Chapter 703: I

Recently, Xie Ergai felt that he had, to a certain extent, reached the pinnacle of his life.

Although he had not yet sat on the emperor's throne, he was young, and his status and power had already surpassed those of his father, who once held sway over the court!

He not only possessed the vast fiefs and huge population granted by the new emperor's decree, but also controlled elite troops that obeyed his orders.

Moreover, because his father, Andrei Dagong Andrei, was only in a coma and not deceased, his original vast fiefs were still effectively controlled by Xie Ergai under the name of "acting."

It could be said that the current Xie Ergai was the undisputed number one Andrei Dagong of the Great Luo Dynasty, with power so overwhelming that no one could match him.

Just as he was feeling self-satisfied, a new instruction from his master, Li Chen, was delivered through a secret channel.

The instruction required him to be even more "excessive" in his actions, actively demanding more authority from the new emperor, Matvei, such as the right to garrison certain important passes, the right to tax specific regions, and so on.

The instruction clearly pointed out that with Matvei's cowardly personality, he would likely agree, but in the process of execution, he would inevitably be obstructed by those stubborn ministers in the court who were loyal to Ivan and whom Matvei could not replace.

At that time, Xie Ergai could use this to have a direct conflict with these ministers and find ways to squeeze them out or even topple them.

Although these ministers had significant power and deep foundations, in this sensitive period, they would never dare to offend Xie Ergai, who held heavy troops and had just "submitted," too much.

After all, the imperial court had finally managed to temporarily stabilize this fierce tiger with high positions and generous salaries. If they caused Xie Ergai to flip the table and rebel again because of their obstruction, no one could bear that responsibility.

Since Romanov had already warned Li Chen not to bewitch the emperor into dealing with those ministers anymore, Xie Ergai could do it.

This was precisely a move carefully designed by Li Chen, allowing his two "disciples" to cooperate with each other without knowing it.

Matvei "promised" in the open, while Xie Ergai "made trouble" in the dark, jointly disintegrating the power base that Ivan and Romanov had left in the court.

And at this moment, Li Chen had already quietly left the palace, and even left the Holy Capital. He took Lyudmila, who worshipped him endlessly, all the way toward the Maple Leaf Fief in the eastern border of the empire.

Before leaving, Matvei learned that his master was leaving and was so scared that his face turned pale, fearing that Ivan and Romanov would immediately make a move against him.

Li Chen only calmly comforted him with a "Do not be afraid, just stay in the palace with peace of mind," and then drifted away with Lyudmila.

Sure enough, as soon as Ivan learned in his villa that the Witch Ancestor had left the Holy Capital, he immediately acted like a shark that had smelled blood, unable to wait to return to the palace to first "clean up" that son of his, Matvei, who was becoming less and less obedient.

And then go to appease, or rather, investigate, his harem that had been taken care of by the Witch Ancestor for a long time.

"Ancestor! The opportunity has come! That witch bandit has left, if we don't return to the palace immediately, when will we?!" Ivan said to Romanov eagerly.

However, Romanov stopped him again, his gaze profound: "Do not be impatient. The Witch Ancestor leaving might just be a smokescreen. At his level of realm, creating a substitute that is indistinguishable from the real one is not a difficult task. Perhaps his true self is hiding somewhere in the palace, waiting for you to throw yourself into the trap!"

Seeing that Ivan was still somewhat impulsive, Romanov continued to analyze: "Think about it, why was it me who went to probe yesterday, and not you? It is precisely because the Witch Ancestor cannot do anything to me, this ancestor, for the time being.

But if you went, he could completely use his identity as the 'Imperial Tutor' to charge you with crimes such as 'interfering in state affairs' or even 'plotting treason,' taking the opportunity to strip you of all your power and put you under house arrest! Therefore, you must endure!"

Upon hearing this, cold sweat instantly broke out on Ivan.

Thinking about it carefully, this was highly likely a trap set by the Witch Ancestor!

Using his departure to create a false impression, luring him to return to the palace, and then dealing with him in a justified manner! Fortunately, the ancestor had insight into the situation beforehand!

"The ancestor is absolutely right! It was my grandson who was impulsive!" Ivan was terrified, forcibly suppressing the thought of returning to the palace immediately.

Since he had endured for so long, it did not matter if he waited a little longer.

This was also the fundamental reason why Li Chen dared to leave with peace of mind and tell Matvei not to be afraid.

He had long calculated Romanov's caution and suspicion, as well as Ivan's reliance on Romanov.

This psychological game could be described as extremely precise.

At the same time, Li Chen disguised himself as an ordinary accompanying wizard, followed Lyudmila, and after several days of travel, finally arrived at the Maple Leaf Fief located in the eastern border of the empire. ===== CHAPTER 704 =====