Poisonous Goddess: I'm just lazing around in the mortal realm.

Shen Mu sneered

"Didn't you ever consider that the Nanyang treasury was sufficient for the Crown Prince to conquer the Southern Barbarians?"

Although he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, his spies were already spread throughout the entire Nanyang royal family. If it came to how much money was left in the Nanyang treasury, he probably knew it better than the Nanyang emperor himself.

Right now, having the Crown Prince oversee the army is merely forcing him to seek support from his maternal family.

"But what kind of war can you fight if you don't have money?"

Xie Qiao looked at Shen Mu with a blank expression, feeling increasingly confused by Shen Mu's words. Although he had experienced numerous wars, large and small, in the God Realm.

However, just like in the human world, the divine realm requires money to lead troops into battle.

It's just that in the realm of gods, their so-called 'silver' isn't so concrete.

"The Emperor of Nanyang is short of money to fight, but the Crown Prince's family is rich." Shen Mu shifted his feet slightly, choosing to sit on a bench after standing for too long.

Although he has recovered to a great extent, the injury on his back still aches faintly.

Especially today, he forcibly broke through the divine power and cut off Sun Youzhi's hand.

He felt a chill on his back and vaguely guessed that the wound on his back had reopened.

Xie Qiao had gone to the Western Regions and was naturally unaware of Shen Mu's injury.

He watched Shen Mu sit down, then immediately sat down beside him, asking curiously...

"Isn't the Crown Prince's family one family with the Emperor?"

Xie Qiao was obsessed with kung fu all his life, so naturally he was a bit clueless about other things.

This is why Shen Mu repeatedly sent him to do manual labor, while letting Hao Jing use his brain in the capital.

Shen Mu glanced at Xie Qiao, seeing his curious expression, he figured Xie Qiao was determined to get to the bottom of things today.

"The Crown Prince's mother was the late Empress Bai. You've never heard of the Bai family?"

Shen Mu had already thoroughly investigated the events of Nanyang over the past thirty to fifty years before descending to the mortal realm, just in case this situation occurred today.

If he hadn't known about the late empress, he would probably be just like Xie Qiao, completely clueless and knowing nothing.

Xie Qiao had never heard this story before, and quickly shook his head.

"I've never heard of it. I only know that the late Empress died when the Crown Prince was eight years old." He had overheard Hao Jing gossiping with others about this, and he had just happened to hear a few words about it.

"The Bai family is the richest family in Nanyang, and Fengyazhai is their business."

Shen Mu touched his nose and stared thoughtfully at the teacup in his hand.

When the assassins sent by the Southern Barbarians killed Lord Qin of the Imperial Guard, he began to investigate Fengya Zhai.

Unexpectedly, the owner behind Fengyazhai was the Bai family.

The first wife of the Nanyang Emperor was Bai Moning, the eldest daughter of the Bai family.

"The richest man? Could he be richer than a country? But didn't the lord say that the Crown Prince has long lost the support of his maternal family?" Xie Qiao looked bewildered. He thought about it again and again but still couldn't figure out what this had to do with the Crown Prince's military command.

"The idea of ​​being richer than a country is too abstract. To put it simply, if the Bai family were to take out half of his wealth, it could build roughly two Bright Moon Palaces."

Shen Mu couldn't help but sigh, realizing that to make money, a businessman ultimately needs to be smart.

The Bai family not only controls Fengya Zhai, the most prestigious restaurant in Nanyang, but also has a wide range of businesses, from small grains to large inns and restaurants.

It is said that the Bai family has stood firm in Nanyang for over a hundred years, which shows that the wealth accumulated by the Bai family over generations is immeasurable.

"If they were so rich, why did they have the audacity to send their daughter into the palace back then?"

Although Xie Qiao didn't stay at the Nanyang Imperial Palace very often, when she occasionally patrolled the palace with Hao Jing, she inevitably heard stories of concubines fighting over each other.

Being the mother of a nation must not be an easy job.

"When the Emperor of Nanyang was still the Eighth Prince, he personally sought to marry Empress Bai."

"Doesn't that mean they're in love?"

Looking at Xie Qiao's innocent expression, Shen Mu couldn't help but sneer.

"The Bai family has two rules: one, no one may enter the palace to serve as an official; two, no one may enter the palace to serve as a concubine. If anyone violates these rules, they may request to be removed from the Bai family genealogy. Therefore, when the Emperor of Nanyang married Empress Bai, she had already severed ties with the Bai family."

Upon hearing this, Xie Qiao seemed to suddenly understand and nodded.

"So, when Empress Bai became the Eighth Prince's consort, she had already severed ties with the Bai family. Now that the Emperor wants the Crown Prince to beg the Bai family for money, would the Bai family agree?"

He naturally assumed that the Bai family would ignore the Crown Prince's words.

Having severed ties with her maternal family for over a decade, the Crown Prince will likely find himself caught in the middle, suffering from both sides' grievances.

What surprised him even more was that the Bai family had such a strange family motto.

"Whether he is willing or not, I don't know, but the emperor's plan is too shrewd. Anyone with eyes can see what the emperor is thinking."

"But if the Bai family is unwilling, then the war can't be fought?"

Xie Qiao believes that as long as there is no war, no one will be injured or killed, which is a good thing.

Shen Mu slowly lowered his eyes and said

“The Bai family can’t possibly refuse to help. Among the four classes of people—scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—merchants have the lowest social status.”

"what do you mean……"

Shen Mu placed the teacup he had been caressing in his palm on the table, then looked up and said...

“If the Bai family doesn’t help, the emperor can find a reason to confiscate all of the Bai family’s wealth. Whether they lose half or all of it, the Bai family knows the answer.”

Xie Qiao was somewhat surprised to hear Shen Mu's words.

If that's the case, then the Emperor of Nanyang really intends to completely devour the Bai family.

The Bai family is incredibly wealthy, their entire fortune enough to build four Moon Palaces. Such formidable power has likely been coveted by the Emperor of Nanyang for some time.

Thinking of this, Xie Qiao couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Having the Crown Prince intervene is probably an attempt to appeal to family ties. But there's something I don't quite understand: the Eighth Prince... aren't there seven other princes before him?"

Based on his long experience in the mortal realm and his understanding of the hierarchy of legitimate and illegitimate children, the throne of the Nanyang Emperor should never have fallen to the Eighth Prince, Duan Yuan.

"The reason why the An family has never been able to rebel is because the Emperor of Nanyang still has some tricks up his sleeve."

Shen Mu glanced thoughtfully at Xie Qiao, noticing the blank look on his face, and continued to explain.

“The Eighth Prince does indeed have five older brothers, so the throne wouldn’t fall to him in terms of succession. However, he is meticulous and not an ordinary person.”

"What about the other princes?" Xie Qiao sensed something was amiss. According to the order of succession, unless it was one of the earlier princes...

Shen Mu's tone was undeniably cold.

“They’re all dead. Some say the current emperor sent assassins to kill them, while others say the late emperor had long favored the eighth prince and paved the way for him.”

When it comes to ruthlessness, Shen Mu felt that the Nanyang Emperor, who was obsessed with immortality, was no less so.

To stand out among his former brothers, he must have used some extraordinary means.

"Where would an eighth prince get such power? Wasn't it said that Empress Bai severed ties with her maternal family when she married? So who can help him succeed?"

"Then it can only be his childhood sweetheart, now Empress Dowager Shen Zhizhi of Nanyang."

Shen Mu stood up with a cold smile.