Things were relatively stable in the Jade Sea, and after seeing the Whitebone Duke’s altar, he now had more confidence in the werewolves’ obedience. With Caroline in charge and the Martyr’s Palace as backup, it could be considered absolutely safe.

Qianye ordered Eiseka and Xu Jingxuan to continue training the new army while keeping an eye out for surrounding movements. There was nothing more to instruct beyond that.

Empress Li’s gifts were of high quality but not numerous. They couldn’t be applied to large-scale mining operations; only for the refinement and excavation of rare minerals. Eastern Sun Island was the best place to do that.

The people Empress Li had sent were also thoughtfully selected.

Li Wanqing possessed strong perception and loved nature, a great candidate for excavation. It was a mystery why a delicate girl like her would choose to learn this art. Li Panyu was learned in the martial arts and his dream was to lead the army in battle. Qianye would, of course, have battles to fight in his pioneering efforts, so it was a great opportunity for the boy. For some reason, though, he was hell-bent on picking a fight with Qianye.

Qianye had no interest in figuring out Li Panyu’s true thoughts, nor did he intend to spoil him. The two were neither friends nor enemies, and his talents weren’t so outstanding that he was irreplaceable. It was only natural that Qianye wouldn’t indulge his wilfulness...

So, Qianye brought Li Panyu back on his return to the Empire and planned to return him to the Li family. Whatever punishment befell him afterward was not Qianye’s concern.

Seeing that Qianye was truly angry, Eunuch Liu realized that he could no longer laugh things away. He obediently followed Qianye into the high-speed airship and set out on the journey back to the Empire. The Imperial family emblem on the vessel allowed it to pass smoothly through every checkpoint until they arrived back on the Qin Continent.

Along the way, they encountered a total of five Imperial squadrons that came to intercept and check them. This granted Qianye a new understanding of the Imperial fleet’s operations out in the void. Apparently, the Empire had gained a transit base in the void after occupying the void continent. The frequency of patrols in the void had also increased as a result.

The airship drove into the continent and all the way into the Imperial capital, finally landing in a courtyard in the suburbs.

The courtyard was secluded, peaceful, and elegant. The few buildings were buried within lush trees. Even an unsophisticated person like Qianye felt refreshed at the sight of it.

However, there was killing intent hidden within the elegance. Qianye immediately noticed several eyes staring at him from the shadows. These sharp gazes contained auras that probably belonged to true experts. They were likely the guards of this courtyard, using such a method to contend with incoming strangers.

Under normal circumstances, such spying would surely infuriate the target. It was a different thing, however, if they could not be sensed or located.

While seemingly enjoying the scenery, Qianye’s gaze paused briefly in certain areas of the courtyard. Those prying gazes immediately vanished without a trace. It would seem that those people hadn’t imagined that Qianye would be able to find them out so quickly.

A flash of surprise appeared on Eunuch Liu’s expression. “The weather has been hot lately, so the Empress is here for a change of scenery. Her Highness decided to meet you here since you happened to arrive at this time.”

Qianye nodded. “I’ll trouble you to lead the way.”

Eunuch Liu brought Qianye along a path of willows until they reached a certain courtyard. Here, he stopped and said, “The Empress is inside. Please head inside on your own.”

Qianye sensed no powerful auras in the courtyard, so he simply opened the gates and went in.

A clear, gentle voice came through from within. “You’re here, close the gates.”

Qianye closed the gates as instructed and circled around the screen to arrive in the courtyard. There was a small pond in the compound, replete with lotuses and fishes shuttling about. There was a beautiful lady beside the pond, spreading fish feed with a silver ladle.

The small ladle could only hold enough feed for a single fish, but she was in no rush and neither were the fish in the pond. They swam about happily in their little world, heading over for a mouthful when they were close.

The box was small, and the spoon was even smaller. Who knew how long she would keep feeding at this rate. Yet, her every movement was lithe, gentle, and a pleasure to watch. Qianye stood quietly to the side, showing no signs of impatience.

After an unknown length of time, she finally handed the empty wooden box to the maid and smiled at Qianye. “You’re quite patient.”

This person was Empress Li, one whose smile almost lit up the entire courtyard. Qianye didn’t dare gaze at her, so he turned away. “I think anyone would become patient in such a place.”

Empress Li chuckled. “Of course not, those people are just pretending to be patient. There’s no telling what they’re thinking inside. You, on the other hand, are just watching me feed the fish.”

These words made things somewhat awkward, so Qianye had to explain. “I feel that Your Highness’ every movement is aligned with heaven's mysteries and the dao. That’s why I remained in meditation, it wasn’t my intention to offend you.”

Empress Li waved a hand, saying, “No need to be so cautious. Just relax whenever you’re here, consider this your home.”

Qianye had to respond to this. “How can I do that?”

Empress Li sat down and placed her hands gently on the nearby table. Her fingers relaxed and curled up like orchids as she gazed at Qianye with a mysterious smile. “I’ve heard about your exploits on Fort Continent, it seems many people underestimated your power!”

“I just found a footing on the continent.”

“Whether you’ve just found your footing or if you’re already pioneering new land is not important. Intelligence reports state that you’ve just entered Zheng, so your progress shouldn’t be that quick. I still feel that this isn’t your style. You must have over a hundred thousand soldiers under you, right?”

As calm as he was, Qianye could feel his blood core beating just a bit faster. No one could tell whether the Empress had sensed this minute change. Qianye quickly brought his emotions under control and said, “You give me too much credit. I would love to have an army of a hundred thousand.”

Empress Li chuckled. “It’s fine if you don’t have it now, you’ll have one before long. You just need to swallow Zheng, and you’ll have an army. You might not know, but news of your pioneering efforts have been brought to the attention of those big shots in court.”

Qianye felt somewhat surprised. “The Empire has so much going on every day. Why would they bother to discuss such an unimportant matter?”

“This isn’t a small issue, either. A prince from Zheng ran over to the Empire, seeking help in the name of his bloodline. Zheng is still our vassal nation in name, so it’s a bit of a humiliation to have it under someone else’s control.”

Qianye frowned. “Zheng is not the Empire’s only vassal, and they never really fulfilled their obligations, either. Their family is embroiled in a civil war all the time, making no effort to progress as a nation. Simply a disgrace. It’s not like the land was born theirs anyway.”

“What you say makes sense, but that won’t work in court. Otherwise, people will ask the same about the Qin Continent.”

Now that was a sensitive topic. Qianye was shaken, not knowing what the Empress wanted to say next.

Empress Li continued, “Actually, all knowledgeable people know that the vast world belongs to everyone. No one was born with heaven's mandate to rule. If it wasn’t for the founding ancestor’s peerless martial prowess, our national surname might not be Ji. Even now, we might still be wavering under the Longevity Monarch’s machinations had His Majesty not cultivated in secret for many years and surprised his enemies. Regarding the blind stubbornness of those fogeys, it’s more apt to consider it an excuse to suppress outsiders rather than loyalty to the Empire.”

Empress Li spoke so frankly that Qianye didn’t know how to respond. All he could do was nod.

Empress Li shot a glance at him and said angrily, “I’m pouring my heart out, but here you are, playing dumb. Do you mean to say you’re ready to spread your wings, that this empress can’t hold onto you anymore?”

Qianye replied that he wouldn’t dare.

The Empress’ expression recovered somewhat. She took a sip of tea and said, “I didn’t say these things for no reason. Some old fogeys have openly asked who you’re pioneering new land for since you’re a vampire.”

Qianye’s expression changed slightly, his eyes filled with killing intent. These words were too harsh. If this were to become a general consensus, he would be forced into a confrontation with the Empire, even if that wasn’t his intention.

Empress Li only watched Qianye in silence.

Qianye took a deep breath and suppressed the anger in his heart. “I simply don’t understand what they have to gain by forcing me to the Evernight faction?”

“Oh, quite a lot. Besides, their main objective isn’t to force you away. They’re targeting the people who speak up for you more than anything.”

Qianye took a deep breath. “The Zhao clan?”

“Now it’s not just the Zhao, the Zhang as well.”

“The Zhang clan?” Qianye was puzzled. He didn’t remember having any special friendship with the Zhang clan. The only contact he had was a brief conversation with Prince Greensun after the battle of Whitetown.

“When your topic was brought up today in court, Prince Greensun commented that you had made great contributions on the void continent. He said that the entire world would be disappointed if we point our spears at such an outstanding subject once the war was over. He berated the minister as taking advantage of righteousness to harbor malicious intentions. At the very least, he was being over-adherent to old ideas. Prince Greensun’s fame is very real in court, no one dared to continue dragging this matter on after what he said. At least for now, you won’t see the Empire’s punitive expedition at your doorstep.”

Qianye gave it some thought. “If that’s the case, won’t you be inviting criticism by giving me those gifts?”

Empress Li chuckled. “I dispatched the airships only after that incident. I never planned to hide it, anyway, so many people know about it. As for what they think, that’s their problem. Even if nothing happens, they’ll still find some way to scheme and plot. It’s not a bad thing for me to scheme against them for a change.”

Qianye couldn’t help but frown as he found it somewhat strange.

Empress Li spoke cleverly, but the important thing was that both Prince Greensun and the Li family were standing on his side at the same time. Bystanders wouldn’t feel that Qianye was worth such attention. Rather, they would think that the Zhang and Li families had a tacit understanding. The Li family’s momentum had been growing stronger as of late, with one of its side branches producing an unprecedented genius. Their promotion to a major clan seemed to be set in stone.

An alliance between a heavenly monarch’s clan and that of the Empress was big news.

Qianye knew that he was bad at politics, and as someone who had been away from the Empire most of the time, he had no grasp of the situation here. That was why he remained silent despite having his doubts.