Chapter 233 - 91: Direct Admission Express (Part 3)
Lie Changshun’s severe scolding was like a thunderclap that startled Lie Sisi, causing her to immediately change her expression.
She looked at Lie Changshun in surprise, "Grandfather, what do you mean?"
"How could Grandfather be unaware of your little schemes," Lie Changshun stroked his beard, "Since you cannot forget Prince Fa, and he himself harbors ambitions to compete for the world, which is far better than Fa Xiaoyun’s narrow-minded contentment with one corner, Grandfather has decided to grant your wish. From now on, Lie Family Mansion will cooperate with Prince Fa."
In recent years, Lie Family Mansion has seen great domestic development, yet as the saying goes, ’greed swallows more than a snake can hold,’ and Lie Changshun’s greed swelled accordingly. He wasn’t satisfied with just letting Yongchun Hall develop by attacking cities within Shang Kingdom; he wanted to further expand to other scattered tribes and neutral small countries outside the two main nations.
However, such expansion was predicated on the conquest of those nations’ territories. Lie Changshun had secretly borrowed the names of the court officials to propose this to Fa Xiaoyun several times, only to be refused each time on the grounds of the national treasury’s insufficiency and the high cost of war in terms of resources and the well-being of the people.
But Fa Xiaoyi was different. A few days ago, he personally visited to express his feelings for Lie Sisi, and also proposed his intention to expand the territory and support Lie Family Mansion in the future.
This stark contrast in responses immediately stirred the greed of Lie Changshun, the old man for whom profit was the only concern.
"Grandfather, you truly care for Sisi. What about this time’s pill test?" Lie Sisi was originally confident in her chances of passing the Imperial Alchemist’s examination, but with the reveal of Yue Jinghua’s talent, especially after secretly obtaining a Feminine Charm Pill and still failing to analyze its ingredients, Lie Sisi’s confidence wavered.
"How many times have your second grandfather and I told you, you need to stay calm in your actions. This matter with Prince Fa is the best example. If you had understood how to bear with the situation and let Yue Jinghua make a fool of herself in front of everyone during the banquet, the Consort and the Prince would have destroyed that marriage proposal themselves, unlike now, where you only get to pick up the man Yue Jinghua has rejected," Lie Changshun said with a look of frustrated disappointment.
Lie Sisi couldn’t accept it and defended herself, "It’s all because Yue Jinghua is exceedingly cunning. That woman is not as simple as she appears to be on the surface. She’s not only set a trap for me in the Xuan Technique Pavilion but also orchestrated the incident at Cuiwei Lake. Both Xiao Yi and I were framed by her."
"Sisi, you and Yue Jinghua have grown up together since you were kids. Unless she’s not Yue Jinghua, it’s impossible for her to have such craftiness," Lie Changshun didn’t bother with Lie Sisi’s excuses anymore: "The Elixir Furnace indeed was left behind by Feng Wanwan, but since his death, it has been unable to produce pills."