Capital City, Yun Residence, Council Hall.
Gathered here were the Yun family elders and the highest-ranking officials of the clan.
“The high-intensity search that has lasted nearly two weeks still hasn’t uncovered any trace of Prince Kang.”
“Hmph, it’s been so long, and there’s still no news of Li Yuluo. At this point, her ashes must have cooled completely.”
The speaker was a burly, rugged-looking man—Second Elder Yun Tai of the Yun family.
“Now that the Li family’s population has dwindled to just Li Yuhan alone, this is the perfect opportunity for us to strike.”
“The Li family has held the throne for over six hundred years; it’s time for a change.”
However, some conservatives held a different opinion.
“If Li Yuhan is gone, there are still the other four great families. The struggle for the throne will inevitably be a bloody storm. Do any of you here truly have confidence that our Yun family can defeat the others?”
At this moment, the middle-aged man seated at the main position, Yun Hai, House Master of the Yun family, who had been silent the entire time, spoke.
“Don’t forget, the current Empress of Great Zhou is one of our Yun family—she’s the daughter of our Seventh Brother. Back then, because Zhiruo had no cultivation talent, she was forced to marry Li Yuhan, that useless man. Li Yuhan has no heirs; as long as Yun Zhiruo can conceive, that child will be the sole legitimate heir of Great Zhou. When that time comes, there will be no need to keep Li Yuhan around.”
Throughout Great Zhou’s history, every emperor’s empress or noble consort must come from the five great families.
This tradition remained intact even until the thirty-fourth generation—Li Yuhan’s generation.
Li Yuhan’s empress was a junior member of the Yun family, and due to her poor cultivation aptitude but considerable beauty, she was favored by Li Yuhan.
Ye Xiya of the Ye family was similar.
She was a cousin of Ye Yecheng and, with her stunning looks, became Li Yuhan’s noble consort.
“Indeed, as the House Master said, this plan is the most secure. But Li Yuhan has no heirs after so many years, and likely never will. Getting Zhiruo pregnant with his child is harder than reaching the heavens.”
The Yun family members all nodded in agreement.
The Great Zhou royal family’s decline in population—each generation fewer than the last—is due to their extremely low fertility rates.
Counting six generations back from Li Yuhan, every Great Zhou emperor had a Yun family woman as empress or consort.
The other four great families only managed to send daughters to the palace every two or three generations.
Each Yun woman who entered the palace carried a family-assigned task—to weaken the emperor’s ability to produce heirs.
They would do everything to win the emperor’s favor while adding sterilizing ingredients to his meals, incense, and tea.
These drugs were difficult to detect, so their effects were subtle, but like water dripping on stone, over time, the small effects accumulated.
The Li royal family, once capable of producing over thirty princes and princesses at its peak, now only has the two brothers Li Yuhan and Li Yuluo—all due to the secret manipulations by the Yun family over the past century.
As for the Li family branches scattered across Great Zhou’s territories during the dynasty’s founding—the descendants of local feudal princes—they couldn’t escape either.
Under pressure from the five great families, the Li family emperors abolished the hereditary titles of local princes.
Apart from the main royal line, the other Li family branches inevitably declined and never rose again.
Some local princes could not tolerate the five great families and rebelled, but they were quickly suppressed.
After long-term sabotage by the five great families, only two members remain in the Great Zhou royal family, and one is mysteriously missing.
Though Li Yuhan’s blood also carries that of the five great families, he truly is the last Li.
“Now that Li Yuluo has been killed, this is our Yun family’s best chance to seize the throne. If we hesitate any longer, by the time the other families react, it will be too late.”
“That’s why we need Yun Zhiruo to get pregnant immediately. Once Li Yuhan dies, the child in her womb will be the sole heir. According to Great Zhou’s rites, the new emperor will be a minor, and the Empress Dowager will act as regent. By then, Great Zhou will still be our Yun family’s backyard.”
“But how long until she’s pregnant? A month? Half a year? Do we have that kind of time? And what about Li Yuhan—that sickly wretch? You really expect him to produce a healthy heir?”
“Then what do you propose? A forced takeover? Don’t forget, the Hua family has the backing of the Hundred Flowers Sect, the Ji family is supported by the Divine Phoenix Sect. Even the Palace Master of the Five Spirits Sect is surnamed Feng. The once-protective Pleasure Sect for our Yun family no longer exists. In terms of backing, we’re only stronger than the Ye family. Without a legitimate reason, who will accept you? Although sects are forbidden from interfering in secular dynastic succession, if the others rely on their sect support, do you really think the Yun family stands a chance?”
The Yun family members argued heatedly, each with valid points.
At this moment, House Master Yun Hai looked toward Yun Hong, who sat quietly in the corner.
“Seventh Brother, Zhiruo is your daughter. Have you received any recent news from her?”
Yun Hong felt deeply troubled inside.
Among all his brothers, his cultivation talent was mediocre at best.
At thirty-five years old, he had only reached Qi Refinement Stage Seven.
His daughter’s talent was even worse, utterly unfit for cultivation.
To prevent her from being looked down upon within the clan, he had no choice but to send her to the palace to become Li Yuhan’s empress.
Listening to everyone’s talk, it was clear they treated their precious daughters as nothing more than egg-laying hens.
Yun Hong dared not express his anger.
After a moment’s pause, Yun Hong replied,
“Reporting to the House Master, about a month ago, Zhiruo sent a letter home. She said Li Yuhan has no children but is desperate to have one. To obtain a son, he hired a mysterious charlatan as his Court Physician. He claims this ‘doctor’ can perform rituals and prayers to the heavens to grant him a child. At the same time, Li Yuhan has been visiting the harem more frequently than before.”
Yun Hai ordered,
“Send someone to investigate the background of this Court Physician.”
At this, another family official who served in the court spoke up.
“House Master, rest assured—I checked this man long ago. He’s nothing but a fraud from the underworld. He usually wears a mask and puts on a ghostly act. He can only fool a fool like Li Yuhan.”
“Li Yuhan has taken so many medicines over the years, not even immortals could save him. Even if we don’t kill him, the Li family will probably end with him. Frankly, I think we should exploit this Court Physician.”
Fourth Elder Yun Shang suggested.
“Fourth Brother, do you have a plan?”
“Since Li Yuhan hired that charlatan for ritual blessings, we can publicly announce that the Empress is pregnant. We secretly collude with trusted Court Physicians and bribe the charlatan so outsiders will believe the Empress carries the dragon seed. Even if the emperor dies, the other four families will have fewer complaints. When the time comes for the birth, we simply find a newborn baby to substitute.”
This plan satisfied the radicals who wanted to eliminate Li Yuhan and the conservatives who wanted a legitimate heir.
The Yun family members all expressed approval.
“To be safe, our younger generation in the clan should also hurry and produce children. It’s better for the Yun family’s own to sit on the throne than to let others benefit. Leaving everything else aside, just by the fact that our Yun family produced a Transcendent stage cultivator five hundred years ago, we have the most legitimate claim to the Great Zhou throne.”
House Master Yun Hai nodded and said,
“In that case, Fourth Brother, this matter is yours to handle. Go and bribe that Court Physician. If he doesn’t cooperate, he’ll have to suffer some consequences.”
What the Yun family did not know was that the so-called charlatan Court Physician had been dead and gone for months.
The current Court Physician was just a disguise played by Li Yuhan himself.