Nothing was certain.
The previous Emperor had been defeated, but not solely because the Master of Destiny had fallen.
The mess left by former Emperors and the self-serving ministers were significant factors.
If the ministers had united with Zhou Tianyuan, it might have been possible to change fate. Although Shen Xuan was one of the nine Great Grandmasters and possessed formidable strength that surpassed other Grandmasters, the Imperial Family surely had some trump cards and methods to counter him.
Yet Zhou Tianyuan still lost.
Although he couldn’t deduce the exact details, he could guess somewhat.
Wu Yuancheng validated his theory, “At the time, I was organizing men to resist the rebels storming Imperial City, but I was aware of the general situation. Led by the Prime Minister, a group of people opened the gates for Shen Xuan, which allowed the rebels together with the elites from his sect to easily penetrate Imperial City.
Eventually, the former Emperor Zhou Tianyuan used his trump card, sacrificing himself alongside the head of the Imperial Guards, Wang Long, and Shen Xuan, causing the sect to retreat. Those ministers survived by luck, took control of the court, and established a new ruler. Now the Imperial Family still hasn’t fallen.
Many were initially loyal to Great Zhou, until they realized the Crown Prince had long departed. So, they either left Imperial City or, like me, stayed to exploit the Imperial Family’s remaining assets…”
A court is never without loyal subjects unless the Emperor truly disheartens everyone.
The premature escape of the Crown Prince was one such disheartening event.
How could the core members of the Imperial Family who fled be expected to preserve it diligently?
Impossible!
That was Wu Yuancheng for you; as the Minister of War, he maintained his basic loyalty, or else he wouldn’t have resisted the rebels.
Yet ironically, the core members of the Imperial Family had fled.
God knows what Wu Yuancheng felt when he discovered the former Emperor was dead and had planned to staunchly support the Crown Prince, only to find out he had already fled.
Had it not been for this, his defection to another faction wouldn’t have come so quickly.
Of course, had he not defected swiftly, he might not have managed to protect his own family.
“So, you mean to say you could have just left if you wanted?” the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley instantly grasped the underlying implication.
“Yes, I had actually planned to quietly leave after a while. Imperial City seems calm, but I always feel there’s more to it. However, if you require it, Valley Master, I will make arrangements in advance and take you to meet the Emperor.”
The Valley Master of Stargazing Valley nodded and uttered a word, “Good!”
This trip here proved quite fruitful.
If he could cooperate with the Emperor, it would facilitate his mission greatly and increase the chances of success.
Wu Yuancheng didn’t arrange this immediately but instead covertly planned for his family to leave first. Being a Grandmaster, he could quickly catch up to them, so it wasn’t a big issue.
Helping the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley and in return receiving a safe haven from him also seemed like a fair trade.
Of course, though it was done in secrecy, practically every influential force in Imperial City was aware.
However, none hindered them.
“Has the Wu Family left too?”
“It seems we must also hasten our pace. Once we obtain that item, we’ll leave directly.”
“How many experts does the Imperial Family still have? Accelerate the progress, even if it costs us.”
Though the core members had fled, many remained loyal to the Imperial Family.
That’s why the Imperial Family wasn’t overtaken immediately.
But most of the remaining strong supporters had died in the battle against Shen Xuan, leaving few genuinely capable individuals.
They were gradually being picked apart by the major families.
There wasn’t much power left by now.
As for the young Emperor?
He was nothing but a puppet put forth, nominally the greatest leader of the Imperial Family, yet unable to mobilize any force.
Wu Yuancheng didn’t know why the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley wanted to meet this young Emperor.
But while the major families were distracted by the departing Wu Family, Wu Yuancheng secretly entered the imperial palace with the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley and located the current young Emperor.
It must be said, although just a puppet, he was still the Emperor and wasn’t openly mistreated.
Of course, all the maid guards around him, ostensibly caretakers, were actually monitors.
And these monitors were from the group of the Prime Minister who had installed the young Emperor.
Wu Yuancheng, being one of them, easily dismissed these people.
While Wu Yuancheng was sending people away, only the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley noticed a flash of resentment in the eyes of the young Emperor, but it quickly vanished. This resentment wasn’t directed at Wu Yuancheng but rather those maid guards.
Could it be that the young Emperor was being mistreated?
However, from the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley’s perspective, it didn’t look like it!
The emotion came rapidly and left just as swiftly, leaving the Valley Master of Stargazing Valley without any clues, forcing him to store his doubts internally.
“Lord Wu, have you come? Did you bring me something tasty?”
As if the prior emotions had never existed, the young Emperor stood up upon seeing Wu Yuancheng and approached him, acting spoiled.
The two seemed very familiar.
Seeing the young Emperor’s closeness, Wu Yuancheng also showed a smile.
He had taken special care of the young Emperor out of a bit of sympathy, which resulted in the young Emperor being very close to him.
For other forces, whether from the Imperial Family or the Prime Minister’s camp, since the Emperor was considered a puppet with no real influence, such interactions were tolerated.