Family Management Game In Immortal Continent

Chapter 578: The Fourth Prince

”Yaotie, do not be so presumptuous in the Imperial Preceptorʼs Mansion!”

Only after a cold snort from Li Dalong did Li Yaotie finally suppress his anger.

Min Youguo smiled. ”Prefecture Lord Li, there is no need to be anxious for now. Since the Twelfth Princeʼs soul lamp is still burning, his captors must surely have some demand. But I wonder, does Prefecture Lord Li know of a certain matter?”

Seeing the look on Min Youguoʼs face, Li Dalong waited quietly for him to continue.

Min Youguo continued, ”My Emberwing Guards are not famous for nothing. At the very least, I have heard certain rumors within the Heavenly Palace: His Majesty intends to establish a Crown Prince. And this chosen heir... is none other than the Twelfth Prince. I wonder if Prefecture Lord Li has heard of this?”

Li Dalong hesitated for a moment, but inwardly, his heart was a sea of raging waves.

How could his secret conversation with the Human Emperor possibly have reached Min Youguoʼs ears?

The area around the Human Emperorʼs sickbed had clearly been protected by numerous spiritual arrays; no outsider should have been able to overhear them!

”No.”

After a momentʼs consideration, Li Dalong simply shook his head.

Seeing Li Dalongʼs reaction, Min Youguo could already guess most of the truth.

He raised an eyebrow, let the matter drop, and said with a grave expression, ”If the Twelfth Prince ascends the throne, he will surely be a monarch for the ages.

But Prefecture Lord Li must understand, His Majesty has reached the age of one hundred and thirty thousand, and his heirs are numerous.

If I can learn of this struggle for the succession, then others can learn of it as well!”

”Right now, His Majestyʼs dragon body is unwell, and the civil and military officials of the imperial court are all consumed by ambition.

Do you have any idea how many people of the imperial bloodline there are?

How many in the entire Azure Dynasty bear the surname of Majesty (Zishu)? Over three million!

Countless sects and aristocratic families are nurturing these Zishu bloodlines, just waiting for the day His Majesty ascends to the heavens so they can push their own chosen imperial candidate onto the throne in the grand ceremony.”

”For the sake of the succession, there is nothing they wouldnʼt do.

Just think: who could possibly capture the Twelfth Prince?

He is a Divinity Transformation expert, and he even had one of my Emberwing Guard at his side.

Who, then, could have captured him?”

”By narrowing the scope of suspects in this way, rescuing the Prince becomes a much simpler matter.”

Hearing this.

Li Yaotieʼs eyes flew wide with fury. ”Grand Tutor Lin Jiu?!!²”

The factions of Grand Tutor Lin Jiu and the Imperial Preceptor had a long history of deep-seated grievances.

Coupled with what Min Youguo had just said, it was difficult for Li Yaotie not to immediately suspect the Grand Tutor.

Unexpectedly, however, Min Youguo shook his head.

”The Grand Tutor would not stoop to such a thing,” he said. ”I have contended with him for many years. He is utterly loyal to the Imperial Dynasty; he would never make a move against any of the princes.

Even if another prince were to ascend the throne, the Grand Tutor would remain a pillar of the state, and the great army of the Northern Border would still be under his command.

If he truly wanted to rebel... heh.”

Min Youguo gave a cold laugh. ”Your Li family still underestimates the Grand Tutor. He would not risk eternal infamy over the matter of the succession.”

This time, Li Yaotie did not erupt in anger, and Li Dalong, too, furrowed his brow deeply.

Perhaps their Li family had been wrong all along.

Grand Tutor Lin Jiu and Imperial Preceptor Min Youguo... they were still figures far beyond their reach.

Min Youguo was right; no matter which prince ascended the throne, it would have little real impact on them.

After more than a hundred thousand years, their roots were buried far too deep within the Azure Dynasty.

”However, I can offer you a reminder. Are you aware,” he asked, ”that ever since the news of His Majestyʼs approaching final day has spread, this Imperial Dynasty has been in a state of turmoil? Do you know how many have begun to harbor... improper thoughts?”

Min Youguo sighed. ”An age of great chaos is upon us. Across the thirty-six prefectures of the Imperial Dynasty, how many cultivators feel oppressed by the court and wish to act in defiance of heaven? Some aristocratic clans have already amassed their troops. Some sects have put on a new face, their disciples becoming military commanders.”

”There are even ridiculous rumors being spread—they claim His Majesty is a muddle-headed and unprincipled ruler, indulging in wine and women day and night within the Human Emperorʼs Hall.

Everywhere, the word is spreading that the fated time of my Azure Dynasty is at an end!”

Li Dalong gave a slight nod.

He had only been Prefecture Lord for ten years, yet he had already heard rumors springing up all over the world, along with a number of strange and bizarre incidents: people witnessing celestial phenomena, the Buddha himself supposedly issuing a decree, all kinds of signs of rebellion,...

Even their own Eternal Sun Prefecture, because it had suddenly become a staunchly royalist faction, was plagued by rumors that the Li family was aiding the Human Emperor in his tyranny.

Tian Xing, meanwhile, was being lauded throughout the Jianghu as a hero who refused to bow to the Dynastyʼs oppression, only to be ruthlessly suppressed by the Li family.

There were even whispers that the Eternal Sun Prefecture itself was a land of evil cultivators, and so on and so forth.

These signs of chaos seemed to mark the beginning of the dynastyʼs turmoil.

At first, the Li family paid them little mind, knowing they were powerless to stop such rumors from spreading.

But now, hearing Min Youguo speak with such gravity, he finally sensed just how dire the situation had become.

”Lord Imperial Preceptor, you mean to say...” Li Dalongʼs expression was exceedingly grave.

This matter was inextricably linked to the fate of their Li family.

”A generationʼs Human Emperor is nearing the end of his lifespan. This, in itself, is a great calamity for our Azure Dynasty, and all of us are caught within it.”

Min Youguo gave a wry smile. ”Prefecture Lord Li, the Twelfth Prince, was most likely captured by one of these ambitious figures.

He disappeared in Duskwild Prefecture, which means there is only one person who could possibly be responsible: the Fourth Prince—”

”Prince Jue!”

”Stop your search, Prefecture Lord Li. Prince Jue is currently amassing his troops.

Although His Majesty does not favor him, if Prince Jue were to truly become the new Human Emperor of our Azure Dynasty, it would not necessarily be a bad thing.”

”At the very least, he is of His Majestyʼs orthodox bloodline and is qualified to inherit the great mantle of the throne!”

The Imperial Preceptorʼs Mansion.

Li Dalong and Li Yaotie slowly emerged, their faces dark and somber.

Li Dalongʼs voice was low and heavy. ”What the Human Emperor said was true. Great chaos is coming; the Human Race is in peril.

That Min Youguo... he never truly valued Feiheng. In front, he supported Feiheng and two other princes, but no one knows what his true intentions are.”

In his ten years as Prefecture Lord, Li Dalong had thought that by grasping great power, he could finally stand on equal footing with these high and mighty figures.

But he had discovered that he had greatly overestimated himself.

The political situation in the Imperial Dynasty was bafflingly complex; he could not fathom even the slightest of Min Youguoʼs true thoughts.

Even after years of investigation by the Li family, they still had no idea what kind of foundational power Min Youguo truly commanded, beyond his Imperial Preceptorʼs Mansion and the Emberwing Guard.

”Dad, what Min Youguo meant was that he no longer cares about Prince Feihengʼs life or death. He intends to stay out of it and preserve himself.”

Gone was any trace of the irascible man Li Yaotie had been in the main hall just moments before.

In a true twist of fate, after several hundred years, it was Li Yaotie who had, contrary to all expectation, grown to be the most like Li Dalong. When he grinned now, there was always a chilling coldness to it.

”He told us Prince Feiheng is in Prince Jueʼs hands,” he said, ”because he wants our Li family to go and fight Prince Jue in a battle to the death!

His mouth is full of talk about his duty to the state and the dynasty, but in reality, he canʼt wait for the world to fall into utter chaos!”

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