“Lord Wei, please sit.”
Unlike the sickly, poetry-obsessed Prince Shun, Ning Qingyu now seemed like a completely different person.
Although he still wore a smile on his face, his every move exuded the calmness and majesty of a superior.
Wei Changtian took a deep breath and sat down in the empty seat, looking around at Shao Ying’an and the others before finally gazing at Ning Qingyu and asking:
“Your Majesty, what’s the reason for summoning me today?”
“Lord Wei, the debt of gratitude will be etched in my heart forever.”
Ning Qingyu didn’t directly answer the question and even referred to himself as “this king” for the first time.
“Have all of you gentlemen seen me before?”
“I have.”
Wei Changtian smiled faintly: “But I never thought I’d meet you again in this palace.”
“Hahaha, Mr. Wei is indeed clever and must have already guessed why they’re here.”
“I haven’t.”
Wei Changtian fixed his gaze on Ning Qingyu: “Please, Your Majesty, speak directly.”
“……”
Ning Qingyu paused for a moment, and the smile on his face slowly faded, his expression becoming increasingly serious.
“Mr. Wei, as of today, I won’t hide it from you. That assassin… shouldn’t be unexpected, and was likely sent by the Emperor.”
“So?”
Wei Changtian’s tone remained unchanged: “What does this have to do with me?”
“……”
Ning Qingyu asked subconsciously: “Aren’t you surprised?”
“Surprised? Indeed, a little.”
Wei Changtian shook his head: “But I’m more surprised that Your Majesty would tell me this.”
“This matter is related to you, Mr. Wei, and I think you should know the truth.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your honesty.”
Wei Changtian cupped his hands, stood up directly, and said: “I’ve already understood. If Your Majesty has no other matters, I’ll take my leave.”
“……”
The incense wafted, and the sparrows were silent.
For a moment, everyone’s eyes were fixed on Wei Changtian, but he didn’t care, and actually turned to leave.
The secret chamber wasn’t large, and in less than three breaths, he reached the door.
Just as Wei Changtian was about to push the door open, Ning Qingyu’s slightly urgent voice suddenly came from behind.
“Mr. Wei, wait!”
……
About an incense stick later, Ning Qingyu roughly recounted his past grievances with Ning Yongnian.
This matter had a long history, or rather, the two had never gotten along since they were young.
After all, the struggle for the throne wasn’t child’s play. For anyone who had a chance to sit on that dragon chair in the future, “brotherly love” was essentially nonexistent.
Moreover, both of them had high rankings in the “succession of great undertakings,” naturally placing them at the center of the storm of open and secret struggles.
You plot against me, I calculate against you… The two had been engaged in a prolonged battle of wits, with neither gaining the upper hand.
Until Ning Qingyu was fifteen and Ning Yongnian was seventeen, the situation suddenly took a drastic turn.
That year, the Minister of Rites suddenly fell ill and died, and less than a month later, the General of the Western Expedition was killed by bandits during a campaign.
These two events were shrouded in suspicion and completely crushed Ning Qingyu’s chances of competing for the throne.
Because the Minister of Rites was his mother’s brother, and the General of the Western Expedition was a crucial supporter of his.
“It must have been done by Ning Yongnian.”
This was what Ning Qingyu told Wei Changtian, but the truth remained unknown.
Anyway, from then on, Ning Qingyu had been living in hiding, speaking and acting with caution, until Ning Yongnian successfully ascended to the throne without leaving any handles behind.
This compromise ultimately saved his life, but Ning Yongnian, although unable to act openly, had many secret tactics.
Ning Qingyu had actually had several close calls with assassins, only this recent one being more prominent.
“Mr. Wei, that’s how it is…”
“……”
After listening to this somewhat clichéd “palace secret”, Wei Changtian only believed half of it.
However, one thing was certain—
Ning Qingyu and Ning Yongnian must both want the other dead, but neither was convenient to take action openly.
“Your Highness.”
After some thought, Wei Changtian finally spoke up: “Forgive my bluntness……I don’t think you can surpass the Emperor.”
“I never thought of surpassing him.”
Ning Qingyu didn’t take offense, only shaking his head bitterly: “I just want to survive.”
“Is that so?”
Wei Changtian glanced at Shao Ying’an and the others who had remained silent until now, and calmly said: “I think Your Highness’s goal is probably not that simple.”
“……”
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Ning Qingyu hesitated for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh and speaking in a low voice: “Wei Gongzi, I indeed cannot swallow this grudge, this resentment that has been suppressed in my heart for decades.”
“But I also know it’s impossible to pull Ning Yongnian off the throne, so if it’s just a place to settle down……I still want to try.”
“Do you want this Sichuan province?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Good grief, someone like you would definitely be killed by Ning Yongnian if I were him.
Wei Changtian cursed inwardly, still maintaining a calm exterior as he continued to ask: “Do you want me to help you rebel?”
From noble mtl dot come
“It’s not rebellion.”
Ning Qingyu smiled: “I’m already a prince, and having a state to govern is reasonable.”
“Then……”
Wei Changtian took a sip of tea and counter-questioned: “What’s in it for me?”
“Don’t worry, Wei Gongzi.”
Ning Qingyu’s smile grew even wider: “If this succeeds, I’ll ensure you have boundless wealth and honor.”
“The Wei family already has plenty of money.”
Wei Changtian shook his head: “I already have boundless wealth and honor.”
Ning Qingyu added: “How about an official position and a noble title?”
“This might be possible.”
Wei Changtian’s lips curled up slightly: “But I want to enter the capital and become an official, can Your Highness make that happen?”
“……”
Ning Qingyu’s expression faltered, only now realizing he didn’t have enough chips to bargain with.
Others had their own reasons for siding with him, whether for power or profit……but Wei Changtian clearly didn’t care about these things.
“Wei Gongzi……”
He suddenly gritted his teeth and proposed another condition.
“I see you seem to have a good impression of the young lady from your family, if you’re willing to help me, I’ll agree to let you marry whoever you want.”
“Even……marrying three wouldn’t be impossible!”
What kind of nonsense was this? Marrying three?!
Wei Changtian almost spit out his tea.
Three sisters serving one husband?
If I agreed to this, wouldn’t it be like instantly recreating some “classic scenes” from my past life’s movies?
Unfortunately, it’s not possible to marry into the royal family.
Initially, I wanted to marry Ning Qingyu’s daughter to gain protection under the royal family’s umbrella and use their power to intimidate the Liu family.
But now that Ning Qingyu and Ning Yongnian are in this situation, if I were to marry his daughter again… forget about the Liu family, even Ning Yongnian would probably want to kill me.
“I apologize, Your Majesty…”
Forcing down the tea, Wei Changtian shook his head: “Compared to your daughter, I think my life is more important.”
“Lord Wei!”
Ning Qingyu, who had been rejected three times, grew anxious: “The matter of you saving me that day cannot be hidden, and if it reaches Ning Yongnian’s ears…”
“Your Majesty!”
Wei Changtian suddenly interrupted in a low tone: “Are you saying that I saved you incorrectly?”
“Lord Wei, don’t misunderstand, I just…”
“No need to say more!”
Wei Changtian stood up again with a “pa” sound: “Your Majesty, I’ll treat today’s matter as mere wind in my ear, and I’ll forget it once I leave this door.”
“If the Emperor wants to do something, that’s his business. If he really takes action against me because I saved you, I’ll take revenge… but that has nothing to do with you, Your Majesty.”
“That’s all I have to say, farewell!”
After finishing his words, Wei Changtian turned around and walked towards the door under the stunned gaze of the crowd, but he turned back after two steps and added another sentence.
“Your Majesty, I’ll say one more thing that might not be suitable to say.”
“Being a prince who only knows how to write and dance is not bad, at least it’s better than being a soulless corpse under the knife.”