You were asked to impersonate the King of Qin, not to become emperor!

Late at night, in the emperor's bedroom.

"Your Majesty, a secret report has arrived from Liangzhou."

A secret guard walked over and presented the report to Emperor Jin.

Li Muwan and Kang Lisha are both core members of the secret guards, and they must have already found out the true strength of the King of Qin.

Emperor Jin, however, clutched the secret report, his expression somewhat complicated.

The King of Qin is currently the only outstanding prince, but he is embroiled in controversy.

These criticisms alone made Emperor Jin very wary.

"If this person is truly a substitute, I will have no choice but to eliminate him and establish an incompetent crown prince. I must never allow this legacy to fall into the hands of another."

However, upon opening the secret letter, Emperor Jin's eyes immediately lit up with ecstatic joy.

"It seems I was overthinking things; the King of Qin truly did not disappoint me."

This letter was written under the guidance of Chen Xuan. The letter stated that the identity of the Prince of Qin was not in question, and that after learning that the eastern front of the Great Jin Dynasty had been attacked by various tribes of the grasslands, he was preparing troops and was ready to send reinforcements from the rear.

At the court assembly the following day, Emperor Jin highly praised Chen Xuan.

This greatly displeased the imperial family led by Prince Ning and the civil officials led by Zhang Xianzhao.

"What kind of spell did this guy cast on His Majesty that made him so incompetent? At today's court meeting, His Majesty actually said that after the Prince of Qin returns to court, he will be formally appointed as the Crown Prince."

As soon as Prince Ning Chen Peng left the court, he became furious and said...

He was well aware of the extent of Chen Xuan's current prestige.

With over 100,000 elite troops firmly under its control and the ancient Qiang salt lake in command, it is now launching an attack on the Xianbei.

If he really earns some military merits, I'm afraid no one will dare to question him in the future.

Even those members of the royal family who supported him might side with Chen Xuan.

Back at the Prince's residence, Chen Peng's anger had not yet subsided when the county magistrate of Ling County in Liangzhou brought news.

"Your Highness, you must seek justice for Young Master Xudong. This time, the Prince of Qin confiscated the magistrate's mansion and even made Young Master Xudong ride a wooden donkey through the streets."

The county magistrate knelt on the ground, sobbing and crying.

Chen Peng's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly.

"Does this bastard not know that Xu Dong is my adopted son? How dare he humiliate him like this! What about my reputation? As for Xu Dong, how did he offend that bastard?"

"The young master simply abducted some women for his own amusement, and then the King of Qin came to his door and humiliated them at will," the county magistrate said.

Chen Peng sighed and questioned, "Is that really the case? I've heard that Xu Dong often takes pleasure in abusing women in Ling County, and his methods are extremely cruel."

"Your Highness, the young master was wrong. However, he had already begged the King of Qin for mercy and explained that he was your adopted son. Unexpectedly, the King of Qin not only did not take Your Highness seriously at all, but also increased the punishment for the young master. Now, the young master has been executed by extreme torture."

"This is outrageous!"

As a founding member, Chen Peng naturally cared a lot about his reputation.

Even the Jin Emperor had to give him some face. When he heard that Chen Xuan had ignored him and even deliberately provoked him by mentioning Zhou Xudong, he was immediately enraged.

"Go back now. I cannot swallow this insult. I will avenge Xu Dong." Chen Peng frowned, his anger burning.

"This humble servant takes his leave."

The county magistrate bowed and left.

Sitting in the hall, Chen Peng was still unable to calm down. He kicked the table and roared, "Damn it, when have I ever been treated like this!"

Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in Japanese attire walked into the hall.

"When did you make the Prince so angry?"

"It's that fake King Qin again. This scoundrel is now in power in the court and deeply trusted by His Majesty. He's actually starting to mess with me!" Chen Peng complained to Sato.

This man was a merchant from Japan and a retainer in the Prince of Ning's household. He had been advising the Prince of Ning in exchange for the Prince's protection in the Great Jin Dynasty.

"The prince has been complaining about this person for a long time. Since he's an imposter, why not just hire an assassin to take him out?"

"He's now His Majesty's chosen heir apparent? Get rid of him? His Majesty will definitely investigate relentlessly!"

Sato said, "Wasn't this man off to conquer the Xianbei? Besides, he just captured the Ancient Qiang Salt Lake; which of those barbarians wouldn't want him dead? Send a group of assassins, disguised as foreigners, to kill him. Then, Your Highness can support the person you want to support as the crown prince."

Chen Peng was undoubtedly interested in Sato's plan.

However, upon further reflection, she realized that Chen Xuan had experts like Deng Mei and Wu Qianmeng protecting him, and that there were few people in the Great Jin Dynasty who could rival them.

"You don't know this, this man is protected by skilled guards. Killing him is no easy task."

Sato smiled and said:

"Your Highness, please rest assured, the assassins will be our Japanese ninjas. This time, I brought two of my top Japanese ninjas with me to the Great Jin."

Upon hearing this, Chen Peng was overjoyed. "What are you waiting for? Quickly bring these two ninjas to see me. If we can really get rid of this scoundrel, then Sato-kun will be the benefactor of the Great Jin royal family from now on."

The benefactors of the royal family carry great weight.

Sato also cherished this opportunity. He clapped his hands, and immediately two tall female ninjas, around twenty years old, stepped into the hall.

Looking at the two women in front of him, Chen Peng asked in confusion, "Sato-kun, are you kidding me? Two women?"

"Your Highness, don't underestimate them just because they are women. They are all top-tier ninjas with exceptional skills. Let me introduce you, Your Highness. This one is named Kurohime, and this one is named Kurohime."

"You two, demonstrate a sword-drawing technique for the prince," Sato ordered.

The two women assumed a horse stance, drew their samurai swords with a swift motion, and then sheathed them again with another swift motion.

Chen Peng looked completely bewildered, utterly confused: "That's it?"

"Your Highness, please take a look..." Sato said with a smile.

At that moment, the table in front of Kurohige and Kurohisatsu broke into several pieces.

Chen Peng then opened his mouth in astonishment:

"Such a swift blade! Let these two disguise themselves as Ancient Qiang assassins to kill Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan has just conquered the Ancient Qiang Salt Lake, and all the Ancient Qiang tribes hate him. It is most reasonable for him to die by the blade of an Ancient Qiang assassin."

"Hei Bijing and Hei Bisong, I urge you two to ride at full speed to Liangzhou, disguise yourselves as ancient Qiang people, and kill the King of Qin as soon as you find an opportunity. I will have someone deliver the King of Qin's portrait to you later."

"Hi." The two women bowed simultaneously.

"Haha, Mr. Sato is truly my right-hand man. Many princes, including the Prince of Jin and the Prince of Yan, have been defeated by this Chen Xuan. This man is too cunning; a verbal battle is never as effective as an assassination!" Chen Peng was in high spirits and quickly looked at Sato, saying, "Mr. Sato, I am in a very good mood today. I have prepared a banquet at Qingfeng Pavilion, and I will have a good drink with you."

"Your Highness, our Eastern Kingdom needs a small island in southeastern Jin to dry our goods. Since there's no one on the island anyway, why not make the most of it? It would also boost trade between Jin and Eastern Kingdom—a win-win situation. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Taking advantage of Chen Peng's good mood, Sato proposed to cede an island for drying goods.

Compared to eliminating the King of Qin, a small, uninhabited island in the southeast is of little importance.

Chen Peng smiled and said, "Alright, I will tell His Majesty tomorrow at court."