Long Live the Crown Prince

Ying Fusheng’s childhood was one of cold neglect. His birth mother, the imperial consort, despised him. No one loved him, no one cared for him.
It was only after being schemed against and imprisoned that he finally understood the absurdity of his life, ignored and used by all. It had been a farce all along: a switched crown prince.

The false crown prince basked in the Emperor’s favor and the Empress’s love. Behind him stood the illustrious Xu family, pillars of the court. Young as he was, his name shook the world and drew the eyes of all. In the end, he ascended the throne, standing above ten thousand.
Yet Ying Fusheng, the true son of Empress Xu, had been swapped out by Consort Ning. Poisoned by a false mother, thrown into prison, and finally framed by the false crown prince and the Ning family, he was handed a cup of poisoned wine and put to death at the moment the new Emperor rose to power…

He opened his eyes again. He had clawed his way back from the gates of death. He had been reborn.
Given a second life, he would not repeat the same mistakes.

If his Mother would not fight or contend for anything, then he would be even more indifferent to fame and fortune. While others seized power, he tended flowers. While others scrambled for renown, he chanted sutras.
The Empress Dowager said: “Little Six has a simple heart. He is a filial child.”
Consort Ning: ??

The crown prince cultivated ties with scholars of humble birth. The first prince courted the powerful and influential. And he spent his days in the company of idle young nobles, living a life of debauchery and extravagant indulgence.
While the princes tore each other apart, the Emperor looked at Ying Fusheng and said: “Little Six is still the one who gives me the least to worry about.”
The false crown prince: ??

The court was a tangle of deep-rooted factions, its power struggles soaked in blood. And yet he overturned wrongful convictions, settled old debts, and moved forward one steady step at a time.
The treasury swelled. The court rejoiced. Civil and military officials alike declared: “The Sixth Prince cultivates virtue within and expresses it in his conduct. He is a blessing to all under heaven!”
The other princes: ??

When Qi Hanzhou first saw him, it was at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. The young man stood with his robes gathered, his bright eyes deep and full of ambition.
Qi Hanzhou told himself: this person runs deep. Given time, he would surely become a threat.

Later came the southern tour, the overturning of wrongful cases, a name known throughout the land…
Beneath Ying Fusheng’s ambition lay the countless common people he had never let show. He was one of them. And he was willing to bow his head and serve.