Chapter 442 - 229: Seemingly an Emperor

Chapter 442: Chapter 229: Seemingly an Emperor

"Of course, it wasn’t going to be that easy."

Zheng Xiu took a few breaths, a look of frustration on his face as he stared at the longsword in his hand.

He was attempting something novel, but it had failed. Back in the World in the Painting, he had used the Painter Path to manifest Zheng Baimei’s Heaven and Earth Sword Intent. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the unique nature of Golden Traits or some other reason, but the experience had taught him that Traits weren’t immutable. That was why he was now trying to make the Golden Traits truly his own.

Otherwise, the Heaven and Earth Sword Intent could only be unleashed in a Life and Death Struggle. The Restriction was far too great.

He was very familiar with Miracle Techniques. Restrictions and rules were necessary, but it didn’t necessarily have to be a "Life and Death Struggle." He could adjust the "Restriction" by setting new "rules."

The idea was novel, but as for how to actually implement it, Zheng Xiu was still figuring it out.

Seeing the frustration on Zheng Xiu’s face, Feng Bei had intended to go and comfort him. But after taking two steps, her brows furrowed. She leaped onto the wall and looked down.

When she got a clear look at the arrangement of the longswords around Zheng Xiu, she was so stunned her mouth formed a perfect "O."

Around Zheng Xiu, the fallen longswords had, by sheer coincidence, arranged themselves with the tips of all several hundred blades pointing directly at him.

The scene suddenly brought a word to Feng Bei’s mind: "worship."

And Zheng Xiu, standing in their center, looked like an... "Emperor" among swords.

...

Ever since Zheng Xiu had become a Prince, he felt that aside from gaining a title and getting dragged into major affairs, there hadn’t been any other benefits.

As for the so-called fief and tax revenues from Shuzhou being his... at the end of the day, his Zheng Clan Chamber of Commerce already accounted for the lion’s share of Shuzhou’s tax revenue. To put it bluntly, the Great Emperor was just giving him back the money he had already earned.

Yan Jiji, following the "Skillful Hands" Path, finished the cat house in just half a day.

A small, separate courtyard was sectioned off in a corner of the main garden. Inside was a magnificent little cat house, surrounded by colorful flowers and equipped with a tiny swing, a rockery, a lake, a small boat, and a running wheel. From a distance, it looked like a miniature luxury resort villa.

When Little Feng Miao saw its new home, it froze for a full three seconds, its little mouth hanging open. Then it scampered over, leaped onto the swing, and began to spin around, having the time of its life.

Seeing that the orange cat was clearly very satisfied with its new villa, Zheng Xiu’s worried heart was finally put at ease. At least he had managed to placate the orange cat.

In his spare time, Zheng Xiu counted on his fingers as he reviewed the gains from his trip.

’Feng Bei, the orange cat, the Painter’s Deceitful Object, deepening my Path, and a century of experience... The journey was arduous, but in the end, it had been worth it.’

Zheng Xiu returned to his cell, which he hadn’t visited in a long time. The... *interesting* decor was just as he’d left it. A small booklet hung on the wall, recording the "guests" who had "paid a visit" to the Eternal Purgatory these past few days.

He flipped through a few pages as if reviewing work, then paid it no more mind. ’A rich man doesn’t need to handle everything personally. Professional matters should be left to the professionals; all it takes is money.’

A few more days passed.

Mid-June.

A Civil Servant waited respectfully before the Red King Mansion, seeking an audience with the Red King.

"This humble servant, Yi Gao, has come to see the Red King under the orders of the Holy Emperor."

Yi Gao was about fifty years old, with a scholarly appearance and a thin mustache. He was the very Civil Servant who had announced the Great Emperor’s decree on the day Zheng Xiu was made a Prince. He seemed to be one of the Great Emperor’s trusted confidants.

Zheng Xiu received him personally—he had to give the Great Emperor face, after all—and met with Yi Gao in the reception hall.

Yi Gao had been holding a small brocade box the entire time. After handing it to Zheng Xiu, Yi Gao did not stay long. He drank a mouthful of tea and then made his excuses to leave.

Zheng Xiu opened the brocade box and found a pair of jade chopsticks lying inside.

A gift from the Great Emperor was never just a simple gift. Zheng Xiu casually tossed them into the cat house for the orange cat to play with. The meaning the Great Emperor conveyed by sending chopsticks was clear; the word for "chopsticks" is a homophone for "hurry," and it was a message urging Zheng Xiu to "hurry, hurry, hurry."

Zheng Xiu understood perfectly. After a brief moment of reflection, he summoned an Assassin from the Brotherhood.

"Bring Xi’er to me."

"As you command, Your Highness."

The people of the Zheng Clan seemed to have gotten addicted to calling him "Prince."

Unlike the reverence and caution others showed when they said the word, when his own Zheng Clan members called him "Prince," their tone was mostly filled with pride.

’He was *their* Prince, after all, and that gave them immense prestige.’

Times had changed. Now that he was Prince Zheng, he could no longer appear on the streets as he pleased. In the past, him going out was just "the Richest Person strolling and checking on his businesses." Now, it was "the Prince conducting an inspection incognito." The nature of the act was completely different.

Zheng Xiu began to miss his former self, the one whose approachability had been powered by billions.