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

Shen Bai is hiding on East Island this time and not going back; he has three missions.

The first task is the simplest: borrow money.

The 5000 billion yuan loan is both a pretext and a real loan.

The second task is a bit more complicated: to join forces with the Sanshang Consortium to make big money. The combined capital of the three parties will form a formidable force in the market.

In just five days, the capital of all three parties has multiplied several times, and everyone has made a fortune.

And all of this is still before the moment when the benefits are maximized.

Because the determination and succession of the imperial throne have not yet been finalized.

Once the succession to the throne ends and the stocks of the Crown Prince's faction surge, the three parties will once again reap a huge harvest of profits from retail investors.

The third task is to act as an intermediary.

This would both elevate his own status and help the Sixth Princess maximize her benefits, all without causing a complete falling out.

Because everything was negotiated by Shen Bai, the Sixth Princess never showed her face.

This time, the Crown Prince's faction suffered a major blow.

The teleportation fees between Blue Star and Qiyuan Star will be split 20/80, with the Sixth Princess taking the lion's share from now on.

All enterprises and countries that travel to Qiyuan Star will have their tax revenue split 50/50.

All tax revenue within Qiyuan City belongs entirely to the Sixth Princess.

All cultivators within Qiyuan City, including Nascent Soul Ancestors and Nascent Soul Great Powers, will henceforth belong to the Princess's Mansion and will no longer be subject to the orders of the Xuan Yuan Empire. If Qiyuan City is in danger, the Xuan Yuan Empire must send people to provide support immediately.

The Crown Prince's faction can open new cities on Qiyuan Star, but all new cities must share 10% of their tax revenue with the Princess's Mansion. In the future, all new cities in the Xuan Yuan Empire will have their teleportation fees for large-scale, long-distance magic arrays shared with the Sixth Princess. All military operations in new cities must be reported to the Princess's Mansion and can only be carried out after obtaining the Princess's permission.

Once all countries have fully established ultra-large-scale, ultra-long-distance teleportation arrays, and the above conditions remain unchanged, the Empire will immediately dispatch one Nascent Soul Ancestor and ten Nascent Soul Grandmasters to Qiyuan City to oversee and assist the Sixth Princess in managing the defenses of Qiyuan Star.

These are the most important points, because they are tantamount to tacitly acknowledging that the Sixth Princess will be the future Empress of Qiyuan Star.

However, this was something they had no choice but to agree to, because Qiyuan Star was too rich in resources. If the empire wanted to maintain the profits there, it had to support a large number of cultivators and soldiers.

Previously, the supply of these cultivator armies was borne by the Sixth Princess alone, but they did not completely obey her orders, due to obstruction from various factions.

Now that Shen Bai has put it on the table for discussion, all the interests have been detailed, which has solved the Sixth Princess's source of funding and fundamentally clarified the Sixth Princess's control over Qiyuan Star.

Moreover, the Sixth Princess was not worried that the Crown Prince would think she wanted to divide the empire, since in everyone's eyes, Qiyuan Star was a resource star.

What's wrong with entrusting the management of a resource planet with huge security risks to the Sixth Princess?

Moreover, her fiefdom is limited to Qiyuan City. Soon the empire will open up new cities, and her interests will naturally be diluted.

……

In addition to the above conditions, there are many other issues related to the transfer of interests in various industries.

Only after that did Shen Bai's own interests become insignificant.

Shen, the Earl of the Commandery, was granted the title of Marquis of Jiangbei.

He was promoted from the Vice Commander of the Night Fiend Hall to the Head of the Qiyuan Star Branch of the Night Fiend Hall, overseeing both the Qiyuan Star Night Fiend Hall and the Enforcement Hall, holding the rank of Third Grade.

An Li and Tang Xinyue were promoted to deputy hall masters of the Qiyuan Star branch of the Night Fiend Hall, at the third rank.

Huang Ying, Huang Feng, Bai Lu, and the Qian Yu and Qian Yu sisters, among other confidants, have all been promoted to varying degrees.

Resources for Shen Bai, Shen Wenwen, An Li, Bai Qingqing, Tang Xinyue, Huang Ying, Huang Feng, Bai Lu, and the Qianyu and Qianyu sisters to advance to the Nascent Soul stage were sent over immediately.

Three sets of seventh-order defensive formations will be set up at the Shen residence later.

One hundred top-tier female Golden Core cultivators, one thousand hundred Golden Core True Persons, two thousand Foundation Establishment Grand Cultivators, and five thousand Qi Refining Cultivators were recruited into the Shen family and became its employees.

These people were all prisoners of war, so they could all be used to enrich the Shen family's resources.

Shen Bai's companies will never be required to pay taxes again.

The moment the agreement was signed, Hu Fangkun transferred all of his shares to Shen Bai. Then the two signed a new profit-sharing agreement. With this simple transaction, Kunbai Pharmaceutical also enjoyed tax-free privileges.

……

The conditions are numerous and cover all aspects, which will greatly increase the power and wealth of both the Sixth Princess and Shen Bai.

But none of these conditions were what Shen Bai valued most; what he valued most was something else entirely.

"So, you're having the new emperor arrange a marriage for you?"

The moment An Li received Shen Bai's message, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

The affair between Shen Bai and the Sixth Princess was already common knowledge, but most people were unaware of his existence and that of Bai Qingqing.

It was only at this point that he realized Shen Bai had hidden two canaries.

"From now on, I can only ask you to be my second wife."

Shen Bai's words left An Li with mixed feelings, but it was already much better than the worst-case scenario she had imagined.

Throughout history, although the status of a prince consort was low, it did not mean that he could not marry a second wife or take a concubine.

The key to all of this lies in the princess's consent.

A prince consort may only marry a wife and take concubines if the princess consents.

Now that Shen Bai is asking for a marriage decree to be added to the contract, it must have been with the Sixth Princess's approval. Otherwise, it would be impossible for her to add the status of a concubine to the marriage decree.

"So, you're only telling me about Sister Siqing and Sister Fei'er now?"

An Li was not prepared to let Shen Bai off easily, and Shen Bai knew he was in the wrong. He tried to change the subject by saying, "I will be home in three days."

After a moment of silence, An Li snorted, "My due date is approaching. You are not allowed to go out until the baby is born."

Shen Bai was overjoyed: "Don't worry, I won't go out for the next year."

An Li snorted again: "Go and pick up my parents and Qingqing's parents yourself. My mother has to come and take care of the baby during my postpartum period."

Shen Bai felt a chill run down his spine, but he still nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, I will definitely take them all over."

There are some things you can pretend you don't know.

But building a harem is not that simple.

An Li's parents, Bai Qingqing's parents, and Si Qing's parents all need to be picked up from Qiyuan Star. Hu Fangkun and his wife are already in Qiyuan City, so they don't need to be picked up, but they still have to face it.

The thought of explaining things to these people made him realize that it would be no less difficult than the negotiations of the past day.

Shen Bai felt a little embarrassed: "Three days probably won't be enough. I'll go back in a week."

An Li couldn't help but laugh: "Serves you right."

The school beauty's coquettish tone lifted Shen Bai's spirits: "Remember to quickly come up with a name for our child."

"Isn't this something you, as the father, should be worrying about?"

An Li retorted angrily, "You're about to give birth, why don't you go and look it up in the dictionary? I've left it in your training room for eight months, and you haven't even glanced at it..."

The two ended their communication amidst bickering, while the outcome in the capital had already been decided.

In fact, the moment the contract took effect, the scales of victory had already tipped in favor of the Crown Prince.

The two combined-stage ancestors on the Sixth Princess's side only made an appearance, and the Eighth Prince's lineage was the first to defect. Coupled with the deterrence from the Qiyuan Star army, the two sides, which had been locked in a stalemate for five days and five nights, finally came to a conclusion.

The entire line of the Second Prince was captured, and the line of the Fifth Princess and the Seventh Prince also failed to escape the purge.

The Eighth Prince's defection was swift, so there wasn't much loss.

In fact, while the Sixth Princess's power may have played a key role, the fundamental reason for the Crown Prince's victory in this struggle for the throne was the strength of his own faction.

The Crown Prince, who held the moral high ground, was supported by many ministers, and the Imperial Clan Court was also on his side. Therefore, even if the Sixth Princess did not intervene, the matter would have ended in this way. The only difference was the length of time and the extent of the loss of benefits.

After all, the loss of a Nascent Soul Ancestor is greater than the combined loss of all the terms in the contract.

……

"Lord Jiangbei, when shall we return?"

With everything settled, Qi Rui was eager to return to the princess's residence, but Shen Bai remained silent, which puzzled her as to what he was still doing there.

"No rush, I still need to visit the Crown Princess."

A strange look flashed in Shen Bai's eyes, which made Qi Rui's alarm bells ring: "Shen Bai, you can't do anything reckless. I promised His Highness that I would keep a close eye on you. You've been going too far lately... I haven't even told His Highness yet. You can't make things difficult for me anymore."

Qi Rui was terrified that Shen Bai would act recklessly again. This guy's relationship with Madam San Shang and others was definitely not ordinary. She had almost caught them in the act several times. If he were to get involved with the Crown Princess of Dongdao again, she would be scolded to death by His Highness when she returned.

Even if she and Shen Bai had a good relationship, she was still the Sixth Princess's person.

Shen Bai suddenly laughed and said, "I'm about to be betrothed. Will I be subject to your jurisdiction from now on?"

Qi Rui's pretty face immediately flushed red. She stammered, "I'm not His Highness's personal maid. It's not my place to be a lady-in-waiting in the dowry. It will definitely be the Imperial Clan Court, the Empress Dowager, and His Highness's mother who personally appoint me."

Seeing Shen Bai smiling but remaining silent, she finally snapped, "In short, you're not allowed to act recklessly anymore. His Highness has already been magnanimous enough."

Shen Bai nodded: "Don't worry, I won't do anything reckless. I'm just leaving myself a way out."

Shen Bai's honesty put Qi Rui at ease, and she then realized that Shen Bai was telling her this because he considered her a trustworthy person.

This was something that had never happened before the marriage was officially arranged.

She understood that Shen Bai had officially assumed the role of the imperial son-in-law.

Since I am His Highness's confidant, I will naturally become Shen Bai's confidant as well.

The fact that Shen Bai would tell him about the Crown Princess as a backup plan shows that Shen Bai trusts him to a very high degree.

"Well... alright then, but you can't fool around with Mikami and the others these next few days. I don't know how to answer Her Highness anymore. I've never lied to her."

Qi Rui insisted on upholding her professional ethics, but Shen Bai readily agreed, "Don't worry, I will definitely not mess around with them, and I won't make things difficult for you."

Shen Bai's words put Qi Rui at ease.

However, she soon sensed that something was not quite right.

Why does this sound like something you'd say to a child?

If we don't work together, are you planning to act recklessly by yourself?

Shen Bai smiled and took out a storage ring: "This is Mikami and the others' new product. I got some for you. Try it later."

"You bribed me again!"

"No, they're just some samples. You might like them. Girls can't just wear uniforms every day!"

……