Meanwhile, as the Yang Province navy landed, many powers in Jade Prefecture rose in rebellion together, as though they had planned it long beforehand.
Whalefall Prefecture.
One of the five largest prefectures in Jade Prefecture.
Inside a secret chamber.
Dim candlelight illuminated three faces bearing different expressions.
Seated at the head was Song Tianxiong, patriarch of the Song Family, the foremost of Whalefall Prefecture's four great Aristocratic Clans. His hair and beard were graying, his face square. His fingers tapped intermittently against the table, his gaze heavy and still.
On the left sat Wang Li, the lean patriarch of the Wang Family, his eyes dark and sinister.
On the right was Sun Wanfu, the portly patriarch of the Sun Family, whose smile always carried a touch of mercenary calculation.
"You've all received the news, haven't you?"
Song Tianxiong spoke slowly, his voice low. "The Yang Province navy has landed, and the army following them is coming ashore in an endless stream. Many local garrisons have rebelled. The Marquis of Chu's army is advancing like a blade splitting bamboo."
Wang Li sneered, his voice shrill. "For all these years, Hundred Flowers Valley has acted against all reason, exalting women and debasing men, turning the world upside down. This reckoning was long overdue! Brother Song, Brother Sun, the time has come. What are we still hesitating for?"
Sun Wancai narrowed his eyes. "Brother Wang is quite right, but... formidable as the Marquis of Chu's advance may be, Hundred Flowers Valley has ruled Jade Prefecture for thousands of years. Its roots run deep, and a Divine Mansion Realm Great Expert still presides over the Hundred Flowers Palace. If we rise now, before the Marquis of Chu's main army arrives, and Hundred Flowers Valley recovers its senses and turns its blade on us first,