If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

As dusk fell, the setting sun shone brightly.

The once majestic stone lions in front of the Gan Mansion are now less well maintained and have lost some of their former glory.

Gan Qing had just stepped off the carriage, his foot still firmly planted on his cane, when the steward rushed over in a panic.

"Master, something terrible has happened! The elders of the four great families have arrived with a large group of people, and they are all waiting for you in the main hall!"

The butler's face was full of panic, and he added in a low voice.

"They all have stern faces; they don't seem to have any good intentions."

A glint appeared in Gan Qing's eyes, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"I understand. I expected them to come. Have the Gan family members returned?"

The butler nodded. "As per the master's instructions, we invited them immediately, and they are in the main hall now."

Upon hearing the answer, Gan Qing's brows relaxed, and he leaned on his cane as he headed towards the hall.

As you walk through the corridor, even before you get close to the hall, a sense of oppression hits you.

The hall was brightly lit, yet eerily silent.

The core figures of the civil service group have all arrived today.

This time, however, it was not like before, with the younger generation of the other four major families surrounding him to ask for answers and discuss how to resolve national affairs. Instead, it was two distinct forces.

On the left side of the hall, the current heads of the Li, Lu, Zhang, and Dong families stood with their hands at their sides, their eyes slightly narrowed, seemingly asleep.

Behind them stood rows of incumbent family officials, each one restless and arrogant.

On the right side of the hall were the members of the Gan family.

They stood in a row, facing each other from a distance.

The air was thick with tension, and the smell of gunpowder was palpable.

"Father!"

"Elder!"

As soon as Gan Qing appeared, the Gan family members felt reassured and quickly made way for him.

"snort."

Opposite them, the four elders almost simultaneously let out a cold snort, their faces ashen, showing no intention of bowing.

Gan Qing's expression remained unchanged, and the 'thump-thump' sound of his cane echoed clearly in the hall.

He walked up to the Gan family's line, a faint smile even on his face.

"What brings you all to my humble abode today, esteemed elders?"

Among the four major families, the eldest, Li Chengzhi, the elder of the Li family, spoke with a forced smile.

"Old Qing, it's been so many years, but you're still as healthy as ever."

"Do you remember? Back then, we all entered the imperial court together. You were a few years younger than all of us, and we old guys all treated you like a younger brother."

"Yes, those were the good old days."

"In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed."

The other three elders also stood up, feigning reminiscence and reminiscing.

Li Chengzhi abruptly changed the subject, his voice turning cold.

"Even if you don't consider the bond between us older brothers, shouldn't you at least think about the close ties between the five great families?"

Having said that, he tilted his head slightly and asked reproachfully:

"We old folks have retired, and you're going to bully the younger generation like this? Sending them to steal His Majesty's cannons? If word gets out, how will the younger generation in our clan survive?!"

The voice wasn't loud, but every word was laced with malice.

"Exactly! Gan Qing, you're treating us like fools!"

The elder of the Lu family immediately followed, his spittle practically flying out of his mouth.

The Zhang family elders sneered repeatedly.

"We took such good care of your Gan family back then, and you've turned out to be so ungrateful!"

The elders of the Dong family were even more direct.

"Enough with the nonsense! We four families deserve an explanation for what happened today!"

Facing a four-against-one situation.

Gan Qing remained calm and gently stroked his beard.

"You elders are too kind."

"His Majesty didn't seem to care about the cannons, did he? Since His Majesty isn't pursuing the matter, why should you all care?"

Li Chengzhi's face darkened completely, and he coldly snorted:

"That's not how things are! What's done is done; you can't just dismiss it with a casual 'it's nothing.'"

He paused, then grinned, revealing his yellowish-white teeth.

"Here's what we'll do. To compensate the four of us, your Gan family will offer up one-quarter of the official positions in three prefecture-level cities."

"Is this request reasonable?"

See you in the picture!

That's their real purpose today.

The Gan family was instantly in an uproar.

"Bullshit!"

Gan Mingyuan, from the second branch of the Gan family, was the first to jump out, pointing his finger at Li Chengzhi and cursing him.

"What brotherly affection? Back then, it was you old geezers who bullied our Gan family because it was the weakest of the five major families, dumping all the dirty and hard work on Elder Qian!"

Gan Mingde from the third branch of the family was also trembling with anger.

"If it weren't for our elder's ability to solve one difficult problem after another and eventually become the prime minister, our Gan family would probably never have had a chance to rise to prominence! How dare you even mention those days?"

"Exactly! Exactly!"

The younger generation of the Gan family were even more outraged.

"You still have the nerve to talk about retirement? You're all just jealous and can't stand seeing us elders in power. You're all incompetent, so you're all pathetically running back to your hometowns to retire!"

"Hahaha!"

After he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted from the Gan family.

The laughter was sharp and piercing, causing the faces of the four elders to turn dark instantly.

Li Chengzhi's hands trembled slightly uncontrollably.

They entered the court as officials in their early twenties, which was indeed three or four years earlier than Gan Qing. In addition, the Gan family was weak, so they originally thought of suppressing Gan Qing and making the Gan family stay at the bottom of the list forever, or even fall out of the top five families, so that they could have a better share of the spoils.

But who could have imagined that Gan Qing, after only two years in the court, would rise to prominence and solve several major cases that even they couldn't handle, earning the favor of the late emperor and becoming prime minister at a young age, second only to the emperor.

Is it because they were jealous?

Indeed there is.

But more than anything, I felt fear.

They feared that if Gan Qing gained power, he would retaliate against their past suppression of the Gan family.

Therefore, they all chose to "retire and return to their hometown" in their thirties or forties, which led to the rise of the Gan family, the head of the five major families!

But things are different now.

Gan Qing is no longer the prime minister, but an old man who is retired at home.

What kind of tiger is a tiger without teeth?

If not now, when?

Li Chengzhi's wrinkled old face fell completely, and all his previous pretense vanished.

"Enough with the nonsense! If your Gan family doesn't give us an explanation today, don't blame us for disregarding past favors!"

"That's right!"

An elder of the Lu family chimed in, "We should think about this now. We must add a quarter more official rank to the previous conditions!!"

Upon hearing this, the air in the hall seemed to freeze even more.

The Gan family erupted in cheers.

"What utter nonsense!" Gan Mingyuan's eyes turned red with anger.

"A bunch of ungrateful old fools! If it weren't for Elder Gan Qing's efforts in the court all these years, could your four families have developed peacefully in the provinces?! How could the five major families now completely control officials at all levels in Liang?!"

"If it weren't for our elders protecting you, you would have been killed by the late emperor long ago!"

Gan Mingde from the third branch of the family was also trembling with anger, his voice shaking.

The younger generation of the Gan family were also indignant and chimed in to echo their sentiments.

"ungrateful!"

"Ungrateful wretch!"

Curses rose and fell, but the four elders opposite them sneered.

"So what?" Li Chengzhi slowly stepped forward, mockingly saying, "Who told the Gan family to be so ignorant of a principle?"

The elder of the Lu family picked up the conversation and chuckled.

"This principle is called 'Strike while the iron is hot, and kill him!'"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The four elders burst into loud laughter, displaying extreme arrogance.

Li Chengzhi's laughter stopped, and he stared at Gan Qing with a sinister look.

"Gan Qing, Gan Qing, times have changed. You are no longer the powerful prime minister you once were."

"To tell you the truth, it doesn't matter if we don't get a satisfactory answer today. Once our four families' private armies are fully formed and our military power is secured..."

He paused, then said sarcastically, word by word, "That will be the time of your Gan family's downfall!"

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

The Gan family members all turned red in the face.

Gan Mingyuan and Gan Mingde's lips trembled, as if they wanted to say something more.

Just then, Gan Qing, who had been silent all along, slowly raised his hand.

A simple action instantly silenced the entire hall.

All the Gan family members fell silent and turned to look at their leader.

Gan Qing's face remained calm.

He looked at the four people in front of him and said calmly, "You want to destroy my Gan family? Heh, then we'll have to see your strength."

Gan Qing, leaning on his cane, took a small step forward and came to the four elders. He then slammed his cane on the ground.

Thud!

That sound seemed to strike the hearts of everyone.

Gan Qing said slowly, "Let's see whose soldiers are stronger then!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the laughter of the four elders opposite him stopped abruptly.

The smugness on their faces froze instantly.

Li Chengzhi's face was the most unpleasant, and he said fiercely:

"Great, excellent!"

"Then we'll wait! We hope that on the day the Gan family is destroyed, you, Gan Laoqing, will still have the same confidence as you do today!"

Having said that, he suddenly flicked his sleeve.

"Let's go!"

The four elders said no more, turned around, and led the group of family officials behind them out of the hall without looking back.

The heavy footsteps faded into the distance and soon disappeared at the end of the corridor.

"Elder!"

"Elder!"

The Gan family members anxiously surrounded Gan Qing, their worry evident in their expressions.

Gan Qing, however, raised his hand as if nothing had happened and calmly replied, "It's alright. The four great families can't win. I have absolute confidence in victory!"

Having said that, Gan Qing pictured a young man with extraordinary bearing yet unfathomable depth in his mind—Zhao Yu!