Dragon's Origin

## Chapter 665: Who is in the Shadows (Part 1)

The issue was minor, nothing more than a prince putting on airs in front of a merchant. Relying on his princely status, he acted as if his words represented the will of the royal family, the meaning of the Emperor, a decree. Disobey, and you'd be defying the Emperor and committing treason.

Such posturing was, of course, no problem when dealing with ordinary commoners. The prince represents the royal family's will, a decree, doesn't he? Who would dare to say otherwise? Even some powerful and influential figures, when facing a prince, wouldn't they have to express respect for the imperial power and be respectful?

However, what was justifiable for ordinary people became a joke when applied to Wang Sheng and Mei'er. Mei'er didn't treat him like a prince at all, directly rejecting any unreasonable demands. Seriously, Mei'er herself was a legitimate princess, okay? Her birth mother was the Empress, wasn't she more noble than a prince born to a concubine?

Leaving aside Mei'er's attitude, the Third Prince's words were a major taboo in the Emperor's eyes. What is a decree? Since the establishment of great rituals, it has been the Emperor's most important instrument. Once a decree is issued, it should be an order respected by all under heaven.

To maintain the reputation of the imperial decree, the Emperor, over the years, has only issued decrees to promote officials, grant titles, and bestow fiefdoms. This is why the various lords have not shown much resistance to the Emperor and the decrees so far.

It can be said that to maintain the Emperor's reputation for keeping his word, the Emperor has suffered many grievances over the years. Only the three Grand Masters, a few trusted senior officials, and the Empress know this. The Third Prince leisurely enjoys his inherent princely status, how much can he really know?

But as a prince, the Third Prince was very clear about how serious the matter his father, the current Emperor, was talking about. What? I'm not dead yet, and I haven't passed the throne to you, yet you're already eager to issue decrees? What are your intentions?

If this matter were to be investigated, it would be very simple. A charge of falsely传达圣旨的罪名（Jia Chuan Sheng Zhi De Zui Ming - Falsely conveying an imperial decree）and forging an imperial edict could lead to the Third Prince's family being confiscated and his head being chopped off, without even going to court.

The Third Prince finally realized why he had been tied up and sent to the Imperial Study after the Emperor asked that question. Of course, that's what he thought; any other prince would think the same. Saying that his words were imperial decrees in front of the Emperor was challenging the Emperor's authority, falsely conveying imperial decrees, and committing treason. What was that?

No emperor would tolerate such a thing. The Third Prince was terrified and immediately knelt down, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

"Your son only said that in front of Father Emperor and has never said such things in front of outsiders," the Third Prince said, genuinely frightened. Since ancient times, as long as imperial power was involved, there was no such thing as father and son. Fathers killing sons and sons killing fathers were as common as carp crossing a river, countless. Whoever touched this high-voltage line died without exception.

"Your son has absolutely no rebellious intentions! Father Emperor!" The Third Prince, kowtowing and wailing, completely disregarded everything else. The fear of death had completely overwhelmed his reason. At that moment, he regretted immensely how he could have said such things in front of his father, the real Emperor.

Of course, the Third Prince would never have noticed the Emperor's expressions and actions when he spoke earlier, nor would he have thought too much about them. Those words were his true thoughts; he said what he usually thought without reservation. It was this lack of reservation that caused him to commit a great taboo.

The Emperor would never reveal to anyone that since reaching the Legendary Realm, his Mind-Clearing Meditation Technique had developed a special ability that allowed him to hear the truth from the other party without making a sound in face-to-face situations. However, this required the other party not to be on guard against him and to be in a natural state to be effective.

The Third Prince kept kowtowing, and his forehead was soon covered in blood. But the Emperor remained expressionless, gently tapping the table rhythmically, as if pondering something.

After a long while, the Emperor finally spoke, asking, "If your plan succeeds, how much do your teachers intend to share?"

"Teacher Lin and the others said they would never dare to get involved with Lizhen Workshop. Even Runzi Workshop and Mengzhi Workshop have royal shares, so they would never interfere," the Third Prince said, feeling a sense of relief that his anxiety had eased when the Emperor asked this question. He quickly replied to the Emperor, "Your son promises that if the plan succeeds, Qian Sheng Yuan will be handed over to Teacher Lin and the others to control. Teacher Lin and the others also said that such elegant items should be controlled by a mere female merchant, which is an insult to culture. If this continues, who will concentrate on cultivating knowledge? Therefore, these vulgar people must never be allowed to contaminate these elegant items with the stench of money again."

"Hmm!" The Emperor did not explain to the Third Prince that Qian Sheng Yuan actually had royal shares. He just wanted to know the thoughts of the scholars around the Third Prince in order to confirm some of his own ideas. After thinking for a while, he asked again, "How will they cooperate with the Grand Masters of Linglong Pavilion if Qian Sheng Yuan is handed over to them? Don't tell me you don't know that those real masterpieces are made by Grand Masters."

"Qian Sheng Yuan cannot be controlled by female merchants, nor can it be manipulated by those who only possess some petty skills," the Third Prince said, still not knowing why he had so easily revealed the words of his teachers. He honestly confessed, "At that time, even the current owner of Qian Sheng Yuan will have to bow their head, let alone some Grand Masters of Linglong Pavilion. If they don't listen, we'll arrest them, convict them of a crime, and make them create masterpieces to atone for their sins, which will also save a lot of costs."

The Emperor nodded. He now finally understood the essence of this group of so-called scholars. They were full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, but when faced with power and wealth, they wished they had five hands to snatch other people's property with such righteousness. It was truly a loss that they could come up with such high-sounding reasons.

What female merchants cannot control Lizhen Workshop, what lowly merchants, what petty skills, in the end, only they, the scholars, are worthy. If others are unwilling to cooperate with them, they will be convicted and imprisoned. They are truly more ruthless than the Eight Great Families! At least the Eight Great Families leave the royal family a way out. If these scholars were in power, I'm afraid these members of the royal family would die without a burial place, right?

Unfortunately, a group of old windbags who are good at empty talk and invincible in verbal attacks, short-sighted and unable to see the big picture. Without the matching strength, relying on the Third Prince's power to take down Lizhen Workshop? What a daydream!