Chapter 561: Two Turn Against Each Other
Chapter 561: Two Turn Against Each Other
Chapter 561: The Two Fall Out
And so, the guards sent out by the four family heads to fetch reinforcements managed to break out of the imperial guards' encirclement with the help of Xie Liuzheng.
Ji Yuntang crossed her arms and sneered, "Next, there should be a good show to watch."
The imperial guards had killed one family head, so they'd definitely made an enemy of Empress Dowager Yuan!
As far as she knew, besides the Yuan family's two hundred thousand troops, each of the four family heads had forty thousand men under their command.
Individually, that might not seem like much, but if these hundred and sixty thousand troops joined forces, it would be enough to hit Empress Dowager Yuan hard and decimate her forces.
Once both sides had tired each other out fighting like dogs, then it'd be Shen Xiangming and Yuan Jiuan's turn to move in with their troops.
At that point, taking care of Empress Dowager Yuan and the Five Great Families would be a lot easier.
Xie Liuzheng slapped a nearby guard, who was so startled he jumped out of his skin. Xie Liuzheng howled with laughter from inside the space.
He said gleefully, "Sister Yuntang, this Heir has never had this much fun in a fight before. So satisfying, way too satisfying!"
Who'd have thought he could hide in Ji Yuntang's space and slap people around?
It felt like he was wearing an invisibility cloak—nobody could see him at all.
Xie Liuzheng thought it was hilarious.
Ji Yuntang chuckled lightly and raised an eyebrow. "Brother, this is nothing. There's something even more fun tonight—I promise you'll get your fill of excitement in one shot."
Hearing this, Xie Liuzheng was thrilled, and he couldn't wait for what was coming that night.
When Empress Dowager Yuan learned that a hundred men had failed to stop a single guard, she nearly blew her top.
"Useless! A bunch of good-for-nothings! With all of you, you can't even kill one person—what good are you to me!?"
It wasn't so much about killing the guard who was fetching reinforcements for the four family heads, but rather about seizing the military tally from him.
According to Xishu Kingdom's rules, all officers and soldiers in the camps only followed the emperor's orders. No one else, not even the Empress Dowager, had the authority to command the army.
But if the emperor was away or hadn't given orders, they all followed whatever the military tally said.
Whoever held the tally, they'd obey—they only recognized the tally, not the person.
The four family heads hadn't had military tallies before; most of these tallies were held by the princes of Xishu Kingdom.
After Empress Dowager Yuan had them killed, she took back all their tallies, planning to hand them over to Grand Marshal Yuan to manage.
She kept one Tiger Tally for herself, which commanded three hundred and fifty thousand troops.
Empress Dowager Yuan had originally planned to give Grand Marshal Yuan three hundred thousand troops, but the other four family heads weren't happy about it.
As fellow heads of great families, why did Grand Marshal Yuan get military power while they got nothing?
That wasn't fair!
They took turns coming to the palace to complain several times. Empress Dowager Yuan, fed up with their constant nagging, split a Bull Tally into four pieces to appease them, giving one to each.
Each of the four family heads got forty thousand troops, and only then did they shut up for a while.
Just now, Empress Dowager Yuan had seen the family heads hand their Bull Tallies to that guard, including the dead Liu family head, who'd also given his tally to him, sending him out to get reinforcements.
With four tallies in hand, that meant an extra hundred and sixty thousand reinforcements for the four great families.
Only then did Empress Dowager Yuan realize what it meant to shoot herself in the foot.
If she'd known this would happen, she would never have given them military power.
She was furious, but what made her even angrier was suddenly getting slapped out of nowhere.
"Crack!" A loud crack sent Empress Dowager Yuan's face snapping to the side.
She whipped around in fury and saw the National Preceptor standing next to her. Without a second thought, she swung her hand and slapped him right across the face.
She figured he'd found out about her sending assassins after Cao Shi and her daughter, which was why he'd hit her.
Her face burning with fury, she yelled at the National Preceptor, "Jiang Yanfan, even now, you're still thinking about that woman, aren't you!?"
The National Preceptor looked totally bewildered, having no idea what had suddenly gotten into Empress Dowager Yuan.
Before he could even ask what was going on, she went on, "I just sent people to kill those women of the Jiang family, and you're already feeling sorry for them? Do you even have me and Chao'er in your heart at all?"
National Preceptor: "..."
National Preceptor: "!!!"
Empress Dowager Yuan's words hit him like a ton of bricks, making his eyes go wide instantly.
He never imagined she'd go behind his back and send people to kill his wife, kids, and mother.
In that instant, fury flooded his heart. He rushed forward and grabbed her shoulders hard.
"What did you do to Yutong and Shixu?"
"They're just kids—how can you be so heartless? Do you want to see the Jiang family die out?"
The National Preceptor wasn't so much worried about Madam Cao as he was about Jiang Yutong and Jiang Shixu—after all, they were his own flesh and blood.
He could be cold enough to abandon his wife, but he still had some conscience when it came to Jiang Yutong and Jiang Shixu.
And then there was old Madam Jiang. Even though the National Preceptor had said harsh things to her today, that wasn't how he really felt inside.
He felt guilty toward her and didn't want her to die by Empress Dowager Yuan's hand.
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Yuan got even angrier, more convinced that the National Preceptor still cared about Madam Cao.
She shoved him away hard and said on purpose, "I've had them all killed. What's so good about that Cao woman and those two little bastards that you'd be so worried about them?"
The National Preceptor frowned in displeasure. "Regardless, they are flesh and blood of my Jiang family. I can't just stand by and watch them die."
Empress Dowager Yuan sneered coldly. "You haven't gone back to see them once in seventeen years, and now you care about whether they live or die?"
"Jiang Yanfan, Chao'er is the one who calls you 'Father' every day. Instead of wasting time worrying about those two little bastards, you'd be better off putting all your effort into Chao'er. That way, you might have a bright future ahead."
The National Preceptor found Empress Dowager Yuan utterly unreasonable. His face turned pale with anger. "They are not little bastards. They are my flesh and blood, carrying the blood of the Jiang family."
If anyone was a bastard, it was Yuanchao—the child he had secretly fathered with Empress Dowager Yuan.
It was just that his status was a bit higher than the two Jiang children.
The events of today made him unwilling to argue further with Empress Dowager Yuan. He flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Unexpectedly, she grabbed his hand and asked urgently, "Cousin, where are you going?"
The National Preceptor snorted coldly and shook off her hand without mercy. "I'm going to find Yutong and Shixu. If you have any conscience left, don't stop me."
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