Peace Order
Chapter 200 - 103: Old Affairs Under Heaven, Seizing Their Qi Fortune and Heavenly Mandate_2

Chapter 200: Chapter 103: Old Affairs Under Heaven, Seizing Their Qi Fortune and Heavenly Mandate_2

"In the Imperial Palace, a secret meeting with a court lady."

"Aren’t you afraid that the Emperor will call out with a loud voice, leading the Imperial Guard to tie us both away?"

The magician, who was over forty years old, smiled faintly, "It’s just being cautious."

"Moreover, the ’Four Symbols Sealing Spirit Formation’ is currently the top formation known in the world, and it’s within the grand interior of the Imperial Palace. Chatting here is quite safe; lady, you can rest assured. These days are precisely when the Imperial Guard is rotating."

"The new Imperial Guard is an unruly young man."

"I’ve spent a few days figuring out his pattern."

"Right at this moment, he is in the gardens of Qilin Palace practicing his breathing exercises. He does not allow anyone to disturb him and won’t come to patrol. Although he is the Emperor’s trusted aide, he still comes from a noble and aristocratic family lineage."

"Even if they aren’t all useless bums, they’re not always strictly adhering to their duties."

"While we converse now, I can assure you that we will not be detected by that Imperial Guard."

Hearing this, Li Guanyi cursed in his heart.

A thousand-year-old fox indeed encounters a ghost.

Putting on a show together as if it’s a tale from Liaozhai.

He calculated everything, but he did not expect to meet someone as crafty as himself.

While he was figuring out the other party, the other party was also figuring him out, leading to their unexpected encounter. Li Guanyi suddenly remembered Elder Zu mentioning that fewer changes in the formation meant that the chief magician had ulterior motives, which turned out to be true.

But what was he doing in the Imperial Palace, having a secret meeting with a court lady?

Li Guanyi held his sword with a tranquil expression.

The magician Hou Zhongyu paused and said, "After all, the Empress’s confidante coming to seek me, a man, and the matter involving that man—if discovered, even if I could kill that Imperial Guard, both you and I would not escape death."

The court lady fell silent then simply said, "...You are aware."

Hou Zhongyu said, "After all, it involves that man."

The court lady seemed displeased and said, "You can shut up now."

Hou Zhongyu continued with a smile:

"It’s just you and me here, discussing such matters—do we still need to be so cautious? If we’re not going to be completely open, we might as well wait until the end, until the day the Emperor deposes the Empress herself, and she is sent to the Cold Palace. Your privileged life as her confidante will not be as comfortable as now."

"After all..."

"It’s well known that the Crown Prince is actually of the Regent King’s bloodline."

Li Guanyi covered his mouth.

He instinctively suppressed his presence even lower.

Despite his composure, his heart almost burst into a frantic beat at that moment.

The Crown Prince, of the Regent King’s bloodline?!

And the Emperor knows of it?

He felt he understood why Noble Consort Xue was so favored.

Enraged, the court lady’s teeth clacked together sharply as she said, "Shut up!"

Hou Zhongyu coolly replied, "Shut up? If the Empress is unwilling to provide what this humble one requires, then there is no need for me to continue hiding anything. Perhaps it’s better to speak more openly."

The court lady rebuked, "You demand more and more!"

Hou Zhongyu countered, "Seeking the blood of the Qilin for longevity and prolonged vision necessarily requires such monumental effort!"

The court lady said, "You!"

She calmed herself and said, "The Emperor will not do anything to the Crown Prince."

Hou Zhongyu chuckled and added, "Yes, he won’t, after all, the Regent King is still alive."

Li Guanyi, hidden and clutching his sword tightly, felt a sense that he may have stumbled upon an extraordinary affair. The Regent, that former overlord, had not been killed? And the current Crown Prince was his progeny?

Hou Zhongyu sneered, "The Emperor ordered the destruction of the records of Taiping Duke and the Regent King, was it only to cover up the Regent King’s past actions, to safeguard the royal family’s dignity? Taiping Duke returned to maintain Chen Country’s security and settle the people, thus he came back to depose the Regent King."

"So, he would never do as the Regent King had done before—killing the previous Emperors."

"Merely killing the Regent King would only result in Chen having another Regent."

"If the name isn’t correct, the words won’t ring true. He aimed to expose the Regent King’s crimes to the world and condemn him according to the law, to settle the people’s hearts."

"The day of the battle, he injured and defeated the Regent King."

"At that time, the Regent King hadn’t yet killed the last two Emperors he installed."

"It was the current Emperor who personally killed them, making himself the prime heir."

"Everyone thinks that the Emperor is a man driven by consideration of gains and losses, but only a few of us know that it was the Emperor who led others to choose him, murdered his brothers, then tacitly accepted that his subjugated wife bore the Regent King’s progeny, establishing him as the Crown Prince."

"This concerns what Tantai Xianming represents—the scholars, the aristocratic families; and the continuation of Xiao Wuliang, along with those of military merit, and even the faction represented by the Xue Family."

"In the end, all parties discovered that they only had one choice left."

"However—"

This apparent forty-something-year-old alchemist lowered his gaze.

He remembered events from over a decade ago, when the Regent King’s meridians were shackled, having lost his momentum but still sitting there calmly. The currently dressed Emperor, adorned with twelve crowns, seemed like a beggar receiving charity in front of the crippled King.

With his eyes downcast, the Regent King still clutching the Jade Seal, then threw it, saying:

"If you want it so badly,"

"Take it, then!"

Such a mighty aura, a true overlord.

The Emperor, after all, pales in comparison.

I am no king or marquis.