In Changming Prefecture, the crowd was like a dragon.
Lu Beiwang shook his head. The emperor was worrying too much. There were no suitors in front of the eldest princess's house, only a group of lickspittles lining up to give them money.
The last time he came to Changming Mansion, he walked on the wall, and this time was no exception. He stayed true to his original intention and climbed over the wall with ease.
It's not about pursuing excitement, but about worrying about damaging one's reputation.
If he walked in through the gate openly, paid a ten-liang silver note and met the princess, what would the dogs who waited in line every day think
Is there any need to think about this? You can tell with your toes that the princess has a gigolo.
Furthermore, cutting off someone's source of wealth is like killing his parents. Today, the bootlickers are waking up from their dreams, and tomorrow the emperor will order them to be dismissed and investigated.
Going through the door is too risky, it’s more reliable to climb over the wall.
clang clang clang—
In the courtyard inside the wall, illusion arrays and killing arrays were activated one after another, and in a moment, assassins came with swords and knives.
"Hey, the formation has been upgraded. What's going on? Could it be that some powerful thief has set his sights on Changming Mansion recently?"
Lu Bei took two steps at a time and walked out of the illusion array easily. Facing the cold wind, he smiled slightly and didn't care.
Who is he trying to scare? He came with an imperial edict.
About half a cup of tea later, Butler Yu came in gracefully, dismissed the guards on both sides, and led Lu Bei to find Zhu Qilan.
"Why do you always try to find a new way out instead of leaving the right door?" Butler Yu complained.
"It's all for my cousin's reputation. I walked in through the front door with this face, and didn't make any movement for three or five hours. I left through the back door when it got dark. If this gets out, what will others think?" Lu Bei said as a matter of course.
Climbing over the wall isn’t worse!
Butler Yu secretly complained, knowing that he was no match for Lu Bei in an argument, so he simply kept silent and led the way.
Yu wanted peace but Lu did not stop.
Lu Bei was full of doubts about the imperial edict. He would not let go of an intelligence agent who was captured alive. He kept talking and wearing down Housekeeper Yu's will along the way and pried out an important piece of information from her.
Zhu Qilan went to the capital to celebrate his old age and just came back.
With clues interweaving in his mind, Lu Bei sorted them out and roughly understood the reason for the promotion and salary increase.
He saved Zhu Qilan’s life in the secret realm of Sishen Lake and made great contributions in protecting the emperor.
As for the outrageous excuses for visiting in the secret letter, it was even simpler. His qualifications were so rare in the world that the emperor was shocked and hurriedly threw out his sister, who was his most precious treasure, in an attempt to recruit him into the royal family.
Because of Zhu Qilan's tough character, he is responsible for the output and is the active party.
Thinking about the whole thing, Lu Bei felt disdainful and insulted...
He has always been passive.
…
In the quiet room, Zhu Qilan sat cross-legged, with a white tiger phantom appearing behind him.
During the trip to the secret realm of Four Gods Lake, she first obtained the White Tiger's relics, and then with the help of Zhiyuan, she spied on the magical powers of the Refining Void Realm. Her cultivation level has steadily improved, and now she has initially mastered how to use the power of heaven and earth.
With this opportunity, the path to refining the void is smooth and the speed of cultivation is so fast that the so-called geniuses are far behind.
Even so, Zhu Qilan still felt that it was too slow. Whenever he thought of Zhiyuan falling into the golden net, completely unable to fight back, he felt an indescribable restlessness in his heart.
The mechanism outside the quiet room was activated, and Zhu Qilan stopped practicing. He exhaled foul air, frowned slightly, and did not open his eyes: "What are you doing here?"
"I don't want to come either, but I have been ordered to come and visit from time to time." Lu Bei shrugged and replied.
Zhu Qilan remained silent upon hearing this. She had long guessed that Lu Bei came here on the orders of his royal brother, and the confirmation in the capital further confirmed her guess.
Although the emperor's younger brother repeatedly stressed that he would not issue an order to force her to marry, but...
Since you don't intend to force it, why do you keep mentioning it, and emphasizing it
Regarding the relationship between Huangjizong and the central royal family, the emperor's father pointed out that marriage is a good thing and will benefit the royal family greatly. The emperor's younger brother said that the old man's eyes are blurry and as a former emperor, he knows nothing about politics.
Father and younger brother, two generations of rulers, which one understands the national conditions of Wu Zhou better
In Zhu Qilan's view, this issue is not a problem at all. To be filial, in terms of politics, the emperor's younger brother is barely qualified to carry shoes for his father.
Thinking about the key point, Zhu Qilan felt mixed emotions and instinctively wanted to refuse, but he didn't have enough confidence.
People in the royal family are born into a life of luxury and have the best of everything.
However, there are gains and losses. Personal will must be subordinate to the clan as a whole. When you are asked to sacrifice, you must sacrifice.
To put it bluntly, the royal family is the ultimate version of a family of immortal cultivators.
For example, the emperors of the Wu Zhou Dynasty had never met the empress before their wedding, and the relationship between the two was established later. The situation of the imperial concubine and other concubines was roughly the same.
There was even a case where an emperor did not like the second-in-command imperial concubine in the harem and wanted to demote her concubine's title and promote his favorite concubine, but this was prevented by the clan.
It can be said that family marriages involve huge interests, and even a powerful emperor cannot change them at will.
Zhu Qilan, who successfully turned down his first marriage proposal, could not escape the fate of being kicked out of the family even though he had the qualifications that only appeared once in a century. He was kicked out of the capital by the clan and was given a fiefdom to support himself.
This is the second time...
The royal family and the Huangji Sect were in a hostile relationship, and Zhu Qilan was helpless. The only thing she could do was to agree to the marriage, but she had always been averse to marriage proposals, and after much deliberation, she chose to lie down and let everything take its course.
Simply put, she had given up struggling and let Lu Bei do it himself. If the latter performed well, she would accept the marriage.
Oh, I’m sick again!
Zhu Qilan's silence was a sign of princess syndrome in Lu Bei's opinion, so he took the initiative to speak: "Cousin, you have just entered the realm of refining emptiness, and it is a critical time to stabilize your realm. You can't go out easily. If you have any difficult tasks, just give them to me. I will do my best to complete them for you."
He came to Changming Mansion today just to find Zhu Qilan to verify the profound meaning of the imperial edict. Now that he has deduced the correct conclusion, he will not elaborate on it.
But as the saying goes, now that you are here, you might as well take advantage of it. Maybe the ruthless task issuing machine will light up again.
"It's just some chores, you don't need to do anything."
Zhu Qilan paused, then looked up at Lu Bei and said, "Come and sit down, help me practice."
"Of course you can, but I'm in a hurry. Let's make it clear that we'll only practice for one hour." Lu Bei frowned and came behind Zhu Qilan, sat down cross-legged, and put his palms on his back.
The task release machine didn't light up, so I made a wasted trip today. What a loss.
The two of them practiced their martial arts, and their auras quickly connected. In the icy white mist, the two hazy white tigers merged into one in the fight. After a moment, the white tigers split into two and returned to Lu Bei and Zhu Qilan's bodies.
[Diligence can make up for one's shortcomings. You have practiced diligently and have made some progress in the Way of Taiyin Killing. Keep up the good work.]
Lu Bei: “…”
Seeing that the experience gained from the 'Taiyin Killing Power' technique and skills were constantly being refreshed, and the 'White Tiger Evil' was also slowly rising with the help of the Gengjin energy, he took back his previous words and added another hour.
Housekeeper Yu, who was standing silently at the side, felt like she was out of place and was just an invisible person. But as the two of them practiced martial arts together and their auras became closely connected, she was shocked to realize that she was not out of place and that she would join in sooner or later.
Your Highness is actually practicing dual cultivation with this person
When did it happen? How long ago did it happen? How come she doesn’t know
Is this still His Highness
The impact came too suddenly and was too strong. Butler Yu screamed in fear, quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth, and quietly retreated out of the quiet room.
The stone door slowly closed, and there was still an expression of disbelief on her pretty face, as she looked at Lu Bei with a rather strange look.
This is double cultivation. When do you two plan to get married, or are you going to put it off for a while
As Zhu Qilan's personal maid, Housekeeper Yu grew up in the palace. She was influenced by her surroundings and knew that she had a heavy responsibility, especially after marrying her master. She was definitely not just a decorative vase.
The crucial third person in a world of two.
For example, when Zhu Qilan is in seclusion practicing, or when Zhu Qilan is pregnant, it is her turn to step forward.
She had always thought that Zhu Qilan would never marry. After all, his promises seemed as real as the truth. She never imagined that His Highness was just talking and would act as quickly as possible when he met someone he liked.
ε=(′ο｀＊))
As a maid, Zhu Qilan's choice was her choice, and she thought that she had to change her attitude towards Lu Bei in the future. Otherwise, if he was narrow-minded, he would make things difficult for her every day, scolding and beating her for no reason, and her life would be difficult.
There is another question. These two people are practicing together in the quiet room. Will they accept the gifts from the young talents who are waiting at the door
Just accept it, the truth will affect the eldest princess' reputation.
Don’t accept it. It would be painful if you don’t accept the money you picked up for free.
After hesitating for three seconds, Butler Yu decided to raise the price.
Before anyone gets killed, Zhu Qilan's belly becomes flat and he makes as much money as he can.
Just looking at Lu Bei's clothes and appearance, one can tell that he comes from an average family with no assets, and will most likely marry into another's family. If he can make more money now, Your Highness will feel more confident, and he will have a much louder voice at home in the future.
…
Time flies and two hours are over.
Lu Bei stopped practicing and slowly retracted his palm: "The efficiency was the highest in the first hour, and then gradually declined. What about you? Is the situation the same as mine?"
Zhu Qilan nodded.
"In that case, I'll try again tomorrow. If it's still the same, we'll only practice for one hour a day from now on." Lu Bei stood up, stretched his arms and legs, and prepared to fly into the sky.
Zhu Qilan was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Seeing Lu Bei was about to leave, he frowned and said, "Don't leave so quickly. I have something to inform you."
"What is it?"
"The Huangji Sect's Elders' Council misunderstood our relationship, thinking that you were my... subordinate. They asked me to promote you to the position of commander on the grounds of your meritorious service in the rescue of the Four Gods Lake..."
"You agreed!"
Lu Bei was overjoyed and quickly interrupted.
"Why did you agree?"
Zhu Qilan was puzzled. Lu Bei was a Qingwei of Xuanyin Division, and there was no way that Huangji Sect could not find out. No matter from which angle one looked at it, promoting him to the position of commander was full of conspiracy.
"I should be the one to say this. Why don't you agree?"
Lu Bei's expression changed in an instant: "What do you think? I came all the way to find you just for this!"
Zhu Qilan: “…”
Zhu family ancestors, please don't blame her if this marriage fails and affects the royal regime.