"Your Highness, a guest requests an audience."
A guest arrived at a royal palace located in the capital of the Xia Kingdom.
Who is it?
The Third Prince, Jiang Lixuan, teased the caged bird and asked without turning his head.
It was as if the bird in front of him was what made him even more concerned.
"Your Highness, the person who visited said that if Your Highness has great ambitions, they can help you. If Your Highness does not see them, then pretend they never came."
The servants reported this in a low voice.
Upon hearing the servant's words, Jiang Lixuan, who was feeding the birds, paused, then silently put down the vessel and said.
"Invite them in for a look. If these people are playing tricks on me, then I will make sure they die a horrible death."
Jiang Lixuan's eyes were filled with a sinister glint, and his face was ruthless. The servants were startled by this scene and retreated obsequiously to relay the orders.
At this moment, Li Baiqiu and Li Yiqiu waited quietly outside the Prince's Mansion, along with their bodyguard and thug, Chen Zhiyuan.
"Brother, why did you decide to seek out this Third Prince? From what I know, his reputation in the Xia Kingdom isn't very good these days."
Li Baiqiu chuckled and said.
“I know that Jiang Lixuan has a lot of violent tendencies, so we can use him as a tool to stir up trouble in the capital. Therefore, his violent tendencies may be the best weapon in our hands.”
"Oh, oh," Li Yiqiu nodded, seemingly understanding.
Just as Li Yiqiu closed her mouth, the gate of the Prince's mansion slowly opened, and a servant who had just questioned Li Baiqiu walked out.
The servants respectfully led Li Baiqiu and the other two into the Prince's mansion.
Upon entering the Prince's mansion, Li Baiqiu's eyes showed even greater satisfaction.
Because the guards in the palace are all very elite, it is clear that the owner of this palace is definitely not an ordinary person.
Li Baiqiu was even more satisfied with this kind of person.
"We greet His Highness the Third Prince."
Upon seeing Jiang Lixuan, Li Baiqiu and the other two bowed slightly, but their faces showed no respect whatsoever.
Jiang Lixuan frowned slightly at this, but didn't say anything more.
After all, these three people in front of me could bring me something very important.
"Speak, what business do you people have with me, Your Highness?"
Jiang Lixuan asked with a smile, his face full of peace. If it weren't for the fact that this prince was generally regarded as tyrannical throughout the Xia Kingdom.
Li Baiqiu genuinely believed that this prince was a good person.
Li Baiqiu immediately stood up and said respectfully.
"Your Highness, now that Prime Minister Li has been harmed by the eunuchs, His Majesty the Emperor has been misled by wicked people. Therefore, we should gather our strength now to remove the evil from the emperor's side."
Li Baiqiu looked like an ambitious young man from the Xia Kingdom.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lixuan touched his chin and then spoke in a slightly bitter tone.
"Although my father has been deceived by treacherous officials, he is still my father. How could he raise an army on his own? So you need not say more. I will never do such a thing. I will do everything in my power to protect the remaining important officials of Xia Kingdom."
Jiang Lixuan's righteous and awe-inspiring appearance made him look like a clown in Li Baiqiu's eyes.
Despite this, Li Baiqiu still spoke with righteous indignation.
"Your Highness, you mustn't do that! The hopes of the entire Xia Kingdom rest on your shoulders. If you don't shoulder this heavy responsibility, who else is qualified?"
Upon hearing Li Baiqiu's words, a hint of joy flashed in Jiang Lixuan's eyes, but he still sighed and said...
"Alas, Your Excellency need not say more. Even if I am willing to kill the traitors, I have no power whatsoever. So, Your Excellency need not explain how I can kill the traitors for my father."
Jiang Lixuan rejected Li Baiqiu once again, but Li Baiqiu's eyes lit up because he knew that Jiang Lixuan had been persuaded by him. As long as he showed a little more power, Jiang Lixuan's ambition would definitely surge.
“If Your Highness has such an idea, how can we, as citizens of Xia, not lend a helping hand? This is a retainer from my family who is willing to lend Your Highness a hand.”
"he?"
Jiang Lixuan glanced sideways at Chen Zhiyuan, whom Li Baiqiu was pointing at, his eyes filled with disdain.
It was as if this middle-aged man with the scar was something special; he just looked like an ordinary guard.
“Your Highness, please do not underestimate this retainer. Although his strength is only at the Venerable Realm, he has a military lineage and can lead troops in battle for Your Majesty. Moreover, the clan elders once sent this retainer of mine to the Northern You Empire to learn how to lead troops.”
Li Baiqiu said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
As expected, as soon as Li Baiqiu finished speaking, the Third Prince gasped and said with an incredulous look.
"You said this person possesses the strength of a Venerable One and the ability to lead an army in battle!"
"Yes, Your Highness."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Lixuan immediately stood up and respectfully approached Chen Zhiyuan, saying something in a respectful manner.
"Oh dear, how can this gentleman stand like that? You good-for-nothing, why don't you hurry up and serve some good tea to our distinguished guests? You have no taste at all."
Like a sudden change of expression, a hint of fawning even appeared on Jiang Lixuan's face.
And Chen Zhiyuan deserved Jiang Lixuan's help, after all, Chen Zhiyuan possessed the strength of a Venerable.
It can be said to be in a class of its own on the entire mainland.
Even a single Venerable One can support a first-rate power.
Even in the Xia Kingdom today, experts at the Venerable Realm are extremely rare and worthy of respect.
Even in the current Xia Kingdom royal family, there are only two or three experts at the Venerable Realm.
Among them, there may only be one truly revered figure who shared the fate of the Xia Kingdom.
As for the other venerable ones, they simply live off the resources of the Xia Kingdom and act as the supreme rulers of the Xia Kingdom.
When the Xia Kingdom encounters minor troubles, they will appear, waving flags and shouting encouragement.
If something is certain to end, then disappearing is the norm, just like when the Northern You Empire attacked the Xia Kingdom.
All the venerable ones of the Xia Kingdom fled.
However, after the Northern Nether Empire left, these Venerables suddenly reappeared.
The Xia Kingdom could only pretend that nothing had happened and continue to offer sacrifices to these venerable ones, thus retaining the offerings.
One can especially imagine how lofty the status of a venerable master must be.
So when Li Baiqiu said that a Venerable-level expert had joined his ranks, Jiang Lixuan was genuinely overly excited.
"Your Highness, is it possible for you to take up the banner of Xia for the sake of the people of Xia? If Your Highness is willing, my brother and I will do our utmost to help you."
Li Baiqiu's words brought Jiang Lixuan to his senses. He straightened his expression and asked calmly.
"So, what exactly do you brothers want?"
They've taken the bait.
A smile appeared on Li Baiqiu's lips, and then he said softly.
"We brothers hope that after Your Highness ascends the throne, you will appoint us as prime ministers, so that we can jointly govern the Xia Kingdom and bring benefits to the people."
"Very well, I agree. Please, gentlemen, stay at my residence. When my staff returns tonight, we will discuss the remaining matters together."
“Okay,” Li Baiqiu and the other person quickly replied.
Then, led by a servant, Li Baiqiu and the other two entered the room where they were resting.
After watching the servants disappear, Li Yiqiu glanced at Chen Zhiyuan.
After seeing Chen Zhiyuan shake his head to indicate that the surroundings were safe, Li Yiqiu finally spoke.
"Brother, can we really gain Jiang Lixuan's trust by doing this? After all, isn't my appearance too unusual?"
Li Baiqiu sneered.
“I don’t care at all whether Jiang Lixuan believes us or not, but he needs our strength, so he has no choice but to believe us.”
After speaking, Li Baiqiu glanced at Chen Zhiyuan. Clearly, Chen Zhiyuan had become a significant asset in this matter.
Seeing Li Yiqiu, who still looked somewhat confused, Li Baiqiu couldn't help but sigh and said.
"The probability of Jiang Lixuan ascending the throne is extremely low now, and he himself understands this, so he urgently needs external support. And we have just delivered ourselves to his doorstep."
Secondly, everyone in Xia Kingdom says that Jiang Lixuan is violent, so he absolutely will not allow anyone to be above him. Therefore, for the sake of the throne, he will definitely cause a huge uproar.
Furthermore, regardless of whether the three of us had good intentions or not, Jiang Lixuan was confident that once he ascended the throne, he would be able to easily eliminate the three of us with the strength of the Xia Kingdom.
Therefore, he will definitely accept our goodwill, and at the same time, he will start causing chaos throughout the entire Xia Kingdom.
As Li Baiqiu explained, Li Yiqiu's eyes grew brighter, and she immediately followed up after Li Baiqiu finished speaking.
“We could even have one prince, thus creating a contest between the two princes, thereby causing chaos throughout the Xia Kingdom.”
"That's right."
Seeing her younger brother finally using his brain, Li Baiqiu's eyes revealed her heartfelt joy.
After all, he is the only one in the Li family who can shoulder the main responsibility now, not because the other members of the Li family are not talented enough.
Instead, the family focused all its resources on one person, paying less attention to the other members.
That's why the Northern You Empire has the title of Li Baiqiu, a talented young man.
Without the help of his family, and given that the Empress disliked the Li family, Li Baiqiu would never have been selected as one of the Ten Hidden Dragons of the Northern You Empire.
These ten hidden dragons encompass all the talented young people under the age of thirty across the entire continent.
Although there are certainly still a considerable number hidden on the mainland, those that are in the open are definitely included.
Five people from the Northern You Kingdom were selected, and the other countries and forces combined only had five people selected.
Even in the powerful Xia Kingdom in the Central Plains today, not a single young person has been selected for this ranking, which shows just how powerful this ranking is.
On Li Baiqiu's side, in order to create an opportunity for Zhao Zheng, he was causing trouble in the Xia Kingdom.
Zhao Zheng also received news that Chen Yuanbai had been brutally murdered by the eunuchs of the Xia Kingdom.
Upon seeing this news, Zhao Zheng was instantly stunned.
However, with Zhao Zheng's intelligence, he immediately realized that this was Li Baiqiu's failed attempt to win him over, creating an opportunity for him to subdue the Xia Kingdom.
He immediately smiled.
"Ancestor, didn't you already understand? Li Yuanhuai could never betray the Xia Kingdom."
Zhao Zheng said with a light laugh.
"Yes, I calculated that Li Yuanhuai would never join your ranks, but I ultimately underestimated Li Baiqiu's wisdom. No wonder he deserves to be on this year's Hidden Dragon List."
Ye Yi sighed. But he quickly continued with a smile.
"However, creating this opportunity for you must have drained the Li family's resources."
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhao Zheng's eyes were somewhat confused.
"Li Yuanhuai is very important, extremely important to the Xia Kingdom. Do you think the people of the Xia Kingdom wouldn't know that? That's why Li Yuanhuai is protected by Li Wenshu, the spirit of the Southern Expedition."
This junior's strength and talent are truly remarkable.
Under such circumstances, Li Baiqiu was still able to use the power of the royal family to eliminate Li Yuanhuai, thereby provoking conflict, which shows the extent of the losses incurred.
Ye Yi sighed softly.
"It seems the Li family is serious about pledging allegiance to me."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zhao Zheng's eyes. Although Zhao Zheng was confident that he could subdue the Li family, he really did not expect that the Li family would use its resources so quickly.
"However, Ancestor, is such a loss really worth it? After all, I heard that the eunuch who made the move is the royal family's black glove, and holds a very high position."
"Hehe, you won't touch the Li family's foundation. The Li family and Luo Wang both once submitted to my command, so the Li family must also have some of Luo Wang's methods. So this time when we go back, this Black Glove may not have any methods left, and may even go further."
Ye Yi said in a profound and enigmatic way.
After listening to Ye Yi's words, Zhao Zheng's eyes fell into deep thought, but soon he smiled again.
"Ancestor, when do you think we should launch an invasion against the Xia Kingdom?"
"That depends on Li, but you can first send a small team of elite soldiers into Xia Kingdom and wait for the civil unrest in Xia Kingdom."
"Okay, I understand. It just so happens that Li Ge said he wanted to lead a team out for some combat, so let him take a team with him."
"Good idea. I think if nothing unexpected happens, Li Baiqiu and Li Ge will become the top civil and military talents under your command."
Ye Yi said with a smile.
"Grandpa, you don't like Old Chen."
Zhao Zheng asked meaningfully.
"I don't know if Elder Chen can become your top civil official, but I do know that Elder Chen is definitely your top expert right now."
Ye Yi also smiled.
Upon hearing this, a look of shock flashed in Zhao Zheng's eyes, because he had quite a few Venerable experts under his command, and it was indeed hard to imagine that Elder Chen could be said to be the first expert by the Ancestor.
"Then, Ancestor, do you know his identity?"
"Like I said, I can't tell you now, but it will absolutely not do you any harm."
Ye Yi repeated what he had said when he was in charge of the childcare.
Zhao Zheng remained very calm in response to Ye Yi's words.
Although Zhao Zheng had previously asked Ye Yi about Chen Lao's statement, Ye Yi had consistently replied that there was no harm in it at present.
That's all.
Hearing Ye Yi talk about Elder Chen's strength now, Zhao Zheng was indeed somewhat frightened.
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