ITVCFITB CHAPTER 112

Chapter 112 — Kill him!

Li Mingjin’s warning meant nothing to the Fourth Prince. He didn’t care.  All he cared about was making everyone know, as quickly as possible, that the late Emperor had named him as heir. It wouldn’t take long before the military officers who had backed Li Mingjin realized their mistake. Still, if they worked for him after he sat the throne, they could be forgiven.

Li Mingjin gave the hidden guards around him a subtle “hold tight” signal. The Fourth Prince, lost in his own triumph, didn’t notice the small motion.

The military officers had been dragged up to the Great Harmony Hall and were furious. The Emperor had only just passed away, and yet the Fourth Prince had rounded them up, even summoning officials who were on leave and using their families as leverage. Such audacity made them hate him.

When they saw that even the Third Prince had been restrained, the others swallowed their outrage. If the Fourth Prince had truly taken the palace, who could be safe?

The civil ministers watched the pale faces of the military men; some felt a grim relief, some pity. In court, backing the wrong side could cost you your life, being an official had never been easy.

One straight-talking military officer couldn’t bear it and shouted, “Fourth Prince, what are you doing? The Emperor’s bones haven’t even cooled! Why bind us?”

The Fourth Prince, in a good mood, didn’t argue. “You’ll see soon enough. Father’s funeral is being arranged. As his son, I’m in pain, but the realm cannot be leaderless for a day. Today I’m simply settling affairs in accordance with the late Emperor’s wishes so the rest can be arranged.”

His words sounded grandiose, and the civil officials were placated, though the military officers snorted privately. It was the kind of pompous excuse of a man who’d lost his sense of restraint.

They looked to the Third Prince, who remained unnervingly calm, not furious at being held. That calmness calmed the room. Everyone waited to see what the Fourth Prince would do; could he actually take the throne today? If so, everything the Third Prince had done would have been for nothing.

Li Mingjin seemed unshaken. He was not bound by ropes, he’d been placed at the very front, watched by palace guards, but treated more like someone on display than a captive. It gave him the chance to watch the military officers and the hall carefully. Without force opposing them, the Great Harmony Hall looked like any ordinary court.

The Fourth Prince produced a will and handed it to the Left Chancellor. “Please, Left Chancellor, read out the late Emperor’s will.”

The Chancellor took the paper and checked the imperial seal, it was genuine. But as he read on his expression changed. Something was off: this wasn’t a testament naming a successor. The Fourth Prince, however, assumed the Chancellor knew the content and urged him on.

The more the Chancellor read, the darker the Fourth Prince’s face became.

Had the Chancellor read it wrong? Of course not.

This wasn’t the same will the Fourth Prince had glimpsed earlier. There was no directive naming a new emperor. Instead, the will contained three main points: that the brothers should be harmonious, that the ministers should help the future sovereign, and that the real will would be announced by the Emperor’s younger brother, the idle/prince who normally kept to himself, who possessed the true testament.

The military officers nearly laughed at the Fourth Prince’s expense. The Fourth Prince’s plan had failed. He glared at the impassive Third Prince, had his father tricked him or had his brother?

His panic grew. He had clearly seen a will in the hidden chamber earlier, where had it gone?

Before he could puzzle further, the idle prince strode in, fat but composed and announced that he held the other will and had been ordered by the late Emperor to read it publicly. The Fourth Prince’s blood ran cold: this was not in his control.

He immediately suspected the worst: the will might not name him. He needed to stop the idle prince, to prevent it being read.

But Li Mingjin interrupted calmly: “Your Royal Highness, since this was the late Emperor’s wish and arrangement, let Uncle read it. Let my brother hear it and be at peace.”

The Fourth Prince snapped, “What do you mean, Third Brother?”

Li Mingjin’s reply was cool, “You know what I mean.”

The Fourth Prince fell silent and, grudgingly, allowed the idle prince to read. The idle prince began: “…the Third Prince, for his noble character… shall succeed to the imperial throne…”

The Fourth Prince paled. “Stop! You must be reading wrongly!”

The idle prince looked bewildered. “No, it’s written here.”

Faces around the hall turned white; the civil and military officials who had been hoping for a clean coup now saw their luck invert. The first will had pointed to the second, but the second, the one in the idle prince’s hands, clearly named Li Mingjin as heir.

The Fourth Prince snapped, shouting, “Seize him! Tie up the idle prince, he’s faking an imperial will and shaming the late Emperor!”

But the idle prince stood his ground and said plainly, “Hear me, Fourth Prince. The Emperor has chosen the Third Prince to succeed. You are in rebellion. Withdraw your men.”

The Fourth Prince could not bear the idea of the throne slipping from him. He whirled on Li Mingjin. “Third Brother, did you switch the will?”

Li Mingjin straightened his sleeve and said quietly, “Fourth Brother, the rule is simple: winners write history, losers are forgotten.”

“Regardless, I don’t accept this will. You’re my prisoner.”

Li Mingjin’s eyes were clear, “Really? Go look outside.”

A terrified court official was sent to peek. He came back trembling: “Your Highness, outside are soldiers with raised blades. They’ve surrounded the Great Harmony Hall!”

The Fourth Prince barked, “Where are my men?”

Li Mingjin answered for the room: “Your forces are too few. This is done; the will is authentic. Father named me, not you.”

The scene flipped. The Fourth Prince’s brain spun. “No, no, the will in the secret room had my name, not his!”

Li Mingjin snorted. “He changed it.” He clapped his hands, no longer composed. “Seize the Fourth Prince!”

He had given the Fourth Prince a chance. Now the wheel had turned.

The Fourth Prince would not be captured quietly. He lunged, sword flashing toward Li Mingjin.

His single thought was murderous: kill him, kill his brother and the realm would be his.

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Author’s note: No author’s note this chapter.

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