Chapter 139 The Royal Theft
The royal patriarch sat on the highest throne, with the emperor seated on a slightly lower throne below him. The royal family members were arranged on one side of the throne room, including the royal empress mother, the royal empress, concubine Lan, Prince Tian, and the other princes, concubines, and princesses. Opposite them sat the ministers, all of them wearing grave expressions.
A tense silence hung in the air as the royal patriarch finally spoke, his voice thundering throughout the room. "Thousands of years of reputation, built on the blood and sweat of our ancestors, trashed publicly in a single day. Who will take responsibility for this humiliation?"
No one dared to respond, their faces pale with fear. The royal patriarch's disappointed gaze landed on the empress's mother. "You were supposed to test them, not make enemies out of them and cause our entire family to lose face in front of everyone!"
His voice grew angrier as he continued, "Do you know how much this will affect the royal family's reputation? The whole world is laughing at us right now! The Lin's will seize this opportunity to defame us even more."
The royal empress mother, her eyes brimming with tears, could no longer hold her tongue. "He slapped your wife in public! And instead of avenging me and making him and his sect suffer, you are yelling at your own wife in front of the whole family and courtiers!"
The royal patriarch growled, his voice low and grim. "If I could do something, do you think I wouldn't have stopped him? He possessed some treasure that allowed him to control the laws of space. No one below the level of a Void Immortal would be able to attack or kill him."
The revelation was met with gasps from the courtiers and royal family members alike. The air in the throne room grew even heavier as everyone in attendance realized just how grave the situation was. The once-proud royal family had been humiliated by a single individual, and the consequences of this disgraceful event would be felt for years to come.
While everyone in the throne room was trying to make sense of the royal patriarch's words, a sudden commotion erupted outside. The royal patriarch's fury intensified as he yelled, "Who dares to make such a ruckus?"
A guard hurriedly entered the room, bowed, and spoke, "Your Majesty, it is the Minister of the Treasury. He says he has something urgent to report to Your Highness."
The royal patriarch growled, "What is so urgent that he has to disturb our royal meeting? Why was he not present in this important meeting? Send him in!"
The royal guard nodded and left. Soon after, the Minister of the Treasury entered the room, his face red and covered in sweat. He was clearly out of breath. "Forgive me, Your Majesty," he gasped, "but I had to report something urgent."
The royal patriarch's impatience grew. "What was so important that you had to disturb the royal meeting?"
The Minister of the Treasury coughed, trying to catch his breath, and finally managed to speak, "Your Majesty... the royal treasury..."
The patriarch, losing patience, interrupted, "The royal treasury, what?"
The minister's voice trembled as he revealed the shocking news, "The royal treasury... has been robbed."
Everyone in the room was stunned, their mouths agape in disbelief. The royal patriarch almost vomited blood from the shock.
First, Sky Soaring Sect, and now this? He was furious. "Who dares to rob the royal treasury?" he roared.
The Minister of the Treasury was terrified of the royal patriarch's wrath, his voice shaking as he continued, "We have no idea who or how it was done. Your Majesty, but everything is missing."
The emperor, who had been sitting quietly until now, suddenly stood up, his face etched with concern. "What do you mean, 'everything'?" he demanded.
The Minister of the Treasury responded, "Your Majesty, they robbed everything: grotto worlds, heaven-grade weapons, medium-grade spirit stones, cultivation manuals... They didn't even leave the lower-grade spirit stones behind."
The atmosphere in the throne room turned even grimmer. The royal family was already reeling from Han Cai's actions, and now they had suffered an additional blow with the theft of the royal treasury. The room was filled with shock, disbelief, and a growing sense of dread as the royal family and their ministers grappled with the reality that their kingdom's security had been breached in such a brazen manner.
The throne room was eerily quiet after the shocking revelation of the royal treasury being robbed. Finally, the emperor turned to his wise prime minister and spoke, "Do you think this has anything to do with the Sky Soaring Sect?"
The prime minister stood up, bowed, and responded, "Yes, Your Majesty. It is very likely that the Sky Soaring Sect is behind this, given the insult they suffered during the banquet. The young disciple mentioned that the royal family owes him."
The Minister of War, who had been quiet until now, could not hold back any longer. He stood up and spoke furiously, "Your Majesty, they dare to rob the royal treasury! This is out of line; that sect needs to learn a lesson."
The prime minister shook his head and turned to the Minister of War, saying, "So, you will be the one to attack the Sky Soaring Sect? Have you forgotten? Unless one is a Void Immortal, even His Majesty the patriarch cannot hurt them."
The Minister of War wiped the sweat from his brow but retorted, "It is just a treasure protecting them. We just need to get rid of that treasure, and then they will be vulnerable."
The prime minister shook his head, looking at the Minister of War as if he were an idiot. "We don't know if it's a treasure or something else, and even if it is a treasure, who will snatch it from them? Are there any Golden Immortals at your disposal? And even if we were to take their treasure, who knows if they have other treasures besides that?"
The Minister of War was about to speak, but the royal patriarch stopped him and asked the prime minister, "What do you suggest we should do?"
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If we reach 1000 golden tickets, I will release five supplementary chapters.
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