Lu Ying has been staying in Beiguan City for many years and has never returned to the capital. However, he has his own information. From the observations over the years, he concluded that although the emperor seemed to be addicted to alcohol and sex, his physical condition was still far from the day of his death. Moreover, from various signs, he speculated that he did not establish a prince was not because he could not settle the two forces in the court. On the contrary, he seemed to have been using this to intentionally or unintentionally to stir up the two major forces in a state of mutual conflict for many years, so that all forces between the court always maintained a balance.

To put it bluntly, he did not make a decision on the issue of becoming a crown prince, and the forces on both sides would obey his commands and act one day so as not to fall to the other side. At the same time, because the two forces fought each other, they suffered losses from each other. To this day, both sides were not as powerful as the emperor when he ascended the throne. Instead, the neutral forces in the court gradually rose.

The neutral force was headed by Bai Changshan, the second assistant to the cabinet. He had a deep experience. Although he was the top scholar, he was a civil servant. He had led troops to fight wars and had outstanding achievements. His only two sons also served in the army. Unfortunately, he was unfortunately caught in the enemy a few years ago and was ambushed and sacrificed his life for the country because of the treacherous minister's collaboration. Both of them died at the age of thirty. Although the treacherous minister was later executed, it was considered a great revenge, but Bai Changshan's branch was also defeated.

Bai Changshan has a very high reputation in the circle of civil officials and military generals. From the late emperor to the current emperor, he also trusted him very much. However, after experiencing the pain of losing his son, he began to keep a low profile, eliminated his aura of the past, and rarely took the initiative to intervene in major affairs in the court, and stood by and watched, neither accepting the Mao family's recruitment nor paying attention to the Xia family's selling.

If it weren't for the fact that he did not have the Mao family and the strong family background of the Xia family, today's power would probably be above these two families. It was precisely because he was already full of cumin, except for Gaotang, his wife and children had passed away one after another, and the remaining relatives were just clan relatives. The forces on both sides could not find a place to attack him even if they wanted to win him over.

Slowly, a large number of neutral factions gathered around him. Most of them were officials who were unable to grasp the emperor's wishes and did not dare to rashly participate in the struggle between the two factions. They hid Bai Changshan and avoided the struggle between the two factions. As the struggle between the two factions became more intense, the strength of the neutral faction of Bai Changshan gradually grew and became the third force behind the Mao family and the Xia family.

The power represented by Bai Changshan seems to be only loyal to the emperor on the surface. The emperor said that if the prince is the crown prince, they will be loyal to the prince. Therefore, at present, the Mao family and the Xia family dare not offend Bai Changshan easily, and just wait for the prince they support to ascend the throne in the future to accept his power.

Lu Ying once thought that the emperor and Bai Changshan could join forces to suppress the Xia family or the Mao family. The key point is that after attacking one of them, his family will inevitably be greatly damaged, and the other one who will benefit will be the remaining one.

By the same token, if the Xia family and the Mao family fight to the death, and wait for one of them to fall, the emperor instructs Bai Changshan to take action to clean up the other one, then it will completely clear the power of the Mao family and the Xia family and take back the imperial power again, and the court will no longer be controlled by these two families.

Back then, the emperor relied on the Mao family and Xia family to defeat several other princes and then pushed them onto the dragon throne. These two families took the opportunity to take over the power and gradually put the emperor in a weak position. If it weren't for the struggle for the throne of the queen and the later extended prince, the court would have long become the world of these two families.

In this way, the eldest prince and the second prince are very likely just chess pieces in the hands of the emperor, and the position of the prince is a bait hanging in front of the two factions of forces. Just waiting for the two families to fight to the death, the emperor will close the net!

If the emperor had not planned to let one of these two sons inherit the throne from beginning to end, which person would he be?

Lu Ying recalled the previous conversation with the emperor. He mentioned Yang Heng several times. Could it be that it was him? Bai Fuling once told him that Bai Pingzi said that Yang Heng was the king and domineering person. Combining the two, he was almost certain that Yang Heng was the candidate for the prince in the emperor's mind.

I have to say that the emperor concealed it so well. Yang Heng, like the other princes, has always been just a shadow-like existence. When Qi State mentioned the position of crown prince, all he thought of was the eldest prince and the second prince. The sixth prince... The nineteen who often talked about him were famous girls and romantic prostitutes in the capital.

I'm afraid the eldest prince and the second prince will never understand until their death. It turns out that from the beginning, they had no hope at all, just because their mother tribe was too strong, and the emperor would never want to sit back and watch the Yang family's country become a Mao or Xia.

The more Lu Ying thought about it, the more he felt that this was very likely. He returned to Beijing at this time and was in the hands of the emperor. The emperor transferred his subordinates to the Imperial Guard through various channels over the years. He was probably preparing for this day. He didn't know where the emperor came from, and he was sure that he would not turn to the two princes.

However, since the emperor had ordered him to take over the Imperial Guards of Xidaying, that is, the time when the emperor launched the campaign was not too far...

When Lu Ying thought of Bai Fuling and his adoptive father and mother in Beijing at this time, he felt a headache and hoped that the emperor's intention was after they left Beijing.

But the emperor had just mentioned Bai Fuling in the end. Is it a temptation or a warning? Lu Ying felt that it was necessary to meet the three members of the Bai family in advance, but it seemed that he had to wait until the emperor announced the news of his entry into Beijing as soon as possible.

The next morning, the palace sent an imperial guard commander to take Lu Ying to Xidaying. The commander was named Pu Huang. He had known Lu Ying for many years. They were happy when they met. Lu Ying simply said that he had to report his safety to his adoptive father's family so that they would not be worried. Pu Huang grinned and said, "The emperor said that Princess Antai and Duke Zhongguo's mansion are family friends, and they will personally bring you words."

The emperor even thought of this, and Lu Ying could only smile bitterly.

Pu Huang suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but pat Lu Ying on the shoulder and said, "Brother, your adoptive father's family is very familiar with Duke Zhong's Mansion? Have you ever seen the Miss Sun in Duke's Mansion? Tsk tsk, I heard that she is as beautiful as a fairy. There is no lady in the capital that can compare to her..."

Lu Ying knew that he was talking about Bai Fuling, so he turned on the topic and said, "I just arrived in the capital yesterday. I don't know what the situation in Xidaying is now?"

He said this as if he was intentionally misleading Pu Huang. Sure enough, Pu Huang was very disappointed. He arrived yesterday and hadn't had the chance to go to the Duke's Mansion to meet the number one beauty in the capital. However, since Lu Ying asked about the serious matters, he did not dare to neglect it. He took some energy to explain the current situation of the Imperial Guard one by one.

Bai Fuling woke up early in the morning and heard that there was no news about Lu Ying. She felt like fifteen buckets were rising and falling. The Bai couple also felt very uneasy. At this moment, the doorman said that Princess Antai asked Bai Fuling to go to the princess's mansion for a while.

When their family arrived in Beijing, they wanted to ask Bai Fuling to visit Princess Antai first, but they happened to have something to leave Beijing, so they left the words and asked them to come back to Beijing to have a gathering. Unexpectedly, she came back today, but she caught up with this time again.

Bai Fuling said irritably: "I'm not in the mood to socialize, can I go there another day?"

Mu Peilan's heart moved and advised: "Yunmei might have news about Lu Ying. Even if there is no one for a while, she can ask her to inquire on her behalf. She can enter and exit the palace freely and is the sister of the emperor's mother. If Lu Ying wants anything, she can help."

Yunmei is the boudoir name of Princess Antai. She and Mu Peilan are close friends in the boudoir. The relationship is extraordinary, so they both call each other's boudoir name regardless of their identities.

Bai Fuling thought about it, so she tried to force her mother to accompany her. Mu Peilan was also very moved when she thought of her handkerchief that she had not seen for many years. Moreover, Princess Antai had seen her before after her appearance was destroyed that day, and there was nothing to be afraid of. She was finally told to go out with her.

Princess Antai's mansion is very close to the palace. She set out in a carriage from Duke Zhongguo's Mansion and arrived in a meal. The princess's mansion was very rules, but Princess Antai knew Mu Peilan's situation, so she ordered the people below to go straight to the princess's mansion and took it to the backyard to meet. The idle people were sent back together.

The mother and daughter were taken to a flower hall. After the maid gave her a refreshment, she all retreated. Princess Antai saw that everyone had left clean and turned out from behind the bead curtain. She didn't care about the etiquette of the Tianjia, and rushed to Mu Peilan a few steps and grabbed her with one hand and said, "Sister Perlan, let me see you! I thought you wouldn't come back once you left..."

Bai Fuling looked at her from the side and felt that the princess in front of her was younger than she thought. She had a completely different heroic spirit from an ordinary woman. She was born with a handsome and neutral face, and she looked like she was under thirty years old. If she changed into men's clothes, she would look like a handsome and handsome young man.

Mu Peilan was also very excited when she saw her. The two women gathered together to tell her old love. Princess Antai reached out and pulled Bai Fuling to her side for a while and looked at it carefully. She missed and said, "This daughter was born at least eight or nine percent similar to you back then. Hey! I said back then that I couldn't imagine what a woman who was more beautiful than you would look like. There is no need to think about it today, so I really saw her. No wonder people outside said that Miss Sun from Duke Zhongguo's Mansion is the number one beauty in the capital."

Bai Fuling habitually replied to her shy smile. Unexpectedly, Princess Antai frowned and turned her head to Mu Peilan and said bluntly: "How can I teach my daughter to pretend like those ladies in Beijing?"

Mu Peilan reached out and touched Bai Fuling's long hair, and smiled and said, "It's my fault, benevolent Ling'er, the princess is not an outsider, so there is no need to pretend in front of her... Yunmei, just don't let her be scared, this is my little bully."

Bai Fuling muttered embarrassedly: "I'll say it earlier."

"So what if I had said it earlier?" Princess Antai quipped with a smile.

Bai Fuling raised her eyebrows and said, "Then my niece praises Auntie for having vision!"

Princess Antai couldn't help laughing, and patted her on the shoulder and said, "It's indeed my sister Perlan's good daughter. I feel tired of seeing the pretentious virtues of the ladies in Beijing."

Bai Fuling sighed: "There are too many powerful people in the capital, so it's not easy to talk about how you want!" This is her true words. If you want to show off your personality and temper, it depends on your strength. (To be continued)
Chapter completed!