The Two Princes

This was how His Majesty kept his subjects in line.

The four great families controlled the four major departments. They kept one another in check, yet all served the royal family.

Once, members of two of the four great families had considered joining forces and forming an alliance to expand their influence. They had been plotting something dangerous.

The royal family had responded by slaughtering them. Apart from a few fugitives who had escaped their grasp, the older generation had been nearly wiped out. Only the younger generation had been propped up by the royal family and allowed to rebuild.

The You Family was one of the four great families the royal family had once slaughtered.

That was why the You Family had the shallowest roots of the four great families, especially in the eyes of the royal family.

The marriage alliance with the Seventh Prince was both His Majesty's decree and a means for the royal family to maintain the balance of power.

After that incident, the royal family and the four great families had occasionally intermarried to maintain close ties, rather than leaving them entirely to their own devices as they had before.

Even You Damiao couldn't explain all the ins and outs of it.

Qing Si Red Robe was You Damiao's official post.

He was the one who had just spoken up to plead for You Sisi.

By seniority, You Damiao and You Sisi were of the same generation. But he was a full generation older than her in age—old enough to be her uncle.

He had watched You Sisi grow up, and in the end, his heart had softened. He had anxiously stepped forward on her behalf.

All he got in return was His Majesty's cold gaze and a sharp tug at his robes from his