They all became female demons after being reborn.

Chapter 47: No Arrows at the Opening of the Palace

"Third Brother, explain in detail."

Wu Cheng had already determined that it was Yuan Hao, the magistrate of Luoyang, who wanted to kill him as a pledge of loyalty, but he was not quite sure whether the person behind Yuan Hao was the crown prince.

The late Empress Zhang had two sons and one daughter. The two sons were the second son, Crown Prince Wu Wei, and the fourth son, Wu Cheng.

According to Wu Cheng’s past memories, the Crown Prince treated him very well. Although he didn’t pamper him in every way, he treated him like a younger brother.

However, Wu Cheng could understand. There were only two legitimate sons. He was the crown prince, and the other legitimate son, who posed the greatest threat, was an idiot. Anyone would have to take care of him, at least to put on a show to fit the "harmonious relationship between the imperial brothers."

The Crown Prince had no reason to kill him.

"Fourth brother, you are the biggest threat to the Crown Prince. If you die, he will naturally be able to rest easy." Wu Ju continued to urge him on, "Especially now that you have regained your senses, that's even more true."

Wu Cheng tilted his head. "So, does Third Brother think I've been pretending to be stupid all along, or have I just recovered?"

Wu Ju quickly replied, "No matter which reason it is, it's because that second brother, the Crown Prince, can't tolerate you."

If he recovers, then with the Wentian Sect at his back, his threat to Wu Wei's position as crown prince will greatly increase.

If he had been feigning madness for sixteen years... wouldn't he have been even more feared?

Wu Cheng remained noncommittal. "So you want me to die in Luoyang? Because this will not only disappoint my second brother in Yuan Hao, but also force Yuan Hao to submit to you, and you can reap the benefits. As for the brothers killing each other... even if my second brother doesn't die, he'll be badly hurt. At the very least, he'll probably lose his position as crown prince."

Wu Cheng suddenly realized, "Third Brother, you really want to be the Crown Prince?"

If he dies, the crown prince will take half the blame and be overthrown, leaving the two remaining legitimate sons with no chance. After that, the only one who can compete with him, the third son, is the eldest son.

As for the eldest brother... absolutely not.

Therefore, the first in line after that was this third prince.

Of the dozen or so sons of the Emperor of Dayu, apart from the second prince, only the eldest, the third, and Wu Cheng, the fourth son, were granted the title of Prince.

The eldest son was stripped of his princely title and demoted to a duke because of that past incident.

No wonder this third brother wanted to cause trouble.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Wu Ju chuckled. "Fourth brother, now that you've regained your senses, you're the one who can rival the Crown Prince. Don't worry, your third brother will definitely support you!"

"Since you couldn't frame me, are you trying to incite me and my second brother to fight over food?" Wu Cheng laughed. "Third brother, to tell you the truth, I have no interest in being an emperor, especially not an emperor who only has his own little corner of the country."

He clenched his fist. "To be a chivalrous hero and live a carefree life, that's the kind of life I want."

Wu Ju glanced at him. "Fourth brother, do you think I believe that?"

That's the crown prince!

The Carefree Prince?

Everyone has thought about it.

However, when the princes dined together, they had to stand and wait until the crown prince sat down before they could sit down and eat together, and sometimes they even had to wait for the crown prince to start eating first.

When the princes studied together, the teachers imparted all their knowledge to the crown prince, while ignoring and neglecting the other princes.

After class, the princes could not leave early; they had to wait at the door until the crown prince left first before they were allowed to follow.

Who wouldn't feel envious? And who would be content with that?

Especially when he became one of only two princes besides the crown prince, and the other prince was an idiot.

Then they won't be willing to accept it.

"If I wanted to, I wouldn't have been a fool in the palace for sixteen years." Wu Cheng laughed. "I would have returned to the palace immediately and asked my father to pass on the 'Huangji Jingshi' to me, instead of running to the Wentian Sect as a hostage. I just want to get away from the palace and live my carefree life far away."

Li Anchan stood silently to the side, watching Wu Cheng's profile, her face expressionless, revealing no emotion.

Wu Ju looked at him suspiciously for a long time, "Really? You really haven't thought about vying for the position of Crown Prince?"

"The Crown Prince was already the Crown Prince before I was even born, so why should I fight for it? Although I don't know why my second brother wants to kill me, I don't want him to be the Crown Prince either."

Wu Cheng looked at Wu Ju and said, "Third Brother, if you want to compete for the crown prince position, I can help you."

Seeing that Wu Ju did not believe him, he laughed and said, "Now that you can't kill me, what you need to do is protect me from death and use that to blackmail Yuan Hao. He is the magistrate of Luoyang, but he has failed in his duties. His only son died and he still hasn't accomplished the matter of the crown prince. How can he not feel resentful? Now is the time for you to win him over."

"Also accompanying me to Luoyang is Xue Jianren, the son of Xue Baichuan, the garrison commander of Hulao Pass. Yuan Hao's only son committed suicide in Xue Jianren's room in an attempt to frame him. This has created a rift between them. With one being a scholar and the other a warrior, and you occupying a strategically important border city, how could you not achieve great things?"

Wu Cheng patted Li Anchan on the shoulder beside him, "This is a noble person from the Northern Sheng Kingdom. If you are willing to give something, perhaps even the Northern Sheng Kingdom can help you fight for the throne of the Great Yu Kingdom."

His words made Wu Ju's breathing quicken.

"Are they really from the Northern Sheng Kingdom?"

Li Anchan nodded slightly.

Wu Ju stood up and paced back and forth, "It seems like it really can..."

Wu Cheng continued his devilish whisper, "Third Brother, if you could still find some dirt on Yuan Hao..."

"There really is!" Wu Ju slapped his thigh. "Fourth brother! Let's go find Yuan Hao right now!"

Wu Cheng asked curiously, "What leverage?"

"Oh, it's nothing serious. He just secretly kidnapped a lot of young girls and children and sent them to the mansions of high-ranking officials and nobles to be their playthings in order to make money and curry favor. I have a few here too. If you want, I'll give you a few another day."

Wu Ju reached out to pull Wu Cheng's arm but couldn't budge it.

"What's wrong, Fourth Brother?"

Wu Ju turned around, only to be met with Wu Cheng's face.

The look in his eyes felt completely unfamiliar to him.

"Third Brother, is this the leverage you have over Yuan Hao?"

"Yes, although it's not a major weakness, the Crown Prince probably knows about it too, but it's better than nothing." Wu Ju said nonchalantly, "Once we meet Yuan Hao, the two of us brothers will join forces, and I don't believe he won't submit."

Wu Cheng laughed, "Third Brother, I've suddenly changed my mind."

"What?" Wu Ju was puzzled, but suddenly had a bad feeling.

Wu Cheng slowly drew the wooden sword from his waist. "To be honest, after I came to my senses, I also thought about a question: what exactly am I supposed to do in this world?"

"After learning that martial arts exist in this world, I wanted to become a chivalrous knight who would help those in need."

"It's not that I'm suddenly feeling kind-hearted; it's just that my upbringing taught me that this is the only way I can feel good."

"I've encountered injustices before, but I was powerless to do anything about them. All I could do was curse a few times to calm myself down. Now that I've learned martial arts, I think that at least I have the ability to do things that make me feel good, within the range my arm can reach."

"But I've figured it out now."

Wu Cheng laughed, "Speaking of which, I have to thank you, Third Brother. You made me understand one thing: why I became a prince, instead of some beggar on the street who froze and starved to death."

One lifetime's fate is equivalent to ten thousand lifetimes' fate.

Who else but me!

Now that I've traveled through time, I'm going to do what I want to do.

Zzzzz!

The sword flashed.

Wu Ju's head spun into the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Even in death, his face was filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"If I can't do it, it's just that I'm not strong enough, and my reach isn't long enough."

"Wouldn't it be better if I became emperor?"