In the palace, early in the morning, the eight princes were summoned together and came outside the royal study.
Everyone knew the reason for being summoned here in advance, so they were all uneasy at the moment, not knowing what fate they would face.
"Eldest Prince, please come in."
A eunuch opened the door to the royal study and ordered the eldest prince Liu Bo to enter.
The eldest prince suddenly became nervous and walked quickly into the door. The eunuch did not follow and closed the door immediately, leaving the other princes confused about what was going on inside the house.
As soon as Liu Bo entered the imperial study, he saw a young man in white clothes and black hair standing with his hands behind his hands, looking up at a scroll on the wall.
In the painting, the flood was so monstrous that it submerged many high mountains, while a rich and handsome human emperor stood on the edge of the flood, surveying the mountains and rivers with a pair of melancholy eyes.
This picture is called the Picture of Emperor Pei's Water Control, and it was passed down from generation to generation by the Pei royal family. The human emperor in the picture was the founding emperor of Pei State, or the Pei Dynasty.
Liu Bo has seen this scroll countless times since he was a child and has long been accustomed to it. He doesn't know why the person in front of him is looking at it so seriously.
"Junior Liu Bo, I have met Mr. Chen." Liu Bo bowed respectfully, feeling extremely nervous.
Hearing the voice, Gu Chen withdrew his eyes from the scroll, turned his head, and looked at the eldest prince Liu Bo coldly.
As soon as he made eye contact with Gu Chen, Liu Bo became even more uneasy. He found that the aura that the other person exuded was far superior to that of his father.
Gu Chen did not speak, but looked calmly, which made Liu Bo at a loss. He finally took a deep breath, and just when he was about to speak, Gu Chen spoke. "Okay, you can go out."
Liu Bo was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled bitterly. He realized something, bowed respectfully, and then turned around and left the imperial study.
Looking at his back, Gu Chen secretly shook his head.
He is the emperor of heaven who is in charge of all the kingdoms of chaos, so he naturally possesses extraordinary courage and majesty.
Just now he showed a little bit to observe Liu Bo, but he ended up panicking and timid. How could such a person be worthy of his support?
Therefore, without even bothering to talk in depth, he just invited him out.
"Next." Gu Chen casually ordered, and then the second prince Liu Che entered.
Under the aura that Gu Chen invisibly exuded, Liu Che's performance was much better than that of his elder brother, and Gu Chen became interested in communicating with him.
The theme of the exchange was nothing more than the current situation in Pei State, in order to observe Liu Che's overall view and ability to govern the country.
Liu Che's answer was quite reasonable and well-founded, with a measured advance and retreat, and quite the style of a prince.
Unfortunately, when the topic extended from Pei Guo to a higher level, Liu Che's answer exposed his problem.
When it comes to the country of Pei, he can speak good words, but when it comes to outside the country of Pei, especially outside the Dasheng Dynasty, he seems a little ignorant and his words become hesitant.
If you don't understand, you just don't understand, just say it, but he insisted on speaking, and the mood he wanted to express in front of Gu Chen was clearly revealed.
With Gu Chen's sharp eyes, he quickly realized that Liu Che was not really knowledgeable, but had done his homework beforehand.
However, time was limited after all. He had made adequate preparations for Pei's internal affairs, but he did not expect that the topic Gu Chen asked would extend to the entire world.
He was a little anxious at the moment and wanted to show off too much, which exposed his ignorance.
"Okay, you can leave."
Gu Chen interrupted Liu Che's empty tirade. Liu Che gritted his teeth, clasped his fists and turned around to leave.
"I'm too utilitarian and a little scheming, but it's a pity that I don't have real ink in my belly." Gu Chen murmured, one sentence had already sealed Liu Che's fate.
Next, other princes also entered one after another and accepted Gu Chen's individual questioning and assessment.
However, after a morning assessment, Gu Chen was not very satisfied with the performance of the princes in all aspects.
The sons of King Pei gave him the impression that they were all pampered, thought of things from a too simplistic perspective, had some character flaws, and were incapable of being a qualified ruler.
After the assessment, he doubted whether his requirements were too high, but since he wanted to support the country of Pei, the country of Pei was destined to have an unusual future. If the new king of Pei did not have enough ability, he would not be able to withstand the strong winds and waves.
When there was only the last prince left to take the test, Gu Chen subconsciously sighed.
If there is nothing that satisfies him, he can only choose one that is barely qualified.
He had no hope for this last prince, because it was the seventh prince named by Ulie.
Originally, the seventh prince should have taken the test before the eighth prince, but Gu Chen skipped it considering his situation.
At the moment, it is true that none of the seven princes satisfy him, so he calls them over for a casual chat.
"Junior Liu Yan has met Mr. Chen."
The seventh prince entered the royal study with the support of the eunuch and saluted Gu Chen in a neither humble nor overbearing manner.
Gu Chen raised his eyebrows and found that although the seventh prince was thin and looked much younger than his real age, he was very calm when facing him.
I don't know if it was because he was blind, or because he knew that he would never be chosen to become King Pei.
Gu Chen signaled the eunuch to close the door and leave. He looked at the blind Liu Yan and deliberately said nothing.
Liu Yan stood there with a calm face. Gu Chen didn't speak, and he didn't speak either. He wasn't anxious at all.
Seeing him like this, Gu Chen became interested and said with a smile: "Is it true that if you are blind and cannot see the situation clearly, your mentality will be calmer?"
"Mr. Chen is joking, juniors are blind but not blind in heart." Liu Yan shook his head.
Gu Chen's eyes showed a strange light, and he continued: "Your brothers are either frightened or anxious to show off when they see me, but I think you are very calm."
"I know that Mr. Chen will not choose me to succeed King Pei, so naturally I have no intention of gain or loss." Liu Yan explained.
"Are you sure your guess is right? If I am actually a deviant, wouldn't you have missed an opportunity?" Gu Chen said.
"Prince Wu Lie named me to inherit the throne. Since Mr. Chen was invited by Mr. Tang, it is impossible for him to choose me. Besides, Mr. Chen summoned me last, which also shows that Mr. Chen did not consider me before. The reason for summoning him now , I’m afraid it’s just a formality.” Liu Yan laughed at himself.
Gu Chen was speechless for a moment, realizing that he had made a mistake.
This Liu Yan was, as he had known before, frail, sick and blind, but in terms of conversation, he seemed to be different from the rumors.
In particular, he had a calm temperament that other princes did not possess, which he admired a lot.
Gu Chen had met countless people of all kinds in the past and knew that one should not judge people by their appearance, so he now had the idea of making further contact with them.
Next, he began to exchange state affairs with Liu Yan. Liu Yan replied that he cherished every word as gold, but every sentence hit the point. Even he had to think deeply about some of his words.
Gradually, Gu Chen's eyes brightened, and the content of the exchange between the two also involved the internal affairs of Pei and the Dasheng Dynasty.
Liu Yan still answered fluently, not in general terms like Liu Che, but with real ink in his belly.
When faced with things he didn't understand or was unclear about, he didn't hide anything and said what he knew.
Unknowingly, the time Gu Chen spent communicating with Liu Yan far exceeded the other seven princes, or even the seven princes combined.
Liu Yan was chatting with Gu Chen, and his delicate little face gradually became serious. He found that Mr. Chen didn't seem to pay attention to Pei Guo's current crisis. The scope of his vision made him secretly shocked!
"You will inherit the throne of King Pei."
At the end of the exchange, Gu Chen smiled and said something that confused Liu Yan.
"Sir, are you serious about what you said? If you choose me, wouldn't you be following the wishes of Prince Wulie?" Liu Yan really didn't expect Gu Chen to choose him, and his face was filled with worry.
"Then Wu Lie thinks that if you ascend to Pei State, you will be doomed. He can easily control Pei State's court. Do you think so yourself?" Gu Chen said sarcastically.
Although Liu Yan was peaceful, he was still young and vigorous after all. He was aroused by these words, and his little face showed unwillingness and perseverance. "This junior may not be capable, but I don't want to be the king of subjugation!"
"As long as you have this ambition, don't be afraid if you are not capable. Don't you have me to help you?" Gu Chen chuckled.
Liu Yan immediately knelt down and said, "Teacher, please accept Liu Yan's bow!"
Gu Chen's face showed surprise. This boy was quite smart and knelt down to become his disciple.
With the added feeling of master-disciple, his subsequent intervention in Pei State became more justified. This boy knew that he would not refuse.
"Forget it, I will accept you as my student, get up." Gu Chen shook his head, he did not expect that he would accept a disciple in the Taoist world.
Liu Yan stood up, and Gu Chen looked at his blind eyes and asked, "With the financial and resources of the royal family, can't you cure your eye disease?"
There are many natural and earthly treasures in the Sea of Chaos that can reshape a person, not to mention treating mere eye diseases, let alone the Hongmeng Dao Realm, which is extremely rich in products?
He had felt that Liu Yan's physical condition was a bit strange before, but now that he had accepted him as his disciple, he naturally wanted to take care of him.
"My father once searched for famous doctors for me, but unfortunately the eye disease is caused by nature and there is no cure." Liu Yan smiled openly, without any sense of inferiority or self-pity.
"Oh? Let me take a look for you."
Gu Chen put his finger on Liu Yan's pulse, and his spiritual consciousness entered his body to check his physical condition.
Not long after, Gu Chen's eyes showed a bit of surprise, and then his face was full of doubts, and he fell into thinking.
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Liu Yan noticed something strange about Gu Chen.
"Your body is a bit weird, and the eye disease may not be curable, but I still need to study it." Gu Chen came back to his senses and said truthfully.
"Teacher, can I cure my eyes?" Although Liu Yan had already looked away, he was still a little excited when he heard Gu Chen's words.
"I can't guarantee that it will work. Just focus on your succession now." Gu Chen changed the subject and Liu Yan nodded hurriedly.
After confirming the candidate for the new King Pei, Gu Chen quickly invited the Queen Mother and Tang Xuance to inform him of his decision.