Official w.a.n.g was shocked and his face paled. How could he not understand Tie Bu Tian"s implications?
"You Xiang"s son who was sentenced to be exiled as a soldier ended up dying a very questionable death in prison. It was from that moment forth that Emerald Flow Lake; although it seemed like was not owned by anyone was actually being controlled by your family."
Tie Bu Tian then continued casually, "Official w.a.n.g, there are a total of a few dozen businesses surrounding Emerald Flow Lake, sixty-eight to be precise. Out of that number, thirty-seven of which belongs to the w.a.n.g family. The royal court had not investigated this for a few reasons. Firstly, we have been busy because of the war with other external forces. Secondly, all three inspectors of the royal court have properties at Emerald Flow Lake. Although they did not have many, those thirty-one properties which were not owned by your family were somewhat fairly divided amongst the three of them. The income from all of those properties throughout the years is no meagre amount!"
"Lastly, I was actually hoping that there would come a day where you realised your mistake and decide to turn over a new leaf. Because in the process of helping Iron Cloud progress to what it is today, it was not easy for you as officials as well. What we have today is partially due to your efforts. The support of the royal court, public relations and all of your merits. You have made your contributions to the country and its people! Haha…"
There as a slight chill in Tie Bu Tian"s voice as he spoke. Both of the officials began to tremble as sweat poured down from their faces. They felt as though their entire world was spinning around them in confusion.
"Emerald Flow Lake is a place where seven or eight of you officials have been sharing profits for a long time! Yet, now that the royal court wishes to take it back for use, you dare come to me and complain about the people"s anguish…! Where are the anguished people? Could it be that the people"s anguish is in fact really your anguish?"
"Are you using the pretence of strong public opinion on the matter to place pressure on my decision?" Tie Bu Tian"s gaze turned cold and yelled, "w.a.n.g Zhi! Do you think I am an easy target to pick on simply because of my age?"
"Plop!"
The two men trembled uncontrollably. Their legs became weak; unable to continue standing, they kneeled flat on the ground.
Tie Bu Tian continued, "So, officials, do I need your permission to make use of Emerald Flow Lake?"
"We do not dare!" The two people banged their heads on the floor repeatedly. At this moment, they were filled with regret. They could not believe that this Emerald Flow Lake incident was actually the prince"s idea. Moreover, they were unable to foresee him being this adamant about it!
"Emerald Flow Lake is the property of Iron Cloud nation! It is a beautiful scenic area within Iron Cloud Citadel… yet you people conspired to make use of it for your own personal gain. What a joke! You are officials of the royal court; you get paid by the royal court and yet… You truly disappoint me!" Tie Bu Tian said hurtfully, "Never mind! You are elder officials of the royal court; I do not want to pursue this any further. Official w.a.n.g, notify all the other houses that they have to contribute half of their earnings from Emerald Flow Lake from all of the past years to the country"s treasury. You may leave."
"Yes, yes. Thank you for your generosity, your highness. The two bowed over and over again. Sweat was pouring as if they just bathed as if they just took a tour past the gate of h.e.l.l and managed to return.
"Do you think any of the houses need me to send my own books for comparison?" As the two thankfully backed out, Tie Bu Tian seemingly muttered this phrase. It immediately startled them and caused them to trip and fall down the stairs in the most embarra.s.sing manner.
Looking at the two people leaving awkwardly, Tie Bu Tian"s gaze remained cold. He had been waiting for news from Bu Tian Pavilion about Chu Yang and not news from these people.
Now that he had verified Chu Yang"s ability, Tie Bu Tian made his final decision. If he did not have any news of the results, Tie Bu Tian would have kept those two officials waiting for another day…
"Bu Tian Pavilion is finally beginning to take shape." Tie Bu Tian looked up towards the moon which was suspended outside his window and sighed. Since it was formed, Bu Tian Pavilion was nothing more than a mere diversion to distract its enemies. This was because although Tie Bu Tian was only a prince, his responsibilities were similar to that of being a ruler of the country. This being said, he simply did not have the time to nurture and invest in Bu Tian Pavilion.
The appearance of Chu Yang basically filled in that gap.
"Shadow Lord, what do you think? How far do you think Chu Yang will be able to raise Bu Tian Pavilion?" Tie Bu Tian looked as though he was muttering to himself.
All of a sudden, the air in front of him became foggy and moved in a peculiar and mysterious way. The atmosphere seemed as though reality was being contorted and a ghostly shadow appeared. A dry and low voice spoke, "You should really not be asking me about this."
"I am not asking you. I just wanted to meet you for a little while." Tie Bu Tian said lightly, "I rely on both of you the most. Yet, I am unable to see or detect your presence. Moreover, it has been a few days since our last interaction and I just wanted to talk with you. Only when I am sure that you are watching over me, that I will be able to sleep peacefully. Haha…"
The eyes of that shadow seemed to be slightly touched. It responded with a raspy voice, "Your Highness can rest a.s.sure, as long as the two of us are here, there is no one in Lower Three Heavens can kill you."
Tie Bu Tian chuckled and nodded. He muttered, "I am so tired…" After that, he took two steps back and lay down on the bed. He whispered, "Shadow lords, you should rest also."
The atmosphere changed and contorted for a while before the shadow vanished into the darkness of the night.
On the comfortable bed, Tie Bu Tian quickly fell into deep sleep. The appearance of the shadow seemed to have greatly rea.s.sured him. Even though Tie Bu Tian did not know what the shadow"s cultivation was. However, he was certain about one thing. If it wasn"t for these two shadows always watching over him, Diwu Qing Rou would have picked off his head countless times already.
…
By the time Cheng Zi Ang returned from Tie Bu Tian"s place, it was almost morning. When he got the door of his room and was about to push it open, he suddenly became startled. He yelled in a low voice, "Who"s there?"
"It"s me." A cool voice answered. The candle in the room then immediately lit itself.
"So it"s the Minister." Cheng Zi Ang breathed a sigh of relief as he pushed the door and walked in. Chu Yang sat in a chair in the middle of the room with an aura of arrogance surrounding him. His cold eyes looked at Cheng Zi Ang.
"Did the Minister visit my room this late in the night to teach me something?" Cheng Zi Ang did not understand why his heart began to beat faster.
He clearly felt that the opponent"s strength was weaker than his. Given that, he only needed to raise his arm to send Chu Yang to his death… Yet he was unable to understand why he felt reluctant and even afraid when it came to even talking with this frail-looking youth. It was something that he really was unable to wrap his head around.
"I dare not." Chu Yang smiled and said, "This afternoon, my words were a little harsh. Plus, I did not notify Official Cheng ahead of time about the changes in positions so I felt a little uneasy."
"No, no. Minister Chu is clever. With a flick of your hand, you found a bunch of traitors and helped Bu Tian Pavilion eliminate this hidden danger which we were unaware even existed. Moreover, you managed to organize all of Bu Tian Pavilion"s members based on their strengths into their appropriate groups. I truly admire your ability to do that." Cheng Zi Ang laughed.
"Ah, so in that case, Official Cheng agreed with all of my actions, correct?" Chu Yang smiled and asked.
"Of course, of course. I fully support them." Cheng Zi Ang nodded repeatedly as he continued to contemplate Chu Yang"s true motive of this visit. At this time, he felt a little apprehensive and unsettled.
"Ah, the prince did not say anything right?" Chu Yang smiled as he continued to ask.
"Uh, he didn"t say anything, he didn"t say anything… ah!" Halfway through, Cheng Zi Ang suddenly realised what was happening. The words were stuck in his throat as he looked at Chu Yang in astonishment. His eyes appeared as though he just saw a demon.
"It"s good that he did not say anything, ah…" Chu Yang stood up, and said with a slight nod,
"Actually, I had hope that he would add something, hahaha… Official Cheng, you are of a great age and yet you have to work so hard… haha. You should rest soon." He stopped there, then pushed the door open and walked out arrogantly.
Cheng Zi Ang"s head was full of sweat; however, his whole body was cold.