104: Prince Ding

While the Prince Fus Mansion was bustling from top to bottom, far away in a corner of the Northern Capital's Shuntian Prefecture, a collection of ancient, picturesque buildings stood. They were arranged in a staggered fashion, nestled among ancient trees and overgrown grass, forming a vast ecosystem. Even walking from one side to the other would take two hours. This was the Prince Ding Residence, where the Ming Dynasty's Fifth Prince, Zhu Ming, resided.

The Prince Ding Residence's large scale was naturally related to Prince Ding himself. He was one of the five Martial Commanders of the Ming imperial family and the wielder of the Battle Heaven Sword. The Battle Heaven Sword Art was incredibly powerful, invincible on the battlefield, and had achieved numerous military successes. Its deterrent power was so strong that enemy forces dared not easily invade the borders. With such martial prowess and military achievements, he stood out among the many princes and was highly valued by the Emperor Ming!

Now, with no battles at the border for the time being, Prince Ding had been settled in his residence for many years. At this moment, he was in his deliberation hall, his brow slightly furrowed as he looked at an intelligence report…

Currently, the main things that concerned him were matters related to the succession struggle. Since the failure of his previous secret instruction to Night Hawk to hijack a plane with Fusang Country and Snow Eagle Country individuals, which triggered a diplomatic crisis, it was almost the first time he had tasted such bitterness. This was because his previous schemes had all been successful, allowing him to achieve his goals. However, this unexpected failure left him very frustrated. Of course, he would not accept defeat, so he ordered a thorough investigation to see where the flaw had occurred.

Now, this investigation report lay before him, and seeing it, he was somewhat surprised. The First Prince, Prince Rui, was actually unrelated to this matter?!

In his imagination, this matter must have been related to Prince Rui. This was because Prince Rui was not only the current Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty but also one of the five Martial Commanders of the Ming imperial family, the wielder of the Overlord Sword. This Overlord Sword Art was as brilliant as the great sun, subtly hinting at the aura of an Emperor. It could subdue an enemy's army before battle, and when unleashed, its power was boundless, capable of boosting one's own strength by at least twenty percent!

Therefore, even though the two had never officially dueled, in the eyes of countless Xuan Practitioners in the Ming Dynasty, the Overlord Sword was considered superior to the Battle Heaven Sword, ranking above it!

It could be said that Prince Ding's greatest concern was Prince Rui. This was also why he frequently took the initiative to create trouble for Prince Rui. Only by continuously disrupting Prince Rui's Cultivation rhythm and making him constantly busy in various aspects would he have a chance to counterattack Prince Rui and win the crucial victory in this succession struggle!

Of course, the succession struggle was not just a matter between the two of them. Many other princes were also Geniuses. Besides Prince An Zhu Jian, the wielder of the Xuanhuang Sword, there were two other royal Martial Commanders: the Third Prince, Prince Lu Zhu Jilu, and the Eighteenth Prince, Prince Gong Zhu Jigong. One was the wielder of the Heaven-Supporting Sword, and the other was the wielder of the Heaven-Emulating Sword. Both were incredibly talented. How could they be willing to be suppressed by these two?

These individuals were all secretly taking action, each employing unique strategies. Sometimes, one had to be on guard against them. Therefore, Prince Ding would also keep a close eye on their every move, so that he could strike in time and nip these dangerous sprouts in the bud…

In fact, such an approach was almost a basic operation for all princes aspiring to participate in the succession struggle. They guarded against each other, while also thinking about whether they could first ally with one to strike another, or seek assistance from the common people, and so on. In short, they would do whatever worked best, and would not give up until they fought to the death!

In fact, in their view, in this battle for succession, it was either success or martyrdom. No one could succeed casually, so once successful, they would certainly strike down all others to ensure the safe development and Bloodline continuation of their own direct lineage…

The Emperor Ming seemed to condone all of this. Just as Yu Xun had revealed to Qi Huaiyi earlier, the Emperor Ming had been staying in the inner palace during this period, almost never attending court. He spent all day doing woodworking in the palace. This might be the highest-ranking carpenter in the Ming Dynasty, and perhaps the most Advanced one in history…

Another piece of intelligence also made Prince Ding's brow furrow slightly. It said that a few days ago, Prince Fu had actually appeared in the Xuanji Tower in the South Capital Yingtian Prefecture, where he had a secret meeting with the Xuanji Tower Master, Sabado, for two hours, before hastily returning to the Southern Yue Royal Residence…

“Even this biggest and fattest good-for-nothing in the imperial family isn't content to be idle…” Prince Ding couldn't help but sigh.

At this moment, Zhu Ming, his trusted aide sitting in front of him, laughed and said, “Your Highness, he is just a flaccid toad, only fit to be a table leg for Your Highness…”

“A flaccid toad? Hahahahaha…” Prince Ding burst into laughter, amused by Zhu Ming's analogy, and his mood instantly brightened…

After laughing for a while, he still said, “Send someone to find Sabado and see what he discussed with Prince Fu. Regardless, this toad possesses mountains of gold and silver. His best destiny is to be brought into our fold!”

“Yes, Your Highness! Rest assured, your servant has already sent people to investigate this matter!” Zhu Ming said.

“Oh? Very good, you always make me feel very at ease with your work.”

“Thank you, Your Highness! It is my honor to serve Your Highness!” Zhu Ming said respectfully.

Prince Ding nodded approvingly, looking at the investigation report and saying, “What do you think of this matter? Can Qi Huaiyi, Hai Xiang, and Wang Weidong truly find Dark Night Valley so precisely and capture those Fusang People and Snow Eagle People?”

Zhu Ming said, “Your Highness, your servant has been following this matter for some time and has learned from an inside source within the Xuanwu Guard that their ability to quickly discover Dark Night Valley and accurately capture those Fusang People and Snow Eagle People was actually due to information provided by the Jianxuan Envoy Department Southern Division. However…”

“However, what?”

“According to the inside source's report, no one from the Southern Division issued those information prompts at the time!” Zhu Ming said.

“No one issued it?! Then why were there prompt messages? Where exactly did the problem occur?!” Prince Ding exclaimed in surprise.

Zhu Ming shook his head and said, “This matter is indeed a bit strange. I have already instructed the inside source to intensify the investigation. We must thoroughly investigate the ins and outs of this matter, otherwise, our future actions may be affected!”

Prince Ding nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, “Then why do they say it has no relation to Prince Rui? Is it not possible that this matter was remotely controlled by Prince Rui?”

Zhu Ming said, “Your Highness, when Qi Huaiyi and the others attacked Dark Night Valley, Prince Rui and his people were entangled with those Fusang People diplomatic ministers and unable to extricate themselves. Moreover, they seemed completely unaware of what was happening until Qi Huaiyi and the others captured the Fusang People and Snow Eagle People and submitted their report. Only then did they hastily conclude their negotiations with the Fusang People diplomatic ministers and rush to interrogate the Fusang People culprit! If Prince Rui had remotely controlled this matter, he would not have wasted so much time meeting and negotiating with the Fusang People people…”

Prince Ding's eyes widened as he listened. After some thought, he couldn't help but nod and say, “Indeed! With Prince Rui's temperament, unless absolutely necessary, he would not lower himself to negotiate with others, much less waste so much Cultivation time! From this perspective, this matter truly has nothing to do with him. However, I don't believe Qi Huaiyi and the others alone could have accomplished this so efficiently. Moreover, didn't Night Hawk say that they were able to quickly see through his empty fort strategy and delaying tactics, and even precisely discover the secret passage, capturing the Fusang People and Snow Eagle People who were escaping through it… When did the Jianxuan Envoy Department become so formidable? Even I couldn't do that!!!”

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