Chapter 356: The Instigation of

"Master Sima, thank you for your help this time. Please also thank your master, Prince Xue Beng, on my behalf. From now on, our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family will be his best ally," the Grandmaster promised.

His words sounded pleasant enough, yet he seemed not to realize the fact that he could not represent the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family at all.

Sima Yi watched the retreating figures of the Grandmaster and Liu Erlong, a smile of successful conspiracy appearing on his face.

He believed that his colleague should also be taking action at this very moment.

Zhuge Liang—this was the other soldier summoned by Xun Yu. He had quite shamelessly taken the name of Zhuge Kongming and entered the Heaven Dou Imperial Court.

In truth, entering the Heaven Dou Imperial Court to serve as an official was simpler than sneaking into Prince Xue Beng's residence to serve as a steward.

The method Xun Yu had Zhuge Liang adopt was known as "recommending oneself."

He was to display his talents directly before Xue Qinghe and win her favor.

For others, obtaining an opportunity to converse with this Crown Prince might not be easy, but do not forget, at that time, Nan Feihuang was staying in this Heaven Dou Empire as an exchange student.

At that time, he and Xue Qinghe met often, and the two would frequently go out together to inspect the conditions of the people.

With Nan Feihuang keeping track of Xue Qinghe's incognito visits and movements at all times, it was not difficult for Xun Yu to arrange for this "Zhuge Liang" to have a chance encounter with Xue Qinghe! At the time, Zhuge Liang had deliberately spoken loudly and eloquently about the current situation of the Heaven Dou Imperial Court and its existing problems, greatly piquing Xue Qinghe's interest.

After some conversation, Xue Qinghe discovered that although this person's strength as a Spirit Master was not strong, he possessed unique insights in internal affairs and was a fine talent for a civil official.

She then brought him back to the imperial palace, starting him off as a clerk in the Censorate. Relying on his genuine talent and learning, Zhuge Liang's speed of promotion over these past few years could be considered quite good.

Moreover, to repay Xue Qinghe's kindness in recognizing his talent, he was, on the surface, a staunch member of the Crown Prince's faction.

In other words, of the three undercover agents Xun Yu had arranged within Tiandou City, apart from Zhou Yu who was at Yuexuan...

... the other two had become trusted subordinates of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng, respectively.

With undercover agents arranged under both great princes, even though Xun Yu was not within the Tiandou Imperial City, the room for him to maneuver over there was still vast indeed.

Zhuge Liang arrived at the Taizi Donggong and reported to Xue Qinghe, "Your Highness, a few days ago, the army wiped out a killer organization entrenched in our country. When reporting to the Censorate, I discovered some things within it. Please, Your Highness, take a look."

Censors were historians responsible for recording, and also held official positions specifically for the nature of supervision, responsible for monitoring court officials; therefore, all matters, large and small, that occurred within the country would eventually be reported to the Censorate for them to record.

This was the reason Xun Yu had Zhuge Liang choose this official position; through it, Zhuge Liang could also learn of domestic intelligence at the first opportunity.

That killer organization was actually the one he had experimented with to assassinate Nan Feihuang back then. This time, their annihilation was also assisted by the army after he secretly leaked the intelligence.

"A killer organization? Such a trivial matter requires me to handle it?" Xue Qinghe looked at Zhuge Liang with some dissatisfaction. She was already busy enough and had no time for cultivation; did she still have to manage these minor details? Could he not handle it himself? Otherwise, why did she recruit him?

"But Your Highness, on the assassination list of this killer organization, I saw the name of your brother-in-law, Nan Feihuang, and the person who placed the order..." Zhuge Liang only spoke halfway.

That was enough. The three words "Nan Feihuang" immediately made Xue Qinghe jump up. "What? Feihuang? Who dares to assassinate Feihuang? Give me the information to look at!" Anything involving Nan Feihuang would not be a small matter.

To put it mildly, that was sabotaging the marriage alliance between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Gu Lei Kingdom. If Nan Feihuang were assassinated by a killer organization of the Heaven Dou Empire, it would affect the peace between the two countries.

To put it gravely, whoever was so blind as to dare assassinate the person she liked was truly tired of living.

Zhuge Liang immediately handed over the intelligence in his hand.

Xue Qinghe took it and looked at the killer organization's assassination list; sure enough, she saw Nan Feihuang's name on it, and it had even been modified.

It seemed the person who placed the order was very clever. When they first entrusted that killer organization, they did not tell them Nan Feihuang's true identity, only saying he was an ordinary noble. After all, what ordinary killer organization would dare provoke Nan Feihuang, who had a Title Douluo backing him?

It was likely that after the killer organization's operation failed, they realized who their true target was, and then changed it to Nan Feihuang themselves.

And the name of the person who signed the order was Sima Yi.

"Sima Yi? This guy, I remember he is the steward of Prince Xue Beng's residence, right? Why would he send people to assassinate Feihuang?" Xue Qinghe asked in surprise.

"Your Highness, Sima Yi is merely a lowly steward; naturally, he would not have the motive or the courage, but the person behind him might not be the same," Zhuge Liang said pointedly. "Prince Xue Xing was on good terms with Prince Xue Beng while he was alive. Your Highness, I do not believe they were merely deeply affectionate as relatives."

"You mean, Xue Beng has been enduring all this time, and in fact, secretly wants to compete with me for that throne?" Xue Qinghe was certainly no fool; with a slight hint from Zhuge Liang, she understood.

"Yes. As for any imperial prince, I do not believe he would be unmoved by that supreme throne. The reason Xue Beng acted so dissolute before must have been to deceive your eyes, wanting to preserve his life while secretly and slowly developing his own power," Zhuge Liang explained. "The purpose of assassinating Nan Feihuang is also simple. Princess Xue Ke is your most loyal supporter, so once Nan Feihuang marries Princess Xue Ke, he is naturally also on your side."

"The Gu Lei Kingdom has no other princes. Nan Feihuang is the only son of Nan Tianchen and the future king of the Gu Lei Kingdom, a certainty. If he supports you, it is equivalent to the entire Gu Lei Kingdom standing behind Your Highness."

"Today, in terms of resources, the Gu Lei Kingdom is a major grain-producing nation within Heaven Dou territory. In terms of military strength, they have the Profound Ice Douluo and the Poison Douluo—two Douluos in one country. Nan Feihuang's own aptitude is also earth-shattering. Since Xue Beng has his sights set on the world, how could he watch such a figure be used by you?"

Zhuge Liang analyzed Xue Beng's motives with perfect logic.

Xue Qinghe slapped the table in anger. "He is courting death!"

Coveting the throne was nothing; just as Zhuge Liang said, he was a prince, so it was normal. If one were to say any prince truly had no interest in the supreme position, she would not believe it either.

But to secretly scheme against her Feihuang like this—this had touched her reverse scale.

"Master Zhuge, thank you for reporting this news to me. I will handle this matter. You may go down and attend to your work first." Xue Qinghe dismissed Zhuge Liang.

Although Zhuge Liang was considered her subordinate, he was loyal to Xue Qinghe, not Qian Renxue.

Next, she had to use her own power as Qian Renxue; she could not let Zhuge Liang know.

(End of chapter)