Chapter 649

So... should we just lift Prince Joshua to his feet and let his mother, the Queen, and the Finance Minister fight the Princess for him?

After hearing the elderly noble's proposal, the old aristocrats began weighing the pros and cons, sinking into deep thought.

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.

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.

But just as the Duke of Lionheart did, when you've lost the ability to be a player, you might as well sell yourself to the highest bidder.

To the Princess, who has already grown powerful, the old aristocracy holds 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!

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—creating room for maneuver.

As for what Joshua will do after ascending the throne... we'll deal with that later!

Right now, if we don't rein in the growing Princess, we'll be thrown straight into dog cages—or slaughtered en masse—and we won't even have the right to consider the future! Besides, compared to the cunning Princess, arrogant and self-important Prince Joshua is far easier to handle!

"This plan isn't bad... I agree!"

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.

Immediately after, a large number of old aristocrats whose interests were threatened and who fiercely resisted the new edicts stood up as well, expressing their support.

"I agree too."

"Seconded!"

"Let's go with this—we have no other choice!"

Once more than half the old aristocrats had voiced their stance, the more conservative ones, though still doubtful about the proposal, could not propose a better alternative and chose to tacitly accept—or simply gave in, hoping to give it a try.

"Since the vast majority agree, we'll proceed with this decision."

After surveying the nearly unanimous room, the middle-aged man presiding over the meeting took the floor and announced loudly:

"To resist 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 succession."

"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."

"Otherwise... don't blame the rest of us for showing no mercy."

The old aristocracy's collective shift toward the Prince was far too major an event to remain hidden—even as the meeting disbanded and before any action began, the Princess had already received the intelligence.

"This is troublesome..."

Holding the list of old aristocrats who had chosen to side with Joshua, the Princess frowned deeply at the long, alarming string of names.

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, and would surely seize any opportunity to stir up chaos. Now, with the backing of the old aristocracy, her disturbance would be far greater.

Unfortunately, if it were merely political scheming, that would be fine—she herself was no more clever than Joshua, and a small, well-placed trap would send her sprawling, temporarily silencing her.

But her brother, my convenient uncle, is the current Finance Minister, and he and his family are the true controllers of the Finance Force—I cannot insert myself at all.

And the one thing I need most to implement the new edicts is financial support. She doesn't even need to do much—just subtly tighten the purse strings during the succession struggle, and my new edicts will die in the womb. As for a solution...

Picking up a quill dipped in ink, the Princess wrote a few words on paper, then sighed softly.

The best solution is to deliberately provoke a minor border conflict, triggering a bloody incident.

With the precedent of the six-year-old War of National Defense, once the kingdom enters even the most basic state of military readiness, neither the Queen nor the Finance Force will dare pull any strings on me.

Otherwise, not only will Joshua never inherit the throne—if the Queen dares to cause trouble now, Father will likely climb out of his sickbed and strangle Joshua with his own hands.

Yet this solution, though it can break the deadlock and requires no direct involvement from me—just a hint to Old Hill, the Defense Minister, and he'll quietly make it happen—

... goes directly against my original purpose: to prevent the kingdom from plunging into war.

Then I must try another approach.

Picking up the quill, the Princess crossed out "war," then moved the tip sideways and circled "force through" with firm strokes.

The most suitable option now is to exploit the moment when the old aristocracy has just switched allegiance to Joshua but hasn't yet finalized their cooperation—use the Lyon family's seat in the Shangyi Academy to pass part of the new edicts.

If I can force through the portions of the new edicts that restrict the old aristocracy's privileges and facilitate commerce, then the Jiaoyi Society, which controls the Xiayi Assembly, will have leverage—and will help me push forward those parts.

Even if the Finance Force later tries to block me, it will face resistance from merchants whose interests are threatened. As the kingdom's largest source of tax revenue, the Jiaoyi Society wields considerable influence over the Finance Force—this gives me a chance to pry open its coffers and secure the full budget needed to implement the new edicts...

That's it!

After marking a check beside "force through," the Princess didn't stop—she tapped the quill against the paper, continuing to ponder.

To accomplish this, I must secure the Lyon family's seat in the Shangyi Academy and push through the new edicts—and to secure the Lyon family's seat...

I must complete a marriage alliance with the Lyon family. That means I must win over Li Ang.

Dipping the quill in ink again, the Princess wrote "Li Ang" after "force through." Having clarified her thoughts, she paused, then rang the bell to summon the waiting maid.

"Millie, isn't Wang Erde Master

"Yes, Your Highness."

The maid recalled for a moment, then nodded, and kindly asked:

"If you'd like to take a walk and clear your mind, the Morning Star Troupe has sent tickets for the highest tier of the balcony…"

"No."

After waving off the maid's suggestion, the Princess gave her order:

"Just buy me two tickets in the second-floor private boxes, with slightly better seats… and make sure they're a couple's box!"

(End of Chapter)