131: Chapter 131 Joint Coup? Fiefdoms Confiscated Directly

Clang—clang—clang— The gilded bronze bell of the Golden Throne Hall struck three times, its deep, resonant sound spreading throughout the entire Imperial Capital.

The civil and military officials stood in order of rank, their black official robes neat and tidy, holding their breath as lightly as possible.

With Zhou Wen previously exiled for treason and Zhao Wenyuan hung from the rafters for causing trouble in the court, the remaining nobles had long since been whipped into shape; they didn't even dare to breathe loudly during discussions, fearing they might provoke Lin Zhe and Su Ninghua.

Su Ninghua, dressed in a black imperial robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, sat on the main throne with a cold, stern expression.

Lin Zhe sat in the exclusive seat for the Prince Regent on her left, still wearing simple cloth clothes, with faint golden Rule Perception patterns lingering around him, his presence no less intimidating than the Queen's.

The previous topics of disaster relief and defense arrangements had gone smoothly, but just as they were about to adjourn the court, more than a dozen officials dressed in local noble attire stepped out from the ranks.

Leading them was Zhao Song, head of the Southern Zhao family, who held up a roll of yellowed silk—the very petition written in secret by a dozen noble families.

"Your Majesty! We have a petition to present!" Zhao Song fell to his knees with a "thud," his voice raised an octave, intentionally shouting so the entire hall could hear.

"The Prince Regent monopolizes state power, abuses his authority, arbitrarily confiscates noble feudal lands, persecutes the loyal and virtuous, and even keeps the empire's exclusive Elf Secret Realm under his control for his own personal gain!"

"Our dozen or so local noble families have jointly petitioned for Your Majesty to curtail the Prince Regent's power and reclaim the Elf Secret Realm for the empire! If Your Majesty does not agree, our dozen or so feudal lands will stop paying all taxes starting today, and we will not give the empire another grain of food!"

The dozen or so nobles behind him also knelt in unison, shouting: "Please, Your Majesty, curtail the Prince Regent's power! Reclaim the Elf Secret Realm! Otherwise, we will collectively stop paying taxes!"

These people had calculated everything; they believed the law couldn't punish the masses. Their dozen or so families occupied nearly a quarter of the empire's feudal lands and held many private troops.

They thought that no matter how much Su Ninghua favored Lin Zhe, she couldn't truly afford to fall out with a dozen noble families, and would surely compromise.

The entire court was stunned, staring blankly at this group of people who seemed to have a death wish, thinking that the incident where Zhou Wen's house was raided last week was still fresh in their minds—did these people have too long a life?

Su Ninghua's expression instantly turned icy, and she gripped the sleeves of her black imperial robe tightly. Just as she was about to open her mouth and order these rebellious subjects to be dragged away, Lin Zhe suddenly raised his hand.

His expression was calm, as if what he had just heard was merely the buzzing of a few flies.

"Are you finished?" Lin Zhe's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty that spread throughout the entire hall. "If you're finished, then take a look at the good deeds you've done."

He moved his fingertips slightly.

Hum—!

The light screen in the center of the hall instantly lit up, the blinding white light making everyone unable to open their eyes. On it, the evidence of all the crimes of the dozen noble families appeared clearly:

Zhao Song had colluded with foreign forces, secretly selling three thousand sets of enchanted armor and tens of thousands of magic-breaking arrowss from the imperial arsenal to foreign barbarians.

He had received two million gold coins in bribes and had even agreed to cede three cities in the Southern Territory to the barbarians as a reward once the usurpation was successful.

The other dozen or so nobles hadn't been idle either; some had secretly sent grain and supplies to the Remnants of the Three Clans, some had embezzled disaster relief funds, and others had colluded with abyss forces, secretly capturing border citizens to use as sacrifices.

Every piece of evidence was attached with screenshots of secret letters, transfer records, and confessions from the guards, even the chat content where they discussed how to divide the spoils after a successful usurpation was listed clearly—the evidence was as irrefutable as it could possibly be.

Zhao Song looked at the ironclad evidence on the light screen, his face instantly turning as pale as paper, his whole body trembling like chaff. Just as he was about to open his mouth to quibble, Lin Zhe had already spoken faintly, his tone devoid of any fluctuation, yet it sounded like a death sentence:

"The dozen or so local noble families have colluded with foreign enemies and committed treason. The evidence is irrefutable."

"First, all involved noble families will have their access to all server-wide benefits permanently revoked, be stripped of their qualifications for the Elf Secret Realm and all official events, and the entire families will be exiled to the border of the Dark Forest, never to set foot in the empire's interior again."

"Second, all feudal lands of the involved nobles will be confiscated and converted into public monster-grinding zones. The monster respawn rate in the area will be increased by 20%, the drop rate will be permanently increased by 15%, and all players can freely enter to grind monsters without any restrictions."

"Third, all assets, stored grain, and warehouse supplies of the involved nobles will be confiscated and deposited into the Luofeng Village public account, to be used for the distribution of welfare to players in the server-wide Novice Area."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Ninghua immediately chimed in coldly: "Do as the Prince Regent says! Whoever dares to plead for them will be punished with the same crime!"

"Understood!" The Royal Guards outside the hall immediately rushed in, dragging the dozen or so nobles who were limp on the ground away like chickens.

They didn't even have time to scream before their mouths were covered and they were dragged out of the hall, without even the slightest chance to struggle.

Hum—!

Almost simultaneously, a bright red pinned announcement popped up in the view of every online player on the server, staying lit for a full fifteen seconds before disappearing. The scarlet characters were so bright they made everyone's eyes blur:

[Server Announcement: Upon investigation, seventeen local noble families, including the Southern Zhao family, have colluded with foreign enemies and committed treason. The following penalties are hereby imposed:

1. All involved noble families will have their access to all server-wide benefits permanently revoked, and the entire families will be exiled to the border of the Dark Forest;

2. All seventeen feudal lands will be confiscated and converted into public monster-grinding zones, with monster respawn rates +20% and drop rates permanently +15%. All players can enter freely;

3. All assets of the involved noble families will be confiscated and deposited into the Luofeng Village public account. Starting today, players in the server-wide Novice Area can claim 5 Intermediate Life Potions for free, lasting for 7 days!

The final interpretation of this announcement belongs to the Prince Regent, Lin Zhe!]

The entire server fell silent for three seconds, then exploded in total chaos!

Players near the Southern Zhao family's feudal land were squatting in the wild, grinding level 10 wolves. After reading the announcement, they jumped up immediately, grabbed their weapons, and ran toward the feudal land: "Holy crap? A new public monster-grinding zone? And it adds 15% drop rate? The Zhao family used to surround the feudal land tightly, and you'd get hit just for getting close. Now it's directly opened up? Charge!"

In less than half an hour, the entrances to the seventeen feudal lands were packed solid. Players were howling as they rushed in to grind monsters. Less than ten minutes after entering, some players were already showing off a newly dropped Blue-tier equipment spear, which came with a 10% piercing attribute and had a market value of at least ten thousand copper coins.

The messages on the world channel flooded so fast the server lagged for three seconds, with over ten million messages stacked together, all filled with ecstatic howling:

"Holy crap? Are these nobles here to give out welfare? They failed to usurp the throne and ended up giving away their lands? I'm dying of laughter!"

"15% permanent drop rate! And free intermediate potions to collect! Big Boss Lin Zhe is awesome! From now on, whoever dares to badmouth him, I'll be the first to cut them down!"

"I just grinded in the new monster zone for half an hour and got two Blue-tier equipment! I made a killing! Thanks for the big gift from these idiots!"

Those nobles dragged out of the hall originally thought that even if they were exiled, they still had plenty of private assets and could be local kings once they reached the border.

But when they saw the server-wide announcement, they were stunned—their feudal lands were gone, their assets were gone, and even their access to server-wide benefits was revoked.

Even if they started new accounts, they wouldn't even be able to claim the free potions in the novice village, which meant they were effectively ostracized by the entire server, even worse off than ordinary players.

They were sullenly escorted out of the Imperial Capital. Along the way, players saw their prisoner carts and threw rotten vegetables and stinky eggs, creating quite a scene.

Lin Zhe leaned back in the Prince Regent's rosewood chair, tapping his fingertips lightly on the armrest, his expression calm.

His Rule Perception spread out slightly, and he could clearly sense several unfamiliar auras approaching the palace from outside the palace gates.

The auras were obscure, clearly emissaries sent by other forces.

A faint, cold sneer curled the corner of his mouth, but he didn't take it to heart.

The clowns had been cleared away, and as for anyone willing to come and deliver benefits, he would gladly accept them all.