If I send you to join the army and marry a woman, will you conquer the Empress?

The prison was dark and damp.

The air was filled with a foul odor, a mixture of rust and decay.

Qin Feng, dressed in black, walked with his hands behind his back, his footsteps sounding particularly clear in the empty passageway.

There were no guards following behind, only the warden, carrying a lantern, leading the way with trepidation.

"Your Highness...the seven family heads are locked in the innermost 'Heavenly' cell."

The warden's voice trembled noticeably.

He spent half his life in this prison, where he met countless princes and nobles, and even deposed crown princes.

But no one had ever instilled such deep-seated fear in him as the Regent before him, with just a glance.

Qin Feng ignored him, his gaze passing through the iron bars to the emaciated prisoners huddled in the corner.

Soon, they arrived at the end of the passageway.

This is the highest-ranking prison cell, where the most serious criminals of the imperial court are imprisoned.

Unlike the filth and chaos outside, the seven cells here, although also made of iron bars and stone walls, were kept exceptionally clean.

Inside the cell, there was not only a bed and a table, but also an unfinished chess game on the table, along with ink, brushes, paper, and inkstones that exuded the fragrance of ink.

The seven heads of prominent families sat or lay down, played chess or sipped tea, all looking relaxed, as if they were not in prison but recuperating in their own courtyards.

They didn't even lift their eyelids when they saw Qin Feng arrive.

Only Li Boyong, the head of the Longxi Li family, slowly put down his teacup, raised his cloudy old eyes, and spoke with a forced smile.

"Oh, isn't this our busy Regent? What brings you to our dark and damp place?"

His tone was full of undisguised sarcasm and smugness.

In his view, Qin Feng's personal visit today must be because the situation outside has spiraled out of control.

With the people rioting and supplies cut off, the young regent finally couldn't hold on any longer and had to bow down and beg for mercy.

The other six family heads also stopped what they were doing, looking at Qin Feng with mocking smiles on their faces, as if he were a homeless dog that had come begging for food.

Qin Feng stopped in front of Li Boyong's cell and looked at him quietly through the cold iron bars.

His face showed no anxiety or anger as Li Boyong had expected, only a deep, unfathomable calm.

"I have come today to give you seven a chance to live."

Qin Feng's voice was calm, yet it was like a boulder thrown into a still lake.

The smiles on the faces of the seven family heads froze instantly.

"What did you say?"

Li Boyong doubted that he had misheard.

Even at this point, this reckless brat still dares to spout such nonsense in front of them?

Qin Feng ignored his question and continued speaking to himself:

"I will give you two choices."

"First, immediately issue the order to have your men reopen all shops and restore all trade routes."

"Then, actively cooperate with the new policies, conduct a thorough inventory of all the land under your name, and make up for all the taxes you have owed to the court over the past century."

"If you do as I say, I will forgive and forget, and let you go so you can continue to live as wealthy men."

Upon hearing this, the seven family heads could no longer hold back.

"Hahaha……"

Cui Jingshan, the head of the Boling Cui clan, was the first to burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost cried.

"Regent, are you talking in your sleep? Or is the situation outside driving you crazy?"

"You want us to reopen our shops? You want us to pay back taxes? What gives you the right?!"

"You think you can make our thousand-year-old family bow down to you, you little brat?"

The others also wore mocking expressions.

"Qin Feng, I advise you to recognize the situation! Now you're the one begging us, not the other way around!"

"That's right! Release us immediately and announce to the world the abolition of that bullshit 'equalization of land tax and poll tax'! Otherwise, within three days, your position as regent will be taken over by someone else!"

They were all emboldened and their words were full of threats and coercion.

Because they firmly believed that Qin Feng had no other way out.

Qin Feng listened quietly to their shouts, his expression remaining unchanged.

He waited until they had finished laughing and talking before he slowly began to speak.

"It seems you want to choose the second one."

"What is the second option?"

Li Boyong asked with a cold laugh, "Do you intend to kill us all? Do you dare? If you kill us, the entire Great Xia will immediately fall apart and be engulfed in war! Can you bear that responsibility?"

"Kill you?"

Qin Feng shook his head, a cold smile curving his lips.

"You're getting off too easy."

"My second choice is..."

Qin Feng's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a chill that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Continue the resistance. I guarantee that within a year, your thousand-year-old family will be wiped out, leaving you with nothing but ruin and loss!"

Upon hearing this, the laughter of the seven family heads abruptly ceased.

Looking into Qin Feng's emotionless eyes, a chill inexplicably rose in their hearts.

But the pride they've cultivated over centuries makes them disbelieve and unwilling to believe it.

"Arrogant!"

Li Boyong shouted sternly, "Qin Feng, you're too young! You have no idea what the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families mean!"

"Let me tell you, from the founding emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty to the late emperor, countless emperors of great talent and ambition have thought of harming us, but what was the result?"

Cui Jingshan interjected with a cold laugh: "Emperors come and go, but we, the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families, remain the Five Clans and Seven Noble Families!"

"You? You think you can make us vanish into thin air?"

"That's right."

Qin Feng nodded, then smiled.

That smile was both radiant and chilling.

That's because they are not me.

The moment the words fell!

"Clang!"

A clear and melodious sword cry resounded throughout the entire prison!

Qin Feng's sword suddenly came out of its sheath!

A bright, cold light flashed so fast that no one could react in time. It pierced through the gap in the iron bars and instantly pressed against Li Boyong's throat!

The cold tip of the sword pierced the skin, and a trickle of blood slowly flowed down the blade.

All the expressions on Li Boyong's face froze instantly.

He could clearly feel the undisguised, chilling killing intent emanating from that sword!

He had no doubt that if he uttered just one more word, the other's sword would pierce his throat without hesitation!

The other six family heads were also so shocked that they jumped up from their seats, their faces filled with horror and disbelief.

That madman!

He actually dared to make a move!

"You...you..."

Li Boyong's voice trembled with extreme fear: "If you dare kill me... my seven great families will immediately rise up in rebellion... and your empire..."

"rebel?"

A bloodthirsty smile appeared on Qin Feng's face.

"Very well, I will kill all seven of you now, and then I will quell your rebellion."

He leaned closer to the cell door, lowered his voice, and spoke slowly and deliberately, in a volume only they could hear:

"You guessed it was your ragtag bunch of private soldiers who were so powerful..."

"Is it still my Heavenly Strategy Army whose blades are sharper?"

Choose.

"To live or to die."