Under the Dragon's Chair: Shadows of Blood

The Yan Dynasty had been peaceful for hundreds of years but hidden troubles. The hidden danger of the decline of imperial power completely broke out when the old emperor was seriously ill. The late prince Xiao Jingyuan was violent and murderous, and secretly colluded with his relatives to try to force the palace to seize power in advance. After his failure, he was deposed and imprisoned by the old emperor. The government and the public were shocked and people were panicked. The prince's position was like throwing a hot potato, and it was also like a key that opened the Pandora's box of the princes' struggle for power. The brothers who were once harmonious on the surface turned against each other in an instant. The court was completely divided into multiple factions, fighting each other and fighting openly and secretly. A bloody storm quietly enveloped the imperial city. The second prince Xiao Jingheng, whose mother-in-law was the empress of the dynasty, was of noble birth and held the garrison power of the capital. He was domineering and ambitious. After the prince was deposed, he regarded himself as his legitimate son and regarded the Dragon Throne as his treasure. He colluded with the prime minister, the Minister of Civil Affairs and other important officials in the court to monopolize the right to speak in the court, and killed other princes with ruthless methods. Anyone who stood in his way would end badly. He secretly cultivated dead soldiers, monitored the movements of various palaces, and even secretly poisoned him in an attempt to murder the seriously ill old emperor and ascend to the throne as soon as possible. His wolfish ambitions were known to everyone in the government and the public, but no one dared to criticize him easily. The third prince Xiao Jingyu, whose mother is Concubine Shu, comes from a scholarly family. He has read poetry and books since he was a child. He is gentle and elegant. He seems to be indifferent to the world, but in fact he is very deep and is good at pretending. Relying on the literati power of his mother's family, he attracted a large number of civil servants and censors, and used "benevolent government" as a guise to win over the people and secretly accumulate strength. He never took the initiative to stir up disputes, but he was always able to take advantage of it at critical moments and provoke conflicts between the second prince and other princes.