32: Chapter 32 Fourth Life, All-in Failure? Watch Me Turn the Tide (Part 9)

That night, in his capacity as the Third Prince's personal attendant, Wang Shi secretly requested an audience with the Old Prince.

The moment he saw the Old Prince, he presented a thick stack of irrefutable evidence with both hands.

Inside were rubbings of secret letters between the First Prince and Yuan Hong, ledgers of financial transactions, and complete records of private meetings with secret envoys.

There were also the alliance agreement between the Second Prince and Lin Lantian, copies of military mobilization orders, and transcripts of conversations plotting to sideline the Old Prince.

Every single item pointed directly to the two of them colluding with external officials and inviting outside forces to interfere in the internal affairs of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, touching upon the most fundamental taboo of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion.

Yet, just as Wang Shi had anticipated, while the Old Prince's face turned so dark it seemed water could drip from it as he looked at the evidence, he hesitated to make a decision.

The First Prince and the Second Prince were the two heirs he favored most and had doted on for years; the reason he had delayed naming an heir was precisely because he was indecisive between the two.

Although he had not expected that during his seclusion, the two brothers would fight to the death, even going so far as to collude with external officials and betray the interests of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion.

It was impossible for him to disinherit two sons he had cultivated for decades based solely on this stack of files, and instead name a transparent heir he had never cared about as his successor.

Furthermore, being able to manipulate these two calculating sons of his in the palm of his hand—

This Third Prince, whom he had never looked at properly, actually possessed such depth of character that it instead stirred a sense of wariness in his heart.

The Old Prince sighed slowly, lifted his eyes to gaze at the submissive attendant before him, and spoke in a tone devoid of any joy or anger:

"The Third Prince is truly not simple, but relying on himself alone, I fear he could not have conceived such a meticulous plan.

What are your intentions?

And why must I name him as the heir?"

Wang Shi kept his head lowered, his tone calm yet every word resonant: "This servant dares not.

This servant comes today not to seek a future for myself, but to implore the Old Prince to think carefully for the sake of the thousand-year foundation of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion."

He did not rush to defend himself, but instead, word by word, laid out the pros and cons for the Old Prince: "Old Prince, behind the First Prince is the current Grand Marshal Yuan Hong.

The Yuan family has served as high officials for four generations, with students spread across the world. The Tianwu Dynasty has been established for over two thousand years, and the world shows signs of decay; the Yuan family has long been ambitious.

They support the First Prince not for the good of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, but simply to turn the mansion's thousand-year foundation into a stepping stone and pawn for the Yuan family's rebellion.

Once the First Prince takes power, he will inevitably be tightly constrained by the Yuan family due to today's collusion, gradually having his authority eroded until he becomes a complete vassal of the Yuan family.

If the Yuan family truly rebels then, the Tianhuang Princes Mansion will likely be dragged into a state of eternal damnation. Even if the situation is rectified later, it will inevitably plant seeds of suspicion in the hearts of the royal family, shaking the very foundation of the mansion.

Behind the Second Prince is Lin Lantian. This man is nothing but an 'nouveau riche' who relied on military exploits and his cultivation in the Silver Marrow Realm to secure the position of Defense General. He holds military power and is extremely ambitious.

He supports the Second Prince only to use the mansion's reputation to expand his own influence. Once the Second Prince takes power, he will surely coerce the heir to command the mansion.

By then, the mansion's military power will be completely hollowed out, and the border defense forces will become his private army; this would bring only harm and no benefit to the mansion's legacy.

These two have long touched upon the taboos of the mansion.

If you still name them as the heir, you are leaving a knife for the Yuan family and Lin Lantian to plunge into the heart of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion."

The Old Prince's expression softened slightly, but the suspicion in his eyes remained undiminished: "I understand everything you have said. But I ask you, you went to such great lengths to set up this scheme, what exactly are you after?"

Wang Shi slowly lifted his head, his gaze open and frank, without any evasion: "What this servant is after is naturally the future of the Third Prince.

This servant entered the mansion at nine years old just to survive and only had food to eat thanks to the Third Prince's kindness. All these years, I have been clean, never stepping a foot outside the mansion, and have had no involvement with any external noble families or factions.

Three years ago, I entered the registry of attendants. I have no children, no family, and no home. Apart from my master, the Third Prince, I have no other kin in this world, and no other attachments.

The Old Prince might worry that I am using the Third Prince to control the mansion in the future, but even if I held all the power in the mansion, a hundred years from now, I wouldn't even have anyone to perform funeral rites for me, so what would be the point?

My honor and disgrace are entirely tied to the Third Prince; if the Third Prince prospers, I prosper.

If the Third Prince falls, I am doomed to eternal damnation.

This servant has absolutely no other path to choose."

As his voice fell, the study fell into a deathly silence.

The Old Prince stared at Zhao Chen for a long time, eventually sending men to investigate all of Wang Shi's background.

The results were exactly as he had described.

He had grown up in the mansion since childhood, had never contacted external forces all these years, and after his castration, he had cut off all paths of retreat, leaving not even a shred of possibility for rebellion.

The Old Prince finally let go of most of his wariness. Yet he still did not make an immediate decision, and even felt a faint sense of displeasure in his heart.

His own family affairs had actually been forced to this point by an attendant.

And what he did not know was that at the same time he was confronting Zhao Chen in the study, Heir Xiao Heng had already entered the deepest part of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, the Worship Hall, alone.

Sitting inside the Worship Hall were the retired Old Princes of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion throughout history, all of whom were Martial Monarchs of the Yinsui Realm and the true foundation and stabilizing pillar of the mansion.

They did not concern themselves with worldly affairs; their only obsession was pursuing higher martial realms and protecting the legacy of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, never allowing outsiders to touch it in the slightest.

Heir Xiao Heng did not speak much; he simply revealed his cultivation—Copper Bone Realm—before all the Old Princes.

He was the first among the contemporary direct descendants of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion to break through to the Copper Bone Realm.

In this high-martial world, martial strength is the future and the foundation upon which a mansion can continue its legacy.

Following this, he laid out the evidence of the First Prince and Second Prince colluding with external officials one by one before the Supreme Princes.

Looking at those secret letters and ledgers, these old men who had guarded the mansion their entire lives were instantly enraged.

What they abhorred most was colluding with outsiders to interfere in the internal affairs of the mansion.

The actions of the First Prince and the Second Prince were no different from pushing the Tianhuang Princes Mansion into a pit of fire.

With almost no hesitation, the group of Supreme Princes expressed their stance on the spot: they fully supported the Third Prince in inheriting the position of heir.

The stance of the Worship Hall was conveyed to the Old Prince's study overnight.

On one side was the full support of the Worship Hall, and on the other was the Third Prince's top-tier talent capable of supporting the future of the mansion.

On one side was the clarity with which Wang Shi had laid out the pros and cons and cut off all retreat, along with the two pieces of irrefutable evidence sufficient to nail the coffin of the First Prince and the Second Prince.

The Old Prince finally made up his mind.

It was not that he had no resentment or no shred of unwillingness in his heart.

The two sons he had pinned his high hopes on had actually been completely overturned by a son who had been transparent for over a decade in such a manner.

He even faintly harbored a desire to watch the show.

He wanted to see if, in the future, this eunuch who had cut off all his paths of retreat and this new heir who had turned the tables relying on an attendant would eventually end up in a master-servant falling out when faced with power.

After all, noble families and powerful officials could plot to seize the mansion's foundation, but a powerful eunuch with no children could at most hold power for a time; in the end, he could not shake the roots of the mansion.