[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-m-the-cleanup-crew":3,"chapter-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-247":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I'm the Cleanup Crew!",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2286083,4472,"Chapter 247: The Urgent Priority Is","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-247",247,"\u003Cp>So... should we just lift Prince Joshua up and let the Queen and the Finance Minister fight the Princess for him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hearing the elderly noble’s proposal, the old aristocrats began weighing the pros and cons, sinking into deep thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the majority of the old aristocracy to shift allegiance toward the royal family seeking to curb their power—that sounds like the stupidest idea imaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, Prince Joshua and the Queen are also members of the royal family; siding with him would still bring heavy constraints. If he truly defeats the Princess and succeeds in becoming the royal family’s official “representative,” he too will ruthlessly target the old aristocracy—the situation won’t change at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as the Duke of Lionheart did, when you’ve lost the ability to be a player, try selling yourself to the highest bidder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To the Princess, who has already grown powerful, we old aristocrats hold little value; but to Prince Joshua, whose claim to the throne is precarious and who might soon be “married off” across the sea to some monkey queen, our support is a gift in the snow!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To gain strength against the Princess, Joshua and the Queen behind him will spare no effort to court us, voluntarily cede benefits, and offer extraordinarily generous terms—leaving room for maneuver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for what Joshua will do after ascending the throne... we’ll deal with that later!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right now, if we don’t rein in the growing Princess, we’ll all be thrown into dog cages—or slaughtered en masse—with no chance even to consider the future! Besides, compared to the cunning Princess, arrogant and self-important Prince Joshua is far easier to handle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This plan isn’t bad... I agree!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young noble who previously wanted to eliminate the Lyon siblings was the first to stand up again, voicing his support for the new proposal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Immediately, a large number of old aristocrats whose interests were threatened and who fiercely resisted the new edicts followed suit, expressing their support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I agree too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seconded!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let’s go with this—we have no other choice!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once more than half the old aristocrats had voiced their stance, the more conservative ones, though still hesitant, could not propose a better alternative and chose to tacitly accept—or simply decided to give it a try—joining in their assent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Since the majority supports it, we’ll proceed with this decision.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After surveying the nearly unanimous room, the middle-aged man presiding over the meeting took the floor and announced loudly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To oppose the Princess’s new edicts, from now on we will collectively align ourselves with the Queen and do our utmost to support Prince Joshua’s ascension.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also, let me be clear: among the ninety-two noble houses present today, even those who disagree must maintain unity. Even if you don’t support Prince Joshua, do not sabotage us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Otherwise... don’t blame others for being merciless.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old aristocracy’s collective shift toward the Prince was too massive to conceal; even before they began acting, the Princess had already received the intelligence the moment their gathering disbanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is troublesome...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Holding the list of old aristocrats who had chosen to side with Joshua, the Princess frowned deeply at the long, alarming roster of names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving Joshua aside, she knew the ambitious stepmother all too well—even without this turn of events, the woman would never abandon her plan to make Joshua heir; she would find some opportunity to cause chaos. Now, with the old aristocracy’s backing, her disturbance would be far greater.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, if it were merely political scheming, that would be fine; for a woman as dim-witted as Joshua, she only needed to dig a modest pit and watch the woman stumble into it, bruised and humbled, until she fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But her brother—her convenient uncle—is the current Finance Minister of the Caizheng Force, and he and his family are the true controllers of the department; she cannot insert herself at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And to implement her new edicts, she needs financial support above all else. She doesn’t even need to do much—just subtly block the financial pipeline during the succession struggle, and her entire reform agenda will die in the womb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for a way out...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Picking up a quill dipped in ink, she wrote a few words on paper, then sighed softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The best solution is to deliberately provoke a minor border conflict, triggering a bloody incident.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With the precedent of the six-year-old National Defense War, once the kingdom enters even the most basic state of military readiness, neither the Queen nor the Caizheng Force will dare pull her strings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, not only will Joshua’s succession be impossible—if the Queen dares to cause trouble now, her father might rise from his sickbed and strangle Joshua with his own hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this solution, though effective and requiring no direct involvement from her—merely a hint to Old Hill, the Defense Minister, and he could quietly make it happen—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>...violates her very purpose in pushing the new edicts: to prevent the kingdom from plunging into war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she must try another approach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She crossed out “war” with her quill, then shifted the tip slightly and circled “force through” with firm pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The most suitable option now is to exploit the window before the old aristocrats have fully negotiated their alliance with Joshua, and use the Lyon family’s seat in the Shangyi Academy to pass part of the new edicts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If she can force through the portions of the edicts that restrict old aristocratic privileges and facilitate commerce, the Jiaoyi Society controlling the lower house will find leverage—and help her push forward those parts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the Caizheng Force later tries to block her, it will face counterpressure from merchants whose interests are threatened; as the kingdom’s largest source of tax revenue, the Jiaoyi Society wields considerable influence over the Caizheng Force—giving her a chance to pry open its coffers and secure the full budget needed to implement the reforms...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That’s it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After checking “force through,” she did not stop writing; instead, she tapped the quill against the paper, continuing to ponder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To accomplish this, she must secure the Lyon family’s seat in the Shangyi Academy and push through her edicts—and to secure the Lyon family’s seat...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She must complete a marriage alliance with the Lyon family—she must win over Li Ang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dipping her quill again, she wrote “Li Ang” after “force through.” With her thoughts now clear, the Princess paused, then rang the bell to summon the waiting maid:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Millie, isn’t Wang Erde Master’s Morning Star Troupe performing recently?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, Your Highness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The maid recalled and nodded, then kindly asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’d like to relax, the Morning Star Troupe sent us the best-tier balcony tickets...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She waved off the maid’s suggestion and ordered:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Buy me two slightly better seats in the second-floor private boxes... and make sure they’re a couple’s box.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1134,"2026-06-20T03:18:31.831Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","51f83991e9916d7209da856ada8c68a7f2f4a5fb2254a963b1443fb378f0cb79","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-248","i-m-the-cleanup-crew-chapter-246",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-m-the-cleanup-crew-cover.jpg"]