The first prince knelt down on one knee and then got up, he said: "Father, I'm very grateful for your love for the son all these years, but you also know that my mother concubine and the empress don't deal with each other, nor do the crown prince and I. If father is gone in the future, the crown prince will definitely kill me. Father, I have no choice but to do so, or do you really not care about your son's life or death."

    Emperor Tiansheng said: "You can discuss it with me, I'm your father! Do you think I will do nothing and watch the crown prince does something to you?"

    The first prince asked Emperor Tiansheng: "What about my mother concubine? Will she live in the cold palace for the rest of her life? After the empress becomes the empress dowager, is there still a place for her?"

    The fourth prince found the time to show his own sense of existence: "Eldest brother, why do you go this far? It's not too late to stop now!"

    The first prince suddenly laughed: "How can it not too late? It's already too late. Do you really think that after you brought back the evidence, there is still room for me to stand up? Fourth brother, you are also the culprit who forced me to commit crimes today. If you didn't insist on investigating the case in Dong'an County thoroughly, would I have confronted my father today? "

    Emperor Tiansheng Said: "I'm going to deal with the Lin family. The fourth child is right, he acts impartially. Don't you know about the greedy things of the Lin family? Eldest child, listen carefully, you are from our Li family, not a puppet of the Lin family. Do you know what you are doing now? If you stop now, I will give you a chance. "

    The first prince shook his head: "Father, this is a decision made by the son after careful consideration. I don't regret it, whether it succeeds or not, I will accept it. The son just wants to live, and I don't want to live in fear everyday."

    Emperor Tiansheng: "Do you think I can live comfortably every day after inheriting the position of the late emperor? Have you ever seen that I can go out of the palace at will? I have to use a silver needle to test the poison everyday before eating a meal, ten years like a day, do you like this kind of life?"

     The first prince: "Father, I haven't done it before, how would I know? If it's done, at least I won't have to die."

    Emperor Tiansheng heard the sound of shouting and killing outside was getting louder and louder. There were eunuchs and maids' scream everywhere, and the guards at the door were mechanically fighting with the people who came in from outside.

     The Lin family had already placed people in the palace in recent days. Otherwise, it was impossible for the first prince entered the palace without anyone noticed.

    Now the Lin family not only needed to control the entire capital city, but also the entire imperial palace. The imperial palace was the first step. As for the common people outside the capital, whoever became the emperor was actually not that important to them. As long as the world was peaceful, they could live a good life. They would support whoever became the emperor.

    Both Emperor Tiansheng and the fourth prince knew that the money embezzled by the Lin family was used to raise private soldiers, but they didn't expect the Lin family raised so many soldiers. It could be seen that this had been planned for a long time. The first prince was still a pawn of the Lin family, and he was still complacent about it.

    Emperor Tiansheng hated iron for not becoming steel, he said: "I have taught you for so many years, but it turns out I taught you nothing."

    The eldest prince: "Father said he doesn't like to live a miserable life like ten years like a day. Why don't you write an edict to pass on the throne to your son?, and you will be Taishang Huang, so that you can enjoy living in ease and comfort, care for yourself for your alloted life span, take care of your grandchildrens, isn't that very good? and the son can also solve a big problem for you."
[太上皇 Tài shàng huáng: Retired Emperor; father of the reigning emperor; fig. puppet master]

    Emperor Tiansheng chuckled: "You really can't wait, even if I give you the throne, can you deal with the people in the court and the Lin family? Will you not be treated as a puppet by the Lin family? Do you have your own right to speak? Do you think I don’t know what your mother concubine has done these years?"

    The first prince: "You didn't make mother concubine the queen, if not, why did she bother to speak for the Lin family?" He was not stupid, all this was to keep him and the Lin family.

     Emperor Tiansheng: "Everyone has ever acted against their will and without the freedom to act independently."

    The first prince: "Father, you are someone without the freedom to act independently. You don't need to say more, and let the son take care of you in the future."

    Emperor Tiansheng took another sip of the milk tea, and at this time he actually felt that the cold milk tea was a bit sweet. He didn't know how the third child was doing in the north, and this son really had no selfishness at all.

    The fourth prince stood beside Emperor Tiansheng. He was listening the sound of fighting outside and also listening to their conversation, and he had a different idea in his heart. However, he didn't have the slightest fear in his heart now, so he stood quietly beside Emperor Tiansheng, and he could protect Emperor Tiansheng from the harm when necessary.

    The eldest brother wanted to be the emperor, but whether he could succeed was still a question.

    He was not the only one who was planning, except for the third brother who couldn't come back from the north, beside him, the crown prince was also watching the first prince's movements. When he was in Dong'an, he discovered that the Lin family was secretly raising private soldiers. If it wasn't because of this matter, he wouldn't go back to the capital quietly.

    Sure enough, not long after he and Shen Mingyun came back, before the matters related to the Lin family were dealt with, they couldn't wait to force the palace.
[逼宫 bī gōng: to force the palace means to force the king or emperor to abdicate]