Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors

Li Hongyun watched the luminescent point representing Lord Qin leave the Lord Qin Mansion and enter the Taiji Palace.

For Lord Qin, tonight was undoubtedly the most perilous night of his life.

And the first predicament he had to resolve was the astrological event of "Gold Star Taibai crossing the sky."

Indeed, no sooner had Emperor Gaozu of Liang seen Lord Qin than he immediately questioned him furiously, "The Chief Historian has submitted a report stating that 'Gold Star Taibai appears in Qin's sky, Lord Qin should possess all under heaven.' What does that mean!"

Lord Qin immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Your Majesty, your enlightened son truly does not know! Your son has always been utterly loyal to Your Majesty, how could he possibly harbor intentions of usurping the throne!"

However, such an explanation clearly couldn't satisfy Emperor Gaozu of Liang.

Lord Qin obviously had no other recourse but to play the emotional card, hoping to touch Emperor Gaozu of Liang.

Witnessing this from a third-person perspective, Li Hongyun couldn't help but frown slightly.

Clearly, the game "Dark Sand" had also laid a trap for Lord Qin's actions here.

If Li Hongyun did nothing, the back-and-forth between father and son would lead to no solutions, and Emperor Gaozu of Liang's suspicion of Lord Qin would only intensify.

And soon, an edict would be issued, implementing a series of measures to weaken and strike at Lord Qin, who would then be left without any good reason to resist.

Moreover, there was the most important point: if Lord Qin continued to be passive, Emperor Gaozu of Liang would not summon the Crown Prince and Prince Qi to the palace tomorrow, and thus the historical Xuanwu Gate Incident would never happen.

The premise of the Xuanwu Gate Incident was that Lord Qin ambushed the Crown Prince and Prince Qi at the Xuanwu Gate after placing men in hiding there first.

But if the Crown Prince and Prince Qi didn't come to the Xuanwu Gate unprepared, instead fully armed and guarding the Eastern Palace, then the chances of Lord Qin's actions being successful would be very low.

Because at this time, the Crown Prince possessed legal control of an army on the surface and had also secretly recruited one, both far outnumbering those loyal to the Lord Qin Mansion.

Even if Lord Qin was a capable fighter, it would be difficult to quickly determine the victor when outnumbered.

Furthermore, once both sides engaged in combat, Emperor Gaozu of Liang would definitely send the imperial guards to suppress the conflict immediately, and whether he would support the Crown Prince or Lord Qin was a foregone conclusion.

Hence, any player who was not too familiar with the situation would let everything collapse completely just by hesitating a bit and letting Lord Qin go back as is.

Thinking this, Li Hongyun no longer hesitated and immediately made Lord Qin give the historically accurate response, the only standard answer to the situation.

"Your Majesty, your son has an important matter to report!"

Lord Qin didn't respond directly to Emperor Gaozu of Liang's question about Gold Star Taibai and 'Lord Qin should possess all under heaven.' Instead, he diverted the topic.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang's face darkened, and his brows furrowed deeply.

He could sense that Lord Qin was diverting the subject, not willing to respond directly to his question, but he wanted to hear what Lord Qin had to say.

"Speak!"

Knelt on the ground, Lord Qin spoke with firm and resolute conviction, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has engaged in illicit acts with the women of the harem!"

Emperor Gaozu of Liang was momentarily stunned, then became furious: "Nonsense! You accuse the Crown Prince and dare to slander the concubines - how dare you! Do you think that because you're my son, I will not punish you?"

Lord Qin's tone remained resolute: "Your Majesty, I am not making false accusations; I have evidence!

"On the first tenth of last month, while Your Majesty was inspecting the provinces, the Crown Prince entered Concubine Yinde's palace and did not emerge for half a day.

"And this year in March, even until the fifth year of Wude, the Crown Prince has been frequently visiting the palaces of Concubine Yinde and Zhang Jieyu every one to two months. If Your Majesty does not believe it, secretly summon the maids from both concubines' palaces to inquire, and you will know!"

Emperor Gaozu of Liang's expression instantly froze on his face, shocked.

Lord Qin had listed numerous dates in a row with an assured tone, speaking with absolute certainty.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang carefully recalled some of the dates, realizing he indeed had not been in the palace then. Furthermore, it was true that the Crown Prince regularly visited the imperial harem and saw Zhang Jieyu and Concubine Yinde.

Previously, Emperor Gaozu of Liang had not paid any attention, assuming these were normal visits and greetings between the Crown Prince and these consorts.

However, now that Lord Qin had enumerated every single time, coupled with such an affirmative tone, it stunned Emperor Gaozu of Liang himself.

Witnessing the scene, Li Hongyun couldn't help but inwardly remark: this indeed was the standard answer that Lord Qin should give in response.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang's summoning of Lord Qin for questioning was clearly using the astrological matter as a pretext to find fault.

Although "Gold Star Taibai appears in Qin's sky" did indeed happen, and the interpretation that 'Lord Qin should possess all under heaven' was very in line with the theories of celestial influence, astrological omens are ultimately up to human interpretation.

If at the time Gold Star Taibai had coincidentally appeared in the Qi Territory, fulfilling 'Prince Qi should possess all under heaven,' Emperor Gaozu of Liang's reaction would not have been so extreme.

Even the Chief Historian would not have reported such a thing.

Whether the Chief Historian was influenced by the Crown Prince or was acting purely out of professional ethics is uncertain.

But as a result, the Gold Star Taibai event handed the Crown Prince's faction a sharp knife.

Emperor Gaozu of Liang was already highly suspicious of Lord Qin, and the addition of the Gold Star Taibai event meant the truth was laid bare.

No matter how Lord Qin defended himself, it would not change the fact of Gold Star Taibai's appearance.

Thus, in the trap constructed by Emperor Gaozu of Liang, any struggle by Lord Qin would be futile.

So Lord Qin directly leaped out of the trap, changed the topic, and attacked the Crown Prince for corruption in the harem.

Indeed, some historical records mentioned "The Crown Prince approached Zhang Jieyu and Concubine Yinde," but Li Hongyun judged that the authenticity of the fact was not high based on common sense.