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

The old lady originally wanted to pretend to be asleep, but when she saw three dark figures standing straight in front of the bed, she knew that she couldn't escape this ordeal. She had no choice but to pretend that she didn't know anything and opened her eyes in a daze as if waking up from a dream.

"you……"

She tried to fool everyone by being cute, instantly transforming into a little girl and waving sweetly, "Hi~ Good morning, sisters~"

The trio didn't waste any words with her. Gu Yi, the leader, waved her hand boldly and said, "Go!"

"...Don't come any closer!"

The old lady panicked and let out a scream like that of Bu Jingyun.

So what if she slept with Xu Shi? Is it really that serious?!

Xu Shi is such a heartless person, just abandoning his old mother like that?!

Where is Xia Wuyou? Where is Xia Wuyou? Your aunt is about to be torn to pieces by wolves and tigers! Please save her!

...Forget it, that brat can't be relied on. With her rebellious nature now, she'd probably only utter four words in the face of something like this.

Increase efforts.

……

Xia Ke'an is so pitiful. She was tormented by Xu Shi last night, and now she has to be tormented by other girls.

But Xu Shi was unaware of all this; he was currently strolling through the streets of the main city with Tang Shuang.

It has to be said that the Little Queen's cleanup skills are still on point. The main city, which was a mess last night, is now unrecognizable.

Only the lingering smoke and dust from the church ruins not far away proved that everything that had happened before was not a dream. And given what happened last night, far fewer shops remained open as usual—the deeply entrenched Vatican had been overthrown overnight, and everyone needed some time to process it all.

“This tastes good.”

Governor Tang took a bite of the breakfast he had bought on the spur of the moment and asked indistinctly, "How have you been these past year or so?"

"well enough?"

Xu Shi held her other hand and smiled, "It's been so long since we've strolled around like this together, I feel a little empty inside."

He can spout slutty remarks so easily; he truly is a scumbag.

"Pah, don't give me that. You seem to be having a great time."

Tang Shuang spat and laughed as she cursed.

Although she knew the other person was saying this to her, she couldn't help but feel pleased.

To be honest, even though they kept in touch, she still missed him terribly when she couldn't see him in person.

That's why she was so eager to drag Xu Shi out shopping. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so what's a little shopping with him?

Moreover.

"When did you start hanging out with that little... Miss Ke'an?"

Thinking of this made her irritable, and she pouted and complained.

"What do you mean by 'mixing up'?"

Xu Shi shamelessly replied, "It just happened naturally... feelings develop over time, yeah, feelings develop over time."

"Oh, feelings develop over time."

Governor Tang repeated the story emotionlessly, "I thought you two would play father and daughter or something, but I never expected it to turn out like this."

It was obvious that she knew the inside story about the old lady, such as her actual age not matching her appearance... However, she was unaware that the other person could turn into an adult, so she was still a little surprised to see things develop this way.

Xu Shi didn't hide anything from her and told her the general story.

It has to be said that her guess was actually correct; the two did indeed pretend to be father and daughter before... Is this what you call a woman's intuition?

"I haven't even met you yet... I didn't expect someone else to beat me to it."

Of course, this was what troubled her the most, and she sounded a little aggrieved as she talked about it.

This wasn't what she had imagined—before Xu Shi left, she had said that they would do *that* when he returned in triumph… Now that he hadn't gone back, she had come first, and the scene she had envisioned hadn't come true, which was a bit of a regret.

"I knew you still had feelings for me."

Xu Shi held her hand tightly, his face full of affection.

"No."

Tang Shuang shook her head dismissively, "You're already filthy, you're not good enough for this governor. Go to hell."

The soybeans have been sweating for a while now, they're almost ready.

"Really not?"

He asked jokingly.

"...Let's take care of the important business first."

Governor Tang's composure crumbled instantly, and a barely perceptible blush appeared on his face.

She may say no, but does she really mean it? While she is undeniably straightforward in matters of the heart, she also has a delicate and sensitive side.

For her, dating isn't about sex, but it's a way to get closer to someone.

Besides, everyone else has already run away, is it reasonable for me to stay in the same place? It's simply outrageous.

Xu Shi didn't expose her, letting her vent her little temper.

The two of them went to the palace amidst their playful bickering.

The official account is the same as agreed: "The Duke of Gujian attempted a rebellion but failed." Now there are not many traces of fighting left, but the officials and servants in the palace come and go in a hurry. Even if you did not experience it firsthand, you can still see some clues.

Dongfang Xiao naturally didn't need to attend court these few days, and the three of them soon met in the Imperial Study.

"Didn't you get enough rest?"

Seeing that she also had dark circles under her eyes, Xu Shi subconsciously asked her a question.

"...I didn't sleep all night."

The little queen nodded, "I'm thinking of finishing up the remaining issues as soon as possible, otherwise I won't be able to sleep soundly."

The so-called "handling of the matter" naturally refers to the purge of Cheng Gujian's remaining followers. Having navigated the political landscape for so many years, Cheng Gujian naturally had a group of loyal followers. He himself had also left relevant information for Dongfang Xiao, detailing who was dealt with and how, no matter how small the matter.

From a certain perspective, this is actually quite despicable... I risked my life to follow you in your rebellion, but you yourself turned out to be the biggest royalist?

But for Dongfang Xiao, this was the best thing ever; having the list would save her a lot of trouble.

Do you want to take a look?

She didn't forget her identity and carefully handed the list to Xu Shi.

"No need, you can arrange it as you see fit."

Xu Shicai didn't want to trouble himself, mainly because there was no need for it—Cheng Gujian had been immersed in the field for many years and was highly capable, so naturally he, an outsider, didn't need to worry about what he had compiled.

Who should be killed, who should be spared, and who should be employed have all been arranged long ago. Even Dongfang Xiao himself is more adept at this than him.

All he had to do was provide support—even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't die easily; now that Cheng Gujian has "failed and died," there are bound to be people who refuse to accept reality.

The young empress was already taking care of everything that needed to be dealt with, whether it was confiscating property or exiling people. With the combat teams assigned to her, things couldn't be easier.

"The main topic is how our two sides can maintain cooperation in the future?"

Tang Shuang also gave her a document, "This is the proposed plan. Please take a look at it carefully, Miss Dongfang."

"it is good."

Dongfang Xiao felt a little uncomfortable being addressed like that, but she still took the items and looked through them carefully.

Compared to the previous semi-verbal and semi-written discussions with Xu Shi, this document in hand is clearly more detailed.

If it were anything else, she probably would have examined it for a long time, but it was just something Xu Shi had made, so she didn't need to take it so seriously—mainly, would taking it seriously even be useful? She couldn't refuse it anyway…

Having a general idea in mind is enough. Perhaps because of the seed planted in her heart, the little empress wasn't too worried that Xu Shi would take the opportunity to cause trouble, and thus naturally developed a trust in him.

"I didn't even notice yesterday that Miss Tang Shuang is... the governor of Night Sin City?"

She was actually more interested in Tang Shuang. Yesterday, Tang Shuang had been inconspicuous in the crowd, and she hadn't even given her a second thought.

She was surprised to find that he was the supreme ruler of the City of Night Sin.

"No need to be so formal. I'm a few years older than you. You can call me 'older sister' if you want."

Tang Shuang never cared about these formalities and waved her hand dismissively.

“…Then I’ll call you Sister Tang.”

Hearing her say that, Dongfang Xiao suddenly realized.

Regardless of her status, she must be one of Xu Shi's wives, right? At least since she came in, she has never seen the two of them hold hands and separate.

Logically, she should have acted surprised, asking, "So you two were a married couple?"

But perhaps because she had experienced so much before, she didn't seem surprised at all... as if things were just how they were supposed to be.

Even the change of address was so natural.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 304 Tell me, who is the real Winter Melon?

2023-10-30

Dongfang Xiao had a pretty good impression of Tang Shuang.

This is actually quite interesting—don't be fooled by her complicated attitude towards Cheng Gujian, which seems like she'd rather never speak to him again, but in reality, she feels about the same way towards Xu Shi.

Why? Of course, it's because she herself is feeling conflicted right now.

In a consequentialist sense, she now understands that even if she does nothing, everything in this empire will eventually fall into her hands.

That means that all the compromises made for Xu Shi before were just superfluous.

However, because Cheng Gujian said nothing, Xu Shi had an opportunity to take advantage of the situation, leading to the current predicament.

Whose fault is this? It seems everyone has a problem—Cheng Gujian had his reasons for concealing the truth, which was ultimately to temper the little empress. Otherwise, if she knew she had always been under his protection, she would most likely be even more useless than she is now.

Yes, from Xu Shi's perspective, she's actually quite useless now, at most just above the passing grade. With the help of others, she's not so bad that she can't manage without herself.

But the consequences of his actions were obvious; in the end, Mr. Xu won.