The problem is obvious.
In the main hall of the prefectural government in Liuzhou, everyone from Jiangnan was present except for Xu Hu, who was tied up on the northern front!
The current situation in Jiangnan is complex. The seven Underworld control the internal affairs, while the various Mountain God control the beliefs of the countryside. Because they control the largest grain supply, they also have considerable influence. As for Tian Heng, the powerful Sea God, he naturally carries significant weight as well.
No one was qualified to sit in the main seat, so they all tacitly left Chen Qing's seat empty, creating a delicate balance.
It was Master Shen San spoke, "There's a traitor in Jiangnan!"
Everyone: "."
Master Shen San sighed, "Our lord hasn't shown up in Jiangnan for the first half of the year, but our Jiangnan forces are different from others. Normally, everyone performs their duties and rarely has social engagements. Under such circumstances, the news that our lord isn't in Jiangnan is generally not noticed by anyone except for a few of us."
"But the court's purpose this time is quite clear," Master Shen San, looking at everyone with a somber expression, "Is to test whether the emperor is in Jiangnan!"
The atmosphere in the hall immediately became heavy. Everyone present was smart enough to understand what Shen San meant. Chen Qing was the master of the Jiangnan Divine Path Style and held the power of imperial decree. Moreover, no one else could replace him with this power. Just this ability alone was enough to prevent anyone who wanted to continue to benefit from the Divine Path Style from having any ulterior motives, at least for the time being.
Therefore, although Chen Qing's influence was a mixed bag, his authority was immense.
But with the core leader gone, the sense of division in Jiangnan is now very obvious. This feeling only exists within the Jiangnan faction; outsiders, including the people of Jiangnan, cannot perceive it. And this sensitive situation is most easily exploited by outsiders.
Just then, Princess Mingxue, who was originally engaged to Chen Qing, claimed that she had been proposed to by a prince from the Southern Barbarians. It would be strange if this wasn't intentional.
Chen Qing now holds a prestigious position, being the first non-royal king since the founding of the Great Jin Dynasty. His engagement to Xiao Mingxue further elevates his status. Despite being a top-tier figure in the Great Jin, it is a blatant insult that a barbarian from beyond the Jiangnan would seek his fiancée.
The crucial point is that the imperial court tacitly allowed this rumor to spread everywhere.
It's quite obvious that the imperial court is using Xiao Mingxue to test Chen Qing's reaction!
Generally speaking, this probing is meaningless. After all, among the four forces, the imperial court is currently the weakest on the surface. The South Sea is barely under the control of the Chen Household in cooperation with the imperial navy, and is extremely unstable. To be honest, if it weren't for the immense pressure from the giant python in the north, they would never have sat idly by and watched the imperial court take over the South Sea Dragon Palace.
At this time, the imperial court should be keeping a low profile.
But that's exactly what happened to him, and that's quite interesting.
Are you referring to the people in this hall as the traitor?
A deep voice rang out, and everyone looked over. The one who spoke was the newly crowned Battle God: Yuchi Feihong!
Yuchi Feihong is the newly appointed Wind Division Battle God by Chen Qing, and he also has the bloodline of the Dragon Clan. His individual strength is now no weaker than Xu Hu's, but his status is quite awkward. Xu Hu, as the Battle God, has won the hearts of the people. Most of the newly enlisted Fighter Army are aiming to join General Xu Hu. Yuchi Feihong? Never even heard of him.
It was only because Xu Hu took the initiative to transfer Yuchi Feihu and his subordinates to Yuchi Feihong's command in order to ease the awkward situation that Yuchi Feihong finally had a decent team with Yuchi Jun's confidants.
But they're all just sitting around doing nothing.
The two most important fronts, the western front and the northern front, were beyond Yuchi Feihong's control. Nominally, he was responsible for guarding Jiangnan, but in reality, he was even more vulnerable than Tian Heng was before he had West Sea City.
Shen San glanced at the other person but didn't blame them for their harsh tone. After all, the Yuchi Household did have the deepest ties with the imperial court, so it was normal for them to be upset by what he said.
"That's not what I meant." Shen San was never one to hold grudges, and quickly said, "People like us are already deeply bound to our lord, so there's absolutely no need for that. The traitor I was referring to wasn't any of you here, but rather within our own faction. Clearly, with our lord absent, the various conflicts have caused some people to harbor ulterior motives."
Yuchi Feihong frowned. He was a meticulous person, and since the other party, the Lord of the Underworld, had taken the initiative to apologize, he naturally couldn't be unreasonable. He nodded and said, "You mean, one of your subordinates was bribed?"
"Would anyone really do that?" Shen Shiyi frowned deeply. "Many of those in the Divine Path forces started from humble beginnings and only achieved their current status after following the Lord. How could they be so ungrateful? The Lord has only been gone for half a year, and he's already harboring such thoughts?"
"That's just how greedy people are," Shen Er chuckled. "Those who are doing well always want to do even better. The benefits in Jiangnan are too great right now; every faction wants a piece of the pie. If they can confirm that the master is not here, they will naturally make their next move."
As for what the next move would be, Shen Er didn't say. Everyone here is smart; those who understand, understand.
The situation in Jiangnan is complex. The Shen Family controls seven provinces, but the most important province, Liuzhou, is under the jurisdiction of Wei Gongcheng, a commoner. The two major military forces are a typical family of military generals, the former Duke of Qi, and a completely commoner. Not to mention the Dragon Palace force from another world.
With such a division of power and the absence of a central leader, it is almost as easy as to stir up trouble!
Given enough time, it's not impossible that the various factions will further divide and cause the structure to fall apart.
To be honest, the Shen Family didn't want to fall apart. Jiangnan was doing very well for the Shen Family's development, and since they controlled the Underworld, they naturally wanted external military stability. But at this critical juncture, their Laoda went missing, which was really a mess.
"Now that we know the serious situation, what should we do next?" Ziyue looked at everyone. "If we don't want external villains to have any crooked ideas, we must be firm. Princess Mingxue is the Lord's legal wife and also the mistress of Jiangnan. Now, a half-demon from the Southern Barbarians dares to make a move. If he doesn't die, the Lord will lose face, and Jiangnan will be in danger!"
"That makes sense," Shen San frowned. "But what should we do? After all, the master is the princess's consort. If he doesn't show up, the bigger our actions, the more it will seem like we're just bluffing!"
"Then we'll have to find someone to take the blame," Ziyue said.
"Take the blame?" The group of people were taken aback. Even the shrewd Shen Family family members were surprised by this suggestion.
Even Princess Ao Zhen, who had been standing by like an outsider, chuckled. Humans were certainly interesting; anything could happen.
"Is this reliable?" Wei Gongcheng asked blankly.
"Is there any other way?" Ziyue sighed. "No one can contact the lord, and the lord's face must be preserved. The only option is to find someone to marry Princess Mingxue first!"
The group looked at each other; it sounded like a ridiculous idea, but it seemed they didn't really have a better solution right now.
"Who should impersonate the master?" Chen Ying frowned and said, "The master is not someone easy to impersonate."
" A Li!"
Everyone: "."
"No way!!" Chen Ying immediately objected!
The others also frowned. The Thousand-Faced Fox —releasing that thing out again would be too dangerous!
"No one is more experienced than her!" Ziyue said quietly, "She's a natural at impersonating others."
"That's someone pretending to be a woman!" Chen Ying said, frowning.
"Men are the same!" Ziyue said calmly, "You may not have heard much about the legend of the Thousand-Faced Fox, but I can tell you with great certainty that, since ancient times, that thing has been bisexual!"
Everyone: "."
"I disagree!" Chen Ying was the first to object. Having already been tormented by the Thousand-Faced Fox once, she felt extremely disgusted with and distrustful of that demon!
Ziyue then looked at the others. "What about you?"
Ao Zhen shrugged. "I don't care. I don't even know why you called me here."
You're in charge of escorting them!
"Me?" Ao Zhen was taken aback. Chen Qing's forces had no shortage of capable people; why would he send someone of a different race as an escort?
"This arrangement is quite suitable."
The usually cautious Master Shen San surprisingly voted in favor. "I agree with Senior Ziyue's suggestion!"
Everyone: "."