"Not enough. You're still short one billion Gold Spirit Coins, and you only have eight minutes left. Once those eight minutes are up, your head will hit the floor. Think carefully: is your money more important, or your life?"
Fu Ye's voice was like a cold breeze in the now-empty treasury. He suspected that this old fox, Xue Ye, was still hiding something. An empire that has stood for millennia... is its entire national reserve really worth only 4.5 billion?
However, the reality was exactly as pathetic as it looked. Xue Ye really couldn't squeeze out another cent. An empire might be prosperous, but the costs were astronomical. Between the salaries for the bloated nobility and the recent 300-million-coin military appropriation from last month, the treasury was as dry as a desert bone.
"There's no more! The salaries for the military and the nobles were just distributed a few days ago. The national treasury is truly empty!" Xue Ye gasped, his face pale and slick with cold sweat. He was reaching a level of desperation where his heart felt like it would burst from his chest. One wrong move, and he knew he wouldn't live to see the sunset.
"Oh? No money? Then what should we do? Should I just take your head to offset the debt?" Fu Ye's lips curled into a faint, mocking smile.
When these people moved against my women, they didn't think about 'mercy', Fu Ye thought coldly. Now that I'm just asking for a bit of compensation, they start acting all stingy? He had no intention of letting the Heaven Dou Empire off easy. Since they had dared to bare their fangs at his family, he would tear their "imperial dignity" to shreds.
"Mortgage! Yes, yes! Mortgage! I can give you the commercial streets within the empire to offset the debt!" Xue Ye's eyes suddenly lit up with a spark of frantic hope.
"Commercial streets? Interesting, but I can't exactly pack up a street and take it with me. That doesn't count."
Tsk, do you think I'm here to play 'Monopoly'? Fu Ye mused. He wanted liquid assets or treasures, not real estate he'd have to manage.
Just then, a light, rhythmic tapping of footsteps echoed from the corridor. Someone was approaching the treasury with a cheerful, carefree gait.
"Huh? Why aren't there any guards at the treasury today? Oh well, that saves me the trouble of sneaking through the side door!"
A crisp, sweet voice drifted in. A moment later, a young girl in an exquisite palace gown came skipping into the vault, her eyes bright with innocence.
"Eh? Where did all the jars and vases go? Even my favorite little crystal spinner is gone..."
The girl hadn't yet noticed the haggard, trembling Emperor or the handsome young man sitting on the throne with an aura of absolute dominance.
"Have you decided? You have three minutes left to choose how to pay the remaining billion," Fu Ye said. He was curious as to why Xue Ke—whom he had met once before—had shown up here, but he didn't let it distract him. A debt was a debt.
Suddenly, a cunning, predatory light flashed in Xue Ye's eyes as he turned his gaze toward his youngest daughter.
"Your Excellency, I shall betroth my daughter—"
"No," Fu Ye interrupted before the Emperor could finish. "I already have women. I don't need you to 'marry off' a princess to me."
Fu Ye knew exactly what the old man was thinking. He wants to use a marriage alliance to tie me to his sinking ship? Keep dreaming.
"No, Your Excellency, you misunderstand! I mean... I will mortgage my daughter, Xue Ke, to you! I only ask for a few more days to gather the remaining billion!"
Fu Ye: "???" Xue Ke: "(＃°Д°)!!!"
Xue Ke finally registered the conversation. Her father... her "loving" royal father... wanted to use her as collateral to buy time for a debt? She felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her chest. It was as if the world she knew had just crumbled into ash.
"Father, how could you..." her voice trailed off, trembling with a mix of shock and betrayal.
"Shut up! You have no say in this!" Xue Ye roared, his voice cold and devoid of his usual fatherly warmth.
Indeed, the most heartless place is the imperial family. A princess with mediocre cultivation talent was nothing more than a tool for political gain or, in this case, survival. To Xue Ye, sacrificing one daughter to save his life and his throne was a logical, if cold, transaction.
Fu Ye remained silent, watching the display of imperial ruthlessness with a cynical eye. He looked at Xue Ke, who had collapsed to the floor, her expression turning from shock to a numb, haunting emptiness. The girl who had entered the room with a smile was now broken.
"Your Excellency, what do you say? I will raise the remaining billion within a month. Until then, my daughter shall serve you as a servant. How does that sound?" Xue Ye's heart was pounding. He didn't know if this "servant" offer would be enough for a man of Fu Ye's caliber.
Fu Ye didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stood up and walked over to the paralyzed girl. He knelt down on one knee, his movements graceful and predatory. He gently brushed a stray lock of hair away from her pale cheek.
"I didn't expect our second meeting to be in a place like this, little Xue Ke."
His voice acted like a spark, reigniting a flicker of consciousness in the girl's eyes. That voice... I know it... Her brown pupils slowly focused until she saw the face of the man standing before her.
"It's you! Big Brother Fu Ye!"
Xue Ke gasped, her heart jumping. She remembered him from before, but she never imagined their reunion would involve her being sold as a slave by her own father.
Xue Ye, seeing that his daughter actually knew this "Your Excellency," immediately began to spin new schemes in his head. "Your Excellency, I—"
"Quiet. This little girl can offset five hundred million. You have half a month to pay the remaining five hundred million."
Five hundred million for a refined, cute little princess? Not a bad deal, Fu Ye thought. He preferred the company of beauties over cold coins anyway.
"In half a month, I expect to see five hundred million deposited into the Tianshui Academy's account as a 'donation.' From this moment on, this girl is my servant. She has nothing more to do with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."
With that, Fu Ye reached out and casually grabbed the sash of Xue Ke's dress. The princess, who was not even 1.5 meters tall, was lifted into the air like a large, delicate plush toy.
"Yes! Thank you, Your Excellency! Thank you for your mercy!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Xue Ye immediately dropped to his knees and began kowtowing again, his face full of relief. Xue Ke, hanging from Fu Ye's hand, looked at her father with eyes full of absolute disappointment.
Although she didn't know exactly what had happened, her royal father actually wanted to mortgage her to someone else as a servant to be ordered around—she was his own daughter!