Xue Qinghe
"Cough, cough. Elder Nan Feng, please calm down."
Salas poured Elder Nan Feng some hot tea to ease the tension.
"What exactly happened?" Nan Feng asked.
Back then, he'd instructed Salas to gradually increase the protection fees each year, putting more and more pressure on the people at the bottom. In theory, after six years, they should've made some kind of move, even if they didn't rebel.
But as he'd come all this way, he hadn't seen anyone rise up—not even a single person brave enough to curse him to his face.
"Well..." Salas still seemed a little nervous.
"Elder Nan Feng, you should know about Spirit Hall's plan concerning the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, right?"
Nan Feng blinked. "Don't tell me that bastard Qian Renxue's the one causing trouble."
"Cough, cough!" Salas nearly spat out his tea.
"Elder Nan Feng, Qian Ren... cough, cough—Xue Qinghe only took the position of crown prince last year. And with Xue Ye's backing, she's established ties with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, is now Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's teacher."
"Our earlier plan did indeed increase the burden on the people below. Starting three years ago, it also sparked riots in some regions. They were suppressed quickly, but the plan did have an effect. Similar problems later broke out in quite a few other regions as well."
"Then, to win people's hearts, Xue Qinghe joined forces with Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to appease the rebellious regions and reduce local taxes. Under pressure from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the kingdoms and duchies below had no choice but to accept their losses and pay the money we demanded out of their own pockets."
"..."