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

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"Um... there's only one room left?"

Lu Chen looked at Chai Hongyu who walked into the carriage with surprise.

"Ah."

Chai Hongyu walked to Lu Chen's side naturally, and while collecting the scattered documents beside her, she said softly: "I found six inns, and they were all full. I heard that it was because a lot of merchants from Suizhou came recently, transporting a large amount of goods northward. They were generous and even gave guest rooms to the guards of the caravan, which caused the inn to be very tight in room supply."

"Now only the inn I asked about at the beginning has one room left. Luckily I asked the innkeeper to reserve it for me in advance, otherwise we would have to spend the night in the carriage."

Hearing this, Lu Chen's expression couldn't help but look a little strange.

Business is developed, merchants come and go frequently, and inns are full… Why do these words sound so familiar?
But since Chai Hongyu said so, he couldn't say much.

Moreover, what Chai Hongyu said was well-founded. Recently, the King of Sui had indeed been organizing royal families from Yuzhou, Suizhou and other provinces to form a caravan. He used the powerful productivity that had gradually erupted in the two states in the past two years to pour goods into the surrounding areas, impacting the traditional self-sufficient small peasant economy.

This was originally one of the plans he made in Lingyun Mansion. It was not surprising that some caravans were attracted by the vast market in Sili and traveled across mountains and rivers to come here.

So now I can only blame myself for my bad luck.

Lu Chen coughed lightly, then said rather unnaturally: "Well, I'll have to bear with you for one more night."

Chai Hongyu shook her head.

"Nothing, I don't mind, and I've gotten used to it. Without the Governor by my side, I can't sleep well."

Lu Chen: "..."

As expected, she was the Burning Heaven Saint who had traveled all over the country alone and made a great name for herself in the martial arts world. She was indeed heroic, completely different from the shy little girl in his impression.

Since such a stunning beauty doesn't mind, there is nothing for a grown man like him to worry about.

The two men got off the carriage and walked into the inn.

Chai Hongyu completed all the formalities. As soon as they entered, a servant came to lead the way, and the two of them soon arrived at the door of an ordinary guest room.

He didn’t know if it was an illusion, but Lu Chen always felt that the way this boy looked at him was a little strange.

Chai Hongyu remained calm throughout the journey, but for some reason her hands under her tight clothes were always tightly clenched, which was subtly asymmetrical with her calm expression.

Lu Chen has never been a very careful person, so he didn't notice any abnormality in Chai Hongyu.

However, after opening the door and seeing the scene inside, his eyes suddenly widened, his face filled with incredible surprise.

"Ah this..."

But inside the small and exquisite guest room, everywhere you look is red.

Red candles, red lanterns, red mosquito nets, red door curtains, red screens, everywhere was decorated with red silk, even the quilt and two pillows connected together were red.

There's only one bed.

Lu Chen was stunned and couldn't help rubbing his eyes, then opened his eyes and looked carefully.

Everywhere you look is a festive red.

Just hanging a "囍" character on this can make it look like a wedding chamber, right?
Before he could react, the servant behind him suddenly said, "Sir, please have a good rest. If you need anything, just pull the red string beside the bed and a servant will come over in a cup of tea. I'll go down first."

After saying that, he left quickly without waiting for Lu Chen's response.

The footsteps even created phantoms, as if something terrible was chasing him from behind.

“Hey hey!!”

Lu Chen only had time to greet him before he disappeared in a flash.

"What's wrong, Governor?"

Chai Hongyu walked up to Lu Chen and looked at him with confusion.

"If you have anything to do, tell me to do it. It's getting late. I've been busy all day and it's time for me to rest. Please don't disturb me."

Hearing her say this, Lu Chen couldn't help but frown.

Although it is good to be considerate of the lower classes and maintain empathy, but...

He subconsciously glanced at the festive guest room, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"Well, why don't we go back to the carriage and rest."

Chai Hongyu seemed to have just reacted. She followed Lu Chen's gaze and looked inside, then said, "Does the Governor care about the characteristics of this room?"

"Ah? Features?"

Lu Chen was slightly startled.

Chai Hongyu nodded and explained, "According to the innkeeper, since people's lives have become better and better in recent years, more and more merchants have come here, and occasionally dignitaries from the capital come here to play. These people are not short of money. As long as they are satisfied, they will spend a lot of money. So the innkeeper tries every means to meet all their requirements and provide them with a novel accommodation experience."

"Some time ago, there was a merchant couple who had just gotten married and had not even had time to spend their wedding night when they had to lead their caravan north to Beijing for business matters. When the shopkeeper heard about it, he immediately made this guest room available. Later, somehow this guest room became the favorite place for many couples traveling. Today, by chance, there happened to be no couples traveling to stay in the hotel, so this room was left."

After hearing what Chai Hongyu said, Lu Chen understood what was going on, but he still felt a little embarrassed.

"Um, Miss Chai, you also said that this is for couples who are away from home. It's not appropriate for us to stay in this kind of guest room."

After a pause, he touched his nose habitually and added: "And if this matter gets out, I'm afraid it will ruin your reputation."

Hearing this, Chai Hongyu smiled nonchalantly.

"You are worrying too much, Governor. Not to mention that we are out and about and no one knows us, even if someone recognizes us, it won't matter if the news gets out."

As she spoke, Chai Hongyu stepped in, turned her back to Lu Chen, and continued in a calm and generous manner:
"Anyway, everyone knows that I have always been by your side, almost inseparable, eating and living together. I guess in their eyes, I have long been the Governor-General's woman, right? So even if they see me and your Majesty living in a room like this, they will probably just think it's natural and indifferent."

Hearing her say this, Lu Chen suddenly fell silent.

At this point, no matter how slow he was, he realized that something was wrong.

Chai Hongyu walked to the screen, picked up the foot basin, ran some hot water over it, and prepared a wet towel. She continued to do her maid's work as usual, with very skilled movements.

"So, Governor, there is no need to worry about these things. From the day I decided to follow you, I put everything aside."

Hearing this, and looking at Chai Hongyu's busy figure, Lu Chen felt an inexplicable strange feeling in his heart. He did not speak, nor did he go in immediately, but just looked at her quietly.

His eyes gradually softened.

At this moment, there is two lives separated by a door.

Inside the door, there was a lady busying about, looking like a gentle and virtuous wife. The red candles were swaying slightly, and the festive new house set off the scene, making him inexplicably feel as if he had just finished the wedding ceremony and was about to enter the bridal chamber.

Outside the door, there is a solitary figure. The silent corridor and the biting cold wind tell of the loneliness of the autumn night.

As long as you take one step forward, a new life and visible happiness will be within your reach.

After a while, Lu Chen suddenly took a deep breath, and the confusion in his eyes gradually faded away.

"what happened?"

Seeing that Lu Chen didn't say anything, Chai Hongyu turned around with a puzzled look on her face. She looked at Lu Chen who was standing blankly at the door and said softly, "Why don't you come in, Governor? Do you think it's inappropriate for me to be here? If that's the case..."

As she spoke, she smiled as if she didn't care, and then continued, "I'll help you to sleep and then leave. I'll stay in the carriage for one night."

"Speaking of which, the carriage His Majesty prepared for you is very comfortable to live in, much more comfortable than here. I will take advantage of you tonight."

Although she said this, Lu Chen noticed the unnatural look that flashed across her face.

Obviously, this was not what Chai Hongyu really thought.

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, and there was no longer any trace of confusion or hesitation in them.

He slowly raised his feet and prepared to step in.

"red……"

However, just as he opened his mouth and uttered the first word——

Ding bell~ding bell~
"Good evening, Governor."

Along with the sudden sound of footsteps behind me and the crisp sound of a bell following the footsteps, a petite figure appeared at the end of the corridor not far away.

"I am Fu Xian, the Chief of the Tianji Division of Cangming Realm."

Da da…

The sound of light footsteps came closer and closer, and the petite figure slowly walked towards Lu Chen.

Hearing the noise behind him, Lu Chen stopped talking immediately, retracted his right foot, and looked back.

The next second, a barefoot girl in a pink palace dress, with black hair and black eyes, and two golden bells hanging on both sides of a white belt appeared in front of him.

The girl looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, but her extremely delicate little face did not have a trace of the innocence and immaturity that a girl should have. Instead, she had a kind of indifference and calmness that came from seeing through everything in the world and having experienced the vicissitudes of life. Her every move and gesture inexplicably revealed a detached temperament.

What was even more bizarre was that behind her, there was a huge compass floating quietly, moving forward closely following her footsteps.

After briefly introducing herself, she moved lightly and slowly opened her red lips.

"I have an urgent matter to ask you, so I came here late at night. Please forgive me for disturbing you."

The Chief of Tianji Division in Cangming Realm?

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, and then his mind quickly flashed back to some things about Cangming Realm that he had heard Saint King Cangming talk about when they occasionally chatted with each other in the past.

Since the rulers of the Holy Realm are not from the same family and the throne is not inherited through blood, the political system of the Cangming Realm is somewhat different from that of the Central Plains Dynasty, and is also different from the vassal states around Daxia that learned Xuanyan culture.

There are no three provinces, six ministries or cabinet in Cangming Realm, only six departments, and among these six departments, the Tianji Department is the most special.

The Tianji Division is in charge of celestial phenomena, deducing cause and effect, fortune-telling, and observing luck, with the aim of helping the Holy Realm to avoid misfortune and seek good fortune. It is deeply loved by the people of the Cangming Realm, and the Chief of the Tianji Division is the chief fortune-teller, who has the ability to decipher fate and deduce the secrets of heaven.

It is said that even an extremely special existence like the Holy King is within the observation of the Heavenly Secrets Division's Dharma Eyes.

This ability is extremely important for the Holy Realm, and has helped the Holy King stabilize the Holy Realm and eliminate evil spirits many times. Therefore, special figures like the Si Zheng of the Tianji Department, who are national treasures, almost never leave the Holy Realm and are firmly protected by the Holy King's Army.

The chief of the Tianji Division of Cangming Realm has always been the most outstanding fortune teller of the Fu family. This generation's chief, Fu Xian, is said to be the best fortune teller in the history of Cangming Realm. He has made hundreds of divinations since his debut and has never made a mistake.

Incredibly accurate.

Her slightly divergent eyes, which seemed to have lost some of their focus, seemed to be able to see through everything in the world, including human nature, good and evil, cause and effect...

The thing on her that could best prove her identity was the immortal treasure passed down from generation to generation in the Fu family - the Tianchen Plate.

Looking at the half-human-sized compass floating behind the girl, although Lu Chen realized that the person coming was the national treasure of Cangming Realm, his doubts deepened.

How could Si Zheng, the Director of the Tianji Department, such an extremely special person, come to me out of nowhere?
"Meet Fu Sizheng."

He responded first, and then asked with a puzzled look on his face: "I wonder why Fu Sizheng is looking for me?"

at the same time.

In the room, Chai Hongyu almost vomited blood because of depression when she saw Lu Chen just opened his mouth and said the word "Hong" with a moving face, but was distracted by the noise outside.

But no matter how depressed she was, she quickly cheered herself up and walked out the door.

Good things are worth waiting for. Now that we have come this far, it won’t hurt to wait a little longer.

She didn't sense the person coming at first, but there was no fluctuation of spiritual energy around her, nor could she detect any malice or hostility, so she didn't care much and only maintained the most basic vigilance.

Moreover, she had already set up a protective spell on Lu Chen. As long as there was a fluctuation in spiritual power or malicious intent, it would be triggered immediately, and she would step forward at the first moment. Therefore, safety was not a problem, and she still had this confidence.

Compared to Fu Hua, who has the unparalleled talent in formation and can cast formations of all sizes with just a wave of her hand, Gu Simiao of Tianzhu Kingdom who is proficient in martial arts, and Jiang Chengwan, the Saint Emperor who inherited the power of a sub-saint, although her combat power is not outstanding, she is the most suitable candidate to serve as Lu Chen's bodyguard.

The reason is simple. She is better at protecting people than anyone else. Her moves, magic weapons, and abilities can all provide maximum protection for Lu Chen. Unless someone has a special ability like Ding Wei who can forcibly drag people into a different space, no one can hurt Lu Chen.

Arriving at the door, Fu Xian just happened to walk in front of Lu Chen.

The latter glanced at Chai Hongyu and glanced at the guest room out of the corner of his eye.

The next second, she raised her head expressionlessly and said softly, "I'm sorry, I seem to have disturbed your good time."

Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but blush.

"Um, Fu Si Zheng misunderstood. The inn is full today, and there is only this... guest room with a completely different style left. So... Miss Chai and I are innocent. Please be aware of this, Fu Si Zheng."

He explained briefly, but did not notice that an unnatural look flashed across Chai Hongyu's face.

Even the roots of his ears were slightly red. (End of this chapter)