Empress, please lay down your armor, for I will save the world with a single sword!

The idler picked up his cup and took a sip of tea.

Amidst the eager gazes of the crowd, he finally announced calmly, "His Majesty has appointed Prince Qing... Jiang Yuan, as Crown Prince!"

The crowd erupted in uproar!

"Establish a crown prince? Prince Qing??"

"Your Majesty is in the prime of life, why suddenly establish a crown prince? And... why is it Prince Qing? What about the Sixth Prince? Hasn't it always been said that the Sixth Prince is virtuous and the most favored by His Majesty?"

The idler curled his lip, his voice even lower, tinged with a sigh and mystery: "The Sixth Prince? Sigh... don't mention him. I heard that a few days ago, the Sixth Prince's old illness relapsed, and he suddenly... died a violent death!"

"What?!" A murmur of surprise rippled through the crowd.

"Really? The Sixth Prince is so young, isn't he in good health?"

"Absolutely true!" the idler declared confidently. "His Majesty is grieving the loss of his beloved son and is so distraught that he has reportedly become quite haggard. In his despair, he has decided... to abdicate!"

"Abdication?!" The exclamations grew even louder.

"Yes! Abdication!"

The idler nodded emphatically, almost spitting out words, "The decree has been issued, on the fifteenth of next month! His Majesty will abdicate the throne directly to the newly appointed Crown Prince, Prince Qing, Jiang Yuan! From now on, our Great Zhou will have a new emperor!"

The people at the surrounding tables erupted in a frenzy, their chatter growing several times louder in an instant.

"My God! Abdication? His Majesty is only in his early fifties, how could he...?"

"The Sixth Prince is dead? Prince Qing has ascended the throne? This...this is too sudden! But Prince Qing is only His Majesty's younger brother..."

"Who knows? How can we ordinary folks possibly understand the affairs of the imperial family? Anyway, it seems the situation in the capital is about to change!"

Wu Liang picked up the plates of snacks and tea from his table, moved over to the idler's table, and plopped down on the bench.

"Hey guys, chatting?"

He pushed the plate to the center of the table and greeted them familiarly, "Come on, brother, don't be shy. It's fate that we met, please eat whatever you like."

Then, with a face full of curiosity, he lowered his voice and asked, "Brother, I was a little confused just now. Does our current emperor... only have one prince? It's indeed a pity that the sixth prince is gone, but couldn't we just appoint another prince? Why go and pass the throne directly to your brother?"

The idler's eyes lit up when he saw there was food.

He didn't stand on ceremony, reaching out to grab a handful of peanuts in their shells, crunching them with a "crunch, crunch" sound, and chuckled, "Thanks, brother! You wouldn't believe it, would you?"

He spat out the peanut shells from his mouth, shaking his head: "Our Emperor actually had four princes in his younger days! The family was quite prosperous. But... in recent years, perhaps due to problems with the feng shui of the imperial tombs, all of these princes have passed away one after another!"

"In the end, only the Sixth Prince was left. Who could have predicted that the Sixth Prince would also suffer a relapse of his old illness recently... Alas, now the lineage is completely cut off."

"They've all disappeared, one after another?"

Wu Liang raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, "Why are they being kept in such a pampered and luxurious environment in the imperial palace? What could be the reason?"

"Who knows!"

The idler took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and said, "I've heard that some people were born with chronic illnesses and didn't make it through; others encountered some kind of accident while traveling outside the palace. Anyway, things in the royal compound are very complicated! We ordinary people can only hear idle gossip; no one really knows the specifics."

As soon as he finished speaking,

A skinny man at the same table suddenly leaned in and muttered mysteriously, "All dead? What a coincidence! Four or five perfectly healthy people, just gone like that? I think... there's definitely a conspiracy here!"

"Bang!"

The idler was startled and slammed his hand on the table.

"Shut your bird beak! Are you out of your mind?! How dare you spout nonsense here! Discussing royal matters, do you want to drag everyone down with you?! Listen to the story!"

Startled by his shout, the skinny man shrank back and dared not utter a sound.

Wu Liang sat there, deep in thought.

conspiracy?

Nonsense! Anyone with a brain knows there's something fishy going on here!

This is what is called "terrifying upon closer inspection".

If we trace back from the vested interests, whoever seizes the throne is the one who pulled the strings behind the scenes.

Without a doubt, the mastermind behind this is none other than Prince Qing, Jiang Yuan, who has just been made crown prince!

Wu Liang quickly pieced together the recent events in his mind: Why was Jiang Qingluan, a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, being chased like a fugitive? Not only were the imperial guards, the Xuanyi Guards, hunting her down, but also the top secret agents of the Dragon Guard Manor.

He had heard someone mention it before; the Dragon Guard Manor was actually founded by Prince Qing, Jiang Yuan.

After all this calculation, Jiang Yuan is definitely the mastermind behind killing all the princes and forcing the emperor to abdicate!

But then another problem arose...

Wu Liang frowned slightly, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.

Now that the capital city is completely under Jiang Yuan's control, the old emperor is being forced to "abdicate".

That little vixen Jiang Qingluan risked her life to travel thousands of miles to Beiyong City to find Prince Pei Xiao of Beiyong...

What exactly is their intention?

Pei Xiao, the Prince of Beiyong, commands 300,000 Xuanjia Iron Cavalry and dominates the northern frontier. Even the Yuan Dynasty in the northern desert has been driven south by him.

Could it be that Jiang Qingluan sought him out to have him lead troops back to the capital to defend the emperor?

But would Pei Xiao agree?

……

"Snapped!"

A crisp gavel slammed down.

The once noisy and chaotic teahouse lobby instantly fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned back to the high platform.

The gaunt storyteller stroked his goatee and began with a smile: "Ladies and gentlemen! We've just talked about the imperial court; now let's talk about the martial world."

"If we're talking about the most sensational event in the martial arts world recently, it has to be the eighth-ranked master among the top ten martial arts masters in the world—the Youdu Demon Lord, Mo Jiuyou!"

The eyes of the tea drinkers below lit up instantly.

He paused deliberately, building up the anticipation, and seeing everyone staring at him expectantly, he stroked his beard and smiled, his voice suddenly rising: "This Mo Jiuyou, relying on his greatly improved demonic arts, actually went alone to Jiangnan to challenge Gu Changzui, the seventh-ranked Sword Immortal!"

"Whoa!"

A murmur of surprise rippled through the audience.

The affairs of the martial arts world, especially the duels between top masters, are far more exciting and thrilling than the murky power struggles of the imperial court.

The atmosphere in the teahouse immediately reignited, and even Wu Liang's attention was drawn to it.

The Ten Greatest Masters in the World?

There's even a ranking list like this?

……