Let them offer their loyalty!

"You haven't gained control of the Sixth Sanctuary yet. Do you have any idea how embarrassing the situation is?"

Upon hearing Old Pang's words, Kou Yu casually took a sip of water and replied, "So what if it's obvious?"

"I want them to see it. I want them to know that in the Sixth Sanctuary now, the Kou family calls the shots."

"As for King Kang and the Princess, they are merely our puppets!"

At this point, perhaps realizing that Old Pang had been targeting him all along, Kou Yu clicked his tongue and retorted, "Oh right, Old Pang, what's with your hypocritical act of shedding crocodile tears now?"

"The current situation, doesn't it have your fingerprints all over it too?"

With a sarcastic tone, Kou Yu said, "Back then, didn't someone grandstand in front of my brother, proclaiming with righteous indignation: monarchy is a regression of the times."

"Preaching to us about Leviathan's social contract theory, declaring that the state is a political system sustained by the people and created to serve the people."

"That the state's authority is relinquished by the people, and the state cannot exercise powers not conferred by the people. That the people must remain vigilant to prevent the state from exceeding its authorized powers."

"Thus, monarchy is an alienated form of political system that violently robs the people of their collective authority—a form of dictatorship."

"Because of this belief, you were willing to cooperate with us to cut down several promising talents King Kang had been nurturing."

"Which directly led to King Kang's forces dwindling into mediocrity, gradually losing control over the Sanctuary."

At this point, Kou Yu leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and provocatively shot Old Pang a challenging look. "What now, Old Pang? At this point, are you starting to blame us?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's words, Old Pang's face alternated between shades of green and white.

He glared at Kou Yu, just stared.

After a moment, he let out a cold snort, heavily sat down, and said, "I had intended to take a gradual approach."

"First, transitioning the Sixth Sanctuary from a 'Dual Sovereign Constitutional Monarchy' to a 'Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy,' stripping the monarch of actual power."

"Then eventually abolishing the monarchy altogether, transforming it into a republic."

"Step by step, methodically."

"Who could've expected that you would take such a big stride forward?"

Upon hearing Old Pang's remarks, Kou Yu replied lazily, "Don't dump such a monumental problem onto me."

"I dealt with Princess Xi's personal retainer and maid, and only slightly curtailed the Princess's freedom."

"But... that was just to prevent her from entertaining some inappropriate ideas that might disrupt our plans. I didn't do anything else to her."

"As for the rest, those were all my brother's decisions. If you've got a problem with it, go straight to him."

Old Pang's expression froze.

In his mind emerged the image of the man—brilliant to the point of being almost supernatural—who had joined forces with King Kang to establish the Sixth Sanctuary, single-handedly elevating the Kou family back to the pinnacle of power.

During the several crises that the Kou family and the Sixth Sanctuary faced, it was that man who turned the tide, stabilizing the collapsing structure.

Even Old Rao had praised him as a true hero, jesting that half the accomplishments of the Sixth Sanctuary were due to him.

Thus, Old Pang hesitated for a moment, ultimately choosing not to push the matter further.

He was silent for a while before casually offering, his voice low, "Alright. Haven't I already helped you by relocating Huang Shangzong?"

"Back then, he had old ties with Ai Li's parents and over the last ten years has treated Ai Li as half his daughter. If he knew about our plans, who knows what chaos he'd stir up."

"That's why, when I realized Rao Geng and his faction intended to support Qiu Tu, I hinted that Huang Shangzong was more suited for territorial expansion, leading them to transfer Huang Shangzong elsewhere and leave Qiu Tu behind in Dongye State."

Upon hearing Old Pang's words, Kou Yu chuckled twice and said, "I heard you even voted against the proposal the first time, just to play along with the act."

A smug smile appeared on Old Pang's face as he explained, "Those two old foxes Rao Geng and Old Rao are extremely suspicious by nature. If I had immediately agreed, they would've become wary and suspected there was something off about the situation."

Kou Yu slapped his thigh and laughed heartily. "Haha!"

After laughing, he couldn't help but ask, "So, what do you think of this Qiu Tu guy?"

"Will he pose a threat to our plans?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's question, Old Pang hesitated for a moment before responding, "Qiu Tu's strength and capabilities are both very advanced. His political acumen is exceptionally sharp too."

"He's not someone who enjoys meddling in affairs. In fact, he prefers a laissez-faire approach even within his own domain."

"So as long as we don't provoke him, there shouldn't be any problems."

At this point, Old Pang seemed to recall something and added, "Oh, right. This man's personal life is utterly decadent, surrounded by a host of beautiful women."

"Women might be his only weakness. So… make sure he doesn't interact with Princess Xi. We can't risk the Princess persuading him to her side."

Hearing this, Kou Yu replied nonchalantly, "Don't worry about that—it's handled."

"Today, he had the audacity to publicly defy me and went to see the Princess."

"The Princess was moved by him and intended to respond. Thankfully, the maid I had placed beside her managed to contain her reaction."

"Later, I arrived in time to separate the two."

"At the time, Qiu Tu likely sensed something odd but didn't say anything. Clearly, he doesn't have much interest in the affairs of the Sixth Sanctuary."

At this point, Kou Yu seemed to remember something and abruptly asked, "Oh, by the way, I heard… Qiu Tu captured Muye?"

"What's going on there?"

"What's Muye's current situation?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's question, Old Pang paused for a moment, then gave Kou Yu a suspicious glance before slowly explaining the circumstances....

....

Three hours later, Qiu Tu returned to Eastern City.