Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

Xia Qiming believed he had never dared to underestimate Renwang!

But he never imagined that anyone in the court would side with Prince Ren!

Ironically, the prime minister whom we all jointly recommended has now brazenly sided with King Ren!

This was undoubtedly a slap in the face to himself!

"hehe..."

"I've utterly disgraced myself, doing all the work for someone else!"

At this moment, Xia Qiming was filled with rage and really wanted to kill someone...

Meanwhile, in Xia Linyuan's residence, his anger was also burning fiercely.

"My dear brother, you have given me a wonderful surprise."

"No rush. I'll show you that restoring your right to the throne doesn't mean you can sit on it!"

Having said that, a surge of energy erupted from his body, sweeping across the entire mansion.

If there were any outsiders here, they would probably be completely intimidated.

Because his current cultivation level has actually reached the Grandmaster realm.

At this moment, Xing Wudi had a bitter expression on his face in the Grand Tutor's mansion.

"I never expected that someone would be one step ahead of me."

He couldn't help but secretly blame Bai Wujin and Hong Liuxian. If the two of them had stood up at the same time as him, they wouldn't have lost the initiative.

In the struggle for the throne, especially for princes like Prince Ren who have no power in the court, the difference between offering help in times of need and adding to someone's already good fortune is enormous.

"Meng Zhou, Meng Zhou, everyone underestimated you!"

His sons, standing beside him, looked at each other in disbelief at what they had just heard.

What does it mean to be one step ahead of him?

Could it be that my father...

"Father, have you been planning to side with Niou all along?"

The eldest brother couldn't help but ask the question that had been troubling his brothers.

Xing Wudi first nodded, then shook his head, and then let out a long sigh.

"Why..."

"Actually, I saw through Niou's ambition a long time ago. I was just waiting for him to reveal his true colors before I would completely side with him."

"Unfortunately, because of the Grand Tutor and the Grand Protector, I was a step too late!"

"Meng Zhou is indeed one of the few ministers who rose from humble beginnings."

"I'm willing to bet everything on Nioh's future!"

In fact, the reason why Xing Wudi did not take that step back then was not only due to the other two people.

Another reason is his family background; after all, the Xingfu family is a genuine official family.

This is a different product from aristocratic families. In official families, the official position comes first, and the family comes later. Their inheritance and prosperity depend entirely on the officials in the family.

Their power, status, and strength all depended on the emperor's bestowal.

Unlike aristocratic families, they established their families first, and then held official positions. Officials within the clan were merely a means to maintain their status and power, and could not determine the life or death of the clan.

Therefore, the reason why Xing Wudi hesitated for half a step at the beginning was because he was afraid of betting on the wrong target in this struggle among the kings.

He not only had to consider himself, but also the family behind him.

In official families, once no one holds an official position in a certain generation, the decline is extremely rapid.

At this moment, his sons, upon hearing their father's words, showed their shock on their faces.

"It's only a matter of time before everyone has to choose sides. Looking at everyone in the court, they will all eventually have to choose a side."

"It's just that most people are waiting now, waiting for some princes to be eliminated first."

"The fewer the number of princes, the greater the chance that everyone will bet on them."

"Among those gentlemen like Meng Zhou, he is the first to dare to take sides now."

...

At this moment, a figure rushed into the palace where Consort Hua was staying.

"Your Majesty, great news! Incredibly good news!"

The servants, by this time, were already used to the loud shouting of the newcomers.

Consort Hua's voice rang out with doting affection, "How many times have I told you? You don't act like a girl at all."

The newcomer's stunningly beautiful face revealed a fawning smile, and she playfully stuck out her tongue.

He immediately said, "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has pledged allegiance to His Highness!"

boom!!

The shock reverberated through everyone's minds in the palace, even Consort Hua looked utterly astonished.

She had previously worried that although her son had regained his right to succeed to the throne, he had no foundation in the court and would have no way to compete with the other princes.

As a result, the prime minister took the initiative to side with his son?

"Tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

Living in the inner palace, these concubines rarely paid attention to what was happening outside.

...

In the Hall of State Affairs of the Imperial Palace, Emperor Xia let out a deep breath.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud; this child had truly given the world a tremendous surprise.

Now that Meng Zhou's faction has pledged allegiance to him in the court, his biggest weakness among the princes has been addressed.

Moreover, this time the compensation was a bit too much. As the emperor, Emperor Xia was certainly aware of Meng Zhou's allegiance, which not only brought great assistance to King Ren.

It also brought him tremendous trouble, making him the common enemy of all the princes.

Hopefully, you can overcome their attacks one by one!

Xia Hongwu could no longer favor Xia Zhaoyan, since Xia Zhaoyan had regained his eligibility to succeed to the throne. If he were to show the same favoritism as before, it would cause great chaos...

...

The prime minister's choice of sides stirred up a huge wave throughout the court and the country.

This made the situation in the imperial court even more unpredictable.

However, Xia Zhaoyan did not care about the outside world's discussions.

At this moment, Mu Wenhan was reporting the situation in his residence.

"Your Highness, I personally went to Qingzhou, and the Lu family did indeed take in the remnants of the Zhang family!"

"Based on this reasoning, the Sima family of Lingwu Prefecture and the Shi family of Riyue Prefecture should be the same."

"Should I make another trip to the other two states?"

After thinking for a while, Xia Zhaoyan shook his head.

He got up from his seat, put his hands behind his back, and went outside the study, looking out into the world.

Mu Wenhan quickly followed behind, standing two steps behind him.

After a while, Xia Zhaoyan slowly spoke.

"No need, making an example of one family is enough."

"The Prime Minister has pledged allegiance to me, and now I am in the eye of the storm."

"Dealing with one powerful family is manageable, but dealing with three at once would likely trigger widespread chaos!"

"The powerful families are right there; they can't run away anyway!"

"I can go and reap their harvest at any time."

Mu Wenhan nodded in agreement. He was an old-fashioned man and didn't particularly like radical approaches.

"Your Highness is right!"

"This is the first time you have made an example of someone since you regained your right to succeed to the throne; you must be careful to strike a balance."

"It can't be ineffective, but it also can't incite public outrage."

...

"That's right. Although I always strive for every minute, I am not so arrogant as to think that I can sweep away the entire Great Xia right now."

Xia Zhaoyan turned around and then gave instructions to Mu Wenhan.

"There's no rush to deal with the Lu family. Right now, someone in my Baiyujing Northern Wilderness branch is probably up to something."

"We'll take action against the Lu family after this is over!"

"Here's what we'll do: you secretly deploy your branches across the country to keep a close watch on the Lu family's various outposts!"

"Once we take action against the Lu family, we must ensure that every single branch is successfully taken down!"

Mu Wenhan bowed and accepted the order, then asked with a worried expression.

"Your Highness, should the Heavenly Punishment Division personally intervene in the matter concerning Baiyujing?"