Volume One, Chapter 33: Executing the Prince Consort, Establishing Authority, and Punishing Corrupt Officials!

Zhu Youjian watched as the ministers scrambled to make their donations, a cold sneer playing on his lips. He was already well aware of their true wealth. The pittance they were currently offering was but a drop in the ocean—no, it was less than that; it was merely a microscopic speck on the tip of a hair from that drop. Yet, he did not expose them on the spot, choosing instead to observe with a calm, inscrutable expression.

After the fundraising concluded, the "enormous sum" Zhu Youjian had collected amounted to a mere 3,400 Immortal Essence Stones. He gazed at the pitiful pile on the table, a sardonic smile curling his lips. He was so incensed he actually laughed. Did these ministers truly dare to fob him off like this? Did they take him, the Emperor, for a beggar? As a transmigrator, he had no choice; in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen era, whoever breached the gates of Beijing—be it the Manchu invaders or Li Chuang’s rebels—if he were forced to choose, he would rather perish with the Manchus than suffer such indignity.

Seeing that Luo Qi agreed with his plan, Wen En did not waste words and immediately handed him a list. Whether for ground construction or the building of the Sky City, city defense required vast amounts of materials; the document Wen En provided detailed these necessary supplies.

"The Sky Knights?" Freni felt that something was fundamentally wrong. She had never heard of the Sky Knights being deployed, yet they had suddenly appeared within the Imperial Palace, seemingly patrolling the grounds.

At the end of the Dark Corridor stood an Exterminator clad in silver armor, wielding a radiant light sword. One look at his appearance revealed he was of an entirely different caliber than the previous Exterminators.

Just then, the roar of an engine erupted at the gate. Du Heng, sensing that the situation had turned dire, had snuck into a car and was now flooring the accelerator, charging directly at Zhang Nianzu.

If Ye Ziao were truly dead, one would only need to silence the others, and the problem would be solved. A cultivator at the second stage of the Xuanwu Realm was more than enough to ensure everyone else kept their mouths shut.

"If you had always been this capable, I would have handed the entire family over to you," Mokarubin sighed.

Perhaps the nearly one million in value could not be immediately converted into gold coins, but conversely, by seizing these fleets and battle armors, hadn't Luo Qi saved the funds that would have otherwise been spent on replenishing his troops?

Their main priority now was to deal with these statues. After all, the sudden, inexplicable appearance of these figures surely indicated a trap—most likely some form of defensive mechanism.

Diatoms were discovered within the internal organs, confirming the victim had drowned while still alive. The body clearly indicated death by drowning, though the specific circumstances remained under further investigation.

Wu Zhi nodded. Director Huang’s eyes were reasonably sharp. He looked at the young man and asked, "Are you the Prince of Goryeo?" The Prince of Goryeo would be the son of the King of Goryeo.

Ten miles away from Liu Lang, Du Zhong lay on Zhu Ya’s back, staring blankly at those two pairs of wolf eyes.

"Sister Hong, you’re drunk. Get some rest," Ye Bufan said softly as he laid Hong Xiu on the bed in the room.

Luo Shujun pursed her lips tightly but released her grip on Song Paiyu’s arm, her eyes filled with resentment and tears as she looked at Cheng Shaoyu.

After the fierce battle, Jiji was exhausted to the extreme. After greeting Song Paiyu, it dove into the Bi-Ling Space.

The bull-headed Abang remained sitting cross-legged against the wall, his back to the Taoist Yiye, appearing for all the world as if he were asleep.

Gu Chenghui hurriedly took her grandmother’s hand, offered a few humble words with a smile, and chatted for a while longer before bowing to take her leave. The old madam, feeling somewhat weary, waved her hand and let her return to her own courtyard.

In Shen Juhua’s mind, it seemed all men would eventually bow before her charms; she lived one day at a time, content as long as life was pleasurable and comfortable.

Zhu Xiao smiled. Qiyu was absolutely right; Mu Han had always emphasized that Zhu Xiao’s perspective was too narrow. Knowledge was power, and a form of strength in its own right. At first, Zhu Xiao hadn't understood this principle, but as he gradually grew stronger, he began to grasp the truth of it.

Every scene from every episode they had filmed together came rushing back: from their initial meeting to every little detail—the roller coaster, the pirate ship, the fireworks, the song he sang for her in the mall, the zoo, and the Maldives.

Though she didn't know how to flirt inadvertently, her habit of glancing and then looking away was always tinged with a playful provocativeness.

These resurrected ordinary people no longer held memories of the Underworld; they possessed only the memories of being murdered by the androids.

Sitting on the tiger bench and unable to move, Shi Quan was so terrified by Qiu Yu’s actions that he scrambled backward, his body trembling uncontrollably.

"It’s just an idea. Besides, don't you trust your man?" Zhang Buque laughed, easily persuading Lin Xiaoxiao.

Rumor had it that in the industry, some actors really did "go through the motions" during intimate scenes. At Zhao Qi’s age, if she found a male actor agreeable, she wouldn't mind; they were all adults, and in this day and age, such things were widely understood.

Evil spirits could easily recognize one another, and since the skills of those two evil spirits required a biological host to function, a search through the continent’s towns would eventually reveal their location.

"Where did this unlucky fool come from? He doesn't even know about the National Youth Badminton Championships!" The Scar-faced man instinctively dismissed Wang Daolin as a naive, reckless novice.

If this could be further refined, it could serve as an energy core for magitech machinery, especially magitech weapons. Was this what a Sky Knight was?

The husky rolled over, cleverly avoiding rolling under the table and heading toward an open space instead, putting on a full show of cuteness to beg for favor.

However, because the focus was precisely on Yu Guangnan’s face, Wang Zun noticed that the internal lock on the door seemed to have fallen off.

Although Xinran knew how to swim, she had only learned after her rebirth and was not particularly skilled. The water in the dark river was not only swift but also freezing cold.

Yet, very few people came to thank Xue Fanxin. Among the four great families, only the Bai family made a gesture, and it was Bai Shuiling who personally came to express her gratitude.

A person who cultivates all three elements appears once in a century. In this regard, Luo Chenxi was truly fortunate.

Regarding the rumors in society that he had given Ma Dong 50,000 yuan in cash when applying for a loan, it was purely a fabrication. Jiang Genlin stated that while Ma Dong’s service attitude was indeed problematic, the accusation of soliciting bribes was entirely baseless.

Ma Dong thought to himself that doing financing business without real industry backing was a bit risky, but with a villa as collateral, it was quite safe. Why not pursue such a business?

Obtaining that piece of Fire Element Stone had been an arduous process; it would be truly incredible if it were returned so easily.

Holding Chenchen in his arms, he wiped the sweat away with a handkerchief, but no matter how much Ye Ling moved, Chenchen did not wake up.

"Grandfather, do you want me to become even smarter?" Xue Fanxin clung to Xue Batian’s arm, acting spoiled.

The Fourth Prince did not wish to overstep the Crown Prince, so his already cold expression grew even colder throughout the journey.

There were no rewards of any kind, yet Zhao Xi specifically bestowed upon him several dishes, among which was his least favorite: duck blood soup.