Cough~
With a violent coughing, emperor spat dark blood. His voice was faint, "Zhuo Fan, you're a smart man and know that even when choosing a puppet, it has to have some value. Crown Prince is narrow-minded, it's only a matter of time before he slips and throws everything into chaos. Ha-ha-ha…"
Zhuo Fan pondered. Crown Prince looked at the emperor like he wanted to choke the dying old man.
[For god's sake, am I your son or what? I get that you won't give me the throne, but can you at least stay out of this when it's not your call who the next emperor is? Stop kicking. Just what did I ever do to you that you won't even let me be a puppet?]
Crown Prince blamed his fate to the point of crying.
The emperor grinned, "Crown Prince, it's not that I hate you. It's just that you'll fail at the job. At best you'd have been a muddled emperor. But now, with the situation calling for a puppet, one needs extreme caution. The slightest impulse might very well be the end of Yuwen clan!"
"What end? Is that how useless you think I am, old man?" Crown Prince had had enough of his mockery and went to the dying emperor to shake him in tears.
[Why doesn't imperial father ever believe that I can be a good emperor?]
The emperor's only reaction was to smile as his spoiled son spit like a dummy.
Even as his life ebbed away, his smile never lost its brilliance…
"Imperial father!" Fatty shouted with a trembling lip.
Crown Prince watched the familiar face, feeling a sudden sense of loss. He was ready for the emperor's death when he poisoned his father, yet experiencing it proved to be painful nonetheless.
Zhuo Fan watched it all with a cold eye, "Fatty, you should handle your family's matters. In two days, you'll sit on the throne."
The others gave the passing emperor one last look before following Zhuo Fan out.
Crown Prince slumped to the ground, a mess of disappointment inside, "Why, why was the imperial father like that? Zhuo Fan was the same. Why did they choose you?"
Wiping the tears, fatty's gaze hardened, "Master, for Crown Prince's heinous crimes against our nation, patricide and regicide, seize him!"
"Understood!"
Fang Qiubai pointed and sword energy entered Crown Prince, knocking him out.
Fatty still held on to his father's body, his eyes swimming in tears…
As Zhuo Fan exited the palace, Li Jingtian asked, "Steward Zhuo, was the emperor certain, even on his deathbed, that we'd be helping the Yuwen clan ascend the throne, even as a puppet?"
"Of course. This empire has three sects behind it." Zhuo Fan huffed, "And to keep them at its back, the empire has to keep handing over resources. Kicking Yuwen clan off the throne for someone else will bring about unrest, be it willing or not, affecting the tribute to the sects. To keep Tianyu at peace, they must have the Yuwen clan on display.
"But what the emperor did was against the three sects' bottom line. From the Quanrong's confessions, the emperor would cede a tenth of the lands, the one with the most spirit mines. It's the same as cutting at the empire's three guardian sects' interests. The three sects have lost all trust in the Yuwen clan. They will find another party to be the true emperor while it remains a pawn. That's where we come in."
Li Jingtian smiled, "Does that mean the Luo clan will be the true emperor of Tianyu and will control the lands?"
"Of course. I turned the war to fight back the invaders into quite the buzz, adding to our fame. There's no one else like us in Tianyu. Becoming rulers is justified. The key is to take control of everything the imperial family had, spirit mines, military, commerce and so on. With all of that in our grasp, we won't even need figureheads in court." Zhuo Fan instructed.
The Luo clan bobbed their heads in glee.
[He-he-he, from this day on, the empire is ours!]
"There's also the task of reorganizing the Dugu Army as our private army. It will be led by the Four Tigers of Tianyu, their generals…" Zhuo Fan turned to the grieving tigers and Yun Shuang, "What's wrong with you?"
Yun Shuang sighed, "When godfather died, I vowed to take revenge. Now that all the enemies are gone, I have lost all the drive to hate and feel morose. The emperor is a sad man, giving his life for the imperial family, only for all his efforts to be in vain."
"Yeah, Dugu Army vowed loyalty to His Majesty as well. Who'd have thought we'd be betrayed yet fought in his name. Ha-ha-ha, a cruel irony." Dugu Army sighed.
The other tigers echoed his sentiment.
Zhuo Fan said, "Nitpicking bunch. Enemies are enemies and friends are friends. If your enemy lives on, are you content to watch your friends die? Nothing but a load of brainless fools."
Zhuo Fan flicked his hand and left, "You go on. I have things to do."
And was gone.
Yun Shuang and the tigers cocked their heads. [True.]
Anyone would sympathize with the emperor's cruel fate, but he was still an enemy. Recalling how he had their godfather killed had them gnash their teeth in hatred.
The five saw Zhuo Fan with more esteem, [Zhuo Fan is a wise man, his gaze always seeing the truth.]
[Letting enemies roam free will get our friends killed. It will bring us more pain…]
Zhuo Fan turned to a dark building, where a man was waiting for him inside with a bow.
"Steward Zhuo, allow me to congratulate you on your complete victory, in grasping this nation and becoming its true ruler." The youth in gray robes paid his respects.
Zhuo Fan smiled, "I'll have to congratulate brother You Ming as well for figuring it out and choosing my very glorious bridge; for your far sight. Your future is limitless, ha-ha-ha…"
"Oh you're too kind. I have Steward Zhuo to thank for his kind reminder and for lighting up the murky darkness. You were right, I can't become a great mind cooped up in one place. I needed to elevate my condition to observe the powers that move across the board. "
You Ming's eyes lit up, "Revenge for my master blinded me, while master had the house tying him down. Now, without such weights dragging me down, I can roam the lands free. Uncaring for favors and enmities, for gains and losses. My gaze can now see the horizon."
Zhuo Fan nodded, "You have grown to the ranks of Leng Wuchang and Zhuge Changfeng. I can now form new checks and balances inside the Luo clan."
"Does Steward Zhuo want me, Zhuge Changfeng and Leng Wuchang to stand together?" You Ming perked up.
He knew Leng Wuchang was on Zhuo Fan's side and now he had come here for Zhuge Changfeng. This young mastermind had endless respect for his seniors.
What he never expected was Zhuo Fan giving him such a lofty position inside the Luo clan, of the same rank as the other two.
As for the future of Luo clan, he had no doubt whatsoever.
Against Zhuo Fan's shifty mind, imperial family and the seven houses fell like a tower of cards, with Luo clan climbing over their bodies to its rightful place as the supreme lord of Tianyu.
[That will be the best stage for my skills!]
You Ming's heart jumped in joy…
"Take this first." You Ming took the Bloodworm.
Zhuo Fan nodded, "Where is he?"
"If you'd kindly follow me, Steward Zhuo." You Ming led the way.
On the second floor, Zhuo Fan met an aged man laying in bed, Zhuge Changfeng.
But with how stiff he looked, it gave the impression of him being dead.
Zhuo Fan quirked an eyebrow and You Ming fed the old man a pill. With a light cough, Zhuge Changfeng woke up, "I… where am I?"
"Prime Minister Zhuge, how has life treated you lately?" Zhuo Fan smiled.
Zhuge Changfeng frowned at Zhuo Fan and then noticed You Ming. He moved his gaze from one to another but the fog hadn't been uplifted, "You two… what is this? Shouldn't I be dead?"