Damn it, this boss really has no normal skills.

Anyway, because of that humiliating defeat, Maple Leaf's situation has not been going well recently.

The master behind him was scolding him for not living up to his expectations, and his colleagues around him were mocking him for wanting to stand out. Looking around, he was really about to become a lone minister.

He lay at home recuperating for several days. Apart from his wife and children, the only letter he received was from his father-in-law, the Marquis, who sent it secretly.

[You, ah...]

So, since you can show filial piety to Duke Li Guang who is thousands of miles away, why can't you show filial piety to Her Majesty the Queen?

So after Ji Ming took the initiative to treat him, the desperate Earl Maple Leaf changed his appearance and became a supporter of the Queen on the spot.

Moreover, as the queen's presence and power gradually increased, the quality of people who wanted to show their favor to her and rely on this big tree also increased a lot.

At least she wouldn't feel like before, as if she were the director of a circus and all applicants for the job were either clowns or beasts.

Fia selected some of these people, and with Earl Maple Leaf as the leader, she formed a new faction with its own unique components.

Although they are still affiliated with the Royal Capital Faction, they are considered the "Queen's Faction" because their backer is Her Majesty the Queen.

However, because this name is too directional, it can easily cause targeting and disgust from other factions, affecting their relationship between the government and the opposition.

Considering that most of them are young people who have just entered the circle and are eager to make achievements, their official name is the young generation.

So the question is, since it is the young and vigorous group, does this young and vigorous group also include...

Ji Ming: “???”

"Uh, don't point the spotlight at me! I'm not from any faction, I'm from the apple pie!"

It's a pity, it's true that you gave yourself the identity, but whether you believe it or not is chosen by others.

So even if he didn't want to jump into this pool of water, after the rumor that "the queen was cruel and ruthless, forcing the chosen ones to submit" spread.

As a heat machine in the royal capital, Ji Ming, who was already surrounded by various gossips, objectively speaking, voluntarily joined the young faction.

Then something funny happened. Almost at the same time, a large group of young nobles, both men and women, formed their own secret society.

That’s right, they are determined to transform into flower guardians, defeat the evil Queen Fia, and rescue the innocent God’s Chosen who have been repeatedly bullied by her!

So this is...

Flower-protecting faction?

Qixia City gradually regained its tranquility in a stable and improving situation. Although the pain brought by the catastrophe was difficult to heal, at least everyone's attention had been turned back to the future.

In the blink of an eye, June is over and the vast Gyeonggi Province ushered in July, the hottest month of the year. It is also the time when most farmlands across the country have a bumper harvest.

In order to further enhance her presence as a king, at Ji Ming's suggestion, Fia decided to officially designate the first Sunday of July every year as the Glowing Harvest Festival.

On the day of the first Harvest Festival, she also contributed her manpower and resources to organize a grand harvest celebration in the central square of Qixia City, and attended the celebration in person and delivered a harvest congratulatory speech.

For the nobles, they just thought that the little queen was just playing around. As long as she didn't continue to make trouble on the mountain, it would be fine if she liked to have fun. It would only cost a little money, which was better than continuing to make the old man angry.

For the common people...Wuhu, I thought we paid taxes just to let the masters eat, drink and gamble, but it turns out we can get some money back!

In fact, the Harvest Festival is a traditional festival among the people in various places. It’s just that it is celebrated in some places and not in others, and the date is not fixed.

On the day of the celebration, people from all over the country naturally flocked to the royal capital and began to ruthlessly take advantage of others for free, and by the way, they also took the opportunity to see what the new king looked like.

As a result, when I stood below and looked up, I found that, oh, this little girl didn’t have six eyes or eight arms, but she was quite pretty.

After asking around, I found out that her ancestral land was attacked and she was the only one who escaped. That's quite pitiful, as she became an orphan at such a young age.

When I asked him in detail, I found out that he even swore to observe mourning for his father and brother, not to marry, and to be a vegetarian for three years. He is so filial. He is really different from other masters.

Plus, this celebration was someone else's initiative, so whether it's the nighttime fireworks, float parades, or open-air drama performances, they're all free to watch!

Unconsciously, Fia's personal IP has been promoted a lot, at least in the hearts of the people, and has become a little more prominent.

Especially in the last paragraph of the congratulatory message, she announced that she would give the people a break and that unless there were special circumstances, this year's agricultural tax would be reduced by 30%.

This is the truth that Fia herself realized from Ji Ming's paper - since Xiaohui has not been spread everywhere and the people are not following, then I will spread it all over again!

Just because of the presence of pioneers this year, commercial taxes have skyrocketed, so she simply proposed to benefit the people and reduce agricultural taxes.

This is also the reason why she went to the Holy Mountain four times in just thirty days last month. Without some explosive information, it would be really difficult to get money from the nobles.

Fortunately, with the joint efforts of her and the young faction, Fia finally succeeded and successfully issued the first true royal decree after ascending the throne.

——Benefit the people, give them a rest, and reduce taxes!

Huiguang is an agricultural country with mostly plains. The 30% reduction in agricultural taxes is definitely closely related to the common people in the audience.

At first they couldn't even believe their ears, until they saw the Guard Knights start posting the new rules everywhere, only then did they wake up from their dream.

There were traveling merchants who came to the city to do business, hoping to make a small fortune during the celebration.

"I didn't quite understand what your Majesty said before, but I understand this sentence!"

There was an old farmer who took advantage of the celebration to go to Gyeonggi Province and take his family to see the world.

"Brother, what does it mean? What? Can we pay 30% less grain this year?"

There is also an ignorant boy who came from a poor family and relied on his talent and hard work to get into the Royal Capital Academy.

"Your Majesty is virtuous, a blessing to the people and a blessing to the glory!"

Looking at the sea of ​​joy in the audience, Fia didn't feel any emotional touch in her heart.

She just sighed slightly in her heart. After playing this card, she would not be able to go to the Holy Mountain to command the princes for at least three months.

The news of reducing agricultural taxes spread rapidly throughout the kingdom as pegasus galloped across the sky.

The nobles who had suffered a loss smiled awkwardly and accepted with a painful heart the praises from the poor people under their rule for themselves and Her Majesty the Queen.

To the north of Yangyue Star, in the long-silent Deep Forest Kingdom, new changes occurred.

Initially, no one paid any attention to the disaster.

It's just a weed, a tree, a growing vine, a spreading forest.

Until this disaster became closely related to everyone, until the third prince woke up and found morning glory growing at the head of his bed.

"???"

He was completely awakened from his daze by the blue and purple color. He stretched out his hand hesitantly, but in the end he did not rashly try to touch it.

Following a small gust of cold wind, he suddenly discovered that these flowers had actually broken through the glass of his bedroom and come in.

Is this normal?

The third prince's heart trembled, he wrapped the quilt tightly and said loudly.

"Someone, someone, come!"

Under normal circumstances, if His Royal Highness the Prince suddenly shouted loudly, three or two beautiful young maids would immediately run in in panic, considering how to put out the fire for their master.

But there was nothing today, and nothing at all. Apart from the whistling sound caused by the cold wind blowing through the gap in the glass, the Third Prince could not hear any response.

It’s as if this is just a demo of a 3D sandbox game, and the world outside the door has not been made yet and doesn’t exist at all.

Something is wrong!

Ten points, or even nine points, are wrong!

The suspicious third prince immediately got out of bed, and before he even hit the ground he had dressed neatly with the help of the storage bracelet on his wrist which he never took off.

Instead of walking towards the door or breaking the glass, he sent magic to a specific spot on the wall and opened a secret door hidden behind the bookshelf.

A cunning rabbit has three burrows, and so does a prince.

As one of the crown princes, he must have a secret way to escape wherever he spends the night, whether it is by water or underground.

This is to avoid waking up and finding himself in the tiger's mouth, stabbing the king and killing the emperor, and losing everything!

So even though his shout did alarm the enemy, strange knocks on the door and somewhat stiff shouts were soon heard from the bedroom.

But before the knocking turned into collision and the shouting turned into roaring, the being outside the door used brute force to tear the door down.

The machine started to work, the secret door returned to its place, and the third prince disappeared without a trace in his room.

"Oh shit!"

Cursing inwardly, the Third Prince did not dwell on which one of the people around him was the traitor.

Instead, after entering the secret passage, he drank all the speed-up potions stored in the cabinet at hand one by one while running to fill up the BUFF.

Then he rushed forward like lightning, following his own escape plan, and went to meet up with his guns without hesitation.

His haste is not exaggerated at all, because reality is not a detective novel, and many things do not actually require reasoning and searching.

In less than three minutes, a huge roar and heavy and dense footsteps were heard behind him.

Apparently, that group of traitors had already forcibly demolished the entrance to the secret passage through extremely brutal and indiscriminate attacks!

But precisely because of his decisiveness and ruthlessness, the third prince had now reached the end of the secret passage.

Just one more turn to escape!

Ha, victory always belongs to those who are prepared. Disaster is always one step slower than me. Win!

However, just as a smug smile appeared on his face, he inadvertently discovered something in the corner of his sight.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was actually a small piece of plant root that had broken through the stone ceiling and was exposed to the air.

"This……"

The third prince suddenly felt a chill on his back, as cold as the wind that had blown in through the broken bedroom window!

But the existence on the other side of the channel seemed to have started running at full speed, and his pitiful first-mover advantage was being quickly caught up.

So he didn't dare to hesitate or pause. He put everything behind him, crossed the last bit of distance, and pushed open the iron gate at the end of the road!

Although everyone knows that one of the three crown princes will eventually be determined to be the superior one, or even fight to the death, rules are rules.

According to the orders left by the ancestors, the crown prince's army and general flags are not allowed to enter the capital at any time, and can only be stationed in their respective fiefdoms.

Therefore, this secret passage did not lead to the base of his personal guards, but to the military camp where the troops belonging to Duke Chongshan of his faction were stationed.

It was also an old rule that had been passed down for many years. As a vassal of King Lionheart, he was on duty guarding the northern gate of the royal capital and could not make any mistakes.

Since this is an important military location, the scene outside the iron gate should be tense, solemn and extremely strict.

Therefore, the third prince was even prepared to be attacked by panicked guards after going out, and opened his shields in advance.

However, when he pushed open the iron gate, he was surprised to find that outside the gate was not a military camp, but...

Another thick and deep darkness?

"..."

After just one second of thinking, the third prince gritted his teeth and blasted a high-level earth-shaking technique towards the ceiling.

This is a magic that imitates the principle of an earthquake, causing the ground to crack and the opponent to fall.

After being used on the sky instead of the ground, the effect was not compromised, and it successfully tore a crack on the top of his head.

Fortunately, there was no darkness outside the crack, but rather bright light that allowed him to fly straight out and escape from underground.

But when he flew into the air, he realized that sometimes it might be good to curl up underground, at least he didn't have to accept this terrible reality.

Because the Duke's army, which he had just inspected a few days ago accompanied by the Duke, with neat military appearance and sufficient troops, had disappeared along with their garrison!

Instead, there was a vast forest that was dazzlingly green, frighteningly green. It was clearly full of vitality, but it always felt dead and made him very uncomfortable.

If it was just this, it would not scare the knowledgeable Third Prince, but what if after taking a closer look, he discovered the missing soldiers?

Advanced detection techniques were enough to penetrate the treetops, so he saw with his own eyes that a soldier with his eyes closed was rolled up by vines and stuffed into the crack of a big tree like a meat roll.

Then the trunk of the tree began to "wriggle" slowly like plasticine, gradually changing from a round and straight trunk to a tree man whose appearance was somewhat abstract but whose lines could definitely be seen.

The most important thing is, the level, fluctuations, and even the scanned skills displayed by this tree... are exactly the same as that of the soldier!

and so……

and so!

The third prince was shocked, and he looked around the entire forest intently, and realized that this was not a forest at all, but tens of thousands of silent standing tree people!

And it is actually dynamic, because there are still unconscious soldiers among them who are constantly being transformed by the newly grown trees, giving birth to more tree people!