Deposed? I couldn't be happier! I wouldn't even be a dog to the crown prince.

Zhuque Avenue can no longer be called an avenue; it would be more appropriate to call it a "sea of ​​people."

The road, which was originally wide enough for eight carriages to travel side by side, was now completely congested. Even the old locust trees along the roadside were covered with idlers who came to watch the spectacle.

In the very center of the crowd, the threshold of the newly opened "Datang Royal Salt Industry Supermarket" was practically worn down by the crowd.

"Don't push! Don't push! If you keep pushing, my shoes are going to fall off!"

"Hurry up! Buying salt like you're doing embroidery, are you even a man?"

"I want ten pounds! No, give me twenty pounds! I've never seen such white salt in my life, I'd buy it and keep it as a family heirloom!"

The people waved their copper coins like madmen.

Just across the street, the usually arrogant "Cui's Salt Shop" was now as quiet as a funeral parlor.

Several men leaned against the door frame, swatting flies with expressions of utter despair.

Occasionally, a few regular customers would pass by, and the waiter would be about to greet them with a smile, "Sir, please come in, we have the finest salt..."

"Pooh!"

The customer spat a mouthful of phlegm directly onto the steps and rolled his eyes wide.

"You heartless bastards! They used to sell me those bitter lumps for 300 coins a pound, and now they're selling snowflake salt for two coins a pound at the Royal Supermarket! Why don't you just rob us?"

"If I ever buy another grain of salt from your Cui family again, I'll be a grandson!"

The shopkeeper shrank back in anger after being scolded, and watched helplessly as the customer rushed into the crowd of shoppers across the street.

This isn't doing business; this is clearly a public execution!

……

The Cui family mansion, the accounting office.

The atmosphere was even colder than the cold wind outside.

Cui Mingan, the current patriarch of the Boling Cui clan, gripped the expensive Buddhist prayer beads tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the excessive force.

On the table in front of him was a bowl of ginseng soup that had long since gone cold, and several account books that had been read to pieces.

"Report—!"

A middle-aged man who looked like a manager stumbled in, tripped over the threshold because he was running so fast, and fell flat on his face on the expensive carpet.

"Chief! It's terrible! Everything's ruined!"

The manager didn't even bother to get up; he lay on the ground crying like a two-hundred-pound child.

"News just came from the West Market: our salt shop... has sold out!"

"Not a single grain of salt has been sold all morning! On the other hand, the royal shop across the street was sold out as soon as it was restocked, and the queue stretched all the way to the city gate!"

Cui Minqian's hand trembled, and the Buddhist prayer beads broke with a "crack," scattering the beads all over the ground.

He took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the surging blood in his heart, his voice hoarse as if two pieces of sandpaper were rubbing together.

"What's the panic! We have resources! We have inventory!"

"As long as we stubbornly refuse to lower prices, once that little prince's inventory is sold out, this market will still be ours!"

"Chieftain..."

The steward looked up at his master with a look of despair, as if he were looking at a fool who hadn't woken up yet.

"It's no use. I just inquired and found out that there's a notice posted at the entrance of the royal salt shop."

"It says: 'Not only is it plentiful, it's also unlimited! Whoever can buy out the Crown Prince's salt will have the Crown Prince kowtow to them on the spot!'"

"And...and..."

The steward swallowed hard and, trembling, delivered the most devastating news.

"Furthermore, the Crown Prince has launched a 'trade-in' program. Simply take the inferior salt our aristocratic families have sold to the royal shops, and you can exchange one pound for two pounds of snowflake salt!"

"The people have gone mad! They're turning their homes upside down looking for old salt. Our family's reputation... is completely ruined!"

"puff--!"

Cui Mingan felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest with a sledgehammer, his throat tasted sweet, and a mouthful of blood spurted out without warning.

That splash of crimson instantly stained the ledger in front of him, a shocking sight.

"A vicious plot! This is a treacherous plot by a ruthless family!"

Cui Mingan had disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, looking like a vengeful ghost.

This "trade-in" tactic is not only stealing business, but also digging up the ancestral graves of aristocratic families! It's like rubbing the reputation that aristocratic families have built up over hundreds of years into the dirt and then trampling on it a thousand times over!

But that's not the worst part.

The most crucial thing is—money.

To force the emperor to abdicate, the five families and seven powerful clans joined forces, not only using all of their family's liquid funds, but also borrowing huge sums of money from major banks at high interest rates, and stockpiling all the coarse salt on the market at exorbitant prices.

Their plan was brilliant: monopolize the supply of goods, create a scarcity, force the imperial court to back down, and then sell at a high price to make a fortune.

But now?

Warehouse after warehouse of coarse salt instantly turned into worthless waste rocks!

Snowflake salt, which costs two coins a pound, is being sold right across the street. Who would pay a high price for their garbage?

The funding chain has broken down.

Like a taut string that has been stretched to its limit, it snaps at this moment.

"Chief! The people from the money lender are here! They want us to pay back the money!"

"Patriarch! The collateral branches are causing trouble, saying they want to split up the family!"

"Chief! Uprisings have broken out at the salt lakes in various places, and all the craftsmen are going to work at the Eastern Palace!"

Bad news came like snowflakes, each word like a knife, stabbing deeply into Choi Min-gon's heart.

"ah--!!!"

Cui Mingan looked up at the sky and roared, his voice as mournful as a cuckoo crying blood.

"Li Chengqian! You brat! You're trying to force the Cui family to its death!"

He spat out another mouthful of blood and fell straight backward, overturning the armchair behind him.

"Chieftain! Chieftain, hold on!"

The room immediately descended into chaos.

……

As night falls, the lights are on.

Unlike the hustle and bustle of the daytime, the secret chamber of the Cui family was now eerily quiet.

Cui Mingan lay on the soft couch, his face sallow and his breath faint, but his eyes burned with a flame called "madness".

Around him were the heads of several prominent families, including the Lu, Zheng, and Wang families.

Everyone's face was extremely pale, as if they had just swallowed a dead fly.

Lost.

We lost completely.

Faced with the "economic dimensional reduction attack" of that eight-year-old prince, these old foxes who had spent their whole lives playing power games were like clowns without pants, losing everything, not even their underwear.

"Gentlemen."

Cui Mingan struggled to sit up, his voice chilling like a demon crawling out of hell.

"We have no way out."

"We've lost our money, our reputation is ruined. If we don't do something soon, the five clans and seven noble families... will be wiped out in our hands!"

The head of the Lu family gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint in his eyes: "Then, in Brother Cui's opinion, what should be done?"

"If words don't work, then let's use force!"

Cui Mingan slammed his hand on the edge of the bed, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace.

"That young prince's salt production relies on that 'refining technique,' right? If we destroy the salt-making workshops and kill the artisans, that technology will be lost!"

"At that time, the coarse salt we have will still be a valuable commodity!"

"But……"

Wang Gui hesitated, after all, he had been terrified in the court. "The Eastern Palace is heavily guarded, and there are those assassins in flying fish robes..."

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Cui Mingan interrupted him, "No matter how powerful the Embroidered Uniform Guard is, it's only three thousand men, and they're scattered throughout the city. Tonight, let's pool our resources and send out our most trusted assassins!"

"A thousand suicide soldiers! I refuse to believe we can't burn down a small workshop!"

"Once the fire starts, we've won!"

"This is our last chance!"

The family heads exchanged glances, seeing fear in each other's eyes, but even more so, the madness of gamblers who had lost everything.

Yes, we've already lost everything.

Why not go all in!

"Okay! Let's do it!"

"Make our move at midnight tonight!"

……

The moon is dark and the wind kills the night.

In the shadows of Chang'an, countless dark figures gathered like ghosts.

Dressed in black, with sharp blades in their mouths and earthenware pots filled with flammable oil in their hands, they stealthily moved in the same direction.

That was the backyard of the Eastern Palace.

It is now the center of wealth in the entire Tang Dynasty – the Royal Salt Workshop.

Meanwhile, inside the Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian was sitting at the table, holding a duck leg in his hand, eating it with his mouth full of oil.

Before him stood the Azure Dragon like a javelin, a bloodthirsty smirk playing on its lips.

"Your Highness, the fish has taken the bait."

Li Chengqian paused, slowly swallowed the duck leg meat, then took the handkerchief next to him and elegantly wiped his mouth.

"A thousand assassins? These old guys really went all out."

He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the dark night outside, and stretched out a big yawn.

"Perfect timing, I ate too much for dinner, I'm a little full."

"Let's go, Lao Xu."

Li Chengqian turned around and smiled at the hunched figure sharpening a knife in the shadows. The smile was innocent and pure, yet extremely cruel.

"Let's go and give these guests who have come from afar an unforgettable...cremation."