Chapter 655 --655

Chapter 655: Chapter-655

"What the heck is this?!" the Emperor shouted, his aristocratic composure completely shattering as he slammed the scroll onto his desk. He stared down at Heena in sheer, unadulterated disbelief. "You mean to tell me that the Imperial Youth Academy—the biggest, most prestigious civil academy in our entire nation—is legally built on active military grounds?!"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Heena smiled brightly, looking like the picture of patriotic innocence. "My son noticed the clerical error in the lease this morning. We are simply reclaiming it for the safety of the empire. Though, if the scholars wish to stay on the property, they owe the Vanguard estate two hundred and fifty thousand gold taels in back-rent."

The Emperor stared at her, realizing that the Vanguard family hadn’t just beaten the civil court physically; they were now mathematically bankrupting them.

The Emperor’s fingers tightened around the edge of the desk.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand gold taels?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Per year?"

Heena tilted her head innocently.

"No. That is merely the accumulated back-rent."

The Emperor’s face twitched.

"Accumulated...?"

"For the past twenty years."

Silence.

Even the imperial guards standing by the doors lowered their heads, desperately trying not to make eye contact with their sovereign.

The Emperor slowly picked up the scroll again and scanned the figures.

Then he looked at Heena.

Then at the scroll.

Then back at Heena.

"You are telling me," he said carefully, "that the civil court has been operating the Imperial Youth Academy on Vanguard military property for twenty years without paying rent?"

"According to the documents, yes."

"And nobody noticed?"

Heena smiled.

"Apparently not."

The Emperor inhaled deeply through his nose.

This was no longer a simple dispute.

This was a financial massacre.

"And what exactly does your family intend to do now?"

Heena clasped her hands behind her back.

"We have already submitted the reclamation order."

The Emperor’s eyebrow twitched.

"Already?"

"My son was quite efficient."

"Of course he was."

The Emperor looked toward the ceiling as if asking the heavens for patience.

"How much time did you give the academy to vacate?"

"Seven days."

"SEVEN DAYS?!"

Heena flinched slightly from the sudden shout.

"Your Majesty, they are occupying military property illegally."

"I understand that!"

The Emperor slammed the scroll down again.

"But do you understand what will happen if you throw thousands of students out of the Imperial Youth Academy?!"

Heena blinked.

"They can study somewhere else."

The Emperor stared at her.

"You really don’t care about making enemies, do you?"

Heena smiled sweetly.

"Your Majesty, I am merely enforcing the law."

The Emperor’s expression darkened.

That sentence.

He had heard it before.

Every time Heena said, I am merely enforcing the law, someone ended up losing money, authority, property, dignity—or all four.

He slowly sat back in his chair.

"Fine."

He pointed toward the scroll.

"Collect your rent."

Heena’s eyes brightened.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"But!"

Her smile froze.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes.

"You are not demolishing the academy."

"I never said I would."

"You are not evicting the students."

"I never said that either."

"And you are absolutely forbidden from charging the students personally."

Heena paused.

Then she smiled.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

The Emperor immediately felt a headache coming.

"And the civil court?"

Heena’s smile became even sweeter.

"They can pay the debt."

The Emperor stared at her for several seconds.

Then, finally, he muttered,

"May the heavens have mercy on the civil court."

Heena turned toward the door.

"The heavens might."

She glanced back over her shoulder.

"But the Vanguard won’t."

And with that, she walked away.

Behind her, the Emperor stared at the mountain of paperwork on his desk.

For the first time in his reign, he genuinely wondered whether becoming Emperor had been a terrible career decision.

.

.

.

The news reached the civil court before Heena had even returned to the Vanguard estate.

The moment the messenger stepped inside, the entire hall fell silent.

"The Imperial Youth Academy has received an official reclamation order."

The Prime Minister slowly raised his head.

"What?"

"The land has been legally confirmed as Vanguard military property."

A few ministers exchanged uneasy glances.

The Prime Minister’s face darkened.

"And the Emperor?"

"He has acknowledged the Vanguard family’s claim."

The silence became heavier.

Then the messenger swallowed.

"There is one more matter."

The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed.

"What now?"

"The Vanguard estate has submitted a back-rent claim."

"How much?"

The messenger hesitated.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand gold taels."

Someone in the hall dropped a scroll.

"What?!"

"Two hundred and fifty thousand?!"

"That’s impossible!"

The Prime Minister stood abruptly.

"How can they possibly demand that much?"

The messenger lowered his head.

"The amount is calculated according to the historical military land lease rate."

The Prime Minister’s expression froze.

Historical.

That single word was enough to make his blood run cold.

"How many years?"

"Twenty."

The entire civil court erupted.

"TWENTY YEARS?!"

"That’s more than the academy’s annual budget!"

"We cannot possibly pay that!"

The Prime Minister clenched his fists.

"Who authorized this claim?"

"The Vanguard family."

"I know that!"

He slammed his hand onto the table.

"Who gave them the authority?!"

The messenger hesitated.

"The Emperor."

The Prime Minister went completely silent.

Nobody dared speak.

Then a young minister cautiously raised his hand.

"Prime Minister..."

"What?"

"If we refuse to pay..."

The Prime Minister looked at him.

"...what?"

The young minister swallowed.

"They can legally reclaim the property."

The Prime Minister’s eye twitched.

"And if we continue operating the academy without paying?"

The minister looked down at the documents.

"Then it becomes unlawful occupation."

The Prime Minister slowly sat back down.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then someone whispered,

"We’re being robbed."

Another minister immediately shook his head.

"No."

He looked at the enormous debt written across the document.

"We’re being legally robbed."

At that exact moment, another messenger rushed into the hall.

"Prime Minister!"

"What now?!"

"The Vanguard estate has sent another notice."

The Prime Minister’s eyelid twitched.

"Read it."

The messenger nervously unfolded the paper.

"The Vanguard family has graciously offered the civil court an installment plan."

The Prime Minister stared.

"...How generous."

The messenger continued.

"With interest."

The Prime Minister closed his eyes.

He suddenly understood.

Heena hadn’t merely found a loophole.

She had turned the loophole into a business model.

And somewhere across the capital, Heena was probably smiling.

.

.

.

At afternoon in Vanguard estate.

Heena was finally enjoying a moment of absolute, undisturbed peace. Having skipped breakfast to legally extort the civil academy, she was currently dedicating her full attention to a lavish lunch.

Then, a Vanguard servant rushed into the dining hall. "Madam, the civil nobles have filed another emergency petition against you."

Heena gripped the edge of the table, entirely exasperated, feeling like she couldn’t even breathe. Do these old men have absolutely no hobbies? she grumbled internally. At least wait until tomorrow morning! Abandoning her meal, she marched back to the Imperial Palace, her temper thoroughly soured.

As Heena entered the Grand Hall, the Minister of General Staff—filling in for the bedridden Prime Minister—violently threw himself onto the marble floor. SMACK!

Heena physically winced just hearing the bone-shattering impact. It was no wonder these civil officials died before reaching old age; their knees were completely destroyed by their own dramatic flair.