Si Yuting stared at the system notification on the screen, momentarily stunned, his brows imperceptibly furrowing.
He clicked to view the details; in the photo was a youthful, fair face. It was Qu Tong's outfit for her visit to the Imperial Palace today, an elegantly styled off-the-shoulder gown with an overlay of a lace-knit sweater. Her fluffy, soft long hair cascaded onto her shoulders, revealing a half green maple leaf hairpin on the left side. Her almond eyes sparkled with a bit of liveliness and innocence, while a few stray strands by her ears added a touch of allure.
On the right was some of her information.
Exiting the page, Si Yuting immediately dialed the Empress's communication line.
The communication connected, and the Empress's delighted voice was the first to be heard, "My dear! Have you seen the daughter-in-law your father and I found for you? Do you like her?"
"Didn't I say to call off the marriage? Did you two directly register using the main system to manipulate permissions?" Si Yuting's voice was cold and heavy, with clear displeasure.
"I didn't manipulate Tongtong, she applied herself; your father and I just agreed on your behalf." The Empress paid no mind to Si Yuting's cold expression, speaking with justified confidence.
Si Yuting was slightly taken aback to hear that the other party had applied herself, yet still responded coldly, "I'm not joking. Before it gets announced, hurry and annul our marriage relationship."
Gong Lingyu, of course, knew her son never joked, but she didn't relent either, "The Empire's military marriage protection law states that once a marriage is approved, a divorce application can only be submitted after six months, and both parties must agree. That's something your father and I cannot arrange."
Si Yuting's forehead twitched, they helped him get married, and now they're quoting the Imperial Laws to him?
The Empress saw her son's increasingly dark expression and touched her nose sheepishly, "That child, I really like her, and Tongtong likes you too. It's not good to label her as twice-married just after getting married. If you truly don't like her, you should explain it to her face-to-face. Also, now that she's your wife, Tongtong's family isn't very well-off, perhaps you could share your assets with her."
"That's settled then; we'll take care of your wife for you. Your father and I have other matters to attend to, bye." The Empress blurted this all out and abruptly ended the communication.
After hanging up, the Empress's expression fell away, revealing a hint of worry.
"Doing this, will Yuting be angry at me?" She sighed, leaning against the Emperor's chest.
"He wouldn't dare, and if he dares to sulk with you, I'll break his damned legs and freeze all his assets," His Majesty angrily comforted.
The Empress burst out laughing, "What are you saying, if you froze them, how would Tongtong manage?"
They were joking, neither took it seriously.
"In this lifetime, I consider myself fulfilled. The only regret is hoping Yuting doesn't remain so lonely. We've owed him too much."
His Majesty also sighed, indeed, Yuting was too outstanding. Compared to the Crown Prince, whose physique wasn't great, the SSS-grade Yuting went to war against the Insect Clan at the age of fifteen and tirelessly guarded them and the entire Canaan Empire.
His Fertility Value was initially 10, and the higher the spirit power, the longer the lifespan, so they weren't in a hurry.
But now the Fertility Value had dropped to 0, how could they bear to agree to him not marrying, how could they bear to see him lonely for the rest of his life?
Aboard his aircraft, Si Yuting stared at the screen where the image had vanished, his brow furrowed tightly. His hand touched the redial button but relented, returning to the marriage status interface. He scrolled to the last page, hesitated for a second, and clicked asset sharing, then clicked yes on the pop-up dialog box.
Then he continued to check the materials Cheng Feng had sent over.
On the other side, Qu Tong hadn't noticed this section.
Today, she browsed the Star Network again, her eyes gleaming with excitement and yet heartache.
Another day of missing the wealth of her previous life.
"Ding~" A message popped up.
Qu Tong clicked it open casually and shot up!
Empire Annual Tax Notification!
Assessment in three months!
The taxation policy for remote stars differs from typical commercial activities, not applicable for year-end settlement. Instead, it requires a one-time payment at the beginning of each year based on the planet's assessed value, at a rate of 10%.
For the rest of the year, the Planet Master holds ownership of the planet's land, including all extracted resources and all commercial activity revenue.
Of course, resource-rich planets are owned by the Empire or certain organizations and never fall into private hands.
MD! Here less than a week, instantly in debt for a billion.
A pillow was thrown far away.
I ******!!!
After venting, Qu Tong quietly picked up the pillow and put it back on the bed carefully.
She opened the Star Network to post an anonymous question.
Asked: [How to make a billion in three months?]
The interstellar network was advanced, allowing netizens to access it anytime, anywhere. Soon the post had attracted many enthusiastic commentators.
[You have great ambitions, respect, respect. I'm not that talented, but here's a shortcut: Imperial Laws articles 345-579, all the most profitable methods are in there. No need to thank me.]
[Same question, how to strike it rich overnight?]
[The simplest method: prop your pillow higher when you sleep!]
[As everyone knows, the Empire's most profitable industries are elixirs, energy plants, and mecha. Unfortunately, we can only be the chaff in our lifetime.]
[Haha, the one above speaks the truth.]
[Recently, the Alchemist Association's new purification of exotic beast meat also has great potential.]
[That's something only nobility can afford. Even if it becomes widespread, common folk can only enjoy it as an occasional treat. Better stick to my Nutrient Solution.]
[Honestly, if I knew such a trick, I wouldn't be here joking with you today.]
[Don't say it, we can't do it; the original poster might, dreams are always good, who knows they might achieve it someday.]
....
Very quickly, the post filled up with comments, mostly jokes, with a few serious replies or jeers.
Curious, she searched the marketplace for the most mentioned items from the Alchemist Association.
The search results displayed a riot of colorful elixirs, the trailing zeros on the prices below made Qu Tong's mouth drop wide open, enough to fit a goose egg inside.
Each product description had the words "Produced by the Alchemist Association, guaranteed premium" boldly emblazoned at the top left corner, unmistakably arrogant.
Primarily selling Nutrient Solutions and Spirit Power Stabilizing Potions. Just the Nutrient Solutions alone had dozens of flavors and grades, priced a bit higher than some market elixirs.
For example, a bottle of low-grade Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion from a no-name brand that Qu Tong bought only cost 5,000 Star Coins, but the Alchemist Association's required 50,000 Star Coins. Yet they guaranteed it was the best effect among low-grade Spirit Power Stabilizing Potions, with multiple flavors to choose from.
The high-grade Spirit Power Stabilizing Potions were even more staggering, at 500,000 each, and were still in short supply.
Every resident of the interstellar society suffered from the disturbance of spiritual power, and the Spirit Power Stabilizing Potion effectively soothed spiritual power, helping them through the tumultuous periods.
There was no definitive solution to this issue yet.