Chapter 166

Ye Fanjing had spent years ingratiating himself within the empire’s circles of power and prestige. Now the chief adjudicator of the Ability Tribunal and the Saintess’s father, he was even rumored to be favored by the Emperor. Even though he’d temporarily fallen into a storm of public scrutiny, there were still plenty willing to extend him a helping hand. 

Although Pope Wen Jian wielded immense power, the church’s influence in this era was weaker than that of the royal family. Moreover, scandals had erupted again and again, steadily eroding the church’s support among the people. Rumors even suggested that dissatisfaction with him existed within the church itself. Those in the Upper District had long speculated that he might become the first Pope in the empire’s history to be forced out of his position.

Because of this, Ye Fanjing decided to return the favor in kind.

During Ye Zheng’s previous trial, His Highness the Crown Prince had personally stepped in to rescue her. This clearly signaled that the royal family had acknowledged the Ye family. Since the royal family and the church had always maintained a balance of power, keeping each other in check, the Pope scheming to suppress him was no different from slapping the royal family in the face. Naturally, he had to strike back. Otherwise, how could he possibly live up to the Emperor’s promotion?

On top of that, Ye Fanjing had long found Wen Jian intolerable.

Wen Jian was younger than him and came from a far humbler background, yet he’d managed to climb to such a lofty position in a short span of time, using whatever means necessary. Someone whose virtue didn’t match his position was bound to be dragged down sooner or later.

And now, just as expected, he’d already uncovered some very interesting information. Although, by the rules, clergy members were to be judged by the church’s internal tribunal, by a stroke of luck he had discovered certain matters from before Wen Jian had even entered the church.

He could fully make use of the network of connections he’d built during his time as the Upper District’s chief judge, along with his authority to interpret rules and laws, to force Wen Jian to stand trial in the Upper District court. Even if it wouldn’t reduce Wen Jian to a prisoner, it’d still be enough to cause him significant trouble.

Thus, Ye Fanjing became exceptionally busy. He rarely returned home, devoting himself entirely to this fierce struggle for power.　

At the same time, Ye Zheng was leaving early and returning late every single day. Even though she was busy, her routine stayed fairly regular, and she could still sit down and enjoy breakfast at home each morning.

Such a steady routine was something rare for Shu Wan. Ever since Ye Zheng had taken part in that ability competition, she’d hardly been home at all. Even when she did come back late at night, she would hurry off again the next morning.

In the bright dining room, mother and daughter sat facing one another across the long white table. With Ye Fanjing absent, their conversation felt far more natural and at ease.

“Zhengzheng, are you still going to the Lower District for the free clinic today? I’ve heard it’s been quite chaotic down there lately. Would you like to postpone it?”

Ye Zheng shook her head. “This is my duty as the Saintess. If I withdraw because of public opinion, it’ll only make it spread even more fiercely.”

Shu Wan revealed a helpless expression. She lowered her head and picked up a napkin to wipe the corner of her mouth. In that fleeting moment when she looked down, a trace of killing intent flickered through her eyes.

This was trouble brought about by Ye Fanjing once again. If he’d died sooner, would Zhengzheng have been spared from going through all of this?

Ye Zheng was chewing her food, her right cheek slightly puffed out. She sensed a sudden, violent fluctuation in Shu Wan’s ability and tilted her head in confusion.

Thinking about it, she hadn’t properly stayed at home for quite some time, so she felt that her mother had undergone some subtle changes, yet she couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly had changed.

She should ask Wende to assign a knight to protect her mother. Although Ye Fanjing was currently the focus of everyone’s attention, it wasn’t impossible that someone might target her mother as a way to get to her.

“Recently, the empire’s been far too chaotic. I’ll send people to protect you.”

Shu Wan’s expression stiffened for a brief moment. If things had already become so chaotic that someone might set their sights on her, wouldn’t Ye Zheng be facing even greater danger?

She had made a point of asking around. The voices condemning Ye Fanjing in the Lower District were growing louder by the day. Many people were even dragging Ye Zheng into the matter without any distinction. Under such circumstances, how could she possibly feel at ease knowing that Ye Zheng still intended to go to the Lower District?

“There’s no need. The Ye family is very safe, and I rarely go out anyway. You should keep those people by your side.”

While maintaining her refined table manners, Ye Zheng quickly finished her breakfast and had eaten quite a bit. She gently dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin and gave Shu Wan a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry. Everything’s under control.”

After leaving the Ye family residence, Wende was already waiting at the door with Cheng Cheng and Cheng Che. Ye Zheng first smiled and gave a small nod, then, as she passed by Wende, she asked in a low voice:

“Is everything ready?”

Wende nodded, his gaze steady and resolute.

“Thanks for your hard work. Let’s head to the church first.”

Over the past few days, she’d been going to the church every single day to deal with paperwork, yet she hadn’t run into Wen Jian even once.

Maybe he was buried under a pile of matters and too occupied to show himself, but Ye Zheng felt the more likely reason was that he simply didn’t want to appear.

She had remained in the church for nearly four years and had her own eyes and ears inside the Pope’s palace where Wen Jian resided. The maid in charge of cleaning had reported that Wen Jian spent almost the entire day in his bedroom and study, only meeting with a handful of trusted subordinates. Large patches of his black-and-white hair were falling out, an alarming sight.

The accident during the ability competition hadn’t been Wen Jian’s doing, but so what? She was more than willing to pile even more pressure onto him. She intended to force him to abdicate.

Of course, Wen Jian wouldn’t willingly pass the position to her. But once he chose a successor, he’d have to prepare for the inheritance of 【Mother of All Things】. That meant Ye Zheng would have a chance to uncover the conditions required for that inheritance.

Aside from the holder dying naturally once their twenty-five-year lifespan ran out, there had to be other conditions.

She was waiting for Wen Jian to give her that answer.

Before that, however, she still had to instill in him an even stronger sense of crisis. She would personally step into the game and churn the waters until they grew even more turbid.

As for the true mastermind behind that accident… Ye Zheng’s lips curled into a smile devoid of any warmth. She’d choose the right moment to return a grand “gift.”

✧✧✧✧✧

“Today, I stand here with a heavy and indignant heart, alongside everyone, to mourn our compatriots who lost their lives in the Amber Lake accident.”

“Over these past few days, I’ve asked myself countless times: if I had ended the competition earlier and reached that residential district sooner, could I have saved them all?”

The black-haired, blue-eyed youth wore a solemn black suit, with a white flower pinned to his chest. He stood before the grave and silent tombstones, addressing the gathered crowd, his expression weighed down with grief.

“It’s not… it’s not your fault! We all understand that!”

“It’s the fault of those heartless managers! It’s Ye Fanjing’s fault!”

Before he could even finish speaking, waves of agitated voices rose one after another. Pei Xi was facing such a scene for the first time ever and felt momentarily at a loss. The organizers of this memorial service had suddenly invited him to give a speech, and he hadn’t prepared much.

Pei Xi could only ask everyone present to quiet down and continued speaking. As his speech went on, his emotions became more and more invested and passionate.

“Those withheld relocation fees were worth no more than a single piece of jewelry belonging to a noble young lady. Yet for one expensive and exquisite piece of jewelry, dozens of families suffered injustice, and twenty-three people lost their lives…”

“Today we stand here not only to mourn our lost compatriots, but also to remind ourselves what we are currently suffering and what we should change!”

In the solemn cemetery, Pei Xi’s voice resonated powerfully. Many people had tears in their eyes, while others raised their fists in indignation.

When he finished his speech, thunderous applause erupted from the crowd. Pei Xi looked somewhat dazed. His blood was surging, and even in the chilly autumn air, his limbs felt hot. It was only after he struggled through the excited crowd surrounding him and returned to his companions that he finally felt a bit calmer.

The agitated crowd was reluctant to leave for a long time. He heard them discussing him, and also discussing her.

“A child like Pei Xi is the true hope of our Lower District. Everything he has done is far more valuable than winning the dragon bone!”

“Thank goodness Pei Xi happened to pass by that place. Otherwise, I might already be lying in this cemetery. Thank the God of Hope!”

“Sigh, I think the God of Hope should have chosen Pei Xi instead. It’s not that the Saintess is bad, but with a father like that… she has been wearing expensive jewelry bought with exploitation since she was young… she probably can’t truly understand us…”

“Do you think the Saintess really didn’t know about her father’s actions? And that recent matter with the Pope, I don’t believe the God of Hope would acknowledge someone like him as Pope…”

Pei Xi couldn’t help but pay attention to the crowd’s comments. He subconsciously clenched his fists tighter. The one truly acknowledged by the divine blood was him. Ye Zheng, she...

Never mind. There was no point in dwelling on these empty titles anymore. Even if people didn’t know who the divine blood had truly acknowledged, he could still save innocent people and earn their sincere gratitude.

He already knew that the prophecy about “the God of Hope’s successor will save the world from doom” was false. Once he revealed this to everyone, the public’s fervor toward the God’s Chosen would vanish. They might even turn around and start hating the fake God’s Chosen for deceiving them.

But he didn’t need to do that. Ever since he lost the competition and accidentally saved those innocent workers, Pei Xi had fully understood one thing: empty fame didn’t matter at all. He only wanted to become a true savior.

Ye Zheng had her own methods and goals, which he couldn’t learn or imitate. But he could still save others in his own way.

Deep down, Pei Xi also didn’t believe that Ye Zheng was more likely than him to save the crumbling empire.

Ye Zheng had grown up in the grand Upper District. The resources she enjoyed as a noble young lady were built on the blood and sweat of countless commoners. Someone as privileged as her could never truly empathize with the ninety percent of the empire’s ordinary citizens. Her father was the clearest example of that.

He, on the other hand, had clawed and struggled his way up from the Lower District. He could feel the suffering of every single person!

Pei Xi stood there in a daze for quite a while. Suddenly, he remembered the Emperor’s invitation he had received before setting out. He needed to hurry back and send his reply.

He turned his head and saw that Roy was also staring blankly. He shook him and said, “Let’s go. We’re heading back.”

Roy came back to his senses and silently walked beside Pei Xi. Pei Xi glanced at him strangely. Roy usually talked a lot and rarely stayed this quiet.

“Roy, what’s wrong with you?”

“…It’s nothing. More than twenty people died. It’s normal for me to feel sad, right?”

“Are you blaming yourself for not walking that road with me that day? Roy, that’s not something we could’ve controlled.”

Pei Xi recalled what happened that day. The one who had been most upset after losing the competition was Roy. He couldn’t accept losing because of Wen Xiaoxing’s mistake. After arguing with Wen Xiaoxing one-sidedly, he had stormed off.

At the time, Pei Xi had also been in a foul mood. As the captain, he couldn’t say much, so he used the excuse of looking for Roy to take a walk alone and ease his frustration. He lost track of Roy, but had unexpectedly stopped the tragedy from continuing by stepping in under the monster’s claws.

“It’s nothing. Just remember to reply to that Emperor’s invitation soon. It’s from His Majesty, after all.”

Pei Xi suddenly stopped walking and stared at Roy. Roy first looked back at him in confusion, then his expression shifted.

“Roy, did you go through my mailbox?”

The two of them stared at each other in silence, the atmosphere growing more and more strange by the second. Before Roy could answer, an urgent voice suddenly pulled everyone’s attention away.

“The Saintess… the Saintess was attacked while doing free clinics in the Lower District! She, she…” A half-grown girl was panting heavily, her words spilling out in broken, uneven gasps.

The crowd that hadn’t dispersed yet immediately rushed to gather around her, chattering loudly and urging her to continue. “What? What happened to the Saintess?”

“She was attacked while doing free clinics in the Lower District!”

Pei Xi no longer cared about Roy’s odd behavior. He grabbed the girl and quickly asked, “Why? Who attacked her?”

“It seems some people hated the Saintess because of the Amber Lake accident. They disguised themselves as patients in need of medical help and tried to assassinate her.”

“The Saintess could’ve dodged it, but she endured all the attacks head-on just to protect the people behind her!”

The crowd erupted into an uproar. Almost everyone present had witnessed the miracle of the divine blood. Some had even personally received help from the Saintess before. Even though her reputation had been tarnished by her father’s corruption scandal, she was still regarded as the most highly praised Saintess in the empire’s history!

Pei Xi stood there, completely stunned. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. He quickly composed himself and calmed the crowd down. “Everyone, please don’t get too worked up. We’ll investigate this matter. No matter what, the Saintess shouldn’t have to bear all of this.”

These past few days, the scandals involving Ye Fanjing and Pope Wen Jian had continued to intensify. As the daughter of the Ye family and the Saintess of the church, Ye Zheng had also faced a great deal of criticism. But Pei Xi had never expected that someone would actually try to assassinate her.

This behavior had gone too far, so far that Pei Xi found it somewhat strange and unsettling.