Chapter 11651 — The Road of the Prince of Qi's Estate
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
But now that things had come to this, much of what had previously been baffling became clear at a glance.
The Prince of Qi's Estate had originally had far better ways of handling its relationship with Wei Zhao. Yet under a whole string of her reckless maneuvers, both sides had been forced into a situation where they had no choice but to fight to the death.
None of this was because the Prince of Qi had lost his mind—it was because Li Hongshou's starting point had been a single-minded determination to drive the Prince of Qi's Estate to utter ruin.
Wei Zhao remarked, "Your insistence on throwing Young Master Qi out of the house earlier was to keep him from getting dragged into this mess, wasn't it? Not bad—for a mother, you're not entirely devoid of humanity."
Whatever else might be said, she was Young Master Qi's own mother.
Li Hongshou was silent for a moment, then said, "The road of the Prince of Qi's Estate ends today. Young Master Qi still has his own road to walk—what a pity that none of us will live to see it."
Everyone's expression shifted slightly.
Those words plainly carried the will to die. This woman intended to drag the Prince of Qi's Estate down with her.
The Third Ancestor of the Prince of Qi's Estate gave a cold snort. "Naive, foolish woman. Now that we have seen through all your schemes and plots, do you really think we will obediently follow your script from here on?"
The tall elder immediately turned to Wei Zhao and proposed, "You know the situation now. I suggest we call a truce for the moment, lest this wretch have her way. What say you?"
Before Wei Zhao could answer, Li Hongshou had already begun to laugh.
"Who is it that's really naive? Since I dared to speak of these things, I naturally have absolute confidence in them!"
As she spoke, Li Hongshou picked up the last few ancestral tablets again and said softly, "All the ancestral will of the Prince of Qi's Estate is here. The moment you stop, they will disperse where they stand. Can you truly afford to gamble on that?"
That single sentence left everyone choked into silence.
To speak truthfully, at this moment, bolstered by the many ancestral wills, the Third Ancestor of the Prince of Qi's Estate had already faintly regained the upper hand in their contest with Wei Zhao.
Normally, without any other interference, their taking down Wei Zhao would have been a near certainty.
On this one point alone, Li Hongshou had given them a helping hand.
Only, the price of that help was far too great. Even if they won today, the Prince of Qi's Estate, having lost all the ancestral will, would from then on lose its inherited foundation entirely.
It was no exaggeration to say that even if things ended here and Li Hongshou did nothing further, the Prince of Qi's Estate would essentially already be finished.
Her goal had been achieved.
But Li Hongshou clearly did not intend to stop there.
Just as she reached for the ancestral tablets once more, Qi Zhuiyun moved in front of her, his aura icy and sharp.
"Do you take me for a dead man?"
Though Qi Zhuiyun's current condition was poor, he was still a top-tier royal authority expert of the hallmark kind; his strength was far beyond anything a mere Li Hongshou could match.
Even if the Third Ancestor of the Prince of Qi's Estate was locked in a war of attrition with Wei Zhao and could spare no hand, Qi Zhuiyun had more than enough to finish off a Li Hongshou.
Yet Li Hongshou showed not the slightest sign of panic.
"Master, it's time for you to make your entrance."
With a faint sigh, an old man in Daoist robes silently materialized before everyone.
Every eye twitched in unison.
Judging by the manner of his appearance, he had been inside the ancestral shrine from the very beginning—yet even the three Ancestors of the Prince of Qi's Estate, who held every home-field advantage, had not sensed his presence in the least.
"This poor Daoist is Zhang Tailing. Greetings to you all."