Chapter 558: Noble Families Turn Against Each Other

Chapter 558: The Great Families Turn Against Her

This wasn't a request—it was a declaration.

She knew she'd fully burned her bridges with the great families today, so she decided to go all in and use forceful means to install Yuanchao as Crown Prince.

Qi Huaichuan wasn't about to back down either. Although the Yuan family was the strongest among the Five Great Families, the other four together were nothing to sneeze at.

Once his head was wrapped up, he stood and said furiously: "If Her Majesty really plans to make her bastard son the Crown Prince, then the four great families will have no choice but to band together and take power."

"Since the Crown Prince is dead and there's no one left in the Chu bloodline, anyone's got a right to that throne—it doesn't just belong to your Yuan family."

"Don't think I don't know—Emperor Chu isn't ill at all. You poisoned him and locked him up, and you've just been running things in his place. If you're really so innocent, why not let Emperor Chu out so we can see him?"

Empress Dowager Yuan: "..."

Empress Dowager Yuan: "!!!"

Being called out like this in front of everyone was a slap in the face.

Her eyes were blazing, practically spitting fire.

"How dare you! You've got some nerve talking to me like that!"

Qi Huaichuan let out a cold sneer. "What's there to be afraid of? All these years, your Yuan family has been keeping the rest of us down—aren't you just scared we might outdo you?"

"We've worked our asses off for the Yuan family, and what have we gotten in return? A few scraps and crumbs."

"This time, you personally promised to pick the best young talent from the Five Great Families to be Crown Prince. But it turns out it was just a little show you and the National Preceptor put on for us. Does Her Majesty really think she can make fools of us?"

Patriarch Zhou of the Zhou family also spoke up: "Lord Qi is right. The Five Great Families used to be partners with shared interests, but in recent years, aside from the Yuan family, the other four of us haven't made any progress—we've actually been going backward."

"If Her Majesty's hand isn't behind all this, I'll eat my words."

Patriarch Liu chimed in: "Empress Dowager, if it weren't for us old-timers busting our backs to support you, how would you have ever become Empress Dowager?"

"You stabbed us in the back first over the succession—don't blame us for returning the favor."

"This throne should go to whoever's got the ability, not be hogged by your Yuan family. If you let your bastard son with the National Preceptor take the throne, the other three kingdoms will laugh Xishu out of the room."

One by one, the four family heads spoke up, accusing Empress Dowager Yuan of being ungrateful and tricking them with a staged act.

Everyone knew that if they didn't make their move now, once the royal family became the Yuan family, taking power back would be a whole lot harder.

Once her son took the throne, the great families would be worthless to them!

Knowing how Empress Dowager Yuan and the National Preceptor operated, once they got what they wanted, they'd probably kick them to the curb.

Better to band together and fight back now than to wait for Yuanchao to take the throne and get picked off one by one.

And what if they actually pulled it off? Then wouldn't the throne be theirs?

Besides, the four family heads knew this was the perfect window to grab power.

This time, the Empress Dowager and the National Preceptor had screwed up big time and handed them the perfect excuse—they couldn't be blamed for that.

After all, it wasn't their fault—it was hers.

Even if the common folk cursed someone out, it wouldn't be them.

They'd only curse the Empress Dowager for being shameless and unfaithful, and the Yuan family for being sneaky and rotten.

That thought only made the four family heads even more determined to turn against her.

Empress Dowager Yuan was so mad her eyes went bloodshot. That's when it hit her—the four great families had already been scheming behind the Yuan family's back, all in it together.

They'd been all talk about following the Yuan family's lead and doing whatever they were told.

But really, they'd been itching to revolt and drag the Yuan family and her down with them!

Empress Dowager Yuan nearly choked on her own rage. The National Preceptor mess wasn't even over yet, and now the four great families were gunning for her too.

She had to admit—over the years, she'd done plenty of shady stuff to keep the four family heads in line.

Like sending people to take over their businesses and then selling them back at insane markups.

Or quietly sending assassins to kill off a few promising young talents she saw as a threat.

She was scared that if those kids grew up, the Yuan family would get outclassed, and the four great families would slip out of her grip and cause her problems down the line.

So she had a standout young member of the Zhou family killed and made it look like an accident. Sure enough, nobody suspected a thing.

After that, she got bolder and started knocking off talented people from the four great families left and right.

But hits don't always go off without a hitch.

After enough attempts, the great families got wise and posted skilled guards around their young ones.

Eventually, the Empress Dowager couldn't pull it off anymore.

She figured she'd covered her tracks.

What she didn't know was that the four great families had suspected her for ages—they just didn't have proof.

And given her position, even with their suspicions, they didn't dare just march up and ask her about it.

From then on, the four family heads all harbored resentment toward Empress Dowager Yuan.

But the Empress Dowager knew nothing of this.

Now, watching the dogs she'd been bossing around team up to bite her, she was understandably livid.

She'd never imagined that the first to oppose her would be her fellow great families.

She suddenly felt a sense of betrayal.

If she'd known they'd be this much trouble, she should've found a way to wipe out all these old bastards long ago.

With that thought, a sharp glint flashed in Empress Dowager Yuan's eyes. She gritted her teeth and demanded: "Qi Huaichuan, are the rest of you trying to rebel?"

Qi Huaichuan said: "Rebel? I wouldn't dare. But this throne, I'm fighting for it!"

"Rather than letting your sickly son become Emperor, better to give the chance to the young talents of our families. Maybe they've got more of the Mandate of Heaven than your bastard son."

"You've got some nerve!" Empress Dowager Yuan gritted her teeth, veins bulging on her forehead.

"Guards! Arrest the heads of the four great families and throw them into the imperial prison!"

Patriarch Liu sneered. "Empress Dowager, arresting us won't be that easy."

The next second, he pulled a signal flare from his sleeve.

He pulled the cord, and a black firework shot into the sky, exploding with a bang in midair.

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