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Lu Chen also rose from the stone bench at this time, preparing to leave the pavilion. Just then, Liang Zong entered the courtyard and came straight to Lu Chen, "Greetings, Prince!"

Before Lu Chen could speak, Liang Zong handed him a letter, "Prince, urgent news from the Capital City!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen, without a word, took the envelope from Liang Zong's hand and began to read it intently.

As he read the contents of the letter, Lu Chen's face instantly turned immensely serious.

At that moment, Liang Zong added, "After the third Prince was assassinated and died, Prince Lu Yi also encountered an assassin late that night. Now the whole Capital City is in a state of panic, and Seigniors from all over are frantically expanding their armies, yet the court has made no move."

Lu Chen fell into deep thought. He had actually guessed that Sum Emperor was feigning illness, and the Capital City could very well descend into chaos, but he did not expect the disorder to come so swiftly.

Another Prince had been assassinated so quickly; had the final stage of the struggle for the succession finally begun?

Previously, between the Princes, direct assassinations of other Princes were rare—it was only Prince Lu Shuyun who had once sent an assassin in order to extinguish the hopes of the Aristocratic Families from the South, hence he targeted Lu Chen, the supposedly unimportant ninth Prince.

The reason the Princes dared not act was mainly for fear that their father, the Emperor, would find out and strip them of their eligibility. The one thing most taboo to the royal family was fratricide.

Yet now, in the Royal Capital of Great Sum, a Prince had been assassinated, and not somewhere else, but right in the Capital City. The dead Prince was one of the most competitive for the throne. This indicated that those Princes were no longer worried about being discovered by their father, the Emperor; they believed it was the final moment.

As long as they eliminated all those who threatened them, they could ascend to that supreme position.

The most brutal moment of the succession struggle had arrived.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen asked, "My father, the Emperor, hasn't shown any sign at all?"

Liang Zong answered, "No orders have been issued from the palace, only Lin Gaoyuan ordered the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Criminal Justice to investigate the assassination attempts on the third Prince and Prince Lu Yi."

Lu Chen thought, his father, the Emperor, was indeed ruthless—he allowed one of his sons to be killed and still feigned illness, not coming out to take charge. Could it be that he was waiting for his sons to kill each other off before stepping in?

Moreover, with Seigniors from every corner expanding their armies, if things continued this way, it wouldn't be long before an internal war broke out within Great Sum, followed by Seigniors marching to the Royal Capital to vie for the throne.

What exactly was his father, the Emperor, planning?

While Lu Chen was deep in thought, Qin Yushan rushed in with a slip of paper, "Prince, this just arrived from the Capital City by Pigeon Letter!"

Lu Chen immediately asked, "What has happened now?"

Qin Yushan replied directly, "A message from the palace states that His Majesty has appointed Prince Lu Yi to temporarily take on the Crown Prince's position and to handle all national affairs for the time being."

Hearing this, Lu Chen asked, "What about military affairs?"

Qin Yushan replied, "It wasn't mentioned; we have to wait for detailed reports from the Capital City in a few days to know."

Pigeon Letters can only carry a small slip of paper, conveying very limited information. Typically, they carry particularly important intelligence. However, within a few days after a Pigeon Letter, the Brocade Guard usually sends detailed reports. Just a few days' wait will clarify the situation in the Capital City,

At this time, Lu Chen thought that his father, the Emperor, was also concerned that the situation would continue to escalate. But the decision to let Prince Lu Yi temporarily take on the Crown Prince's duties without making him the actual Crown Prince seemed likely to intensify the struggle for succession.

This way, Prince Lu Yi would become the target of many arrows, and eventually, all the Princes would turn against him. Prince Lu Yi's position was not an easy one to hold.

For now, he would wait for the detailed report from the Capital City to see if his father, the Emperor, would grant Prince Lu Yi control over military affairs. If he was only to handle national affairs, that wouldn't be much of an issue since Sum Emperor hadn't attended court for a long time, and there was indeed a backlog of state affairs needing someone to address.

But military affairs were different—if they involved military matters, Prince Lu Yi would have the opportunity to take command of the military forces. Once he held military power, it would be much easier for him to rebel. His father, the Emperor, was not likely to hand over military affairs to Prince Lu Yi so readily.

No matter what, the upcoming storm would be more intense than the rebellion of the Aristocratic Families from the South. After all, the Seigniors were already restless. If these matters weren't dealt with by Sum Emperor, Great Sum might just fall apart.

Lu Chen then said to Qin Yushan and Liang Zong, "Continue to monitor the movements of the Capital City and the various Seigniors."

"Yes, Prince!"

At that moment, Lu Chen turned and headed toward the residence of Zhuge Zhongguang.

Zhuge Zhongguang lived next to North Prince Mansion. Lu Chen, using his Qinggong, arrived in Zhuge Zhongguang's courtyard within a minute.

Seeing Lu Chen's arrival, Zhuge Zhongguang, seated on a stone bench, quickly rose and said, "Greetings, Prince, may I know what brings you here to see this old subject?"

Lu Chen rarely sought out Zhuge Zhongguang, it was usually Zhuge Zhongguang who came to him, after all, Lu Chen was the sovereign, and Zhuge Zhongguang was the subject.

If Lu Chen had taken the initiative to find him, it meant that there must be some grave matter.

Lu Chen replied, "I just received intelligence that the third Prince has been assassinated and died, and Prince Lu Yi was also targeted by an assassin. Subsequently, my father, the Emperor, appointed Prince Lu Yi to temporarily take on the position of the Crown Prince and oversee all national affairs."

"I truly cannot fathom what my father, the Emperor, is scheming. Now, with Seigniors in various places expanding their armies and a civil war imminent, if things continue this way, Great Sum might very well splinter."

"I do not believe my father, the Emperor, would like to see Great Sum fragment."

"So I wish to ask the Great Scholar, how do you view the recent events in Great Sum?"

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