The favored concubine ascended to power, and her two sons were deeply loved by the late Emperor. The Crown Prince’s position was precarious, but thankfully, he managed to remain vigilant until the Emperor’s passing and then ascended the throne smoothly.
However, even after his enthronement, his position didn’t seem to be secure. At that time in Beijing, four-tenths of the military force was under the control of Prince Three, who could be said to have power equal to the Emperor’s. The only thing Prince Three lost to the Emperor was the sequence of their ages.
The Emperor was well aware of this and constantly sought to weaken Prince Three’s power, whether his rebellion stemmed from an unwillingness to accept his earlier loss of the throne, or from being forced by the Emperor to save himself, or perhaps both, only they themselves might know.
Prince Three and Prince Five were full brothers, and while the late Emperor was alive, they looked down on the powerless Crown Prince and would not bother to compete with him. They believed that the Crown Prince’s downfall was only a matter of time, and the late Emperor on multiple occasions had the intention to depose the Crown Prince, choosing to establish one of these brothers as the Crown Prince instead.
So, on the surface, they presented a united front, but in reality, the two brothers were in constant covert conflict.
They competed for the affection of the Emperor and Empress and for the support of their external family, among other things...
No one expected, however, that the Emperor would pass away so suddenly, dying abruptly.
The Crown Prince, who had always been looked down upon for only indulging in pleasure and having no real power, still occupied the legitimate position of the Crown Prince.
The sudden death of the late Emperor and the succession of the Crown Prince were as natural as the Heavenly Scripture mandates!
The underground struggles between Prince Three and Prince Five gradually surfaced. It was rumored within the court that although Prince Three and Prince Five were full brothers, their discord had reached a point where either you die or I die. So, Prince Three’s failure in the rebellion was, to a large extent, due to Prince Five.
Prince Three and Prince Five’s uncle had a cousin who often visited the palace since she was a child, and grew up with the two princes. They both took a great liking to her, but she chose Prince Three, becoming his wife.
For this, Prince Five harbored a grudge, leading to another rumor that he betrayed his own older brother because of this woman.
This woman later became Prince Five’s favored concubine, which seemed to corroborate that rumor.
All in all, Prince Three’s failure was complete, and it was inseparable from that woman and Prince Five.
However, Jin Zijin held a different view regarding the word ’complete.’
He said, "When the late Emperor was alive, it’s true that Prince Three and Prince Five were engaged in an open and covert struggle, but after the late Emperor’s death and the new Emperor’s ascension, to say that they were still fighting, I wouldn’t believe it."
Gu Youyou thought for a moment and nodded lightly in agreement.
Unless the two princes were fools, but considering that Prince Five was still living well and commanded a large military force, obviously, he was not.
"I believe that the Emperor’s outward display of weakness doesn’t mean he lacks means. If he had no means, he wouldn’t be able to still sit steadily on the throne so his failure isn’t as the rumors say because of his discord with Prince Five, nor was it due to the betrayal and accusation by his wife.
On the contrary, Prince Three and Prince Five being full brothers, their odds of succeeding would be much greater if they joined forces."
Gu Youyou was slightly startled and said, "So Prince Three has been definitively labeled as a traitor, and Prince Five..."
Jin Zijin understood her implication, nodded slightly, and said, "They underestimated the Emperor and were doomed not to succeed. The Emperor was silent, simply waiting for Prince Three and Prince Five to fall into the trap. Regrettably, they realized their error too late; by then, the arrow was on the bowstring and they had no choice but to release it, having to protect one at the expense of the other."