Chapter 116 - 3.12

"I couldn't blame them for doing so. Counting my value at that time, investing in me was surely a dumb choice. One that wouldn't have yielded them anything. The only reason I am here right now... Is because my family got wiped out, just like that."

"When the time came for retribution to strike all of them, I somehow became the only one that managed to survive out of this damned bloodline. Isn't it funny? The ones that rose to the top the most, garnered the highest amount of power, they were the ones who got killed first. As for me.. I was someone insignificant, and that was exactly what made me able to survive. Because by the time they realized that there was a prince they missed, I was already out of the castle and gotten to temporary safety."

Xie Yongrui subtly laughed.

"I had to live on my own, take care of everything by myself. I had to go into hiding, and never exposed myself to any sort of contact with other people. I didn't trust anybody. No one, no matter how benevolent they are, could provide me with absolute certainty that they wouldn't tattle on me."

"From then on, I just started to struggle as much as I can. In order to live just one more day. Every single day, I had to live in fear that I would be discovered and everything that I have worked for will be for naught. At least, that was until I became stronger and was able to fight for myself."

"The funniest thing that I have seen was the face of that Emperor when I came to seek an audience with him, bringing a group of my people. People who I had nurtured and catered to, who ended up being promising figures that caught everybody's eyes in their own good sides."

"Xian Ruo county. The independent land that I had taken over. It used to be a depraved land, and the Emperor did not pay any attention to it since the profit levels would be too low for it to be worth the efforts. However, this was akin to a diamond mine for me. I took the chance to develop this place. Starting from the smallest things. Garnering people and their support. Building my own power from the bottom."

"And now.. I am me, the lord you are talking to." Xie Yongrui finished his short story. "What do you think? I'm good at telling stories, right?"

Xu Jiaqi pursed her lips. Her acting gears were running on full power. Within Xie Yongrui's story, there were not much that fell outside of her prediction. Only one or two pieces of information were not accounted for before this tea time even begun.

She was someone who had an extraordinary talent in combining clues and answering her own needs.

Thus, the next step she should take was painfully obvious to her.

"..Does the lord not wish for more?" Xu Jiaqi probed with a provocative question.

"Ho~h.. What do you mean by that? Do elaborate." With an amused expression, Xie Yongrui replied. The gloomy mood was erased in an instant, and got replaced by a brewing suspicion.

"In my eyes, someone like the lord should be able to.. let's say.. Turn the tables around. If you ask me, I don't care about wealth, fame, glory, or anything like that. It is all meaningless if you don't have one thing."

"And that is?"

"Authority, my lord. What else is better than authority? If you don't have enough authority, then you would be nothing but someone else's puppet to use. It is the greatest concept that humanity came up with."

"..How does that relate to me?" Xie Yongrui crossed his arms as he prepared to listen to Xu Jiaqi's appeal.

"Excuse me for saying this, but my lord's current position.. You must already know this, but it is very unstable. Just one mistake could tip you over and plunge you into failure... I have seen that although this place is very beautiful, it's far from the central of power and there is not much people that you could actively use if you want to administer your power."

Xie Yongrui narrowed his eyes. Clearly, he was stuck between feeling like he just ate vomit, and like he just discovered a new toy that made him content.

"Authority is above everything else, your honor. I believe that you have a keen sense of judgement, and that you would be able to soar much higher than the point which you are already standing on right now. Isn't that right?" Xu Jiaqi fanned the flames even further.

Xie Yongrui always laid out his plans in a rather careful manner. This was because he knew that the foundation he had poured his blood, sweat, and tears into could crumble any moment if he just made one wrong move. Just like Xu Jiaqi said, his position was extremely unstable.

The Emperor detested him, and that would guarantee a spot as one of the biggest catalyst to anybody's downfall.

Xie Yongrui managed to snatch the title of a 'Prince', but it was in name only. Just like back when the dynasty was still ran by the Xie family. The only thing that changed was that Xian Ruo was in his hands and completely untouched by the Empire's influence due to his tenacity and efforts.

But no one could predict when all of these would falter.

"You are noble. Far more nobler than the one who is currently sitting on top of the throne right now. I might be someone who isn't qualified to talk about these kinds of things, but to me.. The current throne is rather easy to shake. After all, don't they say that those who can manipulate others will live longer than those who can't? The approach the Emperor took when he took over the Empire did guarantee as little casualties as possible, but he still left loopholes to his back that could be exploited."

"...And who do you think you are? A master of manipulation?" Xie Yongrui glared.

This little kitten, was her intention to test his limits? The amount of patience he could spare for her?