
It was only after one battle after another that he gradually won them over.
Prince Rui looked down on military affairs. He would certainly belittle those military officers.
If military officers were not valued, the fierceness in their bones would naturally refuse to accept it.
As a result, they would band together and resign.
If Prince Rui were clever, he would refuse to approve their resignations.
But if Prince Rui actually intended for this to happen, then the situation would be disastrous.
Yunxiao still did not understand.
“Your Highness, Prince Rui is currently overseeing the government.”
“If our men drive the Xiongnu out, wouldn’t that be helping Prince Rui?”
“And if our men are exposed, what happens if Prince Rui turns around and attacks them?”
Xiao Yi stared coldly at Yunxiao.
“You have had quite a lot to say today.”
Yunxiao lowered his head. “Your Highness, this subordinate is speaking from the bottom of his heart!”
“This subordinate belongs to Your Highness. Naturally, I hope that everything goes well for you!”
“I believe Your Highness should let the other princes fight among themselves.”
“Once the situation has descended into complete chaos and no one can bring it under control, Your Highness can step forward to resolve it.”
“That way…”
Before Yunxiao could finish, a teacup smashed onto the floor beside his feet with a sharp crack.
Yunxiao jumped in fright and hurriedly fell to his knees.
“Yunxiao, you have been following me for quite some time.”
“Besides loyalty, the other thing you need when following me is silence.”
“Do you know why Lingfeng could no longer remain at my side?”
“Because, just like you did moments ago, he tried to persuade me to follow his advice.”
Xiao Yi’s icy tone made Yunxiao shudder.
“Your Highness, this subordinate was wrong! Please forgive me!”
Yunxiao kowtowed to Xiao Yi.
He had no wish to meet the same fate as Lingfeng.
Xiao Yi smoothed the fabric over his knees, his voice cold and indifferent.
“This is the last time.”
“If you make the same mistake again, you will no longer have any business following me.”
“Get out!”
Yunxiao hurriedly kowtowed again before withdrawing from the room.
Only after closing the door did he finally let out a breath of relief.
That was when Yunxiao realized that his entire back was drenched in sweat.
For the first time, he truly understood how terrifying his master’s presence could be.
He had overstepped his bounds!
A servant was still a servant. How could he possibly presume to offer advice to his master?
At the thought, Yunxiao slapped himself hard across the face.
The guards standing outside the door stared at him in confusion.
Yunxiao hurried away.
“Someone!”
Xiao Yi’s voice came from inside the room.
