Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Hearing her father's quick question, Gu Si Miao couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. After she reacted, she subconsciously lowered her head slightly.

"Ah."

The answer was very straightforward.

Unlike her younger brothers and sisters, there was no war in the Northern Frontier when she was born, and Gu Yanming had always been in the mansion. Therefore, she was carefully taught by Gu Yanming since she was a child. Her personality is very similar to Gu Yanming's, straightforward, decisive, and uncomplicated.

Seeing this, Gu Yanming's expression was inexplicably complicated.

He naturally admired Lu Chen, a young man who was a few years younger than his daughter. In his eyes, Lu Chen was even comparable to the ancient sages.

But admiration aside, from a father's point of view, such a great man may not necessarily be a good match for his daughter.

Lu Chen's ambitions were too great, so great that they were not tolerated by the vast majority of cultivators. Moreover, he was young and successful, held a high position, and was supported by the people. He was the enemy of all the aristocratic families in the world. If he was not careful, he would end up being crushed to pieces.

If Gu Yanming had not experienced a life-and-death catastrophe, and had not experienced great ups and downs and gained great enlightenment, which made him more open-minded about many things, he would probably have been persuaded by the "guest" who had secretly come to Dingyuan Marquis Mansion these days.

After all, strictly speaking, he was also one of the families targeted by Lu Chen's new policy.

But he, a family head who supports the new policy, is just an outlier after all. The vast majority of aristocratic families still only care about their own interests.

After all, this world belongs to cultivators.

The vast majority of cultivators come from aristocratic families. They base their practice on the holy way and the way of martial arts, and later grow up in sects. They communicate with each other in various ways. Over the long years, they have formed a force that is even superior to the imperial court and firmly controls everything in the world.

There have always been only individuals who betray their class, but no class that betrays its class.

Although there are endless fights between aristocratic families, powerful clans, sects and various factions, when faced with a struggle for orthodoxy, they will inevitably put aside their past grudges and unite to fight against the court. Only when the external threat disappears will they continue to fight internally behind closed doors.

Today, the southern provinces of the Great Xia Empire have been in rebellion, the court is in turmoil, and the country is in chaos with internal and external troubles. This is the best proof.

Lu Chen is already one of the big figures stirring up the situation in this era. His every move will have a huge impact on the world. Countless cultivators want to kill him. Some of these people hold mysterious immortal and demonic treasures, some have unique skills, some have ancient inheritance, and there are even peerless powerful people who have reached the state of unity.

Although Gu Yanming was grateful for Lu Chen's kindness, there were many ways to repay him, and it was not necessary to sacrifice his daughter's happiness.

But if Gu Simiao falls in love with Lu Chen, then there is nothing that can be done.

After all, Gu Si Miao has always been very opinionated, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to achieve unity of purpose. No one can change her decision.

Including his father.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh slightly and asked softly:

"Does Lu Shaobao know your feelings?"

Gu Simiao shook her head.

"I never said that."

Hearing this, Gu Yanming raised his eyebrows.

"Oh? Why?"

Gu Si Miao lowered her eyes and did not respond immediately. Instead, she put her hands behind her back and walked slowly towards the carriage not far away.

After a moment, the breeze, carrying her cold words, slowly rang in Gu Yanming's ears -

"I am not worthy of him now."

...............

Login.

Xiao Mansion.

Da da da…

Accompanied by the sound of crisp horse hooves, a luxurious carriage stopped in front of the Xiao Mansion.

After a moment, the curtain was lifted, and a graceful figure in a purple gauze dress stepped down from the carriage. She glanced expressionlessly at the imposing red gate of the Xiao Mansion, then looked straight ahead and walked slowly forward.

"aunt."

At the main entrance, Xiao Yi, dressed in court robes, bowed to the beautiful figure, his face full of awe.

"The head of the family has ordered his nephew to take you to the Liangyi Palace for a meeting."

Xiao Yun nodded slightly at him but kept walking.

Xiao Yi quickly turned around and led the way.

On the way, Xiao Yun suddenly spoke.

"Yi'er."

The calm voice, without a trace of authority, made Xiao Yi's shoulders tremble subconsciously, and a hint of nervousness flashed in his eyes.

"What do you want, aunt?"

It was obvious that he was very afraid of this elder who looked not much older than him. No one knew what kind of psychological trauma this most talented woman who once amazed the entire Luojing had left on him in his childhood.

"Stand up straight, hold your head high and your chest out."

This inexplicable sentence made Xiao Yi a little stunned. "Ah?"

Xiao Yun slowed down her pace and said calmly, "You are from the Tiangong Division. Although you have done little in this field and your talent is mediocre, you also represent the face of the Tiangong Division. Moreover, it was Huaiyu who strongly recommended you to be the director of the Tiangong Division."

"So, no matter who you are facing, whether it's me, other elders, or even His Majesty, you must not be timid and let others look down on you."

Having said this, she paused for an inexplicable moment, and then her voice became inexplicably heavy.

"No matter what, you must not bring shame to Huaiyu, understand?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yi's eyes twitched slightly.

At this moment, he really wanted to remind Xiao Yun that he and Lu Chen were of the same generation...

You keep calling me Huaiyu and Yier. Isn't this making me look a generation lower than you? What's the matter? Do you want Lu Chen to be my uncle?
After shaking his head to get rid of this strange thought, Xiao Yi took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then bowed to Xiao Yun.

"Nephew understands. Thank you for reminding me, aunt."

"Ah."

Xiao Yun responded, then hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "By the way, Yi'er, auntie wants to ask you something."

"Auntie, please tell me."

Xiao Yi finally stopped trembling and walked a little closer to Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun pondered for a moment, and then said: "When Huaiyu was in Beijing, did he often come to you to reminisce when he had some free time?"

“It’s not often…”

Xiao Yi thought for a moment and said, "Huai Yu..."

Hearing this, Xiao Yun's eyes suddenly froze.

"Yier, you should call Huaiyu Lu Shaobao, or Lord Lu."

"There is a difference between the high and the low. Although you have a deep friendship as fellow disciples and are close friends, Huaiyu is now a first-rank official with great power and influence. He has shown you great favor and promoted you to the position of Tiangongsi Director against all odds. It is neither reasonable nor proper for you to address him by his name in front of other people. It is impolite."

Hearing this, Xiao Yi was speechless.

Well, you don’t even call me by my courtesy name.

Although what Xiao Yun said made sense, and it was okay to address Lu Chen in a more intimate manner in private, one did have to show the difference in status in front of outsiders, but Xiao Yi vaguely felt that his aunt seemed to have some hidden meaning, and he felt inexplicably weird.

But this kind of thing was too far-fetched and basically impossible, so he didn't think about it too deeply.

"Yes, aunt, nephew knows."

He responded and then continued, "When Lu Shaobao was in Beijing, he would invite his nephew to Zuixianlou for a drink about every three days during his break."

Hearing this, Xiao Yun's charming peach blossom eyes flashed with a gleam of light.

"Really? You and Huaiyu have a really good relationship."

Xiao Yi sighed inexplicably.

"At the beginning, Lu Shaobao was expelled from the school for being loyal to His Majesty, and his former classmates and friends lost contact with each other. Only my nephew remained the same. Perhaps it was because of this friendship that Lu Shaobao did not alienate his nephew."

Xiao Yun glanced at him meaningfully and smiled slightly.

"Yier, can you tell your aunt what Huaiyu usually talks to you about when he drinks with you?"

"what?"

Xiao Yi was stunned for a moment, looking at Xiao Yun with a puzzled expression, and wanted to ask his aunt why she asked this.

But when he saw the bright smile on Xiao Yun's face, he swallowed back what he wanted to say and answered honestly, "Nothing much, just some interesting things in the capital, some of my past experiences in the sect, the latest situation in the martial arts world, and so on."

"Any more?"

Seeing his aunt asking more questions, Xiao Yi scratched his head embarrassedly.

"There are also some topics that men like to talk about, such as whether there is any shady dealings with the courtesan in Yixianglou this year. However, these topics are usually just my nephew's own talk, and Lu Shaobao rarely joins in."

Xiao Yun: “…”

After a moment, the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

"Huaiyu is a gentleman. Don't talk to him about those indecent topics in the future, so as not to disgust him."

Xiao Yi's face froze slightly.

So my nephew is not a gentleman in your eyes?

"Forget it, I won't beat around the bush with you."

Xiao Yun slowed down her pace and suddenly said, "Auntie, let me be frank with you, Yi'er, Auntie wants to ask you for a favor?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yi hurriedly said, "Aunt, please tell me what you need." (End of this chapter)