In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

And the results were indeed very good, just as the little queen had said.

Since the renovation, both convenience and maintenance costs have greatly improved compared to before—not only for her, but also for other princes and ministers. Apart from a few staunch conservatives, everyone's evaluation of the residences was surprisingly high. The most frequent memorials she's seen these days are requests for the royal family to also carry out a complete upgrade of their residences...

This further convinced her that choosing to cooperate with Xu Shi was the right decision.

"Well, that's fine."

Xu Shi nodded slightly, "As for how to promote it, you can handle those things yourself... I sent someone back to Night Sin City before, and they should be back in the next few days, bringing more supplies with them."

"Thank you, teacher."

Dongfang Xiao bowed slightly, and this alone was enough to make her disrespectful to Xu Shi.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Xu Shi didn't seem to intend to linger; after a brief exchange, he prepared to get up and leave.

"Uh... are you leaving already?"

Seeing that he was about to leave, the little empress asked instinctively.

"otherwise?"

Xu Shi narrowed his eyes. "Is there anything else you want to do?"

"...No, no."

Dongfang Xiao snapped out of her daze and hurriedly waved her hands.

Of course she knew what Xu Shi meant by "other things"—it was nothing more than disciplining her... Of course she wouldn't rush to ask for such a thing. She was just enduring humiliation and biding her time, not that her brain had really been messed up.

She was eager to avoid entering Xu Shi's dark room.

But the fact that he didn't do that is actually the most unusual thing—doesn't this also indicate that there's a serious problem in his relationship with Xie Qingyan? He doesn't even want to spend a single extra second alone with her...

Well.

……

"Brother Xu, it's been a long time."

After leaving the palace with Xie Qingyan, Xu Shi encountered Cheng Gujian, who had come to pay his respects, after a long absence.

"Brother Cheng, it's been a long time."

Xu Shi replied politely, "I haven't seen you come to the palace much lately. What have you been busy with?"

"With Brother Xu dedicating himself to the development of the empire, it seems that it doesn't matter whether I come or not, right?"

Cheng Gujian rarely teased, "But I've also experienced the modifications you and your wife made, and they were even more interesting than I expected."

To be fair, he was actually the first person to make a deal with Xu Shi. However, the deal only involved weapons and did not involve daily life, so many things were new to him, and this praise came from the bottom of his heart.

"Since it's a collaboration, I certainly won't go back on my word."

Xu Shi smiled and said, "I am a very trustworthy person."

"I see it."

Cheng Gujian remained noncommittal, "However, I still have to remind you that although you are using a strategy of gradually encroaching on the Holy See, they probably can't tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes. They may seem to be not reacting now, but I'm afraid their plans for you haven't stopped at all."

"I'm not that naive, but like I said, who's afraid?"

Xu Shi waved his hand, showing great confidence in himself.

"Oh? So it seems Brother Xu already has a follow-up plan?"

Cheng Gujian asked curiously.

"When that day comes, Brother Cheng will naturally see the outcome."

Xu Shi said mysteriously, "The plan includes not only the Vatican, but also you."

"Yes, we'll see in time..."

Cheng Gujian nodded in agreement, his tone carrying a deeper meaning.

……

same moment.

For Lu Baiyan, what happened on Xu Shi's side didn't really affect him much.

Because he was still thinking about what Pan Ling had said to him that day... and now he still felt a mix of emotions.

On the one hand, it was truly embarrassing to be lectured by a little girl, and on the other hand, what she said seemed to be completely correct—no matter how you looked at it, it seemed that Xu Shi's side was in a better position, and with the pressure from the Vatican, protecting himself seemed to be a good choice.

The old saying goes that a wise person doesn't stand under a dangerous wall.

But just as Pan Ling said, he is the type who won't act until he sees the benefits. Now that everything is still uncertain, it won't be easy to get him to actually defect.

Of course, he knew that adding flowers to brocade was not as good as providing charcoal in the snow, but his choice would involve his own life and even the lives of his entire family... To put it another way, if Xu Shi failed, it would be very easy for these outsiders to back out, at least easier than for him.

When that time comes, he will definitely be the focus of attention as a typical example, and be remembered as a clown for all eternity.

Ugh……

As he pondered, he seemed to realize something and suddenly looked up at the air behind him.

His squinting expression suddenly turned extremely hostile, even tinged with murderous intent.

"Isn't that enough? How much longer...are you planning to spy on me?"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 283 Rebuilding the Glory of the Holy See is Our Duty!

2023-10-05

As Lu Baiyan questioned him, the air he was looking at distorted almost imperceptibly.

"...Don't be so angry, Lao Lu."

Then came the faint buzzing of mosquitoes, "I was just following orders to keep an eye on your movements; sending people up and down was not my intention."

"His Holiness the Pope or Her Highness the Holy Maiden?"

The man with squinty eyes wasn't buying it and pressed on with more questions.

"This is an order from the Vatican."

The mosquito-like voice responded calmly, "I actually don't know what you did... You've been in too much contact with outsiders?"

Lu Baiyan remained silent.

Although he had suspected it for a while, he still felt terrible when he saw that the Vatican's methods for dealing with outsiders were now being used against him.

He knew better than anyone else that the buzzing of mosquitoes also came from one of their Templar Knights, Han Jingchuan, who was sixth in rank.

As for his abilities... although they are not very clear to the naked eye, if you look closely, you can actually find a very small insect hiding behind him.

This is Han Jingchuan's ability, best suited for acting as the Vatican's informant, silently gathering all kinds of intelligence.

Even "chosen ones" would find it difficult to detect the existence of these small eyes unless they primarily focus on mental power, and even those with a certain level of mental power might not be able to detect them.

Lu Baiyan's strength was not weak, but he could only sense the general outline, even though he knew his colleagues very well.

The other party was considered a veteran among the Knights Templar. Sometimes, rank doesn't tell the whole story. With his help, the Holy See was always able to gather a lot of unknown information and gain the upper hand in some open and covert struggles with the royal family or others.

But that's not the problem. The problem is that they're now using that ability on their own people.

Lu Baiyan still considered himself a member of the Holy See, which was the reason for his displeasure—he remembered very clearly that the other party had been on a mission and had left the main city for a long time without returning.

Your sudden appearance here clearly indicates that you received an urgent message from the Vatican and have returned to monitor me... Where were you all this time?

When Xu Shi launched the economic war and made pronouncements in front of the Vatican, where were you? Now that the child is dead, your grandmother has come, using this method to bully your own people?

Whether you call it remedial action after the fact or something else, the fact remains that Lu Baiyan is genuinely unhappy. He doesn't care whether the person who issued this order is the Pope or the Holy Maiden; of course, logically, the former is more likely, but regardless of who it is, the nature of this action remains unchanged.

For someone with squinty eyes who comes from a prestigious family and has spent many years in the Papacy and the royal family, if he couldn't even think of this, he might as well find a block of tofu and smash his head against it.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so wary in front of Xu Shi's mansion earlier, not saying a single word that was detrimental to the Holy See, but if he had, he would have been in for a world of trouble... He should have just waited to be punished for saying it.

Now he understood completely. Compared to the gentle approach of peace talks, the Pope himself probably preferred to end the conflict that was shaking the Papacy's position with a swift and decisive action, rather than resorting to force as previously suggested.

Having someone keep an eye on him was, of course, also to avoid unnecessary trouble, so that if he showed any dangerous tendencies, the trouble would be nipped in the bud.

Luckily, he had been alert in time, otherwise... Lu Baiyan knew without even thinking what would have happened.

But thinking about it the other way around, if you really doubted yourself, then you shouldn't have acted so nonchalantly, as if you trusted them so much, right?

Recalling how His Holiness the Pope had stepped in to mediate during the previous argument, and how they had even adopted his suggestions, squinty-eyed man sighed silently to himself.

In comparison, he suddenly felt that Xu Shi was actually a better person—it was undeniable that this guy was arrogant and cunning, but he was surprisingly honest with him.

At least his recruitment was quite direct. As for whether his apprentice's psychological warfare was authorized by him, it doesn't really matter. In his eyes, that whole group of people were bound together, so it didn't make much difference who said it, especially since it was Xu Shi himself who started it in the first place.

He also had great confidence in his own judgment. If it were Xu Shi himself saying it, the meaning would be exactly the same, the only difference would be that the rhetoric would be more sophisticated.

Tsk.

Lu Baiyan now truly understands how painful it is to be caught in the middle and wavering – if he had made a decision sooner, at least he wouldn't be in such a pathetic state now.

Unfortunately, making a decision now won't be very effective—even if he cuts ties with Xu Shi, he probably won't regain much of the Vatican's trust. But if he grits his teeth and goes to Xu Shi, he might be okay, but his family and a whole host of related people will definitely not be able to escape unscathed.

He had a premonition that the Papacy's recall of the Knights Templar from abroad meant that something big was about to happen.

"Anyway, I feel you're not in any serious trouble. You didn't do anything outrageous to outsiders; you're just a moderate and mild-mannered person."

Han Jingchuan could monitor his actions, but he couldn't read his mind. Seeing this, he could only comfort his old colleague, "So you don't need to worry about anything."

"Let me lend you some good words."

He squinted and said calmly.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Han Jingchuan said, "But now that you've discovered me, that's perfect. His Holiness the Pope has called a meeting, so don't be absent."

"understood."

Lu Baiyan's tone was indifferent, "Put away your little bug. It's annoying enough that it keeps buzzing in my ear."

"...Just be there on time."

Han Jingchuan didn't argue with him, and the fluctuating atmosphere soon returned to normal.