Chapter 97 - 2.58

Just as Xu Jiaqi said, everything was going well. They just needed the time to make the adjustments. Within a month, Xu Jiaqi and the crew was able to topple down the hierarchy of Palla using the Goddess' assistance. As the faith grew back within people's hearts, Goddess Eula was able to regain her strength.

Ezra Lancaster was now seated on the Cardinal's spot. His face didn't have the best expression, as he was actually discomforted by the idea of having to deal with the pretentious position. The thing he was most afraid of was losing his touch with the Holy power. He was afraid that if he didn't devote himself far enough, then he would be lacking, not being able to see the Goddess anymore.

However, in actuality, after he got into the position, he was praised daily by the people who trusted and believed in him. These sentiments gathered up into a form of Holy power as well. It was similar with the Goddess' way of garnering power. The people's faith combined into a powerful strength that was taken in by him. He rapidly grew stronger, to the point where he was finally able to see the Goddess without having to pray at his altar anymore.

When he first caught the sight of the Goddess with bare eyes, tears started to stream down his cheeks, and he was baffled. No words could come out of his mouth. It took him a long time to snap out of his daze.

The next point was obviously, Zenith's ascension. This matter was much harder, as the Varadan Empire's Quinnard lineage had actually been going on for more than fifteen generations. Even though they weren't the best people, they were the ones who founded the Empire, and housed the citizens for that long. In fact, up until the previous several generations, the Quinnards actually had an esteemed reputation, trusted by the people. They were decent rulers.

Obviously, with Xu Jiaqi's hand in the matter, she was sure that they would eventually fall down. The best thing about gaining Palla was that the Crown Prince was no longer able to try and obtain the assistance of the Holy Land, because it was all under their control and they had the authority to finally do whatever they wanted.

It was a joy to see the Prince's annoyed expression as he left after knowing that Ezra was finally coronated and there was no longer a chance for him.

What did this entail, and how did it matter to them, you say?

Well, the Crown Prince wasn't the only prince in the Empire. It wasn't a surprise. The Emperor had quite the loose sex life, as he currently had three wives and seven concubines, not counting the amount of mistresses and flings he kept as spares. Although most of them were mainly for political benefits, the man did bed all of them, and there were a lot of offspring scattering about as a result of it.

However, the palace battle was tough and risky. Each royal child had to fend for themselves, and whoever stood on top of the others would be the winner. Prince Caelum was the son of the First Wife, so his Crown Prince title actually mainly came about from that fact alone.

In the original story, the Prince was strong, the female lead was strong, and they shared a cooperation that brought them up the staircase of success. If the Holy Land's assistance was taken away, then Prince Caelum's influence was actually cut down by a whole lot.

It mean that the Prince still had to fight for his position now. It won't be handed to him so easily.

So, what if Xu Jiaqi played tricks, and made the royal family fall down by itself from an outsider's perspective? Sowing the seeds of chaos, making them fight against each other.

Spreading rumors that might or might not be true, but certainly made each player in the game worried to death.

Xu Jiaqi sat down with her allies as she crossed her legs and whispered the most poisonous plans ever, making the others jerk away instinctively. Xu Jiaqi was someone you never wanted to be your enemy. Even the Goddess was disturbed with how easily the woman could twist truth and make plausible schemes to stir up trouble.

Days turned into months. Without noticing, the season changed four times, and a whole year had passed.

During the time, Xu Jiaqi mainly focused on strengthening her base on Palla since there was time for her to relax while still keeping a good amount of pressure on the royal family.

Indeed, in the original, it was the plot armor that was too strong. With just some wicked pushes, Xu Jiaqi was able to incite confusion and rage within the numerous people inside the palace. She pitted the wives and concubines with each other, the princes and princesses, and the officers and nobles.

She singlehandedly created an internal strife inside the Empire. A small fire was frightening if left alone. The Empire was crowded, so the small fire quickly grew into a much larger disaster. One that they never expected.

Xu Jiaqi jeered as she watched from a far distance. She had visited the Empire for some official matters as the Saintess, but she had caught the sight of two princesses grabbing each other by hair, shouting madly at each other. Foul words came out of their mouths.

One of the two princesses was Princess Glazelle, to add to the matter.

Xu Jiaqi had to restrain her laughter until her stomach and face hurt badly. Behind her, her knight Zenith looked towards the same way as her gaze and sighed.

His lady loved making trouble and watching it unfold. What could he do against this?

He was a silly man, someone who would join her to watch the chaos and add fuel to the fire.

The Empire had a countdown set on its livelihood. The Emperor has caught the news of the countless fights happening recently, so he was also severely troubled by the incidents.

"Let's see how long they will last, Zen." Xu Jiaqi turned her head, heading to leave the palace as her job was already done. 

Surely, not long.