Transmigration: A person in a martial arts world, cultivating to ascend to immortality

After Du Ya and his entourage sat down in the main hall, the number of guests who arrived later decreased significantly.

Just when Jiang Jihai thought everyone had arrived, he saw Lu Songlin and Lu Changfeng leading two middle-aged men in.

One of them was of medium build, with a square face that always wore a smile, and would occasionally chat with Lu Songlin; the other looked older, with a thin, long face that was always serious, and his arrogant demeanor was hard to hide in his glances.

Although the two men had very different attitudes, they both exuded a kind of noble air that was hard to find in people from the martial arts world.

Sonoko fell silent the moment the two walked in.

All the guests present focused their attention on the two of them, some with doubt, some with shock, and some with fear.

Lu Xuan and the others, who were chatting and laughing in the lobby, were all startled when they saw the two. They immediately stood up and went out of the lobby to greet them.

When Jiang Jihai saw the two men enter the garden, especially when he saw the middle-aged man with a withered, long face, he was clearly more shocked than when he saw Du Ya.

"I'm not surprised that Shangguan Yulong is here today, but why is Yuan Ding here as well?"

After muttering something to himself, Jiang Jihai immediately began to introduce Jiang Yuchuan.

"These two are no ordinary people. Unlike all the guests who have appeared before, they are not from any martial arts faction, but are experts who came from the Great Qian Imperial Academy!"

"Someone from the royal family?"

Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing both turned their gazes toward the two of them.

"That's right! They are from the royal family."

Jiang Jihai continued, "The one with the square face is called Shangguan Yulong, a confidant of the Third Prince. He has been by the Third Prince's side since he was a child. The one with the sullen, donkey-like face is called Yuan Ding, and his situation is basically the same as Shangguan Yulong's, except that he is a person by the Second Princess's side."

Knowing that Jiang Yuchuan rarely traveled the world and might not be familiar with what he was saying, Jiang Jihai thoughtfully explained:

"Mr. Jiang may not know this, but the Imperial Household Department of the Great Qian Dynasty is the most special place in the entire Great Qian Dynasty. Although it does not participate in court affairs, it has the power to depose the emperor and dismiss the crown prince at critical moments! Therefore, its core members have always been composed of members of the royal family."

"So, these two people who attended the banquet today can only be considered as unofficial staff members of the Imperial Household Department?"

These two people, one surnamed 'Shangguan' and the other 'Yuan', seem to have absolutely no connection to the 'Li' surname of the Daqian royal family.

Jiang Jihai nodded and replied, "That's right. The selection process for the Imperial Academy is extremely rigorous, so not many members of the royal family are selected to enter the academy for training and study. Moreover, before completing their studies, these selected members are generally prohibited from leaving the academy."

"In order to ensure that there are enough people available, the Imperial Household Department will inevitably have to recruit some people from outside the royal family. These people are unlikely to enter the core of the Imperial Household Department, so they are usually sent to accompany the princes and protect their safety."

Jiang Jihai continued, "Although these people may sound like personal guards, they are, after all, from the Imperial Household Department. Therefore, in terms of status and position, they are far superior to those ordinary guards. Even the prince himself would treat them with great respect and would not dare to give orders to them in a domineering manner."

After listening with great interest, Jiang Yuchuan smiled and looked at Jiang Jihai, "How can a wandering swordsman like you know so much about palace affairs?"

"Well-"

Jiang Jihai touched his nose and replied with a slightly smug smile, "Of course, it's because I also have close friends in the palace!"

"So that's it."

Jiang Yuchuan nodded and said nothing more.

After waiting a while, seeing that Jiang Yuchuan still showed no intention of asking him anything, Jiang Jihai finally couldn't help but tentatively ask:

"Aren't you curious, sir, about who my friend in the palace is?"

"Not curious."

Jiang Yuchuan shook his head slightly and replied in an unconventional manner.

"..."

Jiang Jihai stood there, mouth agape, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, at that moment, he noticed that Qi Changqing, who was sitting to the side, kept glancing at him with a hesitant look, as if he wanted to say something but was curious.

"Little Changqing must be very curious, right?"

Jiang Jihai winked at Qi Changqing with an encouraging look.

Qi Changqing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Jiang Jihai cleared his throat, moved the chair he was sitting on closer to Qi Changqing, and said mysteriously, "My friend here is no ordinary person! He is the third son of the current emperor, the famous Third Prince—Li Shu!"

"The Third Prince, Li Shu?"

After his initial surprise, Qi Changqing shook his head, indicating that he didn't know much about this person.

Jiang Jihai glanced at Jiang Yuchuan, then said to Qi Changqing, "It doesn't matter if you don't know, little Changqing. Let me tell you, the current emperor, that old emperor, has four sons and one daughter: the eldest prince is named Li Chengxu, the second princess is named Li Qingci, the third prince is named Li Shu, the fourth prince is named Li Zuo, and there is also a youngest fifth prince named Li Xianwu. Among these five princes, the second princess Li Qingci and the fifth prince Li Xianwu are the most favored."

"Now that the old emperor is critically ill, even with the Valley Master of Wanyao Valley personally taking action, he probably doesn't have many years left to live. Right now, both the imperial court and the martial arts world are secretly scheming over which of these five princes will ultimately ascend the dragon throne! I think the old emperor is delaying in appointing a crown prince because he wants to take this opportunity to carefully observe the character and methods of these princes."

"Ah!" Qi Changqing exclaimed in surprise, "Doesn't that mean these princes might fight each other to become emperor?!"

“There’s nothing we can do about it,” Jiang Jihai sighed, shaking his head. “Once you’re born into an imperial family, whether you fight for the throne or not is no longer up to them.”

Qi Changqing nodded with great sympathy.

Many people yearn for and envy the wealth and power of royalty, but they don't know that behind this wealth and power lies the blood and flesh of their own relatives.

"So, who do you think will be the final winner among these five?"

Jiang Yuchuan suddenly asked Jiang Jihai a question out of the blue.

Jiang Jihai was taken aback at first, then pondered and said, "Judging from the current situation and what I know, it's really hard to say who will win in the end. Although the Second Princess and the Fifth Prince are the most favored by the old emperor, the First Prince, who has many supporters, and the Fourth Prince, who has been keeping a low profile, are not to be underestimated. Moreover, no one knows what the old emperor is thinking. Perhaps by the end, the old emperor has already silently decided on his choice!"

"Where is the Third Prince?"

Jiang Yuchuan smiled and looked at Jiang Jihai, "As a close friend, why did you exclude him out of the picture?"

Jiang Jihai remained silent for a long time before sighing, "To be honest, although Brother Shu is resourceful and good at recognizing and employing people, his birth mother's status is too low, and he has no powerful maternal clan to support him. Therefore, among all the princes, he is the least favored. Even the old emperor treats him coldly and ignores him."

"So, you don't think highly of this close friend?" Jiang Yuchuan asked again.

Jiang Jihai shook his head and said, "It's not that I don't think highly of Brother Shu. It's just that I feel it will be much more difficult for him to compete for that dragon throne compared to the other four! However, no matter how difficult it is, as long as Brother Shu wants to, I will lend him a hand!"

Jiang Jihai was unusually resolute, which made Qi Changqing look at him with new respect.

Just as the group was chatting, a commotion suddenly broke out in the garden.

Jiang Jihai stood up and looked around for a moment, then licked his lips and guessed, "It seems everyone has arrived and we're about to start the banquet."

But the next moment, he saw Lu Jingchen hurriedly walking towards them.