Chapter 2107
Your Highness, Prince Lu Requests an Audience
Hearing Lu Chen's words, Chu Qingli's heart tightened.
If the eldest prince is not worthy to be emperor, then who is?
Could it be that Lu Chen thinks he's the right person to be emperor? But he's already said he has no interest in the throne.
Just then, Lu Chen continued, "Has Palace Master Chu forgotten? Our Zhennan Prince's Mansion also has a member of the Ji family bloodline."
Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Chu Qingli immediately realized that Lu Chen intended to support Ji Yunmeng to become empress.
Wait, if Ji Yunmeng becomes emperor, will the throne be passed to Lu Chen's son in the future?
In this way, the Great Zhou dynasty still ended up in the hands of the Lu family.
Lu Chen seemed to have seen through Chu Qingli's thoughts, and then said, "The ancient ruins should appear soon, right? As long as one is of the Ji family bloodline, it doesn't really matter who is the emperor. It's just that I don't want the person who opens the ruins to be controlled by others."
Upon hearing Lu Chen's words, Chu Qingli finally realized that Lu Chen wanted to obtain the key to unlock the ancient ruins.
If that's the case, then there's no problem.
Anyway, once the ancient ruins are discovered, it doesn't matter who becomes the emperor of the Great Zhou.
Even if Lu Chen were to give the Great Zhou to his son at that time, it wouldn't matter.
By the time Ji Yunmeng passed the throne to Lu Huan, the inheritance of the ancient ruins had already been taken away.
Lu Chen then continued, "Have the people from Tianxuan Palace pack up and prepare to travel to the capital with us."
Lu Chen initially didn't plan for Chu Qingli to go to the capital. Chu Qingli was pregnant, and if she traveled and worked too hard, it wouldn't be good for the baby.
However, after thinking about it, he realized that once the Heavenly Realm of Zhennan Prince's Mansion left Guangling City, those external forces might take action against Chu Qingli. Last time, Qionghua Holy Land besieged Tianxuan Palace.
For those forces from other regions, the fewer forces vying for ancient relics, the greater their chance of obtaining ancient inheritances.
Most importantly, those external forces all know that Tianxuan Palace is cooperating with Zhennan Prince's Mansion, and Tianxuan Palace is now the most likely external force to obtain the ancient inheritance.
When the Heavenly Realm of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion was present, they naturally dared not touch the Tianxuan Palace.
However, once the Heavenly Realm of Zhennan Prince's Mansion leaves, their first priority will definitely be to destroy Tianxuan Palace.
Tianxuan Palace has now become the target of public criticism.
Chu Qingli naturally understood the situation of Tianxuan Palace. After hearing Lu Chen's words, she immediately agreed, "Okay, I will have someone pack things right away."
In the blink of an eye, three days have passed.
Lu Chen led the Zhengui Division, the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, and an army of 50,000 directly to the capital.
Actually, it doesn't matter whether we bring troops or not. These 50,000 troops are just for show and won't be of much use.
Soon, news of the Prince of Zhennan's journey to the capital spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
When people heard that the Prince of Zhennan was leading 50,000 troops to the capital, they immediately assumed that the Prince of Zhennan intended to rebel.
At first, some people wanted to stand up and accuse the Prince of Zhennan of being a traitor.
However, the news that the Prince of Zhennan's mansion possessed a Heavenly Realm cultivator soon spread throughout the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
As soon as the news spread, the entire Great Zhou Dynasty fell silent.
The kings all became incredibly obedient.
The Prince of Zhennan's mansion encountered no obstacles along the way.
When the capital heard that the Prince of Zhennan's mansion was heading to the capital, it was in complete uproar. Every time a grand court assembly was held, the court was filled with heated arguments.
Some suggested sending troops to stop him, others suggested releasing the Prince of Zhennan back to the capital, and still others suggested sending someone to negotiate with the Prince of Zhennan to see if more land could be allocated to him so that he could continue to stay in Guangling City and be his local emperor.
The night was deep, with a few stars hanging in the sky. Many candles in Pei Shuhua's palace had been extinguished, leaving only the light from the corridor shining through the windows onto the cold stone slabs of the main hall.
At this moment, Pei Shuhua sat upright on the soft couch, her face filled with worry, seemingly lost in thought. Just then, a black figure appeared in the hall.
Chen Min said, "Let's go. The Prince of Zhennan has arrived. We can only wait for the restrictions on the borderlands to disappear before we have a chance."
The Prince of Zhennan's Mansion possesses the Heavenly Realm, and the Heavenly Realm's power in the borderlands is absolute.
The Prince of Zhennan's trip to the capital this time is likely aimed at gaining control of the court and installing a puppet emperor.
If they continue to stay in the capital, the Zhennan Prince's Mansion might just settle scores with the Qionghua Holy Land for the sake of the Tianxuan Palace.
For their own safety, it would be best to stay away from the capital and wait until the restrictions are lifted.
As for the tasks assigned to them by the Holy Land, they could only wait for opportunities in the shadows.
After thinking for a moment, Pei Shuhua said, "I think I haven't been exposed yet. I plan to wait a little longer."
Pei Shuhua didn't want to give up just like that.
In the sacred land of Qionghua, Pei Shuhua's aptitude was not considered particularly good. As a senior sister, her cultivation level was lower than that of many junior sisters, such as Chen Min, whose cultivation level was higher than hers.
The inheritance within this ancient ruin is of paramount importance to her, so even at great risk, she is determined to give it a try.
She wanted to see if she could win over Lu Chen.
Seeing that Pei Shuhua was so stubborn, Chen Min didn't say anything more.
She said calmly, "Then I wish you success, Senior Sister. The rest of us will leave the capital first."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Min disappeared from the spot, leaving Pei Shuhua sitting alone on the soft couch.
The day the Prince of Zhennan returned to the capital, the city was unusually quiet.
Those who had originally advocated blocking the Prince of Zhennan from entering the capital fell silent, and almost all the ministers went out of the city to welcome him, with Empress Dowager Pei Shuhua leading the way.
The carriage of the Prince of Zhennan slowly drove towards the south gate of the capital. At this moment, Lu Chen lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the city gate.
The city gate was packed with people, including officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty and ordinary citizens of the capital, who stood on both sides watching.
Pei Shuhua then spoke up, "Welcome back to the capital, Prince Zhennan."
Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhennan, sitting in the carriage, calmly said, "Your Majesty, I am merely a dying man; I am not worthy of such a commotion."
Pei Shuhua said, "The Prince of Zhennan sealed away those evil kings for the Great Zhou, saving the people of the Great Zhou from evil calamities. He deserves such treatment."
The Prince of Zhennan didn't intend to waste any more words with Pei Shuhua; he had no intention of getting involved in Lu Chen's affairs.
So he said directly, "Now I am no longer involved in affairs. All matters of the Prince's Palace have been handed over to Lu Chen. If the Empress Dowager needs anything, she can go directly to Lu Chen."
Upon hearing this, Pei Shuhua was slightly taken aback.
She had always thought that the Prince of Zhennan was the one in charge of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion, and that Lu Chen was just someone the Prince of Zhennan had pushed to the forefront. But now it seems that Lu Chen has completely taken control of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion.
After regaining her senses, Pei Shuhua immediately ordered her men to make way. Then, the Zhennan Prince's convoy continued forward and slowly drove into the capital.
It was evening.
The crimson sunset shone through the windows into the main hall, where several oil lamps had already been lit. In the corner of the hall stood a gilded three-legged bronze incense burner, inside which burned sandalwood incense. Wisps of smoke rose slowly through the gaps in the carved lid, filling the entire palace with fragrance.
However, the fragrance did not put Pei Shuhua at ease.
At this moment, Pei Shuhua sat upright on the soft couch, looking extremely anxious.
She was unsure of the Zhennan Prince's Mansion's attitude, and didn't know what method she could use to get the Zhennan Prince's Mansion and Qionghua Holy Land to cooperate.
Just then, a maid rushed into the hall in a panic, knelt on the ground, and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Lu requests an audience." (End of Chapter)