The Yandere Came During The Night

Chapter 126

The second prince of the Western Barbarian was the son of Empress Yuan and was greatly doted on by the Emperor and Empress. He defeated the Han army in his first battle and conquered two cities consecutively. Moreover, he even made a great achievement by killing the prominent undefeated god of war, Yu Pin Yan. As long as he returned alive, the throne would definitely be his.

For that reason, the First Prince, Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince became desperate and joined forces to stage a rebellion. Thereafter, they fought amongst one another. By the time news of the Second Prince being held in captivity by Yu Pin Yan reached them, it was already too late. The imperial princes had already created a blood feud and hatred ran as deep as the sea; it would be very impossible to reconcile. Consequently, the tribes of Western Barbarian were in tatters.

Just like the saying 'I'll kill you while you're sick', Yu Pin Yan sent his troops westward at the right time. It crushed the Western Barbarian's imperial court and took the heads of the Emperor, Empress, Third and Fourth Prince. Defeated, the First Prince led the remnants of his army and retreated to a desolate desert. In order to restore to his former glory, it would take decades of recuperating.

After Yu Pin Yan finished tidying up the battlefield and rewarded the soldiers, he wrote to Emperor Cheng Kang to report the victory. When Emperor Cheng Kang received the secret report from the secret division of the Dragon Scale Guards, he was so pleased that he ordered him to leave for the capital immediately. However, he did not announce the news to the outside world. He only sent someone to inform the Crown Prince, who was in captivity.

The Han's imperial court was currently in chaos. The officials siding with the Crown Prince were being impeached and denounced on a daily basis, which made their lives very unbearable. The Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince, who always appeared to perform half-heartedly, suddenly turned active and roped a large number of officials to advocate for a new crown prince, while trying to curry favour with their Father Emperor and fighting with one another. Many scandals broke out unexpectedly all at once.

Emperor Cheng Kang watched on with cool detachment. He shook his head at the two princes' behaviour. A man who could have infiltrated the Dragon Scale Guards in the shadows and brought down the Crown Prince and Yu Pin Yan in one swoop would not be this impetuous.

The mastermind behind this was definitely not these two. On the contrary, the Fourth Prince, from beginning to end, had remained silent; he neither roped in officials, nor deliberately ingratiated himself. Instead, he vigorously pleaded for the crown prince and Yu Pin Yan. Additionally, he didn't forget to visit the Crown Prince. Subsequently, this resulted in those officials who supported the Crown Prince to fall to his side. Because only when the Fourth Prince, who was close with the Crown Prince, ascended the throne would they have a way to live.

His performance can be said to be perfect. However, the more perfect it was, the more suspicious it became. He was able to bring in nearly half of the officials in the court without arousing the suspicion of the Fifth and Sixth Princes. His tactics were well-rounded and sophisticated. Emperor Cheng Kang's wariness of his son was raised to the extreme. If not for the Crown Prince's early insight and Yu Pin Yan's great fortune, he would have fallen into this meticulously designed trap. First, he would dislike the Crown Prince; and when he returned to his senses, he would already hate the Fifth and Sixth Prince. And finally, and inevitably, he would as-a-matter-of-factly hand over the throne to this 'filial and brotherly' good son.

The Fourth Prince's young age and sharp eyes were no match for Emperor Cheng Kang's shrewd and ruthless methods There was no need for any evidence, just based on intuition and conjecture alone he had already identified the real culprit and sent his secret troops to keep the Fourth Prince under close surveillance. He did not care about the dispute in the imperial court. He only wanted to discern who was loyal and who was treacherous. Once Yu Pin Yan returned to the imperial court, he would reappoint those who should be reinstated and dispose of those who should be disposed of. This was to hand over an imperial court that was as clear as water to the Crown Prince. Thus, his duty for this lifetime could also be considered complete.