48: The ambition of the five surnames and seven families: to impeach the crown prince at tomorrow morning's court session!

The Left Chancellor’s residence, study.

The night was deep, and the airtight walls blocked out all external sounds, leaving only the heavy breathing within the room and the occasional crackle of the candle flame.

The air was thick with the oppressive stillness of an impending storm.

Chancellor Fang sat composedly in the main seat, his expression as calm as water, his eyes, accustomed to discerning human hearts, half-closed, revealing no emotion.

The tea in front of him had long grown cold, untouched.

The study was packed.

Every one of these individuals was a figure whose mere stomp of a foot could shake the Tang dynasty’s officialdom.

Cui Minkan, the current head of the Qinghe Cui Clan, had white hair and a face crisscrossed with wrinkles, but his eyes sparkled with an undeniable authority.

Cui Renshi of the Boling Cui Clan was slightly plump, always wearing a genial smile, but at this moment, that smile was stiff like a mask.

The Fanyang Lu Clan, the Wang Clan of Taiyuan, the Zheng Clan of Xingyang… almost all the core figures of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans were present.

They either stroked their beards or clenched their fists, each face shrouded in an impenetrable gloom.

The news from Jing Province was like a poisoned dagger, plunged deep into their proud hearts.

“Outrageous! This is simply outrageous!”

Finally, Lu Chengqing, the most volatile head of the Fanyang Lu Clan, could no longer restrain himself, slamming his palm heavily onto the zitan wood table in front of him, making the teacups hum.

“What is Li Chengqian? A mere greenhorn, wet behind the ears, yet he dares to slaughter our clan members like this!”

His chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot, like an enraged lion.

“Huang Jianzhong was an imperial official, a relative by marriage of my Lu Clan! He just killed him? And implicated nine generations! Those Officials in Jing Province, which one of them wasn’t well-versed in literature and serving the country? By what right did he do this! Just because he is the Crown Prince?”

Lu Chengqing’s voice echoed in the silent study, filled with resentment and fury.

“Brother Lu, please calm down a little.”

Cui Renshi of the Boling Cui Clan forced a smile, his voice incredibly dry, “What’s done is done. Getting angry now won’t help.”

“Calm down a little?”

Lu Chengqing suddenly turned to him, spitting, “Brother Cui, it’s not someone from your Boling Cui Clan who died, so of course you speak lightly! My Fanyang Lu Clan’s Foundation, cultivated in Jing Province for decades, was uprooted overnight by him! Rivers of blood flowed! How can I be calm!”

Cui Renshi’s expression also darkened, and he said no more.

Yes, today it was people from the Fanyang Lu Clan who died, but tomorrow?

And the day after tomorrow?

The Crown Prince’s blade was already hanging over all their heads.

Cui Minkan, the head of the Qinghe Cui Clan, as the highest-ranking person present, slowly opened his eyes.

His voice was old and hoarse, yet it carried an undeniable power.

“The Crown Prince’s action was not out of spite, but to establish his authority.”

As soon as he spoke, the entire study fell silent, and everyone’s gaze converged on him.

“He didn’t kill Huang Jianzhong, nor those Jing Province Officials. He killed the rules that we, the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, have established over centuries!”

“He is telling us whether the heaven of this Great Tang belongs to his Li family or to our aristocratic clans.”

At these words, everyone’s heart felt a chill.

Yes, this was the root of the problem.

These behemoths entrenched in Guandong, surviving countless dynastic changes, what did they rely on?

They relied on their intricate network of connections, and on the supreme glory and privilege represented by the words “aristocratic family.”

Emperors could change, dynasties could be altered, but they would always remain a lofty existence.

But now, this Crown Prince, whom they had never taken seriously, had given them a resounding slap in the face in the bloodiest and most direct way.

“He is declaring war on us!”

Wang Yu, the head of the Wang Clan of Taiyuan, said with a chilling voice, “Does he think that with a few thousand soldiers, killing a few useless people, he can shake our Foundation? A pipe dream!”

“Exactly!”

Zheng Yuanshou of the Zheng Clan of Xingyang also echoed, “Our disciples and former subordinates are spread throughout the land, and half of the court Officials have intricate connections with us. Li Chengqian wants to turn the world upside down? He’s still too green!”

The atmosphere was ignited once more, and everyone was agitated, wanting to rush into the Eastern Palace immediately and tear that audacious Crown Prince to shreds.

“Everyone!”

Cui Minkan spoke again, his voice not loud, yet it quelled all the clamor.

He surveyed the crowd, a flicker of disdain in his cloudy old eyes.

A bunch of fools who only know how to shout.

“Mere shouting won’t kill anyone.”

He said slowly, “The Crown Prince dares to do this, he must have something to rely on. What we need to do now is not to engage in verbal sparring, but to make him pay the price.”

He paused, then turned his gaze to Chancellor Fang, who had been silent.

“Chancellor Fang, what do you think?”

In an instant, everyone’s eyes focused on Chancellor Fang.

Chancellor Fang was like a bedrock; no matter how turbulent the surrounding winds and waves, he remained unmoved.

He slowly lifted his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over each person’s face, taking in their angry, anxious, or sinister expressions.

He sneered inwardly.

A bunch of conceited fellows.

The Crown Prince’s fire indeed burned fiercely, but it also forced all you hidden demons and monsters out into the open.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, indeed… was too impulsive.”

Chancellor Fang finally spoke, his voice as steady as ever, betraying no emotion.

“The matter in Jing Province has had a detrimental impact, shaking the very Foundation of the nation. As subjects, we should correct the monarch’s mistakes.”

Upon hearing this, a hint of joy appeared on everyone’s faces.

Chancellor Fang, was he going to side with them?

“Chancellor Fang is right!”

Lu Chengqing immediately interjected, “Tomorrow at the morning court, we must jointly submit a memorial to impeach the Crown Prince! We beg Your Majesty to depose him from his position as Crown Prince!”

“Exactly! If this boy is not deposed, our Great Tang is in peril!”

“We ask Chancellor Fang to lead, and we will follow even unto death!”

For a moment, calls for his advancement rose one after another.

They knew that as long as Chancellor Fang nodded, this matter was seven-tenths done.

As the head of all Officials, his call would surely gather a multitude of responders.

However, Chancellor Fang merely picked up the cup of tea, which had long been cold, and gently blew away the foam, not responding.

The study once again fell into an eerie silence.

Cui Minkan looked at Chancellor Fang, a flicker of understanding in his cloudy eyes.

He knew that a man like Chancellor Fang wouldn’t act without seeing a clear advantage.

To get him to exert effort, he had to be shown sufficient benefits, or rather, a sufficiently great threat.

“Chancellor Fang.”

Cui Minkan slowly spoke, his tone becoming profoundly meaningful, “Your Highness the Crown Prince, in Jing Province, appointed Qin Huaiyu as the Military Governor. Whose man Qin Huaiyu is, I presume this old man doesn’t need to elaborate.”

Chancellor Fang’s hand, holding the teacup, paused almost imperceptibly.

“General Qin Qiong is a pillar of the nation,” he said faintly.

“Heh heh.”

Cui Minkan let out two dry laughs, “Qin Qiong is a pillar of the nation, but his son is now an Eastern Palace henchman! The Yuchi family, the Cheng family, the Luo family… which of those descendants of generals isn’t now completely subservient to the Crown Prince? Chancellor Fang, have you never considered that when these younger generations grow up, will there still be a place for us old fellows in the court?”

These words, like venomous snakes, precisely struck Chancellor Fang’s deepest hidden worries.

Yes, Chancellor Fang’s current position was due to his meritorious service in assisting Li Shimin’s ascension as a Dragon, and his unmatched administrative abilities.

But power, this thing, was never eternal.

The Crown Prince was cultivating his own faction, and it was a military faction!

This was an extremely dangerous signal.

If he could slaughter the Jing Province clans today, could he purge the old Officials in court tomorrow?

Countless thoughts flashed through Chancellor Fang’s mind instantly.

He thought of the Crown Prince’s unfathomably deep eyes, and his astonishing methods beneath a seemingly ordinary exterior.

The chessboard was indeed in disarray.

And he, as one of the most important players, must never become a discarded piece.

He needed to re-strategize, to find a new point of balance.

And these arrogant clans before him, though foolish, were a force that could be utilized.

Using them to deplete the Crown Prince’s momentum was perfectly suitable.

Thinking this, Chancellor Fang slowly put down his teacup, making a crisp sound.

He raised his head, his gaze becoming firm and sharp.

“Everyone speaks with reason.”

He said in a deep voice, “The Crown Prince has abused imperial power and arbitrarily killed court Officials; this trend must not be allowed to continue. Tomorrow at the morning court, this old man… will personally submit a memorial to impeach the Crown Prince.”