Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Ten Ferocious Heavenly Horned Ant

"And here, although it is within the territory of the imperial capital, the taxes are very heavy, reaching seven out of ten. After a year of hard work, they have to hand over seventy percent of their taxes. It is considered very good if they don't starve to death."

Qian Renxue's words completely stunned Dong Qing.

He said with some disbelief, "Giving away half of the grain is already excessive. When I first heard about this, I immediately cursed them out."

"If Grandpa Jack hadn't stopped me, I, at five years old, would have smashed that tax collector's head in. How come Tiandou City, located under the emperor's nose, has such much heavier taxes than Holy Soul Village?"

Dong Qing did have that impulse back then. Why should farmers, who have worked so hard to grow a year's worth of grain, be asked to hand over half of it just by opening his mouth?

But what angered him the most was that there was a strict rule that if someone didn't pay a certain amount of tax, they would be forced to do hard labor.

Despite Dong Qing's incredulous expression, Qian Renxue remained calm.

She gathered her thoughts briefly, a hint of imperial grace in her expression, and spoke in a calm and unhurried tone: "The Heavenly Dou Empire has been passed down for so many years, but it is actually terminally ill. It has changed from the original centralized rule to the autonomy of kingdoms and duchies, and its overall national strength has declined by more than one level."

"If it weren't for our Spirit Hall standing in the middle of the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire would have been swallowed up by the ambitious and powerful Star Luo Empire long ago."

"There are also all the sects, soul master families, noble families, and local officials within the Heaven Dou Empire, all of them are dependent on this country and sucking its blood."

"And the best targets for bloodsucking are naturally the hundreds of millions of ordinary people. They have no power to resist or say no, so they can only let the high-ranking officials exploit their blood and sweat."

"If it weren't for the Spirit Hall's promotion of free spirit awakening across the continent, which allows some lucky individuals to emerge from time to time, these bloodsucking parasites would even dare to increase taxes again."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that Tiandou City is under the emperor's nose. The Tiandou Empire of today is no longer the Tiandou Empire of the past. Even the emperors and monarchs can't actually make decisions arbitrarily."

Qian Renxue's words were absolutely true; the Tiandou Empire was indeed in this state, already showing signs of impending doom.

Just imagine.

How much authority and power can a monarch have in an empire that contains many kingdoms and duchies?

The reason Qian Renxue chose the Heaven Dou Empire instead of the more powerful Star Luo Empire was because she cared about the suffering of the people and wanted to do something for the millions of ordinary citizens.

But after she successfully impersonated the Crown Prince of the Heavenly Dou Empire, she discovered that her power was not as great as she had imagined, and there were many things she did not know how to change.

Human nature is complex, and she has no ability to control it. No matter how well she arranges things, her subordinates will still outwardly comply but inwardly defy her, and even more brutally bully the innocent people.

kill?

The Heavenly Dou Empire is rotten to the core. You can't kill all these kinds of people. Even if you kill everyone below you, it will only make things worse and cause more suffering for the people.

Over time, Qian Renxue had no choice but to give up her naive ideas from her youth, and even considered giving up the idea of ​​pretending to be the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.

But since she had already boasted in front of Bibi Dong back then, she couldn't very well run back to the Spirit Hall in disgrace, so she could only grit her teeth and persevere.

If only I had known.

Qian Renxue believes she should have gone to the Star Luo Empire, the empire that uses the Gu breeding method to cultivate princes. Perhaps with her talent, she could have made great strides.

.......

"When a dynasty prospers, the people suffer; when a dynasty falls, the people suffer."

After listening to Qian Renxue's account, Dong Qing couldn't help but sigh.

Is this a poem?

Qian Renxue tilted her head and pondered for a few minutes. She seemed to have thought of something, and suddenly her eyes lit up like light bulbs.

"Oh dear, I forgot that you, Xiaoqing, are a great poet and the dream lover of countless girls. I never expected that a casual remark would turn into a poem. Quickly, write a poem for your sister."

"Stop fooling around!"

"I don't care! I want it! And I want it now!!!"

"Sister, please let me go, I really can't hold it in right now."

"Five black and white matches..."

"Ahem, deal!"

Dong Qing coughed a few times, while frantically searching through the classic Chinese poems he had learned on Earth, racking his brains to find a poem about snow.

Thanks to the strength of his soul and spirit, he soon found a decent poem.

"The north wind sweeps across the land, snapping the white grass; in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, snow flies in the northern regions; suddenly, as if a spring breeze has arrived overnight, thousands of trees bloom with pear blossoms..."

After reciting each line of poetry, Dongqing would pause for several seconds, as if waiting for Qianrenxue to digest and understand it.

But unfortunately.

Whether the poem is good or not is not something Qian Renxue herself cares about. She doesn't have the artistic talent or the appreciation level, and she is even less aware of the quality of the poem.

She only cared about Dongqing's attitude; even if he casually made up a doggerel like "Snowflakes are falling everywhere, falling into my heart," she was still happy.

Chapter 506, I said it exists, so it exists.

A gentle breeze blows as dusk falls.

Before we knew it.

Dongqing and Qianrenxue cuddled together until sunset, and she was completely exhausted again, unable to muster any strength at all.

"In twenty-nine days, it will be my coronation ceremony. At that time, the Heavenly Dou Empire will be mine... ours. Will you come then?" Qian Renxue asked, looking up.

"I'll come, I'll definitely come!" Dong Qing said with certainty.

"Okay! On that day, I want you to present me with the most precious gift in the world."

Qian Renxue suddenly smiled, her smile as captivating as the warm winter sun, making one feel completely at ease.

"The most precious gift?" Dong Qing had a headache.

What is the most precious gift she wants?

What gift?

Am I supposed to guess what she's thinking?

Seemingly noticing Dongqing's headache, Qian Renxue sat up straight from his embrace, leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Of course it's a heart that truly loves me."

Upon hearing this, Dongqing immediately said, "I can give it to you now."

However, his words...

In the end, instead of gaining Qian Renxue's approval, he received a big eye roll.

"I don't want your empty words. I want you to declare to the whole world, on the day of your coronation, that the person you love most is me! It's Qian Renxue!"

Qian Renxue's beautiful eyes were filled with anticipation and longing, while her hand did not forget to use her leverage against Dong Qing.

With leverage over her, she has the world at her fingertips.

"This... Sister, are you sure you want to do this? I'm not afraid, it's just that... all your persistence and efforts over the years have turned into a complete farce." Dong Qing said hesitantly.

In fact, he didn't care about her threats at all. Even if she really wanted to ruin his happiness for the rest of his life, she couldn't possibly harm his body.

He didn't directly agree to Qian Renxue's request not because he couldn't say those words, nor because he was shy or embarrassed.

Ultimately, it's no big deal. It's just saying a few nice things in public and saying a few words to make Qian Renxue happy.

However, Dongqing understood one thing very well.

If he really did that, he would not only expose Qian Renxue behind Xue Qinghe's identity, but he would also be treating everyone in the Heaven Dou Empire like fools.

Meanwhile, the series of consequences that will follow this incident are unpredictable. To impersonate the crown prince and remain in hiding for more than a decade is not something that can be done on a whim.

"I won't listen, I won't listen! You're just talking nonsense! I want you to say you love me in front of everyone! Will you say it or not?!"

Qian Renxue covered her ears and shook her head, looking completely unreasonable.

Seeing her like this, Dong Qing lowered his head and pondered for a long time before finally nodding and saying, "If this is what you want, sister, I personally don't mind. I'll agree to it. However, we probably need to discuss the consequences of exposing your true identity."

The voice just fell.

"Pfft..." Qian Renxue couldn't help but laugh out loud.

She hadn't expected Dong Qing to actually be willing to do this. She thought he would persuade her not to do it for the sake of the Heavenly Dou Empire, for the sake of profit, or for everything else that might be possible.

Women are emotional beings. While not all of them are, Qian Renxue is undoubtedly a woman who values ​​emotions highly.

What she really wanted was for Dongqing to support her unconditionally, even if her decision was clearly a mistake.

"Alright, you don't need to do that now. I finally became the Qinghe Emperor, how could I let you ruin it now!"

"why?"

"Because I have just received the most precious gift."

"I have nothing yet..."

"If I say it's there, then it's there!"

"Alright! I'll do as you say, sister."

Generally speaking, Dong Qing doesn't reason with women unless it's a matter of principle, because no matter how reasonable he is, they will eventually make him seem unreasonable.

Of course, if a matter of principle really arises, then it's not a matter of reasoning anymore.

Because once Dong Qing's bottom line is crossed, he will never show any mercy, no matter how much he loves the woman.

.......

As night deepened, the bright moon quietly peeked out, and a slightly cool evening breeze gently caressed everyone.

In a quiet courtyard of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy in Heavenly Dou City.

"Stone millstone, I received news at noon today that the mistress is... dead."

Yu Tianheng frowned, his expression filled with sadness, but he couldn't cry, nor did he know how to express this sadness. Perhaps it was because his relationship with Tang San hadn't reached that point.

"No way! Didn't he say he was going out to train after he finished making the hidden weapons?" Shi Mo was shocked and looked incredulous.

"Boss, are you sure you're not joking? How did your mistress just disappear all of a sudden?" Shi Mo was a little confused, his face full of doubt.

They were definitely a little saddened to learn that Tang San had died.

But they were just teammates after all, not even true friends.

Not to mention that the team had already disbanded after the competition, so asking them to shed tears for Tang San would really be asking too much of them.

At this time.

Looking at the two simpletons in front of him, Yu Tianheng was immediately filled with anger.

He reached out and smacked them hard on the head, saying in a somewhat exasperated tone, "Screw you two. Our team disbanded after the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament. Only you two are willing to follow me. What kind of joke would I be making in front of you?"