In the Name of Empress-Chapter 372 - 258: Tonight, the Blue Moon Is Like Water

Chapter 372: Chapter 258: Tonight, the Blue Moon Is Like Water

The banquet was still underway.

There was a short break between the two dances, allowing the guests to mingle and enjoy the food.

Most guests gained something from the feast, though some thought too much and gained too little, resulting in disappointment.

The Duke of Champagne did not get the result he wanted, but Alina’s proposal intrigued him.

Alina’s direct refusal to listen to him made him feel that her attitude was somewhat overbearing, but thinking of Marco, he quickly let it go.

Regardless, following Alina was better than surviving under that tyrant’s shadow.

Since the Liberator had already made a decision, all that was left was execution.

The Duke of Champagne understood this, and many other high-ranking nobles had similar attitudes.

When the Duke of Champagne shared the information with them, the high-ranking nobles fell into deep thought.

Alina’s proposal was not what they had anticipated; they had to weigh the pros and cons.

After much consideration, many nobles clearly realized they could not refuse.

The times had changed.

Although nobility still held significant power, they could no longer decide the country’s direction alone.

During Marco’s rampage, they barely survived; with Alina, could they suddenly rise?

Alina was no longer the delicate flower in the greenhouse they once knew.

She had proven herself more ruthless than Marco by defeating him with inferior forces.

Alina was willing to offer the nobles a decent alternative as a reward for their support.

They couldn’t afford to be ungrateful, which was the consensus among most nobles.

The nobles valued not the momentary gains or losses but how to ensure their family lineage.

The shrinking of their native lands was irreversible, so reclaiming from the overseas New Continent was better than having empty hands and offending the leadership.

The nobles were switching sides, with more and more people planning to join the pioneering blueprint drawn by Alina.

But they also had their limits and wouldn’t mix with minor nobles or even commoners.

Nobility had its circles, and its hierarchy was strict.

The Count was a threshold; those above were high tier nobles, while Viscounts and Barons were only mid-tier nobility; Imperial Knights and Knights were entry-level tiny nobility, often seen as commoners with a noble certification.

Just like an entry-level Mercedes isn’t considered a big Benz, could mere Knights be called nobility?

This was the old nobility’s last pride in the Jin Yuan Kingdom.

Marco couldn’t break this mental barrier, and neither could Alina.

This threshold was an insurmountable chasm.

The upper-class nobility’s baseline for the expansion corps was this threshold.

They were willing to accept Alina’s leadership since she was of their class, but they didn’t want to flock with those humble minor nobles.

The mid-to-lower-level nobles could seek to expand the land for the country and establish achievements for their family, but they had to do it themselves and not leech off the old lords.

Alina offered the nobles opening terms for expansion and planned to offer business groups a tax-reduction free-trade policy, granting city residents freedom and order.

She simply couldn’t think of what to bring to the rural farmers.

With a sigh, she acknowledged the limited national resources—upper classes ate the meat, the middle class drank the soup, and the lower classes?

The lower classes were the meat and soup themselves.

Though the Jin Yuan Kingdom was vast, the national treasury was still lacking, so the lower classes had to endure more hardship. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Just as Alina was about to make a decision, she trembled slightly, her eyes brightened, as she realized what gift she could give these truly impoverished lower classes.

A year of tax exemption.

Following Roland for over a year, she had witnessed the astonishing effects of a year’s tax exemption.

Though a lot of tax revenue would be lost, the increased cohesion and public support would more than compensate for it, especially as it provided an opportunity to clean up the tax collector ranks.

Most tax collectors were very greedy, and with power in their hands, it was hard to curb desires, which was human nature—even Roland couldn’t change that.

But there had to be a line drawn for them.

For those who would exploit the lower people in the name of tax collection when the country clearly declared a tax exemption, they were to be granted VIP treatment for the first batch of gallows.

Having made this important decision in little time, Alina was in good spirits. She raised her coffee cup, taking a slight sip, her gaze searching the dance floor for that slightly annoying figure.

Sif was too hateful.

Even when driven to the brink of suicide and desperation, she hadn’t been as helpless as just now.

That soft, fair, slender hand was an angel’s caress in the eyes of others, yet on her waist, it felt like a demon’s embrace, impossible to shake off.

No matter how she changed her dance steps, she couldn’t escape Sif’s control.

This feeling was really uncomfortable.

Even though she finally broke free at the end of the dance and could even reverse the situation to hold Sif’s waist, she knew it was giving way.

Failure was painful, but purposefully yielding to let her win slightly was even worse.

She felt like a bird trapped in a cage, seeing the world outside but bound by shackles.

She was startled to discover that Sif, who was only slightly stronger than her before, had grown into such a formidable opponent.

Was this why Sofia chose Sif as a stepping stone?

Alina felt a bit bitter inside.

In past years, potential candidates for the Transcendent Empress were not limited to Sif; she actually had the qualifications too.

If her father had supported her completely, couldn’t she ascend the throne?

Yet Sofia never considered her.

Being regarded as an enemy by Sofia was painful, but not even qualifying to be her enemy was even harder.

Sif, who completely overwhelmed her, was merely a step on a ladder in Sofia’s eyes to reach a higher level.

While she wasn’t even a step, just a slab outside the ladder.