Chapter 246

Half of the old nobility group shifting allegiance to the royal family that seeks to curb their power sounds like the dumbest idea ever.

After all, Prince Joshua and the Queen are also part of the royal family. Aligning with them would still result in significant constraints. If he truly defeats the princess and becomes the “representative” of the royal will, he would also mercilessly target the old nobility, leaving the situation unchanged.

But just like what Duke Lionheart did, when you no longer have the ability to be a chess player, why not sell yourself to the highest bidder?

For the princess who has already consolidated her power, these old nobles hold little value. But for Joshua, whose claim to the throne is precarious and who could be married off to some foreign kingdom to secure an alliance with a ‘monkey queen,’ the support of these people is like a lifeline!

To counterbalance the princess’s power, Joshua and the Queen backing him will undoubtedly spare no effort to court these individuals, willingly sacrificing interests and offering extraordinarily generous terms, thus creating room for negotiation.

As for what Joshua will do once he ascends… we’ll cross that bridge when we get there! If they can’t restrain the rising power of the princess now, these people will immediately be locked up or even slaughtered en masse, losing any chance to consider the future! Besides, compared to the cunning princess, dealing with the arrogant and self-important Prince Joshua is much easier! “This plan isn’t bad… I agree!”

The young noble who previously wanted to abandon the Leon siblings stepped forward again this time, being the first to support the new proposal.

Following him, many old nobles whose interests were threatened and who strongly opposed the new policies also stood up and expressed their support.

“I agree.”

“I second that!”

“This is it; we have no other choice!”

Once more than half of the old nobles had voiced their stance, the remaining more conservative ones, despite having doubts about the proposal, couldn’t come up with a better alternative at the moment and chose to tacitly approve or simply decided to give it a try by agreeing as well.

“Since the majority agrees, let’s make this decision.”

Surveying the almost unanimous situation in the room, the middle-aged man leading the meeting took over and loudly announced: “In order to oppose the princess’s new policies, in the future we will collectively side with the Queen and fully support Prince Joshua’s ascension.

Additionally, let me make this clear beforehand: out of the ninety-two noble families present today, even if some hold differing opinions, please maintain unity with everyone else. Even if you don’t support Prince Joshua, please don’t hinder us.

Otherwise… don’t blame others for being unsentimental.”

…

Such a large-scale shift of the old nobility towards the prince was naturally impossible to conceal. Even before their gathering dispersed and they began acting, the princess had already received the relevant intelligence.

“This is troublesome…”

Upon receiving the list of old nobles choosing to side with Joshua, the princess couldn’t help but deeply furrow her brows at the alarming names on the long list.

Let’s not talk about Joshua for now. She knew all too well about that ambitious stepmother. Even without this move, she wouldn’t abandon her plans for Joshua’s ascension and would certainly create a commotion. With the support of the old nobility now, her actions will surely be even more disruptive.

Unfortunately, if it were only scheming and plotting, it would be manageable. For someone with a mind identical to Joshua’s, she only needed to dig a small pit to make her stumble badly and behave herself temporarily.

However, her brother, her estranged uncle, is the current Minister of Finance in the Ministry of Finance. He and his family behind him are the actual controllers of the Ministry of Finance, where she has no influence.

And for her to implement new policies, financial support is indispensable. All her stepmother needs to do is use some underhanded tactics during the struggle for the throne to choke off the financial flow, which would be enough to ensure her new policies are dead in the water.

Picking up the hand-painted ticket dipped in ink, she wrote a few words on the paper and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The best solution would be to deliberately provoke a small-scale border conflict and trigger a bloody incident.

With the precedent of the defensive war six years ago, as long as the country enters a state of readiness—even the lowest level—the Queen and the Ministry of Finance wouldn’t dare to pull her down.

Otherwise, forget about Joshua inheriting the throne; if the Queen dared to cause trouble at such a critical moment, her father might rise from his sickbed and strangle Joshua himself.

Yet, while this method could break the deadlock and doesn’t even require her direct involvement—just hinting to Old Hill, the Minister of Defense, would suffice for him to handle things quietly—it goes against her original intention to avoid plunging the kingdom into war.

So, let’s try another way.

She crossed out the option of “war” and moved the tip of her feather pen slightly, drawing a circle around “force-push.”

The most appropriate action now is to take advantage of the fact that the old nobility has just aligned with Joshua and hasn’t yet finalized their cooperation. Use the Lane Family’s Upper House seat to pass part of the new policies into law.

As long as the portion restricting the privileges of the old nobility and promoting commercial development is forcibly pushed through, the Chamber of Commerce controlling the Lower House will have leverage and will assist in implementing some of the new policies.

Even if the Ministry of Finance tries to obstruct her afterward, they will face resistance from the merchants due to infringing on their interests. As the largest source of taxation and revenue for the kingdom, the Chamber of Commerce also wields significant influence over the Ministry of Finance. This gives her the possibility to pry open the Ministry of Finance and secure the budget necessary for fully implementing her new policies…

That’s the plan!

Marking a checkmark next to “force-push,” the princess didn’t stop her pen but instead tapped the paper, continuing to ponder.

To achieve all this, she must obtain the Lane Family’s Upper House seat to push through her new policies. And to get that seat…

She must complete an alliance with the Lane Family! Which means she must win over Leon!

Dipping the feather pen in ink, she wrote “Leon” after “force-push.” After thoroughly clarifying her thoughts, she paused for a moment, then rang the bell to summon the maid waiting outside: “Millie, isn’t Master Wilde’s Morning Star Theater Company currently performing?”

“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”

The maid recalled and nodded thoughtfully, then asked kindly: “If you’d like to relax, the Morning Star Theater Company sent tickets for the top floor suspended platform…”

“No need.”

Waving off the maid’s suggestion, the princess instructed:

“Just buy two tickets with slightly better seats in the second-floor box area… Remember, a couple’s box!”

(End of Chapter)