The next early morning, Wei Chen was summoned to the Empress's palace.
So he went quickly then as he stepped inside her place, he felt the heavy air. His mother, Empress Dowager's face had dark expression.
"You useless son!" she snapped the moment she saw him.
Wei Chen clenched his fists but remained silent.
"Do you even have ambition to become the emperor?" she demanded, her voice was sharp enough to make a wound. "Do you think the throne will just fall into your hands if you sit around doing nothing?"
Wei Chen's jaw tightened. He wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Everything she asked true.
Every plan he had carefully drawn had failed, the emperor's illness, his secret arrangements, everything!
So, he couldn't talk back. Instead, he simply knelt before her with his head lowered.
The Empress scoffed. "Pathetic."
Wei Chen lowered his gaze.
She took a deep breath before continuing, "Did you hear? The first prince, Wei Heng, has left for war."
Wei Chen's eyes were filled with surprise. "War?!"
"Yes. An enemy force appeared at the border, and the emperor sent him to handle it. If he wins, do you know what will happen?"
Wei Chen remained silent.
"He will earn the emperor's full trust! The court will praise him! The people will admire him! And you?" She leaned forward. "You will become nothing more than a shadow."
Her words...he knew it was true.
"You must do something greater than that," she said firmly. "Something that will prove to the emperor that you are the better choice!"
Wei Chen swallowed hard. "What should I do, Mother?"
The Empress's eyes narrowed. "That's for you to figure out. But remember, if Wei Heng secures his position, you will never sit on that throne."
Wei Chen remained kneeling as the weight of her words tightened his heart. He must act. He must find a way to surpass the first prince.
No matter what it takes.
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