Protect Our Patriarch

……

Facing the innocent and pure eyes of the little wolf cubs, which seemed so pitiful as if they were ready to be hit, Emperor Longchang raised his hand several times but couldn't bring himself to strike them.

"Forget it, forget it. This time it was my miscalculation," Emperor Longchang sighed, the anger on his face dissipating. "Since you five little ones are so mischievous, I've decided to give you a small punishment as a lesson."

"Guards, lock them in a cage, set up a small isolation array, and find two—no, ten eunuchs to take turns watching them, not letting them out of sight for a moment," Emperor Longchang ordered. "Let them go hungry for five days—no, three days will do."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the eunuchs immediately bowed and began searching for suitable cages to carry out Emperor Longchang's orders.

"The cage should have a constant supply of water and be lined with soft silk," Emperor Longchang added before leaving with a dark face to Zhuozheng Pavilion.

He couldn't stay in the devastated Imperial Garden any longer.

His heart ached, and he felt stifled just looking at it.

It took two whole days for Emperor Longchang's mood to recover somewhat, and his anger towards the little wolf cubs subsided. He even started to miss them.

Early that morning, Emperor Longchang once again made his way to the Imperial Garden to check on the little wolf cubs.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Upon seeing Emperor Longchang, the eunuchs on duty hurriedly saluted.

"Are the five little ones behaving?" Emperor Longchang asked, hands behind his back.

As he spoke, he glanced at the specially constructed wolf den, noting that the bars were intact and the small isolation array was functioning well, which reassured him greatly.

The five little ones obediently stayed in the wolf den, sitting on their mats with straight backs and eyes fixed forward, their movements synchronized.

Upon seeing Emperor Longchang, their eyes showed longing and excitement, their tongues lolling happily, even their silver-gray fur seemed to dance with joy.

"Reporting to Your Majesty," the eunuchs quickly replied, "We followed Your Majesty's orders and never took our eyes off them. The five little wolf cubs have been well-behaved and never left the wolf den."

Hearing this, Emperor Longchang was overjoyed, looking somewhat smugly at Old Yao, "Old Yao, what did I say? These little ones are obedient at heart, just a bit mischievous and need careful guidance."

"Release them. They're still young and at their most lively age. They've been cooped up for two days; they must be bored out of their minds," Emperor Longchang said with a hint of reluctance, "I'll take them out for a stroll to lift their spirits."

The royal craftsmen worked quickly, and in just two days, most of the damage to the Imperial Garden had been repaired, at least on the surface. However, the rare and exotic plants looked much "thinner" and wouldn't recover anytime soon.

Emperor Longchang took the five little ones for a stroll in the Imperial Garden, occasionally teaching them to recognize some expensive species, while also gently admonishing, "You can play freely in the garden, but if you cause any damage, you'll suffer the consequences."

His patient demeanor truly resembled that of a kind grandfather.

The five little ones were also obedient, listening intently and nodding repeatedly, occasionally urinating to water the exotic flowers, as if apologizing for their past misdeeds.

"Good, good, you haven't let me down," Emperor Longchang was greatly comforted and very satisfied.

After the walk, he took them to Zhuozheng Pavilion. There were still some state affairs to attend to today, but with the five little ones accompanying him, his mood was much better.

By evening, after dealing with some difficult state matters, Emperor Longchang looked up to see the five little ones still behaving well in Zhuozheng Pavilion.

They lay or sat, some even leaning against the Emperor's leg to sleep, none of them causing any trouble.

For a moment, Emperor Longchang felt a warm glow in his heart, believing that his training of the five little ones had been quite effective.

Had he known the Silver Moon Wolves were so fun and therapeutic, he would have ordered the Northern Desert Barbarians to contribute a few long ago.

In this warm atmosphere, time flew by, and before he knew it, it was time for dinner.

The eunuchs brought the Emperor's dinner from the imperial kitchen.

As the Lingxu Emperor, Emperor Longchang's physical abilities were naturally incredibly strong, capable of stabilizing mountains with a single step and shattering peaks with a punch. To maintain such powerful physical abilities, his daily consumption was naturally high.

Even though he was old and no longer pursued breakthroughs in strength, his requirements for replenishing energy and spiritual energy were still very high. Besides needing to consume high-grade spiritual meat and food to replenish his energy and nourish his body, he also needed to regularly take and refine sixth-grade Lingyuan Treasure Pills made from treasures.

Otherwise, relying solely on meditation and absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy would make it difficult to maintain his formidable strength.

After all, the stronger the body, the faster the metabolism, and the greater the daily consumption of energy and spiritual energy. Without sufficient replenishment, there would be no problem in the short term, as the stored energy in the body could sustain him for a long time. However, if not replenished over a long period, a Basalt cultivator's body would gradually decline until it was exhausted.

For today's ordinary dinner, Emperor Longchang needed a leg and rib meat from a fifth-grade Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef.

This special breed of spiritual beef, specially raised on the royal family's large ranches through long-term domestication and improvement, was fed daily with spiritual grains, spiritual herbs, and other formula feeds, making its meat tender and nutritious.

This royal-exclusive Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef could grow up to five or six grades, with a fast growth rate and low intelligence. The spiritual beef produced was tender and delicious, highly popular outside.

The royal ranch occasionally sold some Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef at high prices to offset the ranch's losses.

For this dinner, the Emperor usually consumed six to seven hundred pounds of spiritual beef, which, according to market prices, exceeded ten thousand Qian gold.

Besides Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef, the Emperor also enjoyed high-grade spiritual fish, some spiritual melons and fruits, and occasionally drank some spiritual wine when in a good mood.

This dinner often cost over thirteen thousand Qian gold.

In terms of food replenishment, Emperor Longchang's annual expenditure reached about seven million Qian gold. In addition, each Lingyuan Treasure Pill cost one million, and he needed to take and refine twelve pills a year.

Thus, the Emperor's basic annual consumption was nineteen million Qian gold.

And this was after Emperor Longchang had long given up upgrading, greatly reducing his supply specifications to maintain only the most basic consumption.

Otherwise, if he consumed as he did in his prime or according to the allocation specifications during a military campaign, the consumption would multiply.

This shows how astonishing the annual consumption is to sustain an Emperor with Lingxu Realm strength.

"You five little ones can join me for a meal," Emperor Longchang said with a smile. "If you like Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef, I'll have the imperial kitchen prepare more beef with bones for you."

The five little ones' eyes lit up, and they nodded in unison.

Grandpa, you're such a good person, they thought, drooling.

As they spoke, the eunuchs serving them opened the lid of the food box, revealing a large pile of roasted Snow-patterned Spiritual Beef.

It was evident that the beef had been perfectly roasted, each piece crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, exuding a rich aroma that made one's mouth water.

However, after just one bite, Emperor Longchang's face darkened, and he complained, "Why wasn't this beef marinated in advance? It has no flavor at all. Did the imperial chef get his head stuck in a door?"

Having lived for thousands of years, mostly in luxury, he had become increasingly picky and had very high standards for the taste of his food.

The eunuchs trembled in fear.

Old Yao stepped forward with trepidation and explained in a low voice, "Your Majesty, when the imperial chefs opened the kitchen this morning, they found that the beef marinated yesterday had disappeared."

"With no other choice, they hurriedly cooked the beef, which is indeed not as flavorful as usual. This matter is being investigated, and I ask Your Majesty to bear with it for now."

"Hmph," Emperor Longchang grumbled, displeased. "Those imperial chefs are getting more careless, losing even the ingredients. I'll let it go this time, but if it happens again, I'll have their heads."

As a result, the usually picky Emperor Longchang lost his appetite, eating only half of the beef before losing interest. He then ate some spiritual melons and seventy to eighty pounds of spiritual rice before putting down his chopsticks.

This left more for the five little ones, who happily devoured it all.

Indeed, like owner, like pet. Though not yet fully grown, their appetite and capacity were already astonishing.

Soon, the five little ones had eaten all the remaining food, their bellies round and full.

After eating, they didn't forget to act cute and affectionate towards Emperor Longchang, a routine they had mastered.

This improved Emperor Longchang's mood considerably.

The next day.

Just like the previous day, Emperor Longchang took them for a walk, dealt with some state affairs, and then it was time for dinner again.

This time, however, the food presented was even less satisfactory to Emperor Longchang. The ingredients seemed hastily prepared, lacking the usual care and even lower in quality.

"Old Yao," Emperor Longchang said angrily, "how can you not catch a mere kitchen thief?"

"Your Majesty," Old Yao replied, sweating profusely, "there are no signs of the array in the imperial kitchen being tampered with, and the guards on night duty saw no one entering or leaving. Yet, strangely, this morning, the ingredients prepared and marinated last night were gone again."

"Interesting, very interesting," Emperor Longchang said with a cold smile. "It's been ages since a thief appeared in my palace, and they dare to steal my food. Old Yao, bring them to me when you catch them. I want to see who has such skills."

Naturally, his appetite was poor again, leaving more for the five little ones, who ate until they could hardly move.

The five little ones, with their bright blue eyes, were thrilled.

Oh, kind and gentle grandpa, you're such a good person~~~

On the third day.

Due to the events of the previous two days, Emperor Longchang wasn't in the mood for a walk early in the morning and went straight to Zhuozheng Pavilion.

Old Yao had personally kept watch all night, so there should be results today.

Sure enough, as soon as he arrived at Zhuozheng Pavilion, Old Yao came to report, "Your Majesty, to avoid alerting the thief, I watched the imperial kitchen from a distance. But all night, there were no signs of the array being tampered with. This morning, when I entered, I found the ingredients had been stolen again."

"After carefully inspecting every nook and cranny of the imperial kitchen, I finally found a small hole in a very hidden spot, and next to it, I found this tuft of fur."

At this point, Old Yao produced a small tuft of fur, his old face full of a wry smile, "Does this fur look familiar to Your Majesty?"

"This..." Emperor Longchang's eyes widened in disbelief, "That can't be. My five little ones have been obediently staying in the wolf den. There are guards watching them at night; they can't be the thieves..."

As he spoke, Emperor Longchang lost confidence in his own words. He took the tuft of fur and headed straight for the back garden.

In the Imperial Garden, everything was as it had been: the exquisite wolf den, the diligent eunuchs, and the obedient five little ones.

When the eunuchs opened the wolf den's gate, the five little ones immediately rushed out, circling Emperor Longchang. Their warm and affectionate behavior made Emperor Longchang's heart melt, even making him doubt his own suspicions.

The five little ones were so well-behaved; how could they have stolen the ingredients? Had he wronged them again? Perhaps it was another spiritual beast with similar fur...

"Were you all well-behaved last night?" Emperor Longchang squatted down and patted each of their heads, his voice gentle.

"Awuu awuu~~" The five little ones howled in unison, nodding eagerly.

"Then whose fur is this?" Emperor Longchang produced the tuft of fur, beginning his interrogation, "Second one, you're usually the liveliest. Was it you? Fifth one, you're hiding in the back. Was it you?"

The five little ones squatted on the ground, looking at each other, then gazed at the Emperor with innocent eyes.

Kind and adorable grandpa, what are you talking about? We don't understand a word!

"Your Majesty, as per your orders, we kept a constant watch on the five little ones whenever they were in the wolf den," the eunuch in charge of guarding them chimed in, "We always had two people watching, and we can confirm the five little ones never left."

"Check the wolf den," Emperor Longchang, now half-convinced, ordered, "Check for any holes."

The eunuchs immediately obeyed and began inspecting the wolf den.

Initially, they found nothing amiss until one eunuch lifted the soft mat specially laid in the wolf den.

In the corner, there was a small hole, just large enough for a little wolf cub to pass through.

"How is this possible?" The eunuchs were shocked.

The five little ones were under their watchful eyes at all times. When did they dig this hole?

Emperor Longchang, seeing this, held his head in his hands, feeling dizzy.

It was as if the children he had trusted implicitly had suddenly turned into lawbreakers, filling him with disbelief and a mix of feelings of deception and betrayal.

His face darkened, and he stared at the five little ones, "Confess honestly, how did you do it?"

"Awuu awuu~"

Seeing their deeds exposed, the five little ones knew they couldn't escape and immediately drooped their heads, ears flat against their heads, looking regretful and remorseful, as if saying, "I was wrong, and I will repent."

They nudged each other, pushing the fifth one out.

The sulky fifth one reluctantly moved forward and began its performance in front of the Emperor.

It squatted down, shook its fur, and then stepped back.

A magical thing happened.

The original fifth one suddenly became two, with the extra one blinking and sticking out its tongue, looking very lifelike. A Basalt cultivator with slightly weaker skills wouldn't be able to tell the difference. In the moonlight, it could easily pass for real.

Then the fifth one stepped back again, creating a second illusion, a third illusion...

"Moonlight Illusion Technique? How many tricks do you little ones have up your sleeves?" Emperor Longchang's mouth twitched.

He never expected these little wolf cubs to be so capable, not only having invisibility and stealth abilities but also spatial abilities, and even hiding illusion abilities?

And they were smart enough to use their illusion abilities to fool the eunuchs and secretly dig a hole!

Although these abilities were just minor tricks to the mighty Emperor Longchang, if they dared to use them in front of him, he'd see through them in an instant.

But these little wolf cubs were still young, not even reaching the fifth grade yet~~ Where on earth did they learn all this?

Even Emperor Longchang, who had seen much in his life, was shocked by them.

It wasn't surprising for Silver Moon Wolves to awaken moonlight illusion abilities, but it was surprising that they had awakened and mastered them at this level. And they even managed to fool the guarding eunuchs.

It's important to know that the Silver Moon Wolves' bloodline is very ancient and noble, and they are considered cubs before reaching the fifth grade. The wolf king in their pack, enjoying the best resources, can even advance to the ninth grade.

Typically, Silver Moon Wolf cubs are considered adolescents when they reach the fifth grade and can officially participate in hunting. By then, taming them becomes difficult.

This is why Wang Lici wanted to send them back quickly. These five cubs were already at the mid-fourth grade and would reach the fifth grade in at most ten years.

"You five little ones are so naughty, daring to deceive the Emperor," Emperor Longchang scolded with a dark face, "Hmph~ I don't believe I can't handle you."

"Guards, block the hole and lay red iron flooring in the wolf den."

"Replace the bars with red iron as thick as an arm and use a celestial lock!"

Emperor Longchang seemed to be in a standoff with the five little ones, glaring and gritting his teeth, "I want to see what tricks you little brats can pull. Oh, and red iron is too hard and cold; they're still growing, so prepare the best spiritual goose down mats for them."

Old Yao, standing by, couldn't help but twitch his mouth, wanting to speak but holding back.

Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you're getting deeper and deeper~~ Do you remember these are someone else's wolf cubs?

……

While Emperor Longchang was in a standoff with the five little ones.

In the government guesthouse, Taishi Ankang, pretending to be pitiful, was in a predicament.

In the simple guesthouse room, he sipped bitter spiritual tea, deep in thought.

Something's not right, something's not right. According to Shouzhe's previous plans, the Emperor should be quite happy to see me in a miserable state and would meet me to mock me a bit.

"Could something have changed?"

The reason was simple. According to the plan, after Taishi Ankang's "pleas for help" were fruitless, he was supposed to execute the second step of the plan, "Meet Emperor Longchang."

Once he heightened the Emperor's pleasure and pleaded in vain, he could move on to the third step of the plan.

But now, he had been blocked twice when trying to meet the Emperor.

He couldn't figure it out until he secretly bribed a eunuch for information and received a strange message: the Emperor had been busy lately and had no time for state affairs.

"No time for state affairs?" The more Taishi Ankang thought about it, the more it didn't feel right. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh and realized, "So that's it, that's it. The Emperor must have a new favorite and is temporarily neglecting state affairs."

This wasn't the first time the Emperor had done this; he had a history.

According to unofficial rumors, during his three thousand years on the throne, the Emperor had been infatuated with a consort and neglected state affairs no less than five times. However, the last time was eight hundred years ago!

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty," Taishi Ankang sighed bitterly, "You're so old, yet you still have this penchant? Could it be... the work of Commandery Prince Kang's faction?"

"This is troublesome~ It seems only Shouzhe can handle this."

With this thought, Taishi Ankang immediately spread out a letter and began writing to summon someone.

……

Some time later.

A private flying carriage cut through the sky, entering the airspace of Guilong City.

Though named a city, Guilong City encompassed a vast area, surrounded by thirty-six military garrisons.

Through the glass window of the flying carriage, vast fields and pastures could be seen. They were enormous in scale, occupying a staggering amount of land, with the most fertile and spiritually rich areas belonging to the legendary royal estates.

"Royal estates," as the name suggests, were the royal family's properties.

They were one of the main assets of the royal family, involved in farming, livestock, or operating certain industries, and could even include a precious large spiritual stone mine.

It was the immense and continuous wealth generated from these royal estates that supported the royal family's considerable expenses.

Royal estates weren't limited to the vicinity of Guilong City but were spread across various commanderies. Essentially, in the most fertile lands of each commandery, a portion was private royal property.

"In general, the royal family is quite wealthy," Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but remark from the flying carriage, "But with such a large family and business, the expenses are also enormous. Just sustaining an Emperor with Lingxu Realm strength costs astronomical figures annually, not to mention all the Divine Realm princes and Purple Mansion Realm commandery princes."

"Great-grandfather, I heard the Emperor wants to increase taxes in our Longzuo Commandery this time," Wang Anye, who had grown slightly taller, said with wide eyes. "Is it because Emperor Longchang eats too much and the royal family is out of money?"

"Silly child," Wang Shouzhe affectionately patted his head, "National taxes don't directly enter the royal treasury, nor are they allowed to. The main purpose of national taxes is to maintain the operation of the entire court, reasonably adjust imbalances between commanderies, and be used for disaster relief, military pay, and land reclamation. The Emperor's expenses are partly covered by national support, but a significant portion comes from the royal family's own subsidies."

"However, the Emperor is ultimately the Emperor, the pillar of the nation, and his annual national stipend is considerable. Other princes, commandery princes, and nobles also receive a portion of national income."

"This expenditure comes partly from national taxes and partly from national industries. Therefore, although our Great Qian is ruled by the royal family, it doesn't mean the Great Qian is privately owned by the royal family."

Wang Shouzhe explained all this to Wang Anye while secretly reflecting.

This was the difference between the Great Qian and ancient China's feudal system. Many ancient Chinese emperors believed in "family rule," saying "all under heaven belongs to the king," with ministers and nobles merely "employees," subject to the emperor's whims.

But the Great Qian was composed of various clans, with the royal family being the clan with the highest status and power.

Strictly speaking, the Great Qian belonged to all the clans, somewhat similar to a joint-stock responsibility system.

The stronger a clan developed, the more shares it held in the "nation," requiring it to bear more responsibilities and giving it more say.

The Daqian Zhao Clan and Daqian Wang Clan were two of the original partners when the Wu Clan founded the nation, not merely subordinate families.

In modern terms from Wang Shouzhe's previous life, they were "co-founders."

As a result, the Zhao Clan and Wang Clan held high status and considerable power in the court.

As Wang Shouzhe admired the scenery from the flying carriage, it reached the boundary of Guilong City's outer region.

Beyond that point, flying was not allowed.

The flying carriage needed to stop at a flying carriage station.

Under the driver's control, the flying carriage spiraled down to land gently in the square in front of the flying carriage station.

Moments later, the flying carriage came to a stop, and Wang Shouzhe stepped out with his great-grandson Wang Anye, granddaughter Wang Yingxuan, and daughter Wang Lilong.

In the distance, Guilong City loomed.

The sky was high, the clouds vast, and the air clear.

Under the vast sky, the walled Guilong City was grand and magnificent, its massive silhouette hinting at the deep history beneath the giant city and the power and vast might it represented.

Looking at it all, Wang Shouzhe couldn't help but feel a slight surge of emotion.

He, Wang Shouzhe, was finally stepping into the Imperial Capital.

The center of power in the Great Qian.

A storm might be brewing again.

……