CHAPTER 701: CHAPTER 344: CHECKS AND BALANCES_3

Prince Dai suddenly raised his hand and slapped the armrest of the chair, saying with a face full of excitement, "Then send someone to protect the fourth, and make sure he returns to the capital safely."

"If Prince Jing can gather some evidence against the Crown Prince and Duke Zhen in Jinling, coupled with Prince Chu finding out the truth about the copper theft, His Majesty will not easily spare the Crown Prince; he might even depose him."

Thinking about the possibility of deposing the Crown Prince made Prince Dai’s heart burn with excitement. Just as he fantasized about becoming the Crown Prince himself soon, he thought of Prince Chu, and his face turned cold again.

"Uncle, didn’t you say before that Father sent Prince Chu to Peng City to investigate the copper theft, partly to depose the Crown Prince and partly to pave the way for Prince Chu to become Crown Prince? If Prince Chu returns to the capital smoothly, once the Crown Prince is deposed, wouldn’t Prince Chu become the Crown Prince?"

"Your Highness, once the Crown Prince is deposed, you are the eldest son. Even if the one His Majesty favors is Prince Chu, he will not immediately make Prince Chu the Crown Prince."

"Then why did you previously tell me to send someone to assassinate the fourth?"

"To put on a show for His Majesty." Marquis Xuanping smiled and said, "The Crown Prince sent people to assassinate Prince Chu, Your Highness cannot not send someone either. Besides, the people we sent did not really strike Prince Chu viciously."

"What, the people we sent to assassinate the fourth were just pretending?"

"Yes."

"How come I didn’t know?" It was the first time Prince Dai had heard of this.

"Your Highness, I did tell you before, that we don’t need to kill Prince Chu."

"I thought this time we were really getting rid of the fourth." Prince Dai felt a bit regretful in his heart, as this assassination was not genuinely intended to kill the fourth.

"Your Highness, with Prince Chu dead, there wouldn’t be any benefit for us. On the contrary, him being alive is very advantageous for us." Marquis Xuanping had never intended to truly kill Prince Chu. Even if they wanted to kill Prince Chu, it wouldn’t be now; it would be after Prince Chu brings down the Crown Prince. "With Prince Chu’s ability and means, he had already infiltrated Peng City and is secretly investigating the copper theft. Who knows, someday soon Prince Chu might quietly return to the capital to report the truth of the copper theft to His Majesty."

"I really underestimated the fourth all along." Previously, Prince Dai didn’t particularly like Prince Chu; he had always felt that Prince Chu was too arrogant. Although Prince Chu was very respectful towards him as an elder brother, he felt Prince Chu was not sincerely respectful. Even though he previously disliked Prince Chu, it hadn’t reached the point of hatred because back then Prince Chu posed no threat to him. However, ever since Prince Chu came of age, the Emperor’s favoritism towards him, along with his outstanding abilities, made Prince Dai increasingly wary of Prince Chu. "So many of us and the Crown Prince’s people have been sent to assassinate him, and yet we couldn’t even find his real body."

"Prince Chu is more capable than the Crown Prince; he will be our strongest enemy in the future, but we need to use Prince Chu to get rid of the Crown Prince." Marquis Xuanping knew Prince Dai was eager to remove Prince Chu, but now was not the time. "Your Highness, you must not act impulsively."

"Uncle, I understand." Prince Dai said calmly, "I have endured the Crown Prince for so many years, enduring Prince Chu for a few more years isn’t a problem."

"Your Highness, you are still young and can afford to endure." Marquis Xuanping said, his expression suddenly becoming very serious, "If you can’t endure the small, you will mess up the big strategy; we must not act rashly."

"Let’s just wait for the good news from the fourth."

Far away in Peng City, Prince Chu had already uncovered some clues.

Although he had long known that the copper theft in Peng City was inseparable from the Crown Prince, finding some clues pointing to the Crown Prince was still somewhat surprising to Prince Chu.

"Your Highness, we have not yet found where the stolen copper went." Wei Mian reported.

Prince Chu was not surprised.

"Your Highness, where do you think the Crown Prince and his accomplices have hidden the copper?" They’ve been secretly searching for the whereabouts of the stolen copper for some time, but not a single clue was found. "Your Highness, could it be that the stolen copper was already transported out of Peng City?"

Prince Chu nodded slightly: "Hmm, the stolen copper could not possibly remain in Peng City."

"Then where is it going?" Wei Mian furrowed his brow and said, "No matter where it’s being sent, it must start from Peng City, so there must be some traces, but there are none. It’s too odd."

Prince Chu lowered his head and looked at the map of Peng City. He pointed to the river outside Peng City and said, "If they want to transport the copper out, they can only take the water route. Taking the water route would inevitably be related to the Cao Group."

"Your Highness, do you mean that the Crown Prince has entrusted the Peng City Cao Group to transport the copper out?"

"Yes, the Jinling Cao Group has a deep connection with the Crown Prince." Prince Chu gently tapped his fingers on the table and said thoughtfully, "The Cao Groups in Jiangnan’s various prefectures have some kind of connection, perhaps even cooperation. The Crown Prince could have the Peng City Cao Group transport the copper to Jinling, and from there, the Jinling Cao Group could transit it to other places."

"Your Highness, your wisdom is admirable." Wei Mian thought of the Cao Group and his face showed a troubled expression. "Your Highness, if that’s the case, we won’t be able to trace the stolen copper unless we go to Jinling. Even if we go to Jinling, given the relationship between the Jinling Cao Group and the Crown Prince, we wouldn’t uncover any useful clues."

Prince Chu said nothing.

"Your Highness, is it possible that the stolen copper is right in Jinling?" Wei Mian speculated, "Compared to other places, Jinling is the safest place to hide the copper."

"The Crown Prince wouldn’t hide the copper in Jinling."

"Why?"

"It’s not safe; they should have transported the copper somewhere to make weapons." Prince Chu said, "This place must be very secretive, known only to insiders, and unknown to others."

"Where could that be?" Wei Mian had no clue.

Various places flashed through Prince Chu’s mind, but to ascertain whether it was one of his guessed locations, he had to send people to verify it.

He picked up a pen, wrote down several places on paper, and then wrote a letter.

Prince Chu handed the letter to Wei Mian: "Send it to Shudi."

"Send it to Shudi?" Wei Mian found this command a bit odd, "Your Highness, shouldn’t it be sent to Liangzhou, asking Mr. Zheng to help investigate?"

"Not now. Han Zhong previously secretly manufactured weapons in Shudi; there might be some clues there."

"Your Highness, your wisdom is admirable. I will send the letter immediately."

Prince Chu thought he would need to visit Jinling at some point. Although going to Jinling might not yield any useful clues, he might be able to investigate some things. Besides, his tenth brother was still in Jinling; he needed to go and see his tenth brother.

When Wei Mian returned, Prince Chu instructed him to prepare for the trip to Jinling.

"Your Highness, you want to go to Jinling?" Wei Mian disapproved, "Jinling is the Crown Prince’s territory. If the Crown Prince’s people discover you in Jinling, they will definitely not let you go."

"I won’t let them find me." Prince Chu added, "The most dangerous place is the safest place; the Crown Prince wouldn’t expect me to go to Jinling."

"Your Highness, this is too dangerous." Wei Mian couldn’t help but recall the assassination they encountered on the way to Peng City, making him apprehensive. If the prince went to Jinling and was discovered, the assassination attempts would be even fiercer than before. "Your Highness, if you go to Jinling, it would be like entering a trap. If the Crown Prince ensnares you, you won’t be able to escape."

"No." Prince Chu’s tone was very confident.

"Your Highness..."

Prince Chu interrupted Wei Mian, "I’m not going to Jinling right away, only after failing to find clues in Peng City."

Wei Mian pursed his lips and grumpily said, "Your Highness, you’re not going to Jinling to investigate clues; you’re going to see His Highness the Tenth, aren’t you?"