Chapter 331: A Thousand-Year Family

A thousand-year family, a hundred-year dynasty.

The Gao family is truly a thousand-year lineage, thriving through several dynasties, wealthy for over a millennium, with no shortage of talent within its ranks.

Rumor has it the Gao family has a Grand Master residing within, two Ninth-Rank martialists, several Eighth- and Seventh-Rank martialists, and countless First-, Second-, and Third-Rank martialists as numerous as fish crossing a river.

The Gao family's ancestral home is in Nanhuazhou, but they also maintain a centuries-old foundation in the capital, where Gao family direct-line descendants are permanently stationed to manage official connections.

Consort Gao hails from the Gao family's direct line; Prince Yan is her biological son and the ninth among the emperor's sons, renowned for his generosity and broad scholarship.

Before Prince Zhong was deposed, the Gao family remained unobtrusive; even their officials in court maintained a low profile, and Consort Gao's reputation was likewise favorable.

Since Prince Zhong's deposition, the old emperor spent two consecutive nights in Consort Gao's palace, instantly bringing Prince Yan and the Gao family into the spotlight. After all, since the old emperor took up Daoist cultivation, he had long abandoned the imperial harem; the concubines had been neglected to the point of madness.

Court ministers suddenly realized that in terms of maternal clan power, Prince Yan was no less formidable than Prince Zhong. Prince Zhong's mother had merely held the advantage of being first—having grown up alongside the old emperor, and hailing from a noble family that earned her the title of Empress.

Now that Prince Zhong had been deposed, Prince Yan's advantage became glaringly obvious, drawing the attention of court ministers.

The Gao family clearly harbored new ambitions; their officials in court began moving, making small Shitan. Consort Gao, it was said, had recently grown more conspicuous.

Since Prince Zhong's deposition, any prince with a claim to the throne could no longer afford to remain Didiao —whose heart wasn't hungry for the imperial throne? Who didn't dream of becoming Empress Dowager?

A concubine who doesn't want to be Empress Dowager isn't a good concubine!

With Gao family support, Prince Yan holds a tremendous advantage.

But a thousand-year lineage like the Gao family would never commit all its resources to backing Prince Yan—they would always keep an escape route, ensuring that even if they lost, the entire clan wouldn't be dragged down.

Such ancient clans operate under a proven, stable internal system.

For Prince Yan to gain the Gao family's strong support, he must demonstrate sufficient sincerity.

It is rumored that Prince Yan plans to take a Gao woman as his secondary consort. If he inherits the throne, this Gao secondary consort might one day surpass Prince Yan's primary wife and be named Empress—though all that remains speculative, for now, nothing is certain.

As for the Gao family attempting to snatch the Four-Communications from Prince Zhong, it may simply be a Shitan.

Chen Guanlou did not believe such a mature, traditionally Didiao family would act so irrationally.

Master Du held a different view: "Profit blinds the wise—even the most astute man can be foolish. The current emperor is living proof. The Gao family's representative in the capital belongs to the third branch of the direct line, while Consort Gao hails from the second branch. Even within a household with only two branches, chaos has erupted. How could the third branch genuinely care for the second? How could they truly act in Consort Gao's interest? Perhaps the third branch is deliberately sabotaging the second—and by extension, Prince Yan."

Chen Guanlou: …

He suddenly felt like he was watching a Haomen drama.

Master Du added: "If Prince Yan becomes emperor, it's good for the Gao family—but not necessarily for the third branch. The Gao family is already at the peak of wealth and power; whether Prince Yan sits on the throne or not, the third branch will remain rich, securing what is already theirs. If Prince Yan becomes emperor, the real beneficiaries will be the first and second branches. At that point, the third branch's interests may even suffer—for instance, the voice in the capital might shift to the second branch."

Chen Guanlou laughed: "All of this is speculation. All I know is that the more people there are, the more scheming there is. When they share the same surname, the scheming multiplies. No matter how powerful the Gao family is, their resources are finite. Generation after generation, their population has exploded. Excluding collateral branches, even the direct-line descendants alone number in the hundreds."

Limited resources must first go to the heirs of each branch. What remains trickles down to individuals—often so little that they're worse off than ordinary middle-class family members.

In such families, internal competition and betrayal are far fiercer and crueler than in ordinary clans. Backstabbing is inevitable. But previously, the Gao family remained Didiao; outsiders couldn't see the truth. Now that they've stepped into the light, these things are magnified.

The Gao family's move to seize the Four-Communications may stem from internal strife—or perhaps it's orchestrated by Prince Yan. But I lean toward it being a Shitan. If they lose, they suffer little. If they win, they gain a new revenue stream. Either way, they test the old emperor's stance and uncover how many cards Prince Zhong still holds. One move, multiple gains—why not?

After learning about the Gao family and Prince Yan, Chen Guanlou no longer viewed the Four-Communications incident as simple. The Second Young Mistress may have joined the fray merely for money, but the Gao family certainly wasn't acting for money alone.

The Hou Fu's first branch didn't intervene to stop the Second Young Mistress—they likely wanted to use this opportunity to probe the depths.

The Chief Steward is the First Master's absolute confidant.

With the First Master absent from the mansion, the Chief Steward speaks with his authority—his words carry more weight than anyone else's. Even the Dowager Lady often seeks his counsel.

The Second Young Mistress has been causing trouble for so long without the Chief Steward stopping her—likely because he's acting on the First Master's orders, letting the second branch stir up trouble and fish in muddy waters.

It's just a few coins. If the old emperor later demands accountability, they can simply return part of what they took.

Returning it all? Impossible. After all that effort, they deserve at least some profit.

In matters like this, even the old emperor has no real power.

These noble families have done similar things countless times. The old emperor rages against civil officials, throwing corrupt ministers into prison every few days—but even at his fiercest, he never dared touch the nobility. Instead, he must court them. Otherwise, how could he have deposed the Crown Prince so easily?

Had the nobility united to oppose the Crown Prince's removal, his position might still be secure.

Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was surrounded by civil officials, steeped in Confucian rhetoric, and grew distant from his true allies—the noble faction.

Add to that the disappearance of Grand Tutor Zhuang; his family lacked seniority and ability, held no influence among the nobles, and no one stepped forward to unite them at the critical moment—leaving the old emperor with an opening.

Had the First Master been in the capital—if the Crown Prince had cultivated his alliance with him—the throne might still have been his.

But it's too late now.

The First Master was not in the capital; since his leg was broken, he had distanced himself from the Eastern Palace, and Prince Zhong never sought to mend their relationship. The First Master commanded immense influence among the nobles, yet he refused to rally for Prince Zhong, choosing instead to watch from the sidelines as Prince Zhong was deposed.

The history of grudges and loyalties between them, Chen Guanlou did not know.

But he was certain: the First Master was clearly enjoying the spectacle, stoking the fire.