The young couple, having just tasted the pleasures of intimacy, inevitably indulged themselves. The two remained entangled all day, and time passed swiftly without their notice.

While the Marquis Guanjun’s residence remained filled with endless spring warmth, storms were brewing again outside.

Three concubines from Prince Rui’s residence had given birth one after another, adding another young princess and two young grandsons to the prince’s household.

Having gained two sons in succession, Prince Rui was nearly mad with joy. When the good news reached Emperor Mingkang’s ears, he too was delighted, and rewards flowed like water into Prince Rui’s residence.

Some rejoiced while others worried. In Prince Mu’s residence, even the servants didn’t dare breathe heavily, and Prince Mu’s face was so dark it could drip water.

“Your Highness, please remain calm. Didn’t we already decide previously that whether Prince Rui has sons or not wouldn’t make much difference?” his advisor counseled.

Prince Mu’s face turned vicious: “Though that may be true, just thinking of Fifth Brother’s smug appearance now makes this prince irritated.”

Originally, if Fifth Brother had remained childless, the throne would have been within easy reach. But now he had to scheme in every possible way—how could this not be vexing?

“More importantly, Father Emperor favors Fifth Brother now. Haven’t you seen how many people are gravitating toward him? We don’t have much time left.”

“Your Highness, the greater the scheme, the more one cannot be hasty. Stay calm—opportunities will always present themselves.”

“I hope so.”

Soon, the opportunity Prince Mu had been waiting for arrived.

In the spring of the twenty-seventh year of Mingkang’s reign, as winter snow began to melt, several counties not far from the capital were struck by floods. More than ten villages were submerged, causing countless casualties.

Emperor Mingkang, who couldn’t help but seclude himself for three days of cultivation, was stunned by this news upon emerging from seclusion.

He had only been in seclusion for three days—why had trouble erupted again? Would they ever let him cultivate in peace?

Immediately following came urgent reports from the borders: Northern Qi had colluded with Xijiang to seize several border villages and showed no signs of stopping.

Emperor Mingkang hastily issued an imperial edict commanding Shao Mingyuan to lead troops to war once again, then summoned important court officials to the imperial study to scold them thoroughly before ordering them to arrange disaster relief.

After everything was arranged, Emperor Mingkang began to ponder: from last year until now, except for that one time when the Imperial Preceptor had calculated an auspicious date, every time he went into seclusion, trouble would arise. Had he offended some deity?

No, he must go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings!

As soon as Emperor Mingkang conceived this idea, he immediately faced unanimous opposition from his ministers.

“Your Majesty, this absolutely cannot be done! Floods are occurring everywhere now, and nine times out of ten, floods are followed by plague. Your precious imperial body must not take such risks!”

Emperor Mingkang frowned: “I am the True Dragon Son of Heaven, protected by dragon energy. How could there be danger?”

The ministers: “…” What could they do when faced with such an emperor? They, too, were in despair.

Minister Su of the Ministry of Rites was the most tactful speaker: “Your Majesty’s desire to go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for the people’s welfare is a wonderful thing. However, when to depart and what to pay attention to during the prayer process all have their protocols. Why doesn’t Your Majesty discuss this with the Celestial Master?”

Several gazes containing veiled contempt fell upon Minister Su, but Emperor Mingkang nodded with satisfaction: “Minister Su’s suggestion is excellent. I should indeed consult with the Celestial Master.”

In this matter, Emperor Mingkang was quite decisive, immediately dismissing all the important ministers and summoning Celestial Master Zhang.

“When does the Celestial Master think would be most suitable for me to go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings?”

Celestial Master Zhang calculated with his fingers and said solemnly, “With evil spirits rampant everywhere, prayers are indeed needed to resolve these disasters. However—”

The word “however” made Emperor Mingkang frown.

Was the Celestial Master also going to block him?

“However, the evil spirits currently surrounding the capital require the Son of Heaven’s presence to suppress them. Your Majesty would be best advised not to leave the capital.”

With the emperor’s physical condition, how could he endure the long journey to Lingtai Mountain? If something happened, his position as Celestial Master would come to an end.

“Then what about the matter of praying for blessings?” Emperor Mingkang suddenly felt that Celestial Master Zhang made perfect sense—the capital truly couldn’t do without him at this time.

“Your Majesty could select a prince to act on behalf of the Son of Heaven.”

Emperor Mingkang’s eyes lit up as he praised, “The Celestial Master truly can resolve my worries. This is indeed a solution that benefits everyone.”

Celestial Master Zhang smiled without speaking.

As long as the emperor didn’t cause trouble, that was fine.

“Then, which prince should be chosen?” Emperor Mingkang again sought the Celestial Master’s opinion.

This question was naturally not one the Celestial Master could answer well, so he spoke a few vague words and kicked the ball back.

Emperor Mingkang pondered back and forth before settling on his fifth son, Prince Rui.

In terms of age, the fifth son was mature, and now with two sons and three daughters, he could be said to be the most suitable heir. It was time to create opportunities for Fifth Son to gain experience.

With the merit of praying for blessings, it would be easier to convince others in the future.

Of course, this was just preparation for any eventuality—he planned to remain emperor for a long, long time.

When the ministers learned that the emperor had abandoned his intention to go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings, they couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Upon hearing that Prince Rui would act in his stead, their thoughts immediately became varied—those originally neutral ministers began to contemplate, while those aligned with Prince Mu began to feel endangered.

Prince Rui was completely stunned upon receiving the imperial edict.

Father Emperor was having him act on behalf of the Son of Heaven to go to Lingtai Mountain to pray for blessings—did this indicate that Father Emperor was inclined toward him for the position of heir apparent?

His advisor reminded him: “Your Highness, while acting on behalf of the Son of Heaven in prayer demonstrates His Majesty’s trust in you, you must travel far from home after all. There may be many dangers along the way—you must arrange everything properly and be extremely careful.”

“This prince naturally knows this.” Thinking about the upcoming journey, Prince Rui first went to see the three newly born infants, then visited Li Jiǎo.

Li Jiǎo’s daughter was already over three months old, with the pet name Yu’er.

Prince Rui took Yu’er and kissed her, smiling: “Yu’er grows more beautiful each day—she takes after you.”

Li Jiǎo smiled on the surface but felt deeply depressed inside.

What good was being beautiful? She was merely a princess after all.

She had originally thought that perhaps those three concubines would also give birth to daughters, so her daughter, holding the position of eldest daughter, would still be more respectable and noble than theirs. But who would have thought that among the three concubines, two would give birth to sons—it made her sick with frustration.

Not to mention anything else, today the prince had gone to see those three little brats first before coming to see Yu’er.

“This prince will be leaving soon and may not return for some time. Jiǎo Niang must take good care of Yu’er.” Prince Rui hugged Yu’er briefly before handing the child to the wet nurse.

“Your Highness, please rest assured. This concubine will certainly take good care of Yu’er.” Li Jiǎo concealed her inner resentment and smiled gently.

She was still young—as long as the prince’s body had no problems, she would eventually have sons.

Prince Rui nodded and left with satisfaction.

Prince Mu wasn’t as pleased as Prince Rui. He smashed several teacups and summoned his advisors for half a day of secret discussion before regaining his composure.

At the Lan residence, Lan Songquan entered Lan Shan’s study and said viciously, “Father, our opportunity has come. Prince Rui absolutely cannot be allowed to return alive from this trip to Lingtai Mountain.”

Lan Shan lifted his eyelids: “Prince Mu is more anxious about this matter than we are.”

Lan Songquan sneered: “What good does being anxious do? Not to disparage anyone, but if that waste Prince Mu were capable of success, he wouldn’t have waited until today.”

“You’re just too impatient.”

“Leave this matter to your son.”