What happened?
The Great Mage, who rushed to the scene, saw the horrific sight and his face immediately darkened.
The fate of the eldest prince, who was sitting against the wall, remains unknown.
The emperor's chief steward's head was a pile of rotten mud, and blood gushed out like a fountain from his severed neck.
The second prince quietly held the third prince in his arms.
The third brother had a large hole in his chest; he was clearly dead beyond any doubt.
The Great Mage never imagined that arriving just a step too late would lead to such a tragic situation.
The second prince said in a deep voice, "The chief steward hid the imperial edict, and the third prince got into an argument with him. Suddenly, the chief steward attacked, killed the third prince, and injured the eldest prince."
"It's all my fault, I reacted too late..."
The Great Mage frowned; he couldn't believe the steward would do such a thing.
The chief steward served the emperor for most of his life and never harbored any disloyalty towards him.
More importantly, he had no reason to hide the will.
After all, no matter which prince inherits the throne, he will still be the chief steward.
The Great Mage's gaze fell upon the second son.
There must be something fishy about this.
But now that the dead have no way to verify the story, whatever the Second Prince says is the truth.
Without evidence, one cannot arbitrarily suspect a prince.
The Great Mage strode over to the Crown Prince and, after examining him, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
The eldest prince is still alive.
However, he is currently in a "vegetative state".
When he will wake up is anyone's guess.
The steward is Level Nine Martial Artist, and indeed possesses the strength to instantly kill the First Prince and the Third Prince.
To the Great Mage's surprise, the Second Prince's attack was remarkably swift and decisive.
Judging from the traces left at the scene, the manager had absolutely no chance of fighting back.
The Great Mage asked, "Where is the emperor's will?"
The second prince replied, "I don't know."
No matter how the third son questioned him, the steward refused to hand it over.
"He finally got impatient with the questions and suddenly made his move."
The Great Mage sneered inwardly; this explanation was full of holes.
He searched the steward's body carefully but found no will.
The imperial edict is made of a special material and is blessed by the faith of all living beings, so it cannot be destroyed.
The Great Mage turned his gaze back to the Second Prince.
The second prince looked up and met his gaze, then said in a deep voice, "Teacher, you wouldn't suspect that I hid the imperial edict, would you?"
The Great Mage was silent for a moment. "The Emperor's body is not yet cold; the most urgent task is to find the imperial edict as soon as possible."
The second prince nodded. "My thoughts are the same as yours, teacher."
"Until my elder brother wakes up and the imperial edict is found, I will act as regent, with your assistance, teacher."
"Is that alright?"
The Great Mage did not object; for now, this is the only option.
Soon, the announcement of the chief steward's treason was posted.
The emperor's and the third prince's funerals were held simultaneously.
An extremely heavy and sorrowful atmosphere permeated the entire empire.
Standing above the palace, Qin Ze watched the funeral procession slowly advancing towards the imperial mausoleum and muttered to himself, "My good buddy, you'd better not let me down."
Even before he entered his dream, Qin Ze had seen the emperor's last edict.
The Dharma King remarked, "This second brother is truly ruthless; he killed his own brother without hesitation."
The Clown asked, "Why would the emperor pass the throne to his eldest son? Did he have some doubts beforehand?"
"But if the emperor has any doubts, wouldn't it be enough to just arrest the second son and interrogate him?"
Brother Devour said, "The eldest prince is the most mediocre of the three princes."
"I suspect there are two reasons why the emperor chose him."
"What is certain is that the Emperor suspects there is something wrong with one of the three princes, but he doesn't know which one it is, and the same goes for the Great Mage."
"Passing the leadership to the eldest son is a test."
"If a moderate emperor suddenly becomes anything but moderate after inheriting the throne, it means that everything he has shown before was just an act, and there is a serious problem with the emperor."
"If the eldest prince remains mediocre and incompetent after inheriting the throne, then the truly problematic prince will begin to stir and reveal his true colors."
"But I suspect neither the Emperor nor the Great Mage anticipated that the second son would be so ruthless."
He didn't even want to wait a day.
Qin Ze stretched. "It's not the second brother who's anxious, it's my buddy."
"Lonely and desolate in the Chaos, he probably didn't want to stay a moment longer."
"Don't even mention him, I can't wait any longer either."
Qin Ze could already see the Echo Soul Orb beckoning to him.
The Clown asked, " The Great Mage came to see me again today, subtly probing what I should do next."
Qin Ze said, "Let's continue waiting."
"Give the second son whatever he wants."
The Clown replied, "I'll have Xiao Su tell him."
The emperor's funeral had just ended when the Great Mage received news that the second prince wished to see him.
On his way to the palace, the Great Mage was still thinking about what Xiao Su had just conveyed to him.
Doing nothing, the Second Prince gets whatever he wants.
The Great Mage still didn't understand the intentions of the god behind the Clown.
"Sigh~"
The Great Mage sighed heavily.
In the game between gods, they are all merely pawns on a chessboard.
The fact that the Amethyst Clan can survive is already the best outcome.
"Teacher, please have a seat."
Inside the palace, the second prince looked very well, not at all like someone who had just lost his father and younger brother.
After the Great Mage sat down, the Second Prince eagerly asked, "How is my elder brother?"
The Great Mage shook his head. "The situation remains far from optimistic."
Bang--
The second prince slammed his hand on the table. "The steward's intentions are despicable!"
The Great Mage said, "I have already advertised throughout the land, offering a large reward for a healer. I believe good news will arrive soon."
The second prince's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "Then I'll have to trouble you, teacher."
The Great Mage nodded slightly. "This is my duty."
The second prince waved his hand, and a servant immediately poured the Great Mage a cup of hot tea.
"Teacher, a country cannot be without a ruler for even a day."
"With the passing of our father, various factions within the empire are now stirring up trouble, and the people are restless and unsettled."
The Great Mage raised his eyelids slightly. "So, what does the Second Prince mean?"
The second prince smiled slightly, "I will temporarily ascend the throne to stabilize public sentiment."
"If I am not the successor listed on the late emperor's will, then I will voluntarily abdicate. What do you think, teacher?"
The Great Mage would reflexively say that this was illogical.
But remembering what Xiao Su had told him, he opened his mouth and said, "It's all up to His Highness the Second Prince to decide."
The second prince was taken aback.
He hadn't expected the Great Mage to be so cooperative; all the excuses he had prepared were now useless.
The Great Mage asked, "When does the Second Prince intend to ascend the throne?"
The Second Prince couldn't wait. "To quickly stabilize public sentiment, let's set it for the day after tomorrow. We'll issue the notice tomorrow and begin preparations."
"The coronation ceremony and the conversion ceremony will be held simultaneously the day after tomorrow."
The Great Mage nodded and said, "Alright."