Getting Down to Business

Spending a night in the palace was a rare experience, so he had someone notify the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and then settled in without any qualms.

Everything here is the best in the world, from a floor tile that reflects a person's image to a pure gold trim specially made to prevent injury from collisions. Every place and everything exudes a kind of nobility and luxury that only royalty can afford.

After returning to his dorm that evening, he watched TV for a while. Gefra's TV programs were much more open than Lin Qi had imagined.

In the Federal, adult channels are only allowed to broadcast during specific times and there are strict requirements for the content. However, here, adult channels broadcast 24 hours a day, with little to no control over the content, and the content shown is quite daring.

Lin Qi was initially shocked. He felt this was unusual for Gefra, after all, it was a monarchy and a rather serious country, and such things shouldn't be appearing on television.

But he soon realized that this was precisely because it was a monarchy that things were behaving this way.

What is illegal in the Federal is legal here, and has even formed an entire industry chain, so adult channels seem quite normal.

After watching the Evening News, Lin Qi went to bed early. He needed to conserve his energy before facing Gefra's ministers.

He woke up in the morning in a ten-square-meter bed, where the maids had already prepared bathwater and a new set of clothes for him. With the help and guidance of the maids, he went to the dining room.

He was in a separate restaurant, and his residence was like a separate villa or suite with a whole set of various rooms. At this moment, he was enjoying a breakfast that others rarely had the opportunity to have—a royal breakfast.

He ate slowly, glancing at some newspapers as he ate. Gefra's newspapers were a bit more interesting than the Federal newspapers, with more political news, unlike the Federal where capitalist and entertainment news dominated the pages.

He found it interesting, but the servant who was attending to him seemed somewhat... uncomfortable.

"You seem a little uneasy?" Lin Qi asked as he slowly ate his exquisite breakfast.

The attendant smiled and shook his head. "No, Mr. Lin Qi."

"Has my meal taken too long?" He raised his wrist; it seemed to have only been about twenty minutes. However, judging from the forced smile on the waiter's face, the waiter did indeed think his meal had taken too long.

This also meant that the emperor and his ministers were waiting for him and eager to see him; the Major and his men had gotten things done.

He smiled and ate the last bit of food in one bite. The breakfast the cook had prepared for him was very lavish, the most special thing being the spread for the bread, a spread made primarily of lamb liver and fish oil.

When you eat it, it doesn't have the hard, granular texture of lamb liver. Instead, it has a delicate and smooth texture, like solidified animal fat. It's neither fishy nor gamey.

The seasoning is also good, with a slight milky aroma, and when you put some food in your mouth, it has a special mellow and fragrant aftertaste.

After finishing the last bit of soup, Lin Qi used a napkin to wipe away some crumbs from his lips and the corners of his mouth before standing up. "Alright, we can go now!"

The attendant breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Qi was taking too long to eat breakfast, even longer than the emperor. The emperor and his Princes and Ministers were waiting for Lin Qi, and the thought of Lin Qi still leisurely eating his breakfast made him uneasy.

People might not blame Lin Qi, but they'd shift the blame to him, for example, by criticizing him for not reminding Lin Qi that it was long past lunchtime.

When powerful figures want to vent their frustrations, these people have no chance to resist.

Fortunately, Lin Qi finally finished eating.

After passing through several long corridors, he was led by his attendants to the Ruler's Hall. The emperor sat high on the steps, and when he saw Lin Qi enter, the impatience on his face immediately disappeared, and his eyes seemed to flicker.

"Your Majesty, and gentlemen, good morning!"

People returned the greeting to Lin Qi. The nobles were indeed arrogant, but they also followed some rules. Even the emperor greeted Lin Qi.

He pointed to one of the seats. "This is your seat, Lin Qi. We're not used to having someone standing and talking to us here."

After thanking him, Lin Qi sat down, and a waiter brought him coffee and a few delicate pastries.

Lin Qi glanced around and noticed that almost every minister had a cup of coffee or Flower Tea and some pastries on the small round table next to them.

What an amazing experience!

"Last night, Amelia Governor called me and told me that your men had captured Haiyan and that his organization had been destroyed. He was very surprised..."

"But in addition to his surprise, he also asked me a question: How did you manage to do all this?"

In fact, the Amelia Governor had not asked him this question; it was the Emperor himself who wanted to ask, "As far as I know, the Federal has no investment projects in Li Ya, and we rarely see any of your people. How did you manage to grasp the local situation and so accurately capture a vicious Anti-Government Armed Forces Leader?"

"I, and all my ministers, share the same question: how did your men know where those people were hiding, and how did they wipe them out so quickly?"

"Perhaps you had been in contact before this, right?"

Once the emperor calmed down from his excitement, he quickly realized something: the fact that Lin Qi's men were able to solve the problem so precisely and quickly suggested that they seemed to know about these people.

This inevitably leads to further speculation. For example, there has been a persistent argument that the Federal are the most powerful supporters behind these Resistance Organization, and that it is because of the Federal intervention that the situation in the Amelia Region has deteriorated to its current state.

With a stable supply of materials, these Resistance Organization were able to obtain firearms, ammunition, and even explosives, which made them more aggressive.

Before that, although there were constant conflicts, they were all minor skirmishes. The local Resistance Organization had no weapons; at most, they would use knives to slit the throats of Patrol Team in the middle of the night.

But the conflict has only escalated since they acquired weapons.

Before Lin Qi arrived, the emperor and his ministers had already discussed this matter, and they all concluded that Lin Qi might be a behind-the-scenes supporter of some of the Resistance Organization.

Now that Lin Qi has arrived, the emperor has asked this question.

He looked at Lin Qi, his expression unreadable. No matter how Lin Qi answered him, he could quickly find a way to refute Lin Qi, which gave him a knowing smile.

This time, things didn't go as he wished. Lin Qi didn't refute this statement, but instead readily admitted it.

"There is indeed some connection between us, Your Majesty, I do not deny that."

Lin Qi spoke frankly, but the emperor was speechless. It was like an angry husband grabbing his wife's lover who was already in bed, and sternly questioning him, "Did you sleep with him?" The other party replied that he had, which brought a speechless shock.

Are you not even going to offer an explanation, but just openly admit it like that? Where does that leave me? Fortunately, the ministers reacted quickly. One minister asked with displeasure, "Do you know what you're saying, Mr. Lin Qi? You're supporting the movement of those Anti-Government Armed Forces groups. That's a serious crime!"

"That's only true for you!" Lin Qi was not intimidated by the ministers' accusations. He looked at the emperor sitting high on the Imperial Throne and said, "Your Majesty, you know that I am a merchant, and a merchant's duty is to trade."

"My job is to sell what the Federal has to people who don't, and make money off them!"

"I will not do anything that violates Federal Law. I swear to God that all my businesses are legal and protected by Federal law."

"We cannot simply apply the laws and rules of one country to two countries with completely different politics, society, and culture; that would be unfair and unjust."

"Besides, I'm not doing this alone. I've heard before that the Preton Pirate Group is backed by Navy Minister, Gefra..."

The emperor suddenly started coughing. Everyone knows what's going on, but if you insist on saying it out loud, the end result will be that everyone loses face.

Preton's use was also necessary given the circumstances at the time. It was not convenient for the Gefra Empire to send its navy out in broad daylight to scout the seas and the coastlines of some countries, so Preton and his group provided that convenience.

They could be pirates, attempting to attack ports to probe the location of shore artillery and the port's defenses, or they could become spies to infiltrate and sabotage.

But this can't be discussed openly. A military superpower supporting pirates... it's not just unpleasant to talk about, it would offend everyone around us.

This also explains why Lin Qi was involved with some Resistance Organization in Amelia Region. As he himself said, he was a businessman and didn't care who the other party in the trade was. As long as the other party could come up with money, he would sell things, and all of this was legal.

Lin Qi stopped speaking at the sound of the Emperor's cough; he had achieved his goal.

"Let bygones be bygones. Amelia Governor spoke highly of your men, and I saw what you showed me yesterday. Now, let's discuss some upcoming matters..."

The emperor, who had originally wanted to lash out, ultimately did not find an opportunity. Lin Qi was a reasonable person, and as the emperor, if he did not act reasonably, Lin Qi would look down on him.

Moreover, now is not the time to discuss who is right and who is wrong. What matters most is that Lin Qi has shown his determination to solve the Empire's problems.

"If I hire your people to solve the security problems in Amelia Province, what price will I need to pay?"