Chapter 291: A Discussion on Confiscation

Great Expansion. In the imperial court, Fang Can assisted the newly enthroned Empress in handling state affairs.

To say he assisted was inaccurate; more precisely, Fang Can held the Empress hostage to command the court officials.

Because Jiang Qilan had not yet adapted to her new identity, she issued almost no decrees and could only meekly follow Fang Can's guidance.

Jiang Qilan looked at the youth beside her and said without confidence, "Do we really have to demand compensation from sects including Great Chu and the Refining Heaven Gate?"

"Of course. They rashly provoked trouble; having lost the war, they naturally cannot be lightly spared."

Fang Can's thin lips curved slightly as he said softly, "Moreover, the sect masters and Fourth-Transcendence experts of most of these dozen or so powers are dead, so there is no need to worry about retaliation. Your Majesty need only rest assured."

"As for Great Chu and the others, we will collect a little less; everything can be negotiated."

"But, the Inverted Gate and Profound Heaven Sect within this list are our own Great Expansion forces; wouldn't that be somewhat inappropriate..."

Jiang Qilan's tone grew quieter and quieter. Stared at directly by the youth's eyes that seemed to pierce through autumn waters, a faint blush gradually rose on her face, followed by a nod as light as a mosquito's hum.

This scene was witnessed by all the ministers below the court, their hearts filled with myriad thoughts:

'Alas, the Empress has only been on the throne for one day and is already bewitched by Fang Can's beauty. If this continues, I fear the monarch will neglect morning court.'

'Even the Fourth-Transcendence expert from Pure Heart Pavilion could not resist; with the Empress being merely a mortal, she will likely find it hard to withstand.'

'What... exactly will Great Expansion become...?'

After imposing his will, he let the ministers execute it according to his intentions, sending extortion letters to various sects.

Upon leaving court, the Prince of Qing approached him alone and said, "Fang Can, you should not have chosen Qilan as Empress."

"Why?" Fang Can looked puzzled. Could the Prince of Qing and the Empress have some grudge?

"Because once Qilan becomes Empress, it means there is no longer any possibility between you two?"

Fang Can's mind froze. Looking at the Prince of Qing, he argued, "No! How can you falsely accuse an innocent person out of thin air? What could possibly exist between me and Jiang Qilan?"

"Really nothing?" the Prince of Qing hesitated.

"Nonsense. I actually have some feelings for your great-granddaughter; just don't get in my way when the time comes," Fang Can laid his cards on the table.

"Great-granddaughter? Which great-granddaughter?" the Prince of Qing's brain stalled for a moment, not knowing when his branch had become connected to Fang Can.

Having lived for several hundred years, he had left a dozen or more sons and daughters at minimum; a new generation appeared every ten or twenty years, creating a tangle of kinship ties. He had over a hundred great-granddaughters alone; how could he possibly remember them all?

"Jiang Ningan!" Fang Can reminded him.

"Ningan?" The Prince of Qing immediately realized; since both were from the Calamity Sword Mountain, that explained it.

"This... I cannot interfere even if I wanted to. Ningan's marriage is arranged by her Fourth-Transcendence master." The Prince of Qing smiled bitterly, feeling that Fang Can thought too highly of him.

"However, Sect Master Liu favors you greatly. If you and Ningan truly love each other, there is no reason for me to stop you."

'That is quite a lot of favor,' Fang Can thought inwardly with resentment.

He had seduced Sect Master Liu's manifestation, had her physical body penetrated three times via the AT Field, and now he was getting involved with Ningan.

With all this, wouldn't she die of anger? Unknowingly, he was almost becoming a Zeus of the third dimension. When would it fast-forward to Ren Shou? He could turn into a beast.

Accompanied by this thought, Fang Can turned his head and said, "Back to the previous question: why does Qilan becoming Empress mean there is no longer any possibility between us?"

"Because according to regulations, an Empress cannot practice martial arts, so you understand now," the Prince of Qing said concisely.

Fang Can understood immediately. Since an Empress cannot practice martial arts, and Fang Can was a Supreme Cauldron, after sleeping in the dragon bed, the Empress's martial realm would surge rapidly with essence, breaking the rules.

So the Prince of Qing meant that even if they were to engage with Jiang Qilan, they could not do so while she was on the throne.

The Prince of Qing coughed lightly and said, "Actually, doing it secretly is fine, but your cauldron effect is too strong. If the Empress ends up on Bai Xiaosheng's Heavenly Secrets List, it will be too obvious."

Too strong? Too weak!

Fang Can felt that indeed, his cauldron effect was still too weak.

Bai Xiaosheng's Heavenly Secrets List only records martial artists who have transcended the mortal body realm.

If he pushed hard for a month and directly propelled the Empress's martial path realm onto the Path to Heaven, wouldn't that perfectly hide her identity?

However, reaching the Path to Heaven within a month was too challenging.

That would require hundreds or even thousands of uninterrupted cultivation sessions; at that rate, he would truly turn Jiang Qilan into a dedicated soufflé cup.

'Wait...' Fang Can came to his senses, feeling somewhat ashamed and annoyed. "I already said I have no feelings for the Empress; why do you keep harping on it?"

"Besides, even if I used force, what right do those martial artists have to complain? I've already killed over a dozen Fourth-Transcendence experts; what are they?"

'So you do have feelings after all... Never mind. If young people want to do it, let them do it,' the Prince of Qing thought silently.

Setting aside the conversation between Fang Can and the Prince of Qing, the Wan Manor at this moment was filled with a desolate atmosphere.

Ever since the family head was arrested three days ago and went missing, this atmosphere had prevailed here, because everyone understood they had provoked an iron plate.

'Fang Can!'

Wan Chenyu ground his teeth; the root of all calamities began with provoking him.

In the midnight hours, he was awakened countless times, dreaming that after Fang Can achieved fame and success, he would beat him to death like a dead dog.

Before he could ponder further, a series of booms erupted outside the house.

Before Wan Chenyu could react, the roof beams above him were completely reduced to dust.

As sunlight shot directly into his eyes, a man entered in a stream accompanied by dozens of imperial guards, sweeping the entire scene with a cold gaze.

"Uncle Sun? Is there some misunderstanding?"

Seeing that the visitor was actually the man with the calm tone who often visited the house, Wan Chenyu felt a moment of daze.

"Uncle Sun? You should address me as Lord Shaoqing," Sun Bai Liao interrupted coldly:

"By order of Lord Fang, the Wan Manor intended to rebel, with clear evidence. However, Lord Fang is kind-hearted; confiscating sixty percent of the Wan Manor's assets will suffice."

Mid-sentence, Sun Bai Liao's gaze turned to the youth: "The death penalty may be waived, but punishment cannot be avoided. Guards, take Wan Chenyu away for strict interrogation."

As he spoke, Sun Bai Liao's right hand relaxed its force and slowly extended forward, preparing to seize Wan Chenyu.

Seeing the hand reaching to capture him, Wan Chenyu instinctively prepared to raise his hand and push it away, but he saw Sun Bai Liao's lips curl as he solemnly declared, "Daring to attack the imperial envoy and attempting to resist arrest adds another crime!"

As his words fell, Sun Bai Liao's hand clamped onto Wan Chenyu's arm, and a fierce surge of true Qi rushed through the point of contact like a tide into the other's body.

A string of crackling sounds—like firecrackers going off—erupted from within the body, and Wan Chenyu let out a wretched scream before collapsing to the ground like a heap of mud.

Cold intent glinting in his eyes, Sun Bai Liao knew his true Qi now lingered inside Wan Chenyu's body.

Without the intervention of a third-tier healer, there would be no recovering from this for the rest of his life.

(End of chapter)