At the same time.
Ye Residence.
Ye Lingling sat on the bed, swinging her fair, slender jade-like legs that shimmered with a faint luster under the moonlight.
When she saw that Li Yuan had actually replied to her private message and even gave her a sincere blessing, she immediately beamed with joy, her eyes crinkling into crescents.
"Hee hee hee~ Group Owner big brother actually blessed me. It seems my luck really has turned around lately!"
For someone who was naturally introverted, poor at socializing, and a bit socially anxious...
...a sincere and earnest blessing from someone else could provide an incredibly exaggerated sense of psychological satisfaction and encouragement.
At this moment, Ye Lingling felt a warmth in her heart and was filled with motivation, looking forward with great anticipation to trying out her "Poison Milk" Soul Bone Skill tomorrow.
Just then, a soft voice sounded from outside the door: "Lingling, what are you laughing at? Mama thought she heard you laughing in your room."
"Ah?"
Ye Lingling was startled and quickly covered her mouth, burying her flushed cheeks into her quilt. "Mom, I wasn't laughing at anything... Um, if there's nothing else, I'm going to sleep. Goodnight!" she replied in a muffled voice.
Outside the door.
Ye Lingling's mother, Ye Xinlan, wearing a simple and elegant nightgown, stood at the door of her daughter's bedroom, her face filled with unconcealable worry.
Her daughter had been introverted since childhood, didn't like to talk, and had no friends; she had always been a source of concern for her.
In the past two days, she had even heard her daughter laughing inexplicably to herself in her room several times, which made her even more worried.
She had heard that some Spirit Masters who were often alone and lacked friends were prone to developing psychological illnesses, and might even have suicidal thoughts... Could it be... Lingling too?
Ye Xinlan didn't dare think further. The more she thought, the more afraid she became. She gritted her teeth and made a silent resolution.
It seemed she had to keep a closer eye on her lately, show more concern for her daughter, and talk to her more. She absolutely couldn't let this girl do anything foolish!
"Sigh..."
Ye Xinlan sighed softly and stood at her daughter's door for a while before turning to leave.
In the room, Ye Lingling heard her mother's departing footsteps and finally poked her head out from the quilt, letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew... That was close. I almost got caught by Mom."
Ye Lingling patted her chest to calm her heart, then picked up the Brick again. Looking at Li Yuan's blessing on the screen—"Wishing you a bright future, may you live your youth to the fullest"—a sweet smile couldn't help but curl onto her lips again.
"Group Owner big brother is so gentle... I really want to know what kind of person he is in reality. He must be very handsome, right?"
She muttered softly to herself and fell into a deep sleep filled with anticipation for tomorrow... The next day.
At the Crown Prince's Mansion.
She Long knelt on one knee, reporting the results of his overnight investigation to Qian Renxue with a heavy expression: "Young Lord, I wouldn't have known if I hadn't checked, but once I did... it's truly shocking! These people are simply lawless and insane!"
"Just a minor Cardinal on the outskirts of Heaven Dou City, who has only been in office for three years, has an openly investigated amount of embezzlement as high as... a full two million gold coins!"
She Long's voice was trembling. This was only what was on the surface; who knew how much there was in secret.
A mere Cardinal could actually embezzle such a huge sum; it was simply appalling!
Qian Renxue sat in the main seat, her face terrifyingly calm.
She waved her hand and said coldly, "I understand. You may leave now."
She Long thought Qian Renxue didn't understand the high stakes involved and wanted to remind her again: "Young Lord, this matter is of no small importance."
"I said, you may leave!"
Qian Renxue abruptly interrupted him, her voice suddenly rising.
"...Yes!"
She Long's heart skipped a beat. Not daring to say more, he hurriedly bowed and withdrew.
After She Long withdrew, Qian Renxue could no longer suppress the anger in her heart and slammed her palm onto the desk in front of her.
*Boom!*
The desk shattered at the impact, wood splinters flying everywhere.
"Bastard! Salas! Is this the 'zero corruption' you solemnly guaranteed me?"
She grabbed the financial report Salas had sent this morning and tore it to shreds in a few strokes.
A mere Cardinal could embezzle two million gold coins.
That was enough to arm an elite army of several thousand people!
If even a branch temple of the level of the Heaven Dou Temple was rotten like this, then the main temples and branch temples below it, and even the entire middle and lower levels of Spirit Hall... weren't they rotten to the core?!
The more she thought, the angrier she got, her eyes boiling with killing intent.
[Child Without Parents: @The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall, is this the lack of corruption in Spirit Hall you were talking about?]
[Child Without Parents: A mere Cardinal could embezzle a full two million gold coins; that's enough to arm an elite army of several thousand people!]
[Heaven Dou's Richest Little Rich Girl: Wahaha, drama to watch so early in the morning?]
[Big Sister with a Vicious Heart: This is interesting. Is this a daughter tearing into her mother?]
[Loves Eating Carrots: Hehehe, I wonder who solemnly said yesterday that there couldn't possibly be any corruption. Who was it? It's so hard to guess~]
[The Single Married Woman Who Runs the Academy: Tsk, I take back what I said yesterday. Bibi Dong, you really are terrible. If there is, there is; if there isn't, there isn't. You even lied.]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Bullshit! Would this Empress lie?]
[Little Fox Who Likes Teacher the Most: Um, Sister Xue'er, could you have made a mistake? The financial reports we receive from various places every year all show an upward trend.]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Xue'er, were you deceived? Our Spirit Hall is currently in a state of prosperity and thriving.]
"Still won't admit it even when death is at the door!"
Qian Renxue's silver teeth were clenched in anger. She didn't bother wasting more words with them and directly took a photo of the "ironclad evidence" she had found and posted it to the group.
[Child Without Parents: A piece of embezzlement ledger information. (Image)]
[Child Without Parents: A mere Cardinal actually has a full 2 million gold coins in his personal bank account. And this is just what's on the surface; who knows how much there is in secret!]
In the image, that long string of numbers—2,000,000 gold coins—was like a resounding slap, fiercely hitting Bibi Dong's face.
[Little Fox Who Likes Teacher the Most: This...]
[Child Without Parents: Nothing to say now, right?]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: It's impossible. The annual salary I give these Cardinals starts at ten thousand gold coins at the minimum; even if they enjoyed themselves all day, it should be enough. (Incredulous)]
[Li Yuan: Naive! You've been the Supreme Pontiff for so many years, how can you still be so foolish? Don't you understand that greed is human nature? Not to mention giving ten thousand gold coins, even if you gave a hundred thousand or a million, they would only think it's too little.]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Good! Good! Good! Xue'er, don't worry, I will give you an explanation! (Gritting teeth)]
[Child Without Parents: I hope so. (Rolling eyes)]
Supreme Pontiff Palace.
"Good... Very good indeed!"
Bibi Dong looked at the glaring image in the group, her face instantly turning ashen, and the killing intent in her beautiful eyes almost materialized.
Bullshit "on another level"!
She suddenly stood up from the Supreme Pontiff throne, and a terrifying pressure instantly filled the entire hall. Nine spirit rings crashed down, flickering with an eerie light.
Yue Guan pushed open the door and entered, saying respectfully, "Your Holiness, you called for me?"
"Have people investigate thoroughly for me. From top to bottom, investigate everyone! Investigate them inside out! I want to see exactly how many others are embezzling!"
Today, Bibi Dong's face could be said to have been slapped repeatedly.
Yesterday, she had solemnly guaranteed to her daughter, Qian Renxue, that there couldn't possibly be any corruption.
As a result, today she was hit with a bombshell.
Most importantly, it made her lose face in front of her daughter, with whom she had finally managed to slightly improve their relationship.