450: Chapter 450 The Throne Is About to Change Hands

After leaving a large sum of money for Tian Min, Di Pingjian silently turned and departed, leaving the Shelter.

This return to the Shelter made Di Pingjian deeply realize a harsh reality: trying to clear the number of children in the Shelter in a short time was an almost impossible task.

Before this, she had naively thought that perhaps it would only take a few decades to achieve this goal.

However, reality had dealt her a heavy blow.

Now, the people in the Slum District had started a new trend.

Originally, every household in the Slum District would give birth to two children at most, and most families chose to have only one.

But since the efforts of Tian Min and Di Pingjian improved the living conditions in the Slum District, the situation had changed dramatically.

Now, people in the Slum District had begun to increase their births; every household had at least two children, and many families even gave birth to four or five in one go.

Naturally, they thought of sending the children they couldn't support themselves to the Shelter.

Although the Shelter could still barely afford to support these children for now, Di Pingjian knew very well that with such a massive population base in the Slum District, there would only be more and more newborns in the future.

If all the children who couldn't be raised were sent to the Shelter, even if Di Pingjian was a favorite of the Heir Apparent, it would likely be difficult to sustain the Shelter's existence.

However, asking the people of the Slum District to reduce their births was simply a pipe dream for Di Pingjian.

After all, a single noble could produce numerous descendants—so many children they couldn't even be counted—and one person alone could start their own Family surname and genealogy.

This was even more true for the Disciples of the Royal Family; their offspring often numbered in the thousands or tens of thousands.

In comparison, a household in this planet's Slum District having only four or five children was already considered quite few.

Under such circumstances, requiring them to further reduce their births was clearly unreasonable and unrealistic.

Furthermore, it needed to be clear that formulating policies like Family planning was no easy feat.

Only the Prime Minister of the Dynasty had the power to formulate relevant policies, and ultimately, they required the King's personal review and confirmation before they could be officially enacted as law.

This was not something a commoner like Di Pingjian could accomplish.

Di Pingjian hurried back to the Twelfth Prince's estate, her pace somewhat urgent. To her, this residence was no longer just a place of work, but a place carrying more responsibilities and expectations.

Di Pingjian's status had already changed.

She was not only the Twelfth Prince's private chef but also an important figure in charge of a secret team.

This team was the final trump card between Di Pingjian and the Twelfth Prince, a force they had meticulously prepared to fight for the throne.

According to tradition, the Heir Apparent should inherit the throne, but history told people that whenever the throne changed hands, something unexpected always happened.

Among those ambitious princes, who would be willing to spend their lives in mediocrity?

Di Pingjian was well aware of the stakes involved, so after returning to the Twelfth Prince's estate, she was busier than ever.

Last time, she had spoken up for the Twelfth Prince before the King. Now, the Twelfth Prince—the Heir Apparent—did not seem to trust her any less because of her change in status.

Because of this, the burden on Di Pingjian's shoulders grew heavier. She was not only responsible for the daily meals of the Prince's estate but also had to manage that secret team, ensuring their training and operations went smoothly.

At the same time, she had to constantly monitor the movements of the other princes to prevent them from acting against the Twelfth Prince.

Besides the many affairs the Heir Apparent himself had to handle, the other princes were not exactly staying in their place.

Among them, a few princes were acting rather restlessly, frequently making small moves in the shadows.

In particular, the First Prince's actions against the Twelfth Prince had never ceased.

After all, among the many princes, if one were to discuss who still had a chance to compete with the current Heir Apparent, overthrow him, seize the position of Heir Apparent, and ultimately plot for the throne, that person was none other than the First Prince.

Naturally, someone needed to deal with the First Prince's clandestine maneuvers.

And that person was Di Pingjian.

Consequently, Di Pingjian's workload undoubtedly increased significantly, making her even busier.

Fortunately, however, those factions that had openly returned to the Heir Apparent's side did not require Di Pingjian's personal attention.

The Heir Apparent's other confidants had already taken over and handled these matters properly.

Otherwise, Di Pingjian might truly have been left spinning from these trivialities, perhaps even to the point of being overwhelmed.

Despite being so busy, Di Pingjian would still take the time to teach the Heir Apparent some arts of governance, especially regarding the Way of Ruling the People.

She knew the importance of the common people, understanding that only by gaining their support and backing could a regime be stabilized.

Di Pingjian patiently told the Heir Apparent that the people are the foundation of the country and the key to the rise and fall of a Dynasty.

If he wanted the Chaotian Dynasty to conquer the surrounding dynasties and even achieve the grand goal of unifying the entire planet, he had to value the power of the masses.

Time passed like a white horse flitting past a gap, gone in an instant.

Ten years of time quietly slipped away amidst the busyness, and finally, the important moment of the King's abdication and the Heir Apparent's coronation arrived.

However, the situation during this period was exceptionally tense.

Because the Heir Apparent had been sent to the front lines by the King for tempering a few years prior, his path back would be filled with numerous obstacles and crises.

Along the way, various hostile forces would be watching the Heir Apparent like tigers watching their prey, attempting to prevent him from successfully ascending the throne.

A few years ago, when the King decided to send the Heir Apparent to the front lines, Di Pingjian and the Heir Apparent both thought it was just a form of training from the King to cultivate his ability to lead troops in battle.

However, as time went on and the Heir Apparent's time at the front grew longer, Di Pingjian gradually realized that the King's true intentions were not so simple.

She began to understand that in sending the Heir Apparent to the front, the King had deeper considerations beyond just honing his military talent.

One possible reason was that the King wanted to give the First Prince an opportunity.

As the King's eldest son, the First Prince had always been favored.

If the First Prince could eliminate the Heir Apparent on his way back to the capital, then the First Prince's inheritance of the throne would become a matter of course.

Of course, this was only an analysis from the perspective of the King favoring the First Prince more.

However, another possibility existed.

Perhaps the King was a very wise monarch who hoped to select the most suitable successor by having the First Prince and the Heir Apparent engage in a duel.

After all, although the Twelfth Prince had successfully obtained the position of Heir Apparent, he had not shown many outstanding performances over the years.

Letting the Heir Apparent inherit the throne directly might cause the King to have some doubts about his abilities.

In a comprehensive analysis, the King's true intention in sending the Heir Apparent to the front might be multifaceted, which also made the entire situation become blurred and unpredictable.

After the King sent an envoy to recall the Heir Apparent to the capital to inherit the throne, the news spread through the entire Chaotian City as if it had wings.

However, this was no secret to Di Pingjian.

Relying on the powerful network of relationships and information she had painstakingly built over the years, Di Pingjian learned of this secret decree immediately.

She thought to herself, this is a perfect opportunity to earn merit!

If she could save the Heir Apparent halfway, it would increase her hopes of achieving her goals in the future.

Thinking of this, Di Pingjian made a decision without hesitation.

She immediately summoned the Shadow Kill Squad she controlled; this team consisted of elites she and the Twelfth Prince had cultivated over many years, every one of them a battle-hardened killer.

On a dark and windy night, Di Pingjian led the Shadow Kill Squad and quietly left Chaotian City.

They were like ghosts, weaving through the dark streets without attracting anyone's attention.

The dynasties on this planet were very different from those in the history of Blue Star.

Every Dynasty here was surrounded by a vast expanse of free land; these lands did not belong to any Dynasty but were no-man's lands.

Furthermore, these places were mostly high mountains and dense forests where Vicious Beasts roamed, making them exceptionally dangerous.

Because of this, the subjects of every Dynasty lived within the royal cities, with almost no humans living outside them.

This also made the land area of the royal cities enormous; they were not just simple cities but massive regions that contained the entire Dynasty.

The current scale of the Shadow Kill Squad was immense, actually possessing a full fifty thousand soldiers!

These soldiers were uniformly dressed in black martial attire, with black scimitars hanging at their waists and black masks on their faces, giving off a mysterious and cold aura.

The members of the Shadow Kill Squad only had titles and no specific names.

This not only increased their sense of mystery but further displayed their unique status as top-tier experts.

These people were not only skilled in individual combat but were also at a top-tier level in terms of teamwork.

It could be said that within the Chaotian Dynasty, finding a team with strength surpassing the Shadow Kill Squad would likely be quite difficult.

However, Di Pingjian thought of a legendary team—the Three-Life Squad.

The Three-Life Squad was a powerful team that existed only in legends.

Although no one had seen the true face of this team with their own eyes, their fame was widely spread throughout the Chaotian Dynasty.

It was said that this mysterious and powerful existence, the Three-Life Squad, was personally cultivated by the current King back when he was still the Heir Apparent.

Even more startling was the rumor that the Three-Life Squad only obeyed the King's orders, and their mission was to protect the King's safety at the cost of their own lives.

There were many different theories as to why the Three-Life Squad was so named, but the most widely circulated version was that every member of the Three-Life Squad possessed strength and courage beyond ordinary people, such that they could even kill three fierce tigers with their bare hands without using any weapons.

Such startling ability made people sigh that they were simply like having three lives.

However, regarding this rumor, Di Pingjian and the Heir Apparent held a different view.

They believed this was highly likely a rumor deliberately spread by the King, with the sole purpose of ensuring his own safety.

Through this method, the King could make the world feel awe toward him, making them afraid to easily attempt an assassination, thus effectively deterring those with ill intentions.

Di Pingjian and the Heir Apparent's guess was not without basis.

In fact, they had once spent five full years carefully training an elite force composed of five thousand Shadow Kill Squad members.

These Shadow Kill Squad members were selected from the young strongmen with the best physical fitness in the Chaotian Dynasty; after long periods of rigorous training, their strength was already quite considerable.

However, surprisingly, such a seemingly invincible and powerful team could only barely hold their own when encountering a single fierce tiger.

Despite having excellent combat techniques and rich experience, trying to completely kill that fierce tiger was an almost impossible task.

Not only that, even with the help of other weapons, achieving this goal was no easy feat.

After all, this fierce tiger was no ordinary beast, but an extremely ferocious Vicious Beast.

Its size was exceptionally massive, its strength startling, and it was bloodthirsty and combative, possessing strong aggression.

More importantly, the number of such Vicious Beasts was quite scarce.

In a vast great forest, there might only be one or two such fierce tigers.

Therefore, whether from the perspective of individual strength or population numbers, wanting to kill three such fierce tigers with bare hands was simply a pipe dream.

So, no matter what, the possibility of the King's Three-Life Squad being able to contend with a fierce tiger with one person's bare-handed strength was minuscule.

Back then, when Di Pingjian and the Twelfth Prince were planning to form the Shadow Kill Squad, they were inspired by the legend of the King's fierce Three-Life Squad.

Their initial goal was to build a secret force as powerful as the Three-Life Squad.

However, after some attempts and cultivation, they realized this was an almost impossible task.

The reason was simple: no one could fight three fierce tigers simultaneously with their bare hands.

Despite this, Di Pingjian did not give up.

Now, among the forty thousand Shadow Kill Squad members she led out of the city, only ten thousand truly possessed the strength to contend with a fierce tiger bare-handed.

As for the others, they required two or three people working together to barely contend with a fierce tiger.

Nevertheless, the Shadow Kill Squad remained the most powerful team in the Chaotian Dynasty besides the Three-Life Squad.

Their disciplined training, tacit cooperation, and fearless courage allowed them to display the strongest combat power when facing various challenges.

After all forty thousand Shadow Kill Squad members had finished gathering at a secret location outside the city, Di Pingjian divided this massive team into forty small squads to go and support the Heir Apparent one after another.

The main reason was that there were only three thousand Flying Horses, so she could only take three small squads first to rush at high speed to protect the Heir Apparent's safety.

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