35: Chapter 35 Fourth Life, All-in Failure? Watch Me Turn the Tide (Part 12)

Heir Xiao Heng's pupils constricted sharply: "Lin Lantian is a Martial Monarch of the Yinsui Realm. How could we possibly move against him?"

"We naturally cannot move against him head-on." A cold light flashed in Wang Shi's eyes. "But what if he were to act recklessly and commit treason?"

"What? You mean..." Heir Xiao Heng's tone was filled with shock.

"The Second Prince is conspiring with Lin Lantian to stage a military coup. I have received secret intelligence regarding this matter, and it has been verified as accurate."

Wang Shi took a scroll of secret intelligence from his sleeve and handed it to Heir Xiao Heng.

"They plan to strike on the eve of the Old Prince coming out of seclusion."

"The Second Prince will attack the First Prince's mansion to create chaos, while Lin Lantian leads elite border troops to strike directly at the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, intending to force the abdication and change the succession."

Heir Xiao Heng gasped: "Are they insane? They would actually dare to do this!"

"They certainly dare. After all, the nephew and uncle have long had no way out."

Wang Shi's voice was filled with cold severity and mockery. "Does Your Highness know that during his tenure in the wasteland, Lin Lantian has been embezzling military pay, trafficking weapons, and even colluding with northern barbarian tribes... Every single one of these acts is a capital offense punishable by total annihilation of his clan."

"Previously, the Prince, considering that he is ultimately a Martial Monarch of the Yinsui Realm and feeling a faint sense of guilt toward the Second Prince, only investigated him for 'interfering in internal affairs,' which was already an act of leniency."

"Now that Your Highness is about to ascend to the throne, they are unwilling to let go of the power in their hands. Furthermore, judging others by their own standards, they are ignorant of Your Highness's benevolence. How could they not fear a reckoning?"

"For them, this military coup is their only path to survival."

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of icy mockery: "As for the Worship Hall... Lin Lantian is merely a 'nouveau riche' who happened to break through by luck, and the Second Prince has been fond of military affairs since childhood, never having seriously looked through the Tianhuang Princes Mansion's archives."

"Naturally, they are like frogs in a well, believing the Supreme Princes are like clay statues in a temple—as long as the temple isn't torn down, they won't open their eyes."

"This is their greatest tragedy. They will never understand what a true bottom line is, or what the foundation of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion truly is."

Heir Xiao Heng's heart rate accelerated: "Then how should we proceed?"

"We shall play along with their scheme. It is better to remain still than to move." Wang Shi spread out a map of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion.

"I ask that Your Highness personally go to the Worship Hall and request a Supreme Prince to oversee matters from the shadows."

"When they make their move, we shall capture them on the spot. At that time, with ironclad evidence, the Second Prince's faction will naturally collapse, and the First Prince's faction will surely be terrified."

Heir Xiao Heng pondered: "Will the Supreme Princes of the Worship Hall... intervene?"

"They will," Wang Shi said with certainty.

"Since they have already shown their stance, they will not easily sit by and watch Your Highness be overthrown. Moreover... suppressing rebellion, purifying the laws, and safeguarding the order of our Tianhuang Princes Mansion is the very foundation of the Worship Hall's existence."

"Your Highness's visit this time, while ostensibly to ask for help, is actually to request an inviolable iron law."

Heir Xiao Heng paced the hall for a long time before suddenly turning around, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes gone: "Very well! We shall proceed according to this plan! Grand Attendant Wang, the task of gathering evidence and monitoring the movements of Lin Lantian and the others is entrusted to you entirely."

"This subject accepts the order!" Wang Shi's voice also replied with absolute decisiveness.

Two and a half days later, Heir Xiao Heng went to the Worship Hall alone.

The stone building was ancient and simple, mottled with moss, as if it had stood for a thousand years.

Heir Xiao Heng bowed deeply before the building: "Junior descendant Heir Xiao Heng requests an audience with the Supreme Princes."

The stone door opened silently. The interior of the building was empty, save for a massive alchemy furnace emitting wisps of blue smoke, with five prayer mats distributed around it.

Five old men in different colored robes were seated in the positions of the five elements, each guarding a side; they were the same ones seen in the hall that day.

The old man in yellow robes at the head slowly opened his eyes: "What is the Heir's business?"

Heir Xiao Heng bowed respectfully to the ground and kowtowed three times, "thud, thud, thud."

He then raised his head and replied: "Junior descendant Heir Xiao Heng begs the ancestors to assist this junior in upholding the laws of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion and suppressing those with rebellious hearts."

He respectfully laid out the evidence of Lin Lantian's treason and the plot of the military coup. After finishing, he added: "Grandson knows that his foundation is shallow, and he is not someone who holds the collective trust of the people in the Tianhuang Princes Mansion. It is only because the ancestors favored me that I was able to rise from behind and attain the position of Heir."

He paused, then continued: "Now the rebels are rampant, not merely to harm grandson alone, but attempting to shake the laws of our Tianhuang Princes Mansion. If such a precedent is set, in the future, anyone who holds military power may harbor delusions and use force to coerce the palace."

"Grandson comes here this time not only to seek survival but also for the sake of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion's laws. I implore the ancestors to intervene, suppress the rebels, and make an example of them!"

After finishing, Heir Xiao Heng kowtowed three more times heavily, then looked up, waiting for the Supreme Princes' response.

The Supreme Princes were silent for a moment. An old man with red hair on the left scoffed: "Lin Lantian? Is that the garrison general who obtained some fortuitous encounter in the Black Mountain Range ten years ago and luckily advanced to the Silver Marrow Realm? He doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

"He is merely a 'nouveau riche' without any heritage or foundation. Does he think that just because he became a Martial Lord and commands a few troops, he can turn the world upside down? It's simply laughable. That opportunity was wasted on him."

The old man in yellow robes at the head did not look at him; his gaze fell directly on Heir Xiao Heng, like a deep pool, unfathomable.

"Heir Xiao Heng, do you know what it means that your father gave you a three-month deadline and we gave you the title of support? If we were unwilling to intervene today, how would you proceed?"

Heir Xiao Heng's heart jolted, but he held his head high without flinching, his voice clear and firm: "Grandson has thought about it. If no Supreme Prince is willing to intervene, grandson would naturally use the name of the Heir to gather the loyal forces of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion, set up defenses in advance, and defend the mansion to the death."

"Even if it means a bloody battle, whether it ends in a pyrrhic victory or... mutual destruction, grandson would have no regrets even in death."

His gaze was burning as he continued: "However, if we cannot quickly crush the rebels with thunderous force, it will inevitably lead to a crisis for the Tianhuang Princes Mansion's laws. Today, Lin Lantian can coerce the palace with force; tomorrow, a Zhang Lantian or Li Lantian could imitate him."

"If this continues, our Tianhuang Princes Mansion will lose all public support and lose its prestige. Grandson is incompetent and unable to save the heavens from collapsing, which is why I come to beg the ancestors to intervene and uphold the laws of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion!"

When his voice fell, the room was silent. The red-haired old man suddenly clapped his hands and laughed, his voice like a booming bell: "Good lad! Your words suit my temperament! You didn't just come here to cry and beg for mercy, but came to request the 'Imperial Sword' after having a plan in mind. Not bad, not bad! You are worthy of being the one I favored."

A faint, extremely subtle smile of gratification also flashed across the old man in yellow's calm, ancient-well-like face. He said slowly: "To see the crisis is cleverness; to devise a strategy is wisdom; to think of the root cause is intelligence. You are not bad; you are worthy of the title of Heir."

He turned his head to the old man in white on the right, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in silence, and said: "Fourth Brother, you go. Let that frog in the well remember with his life."

"How high the sky of the Tianhuang Princes Mansion is, that is how heavy its laws are."

Upon hearing this, the old man in white did not move, but nodded slightly and said calmly: "Very well."

As his voice fell, a faint, mysterious aura separated from his body, like an invisible shadow, quietly lingering beside Heir Xiao Heng.

Heir Xiao Heng felt a warmth all over his body, as if a gentle breeze had blown past, and knowing this was the promise and protection of the Supreme Prince, he bowed deeply again: "Grandson thanks the ancestor!"

"Go." The old man in yellow closed his eyes, his voice returning to its calm, ancient-well state.

"The 'sword' you wanted has been granted to you as you wished. The 'law' you must uphold, you naturally understand as well."

"As for the rest, whether it succeeds or fails, whether you use this to establish prestige or become a laughingstock, it all depends on how you act. Do not let us be disappointed."