Wudang: Legends Of Qi Earth 118 Forbidden City IV : More Schemes

[There are proverbs about a man's worst enemy is from his own household, if a common man can be betrayed by the very same brother he shares flesh and blood with, what more can you say of a King, what more can you say of an Emperor.

The house of a man with power and authority, is a den of snakes, jackals and hyenas. There's nothing majestic about them, as they try to hide their ugliness behind the splendor of noble beasts like the Lion, the unicorn and the dragon, but alas they're nothing like the beasts they claim to embody.

They lie, they cheat, they steal, they betray, every move made in such a home is an attempt to take, and take, and take, never is the idea to give. And if you give, you're also giving to take, power and the royalty that comes with it is and abyss. And as the old saying goes, if you stare into the abyss, deeply and long enough...…The abyss will stare right back at you.]

ANONE

"Mother is this really necessary, I might be looking for another wife, but this ploy you and aunty have cooked up would make me cross paths with father's new toy, it could cost me my chance to become crown prince, not to mention that he's to be ninth sister's husband, that girl doesn't care for much, but everything father gives her she cherishes. This is not a good idea, and it might turn out too badly for us." 

The man who had spoken looked like he was in his late teens to early twenties, so it would come as a surprise to many that he was actually thirty six years old. It spoke volumes of how high a cultivation level he had achieved at such a young age, but then again there were quite a few things that could make a human being retain their youthful look even at 400 years old. So whether or not this prince was talented as a cultivator it was still left up to debate, however even if he wasn't talented, the woman who he was talking to on the other hand literally oozed power.

The exquisite red Imperial gown she hand on, seemed to ruffle under the caresses of an invisible wind, she was tall, really tall. So much so that she towered over the young man in front of her. And it was not as if she had on any heels or foot wear of the sort to make her seem taller than she was, but she was just extremely tall, and for a woman standing at seven and the half foot tall she was quite fit, slim. So much so that the river she had on did nothing to hide her hour glass figure. She was a beauty, and her piercing silver eyes seemed to hold great power and wisdom within their depths. But even with all of her beauty, the one thing that stood out the most were here ears, they were longer than normal, almost four inches long and tapered to a point; this woman was a full blooded elf and also the mother of the prince in front of her.

"It shouldn't really matter, your aunt had told me that this girl is just as talented if not more so than your previous wives, enough to make sure that you reach the great completion of the (Amorous Empiric Soul) cultivation technique.

Once that has been achieved, going above the heaven's gate would be achieved in no less than 45 years. You would be the most powerful on this wretched world and achieve much more than any of your siblings ever could in a much better world that can and will appreciate your talent.

You've already found wives talented in the wood, water, earth, metal, yin, the rare and almost impossible to occur yang and then the wind elements, what remains is a supreme talent of fire and this Anya girl is the only one that you have a chance of acquiring, assuming we play our cards right, we should be able to coerce your father to hand her over to you, and if that doesn't work, killing him should not be a problem. After all your father likes he's wars, and he's find of appointing generals of all his so called Childes of the empire, setting it up so that he dies in a war in some random Dimension shouldn't be too hard. But let's just hope it doesn't get to that, the reputation of the Zhang clan and Wudang sect is at an all time low due to the crisis in Macau, as such this Zhang Xiao Feng would probably be keeping his head down for the moment.

We can use that to our advantage, a scandal in the palace will spoil even more of their reputation and decrease his standing in the eyes of your father, but there's not much we can do that your father wouldn't know we're responsible. So we can only forge his hand, on your father's banquet you would have to woo this Anya girl and make sure the public sees you with her, enough of it that it would have tongues wagging for a few days after the banquet. And make sure to find ways to humiliate the Zhang brat in front of her and the people, basically softening up for the final blow that would leave her in your arms and his reputation forever destroyed."

"What would you do mother?" The second prince asked, to be honest it was not as if he wanted to know. His mother was one of if not the most dangerous woman he has ever met in his life, not knowing what she has planned for the Zhang boy probably means he would be able to sleep well for the next few days.

"Believe me Lu Mang, you don't want to know, just leave it all to mummy, she won't ever lead you astray." Second Prince Lu Mang nodded to his mother, before asking another question.

"Mother there are rumors that father would be announcing who would be crown prince between me and my Third Brother Lu Yi. I also know he's the first prince, which means he has the popular vote and he's also quite strong in his cultivation, but so far I've had more achievements than him, the votes of the royals are with him, but I have the support of the people. Do you think I stand a chance?" so far their discussion have been amicable, but the moment he finished speaking, his mother's face took on an annoyed look as she lightly slapped him on the head.

"The support of the people! Don't be stupid, in the long run, none of that matters. Your father doesn't care about the people of this world and their opinions, neither does he care about the opinions of the officials around him, they listen and do whatever he wants, it's just their jobs to make sure the economy of his empire is stable and that his ears on other planes, particle world's and Dimensions are won. 

Yes you're popular amongst the public, but mostly to the women and men who's sexual orientation is questionable. Lu Mang my sweet boy, you're the most handsome man in all of existence, you're noble and to this rabble of filth your kind and benevolent.

You've done a good job in getting them to heel and letting them ignore the fact that just like your brother and father, you're not natives of this world. Which should be your biggest concern, because of all the Emperor's children, only your ninth sister, the sixth Princess shares a native bloodline of this planet.

A true born daughter of Albion, the next Lady of the lake, keeper of the sword Excalibur, blood of royals, blood of magic and blood of Merlin. The race for the throne has never been between you and your brother alone you fool, it's between you, your brother and your ninth sister. Three camps, not two, and there are rumors that she's actually interested in becoming the first Empress of the heaven Empire. And with how basic the people of earth are, they'll happily jump on that band wagon in the name of having a true earth born sit on that throne.

So you see all of our plans are connected. No matter how powerful she gets, a woman can only marry one man, while a man can have as many as he likes. It's a demographic that's been the same for millenniums, so whether she likes it or not she will be devoted to a child she's older than with 5 decades, if his image is bad, so too will hers be. Embarrass, undermine and disgrace him during the banquet, and it should be as soon as your father has announced their engagement. There's also no guarantee that he's announcing the crown prince of princess on that day, in fact knowing your father, I would say he plans to have all his children fight for the throne. 

But in the end no one knows how his mind works, get the girl Anya and increase your power, so much so that no one can match up to you, not even you ninth sister and all of the support she has from the Albion empire. When you're powerful if you still want this worthless throne in a worthless world, then take it, but if not you would not have most anything and you would get a chance to get a worthy throne, in a worthy world. This Anya girl would be the focal point of all our plans, the battle for the throne, would be a bonus, A game of thrones that win or lose, you will come out on top!"

Chapter end