The five people climbed the steps and returned to the rear hall.

Because the entrance was obscured by its "power," the God of Wealth's skull had no idea what was happening below.

However, the absence of Dice Heart Lady inevitably caused unease in his heart.

Qin Zhaoyue glanced at him indifferently, "Can you speak, or do you have to be completely intact?"

"Just keep your mind clear."

Wait a minute!

The God of Wealth's head stared wide-eyed, a strong sense of unease washing over him.

Before she could even utter a word in defense, Qin Zhaoyue continued to order, "Destroy it."

The next moment, a golden light flashed and disappeared, piercing the dantian of the God of Wealth's head like lightning.

Hmm!

With a muffled groan, the body of the God of Wealth's skull trembled violently.

It felt as if a scorching iron ball had exploded inside my body, and molten hot liquid instantly splashed out, pouring onto every inch of my muscles and bones.

It also carries a chilling poison as sinister as ice, with ice and fire intertwined, piercing straight to the bone marrow.

The God of Wealth's head bulged out of his eyes, his throat made a gurgling sound, and his body convulsed uncontrollably as if struck by lightning.

The mouth was filled with the metallic taste of blood, which overflowed and dripped from the corners of his mouth.

Yin Zhe then used acupuncture needles to stimulate his life force, preventing him from falling into a coma.

It's like being pierced by thousands of tiny needles; the pain is unimaginable.

Yet he remained conscious, vividly experiencing the countless holes that were forming inside his body.

Under the dual torment of having his fourth-grade cultivation completely lost and the physical pain, the God of Wealth's skull collapsed.

Dou Zhan forced another pill into his mouth to stabilize his life force and prevent him from dying suddenly.

Qin Zhaoyue stepped forward slowly, without any psychological burden.

How could the Goddess of Wealth, the head of the household, have clean hands after committing such atrocities?

How could that be!

No wonder Dou Zhan was so decisive when he killed Tie Lin Fo. Besides honing his martial arts skills, this was probably also a reason.

"Is it an honor to have two Divine Martial Realm experts personally serving you?"

This elixir is very expensive; ordinary people can't afford it. You should be secretly happy.

Ugh... Pfft!

Unable to endure it any longer, the God of Wealth spat out a mouthful of blood mist, his life force immediately weakening by seven or eight tenths.

He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, hunching over and leaning against the back of the chair, breathing heavily.

Qin Zhaoyue stood tall and proud, and the pent-up frustration in her chest dissipated somewhat.

Dou Zhan silently took a step away. The Sixth Prince's ability to infuriate people... is a bit scary.

The pill was prepared by Xuanji Wei, and it should have been able to stabilize the injury, but a single sentence from him made someone vomit blood.

He couldn't help but start to think that perhaps another method of torture could be added to the prison.

The God of Wealth's head drooped, and he was breathing heavily like a bellows.

He was completely soaked, sweat dripping down his chin, which was creased in three layers.

But only one sentence kept echoing in his mind: two Divine Martial Realm experts.

One could at least deceive himself into thinking he sneaked in, but two? Who could possibly mobilize two Divine Martial Realm experts in Fengjing?

The guess had almost turned into a conclusion, and he immediately realized that there was no possibility of turning things around.

If it were that person, then Dice Heart Girl would naturally be worthless, but he is different.

With only one way out left, he buried the venomous resentment in his eyes, and when he looked up again, all he felt was fear and pain.

"Look, isn't the effect of this pill immediate?"

"The head of the God of Wealth, right? Don't forget to pay later."

The God of Wealth reluctantly clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "I obey your command without question."

Qin Zhaoyue pouted.

Given her temperament, she would have killed him outright, but Yin Zhe represents His Majesty's will, so he must be spared. This is probably the limit she can go on now.

"Fifth Master, I'd like to trouble you for help."

"yes!"

Zhao Tai stood upright like a new recruit, responded loudly, and then took three steps at a time to the back of the God of Wealth's head, pushing the wheelchair forward.

He dared not have any other thoughts now. The leaders of the Nine Gates could casually decide life and death like chicks. What was he?

The wheels rolled across the ground, making a rumbling sound, but the boys in the dog cages did not react at all.

Qin Zhaoyue shook her head to herself; this group of people was probably the most difficult to deal with.

Besides torture and the destruction of dignity, it is estimated that poison was also used. We will have to wait for the Xuanji Guard to investigate to find out the truth.

The group left the Golden Pool Palace and headed towards the territories of the other leaders.

Qin Zhaoyue, who was lagging behind, suddenly spoke up: "Tell me, what's the situation?"

Now that things have come to this, how could she possibly believe that taking down the Nine Gates was merely a means to spread the news and control public opinion?

Before, I wouldn't care, I'd make my money and leave, but now... I'll ask first.

Hidden in the shadows, he unleashed his power, as if asking, "Has Your Highness already made some guesses?"

Ha, is that even a guess? What's the difference between this and giving it outright?

"Aristocratic family".

Yin Zhewei nodded, "Your Majesty has long suffered from the constraints imposed by powerful families."

They ruthlessly seized land and controlled local officials and taxes.

Although there is no conclusive evidence yet, how many people in the world would dare to commit such a heinous act as illegally mining iron ore and casting ironware, resulting in the annihilation of their entire family?

Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has not openly targeted the four great families, but in reality, he has used a persistent and gradual approach.

The Tiangong Company developed affordable mulberry bark paper, opened up the imperial examination system for women, and promoted the study of mathematics to the doctoral degree.

Over the past thirteen years, the number of people who are literate and understand principles has grown significantly because the ways to acquire knowledge have increased and the cost has been greatly reduced.

The prices of various books have generally dropped to one or two tenths of what they were during the Lunar New Year period, and the quantity has increased many times over.

This was a heavy blow to the aristocratic families, as they could no longer monopolize the transmission of knowledge.

In addition, the reform of the imperial examination system weakened the importance of the recommendation system.

His Majesty is a man of great vision, and at this critical juncture, he has chosen to take the initiative.

On the surface, they used the pretext of the second princess of the Shuofeng Dynasty participating in the provincial examination to force all officials to participate.

They secretly targeted the four great families' largest money-making and intelligence-gathering locations in Fengjing.

"Romance is just the surface. The real tricks of the Nine Gates, or rather the four great families behind them, are loan sharking and debt collection."

Qin Zhaoyue understood; it was a private loan.

Even aristocratic families must adhere to the law, or rather, they can achieve their goals entirely through the law.

When local people encounter years of disaster and poor harvests, or when their families suffer a sudden calamity and they are short of money, they have no choice but to borrow.

What valuable things could an ordinary family possibly pledge as collateral? Nothing more than fields and houses.

Qin Zhaoyue roughly knew that the "nine out and thirteen back" rule was just the norm, and the real interest rate might be unimaginably high.

If they can't repay the money, not only will their land and houses be confiscated to settle the debt, but the farmers who have lost their livelihood will also have no choice but to rent land from landlords and become tenants.

If you own the land and still can't pay it back, how can you pay it back if you become a tenant?

The landlord can easily manipulate things with a few tricks.

In the end, they sold their children and became slaves, their lives drained of their lifeblood.

Qin Zhaoyue could imagine these things, but she didn't know what other methods the Nine Gates might have.

Tell me about it.

【ps】

The chapter I just finished writing, "The Glass of the Mist Royal Family" owner impulsively spent money on the King of Gifts...

I've been writing this book for three years now. Do you know how I've spent these three years?

The first gift king!

What a jerk the boss is!