All their family assets had been reclaimed by the Great Qin Empire?
Bastards. On what grounds?
After hearing the news, Liu Ruyan could not understand it at all.
Their family had already been expelled from the Great Qin Empire. Why leave them no path of survival at all and even confiscate the Liu family’s assets in Jin city?
Did Qin Hengyu have to be so ruthless?
Liu Ruyan never once reflected on whether she herself had ever acted with loyalty or affection.
When things were unfavorable to her, suddenly everyone else became unforgivable.
At this moment, Ye Xingchen also frowned.
He had originally thought that by relying on Liu Ruyan, he could gain access to Jin city’s resources and continue cultivating without much delay.
Now that the Liu family had nothing left, where should he go?
Ye Xingchen understood clearly that if he wanted to take revenge on Qin Hengyu, he could not afford to fall behind in cultivation realm even by a single step.
“Let’s go take a look,” Patriarch Liu Zheng’an said, his heart turning cold. He could not wait to inspect one of their properties personally.
And so,
The group followed the street toward the city center.
Behind them trailed many Jin city residents eager to watch the spectacle.
At this time, one could vaguely see that some of the onlookers bore scales and feathers on their bodies, and some even had beast-like heads.
Such races were collectively referred to as alien clans.
Even these alien clans found the situation intriguing.
They did not dare provoke the Great Qin Empire, so when someone foolish enough to challenge it appeared, they naturally wanted to watch the drama.
After arriving at the center of Jin city, the Liu family quickly saw solemn members of the Jiang family standing before their properties.
Seals had been pasted on the gates and walls.
The Liu family could not enter. They could barely even approach.
Liu Ruyan attributed the entire predicament to Qin Hengyu’s deliberate targeting.
As a result,
She began shouting loudly like a shrew, “Qin Hengyu, don’t think that by pressing the Liu family step by step like this, you can force me to submit.”
Even now, Liu Ruyan still believed that Qin Hengyu harbored lingering feelings.
Surely he would come to her again and beg for forgiveness.
“Pfft.”
After her words fell, light laughter sounded nearby.
It turned out that Lin Yiyi, the veiled Saintess of the Star Pavilion, had arrived unnoticed.
She seemed amused by Liu Ruyan’s statement.
Its influence was comparable to certain Holy Lands.
However, unlike ordinary Holy Lands with fixed territories, the Star Pavilion had no permanent domain. It operated across the Five Regions, Thirteen Provinces, and even the Dao Domains beyond the Emperor Star, dealing in all kinds of intelligence and information trade.
The news that the Great Qin Empire had dismissed the Royal Consort and expelled the Liu family had long been known to the Star Pavilion.
Logically speaking, as a Saintess of the Star Pavilion, Lin Yiyi had no need to offend someone.
After all, Liu Ruyan might stage a comeback in the future.
But in the past, when Liu Ruyan was in the Great Qin Empire and Jin city, she had been notoriously arrogant.
Even Qin Hengyu had not been spared, much less others.
Lin Yiyi herself had often been suppressed by Liu Ruyan’s influence. Due to status, she had been forced to feign cordiality.
It could only be said that Liu Ruyan’s current downfall was exactly what many people wanted to see.
Lin Yiyi was ambitious and admired strength.
Seeing Liu Ruyan rise from obscurity to lofty heights by relying on the Royal Prince had stirred a trace of jealousy in her heart.
Why should Liu Ruyan, who had once been a mere nobody, stand higher than them, who had always been on the branches like true phoenixes?
Because of that, Lin Yiyi had even harbored some resentment toward Qin Hengyu.
This fool possessed the Great Qin Empire, yet allowed himself to be manipulated by such a woman. Any well-bred young lady in Jin city would have been better than Liu Ruyan.
Unfortunately, the Royal Prince had been obsessed with exactly this type.
To put it bluntly, it was like a dog unable to change its habits. She would never dare say such words aloud, but she had thought them.
Now the situation had reversed. Qin Hengyu seemed to have awakened and expelled Liu Ruyan and the Liu family.
This made the otherwise unremarkable Jin city interesting again.
The Star Pavilion’s business had even improved. People from various regions were purchasing information about this matter.
“Hehehe, if you don’t dare say it, I will. Isn’t it simply that the Royal Prince finally saw through the dung beetle and refused to be fooled?”
After Lin Yiyi laughed, another woman in black spoke openly what Lin Yiyi had kept in her heart.
The black-clad woman bore a dark mark between her brows. Though her expression seemed compassionate, a chilling aura radiated from her body.
It was different from Liu Ruyan’s icy chill. This was a gloomy coldness, like the chill of endless darkness.
She was Meng Danyan, Saintess of the Nine Nether Holy Land.
In the past, she had clashed with Liu Ruyan. Because the Great Qin Empire had backed Liu Ruyan, the matter had ended quietly.
Now that the Liu family had fallen, Meng Danyan naturally came to add another blow.
“Hmph.”
Seeing Lin Yiyi and Meng Danyan appear, Liu Ruyan frowned slightly. “You…”
In the past, Lin Yiyi had agreed with nearly everything she said and had even offered assistance.
Now she led the ridicule.
Truly,
Most people were just like Qin Hengyu. Not a single one was decent.
“I, Liu Ruyan, repeat once more. I will climb to the peak relying on myself. It was I who left Qin Hengyu, not he who abandoned me.”
She tried to justify herself.
But to those around her, the explanation sounded feeble.
As the saying went, wealth does not last beyond three generations, nor does poverty.
The wealthy decline within three generations; the poor rarely persist that long.
Relying solely on oneself was not impossible, but among all people in the world, one in ten held power, and nine in ten were ordinary. From those nine, perhaps one or two capable individuals would emerge.
And those one or two capable individuals, could they truly have risen without benefactors?
It was nearly impossible.
Thus, Liu Ruyan’s claim of relying on herself only revealed her ignorance.
Who would not mock her?
After she spoke, more bystanders found courage and began voicing their opinions.
“Relying on yourself? Didn’t you rely heavily on the Great Qin Empire before? Now that you’ve been expelled, you talk like this.”
“I heard that the Royal Prince refrained from touching Liu Ruyan for the sake of her cultivation technique. Who would have thought she would entangle herself with her junior brother instead? No virtue at all.”
“Being expelled isn’t unjust.”
“She chose a cultivation technique that required chastity just to prevent Qin Hengyu from touching her.”
“In the past, the Great Qin Empire brought the Liu family into its territory for her sake and even relocated the First Great General’s family. The betrothal gifts were inexhaustible. Yet the Liu family remained ungrateful, daring to belittle the Royal Prince for the sake of an outsider. Unheard of.”
“It was only because the Royal Prince had an accident in childhood that he let himself be toyed with by a woman. Otherwise, why would he have chosen Liu Ruyan?”
“The Liu family relied on the Great Qin Empire’s prestige to bully others. Now that they’ve lost that backing, let’s see what becomes of them.”
“Could the Royal Prince fall for her again?”
“A good horse does not eat grass that it has already passed. Probably not.”
…
As the crowd discussed heatedly, another voice rang out.
“The Royal Prince has arrived!”
Immediately, everyone’s attention shifted.
Other than Qin Hengyu, who else could it be?
Clearly, an even better show was about to begin.