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

In the imperial harem, there are no secrets that can be kept hidden forever.

The news that the emperor's own son had been murdered quickly spread, causing a huge uproar both inside and outside the court.

After all, Emperor Huang of Han had been on the throne for more than ten years, and still did not have a son.

All the princes died young.

In the eyes of the ministers, this was a sign of instability in the court.

Who will inherit the throne in the future?

On that very day, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Marquis of Yan Wei Lun, Vice Minister of Agriculture Wei An, Marquis of Wu An, General of Chariots and Cavalry Wei Bang, and Grand Master of the Imperial Academy Wei Ren all submitted their resignations to the court.

The imperial court refused to approve the request.

He submitted his resignation again the next day, but the court still refused to accept it.

On the third day, they resigned their posts and requested to stay. The court officials begged them to stay, but the Wei family resolutely left the court.

Upon hearing this news, Emperor Huang of Han, who was infatuated with the Zhao sisters in the harem, drank three jars of fine wine.

He never imagined that killing his own son would bring such benefits.

Now that the Wei family members are gone, it's time for him to return to the imperial court.

It's time to bring the court back under his control as emperor.

On the fourth day, Emperor Huang of Han returned to the court he had been away from for so long.

He issued his first order upon his return: to dismiss the Grand Censor and execute his entire family.

The courtiers remained unmoved.

"How dare you disobey my decree!"

"The Wei family has already left, yet you still dare to defy the imperial decree!"

"Are you still subjects of the Han Dynasty, or are you subjects of the Wei family?"

Emperor Huang of Han was furious. He had not expected that even after the Wei family left the court, the court officials would still resist his decrees so much.

Under Wang Mang's leadership, the officials knelt before Emperor Huang of Han, begging him to personally apologize to Marquis Yan and return to the court.

Emperor Huang of Han would never do something so shameful, and he berated his ministers as disloyal.

Under the silent pressure from his court officials, Emperor Huang of Han returned to the inner palace and drowned his sorrows in wine.

With the departure of the Wei family, the court officials had lost trust in the emperor, and Wang Mang stepped onto the historical stage at this time, becoming the recognized figure who could take over the court at this juncture.

At Wang Mang's suggestion, the ministers were surprised to find that the court could still function smoothly even without Emperor Huang of Han.

Emperor Huang of Han is now refusing to participate in state affairs out of spite, but the court has not come to a standstill.

The only difference was that with the Wei family's withdrawal, the person making the final decision was replaced by Wang Mang.

Wang Mang was exercising the emperor's power on his behalf.

Government affairs were handled in an orderly manner, and he readily accepted advice and adopted good policies. Wang Mang humbly listened to opinions from all sides and revised various unreasonable rules and regulations of the Han Dynasty.

They promoted capable people to positions in the court and purged ministers who had risen to high positions through nepotism and bribery.

Even with members of the Wang family, he still maintained strict requirements, ensuring that these people had sufficient talent to fulfill their duties before he would stop.

This is a much better environment than when Emperor Huang of Han was in power.

Upon discovering this, the Imperial Clan Minister rushed to the palace to persuade Emperor Huang of Han.

When Emperor Huang of Han learned of this, he broke out in a cold sweat. If things continued this way, wouldn't he be deposed as emperor?!

It even prevented his future descendants from becoming emperors.

Anyway, the emperor is not very useful. Government affairs can be carried out just as well without an emperor. All you need is a powerful minister.

The Han dynasty had been in power for so many years, and with the Wei family assisting them, almost no one expected that someone would replace the Liu family in ruling the country.

Even in the current political climate, everyone, including many ministers in the court, felt that Wang Mang was at most a powerful minister, like the Duke of Zhou or Yi Yin.

Apart from the Wei family, no one guessed that Wang Mang's ultimate goal was to usurp the throne.

Actually, he was overthinking it.

In this era, there must be a leader.

Without a leader to make the final decision, the court officials would absolutely fight tooth and nail.

That is the greatest significance of the emperor's existence.

The reason why government affairs can be carried out smoothly now is because the time frame is not long. If it takes too long, big problems will arise.

Wang Mang's power has not yet reached its peak, but given enough time, various power struggles will inevitably arise in the court.

They bicker and pull against each other, even if it doesn't benefit themselves, as long as it can disrupt the other party's plans, they will do it.

It's impossible unless the Wei family personally steps forward.

When his throne was truly threatened, Emperor Huang of Han began to calm down, and the political bloodline originating from Liu Bang began to awaken.

He began to regret his decision; the child he had just strangled would have been the most secure guarantee for his throne.

If the child hadn't died, relying on the lingering prestige and favor of the Han Dynasty over 200 years, no matter how badly he performed, the court officials would still place their hopes on his child.

This indirectly solidified his throne.

Fortunately, there was another concubine in the harem who was pregnant, but it was unknown whether it was a boy or a girl.

His biggest problem now is that the court officials have lost all trust in the emperor.

Especially after losing the Wei family, a powerful ally.

Influenced by his political lineage, the Sea Emperor quickly found the most important thread to resolve this situation.

He doesn't need to persuade each minister individually; as long as he can regain the Wei family's approval, he will naturally regain his authority as emperor.

However, now that the direct descendants of the Wei family have completely withdrawn from the court, it will not be an easy task to invite them back.

He had already broken ties with the Wei family and threatened to exterminate the entire Wei family clan in front of all the court officials.

At the very least, he should treat his own face and dignity as a stepping stone and offer them to the Wei family.

Now that things have come to this, what else is there for him to lose?

It's gone.

The next day at court, he followed the example of his ancestor Emperor Wu of Han, issuing an edict of self-reproach and reflecting on his actions.

He personally led all the civil and military officials to the Marquis of Yan's residence to invite Wei Lun to come out of seclusion.

If it were any other matter, the court officials might not necessarily listen to him.

However, the court officials could not refuse the emperor's edict of self-reproach and his request for the Marquis of Yan to return to public service, so they naturally followed the emperor's lead.

This was also one of Emperor Huang's goals.

The courtiers had already formed a united front and rejected his decrees.

Now all the officials are obeying his orders and following him to invite the Wei family to come out of seclusion, which is a good start.

This broke the situation where the court officials refused his edict.

After arriving at the Wei family, in order to appease them, he honored Wei Lun as Grand Tutor, posthumously granted the deceased Marquis of Yan the title of King of Yan, and bestowed various official titles upon members of the Wei family.

Several direct descendants of the Wei family were granted the title of Marquis Che.

He clearly realized that the Wei family could only seize power, not usurp the throne, but the Wang family might be different. Wang Mang might not have such intentions, but who could say for sure what the future head of the Wang family was thinking?

But all of them were rejected.

In particular, he asked Wei Lun to be reinstated to his original position, only to receive news that Wei Lun was seriously ill.

When Emperor Huang of Han saw it with his own eyes, he found that Wei Lun's eyes were sunken, and the skin on his face and hands had become dry and wrinkled, emitting an unhealthy purple hue.

When Wei Lun breathed, his lips were slightly parted, but a slight tremor could be seen with each breath.