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"The problem is obvious now..."

In the Provincial Government Office of Lyuzhou, everyone had arrived except for Xuu Hu from the northern line, who couldn’t make it.

The power structure in Jiangnan was now complex; the seven Great Hell Rulers controlled internal affairs while the various mountain gods controlled the faith of the rural areas.

Since they also controlled the most significant logistics input of food, they held considerable sway over discourse.

As for the influential West Sea God Tian Heng, naturally, his weight was not low either.

No one had the qualifications to sit in the main seat, so they all tacitly left it vacant for Chen Qing, creating a delicate balance.

The one who spoke was Shen San: "There’s a traitor among us in Jiangnan!"

The crowd: "...."

Shen San sighed and said, "His Majesty hasn’t shown up in Jiangnan for half a year, but since our Jiangnan power structure is unlike others, with each department operating independently and rarely socializing, ordinarily, the news of His Majesty’s absence would not concern our subordinates."

"But the Imperial Court’s intentions this time are quite clear..." Shen San looked gloomily at all present: "They’re trying to test if His Majesty is in Jiangnan."

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became tense; no one present was a fool and could understand what Shen San meant.

Chen Qing was the master of the Jiangnan Divine Path with an imperial seal granting him authority that could not be replaced by others.

This ability alone would keep everyone interested in continuing to benefit from the Divine Path from harboring malicious intentions, at least for the time being.

So although Chen Qing’s forces were mixed, his authority was tremendous.

But now that the keystone was missing, the feeling of fragmentation in Jiangnan was quite apparent—a feeling only sensed within the Jiangnan powers, imperceptible to outsiders, including the Jiangnan populace. And such a sensitive situation was the easiest for outsiders to exploit.

Just at this moment, Princess Ming Xue, who was engaged to Chen Qing, claimed to have been courted by a prince of the Southern Barbarians, a statement that obviously didn’t seem coincidental.

Chen Qing’s status was now prestigious as he was the first non-imperial prince since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty.

His engagement to Siao Mingxue was a union of the highest nobility.

The identity he held in Great Jin was top-notch, yet now, the king of the Jiangnan territory was facing a proposition from foreign Barbarians for his betrothed, which was a blatant insult.

The key was that the Imperial Court even allowed this rumor to spread unchecked.

Clearly... the Imperial Court was using Siao Mingxue to test Chen Qing’s reaction!

Ordinarily, such a test would be meaningless, as it was evident that the Imperial Court was the weakest among the major powers.

The Southern Sea was barely under control thanks to the collaboration between the Chen Family and the Imperial navy, a very unstable situation.

Honestly, if it wasn’t for the immense pressure from the northern giant python, they would never have allowed the Imperial Court to take over the Nanhai Dragon Palace.

At this time, the Imperial Court should be on its best behavior.

But they weren’t, which was very interesting indeed.

"Are you saying there’s a traitor among us in this hall?"

A deep voice rang out, and everyone looked over. The speaker was the newly promoted Wind Department Fighting God: Weichi Feihong!

Weichi Feihong was a Fighting God newly appointed by Chen Qing, also with Dragon Clan blood, his individual strength was now no weaker than Xuu Hu’s, but his status was somewhat awkward.

Xuu Hu, as a Fighting God, had already won the hearts of the people, and most of the new recruits in the Warrior Army had joined with the intention of serving under General Xuu Hu.

Weichi Feihong? Hardly anyone had heard of him.

This situation only eased because Xuu Hu, seeking to mitigate the awkwardness, proactively transferred Weichi Feihu and his subordinates under Weichi Feihong’s command. Only with the loyalty of Weichi’s army did Weichi Feihong finally have some ground to stand on.

But it was all for show.

The most important battlefronts, one in the west and one in the north, Weichi Feihong hadn’t managed to get involved in, nominally stationed to defend Jiangnan but in reality more hollow than Tian Heng who had been without West Sea city...

Shen San glanced at him without reproaching his aggressive tone. After all, the Weichi Clan and the Imperial Court had deep ties; such remarks could understandably stir emotions.

"I did not mean that." Shen San, never one to pick fights, quickly explained: "People like us are deeply bound with His Majesty, and it would be completely unnecessary.

The traitor I speak of is not among any of us here, but within our power structure.

Obviously, with His Majesty absent, various contradictions have caused some to entertain other notions. "

Weichi Feihong frowned. As someone known for his meticulous thoughts, with an apology coming from the honored Hell Ruler, it wouldn’t do for him to keep pressing the point. He nodded and said, "You mean, someone among our subordinates has been bribed?"

"Could someone really do that?" Shen Eleven frowned deeply: "Many in the Divine Path started from humble beginnings, only achieving today’s status after following His Majesty. Such ingratitude? His Majesty has been gone for only half a year, and they’re already having second thoughts?"

"That’s how greedy human hearts are..." Shen Two chuckled: "Those who live well always strive to live better. The benefits revealed by Jiangnan are so immense, every power wants a bite. If they can confirm His Majesty is absent, they’ll naturally make their next move."

As for what that next move was, Shen Two did not say, but everyone present being intelligent, understood what was left unsaid.

Jiangnan’s powers are complex, the Shen Family divided the seven provinces, yet the most important Lyuzhou is under the jurisdiction of someone with humble origins like Wei Gongcheng.

There are two major military forces, one represents the typical Martial Family, the former Duke Qi, and the other is completely grass-roots, not to mention the Dragon Palace Forces from a different kind.

This type of power division, without its core leader, can almost be said to be the easiest to provoke!

Over time, if powers continue to divide and fall apart, it’s truly not impossible.

To be honest, the Shen Family doesn’t want to disintegrate.

Jiangnan’s current state is very favourable for the Shen Family’s development, and they naturally hope for external military stability as they control the Great Hell Ruler.

However, at this critical moment, their leader has gone missing, which is really fucking troublesome. ..

"Since we’re aware of the serious situation, what should we do next?

" Zi Yue looked at the crowd, "To prevent those with ulterior motives from stirring trouble externally, we must be tough. Princess Mingxue is the legitimate wife of our sovereign and the mother of Jiangnan. Now, a half-demon from the Southern Barbarians dares to have designs on her. If he doesn’t die, our sovereign will lose face, and Jiangnan will be in danger! "

"That’s true," Shen San frowned, "but what can we do? After all, the sovereign himself is the Consort Prince to the Princess. If he doesn’t show up, the bigger our actions, the more they’ll seem like empty bluster to others!"

"Then we have no choice but to find someone to impersonate him..." Zi Yue said.

"Impersonate?" The group was startled, even the calculative members of the Shen Family were taken aback by the suggestion.

"Heh..." Even Princess Ao Zhen, who had been like an outsider to the proceedings, couldn’t help but laugh, "Humans are interesting, anything can happen..."

"Is this... reliable?" Wei Gongcheng asked dumbfounded.

"Do we have any other choice?" Zi Yue sighed, "No one can contact the sovereign, and we have to preserve his dignity. We can only find someone to marry Princess Mingxue first!"

"This..." The group looked at each other. It sounded like a ridiculous idea, but... it seemed like they really had no better option.

"Who would impersonate the sovereign?" Chen Ying frowned, "It’s not easy to impersonate him."

"Ali!"

The crowd: "......"

"No way!!" Chen Ying was the first to object.

The others also frowned, the Thousand-Faced Fox, that creature, if released again... was too dangerous!

"No one is more experienced than her!" Zi Yue spoke solemnly, "She was born to impersonate others."

"That’s impersonating women!" Chen Ying frowned.

"Men are no different!" Zi Yue replied coolly, "You might have heard little of the legends of the Thousand-Faced Fox, but I can tell you with utmost certainty, from ancient times, that creature was notorious for deceiving both sexes!"

The crowd: "...."

"I disagree!" Chen Ying was the first to object. She had already suffered at the hands of the Thousand-Faced Fox once and her aversion and distrust for that demon had reached their peaks!

Zi Yue then looked at the others, "What about you all?"

Ao Zhen shrugged, "I don’t mind, I don’t even know why you called me here for this matter?"

"You’ll be in charge of the escort!"

"Me?" Ao Zhen was taken aback. In Chen Qing’s power circle, there was no shortage of capable individuals. Why assign the task to someone of a different race?

"This arrangement... is quite appropriate."

Always cautious, old Master Shen San, at this moment, cast a vote in favour, "I also support Senior Zi Yue’s proposal!"

The crowd: "...."