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Mu Changtian was assassinated on his way to exile, and before his death, he used the Blood Ignition Skill and took three Grandmasters down with himan incident that quickly spread throughout Great Sum.
With Mu Changtian's death, the Sum Emperor completely seized control of the military power in Great Sum, now commanding millions of soldiers.
Moreover, all these military leaders were personally promoted by the Sum Emperor, and the vast majority of them were absolutely loyal to him.
Holding so many soldiers in his hand, what did the Sum Emperor want to do? What would he do? The Aristocratic Families within Great Sum were not fools.
Shortly, the number of merchant caravans within Great Sum surged, particularly in the territories of the Seigniors, where the numbers doubled.
Of course, except in North City.
The merchant caravans were just a cover for the Aristocratic Families, who used them to travel around and collude with various powers.
The Sum Emperor had already sharpened his knife; there was no way the Aristocratic Families wouldn't react at all.
The thoughts of the Aristocratic Families were unanimousif the Sum Emperor wasn't compliant and obedient, then it was time for a new Emperor.
It wasn't unprecedented for Emperors throughout history to try to eliminate the Aristocratic Families.
Some Emperors weakened the foundation of Aristocratic Families through civil service exams, some restricted them through land reforms, and yet others suppressed them through commercial means.
Yet the effects of these methods were limited.
The Sum Emperor, having eliminated two Sky Kings and thoroughly controlling the military power of Great Sum, was clearly losing patience with the Aristocratic Families and aimed to physically annihilate the existing major families.
The actions of the Sum Emperor were too swift and purpose-driven, quickly catching the attention of the major Aristocratic Families, especially those in the South.
Ever since Chu Yue's inexplicable death, Chu Xiong had kept a vigilant watch over the Capital city for years, sending numerous spies to the Capitalany slight whisper or rustle there and he'd know about it.
Upon learning that Mu Changtian had died and military power had fallen into the hands of the Sum Emperor, Chu Xiong had been losing sleep, sensing that a great disaster was looming over the Chu Family.
Chu Family, in the courtyard.
Chu Xiong sat in the pavilion, looking at the intelligence from the Capital city with a troubled expression on his face.
At that moment, two white-haired elders arrived at the pavilion, one of them said, "Big brother, you've seen the Sum Emperor's actions, should our Chu Family also start making preparations?"
Hearing his second brother Chu Liang's words, Chu Xiong fell silent for a moment, then said, "I have already sent someone to contact Qi Prince, and I believe we will have results soon."
At these words, Chu Liang expressed his dissatisfaction, "Big brother, what use is Qi Prince? He's nothing but a wine-soaked good-for-nothing. Are you really counting on him to raise an army and rebel?"
Chu Xiong's idea was to use the Seigniors to limit the Sum Emperor, forcing him to give up any thoughts of moving against the Aristocratic Families, or to incite the Seigniors to rebel, keeping the Sum Emperor so preoccupied that he wouldn't have the energy to deal with the Aristocratic Families. Of course, if a Seignior could defeat the Sum Emperor, that would be even better.
Qi Prince was the one most dissatisfied with the Sum Emperor; ever since the Sum Emperor's ascension, he had targeted Qi Prince multiple times, which is why Chu Xiong chose him as the first candidate to instigate a rebellion.
However, it was clear that his second brother Chu Liang had his own ideas. Chu Liang then said, "If you ask me, we should just directly arrange for someone to assassinate the Sum Emperor. Once he's dead, all our problems will be solved."
At this point, their younger brother Chu Song asked, "If the Sum Emperor were to die, whom should we support to take the throne?"
Chu Liang said matter-of-factly, "Isn't that obvious? Of course, we support Prince Lu Shuyun! If not him, do you really want to back that useless drunkard from North City?"
"Besides, Prince Lu Shuyun's mother is from the Wang Family of the Southern Aristocratic Families. He surely can't follow in his father's delusional footsteps and think about moving against us. And it happens that our Chu Family has a good relationship with the Wang Family."
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"Once Prince Lu Shuyun ascends the throne, we can send some of our family's maidens to his side. If Chu Family's girls can quickly bear Prince Lu Shuyun's offspring, competing for the position of Empress is not an impossibility."
After listening to Chu Liang's words, Chu Song said, "Second Brother, why do I feel that Prince Lu Chen is a better choice? If he indulges in the pleasures of the Imperial Palace, wouldn't it be easier for us to control him? And whoever we want him to establish as Empress, he will."
Chu Liang snorted coldly and said, "Do you think I haven't considered that? He is just a good-for-nothing who can't get his act together. If we really choose him, do you think he would be able to balance the interests of the major Aristocratic Families? There would be even greater resistance in the court; those ministers would never agree. Among the several Princes, anyone is qualified, except for him."
"Don't forget, he is Chu Yue's child and his relationship with the Mysterious Moon Palace is out of the ordinary. If he really rises to power, would it still be our turn to control him?"
Chu Song then said, "Second Brother, you make some sense."
At that moment, with a darkened face, Chu Xiong said, "Second Brother, that's going too far. No matter what, Chu Yue is also my daughter. No matter how you rank the relationships, she is my daughter first, and then the Goddess of the Mysterious Moon Palace. How could her son be unqualified for that position?"
"Moreover, do you really think the Sum Emperor is so easy to assassinate? Discussing who should ascend to the throne now, isn't that a bit premature?"
"The Sum Emperor has a Grandmaster by his side, and besides Situ Ce, we don't know if there are other Grandmasters secretly protecting him. To assassinate him successfully, I fear, would be harder than ascending to heaven."
Chu Liang mocked, "Big Brother, I think you've grown old and your mind is no longer agile."
"Why do you think I said we should support Prince Lu Shuyun earlier? Prince Lu Shuyun is now in the Capital city; he can fully assist us in our plan to assassinate the Sum Emperor."
Chu Xiong, frowning deeply, immediately said, "No, we absolutely cannot assassinate the Sum Emperor now. If the assassination fails, the Sum Emperor will surely take this opportunity to immediately act against the Aristocratic Families."
"Our preparations are not yet sufficient; we cannot take this risk."
By now, everyone in the court knew that the Sum Emperor was going to take action against the Aristocratic Families, and the Aristocratic Families knew that the Sum Emperor would act against them, but even if the Sum Emperor were to eradicate the Aristocratic Families, he would still need a seemingly righteous reason.
The Sum Emperor had not yet found a suitable excuse, and if the Aristocratic Families sent someone to assassinate the Sum Emperor at this time, wouldn't that be giving the Sum Emperor the perfect reason?
Seeing Chu Xiong afraid of this and that, Chu Liang snorted coldly and said, "Big Brother, your courage is getting smaller and smaller. The Sum Emperor's executioner's sword is about to fall, and you're still worrying."
"I think you won't be happy until the Sum Emperor's army of a million reaches Sufeng City."
Having said this, Chu Liang turned and walked away.
Seeing Chu Liang leave, Chu Song hurriedly followed, "Second Brother, Second Brother, let's talk it out, Big Brother is also thinking of the family, don't be angry."
Watching the two of them echo each other, Chu Xiong's face looked very displeased.
He was no fool, how could he not know what Chu Liang and Chu Song were thinking.
Chu Song had ostensibly been advocating for Prince Lu Chen just now, but in reality, he was facilitating a conversation for Chu Liang.
Chu Song's sons had married women from the Wang Family, and even the concubines he had taken were from the Wang Family; his position needed no further speculation.
And Chu Liang, even less so, his coveting of the Family Head's position was not a matter of a day or two.
The Chu Family had already fallen into both internal and external troubles. When Chu Xiong thought of his own son, who was so disappointing and obsessed with women every day, he felt even more exhausted.
Chu Xiong rubbed his forehead and then said to the woman behind him, who had always been invisible, "Qing Li, your sister is in North City. You should go to North City as well. If the Chu Family really faces a catastrophe one day, you don't need to come back."
On hearing this, the woman behind him, dressed in a green long dress, said, "Yes, Family Head."
The woman's voice was cold and emotionless, without a hint of sentiment, as if she were a perfectly emotionless killing tool.
Chapter end