Because it was indeed getting late, Xue Ye warmly invited Nan Feng to stay in the palace and rest, so that he could fulfill his duty as a landlord.
Naturally, Nan Feng did not refuse this proposal.
Although Heaven Dou Imperial Palace is heavily guarded and has many rules, even an adult prince is not allowed to run around at night, but Nan Feng is now the most distinguished guest of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, a Peak Douluo with strength as high as Level 98!
What's more important is that the skin he is wearing now is that of a beautiful six-year-old girl who has not even been weaned.
Xue Ye Naturally, there is no need to worry about bloody dramas such as "filthy harem". He even specifically ordered the Imperial Guards. If the Demon God Crown feels bored, he can visit and play in the palace at will, and no one is allowed to stop him.
Nan Feng is not polite, he is indeed somewhat curious about this most luxurious power center on the Douluo Continent.
Moreover, he now needs to strengthen the impression on the Heaven Dou Imperial Family that he is an "old naughty boy" who has become a child again because of his cultivation, has an eccentric personality but has no ambition to dominate the mainland.
Walking around, looking around, showing some curiosity that fits his appearance is also an important part of his character design.
After all, only by fully demonstrating one's "harmlessness" and "controllability" while showing strength can Xue Ye, that suspicious old fox by nature, truly feel at ease to pay for cooperation.
The bright moon hung high in the sky, Nan Feng walked slowly on the bluestone road with his little hands behind his back, under the awed eyes of several palace maids following him from a distance.
However, not long after wandering around, Nan Feng stopped in front of a relatively quiet but still large courtyard.
Looking up, there is a plaque hanging on the courtyard door--Palace of Eternal Spring.
This is the residence of the eldest prince Heaven Dou Empire and Xue Qinghe.
According to the rules of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, princes must live in the palace before they reach adulthood and are crowned kings or build a palace.
Some princes whose mothers' clans are powerful and extremely favored can even live with their mothers and concubines or the current empress and enjoy extremely high treatment.
Now there are four princes and one princess in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
Among them, the eldest prince Xue Qinghe was born to the former imperial concubine.
It is a pity that the imperial concubine was not blessed and died of illness when Xue Qinghe was less than six years old.
The second prince and the third prince were both born from the current empress, and they can be said to be true direct princes.
Among them, the second prince has shown extremely high political skills and talent for governing the country since he was a child. He is extremely intelligent and is deeply loved by Xue Ye in the court and respected by the ministers. He is the most promising candidate to reach the position of prince in the future.
The third prince, on the other hand, showed amazing talents in Soul Master cultivation. At Martial Soul Awakening, Innate Soul Power reached level nine! This is the person with the highest talent in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's cultivation in the past few hundred years, and the royal family placed great hopes on him.
In comparison, Xue Qinghe, the nominal eldest son, is in a somewhat embarrassing situation.
First, his mother-in-law died young and her family declined, leaving no relatives to help her in the court.
Secondly, he himself has no outstanding advantages in terms of his ability to govern the country or his talent in Soul Master cultivation.
The only impression he left on outsiders was that of a good old man with a docile personality, generous treatment of others, and aloofness.
Therefore, in the extremely cruel competition for the throne, Xue Qinghe is actually at an absolute disadvantage, and almost no one is optimistic that he can inherit the throne.
But it is precisely because of this marginalized situation that he was not taken seriously, and because his biological mother died early, the old emperor naturally did not pay much attention to him.
The eldest prince usually lives in seclusion, and he also has a very special hobby - he likes to visit privately incognito, taking a few of his followers out to the city to observe the sentiments of the people.
It is precisely because of Xue Qinghe's seemingly non-threatening character, living alone, and the habit of often leaving the palace...
This gave Qian Renxue the perfect opportunity to assassinate and completely replace it!
A eldest prince who has no love from his mother, no love from his father, lives in seclusion and has no power.
Qian Renxue replaced it, and the chance of being discovered was astonishingly low.
In other words, even if the current "Xue Qinghe" has some subtle changes in his personality and behavior, no one will care about it at all, let alone find out that this docile eldest prince has actually been replaced a long time ago.
Nan Feng I thought about it for a while, and since I have come here, it is really unreasonable not to see this "eldest prince" who is disguised in the heart of the enemy country.
He waved away several palace maids who were following him from a distance, pushed open the Palace of Eternal Spring half-opened courtyard door, and walked in with a swagger.
In the study room, candles are brightly lit.
At this time, Xue Qinghe is crouching in front of the paperwork, dealing with today's homework and strategies.
The homework of the princes is extremely heavy. Star Luo Empire advocates martial arts. The princes there have been raising poison since they were young, focusing on cultivating Soul Master's practical ability.
The Heaven Dou Empire side is completely different. Due to the earlier founding of the country and the heavy influence of red tape, Heaven Dou Empire advocates etiquette and governance, so they attach great importance to "civil governance" and the emperor's mind when training their princes.
Hearing the sound of the door being opened, Xue Qinghe immediately raised her head warily, but after seeing clearly the visitor's iconic black trench coat and little lolita appearance, she was stunned for a moment, and a trace of extreme surprise flashed in her eyes.
"Teacher?"
Qian Renxue quickly put down the ink pen in his hand, walked forward quickly, and lowered his voice. "Why did you suddenly run into the inner garden of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace?"
"Don't be nervous, it was the old man Xue Ye who personally sent someone to invite me in as a guest." Nan Feng found a large grand master's chair, jumped on it and sat down, with his two short legs dangling leisurely in the air.
Qian Renxue became even more confused. "Old Emperor? He invited you? Why?"
"The specific situation is a bit long-winded, and I'm too lazy to explain it." Nan Feng waved his hand, "In short, there will naturally be movement in the court after a while, and you will know when the time comes."
"I stopped by tonight to ask you, what are your next plans regarding Heaven Dou Empire's position as crown prince?"
"Let me guess, are you planning to assassinate all the other prominent princes?"
Qian Renxue heard this, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he did not hide anything in front of this unfathomable "teacher", and nodded calmly. "This is the simplest and most secure way."
She sighed and analyzed the current situation calmly, "The second prince has the support of the queen's family and has great skills in governing the country; the third prince is an extremely talented person with the ninth level Soul Power. Xue Qinghe's identity is too weak. It requires money but no money and no power. If we go through a normal court competition to win the heir from them, it will be too difficult and there is not much chance of winning."
"Only by letting them disappear 'accidentally' can I naturally become the sole heir."
Listening to Qian Renxue's obvious "assassin logic", Nan Feng couldn't help but roll his eyes.
Sure enough, the first reaction in the mind of people who came out of the Spirit Hall is always physical destruction.
"Simple and crude, but extremely stupid." Nan Feng commented without mercy.
Qian Renxue frowned slightly, a little unconvinced, but still asked respectfully, "Why did the teacher say this?"
Nan Feng knocked on the desk and started class with a serious voice:
"There are many ways for Xue Qinghe to inherit the throne. Although assassination seems to be a once-and-for-all, the risk is too high. The royal family's children died suddenly one after another. Do you really think that Xue Ye old fox is blind? This can easily cause huge suspicion and turmoil within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."
"The court has its own rules, and politics has its own political game. If you constantly use bandits and gangs to attack political opponents and physically eliminate them, the empire will inevitably become unstable."
"Even accidentally, before you could inherit the throne, this already unstable Heaven Dou Empire was already torn apart by you. What's the use of having a mess full of holes?"
Qian Renxue lowered his head thoughtfully and fell into deep thought.
"Remember, the core of politics is to take advantage of momentum and exchange interests."
Nan Feng jumped down from the Taishi chair and walked to Qian Renxue,
"Nowadays, Spirit Hall is so powerful that the whole continent is overwhelmed. Heaven Dou Imperial Family is like an ant on a hot pot now, and it is urgent to find a strong support that can resist Spirit Hall."
"And I, Demon God Douluo of Level 98, and the transcendent Sea God Island that I represent behind me are undoubtedly the biggest expectations and life-saving straw of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family at the moment."
"At this juncture when we are extremely eager for foreign aid, if I, the spokesperson of Sea God Island, suddenly show my extreme optimism for the eldest prince Xue Qinghe, and implicitly express that Sea God Island hopes that the future Heaven Dou Empire will be succeeded by a 'docile and benevolent' monarch..."
"Guess, in order to completely win over the extremely powerful force of Sea God Island, will the old emperor Xue Ye seriously consider raising you, the originally unfavored eldest prince, directly to the throne of the crown prince?"
Qian Renxue listened to Nan Feng's analysis of Sisi's tactics, lowered his head and pondered for a moment.
It is undeniable that using Sea God Island's momentum to force Xue Ye to compromise is indeed an extremely clever and cost-effective political move.
However, Qian Renxue's blood of pride and admiration for absolute power still flows in the Angel Clan's bones. She raised her head, a trace of confusion and stubbornness flashed in her cold eyes:
"Teacher's plan is indeed exquisite and can achieve the goal without any bloodshed."
"But, since I can directly send people to kill the second and third princes and eliminate all competitors from the source, why bother to go around such a big circle and engage in such troublesome political games and leverage?"