Volume 6: To Steal is to Rob Chapter 9: Storm in a Sea of Jealousy (Part 1)

Jing'er let out a cold snort and said, "What if one of the legions is currently colluding with other members of the royal family to illicitly mine sky-blue crystals?"

Kuang Chi frowned slightly and replied directly, "No matter what the circumstances are, I certainly can't bring martial supreme seniors from my family to go head-to-head with a regular military legion. A martial supreme is not a battle god, and besides, even a battle god might not dare to cross paths with a regular legion. If that's the case, I cannot help you."

Upon hearing this, Jing'er could not help but retort angrily, "Would I harm you? Of course I wouldn't ask you to go head-to-head with a regular legion, but do you really think the underground warehouse where the sky-blue crystals are processed would be located within the Sky-Blue Star System? Even though they have colluded, they wouldn't dare to be that flagrant; at most, they would just have people secretly mine them within the system."

Kuang Chi looked at Jing'er without speaking, prompting her to continue, "Right near the Sky-Blue Star System lies a territory of land belonging to a royal family member. It is precisely this royal member who has hooked up with the Eighth Legion to illicitly mine the sky-blue crystal deposits within the Sky-Blue Star System."

With a trace of curiosity, Kuang Chi asked, "Since you all have investigated and found this out, why don't you deal with that royal family member as well as the high-ranking officers of that space legion who colluded with them?"

A bitter smile appeared on Jing'er's face as she answered directly, "We investigated and found out, but we simply cannot capture any evidence linking this matter to that royal member. Furthermore, even if we had the evidence, it wouldn't have a major impact on him. As for the Eighth Legion, it is even more so. Even if my imperial father wanted to make a move against them right now, he cannot. At most, we would only catch a few scapegoats, which would be of no avail. If we wanted to dismiss them, firstly, we'd be afraid of startling the snake in the grass, and secondly, we'd worry that the proposal wouldn't pass the court debate, resulting in self- humiliation. The laws of our Piaofeng Empire differ greatly from those of your Karor Empire. The emperor's power is not absolute to do as he pleases. It is subjected to layers of checks and balances from the major ministers in the imperial court and the royal ancestral temple."

Kuang Chi did not inquire any further. Any empire that could endure for tens of thousands of years possessed a well-established governance mechanism. Without such a mechanism, an empire could never exist for so long. Within the imperial family, the probability of a foolish ruler appearing was extremely high. To ensure that such situations would not undermine the foundation of the empire, various empires each possessed a distinct set of mutual restraining methods. It seemed that in the Piaofeng Empire, the appointment and dismissal of high-ranking officers in a regular legion was not something the emperor alone could decide.

As the diplomatic vessel slowly settled into the underground spaceport, Princess Jing'er walked over accompanied by a beaming Anna.

Kuang Chi and his entourage were led by a court ceremonial officer into a luxurious grand hall. It appeared to be a banquet venue, featuring a massive long table in the center that could seat nearly a hundred people. Without waiting for an invitation from the ceremonial officer, Kuang Chi walked in and seated himself. In any case, Jing'er was going to see her parents whom she hadn't seen for over a decade, and clearly, this was not something she would return from in a short time.

Kuang Chi simply brought the accompanying members of Tyrant Dragon Peak to eat their fill in this grand hall. Having had the previous experience, and whether Jing'er had given specific instructions or not, the food this time seemed to be custom-made entirely according to the tastes of Kuang Chi and the people from Forgotten Star.

After a full half-day, Jing'er walked in with slightly red eyes. Everyone was quite familiar with Jing'er, so no formalities were needed. Seeing her enter, no one stood up; instead, they continued to enjoy the pastries before them and chatted in small groups.

Jing'er walked over and sat down in the seat specifically left vacant to Kuang Chi's right. Kuang Chi then smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Looking at your red eyes, did you cry again?"

Jing'er nodded shyly, then smiled at Anna and asked, "Anna, is the food here to your liking?"

Anna smiled back at Jing'er, then looked at Kuang Chi and said, "It's very delicious."

Jing'er smiled, then turned back to Kuang Chi with a long sigh and said, "My imperial father has aged a lot. I'm really quite worried."

Just as Kuang Chi was about to speak, someone suddenly walked in through the doorway—a handsome young man with cascading black hair. When Kuang Chi saw him, Jing'er also seemed to sense something, and as she turned her head to look at the man, her expression involuntarily shifted.

The other party seemed to completely ignore Kuang Chi's existence, walking directly up to Jing'er, gazing at her affectionately for a long moment before finally speaking, "Little Princess."

Finally snapping out of her daze, Jing'er wore a bizarre smile on her face as she replied, "What brings Lord Duke here? It really has been a long time."

The man quickly chimed in, "I just heard that Your Highness the Little Princess has returned, so I specifically rushed over to check on you. How have you been all these years?"

Jing'er smiled and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Lord Duke."

From the exchange and expressions of the two, Kuang Chi could distinctly sense an unusual rapport between them. Just as Kuang Chi was about to open his mouth, Jing'er spoke up: "I am entertaining guests here. If Your Excellency the Duke has nothing else to attend to, please return."

Kuang Chi could sense that the man wanted to say something to Jing'er several times, but each time his lips parted, nothing came out. Jing'er turned her head away and did not look at him again. Finally, the man glared fiercely at Kuang Chi, let out an angry huff, and turned to leave.

How could Kuang Chi fail to sense where the other's hostility stemmed from? It looked precisely like the gaze he himself used to direct at Pierre Hyde.

Kuang Chi was momentarily stunned on the spot. After a long while, he asked Jing'er, who was sitting quietly beside him with a gloomy face, "Jing'er, who is he?"

Jing'er let out a long sigh and continued, "The current head of the Wu family, one of the most powerful clans in our empire. Have you heard of them?"

Kuang Chi shook his head directly and smiled, "Back at home, I never bothered with these affairs. I only focused on cultivation."

Hearing this, Jing'er could not help but laugh in spite of herself, saying, "I almost forgot. I heard rumors that your Kuang family intends to groom your first wife, Zixia, into the future administrator of the Kuang family. I just heard it mentioned by my imperial father as well; it seems Zixia has already begun taking over your family's affairs."

Although Kuang Chi detected a hint of unusual feeling in those words, he was still startled by the content and hurriedly pursued the matter: "What did you just say? Zixia is managing our Kuang family? What does that mean?"

Jing'er glared at Kuang Chi and said, "It seems this was one of the agreements made back then between your Kuang family and the Sword Sect—betrothing Zixia to you, but hereafter, the Kuang family must also be handed over to Zixia for management."

At this, Kuang Chi rubbed his temples and asked again, "Is this news reliable?"

Jing'er nodded directly, "My imperial father just said so, it shouldn't be false. Besides, did you really expect to manage it yourself? Would you even know how to manage it? It seems your family hasn't produced a single head good at household management in tens of thousands of years. Otherwise, with the strength of your Kuang family, you wouldn't possess only a single planet after tens of thousands of years."

Kuang Chi was dazed for a moment, then stupidly asked aloud, "Then what about me? What will I do?"

Not only did Jing'er find this question amusing enough to laugh out loud, but even Anna beside her couldn't help but chuckle.

Anna stepped right in and said, "I think this arrangement is great. Although I haven't met Sister Zixia, she is definitely smarter than you, and certainly more shrewd."

Kuang Chi glared somewhat resentfully at the smiling Jing'er, as well as the equally bizarrely grinning Anna on the other side, and said, "I mean, what am I supposed to do from now on?"

Jing'er smiled, though this time the smile lacked any teasing intent, and said, "You just need to put your heart at ease and cultivate diligently to become a battle god. Make your Kuang family produce another battle god."

In truth, Kuang Chi didn't have much objection to handing family management over to Zixia; he was simply kept entirely in the dark beforehand, which left a somewhat stifling feeling in his chest upon hearing the news.

With great understanding, Jing'er continued by his side, "I think this must be related to the marriage alliance between your Kuang family, the Sword Sect, and the Karachi family. It's definitely not as simple as it appears on the surface. Otherwise, no matter how outstanding Zixia is, I imagine your Kuang family's elders and the sect masters of various sects—especially those martial supremes—would never agree to hand the family over to an outsider to manage. Even though this outsider happens to be your wife, such a situation should theoretically be impossible."

Saying this, Jing'er smiled again and added, "Although your Kuang family is indeed very poor, such a thing shouldn't happen either."

Hearing the phrase "your Kuang family is very poor" yet again, Kuang Chi felt a mix of displeasure and even greater curiosity, and demanded angrily, "You keep saying our Kuang family is poor. Why don't you tell me just where our Kuang family is poor?"

Hearing the tone of Kuang Chi's voice, Jing'er couldn't help but laugh outly, finally saying, "Alright, fatty, don't stay mad at me, okay? You can ask your wife Zixia about this when you go back in the future; this has nothing to do with me." At this point, a trace of melancholy appeared on Jing'er's expression.

Then she smiled again and said, "Well, the poverty I speak of is relative. Relatively speaking, your family's wealth is simply too disproportionate to your family's strength."

Just at that moment, Jing'er walked in followed by a stunning woman draped in luxurious formal attire. Her features bore a striking resemblance to Jing'er and Jing'er's sister, and the moment she saw her, Kuang Chi had already guessed her identity.

Upon seeing this gorgeous woman, Jing'er stood up in pleasant surprise, hurried over to her side, and sweetly called out, "Mother, why are you here?"

The woman glanced at Kuang Chi and then at Anna beside him before smilingly saying to Jing'er, "I came to see the young master of the Kuang family."

Kuang Chi hurriedly brought Anna forward to pay his respects, and the members of Tyrant Dragon Peak also stood up, formally bowing to Jing'er's mother.

Jing'er's mother, the current empress of the Piaofeng Empire, graciously waved her hand and repeatedly said, "No need for formalities, everyone please rise. I'm just here to see everyone and to thank you all for taking care of my youngest daughter over these past years."

Afterwards, she looked directly at Kuang Chi with a smile and said, "I must especially thank the young master of Kuang for rescuing my daughter despite the danger. I am here representing Jing'er's father to express his gratitude to you as well. It is inconvenient for him to meet outsiders at the moment, and I hope the young master of Kuang can forgive this."

Kuang Chi hurriedly exchanged several polite pleasantries.