Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Eastern Palace.

In the main hall.

Ye Xuan sat alone in front of the desk, thinking in his mind that a force that could make Xia fear and make Emperor Xia balance out the power should be quite powerful.

During the three years in the cold palace, he had familiarized himself with the ancient books and scrolls of the empire. There were quite a number of sects in Great Xia, but none of them were above the empire. Furthermore, the sects had never interfered with the affairs of the imperial court.

This made him even more curious about the forces behind the Grand Preceptor, Grand Tutor, and Left Minister.

Gao Ying returned with a middle-aged man. “Your Highness, Patriarch Xuanyuan is here.”

Xuanyuan Tuo bowed. “I, Xuanyuan Tuo, pay my respects to Your Highness.”

Ye Xuan raised his hand slightly, indicating for Xuanyuan Tuo to stand up. “I wonder why Patriarch Xuanyuan has come to the palace.”

Xuanyuan Tuo went straight to the point. “Your Highness, I came to the palace because I want to cooperate with you.”

Cooperation?

Ye Xuan gestured for Xuanyuan Tuo to take a seat. “Patriarch Xuanyuan, please tell me how we can cooperate.”

Xuanyuan Tuo sat across from Ye Xuan. “Your Highness, the Northern Barbarians have sent their troops to invade Great Xia, and the people have been tormented by the flames of war. The Xuanyuan family is willing to provide financial assistance to Great Xia in repelling the Northern Barbarians.”

Ye Xuan narrowed his eyes and sized up Xuanyuan Tuo. Businessmen would not get up early if there was no profit. Since Patriarch Xuanyuan had taken the initiative to invest, there must be something they wanted. “What do you want, Patriarch Xuanyuan?”

Everyone was understanding. Being straightforward could solve things quickly. Nobody liked to beat around the bush.

Xuanyuan Tuo said, “Your Highness, our Xuanyuan family’s request is very simple. When Your Highness has unified the world, our Xuanyuan family will control the business world.”

He was quite ambitious.

The business world.

In other words, the Xuanyuan family would control all the businesses in the world.

Ye Xuan replied without hesitation, “I can agree to your request, but our cooperation must be changed to submission.”

Xuanyuan Tuo’s expression changed. “Your Highness, this…”

Ye Xuan said, “The fact that you dare to enter the palace means that you have confidence in me. I don’t like working together. If the Xuanyuan family doesn’t agree to surrender, I can still support an imperial merchant.”

He paused for a moment and continued, “Patriarch Xuanyuan, you don’t have to be in such a hurry to answer me. I’ll give you two months to think about it. In the meantime, we can have temporary cooperation.”

“What do you mean by a temporary cooperation, Your Highness?” Xuanyuan Tuo asked.

Ye Xuan said, “In these two months, the Xuanyuan family will provide enough food and supplies for the empire, and I will still pay you spirit stones. After two months, the Xuanyuan family will make a decision. If you don’t want to submit, I won’t force you.”

He was very confident that the Xuanyuan family would choose to surrender in two months because, by that time, the news from the front lines would have already reached the capital. It would not be difficult for Lu Bu to lead the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry to defeat the 150,000 troops of the Northern Barbarians.

3,000 defeating 150,000 troops would definitely become the most memorable stroke in the history of the nine states war.

Ye Xuan had chosen the Xuanyuan family for a simple reason. The Xuanyuan family had a mature business system, which could save a lot of time for cultivation. Besides that, there was another important reason. Xuanyuan Tuo had come to him to cooperate at this time, which meant that he knew Ye Xuan well.

Therefore, the Xuanyuan family was not as simple as they seemed. They were definitely not as simple as merchants.

Xuanyuan Tuo was also a straightforward person. “Alright, I agree to work with Your Highness for a short time. How much grain does Your Highness need? Send someone to inform me. The Xuanyuan family will prepare it in the shortest time possible and send it to the battlefields at the fastest speed.”

Ye Xuan nodded in satisfaction. “Let’s cooperate well!”

Xuanyuan Tuo stood up, bowed, and left the Eastern Palace.

Ye Xuan called Gao Ying over and asked, “Eunuch Gao, the Xuanyuan family’s business is only within Great Xia?”

“Your Highness, I’m not sure about this,” Gao Ying replied.

Ye Xuan nodded. He planned to have Cao Zhengchun investigate the Xuanyuan family in secret. At that moment, Ling Fusheng entered the hall and bowed. “Your Highness, Lord Cao is here.”

“Let him in!”

“Your Highness,” Cao Zhengchun said as he entered the main hall.

“Follow me to Chang’an Academy,” Ye Xuan said.

Gao Ying’s face was filled with suspicion as his gaze fell on Cao Zhengchun. Since when did His Highness have such a powerful person by his side? He was also a Tongxuan realm cultivator, but he could not see through Cao Zhengchun.

After confirming his gaze, he was someone he couldn’t beat.

He suddenly felt that the people of the empire had underestimated Ye Xuan. The crown prince had hidden himself so deeply. From the methods in the Golden Palace, the crown prince’s growth in the past three years in the cold palace had exceeded everyone’s imagination.

Gao Ying knew that Cao Zhengchun was probably the one who had killed the Dark Net that night.

“Your Highness, why are you going to Chang’an Academy?”

Ye Xuan’s eyes fell on Gao Ying, and he slowly said, “If I remember correctly, Chang’an Academy was established to protect the safety of Great Xia. It is a royal academy, right?”

Gao Ying nodded. “That’s true.”

Ye Xuan continued, “Since it’s the royal academy, the empire is in danger. Chang’an Academy should go through difficulties together with the Great Xia. I’m going to the academy to select some disciples and let them go to the border to fight enemies and gain experience.”

Gao Ying’s face was filled with shock, and he hurriedly said, “Your Highness, you may not know this, but times have changed. The current Chang’an Academy is gradually drifting away from the empire.”

Ye Xuan laughed. “Is that so? If the academy can’t share the empire’s burden, then there’s no value in its existence.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he left with Cao Zhengchun. Gao Ying quickly caught up with him. He was extremely shocked, knowing that Ye Xuan was about to make a move on Chang’an Academy.

Once upon a time, Emperor Xia had wanted to bring Chang’an Academy under control, but he failed in the end. He did not know if the Crown Prince would succeed this time.

….

Chang’an Academy

On the back mountain.

Four figures stood at the edge of the cliff. They were Grand Tutor Li Lingxiao, Grand Preceptor Li Chuntian, Left Minister Yan Yong, and Sage Lin Mo. It was not easy for the four of them to be able to gather together.

This was because each of them represented a different power.

No, to be precise, there were three powers. Yan Yong and Lin Mo belonged to the same power.

Li Lingxiao said in a low voice. “Crown Prince Xuan is already a threat to us. Since things have come to this, there’s no need to hide anything. Let’s work together to get rid of the Crown Prince and discuss the rest.”

“Grand Tutor, tell me how to get rid of Ye Xuan,” Lin Mo said.

Li Lingxiao continued. “Back then, the royal family’s ancestor was willing to injure himself to cover up the phenomenon that Ye Xuan had caused. All these years, His Majesty has been protecting him. In the three years that he was left in the cold palace, Ye Xuan has changed a lot. He’s now unfathomable.”

“Also, the things on Empress Yu should have been left to Ye Xuan. It’s unrealistic to assassinate her in the palace, but we can lure the Crown Prince out of the palace and then kill him.”

As he said this, his gaze landed on Grand Preceptor Li Chuntian. “How to get the Crown Prince out of the palace will depend on Grand Preceptor.”

Just as Li Chuntian was about to speak, a figure appeared on the mountain peak. This person was none other than Wu Yinting. He bowed. “Teacher, the Crown Prince has arrived at the academy. The principal has invited you over.”

Lin Mo’s gaze swept across Li Lingxiao and the others. “Look, our chance has come.”

“Isn’t it a little inappropriate to make a move in the academy?” Li Chuntian asked.

Lin Mo laughed. “I’m not worried, so what’s the Grand Preceptor afraid of? Let the Crown Prince be buried here!”