155: Chapter 155 Chenchen Takes Over the Court? Adorable Child Becomes Regent

At the Holy Light City Palace, as dawn broke, the Golden Throne Hall was already filled with civil and military officials.

Lin Zhe was set to leave the Human Empire for the Dragon Domain in three days. Once this news spread, many in the court didn't dare say it aloud, but their hearts were pounding with uncertainty.

With the Prince Regent gone, who would oversee the empire's political affairs?

Su Ninghua sat upon the Dragon Throne, her cold gaze sweeping over the crowd below. "During the Teacher's absence from the borders, all daily administrative affairs of the empire will be managed by Lin Chen on his behalf."

As soon as these words were spoken, a noticeable silence fell over the hall.

The eyelids of many officials twitched wildly.

Lin Chen?

That little ancestor who dangled Spirit Honey Cakes from his mouth and revoked people's permissions with a milky voice?

The next second, the palace doors swung open.

Lin Chen walked in, his short little legs moving steadily.

Today, the little guy wasn't wearing his usual soft little robes; instead, he had changed into a miniature version of the Prince Regent's robes. The black and gold robe trailed down to his ankles, a tiny dragon motif was embroidered on the chest, and a scaled-down version of the Prince Regent's golden seal hung from his waist. As usual, half a Spirit Honey Cake was held in his mouth, and he cradled a scroll of memorial that was longer than his arm.

He walked to the side of the Dragon Throne, climbed onto a small chair prepared in advance, sat down, and swung his short legs back and forth.

"Let's begin."

His voice was soft and milky.

The expressions of the civil and military officials instantly became quite colorful.

But before they could finish processing this, the first unlucky soul stepped forward.

Chen An, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped forward to report. He claimed that under his jurisdiction in Nanhe County, the granaries were full this year, tax revenue was up, Refugees were returning home, and everything was stable with remarkable achievements.

Lin Chen bit into his Spirit Honey Cake, glanced down at the memorial, and then tapped his small hand.

Hum—

A pale gold light screen instantly popped up in mid-air.

It clearly listed the real data for Nanhe County over the last seven days.

A thirty percent deficit in the granaries.

Two hundred and seventy-one civilian complaints.

Twelve instances of tax officials adding private levies.

The number of Refugees had increased rather than decreased.

Chen An's face turned white in an instant.

Lin Chen tilted his little head and asked in a milky voice, "The stability you mentioned... is it this kind of stability?"

The civil and military officials bowed their heads in unison, their hearts shaken simultaneously.

This investigation was too fast!

Chen An's legs went weak, and he hurriedly knelt. "Lord Archon, I... I was momentarily negligent..."

"Negligent?"

Lin Chen's little face stiffened, and he slammed the memorial onto the table with a 'pa' sound.

"Laziness is laziness; lying is lying."

"You are fined three months' salary. Nanhe County's administrative audit permissions are temporarily frozen. This will be announced server-wide."

Hum—

The next second, a server-wide announcement popped up directly.

[Server Announcement: Human Empire official Chen An has falsely reported political achievements and failed to observe local civilian conditions. He is fined three months' salary and publicly reprimanded!]

The world channel was instantly amused.

"Holy crap, Lord Lin Chen's first strike in court is to cut down a lazy official?"

"Hahaha, as cute as he is, he's truly ruthless when he makes a move!"

"This is so satisfying! Slacking off in court gets you caught on the spot!"

Chen An slumped on the ground, cold sweat pouring down, not daring to look up again.

Immediately after, a second report was brought up.

This time it was Xu Yue, the City Governor of Beichuan City.

He didn't report any pleasant-sounding achievements. Instead, he honestly stated that the civilians in his jurisdiction were having a hard time surviving the winter. He had already emptied half of the local storehouses and requested a reduction in some miscellaneous taxes, hoping to use the saved money to provide subsidies for civilians and novice players.

Some officials in the hall curled their lips secretly.

In the past, such matters were most easily labeled as 'incompetence'.

But after Lin Chen finished listening, he directly raised his hand and tapped.

The light screen expanded.

In Beichuan City over the last seven days, civilian satisfaction continued to rise, the crime rate increase was zero, the number of returning Refugees had increased, and player complaints were at zero.

The little guy's eyes lit up, and he grinned.

"This is good."

"An official who gives things to the people is a good official."

He raised his small hand with a wave: "Approved!"

"Additionally, a 10% drop rate buff will be added to the entire Beichuan City region for 7 days, for both civilians and players to use."

Boom!

A wave of low exclamations rippled through the hall.

Even Xu Yue himself was stunned. The next second, he knelt in wild joy: "This subject thanks the Lord Archon!"

The server-wide announcement exploded again.

[Server Announcement: Because Beichuan City Governor Xu Yue has shown compassion for the people and proactively benefited the local area, the Beichuan City region of the Human Empire has been rewarded with a 10% drop rate buff for 7 days!]

The world channel was instantly flooded with messages.

"Good heavens, a virtuous official directly triggers a regional buff?"

"Who would dare to slack off now!"

"Lord Lin Chen has turned state governance into a performance review!"

For the next hour, the entire Golden Throne Hall was completely quiet.

No one dared to view Lin Chen as just an ordinary adorable child anymore.

If someone tried to be vague or deceptive, the back-end data would slap them in the face on the spot.

If someone did their job honestly, the rewards would arrive immediately.

There were even two officials who tried to shift blame onto each other, only to be scared into kneeling by Lin Chen's words: "What are you arguing about? Both of you will have your salaries docked."

The processing speed was absurdly fast.

Matters that usually couldn't be settled in half a day were decided by the little guy in just a few sentences.

It was fair, direct, and didn't drag on at all.

The more the civil and military officials watched, the more alarmed they became.

How was this just managing affairs on someone's behalf?

This was clearly a milky little Prince Regent!

Su Ninghua sat in the main seat, watching Lin Chen's serious little face as he bit his Spirit Honey Cake while cutting through administrative tasks cleanly and decisively. She couldn't help but feel a hint of a smile in her eyes.

When the court session ended, she spoke directly: "Chen Chen handled things very well."

"Much better than certain ministers."

The group of officials below quickly bowed their heads in agreement, not daring to utter a single word of rebuttal.

The footage of this court session had already been captured by players and was spreading like wildfire.

The world channel, forums, and live streams were all filled with screenshots of Lin Chen sitting on his little chair managing the court.

"Aaaaah, the little Prince Regent is just too cute!"

"Fining officials while dangling a Spirit Honey Cake in his mouth, he's killing me with cuteness!"

"Cute is cute, but he handles things so ruthlessly and quickly!"

"What kind of god-tier genes does the Lin family have? Even the son can directly manage an empire!"

"If anyone dares to say the Human Empire will fall into chaos after Big Boss Lin Zhe leaves, I'll be the first to disagree!"

Inside the side hall, Lin Zhe looked at the continuously rising player Awe Points with a calm expression.

Lin Chen sat on the other side of the light screen, his little face looking a bit proud as he swung his legs and asked, "Dad, was I very amazing today?"

Lin Zhe nodded slightly. "Not bad."

Lin Chen instantly grinned, picked up his Spirit Honey Cake, and took another bite.

"Then I'll keep watching over things for Dad."