Chapter 380 Chang Yan saw the sly and furtive look on the Fang family head's face as he glanced towards the imperial city gate several times. Chang Yan wondered, "Is this...the trump card?"

The Fang faction were no fools. The fact that they dared to reconsider was because Zhu Changhong stood behind Xu Mo, and now at least half of the ministers would stand behind Fang Heng.

Rather than wait for the ministers to kneel down like blades of grass, it was better to reveal the key figure early—the one who could influence the Imperial Court’s decision.

The Fang family head seemed to make up his mind as he deliberately stroked his sideburns and said loudly, “I’m aggrieved. I’ve worked hard managing the clan and the businesses my elder brother left behind all these years, yet I have to suffer such humiliation from my nephew. We are both Fang descendants, so why is my life so bitter?”

The Imperial Court's eyebrows furrowed slightly, seemingly displeased with his mournful words.

Just as he was about to speak, the imperial city gates behind him opened.

The person who walked out from inside the imperial city was...

The color drained from Chang Yan’s handsome and androgynous face, leaving only slightly trembling lips filled with disbelief.

"Father Emperor." The visitor was tall and slender, around sixteen or seventeen years old. His features were clean and handsome. It was none other than the current Crown Prince, Zhu Changhong.

In an environment that favored the firstborn, if there was a legitimate firstborn son, he would come first. If not, then the eldest son would come first.

This was the case for noble families, and even more so for the imperial family.

Although the Emperor was still vigorous in his early thirties, his overly weak personality made the noble families lose respect for him. That the upstart Fang faction even dared gamble on the next heir apparent showed...bold ambitions and guts.

There was lively discussion among the common people as they made all kinds of guesses about the relationship between the Crown Prince and the Fang family. Even the Jiang siblings lost their composure, at a loss as to what to do next.

They overheard an expert analyze, “The imperial clan has always favored the eldest legitimate son, but His Majesty does have a legitimate eldest son who fell ill and was sent to the countryside. There’s been no news of him for years now, perhaps he passed away young. Of his remaining sons, only the Crown Prince is exceptionally talented and wise—the Fang family does have discerning eyes.”

An outstanding prince would naturally attract a certain degree of favor from His Majesty.

"Father Emperor." Zhu Changhong respectfully greeted him with a bow. "Your son was about to head out when I overheard something. Although I shouldn't meddle in ministerial affairs, I cannot hold back my indignation." First explain that he did not rush over on purpose, but coincidentally overheard what happened.

Next, express his opinion, “It is said that family inheritance goes to the legitimate eldest son. General Fang was mightily valorous, an exceptional character, but after his death, his young orphan was still a child. Uncle Fang is the legitimate son and second eldest. How can he be denied leadership of the Fang household?”

“Moreover, Uncle Fang worked hard over the years managing the Fang businesses. Even if he made no contribution, at least recognize his hard work. Randomly stripping him of everything is like killing the donkey after it finished grinding the millstone.”

“Of course, your son also doesn’t mean to say General Fang’s orphan should suffer hardship. I uphold principles of fairness and justice. I believe this is the most suitable time for the two families to divide the assets.”

Divide the assets?

This was tantamount to giving the conflicted Emperor a clear solution. His expression softened as fatherly affection filled his eyes. “Hong’er, please continue.”

“In response to Your Majesty, the two brothers should have divided the family after building their own households to begin with. The elder brother’s household is one family, the second brother’s household is another family. Since the young nephew cannot get along with his uncle’s leadership, why not directly take over the elder household's assets and let each family develop on their own?” Zhu Changhong's face shone with sincerity. “That is all your foolish son presumes to suggest. What does my Father Emperor think?”

Judging from His Majesty's expression, he seemed quite satisfied.

But the power struggle between the two Fang households was not about property. It was about lives, vengeance, an irreconcilable feud to the death.

This Crown Prince had a slick tongue, spinning black into white, and a neutral situation into an advantage.

On the surface, the Fang family head seemed to lose a significant amount of money and property, but how many assets did the Fangs control? And how much could the elder Fang household actually take away—wasn't that all decided by the head of house?

Anger surged within Fang Heng but he forcibly contained it as he glanced sharply at the crowd with the corner of his eyes. There they stood, the frozen Xu Mo, the stunned Zheng Ruqian, the clueless Wen Zhiyun, and the ashen-faced Chang Yan.

Things had already exceeded their guesses and expectations. The Fang faction held a greater backer than they had anticipated. What should they do next?

What to do now?

Fang Heng looked pleadingly to Jiang Sheng while her elder brother showed no reaction. She could only grit her teeth and use her elbow to jab him hard.

"Psst!" Chang Yan's soul returned to his body as he gasped in pain. "Gently, gently."

When girls in other families used their elbows, it was just teasing. In their family, elbows could kill.

On the bright side, it really woke him up fast. Chang Yan didn't have time to overthink things as he gave Fang Heng a look, mouthing: Dowry.

That's right, dowry.

The Fang family head could swallow away the ancestral assets, but he could not take Wang’s dowry.

"Your subject doesn't dare take the Fang money or fight with Uncle for the ancestral property." Fang Heng recalled his little fourth brother's weeping and forced out a sob. "Your subject only asks that Uncle return the dowry that belongs to my mother. Please return my mother's dowry." In influential households, they dared swallow gold, silver, land, sky, but one thing they absolutely couldn't swallow was a woman's dowry.

Dowry was a woman’s belongings to take with her, usually given to her children before or after her death. They had little to do with her husband’s family and could be freely used as they pleased.

With the Crown Prince speaking and the Emperor assenting from earlier, the Fang family head had no choice but to return Wang's dowry according to her list, item by item.

Moreover, a comparison could now be made—how could the war spoils General Fang accumulated over twenty years of battle amount to less than Wang's dowry?

In this probe, although they failed to overthrow the Fangs, they discovered the greatest backer behind the enemy while also taking back some assets. This result was worthy of Fang Heng exhausting himself.

It was just that this backer was too astonishing to comprehend at the moment.

After the Emperor's verdict without dispute from both sides, the crowd at the imperial city gate dispersed. The He Family head deeply eyed Fang Heng before he turned to depart.

The injured youth got up from the ground, his entire forehead a bloody mess as he returned to the siblings.

"I—" He had just opened his mouth when Jiang Sheng fiercely glared at him.

"You what? How can you be so stupid?" The little girl grumbled as she fished out her softest handkerchief from her sleeve.

Fang Heng obediently bent down to allow her to gently dab at his wound as she complained about this and that.

Wen Zhiyun silently poured out golden sore medicine to the side before fetching some clean water to dress his injuries.

Although his forehead injury stung sharply and the Fang faction's backer was intimidatingly huge, in that moment, Fang Heng suddenly didn't feel as afraid anymore.

"Elder brother, second brother, little fifth," he lowered his voice. "With the prince's backing, elder brother’s ranking in the upcoming imperial exam may get disrupted by the Fangs again."

Studying bitterly in the cold window for decades until they became child students, then private students, then imperial examination candidates, and finally tribute students.

The palace examination was the final checkpoint and most important one.

If one could smoothly obtain a high rank, especially top three honors, their future official career would most likely be smooth sailing as they enjoyed imperial favor.

On the other hand, they could still get an "elevated examination candidate" ranking, but future prospects would become limited and they might even stagnate their entire lives.

This was unfair to Xu Mo and his two outstanding showings at the provincial examinations.

They could not let this situation happen.

But the palace exam was personally judged by His Majesty. Even prestigious households held no sway. Only the imperial clan could whisper a few words of influence.