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“You have an idea?” Liang Hong asked anxiously.

“Still thinking, I need to find a reason your father cannot refuse.”

“My father doesn’t care about anything, you know. He neither lacks women nor money, and he’s the second most powerful man in the whole Liang Kingdom. Right now, he’s only concerned about living a bit longer as his lifespan is coming to an end.”

Jiang Cheng pondered, “Continue.”

“Continue what?”

“About the Emperor of Liang.”

“Hmm… that’s all I know. Just go to the Jinyu Palace later and ask my mother directly,” said Liang Hong.

It was nearing noon, and leaving the imperial palace was going to be quite the effort, so Liang Hong suggested that Jiang Cheng visit the harem, to mooch a meal in his mother, Consort Jin’s palace.

Jiang Cheng naturally had no objections.

He needed to understand the Emperor of Liang, and the best way to do that was to meet his concubines.

Liang Hong was close to thirty years of age, and his birth mother, Consort Jin, was probably not young, but she looked very youthful.

Standing together with Liang Hong, she seemed more like his older sister.

“Mother, this is Jiang Cheng, my junior from Lotus University. He wants to ask you some things about father emperor, tell him everything you can,” Liang Hong said.

Consort Jin looked Jiang Cheng up and down, “This palace does not receive favor, I probably can’t help you.”

Liang Hong became anxious, “Mother, this is the helper designated by the Void Venerable to assist me!”

“What Venerable? You’ve been deceived again.”

“I haven’t, believe me!”

“You are my son, this palace has confidence in you.”

“Consort Jin,” Jiang Cheng spoke up, “I wish to meet his majesty.”

Consort Jin shook her head: “That’s impossible.”

“Mother, we’re not asking you to arrange it, Jiang Cheng just wants to inquire about father’s situation. After listening, whether it’s possible or not, we can discuss it then.”

“Hmm.” Jiang Cheng nodded.

At this point in the conversation, Consort Jin finally gave in, “What do you want to ask?”

“I want to know, after the emperor fell seriously ill, has anyone seen him?”

“No one,” Consort Jin said decisively.

“Not a single person?”

“Perhaps some have, but as far as I know, definitely no one from the harem.”

“Why?”

Consort Jin glanced at Liang Hong and said: “Women are jealous by nature, the strife in the harem is no less fierce than the swordplay on the battlefield. If anybody has had a special audience with his majesty alone, the entire harem would be turned upside down. But nothing is stirring in any palace, so that’s why I’m certain no one from the harem has seen him.”

After listening, Jiang Cheng fell into thought.

Seeing this, Liang Hong nudged Jiang Cheng, “Got any ideas?”

“Somewhat,” Jiang Cheng admitted.

Liang Hong was overjoyed, thinking to himself that the Void Venerable was reliable after all!

His mother had said he was deceived, how could that be possible?

“What idea!?”

“It might not work, I need to verify it further,” Jiang Cheng played coy.

“What does that mean?”

“To ask some others.”

“Okay.”

Just as the two were about to visit other concubines, they were stopped by Consort Jin.

“It’s rude to call on someone at noon. Have lunch first, rest a bit, then go in the afternoon.”

The afternoon.

Jiang Cheng and Liang Hong set out once again.

Since it was Jiang Cheng’s first visit to the harem, Liang Hong led the way no matter where they went.

Although Jiang Cheng had seen his fair share of the world, only by walking through the harem could he truly understand the difficulty of being an emperor.

The entire harem was like a connected district of villas, one palace after another.

The concubines of the harem were not only numerous but also ranked. The highest-ranking was naturally the empress, followed by the noble consorts, consorts, concubines, and various other ranks, much like the Cultivation Realms.

A cultivator’s Cultivation Realm could be advanced individually.

But the advancement of the harem beauties’ rank depended solely on the emperor.

At this thought, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt that the emperor was somewhat similar to a strategist.

After all, both were about playing the balance game.

“Who shall we visit next?” asked Liang Hong.

“Someone close by who is relatively favored,” Jiang Cheng replied.

“Alright.”

Liang Hong agreed at once.

Although he wasn’t good at social interactions, Jiang Cheng had social anxiety.

All he needed to do was to take Jiang Cheng to the right place, and the rest could be left to Jiang Cheng’s maneuvering.

…

In the meeting room of Qinghe Xuanran University, Li Qingge sat in the main seat, with the rest of the cultivators mostly at the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Cultivation Levels.

This meeting wasn’t Taixu Sect’s high-level strategic meeting.

It was merely a routine meeting for the “Princess Ascension” plan, led by Li Qingge.

“Du, Mei, and Zhong, synchronize the plan’s progress with everyone,” Li Qingge instructed.

The female cultivator surnamed Du said, “I’m responsible for mobilizing Prince Liang Wu. We’ve successfully planted the idea of a ‘master’ in his mind. The day before yesterday, he met with Jiang Cheng, and because it involved the head of admissions at Lotus University, we didn’t attempt to eavesdrop rashly. However, judging from their expressions, it’s highly likely that Jiang Cheng has already agreed to help him make talismans.”

The female cultivator surnamed Mei followed, “I’m in charge of influencing Prince Liang Hong. He is weak-willed and indecisive, so we created a ‘Void Venerable’ to give him guidance, set his goals, and direct him to Jiang Cheng. Currently, they’ve headed to the imperial palace, and they’re probably in the talisman production stage.”

The female cultivator surnamed Zhong concluded, “Prince Liang Qing is staying at Capital University, which is under the influence of the Linlan Sect. We do not act recklessly there. The plan is to wait until Capital University’s vacation, then, based on Prince Liang Qing’s personality, perform the necessary incitement.”

Li Qingge nodded and said, “Zhong, take your time with this. We must not be hasty and give Linlan Sect any material to use against us. If we raise their suspicions, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Understood.”

“Ning, you continue to monitor Jiang Cheng’s movements. Don’t keep too close a watch, just knowing roughly where he is and what he’s doing will suffice,” Li Qingge instructed.