"It was Shan Ling all along!" Fang Zhengzhi never believed in coincidences . There was no way Shan Ling rushed over on such short notice . . .

Definitely not with hundreds of man in tow .

The only explanation was that Shan Ling was nearby .

However . . .

That was quite the despicable method .

If Fang Zhengzhi was in his position, he would definitely not have planned something like this . It was much too despicable and boring .

It was equivalent to seducing someone with a pretty lady before having a group catch them in the act and extort the man thereafter .

How lame . . .

But Fang Zhengzhi had fallen for it . . .

Shan Ling had not seduced Fang Zhengzhi using Princess Shan Yu . Shan Ling exploited Fang Zhengzhi's weakness - his love for good food . . .

There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could have thought of it .

Fang Zhengzhi never expected that Princess Shan Yu would poison him, much less poison the lamb that so many would want to taste .

But now, he could be sure that Shan Ling had slipped in the poison into the spices when Princess Shan Yu wasn't looking . . .

Okay then . . .

There was only one way out of this . . .

Ordinarily, the man being extorted would cave in to any requests in order to protect his reputation .

However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn't afraid of that .

Shan Ling could spread this everywhere!

Fang Zhengzhi couldn't be bothered .

However, this was a different scenario altogether . In this case, he could simply charge Fang Zhengzhi with a crime .

Barging into Princess Shan Yu's room!

That was punishable by death!

Fang Zhengzhi knew what Shan Ling was about to do .

Shan Ling had already ordered the remaining servants and soldiers to wait outside .

Then . . .

He entered the room .

Was he about to strike?

If Shan Ling struck now, he could say that he lost control when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and killed him on the spot .

Would the Great Xia pursue the matter?

Fang Zhengzhi didn't know .

But the fact was that the Great Xia would not go to war with the Southern Region because of this . His death would be meaningless . . .

At the very most, they would compensate the Great Xia with some jewels and gold .

"Sister, I made a mistake . I didn't expect that this shameless fella would come here after failing to win you over at the banquet . I will now . . . "

"Brother, are you trying to kill him?" Princess Shan Yu interrupted Shan Ling with icy words .

"Should he not be killed?" Shan Ling asked, visibly shocked .

"Brother, if you want to kill him, you will have to do so over my dead body!" Princess Shan Yu stood in Shan Ling's way .

"Haha . . . I don't really understand what you mean . " Shan Ling stopped in his tracks .

Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief . It was a good thing Princess Shan Yu was smart .

However . . .

Even with her protection, Fang Zhengzhi wasn't confident that he could survive .

Shan Ling was much more powerful than Princess Shan Yu .

"You want to kill him to void the contract of the 10 gold mines, am I right? However, you are willing to sacrifice my innocence for those mines . Brother . . . you are vicious!" Princess Shan Yu also heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Shan Ling stop .

"Sister, that is simply not true! You have misunderstood me!"

"Hmph!"

"Okay then, since you have been so blunt, I will be honest with you! We cannot give control of the gold mines to an outsider!" Shan Ling spoke up after some hesitation .

"Is that so? Then let me make this clear to you . As long as I am here, no one can harm him!" Princess Shan Yu a.s.serted .

"Are you really going to be at odds with me over an outsider?" Shan Ling's tone was filled with fury .

"You? You are not fit to be my brother!" Shan Yu's voice was filled with anger as well .

"Aish . . . sister, you know that I have loved you since you were a little girl . You are my closest family member . You may not understand my actions now, but I am doing this all for the good of the Southern Region . With Fang Zhengzhi's reputation, we cannot possibly reclaim the 10 gold mines . Without those gold mines, how will we ever grow? Sister, what would you do if you were in my shoes?" Shan Ling sighed .

"At least I won't do something so despicable! I can't believe you are willing to sacrifice me for those 10 gold mines!"

"Despicable? Did you forget who signed that deal? It was you! The Princess of the Southern Region!"

"You . . . " Princess Shan Yu could not find the words to express herself .

"As your brother, I helped you to correct your errors and stem the bleeding . I am trying to build up the Southern Region! What have I done wrong?" Shan Ling added .

"No matter what you say, you can forget about hurting him today!" Shan Yu a.s.serted .

"Are you really going to protect him with your life?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because there would be no Southern Region without him!"

"Okay then, I will kill all the soldiers at the door!"

"Shan Ling, those are our citizens, what are you trying to do?"

"Sister, you are a smart girl . You should know what I am doing? There is a stranger in your room at night . If news of this got out, how will we still maintain our standing?"

"But this . . . "

"Enough, now that things are at this stage, we either kill Fang Zhengzhi or the soldiers outside . There is no other choice!" Shan Ling repeated .

Princess Shan Yu was silent .

She knew what Shan Ling was saying . However, she had to choose between innocent citizens and Fang Zhengzhi .

There was no good option here .

But Shan Ling was right . . .

It didn't matter how it happened . The fact was that it happened . The reputation of the royal family couldn't be sacrificed . She had to make a decision .

"What if . . . he's not an outsider?" Princess Shan Yu bit her lips as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi .

"Are you really going to marry him? You should be able to tell that he doesn't like you! Furthermore, he is a dead man walking!" Shan Ling's tone was icy .

"I don't mind . I am willing to marry him even if he can only live for a day!"

"Just because of what he did in the war?"

"No, because . . . because I like him!"

"Sister, this is not the time for jokes! How can you possibly like this shameless fella?" Shan Ling couldn't believe his ears .

"I also thought that I would never like him, but you know me well . If I didn't like him, then based on what happened today, he would be dead!" Princess Shan Yu said with determination .

"Sister, you . . . " Shan Ling's expression changed .

As someone who had watched Princess Shan Yu grow up, Shan Ling could tell that Princess Shan Yu was serious .

With her character, she would never have let Fang Zhengzhi live if she didn't like him .

And just now . . .

When he tried to enter . . .

Princess Shan Yu's first reaction was to close the door .

The only possible explanation was that Princess Shan Yu liked Fang Zhengzhi .

"What do you have to say?"

"This is a serious matter . If you are to marry him, then you will have to get the King's approval!" Shan Ling responded after some hesitation .

"Okay then, we will let father decide!"

"Carry Fang Zhengzhi to the throne room! The King will deal with him!"

　　 . . .

　　 . . .

The throne room was lit up . . .

The King, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, as well as the settlement chiefs, generals, and Great Xia candidates were gathered there .

However, in comparison to the banquet before . . .

It was significantly more somber . There were no food or drinks, much less music . Two rows of soldiers lined the sides of the room .

In the middle of the throne room . . .

Fang Zhengzhi lay 'comatose' .

Shan Ling was quite barbaric in his handling of the situation . He didn't even dress Fang Zhengzhi . . .

This was to 'preserve the evidence' .

"Crown Prince, how do you think we should deal with this?" The King of the Southern Region asked solemnly .

No one could blame him .

No father could smile and laugh when his daughter's room had been broken into in the middle of the night .

Furthermore, Princess Shan Yu was his favorite daughter .

"Father . . . " Princess Shan Yu spoke up .

"Sister, you can rest a.s.sured that father would make the right decision . Don't you think so?" Shan Ling interrupted .

"You . . . Father!" Princess Shan Yu appealed .

"Shan Yu, you can say your piece later, but let's listen to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong first!" The King of the Southern Region waved Shan Yu off .

Princess Shan Yu's mouth twitched but she didn't speak .

All of the other candidates stared at the comatose Fang Zhengzhi, their eyes about to pop out from their sockets .

Who would be that audacious?

How dare he barge into Princess Shan Yu's room and get in her bed? How could someone be that shameless?

That was ridiculous!

I wonder . . .

If he succeeded?

This was the question that flew through the minds of the candidates . The settlement chiefs and generals felt conflicted .

They knew how important Fang Zhengzhi's contributions to the war were .

If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi could die anytime, they would have accepted him as a Prince even if his cultivation was ruined .

But now . . .

What was this?

"Ahem . . . I never expected something like this to happen . Ordinarily, we would execute him and all his relatives, but . . . " Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was in a difficult position .

The throne room was silent .

Everyone looked at Lin Tianrong, waiting for him to continue .

"However . . . Fang Zhengzhi's contributions to this war . . . even though they're undeniable, but . . . " Crown Prince Lin Tianrong hesitated as he looked at the King .

"I understand what you're saying . Without Fang Zhengzhi, I couldn't possibly be sitting here today . Since that is the case, let's forget it!" The King of the Southern Region hesitated before speaking .

"Forget it?!"

The candidates of the Great Xia looked at each other in shock when they heard this .

All of the settlement chiefs and generals were in shock as well .

However, there were also traces of exasperation and humiliation . It was almost as if they had been slapped in the face .

"The King is mistaken, that wasn't what I meant . " Lin Tianrong explained .

"Then what do you mean?" The King of the Southern Region asked .

"By barging into Princess Shan Yu's room, he had committed an unforgivable sin . However, I just received orders that he is now the a.s.sistant minister of the Minister of Rites . He is the acting Minister of Rites as well . As such, the punishment cannot be decided by me . " Crown Prince Lin Tianrong explained .

"a.s.sistant minister?!"

"Rank three official? Acting Minister of Rites?!"

"My G.o.d . . . this has never happened before! How old is Fang Zhengzhi? He is already a rank three official! Furthermore . . . the Minister of Rites is a rank two post!

All of the candidates were shocked to hear this .

They knew that Fang Zhengzhi would be handsomely rewarded, but this bordered on the ridiculous .

A promotion was definitely warranted .

But Acting Minister of Rites was too big a jump .

The Six Ministries!

That was a powerful position!

He had just been promoted from a rank four Sword Envoy to Minister of Rites . This had never happened in the history of the Great Xia .

This only meant one thing . The Emperor valued Fang Zhengzhi greatly!

Chapter 473 You re not fit Translator Sparrow Translations Editor Sparrow Translations It was Shan Ling all along Fang Zhengzhi never believed in coincidences . There was no way Shan Ling rushed over on such short notice . . . Definitely not with hundreds of man in tow . The only explanation was that Shan Ling was nearby . However . . . That was quite the despicable method . If Fang Zhengzhi was in his position, he would definitely not have planned something like this . It was much too despicable and boring . It was equivalent to seducing someone with a pretty lady before having a group catch them in the act and extort the man thereafter . How lame . . . But Fang Zhengzhi had fallen for it . . . Shan Ling had not seduced Fang Zhengzhi using Princess Shan Yu . Shan Ling exploited Fang Zhengzhi s weakness his love for good food . . . There was no way Fang Zhengzhi could have thought of it . Fang Zhengzhi never expected that Princess Shan Yu would poison him, much less poison the lamb that so many would want to taste . But now, he could be sure that Shan Ling had slipped in the poison into the spices when Princess Shan Yu wasn t looking . . . Okay then . . . There was only one way out of this . . . Ordinarily, the man being extorted would cave in to any requests in order to protect his reputation . However, Fang Zhengzhi wasn t afraid of that . Shan Ling could spread this everywhere Fang Zhengzhi couldn t be bothered . However, this was a different scenario altogether . In this case, he could simply charge Fang Zhengzhi with a crime . Barging into Princess Shan Yu s room That was punishable by death Fang Zhengzhi knew what Shan Ling was about to do . Shan Ling had already ordered the remaining servants and soldiers to wait outside . Then . . . He entered the room . Was he about to strike If Shan Ling struck now, he could say that he lost control when he saw Fang Zhengzhi and killed him on the spot . Would the Great Xia pursue the matter Fang Zhengzhi didn t know . But the fact was that the Great Xia would not go to war with the Southern Region because of this . His death would be meaningless . . . At the very most, they would compensate the Great Xia with some jewels and gold . Sister, I made a mistake . I didn t expect that this shameless fella would come here after failing to win you over at the banquet . I will now . . . Brother, are you trying to kill him Princess Shan Yu interrupted Shan Ling with icy words . Should he not be killed Shan Ling asked, visibly shocked . Brother, if you want to kill him, you will have to do so over my dead body Princess Shan Yu stood in Shan Ling s way . Haha . . . I don t really understand what you mean . Shan Ling stopped in his tracks . Fang Zhengzhi heaved a sigh of relief . It was a good thing Princess Shan Yu was smart . However . . . Even with her protection, Fang Zhengzhi wasn t confident that he could survive . Shan Ling was much more powerful than Princess Shan Yu . You want to kill him to void the contract of the 10 gold mines, am I right However, you are willing to sacrifice my innocence for those mines . Brother . . . you are vicious Princess Shan Yu also heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Shan Ling stop . Sister, that is simply not true You have misunderstood me Hmph Okay then, since you have been so blunt, I will be honest with you We cannot give control of the gold mines to an outsider Shan Ling spoke up after some hesitation . Is that so Then let me make this clear to you . As long as I am here, no one can harm him Princess Shan Yu a.s.serted . Are you really going to be at odds with me over an outsider Shan Ling s tone was filled with fury . You You are not fit to be my brother Shan Yu s voice was filled with anger as well . Aish . . . sister, you know that I have loved you since you were a little girl . You are my closest family member . You may not understand my actions now, but I am doing this all for the good of the Southern Region . With Fang Zhengzhi s reputation, we cannot possibly reclaim the 10 gold mines . Without those gold mines, how will we ever grow Sister, what would you do if you were in my shoes Shan Ling sighed . At least I won t do something so despicable I can t believe you are willing to sacrifice me for those 10 gold mines Despicable Did you forget who signed that deal It was you The Princess of the Southern Region You . . . Princess Shan Yu could not find the words to express herself . As your brother, I helped you to correct your errors and stem the bleeding . I am trying to build up the Southern Region What have I done wrong Shan Ling added . No matter what you say, you can forget about hurting him today Shan Yu a.s.serted . Are you really going to protect him with your life Yes Why Because there would be no Southern Region without him Okay then, I will kill all the soldiers at the door Shan Ling, those are our citizens, what are you trying to do Sister, you are a smart girl . You should know what I am doing There is a stranger in your room at night . If news of this got out, how will we still maintain our standing But this . . . Enough, now that things are at this stage, we either kill Fang Zhengzhi or the soldiers outside . There is no other choice Shan Ling repeated . Princess Shan Yu was silent . She knew what Shan Ling was saying . However, she had to choose between innocent citizens and Fang Zhengzhi . There was no good option here . But Shan Ling was right . . . It didn t matter how it happened . The fact was that it happened . The reputation of the royal family couldn t be sacrificed . She had to make a decision . What if . . . he s not an outsider Princess Shan Yu bit her lips as she looked at Fang Zhengzhi . Are you really going to marry him You should be able to tell that he doesn t like you Furthermore, he is a dead man walking Shan Ling s tone was icy . I don t mind . I am willing to marry him even if he can only live for a day Just because of what he did in the war No, because . . . because I like him Sister, this is not the time for jokes How can you possibly like this shameless fella Shan Ling couldn t believe his ears . I also thought that I would never like him, but you know me well . If I didn t like him, then based on what happened today, he would be dead Princess Shan Yu said with determination . Sister, you . . . Shan Ling s expression changed . As someone who had watched Princess Shan Yu grow up, Shan Ling could tell that Princess Shan Yu was serious . With her character, she would never have let Fang Zhengzhi live if she didn t like him . And just now . . . When he tried to enter . . . Princess Shan Yu s first reaction was to close the door . The only possible explanation was that Princess Shan Yu liked Fang Zhengzhi . What do you have to say This is a serious matter . If you are to marry him, then you will have to get the King s approval Shan Ling responded after some hesitation . Okay then, we will let father decide Carry Fang Zhengzhi to the throne room The King will deal with him . . . . . . The throne room was lit up . . . The King, Crown Prince Lin Tianrong, as well as the settlement chiefs, generals, and Great Xia candidates were gathered there . However, in comparison to the banquet before . . . It was significantly more somber . There were no food or drinks, much less music . Two rows of soldiers lined the sides of the room . In the middle of the throne room . . . Fang Zhengzhi lay comatose . Shan Ling was quite barbaric in his handling of the situation . He didn t even dress Fang Zhengzhi . . . This was to preserve the evidence . Crown Prince, how do you think we should deal with this The King of the Southern Region asked solemnly . No one could blame him . No father could smile and laugh when his daughter s room had been broken into in the middle of the night . Furthermore, Princess Shan Yu was his favorite daughter . Father . . . Princess Shan Yu spoke up . Sister, you can rest a.s.sured that father would make the right decision . Don t you think so Shan Ling interrupted . You . . . Father Princess Shan Yu appealed . Shan Yu, you can say your piece later, but let s listen to Crown Prince Lin Tianrong first The King of the Southern Region waved Shan Yu off . Princess Shan Yu s mouth twitched but she didn t speak . All of the other candidates stared at the comatose Fang Zhengzhi, their eyes about to pop out from their sockets . Who would be that audacious How dare he barge into Princess Shan Yu s room and get in her bed How could someone be that shameless That was ridiculous I wonder . . . If he succeeded This was the question that flew through the minds of the candidates . The settlement chiefs and generals felt conflicted . They knew how important Fang Zhengzhi s contributions to the war were . If not for the fact that Fang Zhengzhi could die anytime, they would have accepted him as a Prince even if his cultivation was ruined . But now . . . What was this Ahem . . . I never expected something like this to happen . Ordinarily, we would execute him and all his relatives, but . . . Crown Prince Lin Tianrong was in a difficult position . The throne room was silent . Everyone looked at Lin Tianrong, waiting for him to continue . However . . . Fang Zhengzhi s contributions to this war . . . even though they re undeniable, but . . . Crown Prince Lin Tianrong hesitated as he looked at the King . I understand what you re saying . Without Fang Zhengzhi, I couldn t possibly be sitting here today . Since that is the case, let s forget it The King of the Southern Region hesitated before speaking . Forget it The candidates of the Great Xia looked at each other in shock when they heard this . All of the settlement chiefs and generals were in shock as well . However, there were also traces of exasperation and humiliation . It was almost as if they had been slapped in the face . The King is mistaken, that wasn t what I meant . Lin Tianrong explained . Then what do you mean The King of the Southern Region asked . By barging into Princess Shan Yu s room, he had committed an unforgivable sin . However, I just received orders that he is now the a.s.sistant minister of the Minister of Rites . He is the acting Minister of Rites as well . As such, the punishment cannot be decided by me . Crown Prince Lin Tianrong explained . a.s.sistant minister Rank three official Acting Minister of Rites My G.o.d . . . this has never happened before How old is Fang Zhengzhi He is already a rank three official Furthermore . . . the Minister of Rites is a rank two post All of the candidates were shocked to hear this . They knew that Fang Zhengzhi would be handsomely rewarded, but this bordered on the ridiculous . A promotion was definitely warranted . But Acting Minister of Rites was too big a jump . The Six Ministries That was a powerful position He had just been promoted from a rank four Sword Envoy to Minister of Rites . This had never happened in the history of the Great Xia . This only meant one thing . The Emperor valued Fang Zhengzhi greatly