Immortal of the Nine Realms

”Duke Fang, this isn’t appropriate, right? His Majesty has his reasons for personnel allocation. Although you are the Duke, it is not appropriate to intervene so boldly....” said Li Guozhu slowly.

He was the Prime Minister of the Grand Xia Empire. While his position might not be as high as Fang Chen’s, his many years of influence made him a significant figure. With him speaking up, many officials felt relieved, and Xiao Shence’s pale face began to turn rosy.

Fang Chen had truly overstepped his boundaries this time around; for him to ask the emperor to renounce his own confidant from his position and replace him with one of Fang Chen’s men was a blatant, audacious scheme. It was no different from him openly declaring a rebellion!

However, no one dared to puncture the delicate screen of civility that was playing out. Otherwise, the new found glory of the empire would be short lived.

”Prime Minister Li,” said Fang Chen, a smile on his face, ”you may not be aware of the details, but I’m doing this for the benefit of our Grand Xia. I won’t hesitate to carry out anything that will help our empire. Grand Xia belongs to everyone—not just the emperor. Sometimes, we need to sacrifice a little for the greater good.”

Finally, some elderly civil officials couldn’t hold back anymore. ”Treason! This is treason!” they yelled, their shaky fingers pointed at Fang Chen.

The military officials present remained silent. They only exchanged glances with each other.

The emperor’s face fell, and it turned somewhat grim. Even with his political acumen, it was challenging to maintain composure after hearing what Fang Chen had just said.

As for Crown Prince Xia Yu... he was completely infuriated!

Grand Xia belonged to the Xia family! That was a fact that held true from the day the empire was founded, and would hold true in the future years to come!

”Enough,” said the emperor. ”Commander Xiao failed to handle matters well. His position of the officer commanding of the Valiant Saber Guards will be passed on to Huang Sihai after today.”

A heavy silence enveloped the surroundings as soon as he spoke.

Tao Mingsheng began quivering. Xiao Shence had failed to manage his subordinates properly, and he, too, was in a similar situation. Qin Dong was the deputy minister of rites—his subordinate....

The Grand Xia Emperor showed a slight smile. “Do you have any other suggestions, Duke Fang?”

Fang Chen nodded. ”When will His Majesty arrange for the third prince’s funeral?” he added.

The Third Prince?

Could the rumors be true?

The crowd was bewildered; wasn’t the third prince killed because Fang Chen had recklessly slaughtered the martial artists in the Qingsong Superior Academy? That was clearly his own fault.

Xia Yu wasn’t looking too good, but his gaze was fixed at Fang Chen, scouring for any trace of inconsistencies that he could make use of.

His expression grave, the emperor slowly asked, ”Fang—Duke Fang, is it really true?”

Fang Chen gave a nod. ”Yes. His Third Highness has sacrificed himself for our Grand Xia,”

Suddenly, Xia Yu spoke up, his tone challenging. ”Duke Fang! If it weren’t for you, my third brother wouldn’t have died so tragically.”

Fang Chen had displayed extraordinary strength and easily dealt with over a hundred Nightmare Knights, he had even killed the cultivator backing the Ji Family, yet Xia Yu still dared to criticize him openly!

Seeing that, many of the old civil officials were relieved; at least, there was someone who had the guts to express their grievances!

”Yes, that’s true. Had I known this would happen, I would have suggested that you should be the one to go and be held captive. The third prince showed commendable ability to lead an empire. It’s a pity he was killed,” replied Fang Chen casually with a smile.

Xia Yu was so shocked, his tongue suddenly felt all tied-up. He looked as if he had eaten something disgusting, and his face turned a strange shade of green.

People had become accustomed to Fang Chen’s way of speaking. After all, he had been at odds with various officials for a long time.

Seeing Xia Yu falling silent, Fang Chen shifted his gaze to the envoys from the other empires.

”What are your names?” he asked.

As the three were about to answer, Fang Chen suddenly waved them off. “You know what; forget it,” he dismissed them. “I don’t care to know. Just go back and tell your emperors that, from now on, you’ll be the vassal states of Grand Xia. If you have any objections, you can send a letter over, and I’ll personally head over to persuade your emperors.”

The envoys’ faces alternated between a shade white and green, as if they had eaten flies.

”Also, whatever tribute you used to give to the Frost Water Empire, you will now double that and offer it to Grand Xia. For every portion less, we will take one of your cities. If you lower it by more than thirty percent, we’ll destroy one of your states,” continued Fang Chen, each of his words more vicious than the last.

The three envoys took a sharp breath. Double? They’d lose a city for each portion not sent and an entire state if the tribute was thirty percent less than what was expected? That... That was simply too much!

They were so angry, their faces leached of blood, but it didn’t matter how angry they were, they could only lower their heads in silent obedience in the face of Fang Chen’s might. They dared not talk back, afraid that Fang Chen might kill them off for some much as looking at him the wrong way.

Swishing his sleeve, Fang Chen dismissed them, saying, ”I see it’s getting late. You should hurry back to deliver the message, then come back with this year’s tribute.”

Just like that, they were chased away.

They ran away like flies being shooed. Throughout the entire process, they didn’t even dare to leave behind any threats. With their elite soldiers in tow, they left in a sorry state.

”Double the tribute they used to send....” muttered Li Guozhu to himself as his eyes lit up. ”This will add at least several million taels of silver to our Grand Xia treasury every year!!”

Several million taels of silver!

Excitement filled the eyes of those present as they thought about what they would receive. The matter with Xiao Shence was thrown to the back of their minds as they thought about how much they would gain. Grand Xia’s annual tax revenue was not even close to a few million taels of silver! With three vassal states, the vitality the empire had lost five years ago could slowly be replenished. In just a few years, Grand Xia would be as prosperous as before—No, perhaps even more prosperous than ever! They were now an eighth-tier empire, after all!

”Duke Fang, there is one thing I would like to ask you about,” asked the Grand Xia Emperor suddenly.

Everyone’s expressions changed, and they all fixed their gazes at Fang Chen.

“Your Majesty, please,” said Fang Chen.

”In order for us to advance from the ninth-tier to the eighth-tier, we don’t only need the approval of the Frost Water Empire, but we also need the other empires to agree, otherwise, everything would be for naught.”

Fang Chen only smiled at that. ”Why would they have any reason to refuse? Would they dare not agree?”

Everyone couldn’t help but cast him a strange look. Well, that was quite a domineering statement: would they dare not agree?

Fang Chen’s confidence was clearly on full display.

The emperor nodded, then said, ”That’s good, then. There are other matters I’d like to discuss with Duke Fang. Let’s return to the palace.”

With that, under the escort of soldiers, they left the training grounds.

The citizens who had come to watch the exercise were excited as can be, and they spoke without restraint and with great glee as they returned to the city.

The injured Ji Lengyue was not forgotten and was brought back to the Valiant Saber Guard station in the Inner City.

*

The imperial palace study.

The emperor’s gaze was fixed at Fang Chen, his face ashen. He suddenly loudly roared, ”Are you trying to rebel, Fang Chen?”

His voice filled the study and traveled outside its door.

The expressions of the eunuchs and palace maids outside changed instantly. Yan Beihan, who was guarding the entrance, nearly rushed into the study; however, he managed to restrain himself.

A calm smile rose on Fang Chen’s face, and he replied, ”What do you mean by that, Your Majesty? If I wanted to rebel, I would have done so a long time ago. Why would I have to wait till today?”

The emperor’s feet were so jerky, he couldn’t take his seat. He kept pacing back and forth in the study, his face wreathed in unease. Finally, he walked up to Fang Chen and glared into his gray eyes, seemingly trying to confirm whether the youngster was truly blind or not.

”If you’re not planning to rebel, then why did you force me to get rid of Xiao Shence?” he questioned, his tone complaining. “Do you know who he is?! He’s my most trusted advisor! Why would you make things difficult for me in front of so many officials?! Fang Chen, did you forget that I am your uncle?! The empress is your aunt!”