239: Chapter 240 Where is the Prince of Zhennan's Agent?

However, this also raised deep doubts in the hearts of many.

According to the rules and status, since Duke Zhou had arrived in person, he should have been ranked after all the agents of the princes and appeared last.

But now, before the fourth prince's agent had even appeared, why did Zhou Yun's car drive in first?

However, this doubt was fleeting. For the vast majority of people, they had no qualification to comment on political protocols and games at this level, and whether they understood it or not was meaningless.

Most importantly, Duke Zhou has arrived!

"Duke Zhou! It's Duke Zhou in the flesh!"

"Duke Zhou! Duke Zhou!"

"Move, move, move, move, move, let me take a photo!"

"Move your mom! You're the only one who needs to take a photo?"

...

Countless people crowded forward frantically, and reporters tried their hardest to zoom in their lenses, attempting to peer through the car windows to capture the true Face of this legendary youth.

Unfortunately, the windows of this Hongqi sedan used top-tier, one-way bulletproof and radiation-proof material, so no matter how hard outsiders tried, they could only see a cold and noble, pitch-black reflection.

...

When the Hongqi sedan stopped steadily in the center of the Forbidden City square, the car door slowly opened.

Zhou Yun stepped out of the car.

At this moment, the sixteen duke agents who had arrived earlier, along with the three prince agents who had entered first, were already standing in unison in the center of the square, waiting quietly for him.

Seeing Zhou Yun get out of the car, these nineteen figures who could cover the sky with one hand in the Great Han Nation bowed slightly at the same time, paying the highest respects to this eighteen-year-old youth.

"Duke Zhou, please."

The nineteen people spoke in unison, their voices shaking the square.

Afterward, they stepped aside and, in a manner akin to an honor guard escorting him, surrounded Zhou Yun and led the way into the depths of the Forbidden City.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..."

The moment Zhou Yun's footsteps crossed the vermilion gates of the Forbidden City, seventeen salute cannons roared simultaneously!

The deafening sound of the cannons exploded over the Forbidden City, turning into rolling thunder that echoed over the entire Imperial Dynasty, announcing the official arrival of the seventeenth duke of the Great Han Nation!

Reaching this threshold, all ordinary media and onlookers were blocked outside; only the official livestream camera, which possessed top-secret clearance, remained to quietly record everything.

In the official livestream footage, the agents of the three princes and sixteen dukes walked in two rows, leading the way in front.

With solemn expressions, they walked forward, finally arriving in front of the Parliament Hall, which symbolized the highest power of the Great Han Nation.

Everyone walked up the long white jade steps until Zhou Yun's thin yet upright figure disappeared behind the hall doors; only then did the livestream camera freeze, and the broadcast was cut.

The remaining content was already the highest level of secret on this planet.

...

Inside the Parliament Hall, it was spacious and empty.

The dome was extremely high, and the national emblem of the Great Han Nation and the insignias symbolizing the various regional officials hung all around.

In the center of the hall, twenty-one heavy, carved mahogany chairs were arranged around a huge round table.

The agents of the three princes and sixteen dukes had already arrived at their respective seats.

But strangely, after standing still, not a single person pulled out their chair to sit down.

Everyone's gaze was focused in unison on the chair at the very end of the round table.

That was the twenty-first chair, representing the newly promoted seventeenth duke of the Great Han Nation, Zhou Yun.

Under the gaze of countless eyes—scrutinizing, awe-struck, complex, and even carrying a hint of inexplicable meaning—Zhou Yun remained calm, walked slowly to the chair, and sat down leisurely.

"Whoosh—"

The moment he sat down, the other nineteen agents seemed to have received an order; they simultaneously pulled out their chairs and sat down in unison.

After everyone was seated, the official host responsible for presiding over the parliament at the head of the hall cleared his throat and announced in a steady, powerful voice through the microphone:

"Except for the absence of King of the South's agent, Duke Zhou, who is attending this Royal Parliament, and the agents of the three princes and sixteen dukes have all taken their seats."

"I declare the Great Han Nation Royal Parliament officially open!"

Hearing this announcement, Zhou Yun's gaze shifted slightly, and he swept a glance, without leaving a trace, at the first chair in the prince's seat at the very head.

That noble seat, engraved with the Qilin swallowing clouds pattern, stood there empty at this moment, appearing particularly glaring.

At the same time, the expressions of the other agents in the hall became subtle.

King of the South, Wang Dingshan, although not the most senior among the four princes of the current Great Han Nation, was definitely one of the top existences in terms of the strength of his territory and his military power in the City Lord World.

But now, at such a Royal Parliament that was the focus of the entire nation and represented the national body and future direction of the Great Han Nation, King of the South's agent was actually absent!

The signal revealed behind this was hard not to overthink.

Those present were all figures at the top of the Great Han Nation's power pyramid; some secrets unknown to ordinary people were merely open secrets to them.

They knew very well that the newly promoted Duke Zhou before them, as well as his father Zhou Tianhao, had recently had a significant conflict with the behemoth of Blue Star, the Wang Group.

And standing behind the Wang Group was none other than that regional overlord, King of the South.

They even knew that because of that conflict between the two sides, even the highest will of the nation had personally intervened, forcibly suppressing the situation.

Perhaps it was to express dissatisfaction with the nation's favoritism toward Zhou Yun, or perhaps it was simply to give this newly promoted "Seventeenth Duke" a show of force.

In any case, King of the South's agent had played an "absence" card directly on such a solemn occasion.

This was not only failing to give Face to the newly promoted Duke Zhou.

This was also openly slapping the nation in the Face!

Thinking of this, several duke agents on both sides of the round table exchanged glances, the emotions flashing in the depths of their eyes being all amusement and subtlety.

However, Zhou Yun did not ignore the empty seat at the very front as everyone had expected.

He lifted his eyes slightly, his gaze landing for a moment on the empty chair at the head of the round table engraved with the Qilin swallowing clouds pattern, then he calmly looked at the official presiding over the meeting and spoke, breaking the silence at the round table:

"Why is King of the South's agent not present?"

The official presiding over the parliament was stunned, clearly not expecting this newly promoted duke to bring this matter into the open.

His fingers gripping the speech draft tightened, and after a moment of hesitation, he leaned toward the microphone, his tone revealing a hint of difficulty:

"Duke Zhou, King of the South's agent, Xu Zi'an, did indeed submit a receipt to the parliament beforehand, and communication had been normal until yesterday."

"It's just that... since last night, the preparatory committee has been unable to contact Xu Zi'an."

"Until the opening of the parliament, there was still no response from his residence in the Forbidden City."

"To avoid delaying the parliamentary agenda, the preparatory committee has processed his absence according to regulations."

"I see." Zhou Yun nodded slightly, with no sign of anger on his Face.

Seeing his easygoing attitude, several duke agents sitting in the middle of the round table sneered inwardly.

In their view, the reason King of the South's agent was absent was clearly under the instructions of King of the South, deliberately trying to give this new duke, who was not even twenty years old, a show of force at this highest-level parliament of the Great Han Nation!

However, while they grumbled inwardly, no one at the round table would easily put their true attitude on the table.

For one, they were only agents.

For another, the dukes and princes behind them had no intention of becoming enemies with Duke Zhou.

Although this Duke Zhou was young, being able to be promoted to duke at such an age meant his background was not yet clear.

In the future, in the City Lord World, there might be places where they would need to rely on his light.

A middle-aged duke agent sitting on the side seat smiled and said:

"Duke Zhou, don't overthink it. Perhaps some force majeure event occurred, which led to the inability to attend."

"That's right." Another prince agent also echoed:

"Parliamentary matters are of the utmost importance. Except for King of the South's agent, everyone else is here."

"The results discussed can be sent as a memorandum copy afterward. The matters that need to be discussed can be handled properly all the same."

The other agents also nodded in agreement one after another.

After listening, Zhou Yun nodded and said: "Everyone makes sense. Since that's the case, let's continue."

Seeing that the newly promoted duke did not continue to ask about the absence of King of the South's agent, the presiding official felt relieved.

After all, the focus of this meeting was on this Duke Zhou.

If he felt dissatisfied and insisted on dwelling on it, it would make everyone have a huge headache.

But for now, this Duke Zhou seemed quite agreeable.

Thinking this, he tightened his tie and opened the first agenda item of the parliament:

"Since everyone has no objections, we will proceed to the first agenda item: establishing the joint development direction for the various forces of the Great Han Nation in the City Lord World in the future."

As the words fell, everyone's gaze naturally turned to the three prince agents in front.

The white-haired elder representing Prince Zhenbei did not decline; he cleared his throat and reached out to tap the virtual star map that lit up in the center of the round table:

"Regarding the general direction, the tone was set as early as the Royal Parliament fourteen years ago."

"If there are no changes, the core forces of the Great Han Nation should still take the territories of King of the South, Prince Zhenbei, and Prince Zhenxi as the regional direction, gradually closing in toward the Little Central Heaven Region, and finally converging with the Luo King located in the Little Central Heaven Region."

Mentioning the Luo King, an intellectual woman sitting in the front row of the prince's seats, wearing an elegant cheongsam and having a gentle demeanor, nodded slightly and greeted everyone with a smile.

The white-haired elder looked around and finally fixed his gaze on Zhou Yun:

"Duke Zhou, the Luo King is our Great Han Nation's first prince, with the deepest strength and foundation, only half a step away from establishing an Imperial Dynasty in the City Lord World. Do you have any objections to moving in this direction, Duke Zhou?"

Zhou Yun replied peacefully: "Converging with the Luo King is the most efficient choice; I have no objections."

Hearing this answer, the relief in the presiding official's eyes became visibly stronger.

The other agents also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Before this, what they were most worried about was that this eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth would be a newborn calf not afraid of the tiger, relying on his youth to become a duke and forcibly proposing some non-conformist opinions at the parliament.

Now it seems that this Duke Zhou not only has a deep foundation, but this steady measure is also rare among the younger generation.

With this paving, the tone of the Prince Zhenbei agent who was speaking became significantly more relaxed.

He reached out and swiped across the virtual star map, and a silver route running through the Xiaonan Region and leading to the Little Central Heaven Region lit up.

"Since the general direction is set, from a local level... Duke Zhou's Flower City is located in the Xiaonan Region and belongs to the same large plate as the territory under King of the South's rule."

"The nearest and most stable passage from Flower City to the Little Central Heaven Region happens to run through King of the South's territory."

"If you detour, the distance will increase several times, and the difficulty will be greatly increased."

The white-haired elder's finger stopped in the middle of the route and continued: "Therefore, the first step of the strategy may require Duke Zhou to first develop toward the hinterland of the Xiaonan Region and converge with King of the South's forces."

When saying the last few words, his voice clearly softened, and his gaze lingered on Zhou Yun's Face.

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly tightened.

Some things are secrets to ordinary people, but to them, it's nothing.

For example, the matter of Zhou Yun's father, Zhou Tianhao, being threatened with his life not long ago.

Everyone present was well aware of this.

Therefore, the four words "local convergence" were the most difficult hurdle of today's meeting.

If Zhou Yun was determined not to cooperate, the two forces of the Great Han Nation in the Xiaonan Region could not unite, and the subsequent various matters would become empty talk.

The presiding official looked with hope, only wishing that this young duke would take the overall situation of the nation into account and temporarily take a step back.

However, the round table fell into a long silence.

Zhou Yun looked at the teacup in front of him and did not answer immediately.

Time passed slowly.

As this silence continued longer, the air became more viscous.

The hearts of the other agents sank.

After a long time, Zhou Yun lifted his eyelids, his gaze lingering on the Luo King's agent, and asked:

"Going through King of the South's territory to the Little Central Heaven Region... are there any other routes that work?"

The Luo King's agent was slightly stunned, realizing that Zhou Yun had something in mind, and immediately said: "The parliament is originally a place for all parties to discuss together. If Duke Zhou has other ideas, you can bring them up, and everyone can discuss them together."

"Yes, Duke Zhou, if there is any inconvenience, just bring it up, and we can always discuss a compromise method."

Several agents nearby also chimed in.

But Zhou Yun shook his head, smiled, and said: "Everyone has misunderstood. It's not that I think this road is impassable. It's just that this matter of convergence is not up to me to decide, but depends on King of the South's attitude."

Hearing this, several lowered sighs of relief immediately came from the agents' seats.

Everyone's minds settled down in unison.

In their view, this Duke Zhou not only had a background but was also very mature, knew how to advance and retreat, and understood how to weigh the pros and cons.

After all, King of the South's power was obvious.

Once a newly promoted duke clashed head-on with an old-school prince, not to mention the damage to the Great Han Nation's power, Flower City would also likely not fare well.

At this time, Zhou Yun took the initiative to express that he would look at King of the South's attitude; in their eyes, this was a disguised "bowing and showing goodwill."

Being able to bend and stretch is indeed material for doing great things!

Everyone not only did not look down on Zhou Yun because of this, but instead raised their evaluation of him to a higher level.

However, before the look of approval on their Faces could spread, Zhou Yun's next sentence fell.

...