Chapter 476: Conditions
The Dark Moon palace, side hall.
Neither of them spoke. The atmosphere was silent for a while.
“I won’t ask you anything, and you don’t need to explain.” Isabella finally broke the silence. Her voice was extremely cold, “You only need to know that I can threaten you. You must do as I say in the future.”
Is this coercion?
Chen Rui secretly smiled bitterly and sighed, “Zola really made the ‘Soul Destroyer’, but this one should be the only one, right? You didn’t place any of them near the palace.”
“Sure enough, you guessed it,” Isabella turned around. She had put on her veil, and threw a stone over, “So… what about this?”
Chen Rui took the stone and looked at it. It turned out to be a recording stone. The scenes of the two dancing and kissing just now were all recorded. What made him more stunned was that the “coercion” plots in the middle had been removed. It looked like the two danced together, then they hugged and kissed each other.
(Wh, when…) If this stone falls in the hands of Athena and the others… Chen Rui suddenly broke into cold sweats. This series of tactics is too vicious. First, she used suicide bombings, and now she recorded secretly… Isabella took out another recording stone which was exactly the same and shook it. There was more than one copy, “The things inside, I think, you don’t want anyone to know right?”
Chen Rui nodded quickly.
“I only have one condition. You must come to my place every night after you come out of the palace. Don’t talk to me about conditions. You have no choice. If you don’t come, you will bear the consequences.”
Chen Rui was in a cold sweat again. It seems that she has guessed my secret meeting with Shea too. She deserves to be the head of Dark Demon’s secret intelligence!
Although it was a cold tone and sinister coercion, he could clearly feel her hot lips and racing heartbeat just now.
After stating this condition, Isabella stopped pestering him. She opened the door and walked out without looking back.
Chen Rui followed a few steps, and opened his mouth, but finally, he did not say it. It only turned into a sigh. He watched the lonely figure getting further and further away under the moonlight.
The next day, Shea and Sicali had a formal meeting in the council hall of the palace.
The attendees included the Flame Legion’s commander and Sheriff Athena, Financial Officer Chen Rui, and the representatives of the Dark Moon’s families. It was worth noting that the Red Blood Legion’s commander, Kaguron, did not attend it because of his busy military affairs. The deputy legion commander of the Red Blood Legion was present on his behalf. Aguile, the leader of the Cloak Gang, was still dressed in a cloak even in this kind of meeting. He did not show his true face. As for the White Feather Estate, Palando didn’t show up, probably because of the embarra.s.sment at the ball last night.
“So… Is Princess Royal Highness not planning to hold a birthday celebration?” Sicali frowned slightly and asked. This time, his reason for visiting was to celebrate Shea’s birthday. Wasn’t he politely turned down now?
“It’s just a fractional birthday(less than 10). It’s not worthy of celebration. The Dark Moon has made some gains, but due to the comprehensive transformation and construction of the city some time ago, plus the cooperation with the b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate, it has cost a lot of money. We are currently raising money to pay off debts, so I don’t intend to be lavish and waste it. I appreciate Sir Sicali’s kindness. As for those valuable gifts…”
Sicali nodded and said, “Princess Royal’s frugality is admirable, but since I have brought those gifts, how can I take them back? Take them as a gift of the friends.h.i.+p between the 2 estates.”
Shea thought for a while and nodded, “Thank you so much then.”
Sicali took advantage of the situation and said, “Your Highness, to be honest, I came to the Dark Moon this time, in addition to celebrating Your Highness’ birthday, there are some… Uh, difficulties that I need help from the Dark Moon. For the sake of the many years of friends.h.i.+p between the 2 estates, please help us, Your Highness.”
Shea said indifferently, “What’s the difficulty? Sir Sicali can just say it.”
Sicali was hesitant at first, but he finally “gathered up the courage” to speak, “Because I partic.i.p.ated in the fundraising during the lord meetings, and the capital has not yet repaid, this results in a large deficit in the current White Feather Estate. There is a serious shortage of expenses in many aspects, and the estate is almost unable to function. For the sake of the past friends.h.i.+p, please help me to relieve my urgent needs, Your Highness.”
Sicali’s request was within Shea’s expectation long ago. The Dark Moon was a treasure land that was extremely wealthy. Which estate would not be jealous? If it weren’t for the Dark Moon’s powerful military’s deterrence ability, the estates would have used all kinds of methods to steal it.
Shea turned to Financial Officer Chen Rui, and Chen Rui immediately got up and said, “As Princess Royal Highness just said, the financial situation of the Dark Moon is very tight now. Firstly, there is a large number of debts left over from the renovation and expansion of the urban area; the modification of sewage and water supply systems; the road renovation; the repair and construction of various towns. Secondly, there was a loss from the cooperation with the Dark Shadow Empire’s b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate, and the funding expenditures of the Blue Lava Estate and surrounding estates. Thirdly, the military expenditure which includes the cost of the expansion of the 3 legions, military supplies as well as the construction and repair of the Walan Fortress and Town Walan, etc. These 3 parts of the cost are like the 3 big mountains weighing on the Dark Moon. Although the Dark Moon’s construction and economy have achieved a certain success, it is still unable to make ends meet. However, this is mainly caused by the large amount of funds required in the initial stage of construction; it will stabilize in the later stage. It happens to be the most critical moment now, so we cannot reduce expenditure as a complete framework must be established. Otherwise, a careless mistake will produce a b.u.t.terfly effect which will affect us in the long run. For some things, you can consider using crocodiles rule. Cut decisively as appropriate…”
Sicali and the people from the White Feather Estate could fairly understand. His lengthy introduction was just saying that they were poor, but some of them didn’t understand the later part well. Sicali couldn’t help but say, “Sir Chen Rui, what is the b.u.t.terfly effect? What is the crocodiles rule?”
This question was what Chen Rui was waiting for. He immediately explained, “It’s just some economic terms. The b.u.t.terfly effect refers to the result of economic development having a great dependence on the initial conditions. Small deviations may cause a huge difference. For example, there is a folk song:
Miss a nail, spoil a horse shoe;
Spoil a horse shoe, cripple a war horse;
Cripple a war horse, injure a knight;
Injure a knight, lose a battle;
Lose a battle, lose an empire.
Then, we can regard it as a change in the nail that led to the demise of an empire…”
Whether it was the people of the White Feather Estate or the Dark Moon, they listened to this wonderful remark with interest. Especially the people of the White Feather Estate whose gaze toward Chen Rui had changed. Whether it was the enemy or friend, capable people were always worthy of respect.
When Chen Rui noticed the expressions of these people, he secretly laughed. In fact, he bluffed people on many matters using the theories of another world. After eloquently explaining the theory for a long time, he finally went back to the topic of Sicali’s request to borrow money, “Therefore, according to my a.n.a.lysis, it will take at least 15 years for the Dark Moon to completely stabilize the entire revenue and expenditure structure and truly start to make a profit. For now, it is not appropriate to increase the debt. Therefore, Princess Royal’s decision not to hold a birthday celebration this time is very appropriate. The current economic structure is the most critical moment. Any decision is likely to affect the economic development situation for hundreds of years in the future. In view of that, under the current debt situation, I think it’s quite unwise if we still force ourselves to provide foreign aid! We can’t destroy our hard-worked plan because of reputation or so-called friends.h.i.+p. If these words are offensive, I beg for Princess Royal Highness and Sir Sicali’s understanding.”
“15 years?” Shea frowned slightly as she sighed and said to Sicali, “Sir Sicali, you also heard Chen Rui’s a.n.a.lysis. What do you think?”
Sicali was a little dumbfounded for a while. Chen Rui’s lengthy economic theory was indeed wonderful. He cited cla.s.sics, and his a.n.a.lysis was incisive and impressive. He was worthy of being the Demon Realm’s first internal affairs’ talent. Many professional vocabulary were simply unheard of. How could Sicali find a loophole?
Facing Shea’s question, Sicali wanted to refute, but he was speechless for a while.
Shea sincerely admired Chen Rui’s wisdom. He used a set of righteous a.n.a.lysis to put an end to the other party’s idea of ”borrowing money.” She added, “How about this? I will personally give the White Feather Estate some material support. The amount is not much. I hope Sir Sicali doesn’t mind.”
This sentence completely blocked the possibility of Sicali borrowing money. The Dark Moon was clearly stating that they were poor and unwilling to borrow money, but he could only express his grat.i.tude. It was like swallowing a bitter pill in silence.
Sicali changed his mind and said, “Since the Dark Moon has its own difficulties, I don’t want to make things difficult for Princess Shea, so let me change my request. The White Feather Estate has a large area of barren soil that cannot be cultivated. The people can only make a living on the small amount of land that can be cultivated. I heard that the Dark Moon obtained the secret method of soil modification in the treasures of the Blue Lake Mountain Range which has achieved remarkable results. You have also helped the b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate, the twin town in the Dark Shadow Empire, and successfully improve a large area of barren land. I have a shameless plea for Your Highness to send people to modify the land of the White Feather Estate so that the people can live a subsistence life.”
Sicali deliberately mentioned the cooperation between the Dark Moon and b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate. It was to imply that since Shea even helped foreign estates like the b.l.o.o.d.y Vine Flower Estate, she should help the Fallen Angel Empire’s White Feather Estate. Furthermore, the two estates had always maintained a “good” relations.h.i.+p.
Shea nodded slightly, “Please go on.”
Sicali noticed that it seemed plausible, so he was secretly delighted, then he said, “Sir Financial Officer Chen Rui is recognized as a key figure for the current development of the Dark Moon. He can be hailed as the top internal affairs’ talent in the Demon Realm. Sir Chen Rui certainly had contributed to the current prosperity of the Blue Lava Estate which was originally chaotic. I would like to invite Sir Chen Rui to work as an economic consultant for the White Feather Estate for a period of time to help the White Feather Estate to solve some important problems.”
Shea got to know of Palando’s threat and seduction at the ball from Chen Rui’s report before the start of today’s meeting. Sicali personally offered an “invitation” again today. It seemed that the true purpose of this trip to the Dark Moon was to poach the human financial officer.
Once Chen Rui goes there, it is likely to be gone forever. Even if he does not go, Sicali may still a.s.sa.s.sinate him like Isabella’s evil voodoo at that time, but now the Dark Moon is no longer the Dark Moon in the past. The current human is also no longer the original human. Chen Rui’s strength alone is enough to destroy Sicali and the others.
Shea sneered secretly as her face showed a thoughtful look.
?…