"We have to think of something," Goddess of Wealth Manis said.
"Yes, we have to think of something," Sui Xiong agreed.
Then they simply stared at each other.
If they could come up with a solution, would they still be sitting here in a daze?
That rumor had struck right at the heart of the matter: for nobles, the inheritance of their families, the continuation of their power and glory, was one of the fundamental goals of their lives. So once it involved the issue of "hindering family inheritance," even nobles who had originally been open-minded often became old-fashioned and conservative.
Of course, there were people who did not care much about family inheritance. There were even progressives who felt the noble inheritance system was deeply unreasonable and believed nobles should not possess privileges passed down from generation to generation. But as the saying went, "There may be individuals who betray their class, but never a class that betrays itself." As a whole, the nobility was extraordinarily sensitive to and opposed to anything that might hinder inheritance.
They said rumors stopped with the wise, but... what if it was not actually a rumor?
The main reason Sui Xiong had suggested that the Goddess of Wealth establish the Grand Council was to divide the noble class—separating great nobles, powerful nobles, and lesser nobles—and adding clerics and commoner representatives as well. It was all meant to weaken the nobility and shatter their unity.
As for merchants... merchants could stand united? Sui Xiong did not believe that for a second! Back when he had been in school, every teacher had said that merchants as a group were the most lacking in long-term vision and solidarity. One or two teachers might have had limited knowledge, or might have been talking nonsense, but surely not