Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

The Queen's visit came without warning, without prior notice, without clearing the area or blocking the roads. Several inconspicuous black hovercars silently landed outside the gates of Prison Zero.

The guards recognized the royal insignia and immediately stood at attention and saluted. The captain was about to inform Lu Yu when Luo Zhaohua raised her hand to stop him. She walked through the corridor and pushed open the gate to the living quarters.

Qi Xuan was playing mahjong with Ye Tang and Chi Heng. This little dragon was extremely addicted to mahjong; ever since Ye Tang taught him, he felt uncomfortable if he didn't touch the tiles for a day.

But since the three of them couldn't play mahjong, Qi Xuan endured the pain of being one player short for two days. After wanting to play cards so badly that his scales itched again, he flew directly to the central observation room and dragged Lu Yu, who was reviewing documents, over.

Lu Yu was unwilling; he still had a pile of military documents to deal with. But Qi Xuan put on the airs of a war god, "This war god commands you to sit down and draw a card."

Lu Yu was stared at by a small, palm-sized dragon with its icy blue vertical pupils. Remembering the great achievements of this big shot in the past, Lu Yu silently put down the electronic pen in his hand and was dragged into the yard by the back of his collar.

Just as Ye Tang was happily collecting her winnings after winning a hand of pure suit, the courtyard gate was pushed open. She looked up and saw a middle-aged woman in a dark purple dress standing at the door, followed by two younger women, one of whom was the Fourth Princess whom she had blocked from entering the day before.

The woman, dressed in everyday clothes, had her long, purplish-gold hair meticulously styled in a bun, adorned with lightning bolt-patterned hair ornaments, exuding an air of quiet authority. Ye Tang's mahjong tiles clattered onto the table.

"Your Majesty." Lu Yu was the first to react, putting down the mahjong tiles in her hand, standing up, and giving a standard military salute with her military boots together.

Qi Xuan remained slumped over the mahjong table, merely glancing at the newcomer with his icy blue vertical pupils before continuing to examine his tiles, showing no intention of rising to pay his respects. He was the patriarch of the Flood Dragon Clan and the God of War of the Empire; there was no one in this world for whom he needed to bow.

Ye Tang quickly stood up: "Uh, Your Majesty." Caught slacking off at work by the chairman himself, will her salary be docked? Wait, isn't that the Fourth Princess sitting next to the Empress yesterday? Oh no, she really told the parents! What's next? The Empress is furious, she retorted defiantly, and then she's dragged out and given fifty lashes?

Just as Ye Tang was letting her imagination run wild with her plot, Luo Zhaohua's gaze fell on Qi Xuan by the mahjong table, lingering for a long while. A very subtle fluctuation flashed in those deep purple pupils.

He had truly recovered, his expression clear and his gaze focused. He was impatiently tapping the table with the tip of his tail, urging the player before him to play their card. The beast contamination that the Imperial Research Institute had spent three years and all the S-rank therapists had been unable to cure had been healed by an 18-year-old female.

She recalled the encrypted report submitted by Anning—catnip, spirit dew. Each discovery was worthy of being recorded in the imperial history, and this little female named Yetang was taking these priceless treasures out one by one.

Luo Zhaohua turned to Ye Tang, a smile appearing on his face: "No need for formalities. It is an honor for the Empire to have you."

"Huh?" Ye Tang was stunned. This empress isn't following the rules. What happened to the promised interrogation?

"No, no, I'm a public servant, serving the people," Ye Tang quickly put on a professional fake smile. Luo Zhaohua looked at the fake smile on the young face in front of her, which was exactly the same as Lu Yu's, and then glanced at her fourth daughter behind her, whose face was ashen. She suddenly understood why An Ning always wrote "Make sure to protect this little female" in the appendix when submitting reports.

Luo Zhaohua shifted her gaze from the mahjong table to the lush green catnip patch in the corner of the yard. She walked over, squatted down, and gently fiddled with a thick leaf with her slender fingers.

The leaf trembled slightly under her fingertips, and a faint spiritual energy seemed to flow slowly through its veins, emitting a refreshing fragrance of grass and trees.

"This... is it catnip that can reduce mental breakdown levels?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Ye Tang stood beside her. Her catnip patch had recently been watered twice with spiritual spring water by Chi Heng, and it was growing even more lushly than before, with leaves so green that you could squeeze juice out of them.

"I heard the research institute only gave you 500,000 yuan per plant?"

"Only? Your Majesty..." Ye Tang's expression cracked for a moment. Only 500,000? When she sold it to Lu Yu, her target price was actually 50 yuan. She thought 50 yuan a plant was too expensive; catnip grew like weeds in the spirit field, and if it wasn't harvested for a few days, it would become a plague.

Now that the Empress says "only 500,000," she finally understands why the Empire is so rich. The royal family takes the lead in doing charity, the research institute follows closely behind, and she monopolizes the catnip industry. The money in her account is so much that she's too lazy to count it. "I think it's already quite reasonable."

"No way! This is a strategic resource, one million per plant!" Luo Zhaohua made the decision without any room for argument. She picked a catnip leaf, put it in her mouth and chewed it. A cool sensation slid down her throat, and the fatigue accumulated from reviewing memorials over the past few days and the throbbing headache were relieved a little.

"Your Majesty, I think..." Ye Tang opened her mouth, then swallowed her words. She originally wanted to say, "Five hundred thousand is already outrageous enough, one million is simply too outrageous."

But seeing the Empress's unquestionable expression, she decided to shut up. Another sucker willing to raise prices—how rich is the Empire? Just as Ye Tang was inwardly grumbling, Luo Zhaohua added, "The research institute can't sustain this catnip, but the Empire needs it. Since the research institute can't sustain it, I'll sustain it myself."

"Fine." Ye Tang gave up struggling. She finally understood that making money in the Empire was easier than breathing.

Luo Zhaohua stood up and quickly tapped his fingers on the personal terminal. Ye Tang's personal terminal immediately displayed a transfer notification—500 million star coins.

Luo Zhaohua pointed to the catnip patch in the courtyard: "I'll take all of this catnip. I'll take it back to the palace and cultivate it myself. If it survives, the palace won't need to trouble you with supplies anymore. If it dies, I'll come back to you to buy more."

Luo Ling stood behind her mother, watching the entire process of Ye Tang earning 500 million. This fifth princess had been engrossed in accounting since she entered the room, and now she finally put down the account book filled with red characters, a shrewd and excited glint in her amber eyes.

She took a step forward and bowed to Luo Zhaohua: "Mother, I wish to stay and learn how to grow catnip." She had lost half of her father's dowry in business and had been scolded by her mother countless times. Now she had finally found a sure-fire way to make money. Catnip was a necessity, and the Imperial Research Institute and the royal family were vying for it. The only person who knew how to grow it was in Zero Prison. As long as she apprenticed and learned this exclusive technique, her business empire could transform from a loss-making business into a monopolistic giant.

"Alright." It was rare for Luo Zhaohua to see the fifth prince interested in things other than making money, and the cultivation techniques for catnip did indeed need to be mastered by the royal family. Although the fifth prince always lost money in business, at least he was less troublesome than the fourth prince.

Locelyn stood by for a long time, watching her mother transfer money to Ye Tang and send her daughter to learn skills, but not even giving her a second glance, and she became anxious.

Qi Xuan was perched on the edge of the water vat not far away, his icy blue vertical pupils not even glancing in her direction. She bit her lip and took a step forward: "Mother, I want some too—"

"Come back with me!" Luo Zhaohua's voice suddenly turned cold. "You are not allowed to set foot in Zero Prison again." She knew all too well what her fourth daughter was up to. She looked at Qi Xuan like a hunter looking at its prey.

When Qi Xuan was not recovered, she hid from him faster than anyone else. Now that he has recovered, she is eagerly coming closer. Letting her take another step closer would be a disgrace to the royal family.