Chapter 331

Millennium family, century dynasty.

The Gao family is a veritable millennium family, living and multiplying for several dynasties, rich and noble for a millennium, with many talents in the clan.

According to rumors, the Gao family has a Grandmaster sitting in town, and two Ninth-Rank warriors, and there are also several Seventh and Eighth-Rank warriors. There are even more First, Second, and Third-Rank warriors, like crucian carp crossing the river.

The ancestral home of the Gao family is located in Nanhua Prefecture, but they also have a foundation in the capital that has been passed down for hundreds of years. Every year, there are Gao family direct descendants sitting in the capital, dealing with official connections.

Gao Consort was born in the direct line of the Gao family, and Prince Yan was the biological son of Gao Consort, ranking ninth among the princes. Famous for being righteous and generous, and knowledgeable.

Before Prince Zhong was deposed, the Gao family had always been low-key, and the Gao family members in the officialdom also maintained a low-key style, and Gao Consort's reputation was also good.

Since Prince Zhong was deposed, the old emperor has stayed in Gao Consort's palace for two consecutive nights, and Prince Yan and the Gao family have suddenly stood out. You know, since the old emperor practiced Taoism, he has not gone to the harem for many years. The concubines in the harem are all about to go crazy from being alone.

The courtiers suddenly discovered that if they wanted to compare the power of the maternal clan, Prince Yan was not inferior to Prince Zhong at all. Prince Zhong's mother, in fact, occupied the advantage of coming first, accompanying the old emperor to grow up, and the family was a noble, so she was named Empress.

Now that Prince Zhong is deposed, Prince Yan's advantage suddenly stands out, attracting the attention of the courtiers.

The Gao family clearly has other thoughts, and the Gao family members in the officialdom have begun to take action, testing a little bit. Gao Consort in the palace, I heard that she has also been a bit high-profile recently.

In fact, since Prince Zhong was deposed, the few princes qualified to compete for the throne, their mothers couldn't keep a low profile even if they wanted to. Who doesn't covet the emperor's throne! Who doesn't want to be the Empress Dowager!

A concubine who doesn't want to be the Empress Dowager is not a good concubine!

With the support of the Gao family, Prince Yan has a great advantage.

However, for a family like the Gao family that has been passed down for a millennium, they will definitely not invest all their resources to support Prince Yan, and will definitely leave a way out, so that even if they lose, they won't be implicated in the whole clan.

Such a millennium family has a set of stable operating rules that have been verified.

If Prince Yan wants to get the strong support of the Gao family, he must show enough sincerity.

I heard that Prince Yan is preparing to marry a Gao family girl as a side consort. If he can inherit the throne, this Gao side consort might have a chance to cross Prince Yan's wife and be named Empress. Of course, these are things for the future, and none of them count for now.

As for the Gao family wanting to snatch food from Prince Zhong's mouth, perhaps it is just a test.

Chen Guanlou didn't believe that such a mature family, a family that had always been low-key, would do such an irrational act.

Master Du had a different view. "Profit blinds the mind, even the wisest people have times of confusion. The current emperor is a living example. The Gao family member sitting in the capital this generation is the third house of the Gao family direct line. And Gao Consort in the palace was born in the second house of the Gao family direct line. A Hou Fu with only two houses is already making a mess. The Gao family has such a big family, can the third house truly plan for the second house, and truly plan for Gao Consort? Maybe the third house is deliberately dragging the second house's legs, and then dragging Prince Yan's legs."

Chen Guanlou:...

Suddenly there is a feeling of watching a big blockbuster about a wealthy family.

Master Du said again: "Prince Yan being emperor is a good thing for the Gao family, but it may not be a good thing for the Gao family's third house. The Gao family is extremely rich and noble, whether Prince Yan is emperor or not, the Gao family's third house can be rich and noble, and can obtain the benefits that originally belonged to them. Prince Yan is emperor, the real beneficiaries are the first house and the second house. At that time, the third house's interests might be damaged instead. For example, the talker in the capital might become the Gao family's second house."

Chen Guanlou laughed. "These are all guesses. Anyway, I only know that there are many people and many minds. People of the same surname have more minds. No matter how awesome the Gao family is, resources are limited. After generations of reproduction, the population has exploded. Not counting the side branches, the number of direct descendants is already very terrifying.

Limited resources must be prioritized for the heirs of each house. The remaining resources, falling on individual individuals, may not be much, and may even be inferior to the descendants of ordinary middle-class families.

This kind of family, internal competition and squeezing, is far more intense and cruel than ordinary families. Things like dragging each other's legs are definitely indispensable. It's just that before, the Gao family didn't show it, and we outsiders couldn't see the truth. Now that the Gao family stands out, some things will be magnified.

The Gao family taking the lead in snatching food from the tiger's mouth may be because of internal squeezing, or it may be instructed by Prince Yan behind the scenes. But I am more inclined to think this is a test. If they lose, the Gao family won't lose much. If they win, they can take down Sitong and have one more way to make money. Regardless of winning or losing, at least they can test the old emperor's attitude and test how many cards Prince Zhong still has. Killing many birds with one stone, why not do it."

After understanding the Gao family and Prince Yan, Chen Guanlou no longer looked at the Sitong matter simply. The Second Young Mistress joining in the fun might just be for money, but the Gao family definitely wasn't just for money.

The First House of the Hou Fu didn't come forward to stop the Second Young Mistress, probably wanting to take this opportunity to test the depth.

The Great Steward is the absolute confidant of the Master.

The Master is not in the mansion, the Great Steward is the spokesperson for the Master's will, and his words are more useful than anyone else's. Many times, the Old Mistress also has to listen to the Great Steward's opinions.

The Second Young Mistress has been tossing for so long, and the Great Steward hasn't spoken, probably because he received the Master's instructions to let the second house toss and fish in troubled waters.

It's just a few dollars, if the old emperor really wants to pursue it, he can just spit out a part of the money swallowed into his stomach.

It's impossible to spit it all out; after working hard once, it's good to earn some hard-earned money.

This kind of thing, sometimes the old emperor has no way.

These nobles, they have done similar things many times. When the old emperor was tossing the most fiercely, he never thought about moving the nobles, but had to find ways to win over the nobles. Otherwise, how could the Crown Prince be deposed so easily.

As long as the nobles were willing to unite against the Crown Prince deposition, the Crown Prince position might have been saved.

It's a pity, the Crown Prince was surrounded by a group of civil officials, learned too much of the "Zhi Hu Zhe Ye", and instead alienated the relationship with the real backer, the noble group.

Plus, Grand Tutor Zhuang disappeared, and the others in the Zhuang family had insufficient qualifications and limited ability, lacking the right to speak among the nobles, and no one came forward to contact the nobles at the critical moment to reach a consensus of interests, so that the old emperor drilled a loophole.

If the Master had been in the capital at that time, if the Crown Prince had been able to win over the Master on weekdays, the Crown Prince position would have been very likely to be saved.

Unfortunately, everything was too late.

The Master was not in the capital, and since his leg was broken, he had been alienated from the Crown Prince, and Prince Zhong had never thought about repairing the relationship between the two sides. The Master had a call-up power that responded to everyone in the nobles, but he refused to shake the flag for Prince Zhong, but stood by and watched Prince Zhong being deposed.

Chen Guanlou didn't know the grievances and hatreds inside.

But he was sure that the Master was clearly watching the show and didn't think it was a big deal.