The Elders of the Cao family looked as if they had swallowed a fly. Their expressions were ugly, and they felt very uncomfortable.
They understood that Cao Haolong was correct in his deduction, but they were not happy that this decision had been made without hearing their opinions.
While the Cao family heavily depended on Cao Haolong to sustain itself, many of these Elders were also embarrassed and jealous of the fact that they could not do what a young man was capable of doing by himself.
Although they had accepted that he took over the power, they still hoped that they could control the major things for the family, and merely leave the troublesome things for Cao Haolong to handle, but now he had made such decisions behind their backs, making them very unhappy.
"Even if it is indeed the case, how are we going to handle the revenge from the Fourth Demon Prince?" The Elder that spoke up frowned with a bit of unease.
He was not intending to cause problems with this question, he merely wished to try and find a solution to the current situation.
He understood that these things could not be changed, and deep in his heart, he felt somewhat relieved that they were no longer stuck to Jiang Luo, but he still feared that there would be no way to survive the revenge from the Fourth Demon Prince.
Cao Haolong's face finally turned serious. He had been smiling gently before and taking it calmly while explaining the reasons behind the decisions he made, but he also understood the risks involved with the change he had made.
"I will do my utmost to ensure the minimum losses to our Cao family. We have to expect that a few casualties will be normal, but it should not be above a number that can't be accepted. Also, if things do get out of control, then we can contact the Seventh Demon Prince and ask for assistance. We are now his supporters, so he will not watch us being killed by his brother.
"Even if he is not a great fan of our support, he will not allow his followers to be bullied by his enemy, so we should be able to survive the chaos that will happen soon."
The Elders all felt somewhat relieved while hearing the conclusion that Cao Haolong had reached. As long as they could survive, then they would feel better. Even if they had to sacrifice a few members of their clan, it would be worth it, as long as the whole family would stay at the top of the social hierarchy in Cloudsoar City.
While the majority of the Cao family more or less supported Cao Haolong after considering their options, a handful were silent. They did not show their dissatisfaction, nor did they voice their support.
Some of them were the ones who had supported Jiang Luo from the very beginning, and truly wished for him to sit on the throne, while others supported the Fourth Demon Prince due to the great amount of benefits they had gotten throughout the last couple of years.
While they understood that Jiang Yao might be more powerful and was likely to win the throne, they also knew that he would not provide them with the same amount of benefits, so they were unwilling.
To them, it did not matter if Jiang Luo lost the throne. They would get as many benefits as possible before then, and upon losing the throne, they would run away, find a small kingdom or empire further away, and settle down to live a life of luxury.
These two groups of people were both unhappy with the current situation of the Cao family, but they also understood that they could not say anything about it for now.
Instead, they were trying to figure out ways to help or gain benefits from Jiang Luo in the current situation. They did not doubt that he would be grateful to have some loyal supporters within the enemy camp.
Cao Haolong did not mention these silent Elders, but his eyes did scan their bodies briefly, before a small smile tugged on his lips.
He was not an inexperienced young man who was easy to bully. Before approaching Jiang Yao, he had long since understood who was truly supportive of the Fourth Demon Prince, and who had received the most benefits from him.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom Obviously, he would keep an extra eye on the two groups of experts, but he was not so stupid as to call them out.
While it would be impossible for the external experts to betray the Cao family, the family members were different. They did not have to swear a heavenly oath to stay loyal, so they could easily do something behind their backs.
At the same time, it would be impossible to execute them for disagreeing with the patriarch, so the most suitable solution was to pretend not to notice their abnormality, and strike them down when they did something that could warrant expulsion from the family or even execution.
Cao Haolong was shrewd. He understood that many of these family members merely looked at him as a slave to improve their family's conditions, but when they spoke about him behind his back, he was always belittled because of his background and his identity.
Such a family was not worthy of much respect from Cao Haolong, but he was not willing to let go of the family either.
The reason for him to work so hard to take over the family was not because of his hunger for power, but because he wished to trample those who mocked him and his mother under his foot.
He wished for them to see that the one they bullied and looked down upon was the same person they now had to flatter and look up to. He was the one who held their future in his hands.
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