103: A bunch of idiots

The Crown Prince of Great Ming was not a mere figurehead; he held real power. He would continuously take over powers from the Emperor Ming until he had assumed all of them, at which point the entire transition period would be complete. By then, the Emperor Ming would have fully abdicated. As for the final fate of this old emperor, it was likely no one would care!

If he was lucky, he might die of old age; if unlucky, he might be starved to death in some corner of the imperial palace. After all, such incidents had occurred multiple times in history. Of course, even if it did happen, no one in this dynasty would ever know, nor would anyone care…

Sometimes, there wouldn't even be a power transition period. As soon as the Crown Prince was established, the old emperor might surrender all power, perhaps forced to do so, or perhaps he had already been secretly assassinated by the Crown Prince and his supporters!

Anything could happen in the world of power, and what was just mentioned was merely the tip of the iceberg. This is why many old emperors preferred to hold onto imperial power until the very last moment of their lives, because this power was their means of survival. If they relinquished power too early, they would likely face various terrifying ways to die…

Prince Fu knew very well that the Emperor Ming at this time might no longer be his life-saving benefactor. In the upcoming turmoil, he could only rely on himself and the fated person Sabado spoke of. If he couldn't quickly find a path to survival, the destruction of the entire Prince Fus Mansion might be imminent!

"The fated person… Who could he be? Where would he be? The Dao of Heaven is robust, the stars' destiny profound; a gentleman should strive for self-improvement without cease…" Prince Fu murmured, his eyes vacant, as he idly flipped through the information booklet.

Under the immense pressure of a life-threatening crisis, Prince Fu's mind, long corroded by wine and women, was forced to work rapidly. This was indeed difficult for him, but there was no other way. If he didn't come up with a plan soon, even the head on his shoulders might be moving out. Prince Fu racked his brains and thought that he should find everyone in Great Ming who could reach Martial Commander level combat power, then screen them. After identifying a target, he would invest emotionally and financially until that person was willing to form an alliance with the Prince Fus Mansion and become his protector!

So he immediately summoned the Prince Fus Mansion's top combatants, his house guards Zhu Zhiyong and Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor. These two were actually brothers by a different surname; having stayed in the Prince Fus Mansion for a long time, they were granted the surname Zhu. As for their cultivation, Zhu Zhiyong was at the Middle Stage of a Martial General and the strongest in the residence, while Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor was at the Early Stage of a Martial General, also among the top ranks. Therefore, these two brothers were highly valued by Prince Fu, and even the duty of guarding Southern Yue City was entrusted to them.

But now Prince Fu was already complaining that their cultivation strength was too weak. Although Martial Generals were strong, compared to a Martial Commander, they were just weaklings, utterly incapable of protecting the safety of the Prince Fus Mansion and Southern Yue City. And this was also one of the reasons for the tragedy of the Prince Fus Mansion in his dream…

Hearing Prince Fu wanting to find stronger individuals to protect the residence, both Zhu Zhiyong and Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor felt a 'thump' in their hearts. This was not good. Was Prince Fu going to kick them out?!

Zhu Zhiyong quickly said, "Your Highness, please rest assured! This servant will definitely protect the residence's safety. Even if it means sacrificing my life, I will ensure the well-being of everyone in the residence!"

"Yes, Your Highness! You can be a hundred percent at ease. If any blind fool dares to disturb our residence, this servant will be the first to dismember him and dig out his heart to offer to Your Highness!!!" Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor echoed from the side.

Such words, if spoken in the past, would have been extremely pleasing to Prince Fu's ears, but now they sounded incredibly harsh. He snorted, "But what if a Martial Commander and a group of powerful exotic beasts attack?"

"This… Your Highness must be joking. How could a Martial Commander attack our Southern Yue? Those Martial Commander s are high and mighty figures, the pillars of our Great Ming. They are all busy Cultivating; how could they have time to attack Southern Yue? Besides, Your Highness, you are the Emperor's most beloved imperial son. Which blind fool would dare to disrespect you?!" Zhu Zhiyong said with a fawning smile.

"That's right! Your Highness, rest assured, how would those Martial Commander s dare to attack our Southern Yue? Are they trying to rebel? Our Great Ming imperial family possesses five Martial Commander sword-wielders, each of whom is a formidable fighter, dominating the world! As for those exotic beasts, there's even less to say. At most, they cause minor disturbances, perhaps attacking some small base cities, but it's impossible for them to have the guts to attack a first-tier base city like our Southern Yue City!" Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor chimed in.

Listening to their words, Prince Fu sighed incessantly in his heart. How could he have ever relied on these two idiotic Martial Generals?

It was precisely these kinds of idiots, completely lacking any sense of crisis, surrounding him that led to no one ever mentioning the current world crisis or the potential dangers the Prince Fus Mansion might face, until Sabado delivered a wake-up call not long ago…

These two never even considered that those who would be detrimental to the Prince Fus Mansion were precisely the Martial Commander s within the imperial family, not those among the common people!

The risks of a succession struggle were far greater for the powerful than suppressing a rebellion from the common people, even more terrifying than a large-scale beast disaster. Because even if a large-scale beast disaster occurred, at most more Xuan Practitioners and ordinary citizens, mere cannon fodder, would die; the Prince Fus Mansion would be fine. But if a succession struggle came, the Prince Fus Mansion would either be absorbed or completely eradicated!

"Your Highness? What's wrong?" Zhu Zhiyong noticed Prince Fu was distracted and asked in surprise.

"Yes, Your Highness, if you have any worries, just tell us. We guarantee to solve your problems, even if it means dying ten thousand deaths!" Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor shouted eagerly.

Prince Fu weakly waved his plump hand and sighed, "If you two could truly solve my worries, I wouldn't have to rack my brains like this…"

"Ah, this?!" The two were momentarily stunned, looking at each other.

"Even if I tell you more, you won't understand. So, quickly help me find all the Martial Commander figures in various factions now, as well as those most likely to be promoted to Martial Commander. See if any of them are known to me, have had contact with me in the past, or have visited our residence. Also, see if there are any other strong individuals from the common people. Even a slight connection will do. I need to recruit all of them to the Prince Fus Mansion as quickly as possible!" Prince Fu said weakly.

"Your Highness, even if those people come to our residence, they couldn't possibly be as loyal as us two brothers, could they?" Zhu Zhiyong said unwillingly.

"Loyalty? What good is loyalty?! You don't need to say more, just do as I say!" Prince Fu snapped.

"This… Yes! This servant will go find people immediately!!!" Zhu Zhiyong dared not say more, quickly agreed, and went out with Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor to search through the records…

Seeing this, Long Yuan was also amused by the bizarre behavior of the people in the Prince Fus Mansion. The few people he saw now, including Zhu Nan, Zhu Zhiyong, and Zhu Shuangquan, Military General of Fu Wang Manor, were basically the only ones Prince Fu could consult. But their servile demeanor and their foolish yet cute words all indicated that they were completely oblivious to the impending crisis. One could say they were all idiots!

He had thought Prince Fu was already foolish enough, but he never expected the servants of the Prince Fus Mansion to be even more foolish than him. What could be done about this? It seemed he could only dedicate a 'Cool' song to the Prince Fus Mansion…

… …