Let's have a real, head-on fight—that's the least the respect you deserve.

Led by Zhao Guangyi, who was weeping uncontrollably and consumed by grief over the death of his lawful wife, Zhao Kuangyin stepped across the threshold into the Prince of Jin's residence.

Preceding him were twenty imperial guards, clad in armor and brandishing sharp weapons, clearing the way.

Following closely behind were another thirty imperial guards.

Those who had lived through the turbulent chaos of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era generally placed a high value on their own safety. They had been utterly traumatized by the endless rebellions of subordinates.

Truly, at the slightest sign of discontent, common soldiers would rise in revolt, keeping numerous military commissioners and even emperors in a state of constant, trembling anxiety.

Whenever Zhao Kuangyin left the palace on ordinary days, his escort of imperial guards and other elite troops would number no fewer than two hundred.

The fact that he brought only fifty men today was simply because his departure had been rushed, resulting in a smaller retinue.

Noticing that neither the Prince of Jin nor anyone within his household attempted to obstruct the imperial guards, nor tried to divert them away from his side under any pretext, Zhao Kuangyin proceeded toward the inner mansion with a sense of relief.

His movements were subtle, and his dark complexion effectively masked his inner emotions.

Consequently, no one could perceive the shifting thoughts in his mind.

Zhao Kuangyin felt a mixture of gratification and disappointment.

What gratified him was that his third brother had not genuinely intended to exploit this opportunity to plot against him.

What disappointed him was the thought that if his third brother were truly as despicable as Young Master Li had claimed—if he had dared to use this occasion to lay an ambush of swordsmen within the residence and face him in a genuine, open confrontation rather than resorting to insidious poisons—he would have held him in somewhat higher regard...

Entering the Prince of Jin's mansion, a sea of white mourning cloth met the eye.

Servants of the estate were busy erecting the funeral hall, and upon seeing Zhao Kuangyin arrive, they dropped to their knees one after another to pay their respects.

Guided by Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Kuangyin came to the chamber where Lady Fu's remains were temporarily laid out to take his final farewell.

Lady Fu had already been dressed in her burial garments, her face covered with a sheet of yellow paper as she lay motionless.

Looking at someone who had been full of life just days prior, only to have her life extinguished in such a short span, separated forever by the realms of the living and the dead, Zhao Kuangyin could not hold back his tears.

He had always held a rather favorable impression of this sister-in-law.

Although her father, the aging military commissioner Fu Yanqing, had been fraught with flaws—engaging in various violations of the law, accepting bribes, and skimming military pay, for which he had ultimately been disciplined and stripped of active command, thereafter relegated to retirement without holding official office—it had not ruptured their familial ties.

Moreover, his sister-in-law was a woman of culture and propriety. Over the many years of interaction, they had gotten along quite well as members of the same family. Now that she was gone just like that, it was genuinely sorrowful.

It inevitably reminded him of his own Lian'er and Xiaoyue...

After lingering there for a while, an increasing number of people arrived at the Prince of Jin's residence.

Given the immense influence of the Prince of Jin, coupled with the magnitude of the Prince's consort passing away, not only those aligned with the Prince's faction, but even senior ministers and high officials who usually had no close personal relations with him, all came to offer their condolences.

By this time, the funeral hall had been fully erected.

Zhao Guangyi personally supported the coffin, working alongside others to transfer Lady Fu's remains into the hall.

Throughout the process, casting aside all regard for his dignity, Zhao Guangyi wept bitterly, tears and snot streaming down his face.

The numerous guests who had come to offer condolences witnessed this scene and could not help but praise the Prince of Jin for his deep sense of loyalty and affection.

Once Lady Fu was properly settled in the funeral hall, Zhao Guangyi's emotions erupted completely.

With a heavy thud, he dropped to his knees on the floor, embracing Lady Fu's coffin and wailing aloud.

"Rong'er!"

"My Rong'er!"

"How am I supposed to live without you, Rong'er!"

"How could you be so cruel! How could you just leave me behind?"

"Rong'er!"

"Father left long ago, and Mother is gone too! Eldest Sister-in-law left us, and now you are gone as well!"

"All of you... every single one of you has left. How are Eldest Brother, Fourth Brother, and I supposed to carry on?"

"Father!"

"Mother!"

"Eldest Sister-in-law!"

"Rong'er, she... she has gone to join you."

"You must... you must take good care of her up there. You must take good care of her..."

"Father! Mother! Your son misses you, your son truly misses you..."

"Eldest Sister-in-law, your younger brother misses you too! You were the best eldest sister-in-law in the world. The saying 'an elder sister-in-law is like a mother' was meant for you!"

"Though I was only your brother-in-law, you treated me as if I were your own flesh and blood."

"Father! Mother! Eldest Sister-in-law, Rong'er! Please... all of you, take your time."

"Live well in that other realm."

"Do not worry too much; while you are gone, Second Brother remains, and an elder brother is like a father. As long as Second Brother is here, the sky will not fall."

"Second Brother will take good care of Fourth Brother and me, and of our entire Zhao family... Sob, sob, sob..."

Zhao Guangyi wailed aloud, speaking amidst his sobs. Where was there any remaining trace of the dignity befitting the Prince of Jin?

Seeing him in this state, many of the guests who had come to pay their respects could not restrain their own tears.

In truth, Zhao Guangyi was not grieving at all; if anything, he felt a sense of delight that his wife, Lady Fu, had fallen gravely ill and died at this exact juncture.

His wife's family could no longer keep pace with his ambitions.

Especially after the death of Fu Yanqing, the Fu family no longer possessed anyone holding command over formidable military forces.

Lady Fu's death at this moment was extremely opportune; he could subsequently take another bride from a family of high status and significant influence, turning them into his political assistants.

In fact, Lady Fu's timely and sensible death was largely due to his own efforts.

She had already been gravely ill, and upon returning, he had deliberately spoken words by her ear designed to agitate her mind, quickly driving her to her final breath.

Lady Fu's death at this very moment was for the best—it served his interests entirely.

If Lady Fu had not died, how could he have uttered such a monologue before his thoroughly despicable imperial elder brother and a multitude of civil and military officials?

How else could he have vented all the sentiments that were usually difficult to express, seizing this precise opportunity to spill them out?

Allowing all people under heaven to witness it clearly, and compelling Zhao Kuangyin to listen attentively, to hear of his deep grievances!

To make him recall the affection their parents had bestowed upon them, to remember the days when the family lived together in the past, and to reflect upon the great contributions he himself had rendered!

He understood his imperial elder brother all too well.

After today's display, this indecisive elder brother, who was so fond of projecting an image of valuing familial bonds, would undoubtedly be deeply moved.

Regardless of how severe his previous illness had been, or his intentions to elevate Zhao Dezhao and pit him against his own brother, this public outpouring of genuine emotion would cause his despicable elder brother to halt his actions.

As for whether this would prompt him to directly designate him as the crown prince, Zhao Guangyi did not harbor absolute confidence in that outcome.

At the very least, however, it would force him to suspend his efforts to elevate Zhao Dezhao and put an end to his adversarial stance toward his younger brother.

Even when Zhao Pu returned to the capital and was officially appointed as chancellor, he would still be unable to do anything against him.

His imperial elder brother would not be excessively influenced by Zhao Pu.

This was the strategy he had devised.

When it came to manipulating his despicable elder brother, no one in the world surpassed him today!

Hearing his third brother invoke the memory of their parents, as well as his own deceased wife Lian'er, and weeping with such profound grief, Zhao Kuangyin was likewise stirred by a flood of memories.

Scenes from the past surfaced in his mind, and he could not help but shed tears in public.

Yet, had he encountered this scene on any ordinary day, his heart would have been filled purely with familial affection, longing, and sorrow—emotions that would have naturally inspired him to cherish and protect his surviving younger brother and other close kin all the more.

He certainly would not have entertained any ulterior suspicions.

Yet now, bearing in mind everything Li Cheng had told him, while his emotions were powerfully stirred, he could not help but ponder whether his younger brother's actions were a genuine revelation of feeling or a calculated performance intended for his ears.

Viewed from this perspective, his third brother possessed a truly dark and unfathomable mind.

Knowing precisely what he cared about, he was weaponizing familial affection to manipulate him!

Having broken down emotionally, overwhelmed by grief and nearly fainting, Zhao Guangyi noticed his elder brother's reaction and was secretly overjoyed.

He no longer needed to worry.

His imperial elder brother would not relocate the capital, and Zhao Dezhao would be successfully suppressed by him!

It was secure!

...

Time flew swiftly by, and a few days after the coffin was placed in the mourning hall, the Prince's consort was carried out for burial.

Leaving aside the sheer scale of the procession and the intensity of Prince Zhao Guangyi's grief on the day of the funeral, and passing over the fact that after Lady Fu was interred, Zhao Guangyi made a special trip to the imperial tombs of their parents to weep bitterly once more, we turn to the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month.

On this day, Zhao Pu, styled Zeping, re-entered Bianliang and formally assumed the office of chancellor.

Once the elaborate rituals were concluded, Zhao Kuangyin dismissed the attendants from the Wansui Palace, leaving Zhao Pu behind alone. Looking at him, Zhao Kuangyin spoke: "How does Zeping view the prospect of appointing Risheng as the Crown Prince?"