A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"That's good. His Majesty is becoming increasingly suspicious. It would be better if my uncle passed away sooner, so as to reduce His Majesty's fear of our Wei family."

Wei Zhong said with a smile that death meant nothing to the Wei family.

On the contrary, it is a good thing, as it can restore youth and grant immortality.

"That's right. Our Wei family is now extremely feared by His Majesty. His Majesty's suspicion is like a sword hanging over our heads, extremely dangerous!"

"I suggest that our family transfer all its personnel in the central government to the local areas to reduce His Majesty's suspicion of us."

"After all, for His Majesty and these nobles, the central position is the most important. The more people who hold high positions in the central position, the greater the power."

"Local influence is not a major concern."

"If we voluntarily withdraw from the court and give up our positions, they will definitely agree."

"His Majesty's fear of us will also be greatly reduced. Without enough manpower in the central government, we will not have much influence on the court, much less on His Majesty's authority."

Wei Sheng analyzed.

"Sixth Brother is right. This is indeed a good opportunity. For the sake of the common people, we have openly offended the Crown Prince's faction and the Fifth Prince's faction, and then we have given up our official positions in the court and distributed them to the local areas. This is enough to show His Majesty and other families our determination."

"They won't doubt it."

Wei Zhong's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile.

"It's a good opportunity to clean up those idiots."

As a military general, Wei Zhen's tone was even more violent. This plan, with their help, exposed some of the rotten flesh under the Wei family's command.

They only gathered under the Wei family's banner because of profit, which is fine, but these fools are short-sighted and actually don't follow their instructions.

The Wei family wouldn't dare accept such a powerful subordinate force!

"That's right. The Wei family has been dominant for so many years; it's time to clean things up and keep only those who share our ambitions!"

After the three of them took charge, the entire Wei family's power began to be mobilized.

……

After the court session, the Crown Prince's faction and the Fifth Prince's faction gathered together to discuss the events that had occurred in court that day.

Few of those who rise to high office are fools; they easily understood the Wei family's implication.

It's fine if you fight your battles, but you can't let it affect the local people.

As long as you don't affect the local people, we won't get involved.

This is what the Wei family meant.

"It's alright, those places don't have much influence on the central government anyway, so we can just let them be."

Gongsun He shook his head, never expecting that he would lose his marquisate and prime ministership because of these ordinary people.

Looking at his son with a disgraceful expression, Gongsun He's temples began to turn gray.

What does a little money mean to them?!

They are a powerful family at the very top of the Han Dynasty, and they have no shortage of money.

But he never expected his son to be so stupid that he couldn't even see through this.

What he didn't expect was that his son's stupidity was beyond his imagination.

They've all fallen to this state because of money; they've lost their marquisate and prime ministerial positions, yet they still dare to reach out recklessly!

Gongsun He wished he had never had this son!

The Fifth Prince's faction reached the same conclusion and began to restrain their influence in the local areas.

At the same time, they began vying for the position of prime minister.

This is the head of all officials. Previously, the Crown Prince's faction occupied this position and promoted many of their core members, causing the Fifth Prince's faction to suffer a lot of injustice.

They will not let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by; if they can get this position, their power will increase dramatically.

Conversely, the power of the princelings will be greatly reduced.

.......

"Brother, brother."

The weather has been overcast lately, and today it's pouring rain.

Wei Yuan braved the torrential rain and rushed to the Marquis of Yan's residence.

Wei Yuan was the son of Wei Shou. He became a traveling physician, following Wei Shou as he traveled throughout the Han Dynasty to treat patients.

This period happened to be in Chang'an City.

"What's wrong, Fourth Brother? What happened?"

Seeing Wei Yuan's anxiety, Wei Zhong quickly asked.

"Father just sent word that Madam Li is seriously ill and may not make it."

"His Majesty has now invited my father to the palace to examine Lady Li."

Is Madam Li seriously ill?!

This news is indeed very important.

The reason why the Fifth Prince's faction was able to succeed was because Lady Li was extremely beautiful and could win the favor of Emperor Wu of Han.

Once Lady Li passes away, Emperor Wu of Han's attitude will be hard to predict.

He might bestow lavish rewards upon the Li family out of his affection for Lady Li, or even change the heir apparent out of grief.

Then, as time went on, they gradually began to disregard the Li family's maternal relatives and the fifth prince.

It's also possible that, given the Liu family's cold-blooded nature, they might simply abandon the Li family.

No, the Crown Prince's faction is quite powerful. Given Emperor Wu's current mental state, he would absolutely not want to see the Crown Prince's faction become too powerful.

The Fifth Prince's faction won't collapse anytime soon, but without Madam Li, they'll lack staying power and won't be able to achieve anything.

Looking out the window at the heavy rain, Wei Zhong sighed, "These are turbulent times!"

It was impossible to keep such a serious illness as Madam Li's condition a secret.

Soon, Li Guangli, Huo Qubing, Gongsun He, and others found out.

Li Guangli hurried to the palace, for his sister was the guarantee of his wealth and honor.

The Fifth Prince is not yet an adult, so we cannot lose Lady Li.

When Li Guangli arrived at the palace, he found Emperor Wu of Han standing outside the hall.

"Your Majesty, how is my sister?"

Li Guangli bowed to Emperor Wu of Han and asked anxiously.

"I don't know either."

Emperor Wu of Han snorted coldly; Lady Li actually refused to see him.

They even sent him out specifically when he went to see the doctor.

Emperor Wu of Han was standing there, and Li Guangli didn't dare to go in directly.

"Your Majesty, may I go in and take a look?"

Li Guangli asked.

"Go ahead, go ahead!"

Emperor Wu of Han waved his hand impatiently and looked up at the sky filled with rain clouds.

The sky was a reflection of his mood.

It wasn't just because of Madam Li, but also because the pills he arranged for people to refine according to the pill formula left by Li Shaojun failed.

This reminded him of what Li Shaojun had said back then: was he really hopeless about achieving immortality?

As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, he expanded the territory and brought benefits to all people. Isn't such merit enough?

What Li Shaojun said were minor details; how could they possibly diminish his great achievements?!

In this era of peace and prosperity, a time of moderate prosperity and tranquility, looking at his hands already showing signs of age, will he still be able to see that day?

After Li Guangli went in, he happened to run into Wei Shou coming out.

"May I ask, sir, how is my sister?"

Li Guangli quickly asked.

"Her health was compromised due to illness she developed during childbirth years ago, and she was already extremely weak."

"And then he unfortunately contracted tuberculosis, which continued to erode his vitality, and that's how he finally succumbed to his illness."

Wei Shou replied.

Is there still a cure?

Tuberculosis! (No information found, made up. Some sources say that Madam Li gradually became thinner and more emaciated, possibly due to a chronic wasting disease.)

For people in ancient times, this was a fatal disease.

There is almost no way to cure it!

However, Li Guangli still held onto a sliver of hope.