Just as Wang Xiaoqiang returned from the campaign and rushed to Dragon City, the Imperial Palace in Dragon City was embroiled in a fierce struggle for the throne among the princes.

Huang Ce had a total of nine sons. The Crown Prince, Long Ao, although not formally appointed as the Crown Prince, had always considered himself as such. Arrogant and conceited, he disregarded others.

The Second Crown Prince, Long Tian, was the prince who was once trampled underfoot by Wang Xiaoqiang at Yueyang Academy. Long Tian, also the leader of the Dragon Child Gang, had brought them from Yueyang Academy to the Imperial Palace this time to assist in his bid for the throne.

Besides the Crown Prince Long Ao, and the six members of the Dragon Child Gang, there were two other princes, one named Long Ba and the other Little Longxiang.

These two princes, for the reason of secretly watching Lotus Princess bathe in their youth, had been assigned by Huang Ce to guard the remote borderlands, restrained in that harsh and cold land, always afraid to return to the Capital City.

Now that Huang Ce had passed away, they were no longer restrained and naturally needed to return to fight for the throne.

The relationship between Long Ba and Long Xiang was exceptionally strong. It's said that the idea of peeping on Lotus Princess bathing was Long Xiang's, and Long Ba took the blame for Long Xiang, saving him from being executed. Both were together exiled to the frontier, sharing hardships through these years, deepening their bond.

They returned this time as Long Xiang was repaying a favor, helping Long Ba seize the throne. Of course, Long Ba also promised Long Xiang that once he won the throne, he would appoint Long Xiang as the Grand Marshal of Soldiers, handing him control over the Empire's forces.

According to the rules of the Imperial Dynasty, the throne should theoretically pass to the Crown Prince Long Ao after the Emperor's passing. Long Ao had always been in the palace with deep-rooted influence, and he was legitimate and well-prepared, so he was determined, confident of success.

However, the battles from other princes gave him a headache. Led by Long Tian and his Dragon Child Gang, as well as Long Ba and Long Ao, none would give way.

In short, the Dragon Children divided into three factions, engaging in a fierce struggle within the palace.

The struggle for the throne started with diplomacy, then with force. Long Ao roped in a large number of officials to advocate on his behalf. These officials stood by him.

However, the other two factions of princes disregarded these officials, as they held no military power, and without it, their cultivation base was lacking, merely decorative. It should be known that the Empire's heavy forces were all under Wang Xiaoqiang's command now.

To the princes, Wang Xiaoqiang was essentially an outsider with no qualifications. They believed Wang Xiaoqiang had long defected to the Loose Cultivators or already became a leader among Loose Cultivators, relishing the ease away from affairs of the Imperial Dynasty.

What they didn't expect, however, was that Wang Xiaoqiang had already returned to the capital. He would be arriving soon.

The princes divided into three factions, none willing to yield, thus resorted to force, engaging in combat based on their personal cultivation base and the Guest Elders they guarded.

The Crown Prince Long Ao had a cultivation base of the Seventh Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage, the highest, with many strong Guest Elders under him.

Long Ba and Long Xiang's cultivation bases were one at the Eighth Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage and the other at the Seventh, both strong. Moreover, they brought with them several thousand personal guards, all highly trained and exceptionally strong.

Compared to the former two factions, led by Long Tian, the six members of the Dragon Child Gang had weak cultivation bases, all below the Fifth Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage. However, they were all students from Yueyang Academy, and their "Power of Dao" was formidable, capable of battling the other two factions.

The three factions of princes were evenly matched. It now remained to be seen who would have the last laugh.

Regarding the struggle for the throne, Lotus Princess and Princess Hua Shao naturally did not participate. The mother and daughter had no ambitions for the throne; who it ended up with mattered little to them.

Thus, they did not favor any side; they maintained a neutral stance.

However, the princes' combat over the throne, even before Huang Ce's body had been buried, threw the Imperial Palace into chaos, leaving Huang Ce's restless spirit without peace, which the mother and daughter would not accept.

"Your father's corpse is barely cold, and here you are fighting so noisily, denying him peace. Do you have no filial piety at all?!" Lotus Princess angrily reprimanded the three factions of princes face to face.

The palace did not only have Lotus Princess as the Empress. There was also the previously deposed Empress and other concubines, all of whom grew to resent Lotus Princess due to Huang Ce's favoritism towards her. Now, they naturally wanted to seize this opportunity to incite their princes to dethrone this woman, even kill her to vent their anger.

"Barely cold? Haha, what a joke. Where's Father's body? He's already crumbled to dust. What body? Haha..."

Long Ao, feeling resentment because Lotus Princess did not support his side, showed no respect at all.

"You... You actually dare desecrate Father. You... You all..." Princess Hua Shao was also filled with righteous indignation, furious beyond control.

"Hmph, a couple of foul women, do you still think we see you as our masters? You better get lost while you still can, or else..." Long Ba and Long Xiang had harbored resentment towards Lotus Princess since they were discovered trying to watch her bathe, leading to their exile. Having suffered in the frontier, they bore this grudge. Now seeing the mother and daughter chattering during their bid for the throne, they directly burst out with abuse.

"Or else what?" Lotus Princess's brows arched in fury as she shouted.

"Or else what? We brothers didn't even see your body back then but were still denounced by you, endured hardships at the frontier, and today we want repayment..." Long Xiang leered at Lotus Princess's alluring figure, saying, "Over the years you haven't aged a bit... Still so enticing, and after undressing, I think you'll be even more enticing..."

Teasing, blatant teasing!

A prince teasing the Empress, albeit not a biological mother, would be considered an even grave sin than deceiving the Emperor if Huang Ce were alive, punishable by death, affecting many. But now, the princes could shamelessly tease the Empress openly.

If this isn't brazenness grown too bold, what is?

Lotus Princess, pale with rage, could not speak, while Princess Hua Shao, enraged, directly scolded, "Beasts, a group of beasts worse than pigs and dogs."

"Brother Tian, she's scolding us as well, that cheap woman, calling us beasts!"

Long Yin maliciously stared at Princess Hua Shao. Beaten beneath Wang Xiaoqiang's foot, he suffered immense humiliation, demoted to common folk, and his mother was thrown into the Cold Palace. This disgrace left him unable to lift his head to this day, making him harbor deep hatred towards Wang Xiaoqiang.

Ironically, Huang Ce and Lotus Princess favored Wang Xiaoqiang, even marrying their daughter, Princess Hua Shao, to him. This made him hate Huang Ce and Lotus Princess, and by extension, Princess Hua Shao, feeling that an Empire Princess marrying a grassroots man was debasing. Thus, upon hearing Princess Hua Shao speak out, he immediately incited Long Tian.

Long Tian, initially humiliated under Wang Xiaoqiang's foot, was naturally hateful and didn't expect Princess Hua Shao to later marry Wang Xiaoqiang, making him even more disgruntled.

Yet, misdirected hatred towards Hua Shao too. Now, seeing Huang Ce dead, Lotus Princess's influence waned and lacking protection, he dismissed her. He said, "Two cheap women, get lost if you know what's good for you, or else we'll hit you too."

Lotus Princess's cultivation base had already reached the Ninth Soldier Realm of the Immortal Sage, almost Half-Step Immortal King, and with Princess Hua Shao, they could suppress every prince.

However, none of the nine princes took her seriously. Should the nine join forces against them, there was utterly no hope of victory, likely ending up killed. (To be continued. If you enjoy the work, we welcome you to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it with recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)

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