I really became a king.

Chapter 23: Power does not allow anyone to interfere
In the main hall of Prince Duan's Mansion, Jiang Yi sat on the main seat, drinking tea from the Eight Immortals Table, with Fu Long standing beside him, waiting for Butler An to come in.

On the table behind him, there is a gilded square tripod at each end, and in the middle is an incense burner with eight dragons playing with a pearl.

Right above the table is a huge picture of a tiger roaring in the mountains. The tiger's head is raised and looking straight into the hall, with its front paws stepping on two tripods, one on the left and one on the right.

There are four armchairs on both sides of the hall, with a wooden table in the middle. Behind the four armchairs are eight armchairs, with no wooden table in the middle.

An old man with eagle eyes and a hooked nose walked in from outside the hall. Although he was white and beardless, he had a majestic aura. However, his face looked a little tired, and his clothes were wrinkled because they were wet and dry by the dew.

Ever since An Daohui entered the cross-courtyard, his eyes had been fixed on the large green plaque outside the main hall, which was surrounded by four tigers and had three large characters "Jieqi Hall" inscribed on it.

When he was about to leave with Dabian, the other party looked up at the three words "禳麒堂" with a flickering gaze, revealing an inexplicable sadness. He murmured in his heart: The sky of Prince Duan's Mansion has collapsed, and the power of the禳麒堂 has ceased to exist...

"Your old servant An Daohui greets the young master!" An Daohui knelt on the ground, feeling an unclear emotion in his heart, feeling a little nervous, yet also a little expectant.

"Manager An, please stand up quickly." Jiang Yi stood up and went forward to help the other person up.

From the word "Young Master", Jiang Yi knew that the information he got from Xiangling should be accurate. This An Daohui was indeed the confidant of Prince Duan Jiang Lie, otherwise he would not be called Young Master.

But we must also prepare for the worst, as the power of Prince Duan's Mansion will never allow anyone to interfere!

"Thank you, young master." An Daohui then looked up at Jiang Yi. His eyes were starry and his eyebrows were sharp. His eyes were clear and bright, and he exuded the majesty of the royal family.

The young master is indeed different from when he was young. He no longer has the domineering aura of wearing fine clothes and riding a horse. He has a calm demeanor and clear eyes. The prince can be said to have a successor.

"Young Master, I'm afraid the prince doesn't have much time left..." An Daohui's voice was a little choked.

Jiang Yi tried hard to make his eyes shimmer with tears, and asked in a trembling voice: "Why is it so?"

"Three months ago, the prince fought a fierce battle with a foreign warrior and was seriously injured. Since then, his condition has been getting worse and he has been half-conscious. It was not until a few days ago when the princess returned to the northern border that she found out that he had been poisoned by the barbarians, but it was too late to save him."

Poison? Jiang Yi finally put his mind at ease. The other party obviously did not reveal the truth.

"When will father come back?" Jiang Yi asked again.

An Daohui shook his head sadly: "Now the prince can no longer move easily, I'm afraid he can't return to the imperial capital..."

Jiang Yi closed his eyes, thinking that it was good that he could not come back, and asked again: "I wonder how much time my father has left?"

"Only three or two years..."

Three or two years? Almost enough. Jiang Yi pondered for a moment before continuing to ask, "What is the situation in Northern Xinjiang now?"

An Daohui was shocked. This was the most important thing today. It seemed that the Qitang was not really unable to recover. As long as the young master had the ambition and the prince's trusted team supported him, even if it could not reach its former glory, it would not lose its power completely.

He looked at the figure standing silently in the dark corner with his hands folded, and said without hesitation: "Now, the princess has completely taken charge of the Northern Frontier. The prince and other people sent by the court have been eliminated from the Northern Frontier."

"The prince asked me to come back overnight because he wanted to explain some things in advance..."

"Oh? Do you need me to summon all the families in the palace?" Jiang Yi asked softly.

An Daohui shook his head and said, "No need. Anyway, these are all matters that have been handed over to the young master. No one else needs to be present."

He sighed inwardly. Actually, according to Prince Duan's instructions, he came back this time to divide up Prince Duan's Mansion, including the treasure trove accumulated over generations, and divided it up among the various houses, breaking the big ones into smaller ones.

Otherwise, once the prince passed away in a few years, the Prince Duan's Mansion would inevitably attract attention and become the target of various forces. And the money divided among the various branches would only be a small part, and the bulk would be given to several major forces in the imperial capital in exchange for their care for the Prince Duan's lineage.

However, as soon as he entered Prince Duan's Mansion, he knew that the power of the palace was now firmly controlled by the young master in front of him, and the figure standing in the dark corner... If he forced it to be divided, he was afraid that he would not have a good end today.

"Forget it. I believe that even if the prince knew, he would not blame me."

Dividing the treasury and exchanging the wealth and resources accumulated over generations for the protection of various major forces may indeed help avoid the suspicion of being too powerful, but it will also completely cut off the chances of Prince Duan's Mansion to regain its glory in the future, and Prince Duan's lineage will also be completely destroyed.

Moreover, before leaving, the princess' words had two implicit meanings. One was: The prince has outstanding abilities, enough to ensure that Prince Duan's Mansion will remain standing!
Another thing is: the Northern Frontier lineage headed by the princess is the prince's backer!
When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. These people don't want to see the Prince Duan's Mansion in pieces. If it really comes to that, life will be very difficult for these old people.

The imperial palace of the Dali Dynasty is located on the central axis of the imperial capital, covering an area of ​​two thousand acres. It is magnificent and solemn, especially the main hall where the emperor lives, which is located on nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, a hundred feet high, overlooking the entire imperial capital.

Looking up at the inner city wall that was dozens of feet tall and in no way inferior to the outer city wall of the imperial capital, Jiang Yi felt an inexplicable sense of depression in his heart. This was his first time stepping into the imperial palace.

The entire imperial city was guarded by tens of thousands of the emperor's personal soldiers in a certain layout, which was actually a huge battle formation. Even if a martial arts master rushed in rashly, it would be difficult to escape safely.

For countless years, this kind of martial arts battle formation has played an indispensable role in the secular dynasties being able to suppress those secular sects.

Jiang Yi rode his horse slowly into the ten-foot-high city gate, feeling as if he was in a fishy basin, but since the Empress Dowager had summoned him, he had to go. This was also the first time that he, the grandson of the Emperor, was summoned by the Empress Dowager.

Dingyuan, which is the backyard of the main palace of the imperial city, is where the Dali Emperor Jiang Zhenyi usually lives and practices.

The courtyard is ten acres square, and an ancient tree several meters thick stands in the center of the courtyard. Its lush branches and leaves, and the tree canopy that blocks out the sun, are like a natural canopy, covering most of the courtyard.

At this time, the Dali Emperor Jiang Zhenyi was standing under a tree with his hands behind his back, gazing at the entire imperial capital. With a broad forehead, thick eyebrows, and a yellow coat, he stood there quietly, and an imperial pressure filled the entire courtyard.

"The old servant Mo Ruhai greets the emperor." A figure stepped into the courtyard, surrounded by a gray eunuch's mansion.

"Get up. How is it? Have you found out clearly?" Jiang Zhenyi's eyes were still fixed on the entire imperial capital.

Mo Ruhai stood up and replied, "The matter of Princess Duan should be related to the large-scale purge of dissidents and the placement of cronies by Prince Duan and other princes in the northern border in recent years." He hesitated for a moment and said carefully:

"in addition……"

"What happened to Prince Duan who suddenly became critically ill?" Jiang Zhenyi interrupted and asked directly.

"It should be related to Fan Muqiu."

"But now Fan Muqiu is dead, who else is there?"

"During his lifetime, Fan Muqiu had close contacts with Prince Zhong's Mansion, and also had secret contacts with several other princes..." Mo Ruhai did not hide anything.

"Where is Prince Duan?" Jiang Zhenyi's voice was a little cold.

"I haven't found out, so he probably wasn't involved. And as long as he has a bit of brains, he wouldn't do something that would destroy his backers." If something happened to Prince Duan, the Prince Duan's Mansion also lost its pillar of support. The most likely possibility is that Fan Muqiu betrayed his master and secretly plotted with Prince Zhong and others to harm the Prince Duan's Mansion and even the Northern Frontier.

"Haha, you are truly my good son. You have ruined my decades-long plan in one fell swoop!"

Mo Ruhai was silent for a while and said carefully: "The Queen summoned Prince Duan to dinner today. I heard that Prince Zhong is also here..."

Jiang Zhenyi's anger faded quickly, and he chuckled, "I always thought I had figured out my grandson, but now it seems... let's wait and see."

(End of this chapter)