"It has only been some time, Liuying. I'm afraid that it's impossible for us to talk for a long time now."
Wei Liuying's eyes flickered at her uncle's words. She knew that she wouldn't be able to put on this disguise for a long time. If some people came and tried to search for her, they would be able to find out that she was not in her quarter at this time.
It would mean a lot of trouble.
"Liuying understands."
Wei Lu chuckled. "I think it's enough with the formalities. And I'm glad that you came out to meet me here."
"There's no way I wouldn't want to meet with you, Uncle," Wei Liuying answered smoothly. Her eyes looked back at her uncle. "Is there anything that you plan to do after this, Uncle?"
"Yes. With the princes about to reach adulthood, the game will intensify. I'm afraid that it's impossible for me to stay low and uninvolved," Wei Lu said with a bitter smile.
Game?
It was more like a battle.
Battle for the throne.
Wei Liuying understood that there were some politics played out during this period of time. Even though the first prince, who came from the Empress, was selected as the crown prince, there was no telling whether there would be other undercurrents or not. Based on what her uncle said, she had a feeling that he was not siding with the crown prince.
"His Majesty will not like it."
"That's why we can't get found out," Wei Lu said with a smile.
The Emperor was still in his fifties, which was fairly young. If his sons began to aim for the throne, isn't it mean that they were hoping that he would die faster? It was unacceptable for him as everyone hoped that they would be able to hold the throne and be in power for as long as possible.
Or better, live forever.
Unfortunately, the recipe to be able to live forever didn't exist.*
His sons had started to aim to become the emperor as they had reached adulthood. Even though it would be only the beginning of the process, it would be a grand battle for them that occurred in the background. No one would dare to blatantly mention in front of the Emperor that they longed for the throne.
That was clearly seeking death.
"It means things will get even more dangerous for you, Uncle," Wei Liuying said softly.
"Unfortunately, yes. It's not like I wished things to be like this, but it can't be helped." Wei Lu sighed. "My brother and I have different thoughts about this matter, so we might end up clashing."
Wei Liuying didn't respond. She knew that her father, Wei Hong, would be leaning towards Ji Shu because of Wei Xiao Hua's engagement with him. Even though Ji Shu was not the crown prince, he had firm grip over part of the officials.
This would be his strength.
She was not too clear over the division of power between the four princes, but she heard that other than the third prince, the rest have a decent possibility to become the Emperor. As for the reason it was impossible for the third prince, it was all because of his mother whom the Emperor disliked.
The reason was unknown as it was a private harem's matter that Wei Liuying didn't dare to ask too.
"Uncle, please be careful."
"Don't worry, I'll be trying to do my best to stay hidden and not be in the limelight. It's just that, I'm afraid the princes are going to make their moves in the palace too," Wei Lu said slowly.
The palace.
Wei Liuying never wanted to enter that place in her entire life again. She had enough from the party before. It was filled with so many schemes and hidden daggers that could be thrown from any direction. She was worried that her hair would turn all white if she stayed there any longer.
"Will you come to visit again?"
"I might be able to come during my brother's birthday, but I don't think we'll be able to meet again."
"Yes."
It was inevitable that they wouldn't be able to meet. Even if Wei Liuying was already allowed to go out of her room, the men and women have different places to stay during the party.
They wouldn't be able to meet normally.
And Wei Liuying didn't want to create needless rumors with an attempt from her to meet with her uncle.
That would be too troublesome.
…
Sora's Historical Corner:
The method to live forever is something that many emperors searched in ancient China. Some people suggested using mercury, both by inhalation or by consuming directly. This method, however, instead made them die even faster. (After all, mercury is not something that we can consume safely as the chemical was dangerous for our body)
A renown historical character who tried it was Qin Shi Huang Di, the first Emperor of China. He was obsessed to live forever and used the mercury, but it ended up resulting in his earlier death.
There were many others, but I would not mention them here.