Chapter 1146: Chapter 719: And You?

“After the news of Li Zhaoyuan leading the army back in triumph by imperial decree spread, voices about Your Majesty wanting to appoint a new Crown Prince began to emerge in the imperial court. If he really comes to the capital… hahaha.”

Xu Yuan stared intently at the expression on the face of the middle-aged man before him and said with a cheerful smile: “As the Crown Prince of this dynasty, your days have truly been quite miserable.”

“….”

Silken robes swayed, and the embroidered sleeve of a giant python seemed to swirl with life under the moonlight.

Li Yucheng took his seat, his demeanor still refined and gentle, and responded:

“Amid the cacophony of the high court, my father, in his far-reaching wisdom, would never take actions that would destabilize the foundation of the empire.”

Xu Yuan placed the porcelain cup onto the solid round table, shook his head with a smile, and murmured:

“… Destabilize the foundation? Crown Prince, are you feigning ignorance, or are you truly clueless?”

The earlier rumbling from the rear courtyard had already scattered the woodland birds, and Xu Yuan’s voice, laced with mockery and jest, flowed through the quiet courtyard.

Li Yucheng lightly placed his fingertips against the rim of the porcelain cup in front of him, his expression unchanging as he smiled:

“Third Young Master, you may speak directly.”

“Then I’ll just say it plainly….”

Xu Yuan chuckled and responded in a carefree manner, then smiled and directly asked:

“Crown Prince,

“What’s the worth of your position as Crown Prince these days?”

“Xu Changtian!”

As soon as the words fell,

like a loyal dog unable to bear its master being humiliated, the Crown Prince’s chief attendant immediately barked furiously:

“Even insolence should have its limits—with such disgraceful insults…”

“Chief Attendant.”

Li Yucheng interrupted his loyal attendant’s tirade.

Striking out at the Emperor’s chief attendant outright had already revealed the arrogance of the person before him.

Let alone him, the Crown Prince of Dayan Empire… indeed barely worth a copper coin.

Playing with the porcelain cup, Li Yucheng’s voice carried a faint smile as he rebutted:

“If the Third Young Master has studied history thoroughly, you ought to know the level of turmoil caused by the establishment of a new Crown Prince throughout dynasties.”

All the world mocks that ancestral laws cannot be defied.

But the sheer inertia and power of ancestral laws undeniably exist, especially in such heavy matters as the appointment of the Crown Prince that touches upon the very heart of the empire.”

Xu Yuan thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, and replied:

“Since the dynasty’s founding, in every era where an emperor wished to establish a new Crown Prince, the literary officials, nobles, and sects invariably stood against the emperor’s decisions—never mind that you, Crown Prince, have supervised the state’s affairs for decades.

“In principle, with the prestige accumulated over tens of thousands of days and nights, your position as Crown Prince should already be as steady as a mountain.”

But at this point,

Xu Yuan’s tone made a subtle shift. He glanced toward the peak of Nine Dragon Mountain and asked in a soft voice:

“Yet Crown Prince, you should know the means by which your father consolidated power step by step after ascending to the throne, shouldn’t you?”

“….”

Li Yucheng remained silent.

But this silence was not born of ignorance; it was a silence born of speechlessness.

When Li Yaoxuan ascended the throne, he inherited a bloated imperial court riddled with infiltration from various factions. The intertwining of interests from sects, nobles, imperial relatives, officials, and even eunuch groups ceaselessly fueled factional rivalry for personal gain.

It was truly despairing.

In this world of the extraordinary,

once imperial power wanes, even eunuchs may cease to follow the emperor.

Because when their cultivation reaches a certain level, eunuchs can even regrow what was once lost below.

Faced with a corrupt regime extending from the imperial court down to the commanderies, from literary officials outward to the inner court, every reform and decree becomes an empty gesture.

The entrenched interests of the corrupt will never permit change.

To reform and consolidate power, Li Yaoxuan secretly collaborated with the current Prime Minister to establish an Inner Court—a mechanism to abolish and shatter the shackles weighing down the Dayan Empire.

Through this unorthodox Inner Court, the two gradually purged the literary officials, nobles, and other interest groups, seizing the greatest authority.

Yet even as Li Yaoxuan leveraged the Inner Court to consolidate imperial power,”

“the Inner Court, in turn, began to exploit the righteous authority he held.”

As the officials bowed, and the grassroots pledged their loyalty,

a monstrous entity of power entrenched in the empire’s heart was gestating within the Inner Court.

Xu Yinhè’s Prime Minister’s Mansion had spiraled beyond control.

The decayed beneficiaries of past regimes no longer posed a threat to Dayan’s Li family rule, while today’s Prime Minister Xu’s family may well do so.

Before Li Yaoxuan reaches the end of his reign, if he manages to eradicate the monstrosity that is the Prime Minister’s Mansion, regardless of the sects that remain intact, his name will be immortalized in history as a sovereign of revival.

But should he fail to eliminate it,

then the title waiting for him may well be the monarch who doomed the nation.

The Inner Court stands as Li Yaoxuan’s greatest achievement as Emperor,

but it is also his gravest mistake.

The current opposition between Emperor and Prime Minister is, in essence, a direct consequence of the Inner Court’s policies.

Thus,

Li Yucheng could neither respond to Xu Yuan’s question, nor dared to address it.

Drinking wine and admiring the moon, the silence lingered.

Within that quiet, Xu Yuan suddenly sighed softly:

“Crown Prince, the apprehension buried in your heart remains deep, yet my question is not meant to pass judgment on the rights or wrongs of the previous generation. I merely wish to remind you: the so-called Crown Prince Faction surrounding you—for example, the head of the Imperial Guards, the Deputy Minister, or Marquis Wucheng—their loyalty to you as Crown Prince derives solely from their loyalty to the Emperor.”

Just like Xu Yinhè, all the authority of the Imperial Faction remains firmly grasped by Li Yaoxuan. The powerful figures within the Crown Prince Faction have been installed by his hand.

“The current imperial court no longer harbors those stubborn adherents to ancestral laws. Or rather, their voices are utterly insignificant. If the Emperor seeks to depose you, it would only take a single sentence.”

At this point,

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly:

“The attitude you display now—are you hoping to wait until the Emperor voices his decree before making your move?”

The drifting clouds veiled the moonlight, shrouding the glimmer in Xu Yuan’s eyes and obscuring the expression in Li Yucheng’s gaze.