Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 552 - 552 0371 Seriously Affecting the Display of

Chapter 552: Chapter 0371: Seriously Affecting the Display of Power Chapter 552: Chapter 0371: Seriously Affecting the Display of Power Chapter 0371: Serious Impact on the Exercise of Power

King Zhangbei Zhao Donghao used an urgent report to the Capital City, which after entering the city was not delivered to the Six Departments, but to the Ancestral Affairs Office. This was a special institution established by the court of the Great Zhao to handle the affairs of princes and nobility. The Mansion Master of the Ancestral Affairs Office, Zhao Junfei, was the younger brother of the previous emperor, given the title of King Fei, and was a strong cultivator at the ninth level of Foundation Establishment.

Upon receipt of the report, Zhao Junfei immediately opened it and scanned its contents. Typically, he only needed to circle the report and then give a brief report to the Emperor during court meetings. Once that was done and the Emperor took note, the Ancestral Affairs Office would then dispatch people to King Zhangbei Manor and assess the Crown Prince’s character. Following confirmation of no problems, they would then issue an acknowledgement, and that would be the end of the process.

However, this time, after reading the contents of the report, Zhao Junfei was immediately incensed. On the one hand, Zhao Donghao had bypassed several sons and directly passed the throne to Zhao Qian, which was against the customs of Great Zhao. On the other, he mentioned in the report that Zhao Puxue had misappropriated disaster relief funds, resulting in severe consequences, and had been executed according to the laws of Great Zhao. This too was against the customs of Great Zhao.

Of course, all kinds of irregularities took place in the mansions of the princes and nobles of Great Zhao, and typically, when such things occurred, they would send representatives to the Ancestral Affairs Office to smooth things over. The Office would then turn a blind eye and let things slide. But this time, King Zhangbei’s Mansion didn’t even show any intent to save face, which was a serious breach of protocol.

Moreover, Emperor Tian Rui was currently ignoring state affairs, leaving all matters to the Crown Prince’s supervision. The Crown Prince’s power in the court had grown significantly, and he had personally visited the Ancestral Affairs Office to hand Zhao Junfei a list, asking him to notify the Crown Prince promptly if anything related to the names on the list happened.

The Crown Prince had been showing a great deal of strength in court and had won the loyalty of many essential court officials. In addition, many cultivator families and cultivator sects in the cultivation world of Great Zhao, especially the Guardian National Master Manor, fully supported him. Even the National Master Manor was leaning towards the Crown Prince.

Unless something major unexpected happened, the Crown Prince’s ascension to the throne was almost a foregone conclusion. To ensure his wealth and honor after the Crown Prince ascended to the throne, Zhao Junfei had long decided to pledge his allegiance to the Crown Prince.

Being a loyal subordinate of the Crown Prince, Zhao Junfei knew that Zhao Puxue had once represented King Zhangbei’s Manor in pledging allegiance to the Crown Prince. King Zhangbei Zhao Donghao had also written a letter of allegiance to the Crown Prince. But now Zhao Puxue had been killed, Zhao Donghao had abdicated, and Zhao Qian had become the new King Zhangbei. Wouldn’t that make King Zhangbei’s further allegiance to the Crown Prince a question mark? This situation was decidedly unfavorable for the Crown Prince. After all, although the Crown Prince was the heir apparent, whether he could take the final step to become the actual king still had considerable variables. History had many examples of Crown Princes being overthrown just before their formal ascension. Neither Zhao Junfei nor the other forces dependent on the Crown Prince wanted to see the Crown Prince lose power, for they would all suffer as a result.

Zhao Junfei quickly rushed to the Crown Prince’s Manor and presented Zhao Donghao’s urgent report to the Crown Prince. After reading it, the Crown Prince’s face darkened, saying, “Zhao Donghao is really daring. He has not taken the laws of the court seriously.”

Zhao Junfei asked, “Crown Prince, how should your old minister handle this matter?”

The Crown Prince said, “You should send a couple of sharp-witted people to investigate and find out what exactly happened. We should not act rashly before we understand everything.”

“This… Crown Prince, the behavior of King Zhangbei’s Mansion is a challenge to the Crown Prince’s authority. It must be severely punished. Isn’t it inappropriate to just send someone to investigate?” Zhao Junfei said.

The Crown Prince snorted coldly, saying, “After all, the issue with King Zhangbei’s Mansion is trivial. When the time comes, they will regret it. For me, the most urgent task is to establish my authority throughout the Great Zhao as soon as possible. The best way to establish my authority is to make the Imperial Master Mansion submit. I have received reliable information that the Imperial Master Mansion has fled Zhangshui City and gone to Lubei County, and they have chosen to relocate to an area atop spiritual stone veins.”

When the Crown Prince said the words “spiritual stone veins”, his eyes visibly brightened. Whether as the Crown Prince of Great Zhao or a cultivator, he fully understood the immense value of a spiritual stone vein. If he could control a spiritual stone vein, its benefits would be considerable.

Zhao Junfei understood well how much a spiritual stone vein was worth. He said, “Crown Prince, I have a suggestion. Since the Imperial Master Mansion has seized control of the spiritual stone vein, why not alter our strategy from suppression to conciliation? We could have the Imperial Master Mansion give up some of the shares in the spiritual stone vein in exchange for our control, and in return, make them our allies.”

The Crown Prince snorted coldly, saying, “So in your eyes, am I a fickle person?”