Chapter 294 - 291: Negotiations and Raiding the House

Chapter 294: Chapter 291: Negotiations and Raiding the House

In the imperial court of the Great Derivation, Fang Can was assisting the newly enthroned empress with matters of state.

To say he was "assisting" wasn’t quite accurate. More precisely, Fang Can was using the Empress to command the court.

Jiang Qilan had yet to grow into her new role. She had issued almost no edicts, and could only hesitantly follow Fang Can’s direction.

Jiang Qilan looked at the young man beside her and asked, her voice lacking conviction, "Do we really have to demand reparations from the sects, including Great Chu and the Sky-Refining Gate?"

"Of course. They recklessly started this conflict, so now that they’re defeated, we certainly can’t let them off easy."

Fang Can’s thin lips curled into a slight smile as he said softly, "Besides, the Sect Leaders and Fourth Turn experts from most of these dozen-plus factions are dead, so there’s no need to worry about retaliation. Your Majesty can rest assured."

"As for factions like Great Chu, we’ll just ask for a little less. Everything is negotiable, after all."

"But... the Reversal Gate and the Profound Celestial Sect are factions from our very own Great Derivation. Isn’t that a little..."

Jiang Qilan’s voice grew softer and softer under the young man’s fixed, soul-piercing gaze. A faint blush gradually spread across her face, followed by a barely perceptible nod.

All the officials in the court below witnessed this scene, and a thousand thoughts ran through their minds:

’Sigh, it’s only Her Majesty’s first day on the throne, and she’s already mesmerized by Fang Can’s good looks. If this keeps up, I’m afraid the sovereign will start skipping morning court.’

’Even a Fourth Turn from the Pure Heart Studio couldn’t resist him. Her Majesty, a mere mortal, stands no chance.’

’Great Derivation... What... is to become of it?’

...

After asserting his will, Fang Can had the court officials carry out his orders and send letters of extortion to the various sects.

As court was dismissed, Prince Qing approached him alone. "Fang Can," he said, "you shouldn’t have chosen Qilan to be the empress."

"Why?" Fang Can asked, looking puzzled. ’Does Prince Qing have some kind of grudge against the empress?’

"Because once Qilan becomes the empress, it means there’s no longer any possibility between you two."

Fang Can froze. He looked at Prince Qing and argued, "What are you talking about?! How can you just slander someone out of thin air? What could there possibly be between Jiang Qilan and me?"

"Really? Nothing at all?" Prince Qing asked doubtfully.

"Of course not," Fang Can said, deciding to lay his cards on the table. "I do, however, have my eyes on your great-granddaughter. Just make sure you don’t get in my way."

"Great-granddaughter? Which one?" Prince Qing’s brain seemed to short-circuit for a moment. He had no idea when someone from his line had gotten entangled with Fang Can.

He had lived for several hundred years and had at least a dozen sons and daughters. With a new generation appearing every ten or twenty years, his family tree was a tangled mess. He had over a hundred great-granddaughters alone—how could he possibly remember them all?

"Jiang Ning’an!" Fang Can prompted.

"Ning An?" Prince Qing instantly recalled. They had both come from Jiejian Mountain, so it was no wonder.

"Well... that’s out of my hands, even if I wanted to get involved. Ning An’s marriage will be arranged by her Fourth Turn master," Prince Qing said with a wry smile, feeling that Fang Can was giving him too much credit.

"However, Sect Leader Liu thinks very highly of you. If you and Ning An are truly in love, she would have no reason to stop you."

’Oh, she "thinks very highly" of me, all right,’ Fang Can scoffed inwardly.

’I seduced Elder Liu’s avatar, used an AT Field to get it on with her real body, and now I’m about to get together with Ning An.’

’She’d be absolutely livid, wouldn’t she? I’m becoming a real-life Zeus without even realizing it. When do we fast-forward to the bestiality part? I’m perfectly willing to turn into an animal.’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Fang Can turned his head and said, "Going back to the earlier question, why is it that once Jiang Qilan becomes the empress, there’s no longer any possibility for us?"

"Because according to the rules, an empress is forbidden from practicing martial arts. You understand now, don’t you?" Prince Qing said succinctly.

Fang Can got it in an instant. ’The empress isn’t allowed to practice martial arts, but I’m a top-tier human cauldron. If I spent the night in the imperial bed, wouldn’t her Martial Dao Realm just skyrocket from my essence? That would break the rules.’

’So Prince Qing’s point was that even if I wanted to get with Jiang Qilan, I couldn’t do it while she was on the throne.’

Prince Qing coughed lightly. "Truthfully, it wouldn’t be a problem if you were discreet. But your ’cauldron’ effect is too potent. If the empress were to suddenly appear on Baixiaosheng’s Celestial Secret List, it would be a dead giveaway."

’Too strong? More like too weak!’

Fang Can figured his cauldron effect was actually far too weak.

’Baixiaosheng’s Celestial Secret List only records Martial Artists in the Transcendent Body Realm.’

’If I just put in some extra effort for a month and pushed her Martial Dao Realm straight to the Heaven-Ascending Road, wouldn’t that hide her identity perfectly?’

’Then again, pushing her to the Heaven-Ascending Road in a single month would be quite a challenge.’

’That would take hundreds, maybe thousands, of non-stop ’cultivation’ sessions. By then, Jiang Qilan would be nothing more than my personal fleshlight.’

’Wait a minute...’ Fang Can snapped back to reality, embarrassed and annoyed. "I already told you I’m not interested in the empress! Why do you keep harping on it?"

"Besides, even if I did force the issue, what right would those other Martial Artists have to say anything? I’ve killed more than a dozen Fourth Turn experts. What do they count for?"

’So you really *do* have designs on her... Ah, whatever. Let the young ones do as they please,’ Prince Qing thought to himself.

...

Leaving aside the conversation between Fang Can and Prince Qing, a desolate atmosphere now hung over the Wan Mansion.

The atmosphere had been this way ever since the Patriarch was taken away three days ago, his whereabouts unknown. Everyone understood that they had messed with the wrong person.

’Fang Can!’

Wan Chenyu gritted his teeth. ’He was the root of all this misery, and it all started the moment they crossed him.’

He was startled awake countless times in the dead of night, jolted from nightmares of a successful and famous Fang Can beating him to death like a dog.

Before he could get lost in his thoughts, a series of deafening booms echoed from outside the house.

Before Wan Chenyu could even react, the roof beams directly above him exploded into dust.

As sunlight streamed down, blinding him, a man leading several dozen imperial guards filed into the room, sweeping his frigid gaze over everyone present.

"Uncle Sun? Is there some kind of misunderstanding?"

Wan Chenyu was stunned to see that the newcomer was the same soft-spoken man who had often paid visits to his family.

"What ’Uncle Sun’? You are to address me as Lord Shaoqing," Sun Bailiao cut in coldly.

"By order of Lord Fang, the Wan Mansion is guilty of plotting rebellion. The evidence is irrefutable. However, Lord Fang is merciful; seizing only sixty percent of the Wan Mansion’s assets will suffice."

Sun Bailiao paused mid-sentence, his gaze falling upon the young man. "You may be spared a death sentence, but you won’t escape punishment. Men! Take Wan Chenyu away for a thorough interrogation."

As he spoke, Sun Bailiao’s right hand, seemingly drained of all power, slowly reached forward to apprehend Wan Chenyu.

Seeing the hand reach for him, Wan Chenyu instinctively raised his arm to block. But he saw the corner of Sun Bailiao’s mouth curl into a grim smile. "You dare assault an Imperial Envoy and resist arrest? That adds to your crimes!"

The moment he finished speaking, Sun Bailiao’s hand clamped down on Wan Chenyu’s arm. A powerful surge of True Qi immediately flooded from the point of contact into Wan Chenyu’s body like a tidal wave.

A series of CRACKS, like exploding firecrackers, erupted from within his body. Wan Chenyu let out a wretched scream and collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud.

A cold light flickered in Sun Bailiao’s eyes. He had left his own True Qi lingering within Wan Chenyu’s body.

Without treatment from a Third Turn expert, he could forget about ever making a full recovery.