I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 115 Xu Zifeng must respect me, so that I can treat him as my son! (Please subscribe, please vote)

"Your Majesty, Zifeng is actually a good boy."

Ji Lianyu spoke softly, her words full of earnestness.

She has become more and more skilled in serving Li Chen recently. She knows what Li Chen likes to hear and when he is willing to listen.

These are the skills that Chu Ruoyan should have, called "pillow talk", but unfortunately Chu Ruoyan doesn't understand them, and the Chu family doesn't need her help for the time being.

Ji Lianyu is becoming more and more dependent on Li Chen. She couldn't sleep last night and kept thinking about it.

According to what Li Chen said, the chances of the Prince of Zhennan winning are really slim. If the Prince of Zhennan really loses this time, then the Crown Prince Xu Zifeng will also be implicated.

Why doesn't she take advantage of the opportunity to be Li Chen's bedmate to leave a way out for Xu Zifeng? After all, he is her sister's son, and she treats Xu Zifeng as her own son.

As for the King of Zhennan? He was just a stranger.

In the past, Ji Lianyu supported the camp of Prince Zhennan only because of the Ji family and Xu Zifeng.

But now, feeling Li Chen's bravery, she became attached to him and felt that she should stand on Li Chen's side.

And according to Li Chen, if the Prince of Zhennan was dealt with, the Ji family would rely on her to continue to survive, and would even become more prosperous. She felt that she should support Li Chen and serve him well.

As long as she thinks so, her future actions will slowly begin to revolve around Li Chen.

Hearing Ji Lianyu say this, Li Chen changed his position and said, "I can give him a chance, but he has to make achievements on his own. With his current performance, even if I give him a chance, the court officials will not accept it."

What Li Chen meant was that Xu Zifeng had to respect me before I could treat him as my son.

Now he is just a rebellious son. I didn't punish him for your sake.

At this point, Ji Lianyu naturally understood that after her efforts, His Majesty had finally agreed, so the next step would depend on Xu Zifeng's performance.

According to Ji Lianyu's plan, Xu Zifeng will also participate in the Spring Search, so he hopes that Li Chen will pay more attention to Xu Zifeng during the Spring Search, so that he can show his strength in front of the civil and military officials.

Xu Zifeng could never have dreamed that his aunt would stab him in the back at this moment, causing him to embark on a path of no return.

Li Chen did not agree directly. He usually looked at Ji Lianyu's performance, so Ji Lianyu could only work harder to create opportunities for Xu Zifeng.

At this moment, Xu Zifeng was discussing with Ma Hei in the prison about how to embarrass Li Chen on the day of the spring roundup, and then expose the second prince and let them fight to the death.

The more chaotic the situation in the imperial capital is, the more beneficial it is for him.

Compared to Li Chen, Xu Zifeng hated the second prince Li Xian even more. That despicable villain actually went to a police chief to file a complaint. He was so shameless.

After the discussion, he and Ma Hei lay in the cell to rest, waiting to be released the next day.

Ma Hei remembered that when he was sent here by the Witch King, the Witch King said to him earnestly: You follow the Crown Prince in the imperial capital, and you will probably be able to enjoy wealth and glory, but don't be greedy for worldly prosperity. If you want to go further, you must keep your original heart and restrain your nature.

At that time, Ma Hei promised that his goal was to reach the Saint level, follow the footsteps of the Witch King, and inherit the Holy Land of Witchcraft.

This trip to the imperial capital is a trial in the mortal world, and also an opportunity to prove my strength to my fellow tribesmen.

Ma Hei is ready to resist the worldly affairs, the enchanting beauties, the decadent life, the addictive power. Come on, all of you come and test me!

In the end, nothing came and Ma Hei arrived at this dark and damp cell.

This crappy place is not as good as Southern Xinjiang. Over there, at least I am second to none in the Holy Land.

But then again, Ma He felt that the imperial capital was truly full of hidden talents, and one could easily run into a hidden strong man in any fight.

If it weren't for the mission, Ma Hei really wanted to have a good fight with Feng Wuhen.

The spring hunt will be held in two days, and he also wants to see how powerful the emperor is and whether he is as powerful as the Witch King.

Those who can cultivate to the level of a saint are definitely not mediocre. Maybe they can also explore a path of their own.

Because Ma Hei knew that he could not copy the Witch King one-to-one, so if he wanted to overcome this hurdle, he had to find a way himself.

Many cultivators who are stuck at the peak of the Tianyuan Realm think so.

Qingqiu City in the eastern part of the Tiance Dynasty.

This is an important military town of the Tiance Dynasty and also the location where the third prince’s troops are stationed.

The garrison in Qingqiu City is generally used to intimidate neighboring countries and coastal areas, so the pressure is not very great.

The third prince is named Li Yu. He grew up in the army. Relying on the cultivation of Yun Xu, the commander of the Second Army, and his own ability to endure hardships, he has a certain prestige in the southeast of the Tiance Dynasty.

Li Yu's talent for cultivation is not as good as Li Xian's, but he is not bad either. In addition, he has not married yet because his sweetheart was taken away by the prince, so his cultivation speed is still acceptable.

His cultivation has also reached the initial stage of the Heaven-Observing Realm.

He had only achieved this in recent days, and now his body was a little weak due to the breakthrough and was recovering slowly.

In the past, Li Yu’s competitors were only Li Xian and the prince.

Ever since the crown prince died suddenly, Li Yu felt that his only opponent was Li Xian.

Li Xian's cultivation is very high, reaching the Guantian realm, but so what? Li Yu has many subordinates in the Tianyuan realm, and the Tianyuan realm is one realm higher than the Guantian realm.

In Li Yu's opinion, the only thing that he and Li Xian compete with is strategic layout and the strength of their subordinates.

If you want to be an emperor, you have to have some tricks.

The reason why he gritted his teeth and broke through at this time was also because of the shock brought by Li Chen.

Li Chen, with his cultivation level at the Saint level, has scared away so many people.

Things that the Tianyuan realm cannot solve can be solved by the Saint realm.

For the first time, Li Yu felt that having a high level of cultivation really did have its benefits, so he gritted his teeth and made a breakthrough.

Fortunately, this time he succeeded without any danger, otherwise he would have become a useless person and could have withdrawn from the fight for the throne.

In fact, the Second Prince Li Xian guessed correctly about some things, that is, the Third Prince Li Yu did have the support of the Northern Royal Court.

The Khan of the Snow Eagle Royal Court has not responded to Li Chen because he wants to see the civil strife in the Tian Ce Dynasty first before taking action.

At this stage, whoever attacks first will suffer.

After all, whoever takes action first will have to bear the main firepower of the major army groups of the Tiance Dynasty.

The Khan even sent a powerful saint to help, just to assist Li Yu and give him the courage to take action.

It's just like the Prince of Zhennan and the remnants of the previous dynasty, and even the forces hidden deeper.

They all wanted to take action against Li Chen, but no one wanted to be the first to do so.

Now we just have to wait for the anxious Second Prince to take action first, and then the Third Prince will definitely not be able to hold back.

As long as the two of them take action, the entire Tiance Dynasty will be in chaos, and these people will be able to reap the benefits.

The Third Prince had just been discussing with several of his trusted subordinates, including helpers at the Saint level, the results that would emerge after the Spring Search so that they could come up with a strategy to deal with it.

At this time, his subordinates came to report that someone from the imperial capital wanted to see him.

Li Yu thought that he had no time to meet him at this moment, and was about to refuse, but his subordinate said that he was the Minister of War.

Li Yu asked his men and the helpers at the Saint level to wait here, and he went out to meet the Minister of War.

Speaking of this person, Li Yu did know him and they had a good relationship.

The Minister of War was named Zou Chong, a relative of the Empress Dowager. Due to his good abilities and decades of experience in the imperial capital, he was promoted to the position of Minister of War by the late Emperor.

He was also the one who was assigned a mission against the will of Heaven by Li Chen and left the imperial capital.

Zou Chong's mission is to capture the rebellious Third Prince Li Yu and bring him to the capital. What kind of mission is this? How can he complete it?

So he came here slowly and leisurely, and only arrived at the residence of the third prince Li Yu today.

"Master Zou, how are you?"

When Li Yu saw an old acquaintance, he naturally looked very happy.

Since he is in the military camp, he definitely needs Zou Chong's help, so it is normal for the two of them to have some friendship.

"The Third Prince is becoming more and more brave."

Even though Zou Chong was in a bad mood, he didn't dare to lose his temper here.

Just because Li Chen doesn't spoil him doesn't mean this person will.

But this person's attitude was indeed better. When he heard that I was coming, he went out to greet me in person.

After a round of greetings, Li Yu brought Zou Chong into the hall to host a banquet and welcome him.

At first, they were just talking about Tai Chi. After three rounds of drinks, Li Yu said, "I wonder why Lord Zou came here."

Li Yu knew that Zou Chong was sent by Li Chen to capture him, but that was only the apparent meaning. Zou Chong was the Queen Mother's man, so what did the Queen Mother mean? Li Yu really wanted to know.

Because he has been trying to contact the Queen Mother recently and want to get her help, but the Queen Mother's words are vague, neither clearly saying that she will not help nor that she will help. Zou Chong's arrival may be able to answer this question for him.

"I have a mission from above. I have no choice but to hang out here for a while. Otherwise, will the Third Prince come back to the imperial capital with me?"

Zou Chong said it casually, but in fact he didn't understand the Queen Mother's intention even more than Li Yu.

Logically speaking, on his way to Qingqiu City, the Queen Mother would most likely send him news and instruct him on what to do next, but the Queen Mother just told him to do it himself, and he didn't know what to do.

So this old fox began to test the third prince. After all, we have been friends for so many years, so you wouldn’t attack me in the garrison.

"Hahaha, Lord Zou, you are joking. I will definitely return to the imperial capital, but not now."

At the banquet, the two of them just chatted, and neither of them could get any valuable information out of them.

In the end, Li Yu could only find a place for Zou Chong to stay in Qingqiu City and then make plans.

However, Zou Chong's arrival did make Li Yu start to be on guard.

He had been trying to guess Zou Chong's purpose, but Zou Chong had no purpose and was simply driven out. This made Li Yu feel that he was hiding something.

In the southern part of the Tiance Dynasty, the Prince of Zhennan’s Palace.

In the quiet and elegant courtyard, the beautiful Princess Zhennan sat quietly alone.

The maids were busy shuttling around, some holding tea, some holding fans, carefully serving this stunningly beautiful woman.

However, despite the maids' best efforts, they could never fill the resentment in her heart caused by the long absence of Prince Zhennan.

The Prince of Zhennan was either busy fighting wars and winning over surrounding forces, or busy favoring other women.

When Xu Zifeng was around, Prince Zhennan would come to visit every day.

Now that Xu Zifeng is not here, Prince Zhennan is too lazy to come over.

Princess Zhennan and Ji Lianyu are 70% similar and are actually sisters.

Compared to Ji Lianyu, she, who has given birth to a child, is more mature and has just the right amount of plumpness.

If Li Chen were asked to distinguish them, it would be difficult for him to tell who is who at first glance, and he probably wouldn't want to do it.

At this moment, Princess Zhennan was holding a letter and reading it carefully.

The handwriting on the letter was beautiful, and every stroke seemed to contain the writer's joy.

As she read more, a smile gradually appeared on the princess's face.

The letter was naturally sent by Ji Lianyu in the imperial capital. After seeing the content, the princess knew that Xu Zifeng was safe in the imperial capital.

This is her dearest child, so she decided to leave him to her younger sister.

After living for so many years, she gradually began to understand that as long as Xu Zifeng was safe and sound, it was more important than anything else.

Princess Zhennan always felt that the Ji family owed her sister too much and didn't know how to compensate them in the future.

"Oh, I really want to see Zifeng. I don't know when I can see him again."

Having said that, Princess Zhennan put the letter away.

At this moment, the Prince of Zhennan is preparing for war in the military camp. As long as the third prince's army is mobilized, the Khan of the northern royal court will also take action, and the army in the central part of the Tiance Dynasty will move north.

Then the Prince of Zhennan will have to fight against his old rival, Yun Xu, the commander of the Second Army.

He didn't even expect Yun Xu to give way, and the Second Army would certainly not leave its base.

Only by defeating Yun Xu can the army go straight to the imperial capital unimpeded, and then the throne will be just around the corner.

If facing the late emperor, Prince Zhennan might feel a little guilty, as he had a deep friendship with the late emperor.

But I’m sorry, I’m not familiar with this new emperor Li Chen.

Of course, Li Chen thought so too. When the two of them started fighting, they had no psychological barriers and their main focus was on being casual.

The next day, in the imperial study.

Prime Minister Zhao Wenyuan has handed the spring search list to Li Chen. There are unusually many people who have signed up this time, and their forces are complicated, which gives him a headache.

In order to participate in this spring collection, some people even went to the Prime Minister's Mansion four or five times and asked Zhao Wenyuan for various favors.

According to Zhao Wenyuan's idea, they should bring more imperial guards this time and reduce the number of participants.

This is the only way to ensure the safety of the spring collection.

Moreover, Zhao Wenyuan also suggested that His Majesty only needed to wait for the results in a safe place and there was no need to go deep into the wild mountains.

Those places were full of dangers, and even an army could be ambushed there. He was indeed considering Li Chen's safety.

Li Chen roughly understood what he meant, which was that Zhao Wenyuan didn't want to offend too many people, so the list was so long.

For example, there were tens of thousands of people who were eligible to sign up for this spring collection, and he had already rejected most of them, but there were still more than two thousand left.

This does not include the more than 2,000 men who will be brought along during the spring search.

As the emperor, he personally crossed out some names on the list, so Zhao Wenyuan could also explain it as: I have already agreed, but Your Majesty refuses, and there is nothing I can do about it.

Li Chen said nonchalantly: "Let them come if they want. If we bring too many imperial guards, the imperial city will not be safe. You can just hold the event normally. I will take care of the rest."

Hearing what Li Chen said, Zhao Wenyuan nodded and went back to take care of it.

As prime minister, he only needs to complete his tasks.

There is still one day until the spring collection. Even Xu Zifeng is not making trouble today, for fear that he will not be able to get out tomorrow and miss something.

Xiao Ming had little interest in the Spring Festival, and was not qualified to attend such a grand gathering of the powerful.

He is following the instructions of the Minister of Justice Pang Jin and slowly investigating some people who are related to the death of the prince.

It has to be said that the Son of Fortune is just lucky. This guy is often able to find out some information by chance that other experts from the Ministry of Justice cannot find out even after months of investigation.

In fact, there is the help of the remnant soul of the saint here. Xiao Ming’s experience is not enough, but this person is enough.

He became the breakthrough point in this case, but at that time he did not know that he was dealing with the long-awaited case of the death of the prince.

After reviewing the intelligence gathered by his men, Pang Jin speculated that the death of the crown prince was most likely related to the queen mother.

Even if she didn't do it, she helped.

But the problem is, I still can't find evidence to prove that there is something wrong with the Queen Mother. I can't just rely on guesswork and go to Li Chen to talk about it.

What's even more bizarre is that after investigating the clues from Fan Kuai, the prince's confidant and the fastest swordsman in the imperial capital, it was discovered that this matter was related to Li Yang, the prince of Jing'an.

This means that after the death of the crown prince, when Fan Kuai disappeared, Prince Jing'an's son Li Yang met Fan Kuai, and Fan Kuai was not dead yet at that time.

Pang Jin continued to look up information. Many people knew that Li Yang was one of the prince's followers.

Prince Jing'an used to follow the late emperor, so it is understandable that he let his son follow the prince.

The death of the prince will not benefit Li Yang in any way unless he wants to be emperor.

Pang Jin had also seen Li Yang at the last banquet, and he looked like a hopeless dandy.

If he is acting, that's another story.

"If he really acted, he certainly looked more like the character than Xu Zifeng. Maybe we can find some clues if we check him out."

Pang Jin was thinking, what were those forces in the dark pushing me to investigate King Jing'an for? Did he have some secrets that he couldn't tell anyone?
As the Minister of Justice, I have to investigate what needs to be investigated and I cannot let down His Majesty's trust.

Not long after, a young man with an elegant demeanor entered Pang Jin's office.

"I am Xiao Ming, honored to meet Master Pang. I wonder why Master Pang wants to meet me?"

Xiao Ming stood respectfully in front of Pang Jin, his eyes full of admiration.

Every time he saw Pang Jin, Xiao Ming felt a strong sense of righteousness and majesty coming towards him.

Pang Jin sat behind a large desk, wearing a solemn official uniform, with a stern face. His deep eyes seemed to be able to see through all the evil in the world.

Ever since he entered the Ministry of Justice, Xiao Ming has made becoming the Minister of Justice his goal.

By then, when he is in charge of the Ministry of Justice, he will be able to monopolize power and start his plan to become a powerful official.

The most important thing is that the idol of his new goddess Lin Yue'e is Pang Jin, and his idol is also Pang Jin.

In Xiao Ming's opinion, Lin Yue'e is comparable to him in terms of strength and status, which shows that they are a match made in heaven!
It’s not that he has fallen in love with someone else. He also thinks about Chu Ruoyan, but Chu Ruoyan has never praised him, and there are a lot of bootlickers around him, so he has no status.

Lin Yue'e not only praised him, but also needed his help. There were no bootlickers around him, so the cost-effectiveness was really high.

Just when Xiao Ming was daydreaming, Pang Jin's voice was heard.

(End of this chapter)