无翼乌工口里番无色无摭挡

The Emperor closed his eyes, looking somewhat fatigued. “Let it be for now.

Let me think it over.”

Jiang Mubai and his brother exchanged glances.

Jiang Ruobai turned and left.

“You stay right there!” Jiang Mubai grabbed him. “Have you no manners?”

Jiang Ruobai glared at him fiercely, then bowed to the Emperor. “This humble official takes his leave.”

“You all, leave.” The Emperor waved his hand.

“You damn fool, go home and kneel in the ancestral hall. You’re becoming more and more useless!” Jiang Mubai cursed as he dragged him away.

As they left, the eunuchs, palace maids, and ministers they passed all lowered their heads and bowed, pretending not to see anything, and hurriedly walked past them.

The two brothers were notoriously at odds with each other, one an intellectual and the other a warrior. Their political views clashed, and they often fought each other in the Imperial Court. They also frequently fought physically in the palace, dragging innocent bystanders into their conflicts.

It was said that the two brothers were enemies in their past lives, born in this life to torment each other and take revenge on one another.

People in the palace would avoid them when they were together for fear of being caught up in their disputes.

A Prime Minister and a General – who could they provoke?

Unable to resist them, people could only hide.

It wasn’t until the brothers returned to the main courtyard of the Jiang Family that the tensions between them subsided.

“Ah, I’m exhausted.” Jiang Mubai rubbed his face. “I say, Second child, you might as well not be a Prime Minister at all.”

“Why don’t you say that about your position as a General?”

“If I don’t take the position, who will resist the Turks?”

“I could give it a try.”

“With your physique?” Jiang Mubai shook his head. “I’m serious, pretending like this is not the solution. If we got along, the Emperor would be inevitably wary of us.”

Jiang Ruobai sneered: “I don’t really mind not being a Prime Minister, but can your family members live off the northwestern wind?”

“My family’s assets can feed us just fine!”

“I’m talking about the 200,000 troops under your command.”

Jiang Mubai fell silent.

Jiang Ruobai patted his elder brother’s shoulder: “Instead of pretending before the Emperor, let’s elevate our son-in-law to the position of Crown Prince. Our daughter will become the Empress in the future, and we won’t have to act like this anymore.”

“This time, the Crown Prince is bound to be abolished. However, judging by the Emperor’s attitude, he still wishes to protect the Crown Prince.”

“Really?”

Jiang Ruobai chuckled meaningfully, “Who doesn’t know that among the princes, the Emperor has always favored the Prince of Yu the most?”

“That’s true.”

“So why would the Emperor want to protect such a shameless and absurd Crown Prince who plots against his brothers? Does the Emperor really like him that much?”

“As we both just saw, the Emperor truly does not want to depose the Crown Prince.”

“Humph. The Crown Prince was appointed by the Emperor himself. To depose him so soon would be a slap in his own face. Could someone as face-conscious as the Emperor really stand that? Besides, with the Crown Prince’s legs already crippled, wouldn’t the Emperor earn a heartless and ungrateful reputation if he dethroned him so quickly?”

“So you’re saying that the Emperor wants to protect the Crown Prince just for his own dignity and reputation. But regardless of his reasons, he still wants to protect him in the end.”

Jiang Ruobai chuckled, but didn’t say anything.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Big brother, this is such a simple matter, and yet you can’t understand it. You’ve been muddled by the battlefield for so long that your mind has become simplistic.”

“It’s clear that you’re just devious and cunning.”

“Is it? Why don’t you go ask Seventh Sister and see what she thinks? If even she can guess it, then it just proves that you are dull. Otherwise, I’ll admit that I’m a sly old fox..”