“Ninth Uncle! What should we do now?” Murong Ping wiped away his tears with his hand and said with difficulty, “Those aristocratic families of Wei are still waiting outside!”

Inside the great hall, there was deathly silence, with only the uneven breathing sounds of everyone present.

After a long while, Xiao Rongyan finally spoke in a hoarse voice: “Uncle Feng, send someone to properly arrange for Imperial Brother and send him back to the Yan Kingdom tomorrow morning.”

“Yes!” Feng Yao kowtowed.

“A’Ping, dry your tears and come with me to meet those old aristocratic families!” Xiao Rongyan slowly laid Murong Yu flat in his arms.

“But Ninth Uncle, on your clothes…” Murong Ping saw that Xiao Rongyan’s sleeves and chest were stained with Murong Yu’s blood, “There’s blood everywhere…”

“Send someone to fetch me an identical set of clothes,” Xiao Rongyan’s voice was extremely cold and desolate. “Make it quick!”

Though he was dying of grief, he still had to summon his spirits just after his brother’s passing and pretend everything was fine to deal with those old aristocratic families of Wei.

Xiao Rongyan lowered his gaze to look at his elder brother’s pale face and peaceful expression, thinking of how his mother looked when she passed away. The pain tore at his liver and gall bladder as he tightly closed his eyes.

From today onward, he would never… have an elder brother again.

The old aristocratic families of Wei stood before the great hall discussing among themselves, wondering why the guards had tightly closed the hall doors the moment the Yan Emperor entered, without summoning them for an audience.

Before long, the hall doors opened again. The Great Yan Ninth Prince Murong Yan, who had arrived in the same chariot as Yan Emperor Murong Yu, emerged from the great hall with Second Prince Murong Ping following behind him.

The old aristocratic families of Wei craned their necks but could not see any trace of the Yan Emperor inside the great hall.

Murong Yan stood with his hands behind his back, the silver mask on his face gleaming brilliantly in the morning light. He said coldly, “Imperial Brother knows that all of you gathered here today, ostensibly for an audience, but actually to negotiate terms and refuse to accept the new policies! Imperial Brother truly did not wish to waste time with you all, so he asked this king to convey to you all. Please listen today—Chang City is now the Yan Kingdom’s Chang City. All territories of our Yan Kingdom must follow the new policies. Those who refuse to comply will be dealt with according to Yan law!”

As soon as Murong Yan finished speaking, an old aristocratic family member stood up in defiance: “Our Wei Kingdom has followed the old governance for generations and was once a regional hegemon! Now that the Yan Kingdom has just conquered Chang City, you should appease us old aristocratic families to stabilize the court situation. You should even combine the strengths of both kingdoms’ governance methods to truly make Wei and Yan become one family, mutually integrated and inseparable! How can you apply the Yan Kingdom’s barbarous and unreasonable… governance strategies that are despised by nobles of all nations directly to the Wei Kingdom?”

“I forgot to tell you all—at this moment… Great Yan General Xie Xun has already broken through Wei Shu City. The Wei Kingdom… has been destroyed!” Xiao Rongyan’s mellow voice carried a casual tone, deliberately frightening these old aristocratic families. He did not regard this group of so-called Wei aristocratic families seriously at all. “The Wei Kingdom followed old governance, which is why it was destroyed by our Yan Kingdom! Now the land you stand on… is Yan Kingdom territory. Standing on our Yan Kingdom’s territory, you must follow our Yan Kingdom’s laws! Those who refuse to submit may die for their Kingdom—whoever dares, this king will certainly provide a proper burial! Someone, give this lord a sword!”

Hearing Xiao Rongyan’s command, a Yan soldier immediately drew the sword from his waist and handed it to the Wei aristocrat, whose face was red with anger.

“Any others who wish to die or sacrifice themselves for their Kingdom may do so freely…” Murong Yan lowered his gaze to adjust his sleeves, then raised his eyes with a cold expression. “You are all Yan Kingdom prisoners, yet you dare negotiate terms with the Yan Emperor—you think far too highly of yourselves.”

After speaking, his gaze fell on the Wei aristocratic elder who had just spoken so eloquently: “This lord… why don’t you proceed? Could it be you don’t dare to die? Don’t dare sacrifice yourself for your Kingdom?”

Among the aristocratic families, those who knew how to read the situation realized this Yan Kingdom ruler was different from the former Wei Kingdom ruler. They hurriedly stepped forward to bow: “Ninth Prince, please forgive us! We rely on our aristocratic family status… to establish ourselves in this world. The Yan Kingdom’s new laws… harm us, old aristocratic families without benefit. Naturally, we feel stifled! We were hoping the Yan Emperor could adjust these new policies somewhat, so our descendants could survive!”

“Old aristocratic families are also Wei Kingdom’s old aristocratic families, not our Yan Kingdom’s old aristocratic families. Even if they were our Yan Kingdom’s old aristocratic families… none would dare defy imperial commands and national laws!” Murong Yan sneered coldly. Among Yan Kingdom’s old aristocratic families, except for those who knew when to retreat, almost none had good endings. “The Yan Kingdom puts people first—no one can be an exception. This king repeats: either you sacrifice yourselves for the Wei Kingdom and end it yourselves, or follow Yan law and be good Yan citizens.”

“Murong Yan! Though we have surrendered to Yan! Our family foundations run deep. If we die here today, do you think… your Yan Kingdom can peacefully occupy these Wei Kingdom cities?” another old aristocrat shouted.

Murong Yan nodded and drew the sword from Murong Ping’s waist, walking toward that old aristocrat.

The old aristocrat stepped back two paces. Before he could make a sound, in an instant of flickering cold light, blood mist scattered under the golden blazing sun.

The old aristocratic families cried out in alarm and retreated, only to be forced to stay in place by the Yan soldiers behind them who had drawn their swords.

Murong Yan casually tossed the sword back to Murong Ping. Murong Ping stared at his Ninth Uncle in amazement as his uncle calmly pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve, methodically wiped the blood from his hands, and threw the handkerchief beside the old aristocrat’s corpse, saying: “Here… every single one of you—who else wants to die?”

The Wei Kingdom’s old aristocratic families held their breath, not daring to breathe heavily.

“You’ve reminded me—each of your family foundations runs deep. Since that’s the case…” Murong Yan spoke coldly, “Pass the order to the soldiers surrounding these old aristocratic families’ residences to immediately confiscate their properties… All privately maintained assassins are to be killed without question. If their family members dare resist, there’s no need to spare their lives. Announce to the people of Chang City not to fear—after confiscating the old aristocratic families’ properties, agricultural tools will be distributed to the people. Each household will be allocated good farmland according to the number of people, allowing the people to live in peace and prosperity. Let’s see… which common people will still rebel against Yan?”

Suppress the powerful and benefit the people.

The common people were vast in number, while the powerful… were ultimately few.

Did those common people harbor no resentment toward these bullying, powerful families?

Only by using thunderous methods to deal with the powerful could they truly achieve the effect of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys. Then, by bestowing favors on the people and letting them benefit, combining grace with authority, they could pacify the Wei Kingdom’s chaotic times and make the Wei Kingdom’s people willingly become Yan citizens who wouldn’t dare rebel against Yan.

“Yes!” Murong Ping clasped his fists in acknowledgment and left with swift steps, full of vigor.

“Ninth Prince, spare our lives!” The old aristocratic families hurriedly knelt to beg for mercy.

“Ninth Prince, spare our lives!”

The crying and pleading voices of Wei Kingdom’s old aristocratic families echoed throughout the imperial palace.

Murong Yan’s cold, stern gaze swept over these Wei Kingdom nobles. Looking at these familiar faces that had once been high and mighty, his voice became even colder: “Slaves of a destroyed nation, homeless dogs—instead of being cautious and humble with your tails between your legs, how dare you be so arrogant and negotiate terms? Are you worthy?!”

After speaking, he said indifferently: “Imprison them all! If anyone is dishonest, their entire family will journey to the Yellow Springs together!”