[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet-":3,"chapter-i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-45":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Just Maxed Out, and You Want Me to Be a Puppet Emperor?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336484,4569,"Chapter 45: The Duel Between the Second and Third Princes: The Unpredictable Factor Within the Palace!","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-45",45,"\u003Cp>Li Xian’s status in the Profound Heaven Sect was unparalleled, and he naturally possessed an independent pavilion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bore too many honors: second imperial prince of the Tiance Dynasty, final disciple of the Supreme Sky Man, youngest observer-rank cultivator in the Profound Heaven Sect, champion of the Seventh Nine Abyss Sacred Realm Sword Conference, and recipient of the “Best Senior Brother Award.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this region, Li Xian’s reputation had reached an extraordinary height.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xian was clearly unsatisfied; his sole goal was the throne.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the independent pavilion, a powerful subordinate was reporting to Li Xian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was Li Xian’s trusted confidant, a Tianyuan-rank powerhouse known in his prime as the Capital’s Fastest Sword: Feng Wuhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His movements were like the wind, his swordplay sharp and leaving no trace, striking fear into all who heard his name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once ambushed by enemies, he was saved by Li Xian, and thereafter pledged his loyalty to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Wuhen was not of the Profound Heaven Sect, yet he could freely enter and leave the grounds—something the Sect Master tacitly permitted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely because of such a loyal and formidable expert that Li Xian could swiftly gather intelligence from every corner of the Tiance Dynasty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, it wasn’t that Feng Wuhen moved quickly—it was that Li Xian’s intelligence network was under Feng Wuhen’s control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He brought responses from all major factions in the capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xian glanced at the intelligence and his face lit up with delight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Huai’s defection and the Empress Dowager’s ambiguity were both within Li Xian’s expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hadn’t even contacted Chancellor Zhao Wenyuan or Grand General Guo Po.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Li Xian’s ascension would severely threaten them; they would never aid him, and might even leak information to Li Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Li Xian had learned caution, beginning to lay careful plans, no longer as reckless as before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His excitement stemmed from a piece of good news brought by Feng Wuhen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen had made the Imperial Tutor kneel?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperial Tutor was a Grand Sage of Confucianism, the teacher to all students under heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Li Xian’s view, without exaggeration, Li Chen’s action was justified—it restored the imperial dignity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the problem was, Li Xian believed Li Chen hadn’t considered the consequences.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ve been emperor for only a few days, and you dare act so recklessly? You’ve offended everyone you could—how do you expect to hold onto the throne?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Li Xian, this was a divine opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He told Feng Wuhen: “Send someone to deliver a formal invitation to the Imperial Tutor. I’ll inform my master, then return to the capital immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Feng Wuhen nodded and left the room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew his master intended to secretly visit the Sage-level Confucian master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having served Li Xian for years, Feng Wuhen could guess some of his master’s methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xian couldn’t bear to stay a moment longer—he judged that if he didn’t act quickly, the Imperial Tutor would be won over by another prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t need the Imperial Tutor to fight; he only needed him to mobilize his disciples to praise him and denounce Li Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Don’t underestimate these scholars—they were the most potent force in spreading rumors; “public opinion” mostly meant them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, on the day Li Xian formally succeeded Li Chen, he would be the one destined by heaven, the one embraced by the people’s hearts!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why would the Imperial Tutor help him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second prince believed this opportunity had been handed to him by Li Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Chen hadn’t been so aggressive, would the Sage-level master have been so humiliated?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then it was only natural for the Imperial Tutor to support him—and with Li Xian’s personal visit to show sincerity, he couldn’t imagine any reason the Imperial Tutor would refuse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Li Xian ascended, the shadow of suppression by Li Chen would vanish, and Yunlu Academy would return to the empire’s pinnacle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Imperial Tutor truly aided him, Li Xian was willing to take him as his master, to counterbalance the Supreme Sky Man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, Li Xian couldn’t see how he could lose this game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Xian had already begun to “ignore” Li Chen, planning how he would maintain imperial balance after his ascension.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most troubling issue was the third prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After easily disposing of Li Chen, Li Xian would face the third prince directly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Li Xian’s intelligence, the third prince was also active—he was recruiting powerful figures and even colluding with neighboring powerful states, his intentions clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did neighboring states want? Territory, resources, laborers—all of which coincided perfectly with Li Chen’s recent offense against the Khan of the Northern Wang Fu. A gift handed to the third prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such behavior by the third prince was no different from treason.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But history had seen others do the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the throne, he had become bloodthirsty, willing to pay any price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second prince despised the third prince’s methods—he believed his own ascension would merely elevate certain factions above imperial authority, yet the Tiance Dynasty would remain intact, and he could gradually correct it through imperial arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likewise, the third prince despised the second prince’s approach—he believed his own ascension would only cost a few border territories, which he could later reclaim, while the second prince would bring these poisons into the capital, making them nearly impossible to remove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, both had, to some extent, ignored Li Chen and begun planning their future confrontations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two princes held remarkably similar views: Li Chen merely had strength, but in this world, strength alone was insufficient to thrive—you needed power, you needed backing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next phase of confrontation would be civil war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vassal kings within the Tiance Dynasty, the garrison commanders of major cities, the garrison forces at key passes, the commanders of each army group, even the elite Capital Guard—all were the true battlegrounds between the second and third princes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In their eyes, this contest would surely be prolonged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Li Chen was strolling through the palace, feeling no urgency whatsoever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as he was near Li Sining, she neglected her cultivation; night had fallen, yet it was not yet time to rest, so Li Chen wandered through the palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eunuchs and palace maids who saw him halted to bow; only after he passed could they continue on their way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Chen reached the eastern side of the palace, he sensed a strange energy fluctuating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone appeared to be breaking through, and they were cultivating a demonic art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The energy was saturated with negative forces—normal cultivation methods never produced such an effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the energy vanished after a fleeting moment, Li Chen’s keen perception still detected it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The harem contained many concubines, some of whom possessed extraordinary skills, but none could possibly be cultivating demonic arts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the late emperor, however decadent, would never permit such a person near him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, the late emperor had possessed considerable ability; in his lifetime, his aura had been mighty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the time, every prince assumed he would remain on the throne for over a decade, and none had planned to act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after the crown prince’s sudden death, the second and third princes kept their distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who knew that recently, the late emperor’s health deteriorated rapidly, and he passed away so swiftly?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Li Chen became emperor, he suspected the late emperor’s death might be linked to his favored concubines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world held countless mysterious arts; the imperial library recorded tens of thousands of techniques, yet they amounted to less than a fraction of what truly existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Chen had read some texts describing methods to induce undetectable ailments through sexual union.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After repeated unions, once the ailment reached a critical threshold, the body would decay with terrifying speed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Commonly known as “poison within the body.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many physicians had examined the late emperor, yet none detected the specific cause.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant the method had never been recorded—far more sophisticated, far more insidious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every place where the late emperor ate, slept, and lived had been inspected—no flaws could be found. The problem was obvious: only one place could not be examined by others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, before understanding the situation, Li Chen dared not touch any of these women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chu Ruoyan was relatively normal—her birth and background, even her ancestors for ten generations, were thoroughly documented.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To uncover the source of that fleeting demonic energy, Li Chen vanished silently from his spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, he arrived near the location where the energy had appeared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at the building before him, Li Chen felt puzzled: Cold Palace? If I recall correctly, there’s a peculiar person here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1438,"2026-06-20T21:59:17.413Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","595f38e33d54a2feebc1740caae77e92002babd26334298fb36951f596501103","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-46","i-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--chapter-44",766,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-just-maxed-out-and-you-want-me-to-be-a-puppet--cover.jpg"]