"Jiang Sikong."

"Prince You."

In front of the Ziwei Hall, the two prominent figures of the Jiang family and the Ji family met, both displaying friendly expressions, fully embodying the years of cooperation between the two clans.

Prince You, this ghost cultivator, appeared more lively, expressing his delight at seeing Jiang Sikong.

As for Jiang Li, he had always been sincere and never showed a bad face.

"Why has Earth Uncle not come?" Jiang Li asked with a smile.

"The ancestor believes that the Princess has also worked hard for Great Zhou. Although she mistakenly trusted the wrong people, she has contributed, and shouldn't be blamed too harshly. He went to stop the royal elders and advised Zong Zheng not to chastise the Princess too severely at this moment," Prince You replied with a smile.

This statement made it seem like Earth Uncle was quite a good person.

But in reality, Zong Zheng's offense is a royal affair. The Princess simply married the wrong person, tarnishing the royal reputation, providing an excuse to keep the officials out. Especially since Zong Zheng currently supports the Princess.

Conversely, if it wasn't a royal affair, it would become an official matter, and even accusing her of colluding with the Great Venerable of the Devil God Sect might seem mild. As for the crime, naturally, they would apply the heaviest punishment first and then find ways to negotiate back and forth.

After finishing these words, Prince You's smile became more genuine, and he turned to look towards the palace gates, saying, "It seems the Great Sacrificial Officer won't come today."

The Imperial College Sacrificial Officer either wouldn't come or would arrive early. He didn't have the habit of making a grand entrance. If he intended to attend court, he would fulfill his duty as an official.

Given that he's not yet seen, it indicates that the Sacrificial Officer won't be attending.

Indeed, with matters concerning the Great Venerable, even if the Sacrificial Officer supports the Princess, he wouldn't stand by her, especially since the Imperial College has already backstabbed once before.

"It seems that this time, Imperial Historian Xiao Zhi will attend on behalf of the Great Sacrificial Officer," Prince You laughed, "Sikong, perhaps I should go in first and let you wait for Imperial Historian?"

The implication was naturally to make room, allowing Jiang Li to curry favor with the Imperial Historian to gain some bias.

Of course, it was a jest; no matter how desperate Jiang Li was, he wouldn't stoop to curry favor with an Imperial Historian, especially one who is merely a fourth-rank official, despite his status as one of the Three Dukes, the Jiang family head, and the Gongsun family son-in-law.

In others' eyes, trying to win over the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer might be more appropriate.

Curry favor with an Imperial Historian, and people would think less of Jiang Li.

Prince You knew Jiang Li wouldn't do such a thing, yet he didn't mind mocking Jiang Li in this way.

At this moment, having become political enemies and unable to resort to force, it's only natural to use all verbal strategies to attack and disturb the opponent's emotions. Any minor impact could be beneficial.

Sometimes, the so-called dialogues between prominent figures are just simple and blunt, lacking sophistication, all about attacks.

"That's unnecessary."

Jiang Sikong, broad-minded, didn't take Prince You's targeting to heart, gently shook his head, and also looked towards the palace gates, "The person is here."

The person indeed arrived.

But it was neither the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer nor Imperial Historian Xiao Zhi.

Suddenly, the bright heavens had a moment of darkness, and amidst the confusion, the wailing of ghosts was fleeting. An elder with white hair and a long beard appeared abruptly at a distance, causing approaching officials to scatter, not daring to cast their gaze upon him.

It was Earth Uncle.

"It seems the Imperial Historian won't come either," Jiang Li remarked with a light laugh as he looked at Earth Uncle.

Without the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer, spokesperson Xiao Zhi didn't attend either; the higher-ups of the Imperial College had temporarily left the Divine Capital.

Without the Sacrificial Officer to mediate, Jiang Li and Earth Uncle faced off again.

Last time, Earth Uncle had sustained prior injuries, and Jiang Li and Tianxuan together suppressed him. This time, Earth Uncle was in prime condition; with Tianxuan absent and having advanced in the "Yin Talisman Scripture," he naturally didn't fear this rebellious scion of the Jiang family.

A vast shadow flickered behind Earth Uncle, with the Innate Eight Sceneries appearing and disappearing. In the moment they met, there was an instantaneous clash of Qi mechanisms.

Prince You's expression changed drastically, suddenly taking a step back, with faint ripples where he once stood, silent and invisible, yet extremely dangerous.

Even though reason and justice demand avoiding combat, if Prince You couldn't speak at all, that in itself could be deemed a victory of sorts.

The last time, Jiang Li had to act to severely injure Prince You; this time, he didn't even need to lift a finger to suppress him. Even attempting to engage Jiang Li in verbal sparring at court required enough strength.

At this moment, Prince You realized that he no longer qualified to spar verbally with Jiang Li; Earth Uncle did.

Earth Uncle, with a cold gaze at Jiang Li, lightly waved his sleeve and proceeded directly into the hall.

When he mentioned stopping the royal clan elders, he was the oldest one himself, needing only a single word to accomplish his desires, not requiring personal intervention.

In reality, Earth Uncle had always been hidden in the shadows, with Prince You appearing to test Jiang Li's depths. hadn't figured him out yet, they received reports that the Imperial College Sacrificial Officer had taken his students out of the Divine Capital, forcing Earth Uncle to step forward.

Without the Sacrificial Officer, the notorious Jiang Sikong was likely to employ some unconventional tactics.

For the sake of justice, it is unwise to resort to violence, but it does not mean that force has completely lost its utility.

Thus, the Earth Uncle appeared.

Jiang Li saw this and refrained from saying more, offering a slight smile as he walked alongside the Earth Uncle into the Ziwei Hall.

Behind the two of them were Prince You and the officials. The officials were divided into three groups; the first two groups entered the hall alongside the Earth Uncle and Jiang Li, respectively, followed by the neutral group.

The space within the Ziwei Hall gradually filled, silent and heavy.

Only when all the officials were in place did a voice announce from outside, "Second Prince arrives."

With a stern visage and a light beard, the Second Prince stepped into the hall, approaching the Earth Uncle from behind.

"Princess arrives."

Wearing a crimson phoenix robe, the Princess entered from the rear hall, expressionless, to take her seat beside the Dragon Throne on a chair arranged specifically for her, the Vermilion Bird Throne.

According to protocol, the next step should have been the officials bowing to the Princess Regent, but the Ziwei Hall today remained extraordinarily silent.

It was not only the officials but also the Princess herself who maintained an expressionless demeanor, like a divine statue.

In the soundless silence, the Earth Uncle, as an elder, was the first to speak.

"In recent years, the Great Zhou has suffered frequent disasters, first losing the throne, then uprising by the traitors, and now even the Great Venerable of the Devil God Sect has managed to disguise himself and infiltrate the royal clan."

In a grave tone, the Earth Uncle said, "When the Emperor was present, the Divine Capital had the protection of the Heavenly Decree, making it difficult even for the Supreme to act recklessly within the Imperial City. Yet, the Great Venerable pre-emptively ambushed in the palace, attacking the Emperor. I now suspect that the Great Venerable deceived the Emperor by assuming the identity of the Long Prince Consort, preventing the Emperor from detecting his malicious intentions, leading to his exploitation by the Great Venerable."

My goodness, this directly throws the biggest blame onto Feng Manlou.

Indeed, the Emperor was ambushed by the Great Venerable, falling into his trap, but officially, the Emperor had relocated to the South Garden due to illness, making it challenging to govern.

The Great Venerable did indeed take the blame then, but the court could not realistically declare to the world that the Great Venerable trapped the Emperor, as it would incite chaos across the Nine Provinces. Consequently, this blame was never directly placed on the Great Venerable.

Yet now, the Earth Uncle has unveiled this and directly stated the loss of the throne, placing the blame firmly on the Great Venerable.

The Earth Uncle's words are well-founded and irrefutable.

The Emperor stationed in the Imperial City, even with his waning humanity, would not allow the Great Venerable to act unabated unless, like the Heavenly Monarch, he was extremely familiar with the Imperial City and had ample time and opportunity to make arrangements.

As the Sect Leader of the Dinghu Sect, the Heavenly Monarch had no difficulty accessing the Imperial City, enabling the assassination of Jiang Tao, the former Family Head of the Jiang family, and allowing the Emperor to suffer Heaven's Punishment.

Feng Manlou, the Long Prince Consort, though looked down upon by some, found it even easier to enter and exit the Imperial City than the Heavenly Monarch, due to frequent stays with the Princess at Nanli Palace.

For the Emperor's assassination, the blame rested on the Great Venerable, compounded by the Devil God Sect's evildoings, leaving Jiang Li and the Princess with no room to clear Feng Manlou's name.

"The Great Venerable plotted long, orchestrating evil schemes, attacking the Emperor, he deserves condemnation, but his success—"

The Earth Uncle paused here, looking at the Princess, "Ling Guang, you also cannot escape responsibility. I believe you were merely deceived, but with your Prince Consort holding such an identity and committing such heinous acts, you are no longer suitable to govern. Step down from the regency."

With his words, the Second Prince stood in the hall's center, not speaking, merely bowing to the Princess.

The Second Prince's followers also bowed, and even some of the neutral camp lowered themselves in silence.

The Eldest Prince was gone, Meng Jun and his followers were marked as traitors and rebels, and their families were being purged; the Fourth Prince had long been out of the picture. Now, among the Princes, only the Second Prince had the right to succeed the throne, eliminating any suspense for the next generation's Emperor.

The Princess, expressionless, gazed at the bowing Second Prince and the court ministers, her eyes indifferent and calm, only for her to coldly state, "I misjudged people, allowing the Great Venerable's plot to succeed, indeed making me unfit to govern further, lest I be deceived by the Great Venerable again. Yet the court cannot go a day without leadership, and I intend to let Jiang Sikong act as Regent, would the gentlemen agree?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li within the hall already understood the Princess's intentions; she did not wish to continue as Regent.

However, the Princess also did not want to simply leave a mess behind, instead opting to have Jiang Li take over as Regent.

Initially, Jiang Li used the principle of breaking windows to have the gentlemen choose the Princess, with the alternative being Jiang Sikong's regency. Now, after all the turns, it was coming back to Jiang himself taking the stage.

Originally, Jiang Sikong acting as Regent was false, meant as a coercive measure, but now the Princess was sincere about it.

Nevertheless, the Earth Uncle would not let the Princess have her way.

"Jiang Li and Feng Manlou are brothers of different surnames, this is widely known in court."

The Earth Uncle coldly stated, "Ling Guang, I watched you grow up, I believe you were deceived, but certain others might not be. They are inherently rebellious; who is to say they are not colluding with the Great Venerable?"

"The Great Venerable is skilled in sorcery, likely possessing many unorthodox abilities, enabling rapid advancement in others," Prince You coldly agreed, "I believe Jiang Sikong also cannot escape responsibility; not only is he unfit to govern, but he should also prove his innocence."

"I'm afraid I cannot comply with the Princess's order," the Second Prince declared aloud.

The ministers followed suit, not just those from the Second Prince's faction but also many neutrals and fence-sitters.

Feng Manlou's exposed identity also implicated Jiang Li, allowing the Earth Uncle to stand on the moral and virtuous high ground.

Yet Jiang Li had remained silent since entering the hall until the Princess gave her response, and the Earth Uncle began to challenge him, only then did he speak.

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