Fairy, please step aside, I've taken a liking to your man.

"That's the head of the Night Fiend Hall. Nobody knows his whereabouts. All we know is that he was by the Emperor's side before the communication was cut off."

Qi Rui skillfully brewed and prepared the tea.

For the past three days, she had nothing to do but serve Shen Bai.

Shen Bai and the entire San Shang Group were busy making money.

Every day, Qi Rui was rapidly changing the stocks she held, with large sums of money flowing in and out, leaving her dizzy with excitement.

Shen Bai's net worth is visibly increasing a hundredfold.

The Shen family can now be called the Shen Consortium.

Meanwhile, the San Shang Group and the Sixth Princess Mansion, operating behind the scenes, also made a fortune.

"Wan Lin and Wang Gao are the Emperor's right-hand men, yet they haven't shown up yet. They're really keeping their composure."

Shen Bai sighed and then stopped paying attention.

Nowadays, nothing is more important than making money.

"Mr. Shen, which stock should we buy next?"

Today, Mrs. Mikami is dressed differently from her usual traditional style. She is wearing a long white T-shirt that is stretched taut by her full breasts. The bottom of the T-shirt just covers her buttocks, and her two long, slender, white legs are dazzling. Her hair, which is usually tied up in a bun, is now braided and hangs down from one side of her shoulder, giving her a typical housewife look.

Qi Rui looked straight ahead at Mrs. Mikami's attire. She had already witnessed Mrs. Mikami's various styles of dressing in the past few days, but they all had one core element—desire.

Shen Bai glanced at Mrs. Mikami's attire and nodded in satisfaction. The manga had come to life, and all the effort he had put into cultivating the Mikami Group had not been in vain.

"Today, we dumped all the stocks belonging to the Second Prince's faction and continued to buy stocks belonging to the Crown Prince's and Ninth Prince's factions. This battle is basically coming to a conclusion."

After offering a suggestion, Shen Bai continued drinking his tea. He had done almost everything he needed to do, and now all that was left was to wait for the harvest.

On the fourth day, the Crown Prince's faction and the Second Prince's faction reached a complete stalemate and ceased fighting. Envoys from both sides appeared outside the San Shang Stockings Company. Shen Bai did not refuse them entry but politely welcomed them into the hall.

The three parties were gathered together, creating a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

This little golden pill is really incompetent.

How can you get the two warring parties to sit together?

"Lord Shen, we are both officials in the same court, so you should know that the Crown Prince is disloyal and unfilial, which led to the Emperor's death. Such cruelty and inhumanity will only bring disaster to the world after he ascends the throne."

The first to speak was Zhou Qi, the deputy head of the Inheritance Hall of the Second Prince's lineage. He looked at Shen Bai sincerely and said, "I hope that Lord Shen will contact Her Highness the Sixth Princess in time so that this conflict can be ended as soon as possible."

Shen Bai glanced at the Crown Prince's faction noncommittally. The newcomer was Xiang Li, the deputy head of the Enforcement Hall. Xiang Li chuckled and said, "Don't bring up such fabricated charges in front of Lord Shen. Let's talk about something practical."

Shen Bai's eyes lit up immediately, and he looked at Xiang Li with a smile: "I like Xiang Li's decisiveness."

Seeing Zhou Qi's face darken, Xiang Li looked smugly at Shen Bai: "Lord Shen is the youngest Golden Core cultivator in the nearly thousand-year history of our Xuan Yuan Empire. He should have been given more responsibilities long ago. His Highness the Crown Prince has praised Lord Shen for his courage and wisdom in front of the ministers on many occasions, and believes that Lord Shen's title can be promoted by another rank. Lord Shen's hometown is Jiangbei, so His Highness thinks that the title of Marquis of Jiangbei is quite appropriate."

Shen Bai nodded slightly but did not reply.

The Marquis of Jiangbei is indeed good, but it lacks substantial content.

Moreover, becoming a marquis was a foregone conclusion; it was only a matter of time.

Seeing Shen Bai's appearance, Zhou Qi quickly said, "My Highness is willing to provide Marquis Jiangbei with ten top-tier Golden Core furnaces and all the resources needed for advancement to the Nascent Soul stage, so as to help Marquis Jiangbei become the youngest Nascent Soul True Monarch in the history of our Xuan Yuan Empire as soon as possible."

Shen Bai picked up the tea that Qi Rui had brewed, took a sip, and smiled without saying a word.

Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?

Xiang Li clearly understood.

This legendary sixth prince consort was not some naive orphan. Zhou Qi added so many conditions to his own, yet the other party remained unmoved, which proved that something real needed to be presented.

"Your Highness, mindful that Marquis Jiangbei has just established his family on Qiyuan Star, is willing to contribute a set of seventh-order defensive formations, 500 Golden Core cultivators, 800 Foundation Establishment cultivators, and 2000 Qi Refining cultivators to the Shen family. In addition, all of Marquis Jiangbei's enterprises will be exempt from taxes forever."

Upon hearing this condition, Zhou Qi was so shocked that he jumped up from his seat: "You... how could you do this..."

Xiang Li chuckled; he believed Shen Bai would be tempted by such conditions.

He has that confidence.

However, he saw that Shen Bai was still slowly drinking his tea, without even lifting his eyelids.

What does that mean?

Xiang Li's smile froze on his lips.

Are these conditions not enough?

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

"Qi Rui, please refill the tea for the two gentlemen."

Shen Bai looked at Qi Rui beside him, and Qi Rui immediately said "Yes".

Xiang Li was stunned for a moment, while Zhou Qi was the first to react.

Oh right, why did Shen Bai ask Qi Rui to refill his tea?

Who is Qi Rui?

Qi Rui is the Sixth Princess's personal guard. Shen Bai treats such a personal guard like a maid. What kind of treatment is that?

This is a sure thing for him to become the prince consort.

Moreover, he was not an ordinary prince consort, because an ordinary prince consort would not be qualified to command the princess's personal guards.

The status of an ordinary prince consort in the princess's residence is much lower than that of these personal guards.

The fact that the other party asked Qi Rui to refill her tea was already a sign of their disdain.

For Shen Bai, the conditions proposed by Xiang Li seemed good, but in reality, they were what Xiang Li deserved.

Couldn't the Sixth Princess help Shen Bai build a seventh-order defensive formation? Would that reduce the number of her vassals?

Also, when did the imperial merchants ever pay taxes?

You're essentially tempting people with what they rightfully deserve. No wonder Shen Bai wanted more tea. If you don't offer better terms, he'll probably have to see you off.

After quickly thinking for a moment, Zhou Qi smiled and said, "In addition to the conditions proposed by Hall Master Yan, the teleportation fees for the Blue Star and Qiyuan Star teleportation arrays can be split 80/20 with the Sixth Princess."

Shen Bai's eyes lit up: "Look, we've been chatting for ages and we're only just getting to the point."

Zhou Qi paused for a moment before getting to the point.

Xiang Li finally realized what was happening.

The two of them were not actually trying to please Shen Bai, but rather to please the sixth princess behind Shen Bai.

The previous conditions were barely acceptable for a prince consort, but for a princess, they were downright insulting.

Shen Bai said that they were just getting to the point, and that was exactly what he meant.

"Qiyuan Star has been under development for almost two years, and the revenue from this teleportation fee has actually decreased significantly."

Shen Bai gave a suggestion, and Li immediately said, "Fifty-fifty."

Xiang Li knew very well that what Shen Bai said was absolutely true.

Large groups of countries, families, and enterprises have already entered Qiyuan Star. The Xuanyuan Empire has taken the lion's share of the teleportation fees, and the current circulation is just daily income, which has been sharply reduced compared to last year.

At this point, it would be going too far to still be holding the Sixth Princess by the neck.

"A 30/70 split is fair. Her Highness the Sixth Princess has worked hard and deserves more."

Zhou Qi gritted his teeth and gave up the lion's share of the profits.

"A 20/80 split, sign the agreement now!"

Xiang Li did not back down, and Zhou Qi's momentum immediately weakened. He did not have the right to make the decision, after all, the Second Prince's faction did not have the same single-power base as the Crown Prince's faction.

"Very well, let's discuss the next condition. Qi Rui, don't just stand there, quickly refill the tea for the two hall masters; we're probably going to talk for a long time today."

Shen Bai's cheerful smile appeared to the two hall masters as that of a greedy demon.

"Next condition?"

Xiang Li and Zhou Qi exchanged a glance, finally realizing that Shen Bai had been preparing to extort money from the start.

Shen Bai coughed lightly and said in a barely audible voice, "This concerns the throne!"

Xiang Li and Zhou Qi exchanged a glance, both seeing the importance placed on each other in their eyes.

At first, they only wanted to win over Shen Bai, but now they have finally put aside their contempt for Shen Bai, the sixth prince consort.

Qi Rui suppressed a laugh and kept refilling the tea for the three of them.

She had witnessed Shen Bai's methods firsthand.

With just a few words, he manipulated two powerful Nascent Soul stage cultivators at will.

In fact, it all comes down to what Shen Bai said.

This concerns the throne!

What do these conditions matter when one ascends the throne as emperor?

Previously, Qi Rui's admiration for Shen Bai stemmed more from his remarkable transformation from an orphan to a genius. Now, her admiration for Shen Bai is a genuine and comprehensive one.

Even a bit of worship.

……

For a whole day, the three of them acted like they were doing business on the street, completely abandoning all pretense of civility and constantly arguing over every condition.

The three forces sat together, leaving no room for maneuver, and offered various conditions with real money.

On the afternoon of the fifth day, Xiang Li and Zhou Qi were finally separated, and both of them waited anxiously for Shen Bai to appear in their room.

"I've kept Master Xiang waiting."

Upon seeing Shen Bai, Xiang Li finally breathed a sigh of relief.

On this day, Xiang Li felt even more exhausted than if he had fought a great battle with the Ancestor of the Fusion Body.

"Let's sign the contract!"

Shen Bai waved his hand and took out a contract. This contract was made using the fur of the Demon Ancestor, and the Sixth Princess's seal had already been affixed to it.

As soon as Xiang Li saw the contract, he knew that Shen Bai had been prepared.

"Time is limited. I still need to appease Master Zhou and buy time for the Crown Prince."

Shen Bai's words made Xiang Li understand. He immediately took the contract and left through the secret passage, rushing back to the capital.

A moment later, Shen Bai received a message from the Sixth Princess.

"We can move now."

Shen Bai immediately smiled happily.

The contract made from the demon ancestor's fur will immediately merge into the Heavenly Dao and be witnessed by the Great Dao once the prince's seal is affixed to it.

He stood up and asked Qi Rui to inform Zhou Qi that he could leave, while he began to sort out all the gains from this negotiation.

I am finally about to rise up.

……

Qi Rui stood smiling beside Shen Bai, offering her sincere congratulations.

"Lord Jiangbei, please have some tea!"