My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

However, there were relatively few elders present: Su Chengying and his wife, an elderly person, and two middle-aged men.

The table seemed a bit empty and deserted with only five people sitting there, so there were a few young people at the table as well.

One is Su Lie, one is Su Yun, and there's another, Qi Yu, whom I didn't see earlier; they must have just arrived.

Xu Shuqin stood up and waved to Su Yue and Qi Yu.

Su Yue led Qi Yu to Xu Shuqin's side, and then bowed to the old woman.

"Greetings, Second Uncle!"

The old man nodded, his withered eyes glancing at Su Yue, then at Qi Yu.

"Greetings, Second Uncle!" Qi Yu also bowed and greeted him.

The old man smiled and nodded, saying, "You must be Yue'er's husband? You are indeed a handsome man!"

Qi Yu bowed his head modestly, then his gaze involuntarily turned to Su Lie.

Su Lie was also looking at him. Qi Yu smiled at Su Lie, as if nothing had happened.

"Hello, Uncle Chengda and Uncle Chengkun!" Su Yue greeted Su Chengda and another middle-aged man.

Su Chengda nodded without saying anything, while Su Chengkun just stared at Qi Yu without any reaction.

Su Chengkun didn't react until Su Chengda tugged at his sleeve.

"I heard you were a scholar before?" Su Chengkun asked.

Su Chengying narrowed her eyes, looking at Su Chengkun.

Qi Yu nodded and said, "Yes, but he has been stripped of his academic title, so he is no longer a scholar."

Su Chengkun nodded, then sighed and said, "I thought that if you were a scholar, Cheng'er, as one of the examiners for the autumn imperial examination in Lantian County this time, could help you. What a pity."

Qi Yu raised an eyebrow and then looked at the young man next to Su Chengkun.

The young man stood up, bowed to Qi Yu, and said with a smile, "Greetings, brother-in-law!"

Qi Yu hurriedly returned the greeting, then smiled and said, "You must be Su Cheng's cousin, right? It's an honor to meet you!"

Su Cheng smiled and then sat down again.

After introducing several important relatives to Qi Yu, Su Yue sat down and began to eat.

However, Qi Yu's right hand is now wrapped in thick bandages, making it impossible for him to hold chopsticks.

I'm not used to using my left hand; it's so shaky I can't even hold food properly.

In the end, Su Yue served Qi Yu some food and put it in his bowl.

While they were eating, Su Cheng suddenly spoke up.

"Brother-in-law, where do you work?" Su Cheng asked.

Qi Yu put down his chopsticks and said, "I work as a clerk in the Jiangzhou City government office! Why does my cousin Su Cheng ask this question?"

Su Cheng smiled and said, "I am currently serving as a guest advisor under the Crown Prince. I will be going to the capital to take up my post in October. I was thinking that if my brother-in-law is willing, he can come with me."

"Although I am not a high-ranking official, I am still a fifth-rank official and have some say. It would not be difficult for me to give my brother-in-law a position of some kind."

A fifth-rank official? And it was arranged by the Crown Prince.

It seems that the only official position that fits this description is the position of Zhongshu Sheren.

If one becomes a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), being able to attain the rank of a fifth-grade official is quite good; it's neither too good nor too bad.

"Thank you for your kind words, cousin Su Cheng, but I have no intention of leaving Jiangzhou City," Qi Yu said with a smile.

Su Cheng nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Qi Yu looked at Su Cheng, a slight smile playing on his lips. This person seemed alright, so Qi Yu decided to help him out.

"Cousin Su Cheng, as a return gift for your invitation, I'd like to offer you a piece of advice!"

Su Cheng raised her head again and looked at Qi Yu with a curious expression.

Qi Yu smiled and said, "Try to do less and speak less, especially in the court. Although you have achieved success at a young age, you must not be too enthusiastic. Protecting yourself is the way to survive."

Su Cheng looked at Qi Yu blankly, clearly not understanding the meaning behind his words, or rather, not understanding why Qi Yu said such a thing.

Qi Yu shrugged and said nothing more.

That's all I have to say. Whether Su Cheng understands or not is up to him.

The current Great Yun Dynasty is controlled by powerful families and court officials; the emperor is merely a figurehead with no real power.

Even if the Great Yun Dynasty suddenly announced to the world tomorrow that the dynasty had changed hands, Qi Yu would not be surprised.

What Li Ming is doing now is trying to save his family's empire.

Qi Yu didn't want to get involved in the mess; he preferred to live a peaceful life as an ordinary citizen.

After Qi Yu uttered that piece of advice, all the elders involuntarily put down their chopsticks and looked at Qi Yu.

"It's a pity you didn't become an official!" Su Chengda suddenly said.

Qi Yu paused for a moment, then pointed to himself and asked, "Me?"

Su Chengda smiled bitterly and remained silent. He was initially annoyed and disliked Qi Yu because his son had been humiliated by Qi Yu, but now it seemed that it was better not to provoke Qi Yu, given his son's recklessness.

Qi Yu... is very shrewd; this kind of person is difficult to deal with.

Moreover, Qi Yu's ability to assess situations is truly remarkable.

Qi Yu felt somewhat confused, but seeing that Su Chengda wouldn't say anything, he naturally wouldn't bring it up again.

"Wife, I want to eat fish!" Qi Yu turned to Su Yue and said.

Su Yue picked up her chopsticks as instructed and placed a piece of fish in Qi Yu's bowl. Just as she was about to put it in Qi Yu's bowl, Qi Yu opened his mouth wide, his meaning quite clear.

Su Yue rolled her eyes at Qi Yu helplessly, then chuckled, shook her head, and fed it to Qi Yu.

Qi Yu chewed on the fish and said, "Not bad, this fish tastes even better with my wife's flavor."

Su Yue blinked, then belatedly realized that these were her chopsticks, and the ones he was talking about tasted like hers…

"You jerk, stop talking nonsense about picking food for yourself!" Su Yue said, embarrassed and annoyed.

Qi Yu chuckled and ate his food.

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Chapter Twenty-Three: Gifts

After dinner, with nothing to do, the elders gathered together to chat.

The children were playing and frolicking nearby, creating a harmonious family scene.

Qi Yu was injured and sat in a chair, looking at the Su family members with boredom.

These hanging men deliberately ostracized him; whenever he tried to talk to them, they all found excuses to avoid him.

All I did was scold Su Lie!

If someone doesn't want to play with you, you can't just keep pestering them.

Just as he was getting bored, Su Yue walked over and patted Qi Yu on the shoulder.

"Your father wants to see you!"

Qi Yu turned his head and looked at Su Chengying, who was also looking at him.

Every time Su Chengying looked at her, Qi Yu felt nervous and then fearful.

Not daring to remain seated any longer, Qi Yu hurriedly got up and headed towards the inner hall.

Su Chengying sat in the head seat, and next to him was the old man, Su Yue's second great-uncle.

"Father-in-law, you wanted to see me!" Qi Yu said, bowing respectfully.

Su Chengying looked at Qi Yu and, unusually, smiled, saying, "I heard from Yue'er that you prepared a gift for me. Let me see it?"

Qi Yu was stunned for a moment, then looked at Su Yue, who smiled at him without saying a word.

Su Chengying and Qi Yu are the two most important people in her life, so Su Yue naturally hopes that they can get along well.

However, Su Chengying had always looked down on Qi Yu, not only because Qi Yu was an ordinary person, but also because of Qi Yu's stubborn temper.

Su Chengying originally planned to have Qi Yu take over a cloth shop to cultivate Qi Yu's business skills.

After all, a year ago, Qi Yu was just a poor, unsuccessful scholar who had nothing.

Qi Yu directly rejected Su Chengying, and the two parted on bad terms.

From then on, every time Qi Yu came, Su Chengying would torture Qi Yu from skin to bone.

This gift is undoubtedly an opportunity for reconciliation.

Several elders also looked over, somewhat curious about the gifts Qi Yu had prepared.

Feeling a little uncomfortable with so many people watching, Qi Yu scratched his chin and said, "Father-in-law, how about we forget about it? It's not an expensive gift. I'll give it to you separately tonight."

Su Chengying raised an eyebrow, about to say something, when Su Yue spoke first.

"Husband, I prepared a birthday gift for you. You can just bring it. But didn't you say that gifts are a way to express your feelings, not just a formality, and that you should choose them yourself?"

Su Chengying smiled, then looked at Su Yue and asked, "You said you prepared a birthday gift for me?"

Su Yue nodded and said, "I originally prepared a birthday gift for you in advance, Father. Thinking of your birthday, I asked my husband to bring it over."

"But then my husband said he wanted to choose for me and give me a big gift!"

As she spoke, Su Yue couldn't help but recall Qi Yu's words and his teasing remarks, and her cheeks flushed slightly.

He actually dared to think of giving his grandson a gift.

Su Chengying's smile widened, and she said to Qi Yu, "Take it out and let me see. Just like you said, a gift is just a way to express your feelings. I have already seen your sincerity and filial piety."

"No matter how expensive the gift is, your sentiment is priceless."

Having said that, Qi Yu had no choice but to bite the bullet and bring it out.

That chessboard was won through gambling; I didn't spend a single penny.

Aside from being able to project images, there's nothing special about it; it doesn't even seem as good as antique calligraphy and paintings!

I should have bought some genuine works by famous artists!