The splendid palace, East Hall.

At this time, in a study room in the palace, two men were playing chess in front of the desk.

These two people, one old and one young.

The young one has an elegant temperament and facial features that are somewhat similar to those of Yan Fengjun and Yan Chen.

But his face and figure are obviously weaker.

This person is none other than the third prince, Yan Hongyi.

The other old man had white hair and a pair of bright eyes.

His name is Yang Zhe, he was a tutor who once assisted the prince, and his official position was not low.

But a few years ago, after the death of the prince, he switched to the side of the third prince.

He lived his daily life as if he were retired, playing chess and drinking tea with the third prince, and no longer participated in government affairs.

"Haha, Your Highness the Third Prince, you made another wrong move. Are you worried about something?"

Yang Zhe smiled lightly.

As he spoke, the chess piece in his hand also fell on the chessboard.

This time, the area in the upper right corner of Yan Hongyi was directly blocked and turned into a dead move, resulting in heavy losses.

Yan Hongyi looked at the chess game, shook his head with a smile, and said: "It has been three years, but my teacher's chess skills are still unpredictable. I have never won against you in chess."

"So, even if I make the right moves, winning or losing will only happen sooner or later."

With that said, Yan Hongyi put away all the killed chess pieces in the upper right corner of the chessboard with a calm expression.

"Oh? Really."

Yang Zhe smiled hoarsely and said meaningfully: "The chess field is like a battlefield. Even if you know you are losing, you can't lose your fighting spirit and backbone."

Hearing this, Yan Hongyi nodded with a rather teachable expression, "Teacher is right."

He deeply recognized Yang Zhe's wisdom and experience.

"Nowadays, the government and the public are in turmoil. If Your Highness wants to protect yourself, you must maintain the status quo and wait and see what happens."

Yang Zhe put down the chess piece in his hand and suddenly changed the topic.

Hearing these words, Yan Hongyi's face was slightly startled, and then he sighed softly and said: "I went to see my father today. His body seems to have weakened a lot..."

Yang Zhe's eyes darkened slightly and he said no more words.

Because he knew what Yan Hongyi was worried about in his heart.

Today's King Yan is getting weaker and weaker due to his health, and I am afraid that he no longer has much power in the court.

When the time comes to change the throne, it will depend on the princes' abilities.

The eldest prince, Yan Peng, has always been ambitious. In addition, he is the eldest brother of all princes, so he may not be willing to be a slave who bows to his younger brother.

The second prince Yan Fengjun, like the eldest prince, is a sibling born from the same mother, and they have the closest relationship.

Therefore, Yan Fengjun has always followed Yanpeng's lead. He is undoubtedly a great help to the eldest prince in the battle for the throne.

As for the fourth prince, Yan Chen, he was talented in martial arts and was highly appreciated by King Yan. He was also well-known in the city and had superb methods.

In just a few years, a faction team belonging to him was established to compete for the throne.

Just like the Qin family's general mansion, it was enough for him to have the confidence to compete with the eldest prince and the second prince.

However, as the third among the princes, Yan Hongyi.

Regardless of his personal strength or the power he controls, there is a big gap between him and the other three princes.

If a dispute were ever initiated, his chances of winning would be extremely slim.

However, there are many lessons learned from the past dynasties in fighting for the throne.

In the supreme royal power, there is often killing and bloodshed behind it.

At that time, any blood relationship or friendship became a joke.

Yan Hongyi understands the truth very well, so he has always tried not to cause trouble.

Even though he has martial arts talent that is not weaker than the fourth prince Yan Chen, he is very slow in martial arts.

In fact, Yan Hongyi didn't even exercise regularly and always attended various occasions with a weak look.

This made the other princes sneer at him and did not feel that he was any threat.

Otherwise, his life will not be saved!

That situation was just like the prince who died suddenly and innocently three years ago.

"I heard that among the new students of Tianyan Academy, a very powerful genius has appeared."

Immediately, the chess piece in Yang Zhe's hand fell on the chessboard and they continued to talk.

"Oh? Genius? Who is he?"

Yan Hongyi's eyes flashed and he asked curiously.

"His name is Lin Hao."

Yang Zhe said with a faint smile.

"Lin Hao..."

Yan Hongyi nodded and said with a smile: "This name is very meaningful. The word 'Hao' represents vastness. No wonder he is famous."

Hearing this, Yang Zhe's eyes flashed with a vague light, and then he shook his head secretly.

It seems that the third prince usually lives in seclusion in the palace and knows nothing about the news from the outside world.

As for Lin Hao's popularity, rumors had already spread during the Tianyan Academy recruitment assessment a few months ago.

Until he ranked first in the fantasy killing platform two days ago, his popularity has completely exploded, and almost the entire streets and alleys of the Imperial City have spread.

However, Yan Hongyi didn't even know about it until now.

"It seems that His Highness the First Prince's guess is correct. This third prince is really a loser and has no ambitions to compete for the throne."

The idea that Yang Zhe had been secretly peeping deep in his heart was suddenly relieved.

Obviously, the reason why he chose to come to the East Hall in the past three years seemed to be to help, but in fact he had ulterior motives.

Yang Zhe's true identity is the double-faced man sent by the eldest prince Yan Peng to spy on him.

After such a long period of testing and peering, he found that Yan Hongyi's daily life was indeed very monotonous and he had no ambition.

In this regard, Yang Zhe can already be sure that Yan Hongyi has no chance of winning in the fight for the throne.

"Your Highness, I remember that I still have things to do, so I will take my leave first."

Thinking of this, Yang Zhe suddenly stood up and said with a smile.

Although his eyes were still calm, in his heart, he couldn't wait to leave this boring life.

"Teacher, walk slowly."

Yan Hongyi also stood up, with a smile on his face and no airs of a prince.

However, when Yang Zhe's old figure stepped out of the house, the smile on Yan Hongyi's face slowly faded.

As his smile faded, the black chess piece in his hand fell on the chessboard.

As soon as the black chess piece fell, the chess game that was originally determined to be defeated turned around.

Surprisingly, the white chess pieces on Yang Zhe's side were surrounded into a dead game, and they directly won the game.

"Haha, the chess field is like a battlefield. I have tolerated it for many years. It's time to change the situation."

A smile appeared again on Yan Hongyi's delicate face.

However, this time, there was no concealment in his smile, with a hint of icy chill...

That night, night fell.

The Wang Taiwei's mansion in the west of the imperial capital city is brightly lit.

There were many luxury carriages parked on the streets on both sides of the mansion gate.

The family emblems on it all represent the prominent nobles in the city.

At this time, a young figure appeared in front of the mansion gate.

"May I ask you are?"

The palace servants who welcomed the guests seemed to have guessed something when they saw the young man wearing the uniform of Tianyan Academy and the parrot on his shoulder, and hurriedly greeted him.

"Lin Hao."

There is no doubt that this person is Lin Hao who came to the banquet, he said calmly.

After confirming the identity of the visitor, the palace servant's face was startled for a moment, then became more respectful, "Please come in."

Lin Hao did not enter the mansion immediately, but secretly controlled Si Bao's vision to scan the luxury carriages parked nearby.
To be continued...