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

In the backyard of the Xiao Mansion, in the quiet plum garden.

"Yier, you have been in the court for nearly three years. You don't need your aunt to teach you how to gain a foothold in the court, right?"

Walking on the cobblestone path, without waiting for Xiao Yi to respond, Xiao Yun slowly opened her mouth and continued:
"In the court, except for Huaiyu, a genius with great luck, no one can stay out of trouble, whether you like it or not, even I, your aunt, am no exception."

"Although I have entered the cabinet and am ranked second assistant, my foundation is shallow after all. Even with the support of His Majesty, it is difficult for me to compete with Yan Song in the cabinet, let alone overthrow him and let our Xiao family take power."

"Now, His Majesty wants to change his ways and use Huaiyu's new policies to eliminate the accumulated problems and save Daxia from collapse. He has great trust in Huaiyu. If he can get closer to our Xiao family, I won't have to be restrained in the cabinet. At most, I can drive Yan Song, the old fox, out of the court in one year."

"When the time comes, my Xiao family will take over the cabinet, and the benefits will be self-evident, so..."

Having said that, she turned her head and looked at Xiao Yi without saying anything else.

Hearing this, Xiao Yi thought for a moment, then said cautiously: "Aunt, do you mean to let your nephew help you get closer to Lu Shaobao?"

Xiao Yun nodded.

"Ah."

"But…"

Xiao Yi was somewhat puzzled: "Aunt, haven't you and Lu Shaobao always been close friends regardless of age difference? When Lu Shaobao was insignificant, you took good care of him, otherwise he would have been murdered by the villains when the demon queen was in chaos. With this friendship, plus the friendship between him and me for many years, if we have any problems, as long as it does not violate his principles, he will help us, right?"

Xiao Yun shook her head.

"not enough."

She raised her head slightly, and her eyes softened inexplicably.

"Although he holds a high position and great power, he cares about the world and has never had the slightest interest in court struggles. As long as it does not hinder his implementation of the new policy, he will not target anyone. The old fox Yan Song must have seen through this."

"He is now obedient on the surface, restraining the Yan Party and giving up his interests, but he is just lying dormant and not making any move. As long as the Yan Party does not fall, they will definitely look for opportunities to strike back. Huaiyu is a gentleman and disdains to suppress political enemies. I cannot let Yan Song lie dormant."

“I need a higher authority.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yi immediately understood.

"I understand, aunt."

He nodded heavily, "My nephew will do his best."

"Don't be too deliberate."

Xiao Yun retracted her gaze, and a hint of depth flashed in her eyes.

"Aunt is leaving Beijing soon. When Huaiyu comes back, you just need to get in touch with him as much as possible and mention Aunt more in front of him. As for the rest, Aunt has her own plans."

"This...Okay, nephew understands."

Although he didn't quite understand, since Xiao Yun said so, she must have her reasons. He didn't need to know the deeper meaning, he just had to do it.

As they were talking, the two of them unknowingly arrived at Lu Pavilion.

"That's it."

The smile on Xiao Yun's face faded, and she spoke expressionlessly to Xiao Yi behind her.

"Ah."

Xiao Yi nodded, turned and left.

"Miss."

After Xiao Yi left, the old butler standing at the door bowed respectfully to Xiao Yun.

"The master has been waiting for you inside since morning."

Xiao Yun didn't even look at him, and walked straight inside, as if the old butler who had worked for the Xiao family for many years did not exist.

Being ignored by Xiao Yun, the old butler was not annoyed. He still looked at Xiao Yun's receding back with a kind face. He did not stand up slowly until the pretty figure disappeared completely. Then, a hint of gloom flashed across his cloudy old eyes.

Click…

Walking into the attic, Xiao Yun raised her head slightly and looked at the middle-aged man sitting in the main seat.

"Father."

Her red lips parted slightly, and there was no fluctuation in her tone, just like her calm and deep eyes at this moment, making it impossible to detect her emotions at this moment.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

The middle-aged man was none other than the current head of the Xiao family, Duke of Xing, Xiao Yue.

"Here he comes."

Xiao Yue raised his eyes slightly, looked down at Xiao Yun, and said slowly: "I will not say any more nonsense, Yun'er, one month has passed, how have you considered it?"

The tone of voice of both of them was extremely indifferent, and there was no trace of father-daughter warmth in their words. It sounded as if they were simply partners dealing with each other for simple benefits.

The moment the words fell, several old men with white hair and beards around looked at Xiao Yun at the same time, and everyone's expression was extremely solemn and dignified.

As everyone stared, several powerful pressures spread rapidly, covering every space in the attic in an instant.

The air condensed at this moment, and the space around Xiao Yue was even shaking slightly.

The extremely depressing atmosphere makes people feel as if they are suffocating. If a cultivator with slightly weaker strength were here, he would probably be terrified in an instant.

However, Xiao Yun's expression did not change at all.

"Think about it."

Her calm eyes met Xiao Yue's. Under his scrutiny, she slowly spoke: "No matter what, I am a member of the Xiao family. I should put the interests of the Xiao family first. For this, I will not hesitate to sacrifice everything."

"very good."

A gleam of light flashed in Xiao Yue's eyes.

"You are worthy of being my daughter, Xiao Yue, Yun'er. I am very pleased that you have such awareness."

Xiao Yun's expression did not fluctuate at all in response to her father's praise.

"Thank you, father."

"In that case..."

Xiao Yue suddenly reached into his arms and took out a golden talisman. He flicked his right hand lightly, and the talisman quickly flew towards Xiao Yun, and finally hovered quietly in front of Xiao Yun.

"Yun'er, you can just carve the soul image on the Heavenly Oath."

Looking at the talisman in front of him, a barely perceptible hint of sarcasm flashed quietly in the depths of Xiao Yun's eyes.

The so-called Heavenly Oath is an oath made to the Heavenly Dao. Once violated, one will be killed by the power of Heavenly Dao's rules. It is one of the top restrictive magic weapons.

Even with the Xiao family's thousand-year-old heritage, there are definitely not many Zhang Tianshi talismans in the clan. But now such a precious magic weapon is going to be used on her, the most outstanding eldest daughter in the family in hundreds of years.

At this time, Xiao Yue suddenly smiled and continued, "Don't misunderstand, Yun'er. It's not that your father doesn't believe you, but you have been away from the Xiao family for too long. Elders..."

"Father, no need to say more."

Xiao Yun waved her hand and said calmly, "Yun'er understands."

Hearing this, several old men present breathed a sigh of relief almost at the same time, but Xiao Yue narrowed his eyes inexplicably and glanced at Xiao Yun a few times.

"Yun'er, you really don't blame your father for his momentary confusion back then?"

Seeing Xiao Yue suddenly talking about the past, several people suddenly frowned, looked up at Xiao Yue, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed across their faces.

However, they still did not speak, but just looked back and forth at Xiao Yue and Xiao Yun, the father and daughter, as if they wanted to see something.

Facing Xiao Yue's question, Xiao Yun responded calmly:
"What are you talking about, father? After so many years, I should think clearly. I did that for the Xiao family. As the head of the Xiao family, I should put the interests of the Xiao family first. As a daughter of the Xiao family, I naturally understand my father's difficulties."

"I just hope you can forgive me for my willful behavior over the years. How dare I have any other thoughts?"

As she spoke, she slowly stretched out her hand and gently grasped the golden talisman in front of her.

Seeing this scene, the elders' expressions relaxed slightly, but a gleam of light flashed in Xiao Yue's eyes, but he did not speak again.

The next second, when Xiao Yun tightly grasped the golden talisman, the talisman suddenly shattered, forming a large formation made up of countless tiny runes under her feet, covering her graceful body.

After a moment, under the dazzling golden light, Xiao Yun's calm voice slowly rang out -

"I, Xiao Yun, swear here."

"From now on, everything I say and do will be based on the interests of the Xiao family. I will never let the Xiao family down for the rest of my life."

"If you violate this oath, you will be punished by heaven and earth!"………………

The border between Tianlan Province and Yuzhou.

On the top of an unknown mountain about a hundred miles away from Qinglan Road, nine figures in black robes looked up at the same time, staring at a light curtain floating above their heads.

In the light curtain, on the Qinglan Road where the Tianxing formation was running, an ordinary-looking carriage was speeding at high speed.

"coming."

One of the men in black robes fixed his eyes.

"Prepare to activate the [Demon Slaughtering Formation]!"

"Yes, Brother Headmaster!"

The moment the words fell, the nine people simultaneously burst out with a force as vast as the ocean, their violent spiritual powers circulated wildly, and the terrifying energy fluctuations caused the entire mountain to begin to tremble violently.

Quack quack! !

Hey!
Feeling a strong threat, countless spirit beasts rushed out from the mountains, fleeing madly in all directions, as if there was some terrifying existence chasing them from behind.

Hey~
With a crisp sound, dense runes suddenly appeared under the feet of the nine people, and then quickly gathered together to form countless mysterious formations.

At the moment the magic circle began to work, nine people put their hands together at the same time, and their ten fingers quickly changed, making one seal after another.

After a moment, a strong blue light flashed, and the countless top-grade spirit stones piled up like a mountain around the magic circle began to melt rapidly, and then turned into streams of extremely pure spiritual power, rushing towards the magic circle that was already in operation.

As the terrifying spiritual power flowed down, the magic arrays began to emit increasingly dazzling light, instantly enveloping the entire mountain, looking incredibly gorgeous.

"Tsk, tsk."

At the foot of the mountain, two young men sat opposite each other, playing chess leisurely.

One of the young men, dressed in white, raised his head, glanced at the mountain, and marveled at it.

"It is said that this ancient formation is second only to the Zhu Xian Formation, and even the strong ones in the Guiyi Realm have to avoid it... They actually used it on a rookie who is at most in the Sancai Realm. Those termites are really willing to spend money on it."

As he spoke, his hands never stopped moving, and another white piece fell onto the chessboard.

The young man sitting opposite him raised his eyes slightly, his expression did not change at all, as if he had no interest in anything happening not far away.

"Nothing strange."

After the black spot settled down, he spoke slowly.

"Since he came to power, everything he said and did was aimed at digging up the roots of the aristocratic families, and even directly threatened the orthodoxy of the Holy Path. Moreover, this man is a genius, and the new policies he implemented have restored the vitality of the Jiang royal family in just one year, and even this aging empire has regained its vitality."

"If we let it go on like this, once the New Party becomes fully established, it will be an absolute disaster for those people."

"There are many smart people in this world, and there are many who can see through this. Lu Chen's threat is even greater than that of Saint King Cangming, so no matter how much it costs, this person must be eliminated."

The young man in white shrugged.

"The affairs of the court are too complicated. A crude person like me cannot understand them, and I am too lazy to understand them."

He leaned back in his chair and said lazily, "I only know that the major forces in the cultivation world were forced to join forces by a small Three Talents Realm cultivator and use all their resources to attack and kill him at all costs. In order to ensure the operation of the formation, they even cooperated with evil people like us."

"Tsk tsk, what a big move. Xuan, do you think it's possible for that guy to escape?"

"Death is certain."

The young man named Xuan gave the answer without hesitation.

"why?"

The young man in white raised the corner of his mouth slightly, his expression a little puzzled.

"Although the Demon Slaughtering Formation is extremely powerful, even the strong ones in the Return to One Realm find it difficult to resist. Logically, when that woman senses danger, she will immediately abandon everything and flee thousands of miles away. But there are exceptions to everything. Maybe she is so loyal and righteous that she will fight to the death and not retreat."

"That's the Guiyi Realm, a living legend. Moreover, according to intelligence, she also possesses ancient blood, the most perfect furnace in the world... Tsk tsk, I'm almost dying of envy for that young boy, who actually has such a perfect and peerless beauty following him, acting as his bodyguard during the day and warming his bed at night. Hehe, this is too cool..."

Having said this, he paused for a moment, with a look on his face that all men understand, and after a moment he continued:

"With her special bloodline and the highest realm in this world, no one knows how many cards she has and what she can do for that kid. Maybe if she tries her best, she can really win a glimmer of hope for that kid..."

"Meaningless."

Before the young man in blue could finish, Xuan interrupted him expressionlessly, "When I said death is inevitable, I didn't mean the dead end this time."

da~
The black piece fell, instantly wiping out a large area of ​​the white pieces on the chessboard, and everything was completely settled.

"From the moment he placed common people on the same level as cultivators, attempting to overthrow the orthodoxy and disrupt the balance of ten thousand years, his fate was already sealed."

"Even Emperor Guangwu couldn't do it, so how could an ordinary cultivator of a humble origin do it?"

He picked up the captured white piece from the chessboard and said expressionlessly:
"This world, after all, is a world of cultivators. His way of saving the world is not tolerated by the cultivation world. If he insists on doing so, he will only be cut off from the cultivation world and stand on the opposite side of all cultivators. How can he survive?"

Hearing this, the young man in blue just smiled and said nothing.

at the same time--

"Aha……"

In the speeding car, Lu Chen yawned, then raised his hand and rubbed his temples habitually to relieve the fatigue caused by handling official business for a long time.

Although the Empress was extremely kind to him, he had free use of all kinds of rare treasures in the inner court, and a large number of magic weapons for calming the mind and concentrating the spirit. Even the car he was sitting in was pulled by a top-level spirit beast, so no matter how fast the car went, the people in the car would not feel the slightest bump.

But human energy is limited after all, and no matter how much external help is given, it can only serve to alleviate the problem.

At this moment, he felt like his head was about to explode.

There was no other way. He had been working non-stop for seven days. If he were still on Blue Star, he would probably just close his eyes and die on the spot.

It wasn't that he was seeking death on purpose, but the heavy responsibility of seven provinces fell on him, and with his shallow foundation, there were very few subordinates in Lingyun Mansion who could handle things on their own, and all kinds of urgent government affairs had to be handled promptly and properly.

Before Xiao Yun took over Yuzhou, he had to ensure that all the plans and arrangements made previously went smoothly to ensure that he could quickly open up the situation.

Da da…

At this moment, there was a knock on the car door, and then Chai Hongyu's clear voice came from outside.

"Huaiyu, I'm coming in."

Lu Chen responded, and after a moment, the car door opened and Chai Hongyu walked in with a calm face.

Seeing the tired look on Lu Chen's face, she frowned slightly, and then said softly: "It's time to rest, Huaiyu."

"Ah."

Lu Chen didn't say much this time, but he was a little overwhelmed.

Seeing him nod, Chai Hongyu immediately breathed a sigh of relief, then stepped forward, ready to help Lu Chen undress and lie down like a maid.

Not sure if it was because he was too tired or for some other reason, but Lu Chen just felt his head becoming increasingly dizzy. Faced with such an intimate move from Chai Hongyu, he subconsciously did not refuse and allowed her to do as she pleased, and finally fell asleep in a daze.

snap…

The soft little hands gently rested on Lu Chen's face, stroking it gently back and forth.

Under normal circumstances, Chai Hongyu would immediately use her secret technique to quickly replenish his lost energy the moment Lu Chen fell asleep, just like what Fu Ya had secretly done for Lu Chen.

It can even be said that if Fu Ya and Chai Hongyu, two powerful Return to One Realm masters, had not joined forces to secretly "repair his magic" during this period, he would have died suddenly from the extremely high-intensity official duties, and would not have been able to sleep so peacefully as he is now.

However, Chai Hongyu had no intention of using the secret technique at this time. Instead, she suddenly stood up, looked at Lu Chen deeply, then raised her right hand and cast several space seals with one hand.

Swish!
Accompanied by a flash of light blue light, the space formation that Fu Ya gave her before leaving started working instantly. Time and space began to distort violently, and in just a moment, the entire carriage turned into an independent space.

As long as the magic circle is still running, no matter what happens outside, no matter how loud the noise is, even if a nuclear bomb explodes, the sound will not be transmitted to the interior of the carriage.

The only two points of intersection between this space and the outside world are Fu Ya, the owner of the magic circle, and Chai Hongyu, the caster.

In other words, no one can touch this space unless the two people are willing, or unless one of them is killed.

After activating the space magic circle, Chai Hongyu took out a top-grade spirit stone from his arms, placed it at the center of the magic circle, and let the magic circle operate on its own.

"call…"

After doing all this, she took a deep breath for some unknown reason, and a look of determination flashed across her pretty face.

Without any reluctance, Chai Hongyu turned around, and a stream of red spiritual power instantly surged out of her curvy body.

The next second, the spiritual power spread rapidly in all directions. At the same time, Chai Hongyu's body suddenly turned into dots of light, which gradually disappeared as the spiritual power spread. (End of this chapter)