Chapter 496: Chapter 0343: The Crown Prince’s Edict Chapter 496: Chapter 0343: The Crown Prince’s Edict Chapter 0343: The Prince’s Decree
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Even though Qi Tian didn’t find any of Xiao Ge’s possessions appealing, he chose a few items from Xiao Ge’s collection to appease him and declared, “Elder Xiao, we are now even.”
“No, I am the one who gained an advantage,” Xiao Ge, being fair-minded, refuted. In the Great Zhao’s Cultivation World, a storage bag with a volu of fifty cubic ters was a treasure that was in demand but rarely available. The items Qi Tian chose might seem valuable, but they were rather easy to obtain in the Cultivation World, with a minor sacrifice. Comparing the value of the two, it was clear who benefited more. “Qi Tian, I am indebted to you for giving this storage bag. I owe you a huge favor. If you ever need assistance, feel free to ask. I won’t shy away.”
Qi Tian just smiled without declining, effectively accepting Xiao Ge’s promise. “Regarding the spirit stones, Elder, please handle it as you see fit. I hope the villagers can be settled as soon as possible. It’s not good for us to keep lingering here.”
Xiao Ge nodded understandingly. Qi Tian killing the cultivators and the centurion of Prince Duan Manor who had persecuted the villagers would normally have had clear consequences by now. However, the absence of any repercussions so far inevitably felt suspicious. Xiao Ge was also unwilling to continue dragging it out here.
As a senior elder of the Imperial Master Mansion, Xiao Ge held substantial influence in Great Zhao. Leveraging it, he quickly gathered a large amount of supplies, including food and various construction materials required to rebuild houses.
The Mansion Masters Luo Xia and Hao Wenxi also were not idle. They ca to an agreent with Xiao Ge and began mobilizing their power: Intensifying their efforts to communicate with Mansion Master Xiao Xiaowu, and rallying all possible support to pressurize the governnt officials.
Assuredly, Qi Tian and the others could leave whenever they wished. There were few in the Great Zhao’s Cultivation World who could harm them, considering their power and status. However, the problem lay in ensuring the safety of thousands of villagers. Qi Tian was certain that once they left, the Crown Prince and Cheng Wenbin would seek retribution. Then, the lives of these villagers would be in the hands of the powerful.
During their discussions, Qi Tian proposed the possibility of relocating all the villagers to areas within Imperial Master Mansion’s influence. Despite the villagers’ number, finding a place for them to live and work within the counties and states under Imperial Master Mansion’s control, or within the Mansion itself, shouldn’t be too difficult.
However, the suggestion was unanimously rejected by Xiao Ge, Hao Wenxi, and Luo Xia. Firstly, not all villagers were willing to leave their holand to migrate to a completely foreign place. Secondly, ensuring the safety of the migrants en-route to their destinations was not an easy task due to the diversity of their age and health conditions. Additionally, who would be willing to accept thousands of villagers? This ant thousands of mouths to feed, and conflicts over farmland with the local farrs. Or even if they were allowed to cultivate their own land, these costs still incurred expenses.
To house them all in the Imperial Master Mansion was unthinkable. Positions for even minor tasks like cleaning were highly contested within the mansion, let alone for a bunch of villagers. Surely, the Mansion couldn’t feed them for free. And what would happen the next ti? And the ti after? Was the Imperial Master Mansion expected to make exceptions every ti a disciple did sothing like Qi Tian?
Upon calculating every possibility, the best solution seed to let the villagers return to their hos. They were well familiar with the local terrain, and their property and farmland were all their own. As long as their safety can be ensured, all was well.
Qi Tian was not one to refuse wise counsel. After thoroughly analyzing the reasoning of Xiao Ge and the others, he ultimately chose the initial plan of ensuring that villagers could safely return ho and live peacefully without disturbance.
Once Qi Tian and the others reached a unanimous decision, the forces mobilized by the Imperial Master Mansion started to show their might. Nurous morials criticizing Prince Duan Manor flooded into the palace. While they dare not directly implicate the Guardian National Master Manor, they did not spare Cheng Wenbin either.
Over the years, both the National Master Manor and Guardian National Master Manor have united and significantly reduced the influence of the Imperial Master Mansion. Nevertheless, the Imperial Master Mansion was still one of the three major Master Mansions. With Gold Core cultivator Xiao Xiaowu in town, about a quarter of the counties were willing to lean towards the Imperial Master Mansion. This might not be a high ratio, but it was a considerable absolute number. When such a large number of state and county officials jointly impeached Prince Duan Manor, it was indeed disconcerting.
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