Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Okamoto Juzo immediately understood.

He nodded, his eyes slightly brightening. "Haha, you're right! But do you think they'll agree?"

Xiao Ce said to Okamoto Juzo, "Of course we'll agree, Lord. They're all eager to have one less person to share Xiao Kingdom's land with."

"Furthermore, they believe that with the support of the Illuminati, taking over Xiao is a sure thing. And from my observation of the Xiao people who have come to Fusang, those Xiao citizens are not easily subdued. So…"

Okamoto Juzo nodded: "Actually, I also feel that our Fusang Kingdom has suffered a lot of losses on Xiao Kingdom's side."

"The only thing the Illuminati has is powerful weapons, so I don't think it will be easy to take down Xiao Kingdom."

"I think you're right. What you eat is meat; what you can see but can't eat is just a pie."

Upon hearing Okamoto Juzo's words, Xiao Ce burst out laughing. He hadn't expected that such a joke existed in their Fusang Kingdom as well.

Okamoto Juzo only exchanged a few words with Xiao Ce before changing the subject.

Then he said to the three of them, "Next, I have the gifts and surprises I have prepared for you."

Once Okamoto Juzo said those words, it meant that he had already accepted Xiao Ce.

The three of them were curious about what Okamoto Juzo would bring out.

He glanced at the servant beside him, who then took out two wooden boxes from the side.

After seeing the wooden box, Night Owl glanced discreetly at Da Lei and Xiao Ce, then rolled his eyes.

After Xiao Ce saw the hidden glare from the night owl, he knew there was definitely nothing good inside.

Despite this, Okamoto Juzo said solemnly, "Generally speaking, I wouldn't give it to you. But Night Cat is my most trusted confidant, and you have also proven yourselves. You are qualified to join our Okamoto family."

"We bestow upon you the Okamoto surname, and also our family crest!"

The two people stood there, stunned.

Thinking to myself, you might as well just give me some money, that would be more practical.

Looking at Okamoto Juzo's excited expression, Xiao Ce thought disdainfully, "You thought it was something special? It's just a surname that's the same as a condom. He really doesn't care about it at all."

Da Lei and Xiao Ce stood there, stunned and motionless.

Okamoto Juzo said with a smile, "I know this gift is very valuable, but you deserve it! What are you waiting for? Take your family crests."

Xiao Ce was the first to come to his senses, and put on a full-on act of surprise: "Wow... this is too expensive. We can't accept it."

Okamoto Juzo said with a hint of arrogance, "Then you should serve me well and try to live up to my trust in you."

Seeing this, Da Lei, a beat behind, began to flatter and fawn.

And so, with Okamoto Juzo's blessing, they took the name from Ebihara Rai and Ebihara Saku, which they didn't use for long.

Xiao Ce became Okamoto Ichisaku, Da Lei became Okamoto Nirei, and Okamoto Saya became Ye Mao. These names clearly indicate that they are three brothers.

After exchanging pleasantries, they were asked to rest again, mainly because Xiao Ce still looked somewhat weak.

Moreover, we'll be setting sail again tomorrow, although this time the Kingdom of Siam and the Kingdom of Sulu aren't too far apart.

However, for Xiao Ce, it was definitely a setback.

However, Xiao Ce was not the kind of person who worried unnecessarily. He wouldn't trouble himself with things he couldn't solve, so he happily went to try the Siamese cuisine.

...

While Xiao Ce and his group were resting, the ships sent by Murata Hiroshi had already docked.

At this moment, Tojo Seisuke arrived with a group of people to take over Xiao Ce's duties.

This time, he summoned all their top experts.

The waiting was the most agonizing time. Tojo Seisuke said to the servant beside him, "Why haven't we disembarked yet? I hope there won't be any problems."

A servant beside him said to Tojo Seisuke, "Master, don't be nervous. It seems they're giving Xiao Ce a good wash. He stinks terribly right now."

Tojo Seisuke looked around and saw that there were many horse-drawn carriages around the dock.

These carriages represent the different factions within the Illuminati.

"Okay, the person is still alive, right?" Tojo Masashi asked.

A servant nearby said, "Alive, Master."

Seeing this, Tojo Seisuke's son asked, "Father, you've always been so calm. Why are you so nervous about taking over someone who's already been controlled?"

Tojo Seisuke said with a smile, "Because so many people are watching. This person is a great gift to the Illuminati. You don't know, do you? The Illuminati has actually been quite critical of the Emperor's power. They have decided to choose a new person recently."

"After they have established themselves in Xiao Kingdom, they will need a new ruler. We need to prove our abilities... This person would be a great gift."

Tojo Seisuke's sons listened to his words and nodded in agreement.

As time passed, the imposter Xiao Ce was found to be wearing handcuffs, leg irons, and shackles.

It must be said that the Mad Taoist's skills are quite good.

Despite the long journey and their rough treatment, her makeup remained flawless.

The fake Xiao Ce was being pushed and shoved while making muffled noises.

He was saying that he wasn't the real Xiao Ce; he had been disguised.

However, the people transporting the goods did not believe it at all.

The deliveryman approached Tojo Seisuke and bowed.

Tojo Seisuke's gaze fell on Xiao Ce, whose mouth was gagged, and he sized him up for a while.

What was he trying to say?

The transporter smiled and then said to Tojo Seisuke, "Lord Tojo, this man wants to say that he is not Xiao Ce, but a scapegoat who has been pushed onto the scene."

Before the deliveryman could finish speaking, Tojo Seisuke's sons all took out the portraits in their hands and compared them to the images.

"He's the exact same person as the portrait, how could he be an imposter? I've never heard of him having a twin brother."

"That's right, it's normal. Not a single death row inmate claims they are innocent!"

Tojo Seisuke nodded: "Go and take the piece of cloth out of his mouth."

The fake Xiao Ce then started shouting, followed by pleading for help.

"Alright, I'm sure of it now, he is Xiao Ce." Tojo Seisuke said with such certainty.

The Tojo family members standing nearby looked on in astonishment.

"Father, how did you determine that he spoke fluent Japanese?"

Tojo Seisuke snorted coldly: "It is precisely because of his fluent Japanese that both Tojo Shōki and Tojo Koichi have said that Xiao Ce speaks fluent and standard Japanese."

"He's clearly making a last-ditch effort, which is what he's best at..."

"And what did he say? He said he was disguised?"

As he spoke, Tojo Seisuke walked up to the fake Xiao Ce and vigorously rubbed him.

After kneading for a while, there was still no change.

Have you ever seen such a disguise technique?

The group suddenly realized.

Tojo Seisuke laughed and said, "The more he acts like this, the more I believe he's real. Actually, if he were fake, why would they bother bringing a live person? They could just bring a dead one!"

The group continued to nod.

Tojo Seisuke did not continue, but was taken away.

The fake Xiao Ce initially held out hope, but after hearing Tojo Seisuke's words, he was almost in despair.

He was quickly put into the car.

Then we set off.

....

At this moment, the people in each carriage put away their binoculars and began to report to the people inside the carriages.

"Master, Xiao Ce is indeed a good choice."

Almost everyone in the carriages was saying the same thing.

In one of the carriages, a man who appeared to be the owner was looking around with binoculars.

After watching for a while, the person next to her asked, "Master, you've been looking for so long, what's wrong? Is there a problem?"

The woman shook her head: "Just looking at his appearance, it is him... but something just doesn't seem right."

Someone nearby asked, "Since they were captured, they must have been tortured a lot. It's normal for them to be mentally exhausted."

The woman was silent for a moment, then said, "No..."

"It's not a matter of mental state..."

Someone nearby asked, "That's...?"

The woman didn't continue speaking, but instead said, "Come on, let's follow them. I want to see them up close..."

The person beside him nodded: "Master, now is not the time for us to go. The others haven't gone up yet. They'll contact us after they've confirmed it. If we rush over..."

The woman was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay...that's true, let's wait a bit longer then."

If Xiao Ce were to see this woman, he would definitely recognize her; she is the one he has been searching for all along… Yin Pan'er!

...

The Emperor and several other family heads were already waiting.

Upon seeing Xiao Ce arrive, the heads of the families were all extremely excited.

"Finally got him here! Kill him!"

“That’s right. He killed so many of our Fusang people. We must torture him properly. We can’t let him die so easily.”

Seeing the agitated state of these family heads, the Emperor spoke up: "Calm down... calm down... He's in our hands now, and it would be easy to kill him! But he can't die now; he's still useful."

This fake Xiao Ce didn't miss a single opportunity, even though his mouth was completely gagged and he couldn't utter a single word.

Tojo Seisuke had just walked up, before he could even speak.

The head of the Tokugawa family, standing to the side, asked, "Head of the Tojo family, what does he mean? What is he trying to say? Judging from his expression, he seems very resentful."

Okamoto Juro nodded in agreement: "That's right, what does he want to say? Take what's in his mouth, and he'll still dare to shout when we're around."

The Emperor then turned to Tojo Seisuke and asked, "That's right, Tojo Seisuke, what's going on?"

Tojo Seisuke recounted to the Emperor all the actions of this fake Xiao Ce.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hahaha, does this bastard think we're fools?"

The Tokugawa patriarch excitedly held up the portrait: "I was just afraid of getting a fake, so I brought this portrait with me."

As he spoke, the head of the Tokugawa family held up a portrait and compared it to the fake Xiao Ce.

"Fake? How can it be so fake? It's clearly the same person... What is he pretending for?"

Okamoto Juroku smiled and nodded: "That's right, he's out of options now, so he can only resort to such a clumsy method!"

Tojo Seisuke said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, what should we do with him now?"

The Emperor said, “Didn’t I already say that his life no longer belongs to him… much less to us? Now that we’ve confirmed it, we’ll hand it over to the Illuminati.”

"Head of the Tojo family, since it was your people who brought this here, then you should take full responsibility."

Tojo Seisuke nodded and glanced at the two heads of the Tokugawa and Okamoto families standing to the side.

He then asked, "What are your thoughts, patriarchs?"

Tokugawa Heiyasu waved his hand and said, "Didn't His Majesty the Emperor say that you brought this over, so naturally you are responsible for it?"

Okamoto Juro nodded: "Yes, you arrested him, so you should stick to your guns."

They were well aware that, given the current situation, taking over Xiao Ce would bring them no benefit whatsoever.

If anything goes wrong, they'll be the ones who suffer.

Since Tojo Seisuke has taken over this matter, they will not get involved.

It should be noted that the Sulu Kingdom is now a melting pot of powerful and diverse factions.

Tojo Seisuke naturally shared the same thought; neither of them wanted to get involved, and he didn't want them to get involved either.

And so they reached an agreement.

"By the way, Tojo, do you have enough guards on your side? If not, I can lend you my guards!"

Tokugawa Heiyasu and his group chimed in, saying that if it wasn't enough, they could provide more.

After hearing their requests, Tojo Seisuke politely declined.

There's no other reason than that there are too many people and too much attention.

When they arrived at Tojo Seisuke's residence, Tojo Seisuke summoned all his soldiers and immediately imprisoned the fake Xiao Ce.

And they imposed martial law throughout the entire prefecture!

He knew very well that as long as he got through tonight and handed the man over to the Illuminati, the matter would be resolved without incident.

However, Tojo Seisuke didn't know why he had been feeling uneasy ever since Xiao Ce arrived.

In the middle of the night, unable to sleep, he simply went outside.

When they arrived at the residence where the fake Xiao Ce was being held, the guards were all very alert and did not slack off.

Upon seeing Tojo Seisuke, he immediately bowed.

"Master, it's so late, why are you here?"

Tojo Seisuke said, "It's not that this person is so important that I'm afraid something might happen to him."

The captain of the guard smiled at Tojo Seisuke and said, "Master, there's no problem! We have over three thousand men on our side, and we've completely surrounded our mansion!"