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Fan Zhi raised his gaze to meet his, saying nothing.

"I'm sure His Majesty sees the same as you and Lord Elder do. It must have been foreseen when Lord Elder volunteered to be Prince Huai'an's tutor that such a predicament would arise. I've heard that Lord Elder once mentioned to Lord Lin from the Hanlin Academy that Prince Huai'an is well-versed and exceptionally intelligent, bearing a resemblance to His Majesty in his youth. The Emperor allowed Lord Elder to secretly instruct Prince Huai'an for years and yet has delayed naming an heir. You, Lord Elder, likely understand the reason behind this."

The smile on Fan Zhi's face gradually faded.

After a long moment, he sighed softly. "Unfortunately, His Majesty ultimately succumbed to sentimentality. No, what I truly regret is that my body won't last much longer, nor will His Majesty's..."

Few knew of Emperor Jiajing's bloody coughs in the Nourishing Heart Palace, whether within the imperial harem, the court, or the common folk.

Fan Zhi and Meng Zong were among the few privy to this information.

Meng Zong understood what the elderly minister regretted.

If he could live a few more years, if the Emperor's health hadn't deteriorated so severely over the past two years, by the time Prince Huai'an reached maturity, not only Lord Elder, but even he, Meng Zong, would likely support Prince Huai'an taking the throne.

But now, Prince Huai'an was merely eleven years old, and the court officials were divided into factions, each harboring their own agendas, constantly plotting to weaken their rivals' influence.

Even if the young prince were to ascend the throne at such a tender age, he would surely not be able to secure his seat on the dragon throne, and might even invite a fatal peril upon himself.

Emperor Jia You's health deteriorated day by day, and he wavered, his heart softening.

The old Minister, weighing the pros and cons, chose the Crown Prince and involved himself in the game, hoping to cut off all paths for the Qi family and the Second Prince before his death.

Chief Censor Xing understood the old Minister's choice and thus spared no effort to aid him, even dispatching people to secretly protect Liu Yuan and Gu Changjin on their journey to Yang State Prefecture.

Fan Zhi found it increasingly difficult to read Meng Zong's intentions. "I am more confused than ever about Lord Meng's motives today."

Meng Zong replied with a faint smile, "Lord Fan has never ceased to be cautious around me. I have always known that Liu Yuan is your man, and that his allegiance to me was at your command."

Fan Zhi did not deny this but simply said coolly, "He is a good lad."

"I do not care whether Eunuch Liu is good or not. The reason I am here today is to ask you, Lord Fan, if there were someone more suitable for that position than Prince Huai'an, would you be willing to lend your support, just as you once did for Prince Huai'an?"

Fan Zhi stared intently at Meng Zong, trying to discern the sincerity behind his words. After a moment, he asked, "Who is this person?"

"The son of Crown Prince Qiyuan, Xiao Yan."

"Xiao Yan?" Fan Zhi's bushy white eyebrows shot up, and the image of a plump, infantile face flashed through his mind. "That child is clearly already—"

Before the word "die" could fully leave his lips, Fan Zhi's voice abruptly halted.

Twenty-one years ago, two months before Emperor Jiayou ascended the throne, it was Minister Meng Zong who led the charge to eliminate the remnants of Prince Qiyuan's faction in the Eastern Palace.

"You let Xiao Yan go?"

"Yes," Meng Zong nonchalantly placed the now-empty teacup on a small table nearby. "I released both the Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Palace, Ni Huan, and Xiao Yan."

Fan Zhi fell silent for a moment before he said, "This old man had no idea that Minister Meng had such a compassionate heart. In truth, even if you hadn't let Xiao Yan escape, the Emperor wouldn't have killed him."

"I'm not as noble as you think, Elder," Meng Zong confessed. "When I arrived at the Eastern Palace, Ni Huan had already killed his own son and burned the body to make it look like Xiao Yan. But despite his ruthlessness, he didn't cover his tracks well enough. It only took me two days to catch up with him."

The loyal Chief Eunuch of the Eastern Palace had shielded the child behind him and knelt, asking, "How can Minister Meng be so certain that the Seventh Prince would be a good emperor? If he were a tyrant, the young prince's survival would present an opportunity to rectify the chaos and restore the rightful order."

Meng Zong smiled at this point and continued, "It was precisely because of Ni Huan's words that I showed mercy and cleaned up the aftermath for him. However, I am no match for the former Minister of Rites, who could recognize a wise ruler at first glance."

When Emperor Jiayou was still the Seventh Prince Xiao Yan, he had been relatively unknown within the palace. Among all the princes, his reputation was the least prominent.

In the eyes of the previous emperor, due to the Seventh Prince's frail health and mediocrity, he had arranged for the eldest daughter of the Qi family to marry him, thereby quelling the Qi family's ambitions for their daughter to become a crown princess and future empress.

During Prince Qiyuan's regency, almost all the adult males of the Xiao imperial family were slaughtered.

Only Seventh Prince Xiao Yan and Ninth Prince Xiao Ying, who had just turned twelve, survived.

After Prince Qiyuan's death, it was both the people's wish and fate for Seventh Prince Xiao Yan to ascend the throne.

The king was weak, but his ministers were strong.

Meng Zong had expected Xiao Yan, frail as he was, to become a puppet in the power struggles between the Qi or Xing families. To his surprise, Xiao Yan managed to stabilize his reign and, over the course of twenty years, transformed the once war-torn and threatened Great Yin into the prosperous nation it is today.

After Meng Zong allowed Xiao Yan to escape, Ni Huan changed his name and took the two-year-old Xiao Yan to Floating Jade Mountain to seek refuge with an old military friend of his, Gu Jun, who had long retired from military life.

Meng Zong contemplated sending assassins to Floating Jade Mountain to eliminate Ni Huan and Xiao Yan. However, a devastating fire on the mountain reduced Gu Jun and his two children to ashes, while Xiao Yan and Ni Huan vanished without a trace.

Not only did Xiao Yan and Ni Huan disappear, but Gu Jun's wife and youngest son also vanished. It was rumored that they sought refuge with relatives.

Xiao Yan resurfaced in the imperial examinations of Jia You's eighteenth year, when the top scholar, Gu Changjin, was from Jinan Prefecture.

Gu Changjin.

At first sight, Meng Zong recognized the name as that of Gu Jun, the youngest son of the hunter.

The chief examiner for that particular examination was Lu Zhuo, the grand censor of the Ministry of Punishments. Lu Zhuo held Gu Changjin in high esteem and had praised the young man on multiple occasions before his colleagues, commending his profound knowledge and hidden talents.

On the day the results of the imperial examination were announced, Meng Zong received a secret letter and a jade pendant.

Meng Zong was familiar with the jade pendant; it was an item commonly used by Prince Qiyuan, the crown prince.