Seeing the familiar stubborn little face, Emperor Zhou sighed in his heart. "You can take him away if you want, but don't regret it."

"I won't regret it. No matter what I do, no matter what the result is, I have the courage to face the result," Zhou Fu said seriously.

Zhou Di looked at the young man and felt helpless inwardly, for his stubbornness and innocence. "If you regret it, I'll … forget it …"

Wasn't this child always like this?

He could only divert his attention to pave the way for him.

Emperor Zhou rubbed Zhou Fu's head again. Seeing that the young boy was not on guard against him, and his gaze was pure and innocent, his expression softened.

He returned to the table, took out a simple wooden tablet, and handed it to Zhou Fu.

"What is this?" Zhou Fu asked in confusion.

"Something that can protect you," Emperor Zhou said. "Take it."

He looked at Zhou Fu with a complicated expression. His feelings were even more complicated, like a strange mixture of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy flavors. Zhou Fu's senses were very sharp. The closer he got, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Zhou Fu was not very willing to stay with Emperor Zhou for long. He could not explain why, but he felt very uncomfortable. He reflexively refused to look into Emperor Zhou's eyes. Every time he realized that Emperor Zhou felt guilty towards him, he would feel wronged.

Zhou Fu tilted his head and touched his chest. He could not figure out why he felt wronged.

Fortunately, Emperor Zhou nodded and agreed to let Zhao Gao go. When Zhou Fu turned to leave, Emperor Zhou said faintly, "I'll be waiting for you to come find me."

Zhou Fu stopped in his tracks. He was confused. What was Emperor Zhou up to?

The young boy turned around in confusion, only to see Emperor Zhou waving his hand, indicating that he could leave. He looked like he did not want to talk anymore.

In the shadows, Emperor Zhou's figure was blurry and mysterious. Something seemed to be hidden behind that imposing figure.

Zhou Fu's heart thumped wildly. In a daze, he had already walked to the door of the hall.

At night, Zhao Gao returned to Zhou Fu's side unscathed. Jing Shichang, who had come to send him off, happily patted Zhao Gao's back and said meaningfully, "Brother Zhao, I'll have to take care of you in the future."

Zhao Gao was baffled. "What does he mean by that?"

Zhou Fu tilted his head. "Maybe he wants to make friends with you?

Don't be nervous, it's not a big deal.

"How do you know?

I've always been curious. Does Emperor Zhou want you to be the Crown Prince, or does he hate you?

Now that he's released me in the teeth of the storm, is he waiting for the Second Prince to act out of desperation and kill you? "Zhao Gao asked, full of confusion.

After all, after the Great Prince's power had been dealt a heavy blow, the Empress's relatives had begun to move frequently in the court. This was especially true of the Fifth Imperial Prince's uncle in name, who currently held military power in his hands. He was a great threat to the Second Prince. Most of the firepower in the court was directed at this uncle.

That uncle was, in the end, quite a character. He actually stood tall and did not fear the attacks of the Second Prince's henchmen.

Back in the day, Prince Zhao had strived to reach the top of the court. With his talent and family power, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was favored by the heavens. Who would have thought that fate would make a fool of him? Now, he had entered the palace and become a servant who served others.

Zhao Gao knew much more about the movements in the court than Zhou Fu.

Zhou Fu smiled. "Actually, there's no one. Do you believe it?"

Zhao Gao's face was full of disbelief. "Do I look stupid?"

"There's a saying that cleverness leads to the downfall of cleverness."

"Can we not bicker?" Zhao Gao felt powerless. "Your Highness, you have to be more careful. Why don't you see that you've been pushed to the teeth of the storm? I really don't know what His Majesty's intentions are."

Zhou Fu blinked. "I'm not in a hurry, why are you in a hurry?"

"Why should I be in a hurry? Why should I be worried?" Zhao Gao laughed angrily.

"That, actually, it's really fine. My intuition is very accurate," Zhou Fu muttered in a small voice.

"I hope so." Zhao Gao sighed softly. Seeing that the young youth did not seem to have any sense of danger, he was secretly worried.

In this man-eating Imperial Palace, how could he survive in this pure white Little Hall?

Even if he ascended to the supreme position in the future, would he be able to hold the power?

If he was so soft, how could he suppress those old foxes and old foxes in the court who each had their own ideas?

The current court was in chaos because of the Great Prince's fall from his horse. The Great Prince's henchmen were being suppressed by the Second Prince's men. There was a unanimous call in the court for Emperor Zhou to make the Crown Prince as soon as possible. Naturally, the one who was supported the most was the Second Prince. However, there were also voices that supported the Fifth Imperial Prince. After all, the Fifth Imperial Prince was young, easy to control, and of orthodox birth.

It was precisely because of this that it was easy to control that it attracted opportunists to take risks. Moreover, the Fifth Imperial Prince's uncle, Wang Mang, was very good at flattering people. Those who did not agree with him had their hats pulled off by him.

It was not hard to notice that there was Emperor Zhou's shadow behind him. Could it be that the Fifth Imperial Prince would replace the Great Prince to compete with the Second Prince?

Zhao Gao looked at the heartless Zhou Fu who was smoothing out the dog's fur. He had a headache and rubbed his forehead. It better not be like this. It was too difficult.

Because of the changes in the court, the harem gradually changed from turbulent undercurrents to turbulent winds.

Day after day passed. The Fifth Imperial Prince's palace was still a scene of peace. It was not affected by the tense atmosphere outside at all. The days passed as usual. He could not neglect the areas that he should study. Zhou Fu tirelessly absorbed all the knowledge he could.

This was already the seventeenth cart of scrolls that the Fifth Imperial Prince had read this week. Every time he finished reading, he could not forget it. Mister's spot checks and homework had never been difficult for him.

Zhao Gao put away the bamboo scrolls. He thought to himself that this was what it meant to have outstanding talent.

What kind of person would this young man, who buried his head in his desk and tirelessly absorbed all the knowledge he could get?

Zhao Gao could not imagine it. However, it was as if a seed had been planted in his heart. He wanted to see him grow up and see the appearance of an eagle spreading its wings and soaring high. Once he thought of this young man's limitless future, he could not help but tremble.

This young man was still a piece of white paper. Everyone around him would dye him with color. How could Zhao Gao, who was closest to him, not be attracted by him? He wanted to paint this piece of paper with his color!

"Your Highness the Fifth Imperial Prince, please respectfully welcome Emperor Zhou's decree."

The chamberlain at Emperor Zhou's side held an imperial edict and looked down at the Fifth Imperial Prince and his attendants kneeling in front of him.

Suddenly, the head of the inner court panicked. His legs went soft, and he fell to his knees with a plop. He looked at the Fifth Prince, and the people around him also fell to their knees and prostrated themselves on the ground.

"Lord Chamberlain?

Why are you performing such a grand ceremony? "Zhou Fu asked in confusion.

The chamberlain wanted to cry but had no tears. Prostrating himself on the ground, he said in a trembling voice, "Your Highness … Your Highness, please accept the imperial edict."

Zhou Fu took the imperial edict and asked, "Can I get up now?"

The chamberlain knelt on the ground, trembling as he repeatedly said yes.

Thus, Zhou Fu stood up. Only now could the chamberlain stand up and speak to the Fifth Imperial Prince.

Emperor Zhou had ordered the Fifth Imperial Prince, Zhou Fu, to go to the Mausoleum of Zhou to pay respects to the ancestors, completely removing him from the struggle for the position of Crown Prince.

Zhao Gao had long since tacitly agreed that Zhou Fu would become Zhou Fu. Now that he heard that Zhou Fu had been sent to the Imperial Mausoleum, the first thing he did was not think about what he would do in the future. Instead, he was afraid that the youth would suffer a great blow. He looked worriedly at Zhou Fu, who was holding the imperial edict.

Zhou Fu looked at Zhao Gao and blinked. After the chamberlain left, he happily ordered Zhao Gao to pack up his things. "Bring this, bring that. Going over there is quite boring. Let's bring Number One. Number One has a face. How stupid and cute!"

Zhao Gao's body unconsciously did things according to Zhou Fu's words. The worry in his heart dissipated under the direction of Zhou Fu. He felt extremely helpless. "Your Highness, you have to be more careful …"

What answered him was Zhou Fu's adorable smile. The youth obediently hugged the imperial edict and sat on a stool, watching them busy themselves.

The Fifth Imperial Prince had been excluded from the struggle for the position of Crown Prince, and the son of the first wife had gone to the Imperial Mausoleum. This was a great blow to the situation in the court.

Emperor Zhou's sudden actions caused the Empress's relatives to be as quiet as chickens.

Wang Mang retracted his arrogant attitude and became a well-behaved and low-key person. The Second Prince had jumped?

The First Prince had been deposed, and the calls for the Second Prince's replacement were growing louder by the day.

If not for the fact that Emperor Zhou's expression did not change, the neutral officials watching from the sidelines might have wavered and most of them switched sides.

On the other side, after three long days of travel, the group arrived at the outskirts of Emperor Zhou's Mausoleum. On this trip, Zhou Fu was accompanied by no one other than Zhao Gao. That was to be expected. Zhou Fu was a prince who had been sent to the Imperial Mausoleum to guard the Imperial Mausoleum, not to go on a sightseeing tour. How could he be allowed to enjoy himself so much?

On the other hand, the group escorting Zhou Fu was led by the familiar Jing Shichang. This group took great care of Zhou Fu, so the journey was not difficult.

When the group arrived at the outskirts, an old official guarding the Imperial Mausoleum was in charge of receiving them. When the old official saw Zhou Fu, who resembled Emperor Zhou in his childhood, he smiled so widely that his face wrinkled into a chrysanthemum.