Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1178 - 170: Princess Consort Li Cannot Possibly Be Made Empress_2

"I don’t know the specifics of their deal, nor do I want to know." Zhao Yao propped his right hand on his face and said indifferently, "Neither Father nor Brother Eight told me; I figured it out myself. This wasn’t a difficult thing to guess."

He Lianfang mused inwardly: Little Ten is really sharp.

"How did you figure out that they had a deal?"

"Prince Han’s rebellion this time." Zhao Yao thought to himself that his second uncle indeed knew everything, "Initially, Prince Yue and Prince Dai weren’t involved, but then Prince Han suddenly sought cooperation with Prince Yue, and Prince Yue assisted Prince Dai in rebelling. This was Brother Eight’s machination, capturing Prince Han, Prince Yue, and Prince Dai all at once."

"So just because of this, you think Prince Wei has a deal with the emperor?"

Zhao Yao said, "Isn’t it obvious?"

"No one would think Prince Wei had a deal with Zhao Zheng just because of this." If He hadn’t known in advance, he wouldn’t consider Prince Han’s rebellion as part of the deal between Prince Wei and Zhao Zheng.

Zhao Yao shrugged, speaking smugly, "Maybe it’s because I’m too smart." He’s accustomed to overthinking, and the joint rebellion of Prince Han and Prince Dai seemed too coincidental to him. He immediately guessed it was Brother Eight. With Dragon Guards by Father’s side, there’s no way he wouldn’t know about the collusion between Prince Han and Prince Dai, yet he did not intervene. This indicates that Father already knew about it and was aware of Brother Eight’s arrangements. Father showed no reaction upon knowing it was Brother Eight’s scheme, which suggests that Father and Brother Eight have a deal. Otherwise, given Father’s displeasure towards Brother Eight, he wouldn’t be indifferent to this matter.

"If things are indeed as you speculate, your good Brother Four is in danger." Despite having such astutely meticulous thoughts, he’s not using them for this serious matter; it’s truly... infuriating.

"That’s why, before I left, I repeatedly requested Brother Eight to spare Brother Four’s life in the end." Now, he’s actually not worried about Brother Four’s outcome, as Brother Eight wouldn’t kill Brother Four for his sake. His greatest concern is the annoying Father.

Father clearly disregards Brother Eight, considering Brother Eight’s schemes and tactics to be insignificant and harmless. Such underestimation of Brother Eight, Father will suffer greatly.

He had reminded Father before, but Father obviously didn’t listen. He wanted to remind Father once more, but he couldn’t do so.

Before leaving, Zhao Yao had a candid conversation with Prince Wei.

At that time, Prince Wei was visibly shocked by Zhao Yao’s words.

"Brother Ten, how could you think I’m dealing with Father?"

"Brother Eight, Father never truly liked you since childhood and never really valued you. Over the years, he’s used you because you’re a useful chess piece." Zhao Yao originally hadn’t intended to tell Prince Wei these things, but for the safety of the emperor, he decided to speak up, "You want to prove to Father that he’s wrong, that you’re more clever and capable than anyone."

Prince Wei had always thought he hid well, but unexpectedly Zhao Yao saw through him at a glance.

"I didn’t expect you to find out."

"Brother Eight, you also want your deceased mother to see what you can accomplish, so the last person you want to deal with is Father." In this world, no one understands Prince Wei more than Zhao Yao.

Prince Wei realized he had underestimated Zhao Yao. He curled his lips into a slight smile, "Brother Ten, I didn’t know you were so smart."

"Brother Eight, I’ve always been smart, haven’t I."

Thinking of Zhao Yao’s previous actions, Prince Wei chuckled softly, "Yes, you’ve been smart since childhood. Since you know the person I ultimately want to deal with is Father, are you going to stop me?"

"Brother Eight, can I stop you?"

"You can’t stop me; no one can stop me." Prince Wei narrowed his eyes slightly, a fierce glint in them, "Even you can’t stop me."

Zhao Yao had an expression of ’I knew it,’ "I know." If he really tried to stop, it could still succeed, but the cost would be high. With Brother Eight’s temperament, he might go all out. "Brother Eight, you..." He didn’t say, Brother Eight, no matter how bad Father is, he is your father; you cannot go against him.

To understand others’ sufferings is not to persuade them to act virtuously. Furthermore, he witnessed Brother Eight’s hardships from childhood to adulthood; no one understood Brother Eight’s challenges better than him.

Precisely because of this, he couldn’t urge Brother Eight to spare Father, considering he’s his biological parent. But, as Father is also his parent, he cannot sit idly while Father is... by Brother Eight.

He has always been caught between Brother Four and Brother Eight; he didn’t expect to be caught between Brother Eight and Father one day. He’s truly that unfortunate sandwich.

Zhao Yao didn’t finish his sentence, but Prince Wei knew what he wanted to say.

"Don’t worry, I won’t commit patricide."

This was the sentence Zhao Yao most wanted to hear from Prince Wei. He instantly breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good." If Brother Eight really intended to kill Father, he wouldn’t stand by without intervening.

"Brother Ten, don’t interfere in matters between Father and me." Prince Wei looked at Zhao Yao with a slightly pleading gaze, "Matters between us, we wish to resolve ourselves."

Prince Wei could have threatened or warned Zhao Yao not to interfere in matters between him and the emperor, but he didn’t; he pleaded with Zhao Yao.

Faced with Prince Wei’s request, Zhao Yao couldn’t refuse. He nodded and agreed not to meddle in matters between Prince Wei and the emperor.

Zhao Yao saw it was getting late, stood up, and said to He Lianfang, "Second Uncle, I’m going to join the Princess for dinner, so make yourself comfortable."

"Go ahead."

As Zhao Yao left He Lianfang’s courtyard, he sighed with a face full of helplessness: Second Uncle, you knew well about the deal between Brother Eight and Father, yet pretend to be entirely uninformed. This facade is truly first-rate. Also, regarding your continuous communication with Brother Eight, do you really think I haven’t noticed?

Regardless of whether it’s the annoying Father, Second Uncle, or Brother Eight, they truly all underestimate him.