Chapter 559: Noble Families Oppose the Yuan

Chapter 559: The Great Families Revolt Against Yuan

Before long, a thousand-strong guard clad in black armor surged in from outside like a dark tide, surrounding the four family heads in a tight protective circle.

Any palace guards who tried to stop them fell to their swords.

Empress Dowager Yuan was so furious she almost spat blood. She looked down at the four family heads below, her clenched fists trembling.

"You... how dare the lot of you, bringing armed men to storm the imperial palace and enter the hall bearing weapons."

"Do you not know that trespassing into the imperial palace is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your kin?"

Qi Huaichuan let out a cold laugh. "This humble official knows full well, but you were the one who acted improperly first, Empress Dowager."

"You were about to throw us into the heavenly prison—were we supposed to just stand here and let your men take us without putting up a fight?"

"Everyone knows the heavenly prison—you go in alive and never come out. The four of us are old and gray; if we went in, wouldn't that be exactly what you want—killing the donkey after it's done its work?"

With her dark intentions exposed, Empress Dowager Yuan's neck flushed crimson with rage, and her nails had dug into her palms until they bled.

She had originally planned that once Yuanchao's throne was secure, she would find ways to strike at the four great families, slowly forcing them to reveal their trump cards and dismantling their power.

That way, no one in the entire court would be able to threaten Yuanchao's position.

But Empress Dowager Yuan had planned for everything except the string of crises that hit on the day of the heir appointment.

First, her secret affair with the National Preceptor was exposed, then Yuanchao's identity as a bastard son came to light, and then the National Preceptor's wife, daughter, and mother showed up at the door—and the blood oath test confirmed everything perfectly.

These sudden developments, though unexpected, didn't mean she was out of options.

As Empress Dowager, she had supreme authority; even if she'd slept with another man, no one present would dare put her in a pig cage and drown her.

She could still live well—anyone who dared speak out of turn would simply be killed. It was that simple and brutal.

These matters she could still handle, but the four great families' collusion and rebellion caught her completely off guard.

It was then that Empress Dowager Yuan realized the guards who had suddenly burst in to protect the four family heads were wearing fine iron-forged elite armor.

This kind of armor was typically reserved for battle-hardened soldiers; ordinary guards weren't allowed to wear it.

They could never have gotten their hands on such gear, because all this armor was under imperial court control—when not in use, it had to be turned in and locked up, with dedicated personnel keeping watch and records.

And fine iron ore, that rare and precious forging material, had to be reported to the court the moment it was discovered. Concealing or embezzling it was a grave crime—in severe cases, punishable by the extermination of nine generations.

Forging over a thousand suits of armor would require a huge amount of ore, and the more you forge, the longer it takes.

If the court's thousand suits of armor had been lent out by the four family heads, Empress Dowager Yuan would have known about it.

This meant the elite armor these guards wore wasn't from the imperial court—it was almost certainly forged from ore mined from private quarries by their own people.

This armor was impenetrable to swords and spears, and impervious to fire and water. To kill the wearer, you'd have to attack exposed skin—it was a major defensive asset on the battlefield.

Empress Dowager Yuan was sure the four family heads had far more than a thousand sets of elite armor—they definitely had more.

If that were true, it meant the four family heads had been plotting rebellion for a long time!

Maybe they'd always been guarding against her and the Yuan family—forging weapons and armor, secretly training soldiers, and quietly building their own power.

Just waiting for the day they could overthrow the Yuan family and seize power.

Realizing their wolfish ambitions, Empress Dowager Yuan's murderous intent grew even stronger.

She'd worked so hard to bring down the Chu clan and seize power from Emperor Chu—how could she let anyone take that power from her again?

That was something she absolutely couldn't stand.

Empress Dowager Yuan's face twisted into a furious grin. "Fine, fine, fine. You really are my loyal ministers, my dear elders."

"I trusted you so much, and shared with you whatever the Yuan family had. I never imagined you would secretly train soldiers, forge armor and weapons, and intend to rebel against me."

"I had thought to spare you out of our past sentiments—let you rot in prison for a few days and then release you, without harming your lives or your families."

"But you are so stubbornly unrepentant. Since you refuse to cooperate and are rushing to meet your deaths, then I shall grant you that wish!"

With that, her sharp gaze fell upon Zhu Wei, the imperial guard commander below, and she commanded: "Commander Zhu, convey my edict—rally all troops in the palace, and show no mercy to the rebels!"

Empress Dowager Yuan had come thoroughly prepared today, having summoned fifty thousand elite soldiers from the Iron Blood Camp outside the capital.

Originally, she had brought these forces to guard against Yuan Jiuan.

But unexpectedly, they now proved useful for another purpose.

Yuan Jiuan had yet to make a move, yet they had already turned on their own people.

The four family heads knew full well that Empress Dowager Yuan's words were merely for the benefit of the other ministers.

When she said she would spare them out of past sentiments and release them after a few days in prison, she was only paying lip service—she would never actually let them go.

Given Empress Dowager Yuan's vindictive nature, the four of them had defied her publicly today and declared their intention to seize the throne.

On that account alone, had they been thrown into the heavenly prison today, death would have been certain.

By resisting now, they might still have a glimmer of hope.

Soon, Zhu Wei led a great army in—a dark tide of soldiers surging forth like floodwaters, quickly surrounding Chengqian Hall in an impenetrable ring.

Zhu Wei raised his longsword, swept his arm, and declared sternly: "By order of the Empress Dowager—show no mercy to rebels!"

Though he said "rebels," the true targets were primarily the four great families.

War was on the verge of breaking out. Both sides drew their swords and clashed in combat.

The clang of weapons rang through the air, war cries shook the heavens, and crimson blood splattered across the ground like spilled ink. Screams rose one after another, sending chills down the spine.

The other ministers who had come to attend the heir appointment ceremony—as calm as they had been upon arrival, they were now equally terrified.

They had thought Empress Dowager Yuan's "show no mercy" was merely empty talk, that she would never actually move against the great families.

After all, in the two hundred-plus years since the founding of the Xishu Kingdom, the Five Great Families had always remained united, holding an unshakeable position in court with formidable economic strength.

------------