I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

Pei Yunhe closed his eyes and pretended to sleep in the chair.

The opinions of the outside world are irrelevant to him.

No matter how the heads of the four great families tried to persuade him, he turned a deaf ear.

He was pondering whether the six great families had fallen into Crown Prince Qin Li's trap from the very beginning.

Before Crown Prince Qin Li came to Jiangnan, the six great families, though outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds, had never openly broken ties like they have now.

Because no matter what difficulties they encounter, the six great families will temporarily put aside their grudges against each other and unite to resist foreign enemies, but this time it just didn't work.

Pei Yunhe tried to recall how all of this had happened.

They first heard that Crown Prince Qin Li had come to Jiangnan from Dong Jinlai, a member of the Dong family who was a marquis in the capital. He said that the Crown Prince had sent him to invite the six great families to a gathering at the Yellow Crane Tower.

That very evening, he communicated with the other five great families and reached an agreement that none of them would go. When Qin Li asked about it, they would say that they knew nothing about it, thus giving Qin Li a warning.

And that's exactly what happened; nobody went.

But things changed. His son, Pei Shisan, was harassing a respectable woman at the Yellow Crane Tower when Qin Li caught them and cut off his genitals.

That evening, Pei Qingluan brought him more news: Crown Prince Qin Li would be visiting the Pei family the next day, and Pei Yunhe would have no choice but to lead the entire household to welcome Qin Li.

After Qin Li arrived at the Pei family, he used Pei Shisan's matter as leverage to force Pei Shisan, the head of the Pei family, to send a letter to the heads of the other five great families to gather at the Yellow Crane Tower.

He had no choice but to notify the heads of the five great families, who came out of respect for him.

After the six major families gathered, rifts began to emerge.

Lu Ruanxiong argued with him on the spot, arguing that since his Pei family's daughter could marry Qin Li, why couldn't his Lu family's daughter?

Then came the trip to Longhu Mountain, where Lu Ruanxiong acted as Qin Li's inside man.

Qin Li then went so far as to transfer 100,000 iron cavalry from Liangzhou to forcibly destroy Longhu Mountain.

Of course, Pei Yunhe knew that the 100,000 iron cavalry were not only brought here to destroy Longhu Mountain, because Longhu Mountain was not qualified. The real purpose of bringing in the 100,000 Liangzhou iron cavalry was to deal with the six great families.

After going through the whole thing in his mind, Pei Yunhe seemed to have found the key person: Pei Qingluan.

The reason why the six great families have become like this is all because of her.

A woman actually destroyed six great families and the entire Jiangnan region; Qin Li's methods were truly ingenious!

Even if Pei Yunhe understood everything, he still had no way to retaliate.

Because he couldn't handle Lu Ruanxiong, let alone Qin Li* who was about to come and demand an explanation.

The end of the Pei family has come, and so has the end of Jiangnan.

Having figured everything out, Pei Yunhe opened his eyes.

Seeing that he had opened his eyes, the heads of the four great families spoke one after another, saying, "Pei Yunhe, say something!"

"Even if you and Brother Lu are at odds, you have no choice but to bow your head now. Even if you don't care about the Pei family, you should think about us. We don't want to die!"

"If you just kneel down and beg Brother Lu, he can put in a good word for us with His Highness the Crown Prince, and maybe we won't have to die."

Upon hearing these words, Pei Yunhe could only sigh repeatedly before standing up from his chair and leaving the Yellow Crane Tower.

Everyone looked at Pei Yunhe's departing figure and asked, "Pei Yunhe, where are you going? His Highness the Crown Prince is coming soon. If you're not here, the Pei family is truly doomed."

Pei Yunhe didn't turn around, but simply waved his hand behind him: "Never mind, life and death are preordained..."

After leaving those words, Pei Yunhe quickly departed from the Yellow Crane Tower.

Seeing that Pei Yunhe had really left, the heads of the major families were full of confusion. They looked at Lu Ruanxiong and said, "Patriarch Lu, what exactly does Pei Yunhe mean? He's not even giving the Crown Prince any face now."

Lu Ruanxiong squinted and said, "Who knows? They're probably planning to just give up."

……

After leaving the Yellow Crane Tower, Pei Yunhe walked alone on the streets of Jiangxia City, looking dejected, completely lacking the imposing presence he once had as the head of the Pei family.

Everywhere you looked, you saw a bitter smile on his face.

Although the Pei family did a lot of dirty work in secret, they managed Jiangxia City quite well, making it one of the more prosperous cities in Jiangnan, and the people lived in peace and contentment.

However, he probably won't see any of this in the future; Qin Li won't allow him to live.

After touring all the main streets of Jiangxia City, Pei Yunhe dragged his tired body back to the Pei family mansion.

His wife, along with many members of the Pei family, came to greet him.

Upon seeing Pei Yunhe return, they bombarded him with questions.

But Pei Yunhe didn't say a word, locked himself in his room, and went to sleep.

He slept soundly until the sky darkened, and he lost track of time.

When Pei Yunhe woke up again, the sunlight was still so dazzling, it was still a morning.

"Guards! Guards!"

Pei Yunhe shouted outside.

With a creak, the door to the room was pushed open.

It wasn't a maid who walked in, but Pei Shisan.

Pei Shisan limped in, his face full of excitement.

It seemed as if she had some joyous news she couldn't wait to share with Pei Yunhe.

Pei Yunhe didn't give his son, Pei Shisan, a friendly look.

Although Qin Li used Pei Qingluan to set a trap for the six great families, Pei Shisan was also part of the scheme.

If Pei Shisan hadn't gone to the Yellow Crane Tower that day, none of what happened later would have occurred.

Thinking of this, Pei Yunhe asked coldly, "What are you doing here? Are you fully healed?"

"Father, why say all this? My injury is worth it!"

Hearing Pei Shisan say this, Pei Yunhe thought he was dreaming. This kid actually said that his injury was worth it!

It wasn't when this kid was first injured that he started yelling and screaming, insisting on killing Qin Li.

It hasn't been long, and the story has already changed.

Propelling himself out of bed, Pei Yunhe asked, "How long have I been asleep? What time is it now?"

"Dad, you slept for a really long time, three whole days."

Pei Shisan held up three fingers in response.

Three days?

Pei Yunhe reached out and rubbed his head; he had slept for quite a long time.

He took a deep breath and was about to stand up.

"Father, where are you going?"

Pei Shisan asked.

Pei Yunhe replied, "Where else could we go? Of course, we're going to the Yellow Crane Tower. His Highness the Crown Prince will be arriving soon."

However, before Pei Yunhe could leave the house, Pei Shisan stretched out his arm to stop him.

Pei Shisan looked at Pei Yunhe with great surprise, and even reached out to touch his forehead: "Father, are you still half asleep?"

Pei Yunhe slapped away Pei Shisan's outstretched hand and straightened his collar: "He is a little confused, but not completely out of sleep. Quickly, have someone prepare a car."

Pei Shisan remained blocking the doorway and said, "Father, why are you going to the Yellow Crane Tower? His Highness the Crown Prince went there three days ago."

Upon hearing this, Pei Yunhe closed his eyes, his face filled with despair.

That was a really good sleep...

I originally planned to go home to rest and recharge before going to the Yellow Crane Tower to fight Qin Li.

To his surprise, he missed it; Qin Li returned three days ago.

All five great families are present except for the Pei family; the outcome is obvious.

"Tell me, what crime has our Pei family been convicted of? Has our property been confiscated or has our entire clan been exterminated?" Pei Yunhe asked.

"Father, I think you're really out of your mind. What crime? What accusation of confiscation of property and extermination of the clan? None of that happened."

"Father, I have something to tell you! My sister has been chosen as the Crown Princess! The ceremony will be held when she goes back with the Crown Prince this time!"

"Our Pei family will likely produce an empress someday."

Pei Yunhe frowned, wondering what Pei Shisan meant.

Seeing that Pei Yunhe did not believe him, Pei Shisan said again, "Father, our Pei family has no crime. It is His Highness the Crown Prince who sent someone to tell our Pei family to make good preparations so that my sister can be married off in a grand manner."

"If we have to name a crime, it's the Lu and Dong families who were accused of several crimes, leading to the confiscation of their property and the extermination of their clan."

"Father, you don't know, three days ago, His Highness the Crown Prince went on a killing spree at the Yellow Crane Tower, beheading all the heads of the five great families..."