"I am also willing to donate 100,000 taels..."
The head of the Wen family watched the two old men kneel down quickly, gnashing his teeth in anger. He was about to kneel down and shout something a little too slow when he heard Emperor Wenyuan say, "It's just a famine. With the support of Duke Yang of Qi, we don't need you three, our trusted ministers."
Well, this is not worth one hundred thousand taels!
The head of the Wen family thought of Emperor Wenyuan's serious illness, and suddenly something hit him. He immediately knelt down, gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I voluntarily donate half of our Wen family's wealth..."
Half of the net worth?
The two old men who had just spoken out were shocked by the words of the Wen family's patriarch. What the hell was this old man from the Wen family doing? He wanted to pay half of his wealth himself, so he shouldn't let them get involved...
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wenyuan finally laughed out loud. "Well, my dear Lord Wen, you truly deserve the praise of even the late emperor. How about this? I will specially confer upon you the title of Marquis Wen, inheriting the title of Marquis, a title that will be hereditary for generations."
The head of the Wen family did not feel happy at all.
After all, exchanging half his wealth for a marquisate was actually a huge loss. You have to know that the Wen family was an old, established family, and the wealth accumulated over generations was no less than that of Duke Yang of Qi!
However, the head of the Wen family felt that this time was different from any previous time. If the Wen family wanted to survive this turmoil, they had to grit their teeth and pay something.
Finally, the other two families also gritted their teeth and spoke.
They all donated half of their wealth.
The other two only got the title of "Earl", and the two old men suddenly felt that they had suffered a great loss.
So when the three of them came out of the palace, the faces of the heads of the Wu and Ming families were extremely dark, and they looked at the head of the Wen family with both eyes and noses.
"Master Wen, what the hell are you doing this time? Why..." The Wu family master glanced at his father-in-law who had stopped following him and asked angrily in a low voice, "If you want to donate half of your wealth, just donate it privately. Why do you have to implicate us?"
“That’s right!”
The head of the Ming family also said with a sullen face, "Didn't our three families agree to move in unison? Are you really going to bring us down with you by doing this?"
Half of my wealth!
That would take years of accumulation!
The head of the Wen family glanced coldly at the two old men with angry expressions and said arrogantly, "You two should all grow some brains!"
"What's the meaning?"
"Yes, please explain clearly."
Although the three families may have some minor problems on a daily basis, they still check and balance each other. Otherwise, the three families would not have secretly united since their ancestors.
The head of the Wen family scanned the surroundings, dismissed his attendants, and then said in a low voice, "The emperor is probably dying soon. He's paving the way for the next new emperor. Our three families are the cornerstones of that succession. If you don't donate half of your wealth, you'll be completely eliminated when the new emperor takes the throne."
When the old men from Wu and Ming families heard this, their expressions changed.
But Old Man Wu was a little skeptical: "That's unlikely. It's not like we haven't experienced the change of dynasties and emperors before. We just need to show our good attitude. And even if a new emperor comes to power, it's impossible for him to be like you said..."
They are not corrupt officials or anything.
Killing them off wouldn't add any merit to the new king, so it's totally unacceptable.
Old Man Ming also felt that what Old Man Wu said made sense: "I think what Patriarch Ming said makes sense. We have been so low-key over the years that we have even kept our servants under control. No one has done anything evil. On the contrary, your Wen family may be liquidated by the new ruler because of the Xu family's affairs. But this has nothing to do with us!"
"Master Wen, you're causing trouble for both of our families just for your own sake. That's really unkind of you."
Listening to the accusations of the two old men, the head of the Wen family snorted coldly.
He really didn't want to waste time arguing with them, but thinking of the relationship between the three families, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "So, which of these princes do you think can succeed to the throne?"
This surprised the two of them.
yes!
Emperor Wenyuan has not been able to appoint a crown prince to this day.
If Emperor Wenyuan really died, who would be the new emperor?
If we talk about the legitimate son of the royal family, it is naturally the Sixth Prince, Prince Jade.
However, due to the Xu family's affairs, Empress Xu was imprisoned in the cold palace, and Prince Yu was also imprisoned in the clan house.
The third prince, Prince Yu, born to the favorite concubine Liu Guifei, should have had the best chance of succession. As long as he made some achievements in the past few months, he would have been a sure success. However, he was repeatedly involved in scandals such as raping women and occupying the people's fertile land. Emperor Wenyuan was so angry that he sent him to guard the imperial mausoleum.
It is said that Concubine Liu knelt at the palace gate and fainted several times while begging for mercy, but in the end, Emperor Wenyuan got angry with her and demoted her to a concubine.
As for the other princes, either their mother’s families were not strong enough, or they themselves were extremely mediocre and unable to bear the heavy responsibility.
So, after counting on my fingers, there really isn't a particularly suitable heir at the moment...
At this moment, Old Man Wu suddenly thought of someone; "King Cheng."
Old Man Ming frowned, "Impossible."
"Don't forget, King Cheng's mother is that barbarian princess. This King Cheng is the most unlikely one!"
Old Man Wu glanced around and whispered, "Have you forgotten how much the Emperor doted on that barbarian princess? Besides, you all know the Emperor's... character. He's been refusing to appoint a crown prince for years. Perhaps he's just paving the way for this King Cheng."
"and……"
Old Man Wu paused before saying, "Haven't you noticed that the rumors in the capital are very strange lately? I've heard that many people are privately talking about the achievements that King Cheng has made in Huaibei City over the years."
"It's just a Huaibei City. No matter how many achievements he has made, it can't change the fact that he has barbarian blood..." said Old Man Ming.
Old Man Wu wanted to say something else.
The head of the Wen family, who had been silent all this time, said, "It can't be King Cheng."
"Right, I said it couldn't be King Cheng."
Old Man Ming approached the head of the Wen family and said, "Head of the Wen family, do you know any inside information? Our three families have always been closely connected. If you have any information, please let us know."
Old man Wu also moved closer and looked at the head of the Wen family.
The head of the Wen family couldn't help but roll his eyes in his heart. He knew nothing. He just guessed that Emperor Wen Yuan wanted to pave the way for the new emperor before he died.
As for who it is!
He knows it!!
However, on the surface he appeared to be very cold and calm.
Just as he was about to answer, his eyes caught sight of a dark carriage approaching from a distance...
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