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

Hearing this answer, Xiao Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good."

As he spoke, he suddenly reached into his arms, took out a letter and handed it to Lu Chen.

"Huaiyu, please read this letter first."

Lu Chen didn't know why, but he still opened the envelope and read it.

After a while, he suddenly glared angrily and slammed the letter on the table with a loud "snap".

"There's no reason for this!!"

The content of this letter is very simple. In summary, Li Zheng said that the Holy King Cangming has completely annihilated the rebels and relieved the danger in Luojing. Now the army is returning north and is expected to arrive in the capital the next day.

Moreover, the Holy King intended to enter the capital through the Huangji Gate, where only the emperor could lead the troops, and bring his merits to the court. At the same time, he also announced that he hoped to see hundreds of officials coming out to greet him at the Huangji Gate the day after tomorrow, and to give them these tools to save the court from trouble. The officers and soldiers of the Cangming Army who made great contributions to the dynasty are fully recognized and honored.

Of course, if you are "sick", you don't have to go, but if you "go to court while sick", it is unjustifiable.

Li Zheng called on all "people of insight" to listen to the wishes expressed by Holy King Cangming, not to go to the palace for duty tomorrow, but to rush outside the Huangji Gate in advance to welcome the triumphal return of Holy King Cangming's army.

If you are sick, just stay in the house honestly. If you don't know what is good and what is bad, the number of followers will not increase quickly.

There was a hint of threat in both words.

Li Zheng also went to pursue the "rebels" this time and has been following Saint King Cangming, so his words are still credible, and there is no need to lie about this kind of thing, which does him no good at all.

As a "die loyal" to the empress, how could Lu Chen not be angry when he saw this news?

Although he was so "angry" that the smile at the corner of his mouth could hardly be concealed, he still suppressed the excitement and excitement in his heart and cursed Li Zheng and other shameless villains in front of Xiao Yi's face. For a quarter of an hour, the words they used were not the same.

In the end, after cursing for too long and my mouth was dry, I stopped, picked up the tea and took a big sip.

Xiao Yi was dumbfounded. He never expected that Lu Chen's scolding would be so fierce.

As if it was the first time he met Lu Chen, Xiao Yi looked at him blankly, unable to recover for a long time.

"The shameless traitor dares to betray His Majesty. Such an unfaithful and unjust person can be placed in the court. It is really a misfortune for the country and a great harm to the people..."

Hearing that Lu Chen was about to curse again, Xiao Yi finally realized that he came to him specifically this time, not to see him curse.

"Huaiyu, listen to my advice."

Xiao Yi said sincerely: "Your Majesty is destined to be just a puppet at the mercy of others. He has no hope of taking power and is not worthy of your allegiance. Moreover, now Luo Jing is completely in the hands of the Cangming Army. He only waits for the return of the Saint King of Cangming's squadron." Chao, everything will be settled, and your loyalty is destined to not get any reward, so... you should give up this meaningless loyalty."

"Tomorrow, if you can't bear to see His Majesty's unbearable things, you will be sick at home and pretend to be sick. Although you must have been jealous of the Holy King before, you must have been jealous of the Holy King Cangming, but as long as you don't do it at this critical moment, If you stand up and confront him, there is still a chance to save the situation."

Hearing this, Lu Chen suddenly raised his eyebrows.

What?Is there any chance of recovery?This can't happen!

As soon as he thought about this, Lu Chen shook his head, and then said righteously: "Can something that can be given up be called loyalty?"

As he spoke, he slowly raised his hand and put the letter in his hand away like evidence.

"Brother Yu, there is no need to say more. I know that you are saying this for my own good. I also know that choosing to be loyal to His Majesty at this time is a stupid thing that ordinary people cannot understand. I also know that the Holy King Cangming stepped through the Huangji Gate and returned to the capital. What are you wearing, but..."

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed, and then he said to Xiao Yi sonorously and forcefully:

"As long as Your Majesty has never betrayed me, I will never betray Your Majesty."

Regarding his answer, Xiao Yi seemed to have expected it, and just sighed heavily.

"Is it worth it?"

"worth!"

Without any hesitation, Lu Chen's answer was still decisive.

Nonsense, as long as you give up your official position and become an immortal right away, is this a hugely cost-effective deal? Do you have to rush to do it by everyone you meet?

Xiao Yi added: "So, Huaiyu, are you planning to go tomorrow morning..."

Before Xiao Yi could finish speaking, Lu Chen responded matter-of-factly: "As an official of the imperial court, I must go to Dian Mao and attend the court meeting on time."

"Ziji City is full of Xuanwu Guards. His Majesty is firmly [protected] by thousands of elite masters who can easily kill the Yulin Guards and the Warrior Battalion. You can't change anything at all..."

Lu Chen didn't care about Xiao Yi's continuous cold water, and just showed a helpless and determined smile.

"Even if there are thousands of people, I will go to the place of righteousness!"

Hearing this, Xiao Yi couldn't help but trembled in his heart, and even his voice trembled slightly.

After that, before Xiao Yi could speak again, Lu Chen left the hall without looking back.

Looking at Lu Chen's slightly thin but inexplicably tall figure, the look on Xiao Yi's face gradually became complicated.

Chapter 20

Time flies by like a white horse, and two days pass in the blink of an eye.

at dawn.

Lu Chen walked quickly on a street with few pedestrians. As soon as he passed through Chongde Lane, he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him:

"Huaiyu, stay."

After only being stunned for a moment, Lu Chen realized that "Huaiyu" was the cousin of the original owner with the same name as him, and the voice was calling him, so he quickly stopped and turned around to look.

Soon, he saw a slender figure standing quietly under the Chongde Lane archway not far away in the tranquility of the morning. With the faint morning light from the east, that graceful and delicate body actually exuded... An imaginative atmosphere.

With just one glance, you can tell that she is a very charming beauty.

However, after seeing the person's appearance clearly, Lu Chen suddenly raised his hand, bowed to her with a serious face, and responded with a slightly respectful tone:

"Xiao Shangshu."

That's right, that beauty is the senior official with whom he has frequent political contacts - Xiao Yun, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, who currently holds the post of Engineering Supervisor.

A high-ranking official of the second rank!

"Ah."

Xiao Yun nodded and walked up to him. Her eyes lingered on his brand new seventh-grade court uniform for a moment, and her eyes became inexplicably subtle.

"Huaiyu is traveling at this time and is dressed so formally. Could it be that he is preparing to go to Huangjimen to greet Holy King Cangming?"

Lu Chen moved the corner of his mouth and was about to reply when a deep voice suddenly came from the alleyway on the side:

"Why should Shangshu Xiao ask this question?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rather tall middle-aged man in official third-grade court clothes walked out of the alleyway.

Lu Chen turned around and quickly recognized his identity.

Wu Zongyun, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites.

Yes, he is a high official again.

Lu Chen bowed to him politely and said, "Wu Shilang."

Wu Zongyun put his hands behind his hands and said to Xiao Yun with a solemn expression:

"Since the death of the late emperor six years ago, and the demon queen's edict to depose the crown prince and establish a young emperor, and from the beginning of the dynasty, the government and the public have been stirred up by his traitorous party, which has caused misfortune to all the people. Fortunately, the holy king of Cangming cares about the common people and the country, and personally He led more than [-] armored soldiers out of the Holy Land and went south to help Sheji. He used the power of Jiuyou to wipe out the rebels. The Holy King of Cangming officially entered the dynasty with his army of hundreds of victors. From now on, the world will be restored to justice, and a prosperous era of benevolence can be expected. At this time, everything will happen On the occasion of renewing and grandiose plans, monks of our generation should naturally gather together, and this young man must also be a man of lofty ideals, so he will naturally go to welcome Saint King Cangming and do his part for the upcoming great governance of the world."

'Brat! '

When Lu Chen heard half of it, he couldn't help but give him a thumbs up secretly, thinking:

'As expected of a political person, he can actually describe the seller's quest for glory in such an upright and just manner. It is indeed not unreasonable for this guy to be able to retain his position as a third-rank official during the reign of the Queen Mother~'

Nowadays, every courtier knows that the Queen Mother's gang has been completely defeated. If nothing unexpected happens, the Holy King Cangming will step through the Huangji Gate in two hours at most and take the step to reach the sky.

But even so, even for just a moment, as long as the empress is still sitting on the dragon throne, she is still the emperor of Great Xia. As a senior official of the third rank of the imperial court, Wu Zongyun not only made false statements about things that have not yet been clearly concluded, but also made false statements in his words. Standing in the position of Holy King Cangming and covering him with a coat of justice in advance, is this not a seller seeking glory?

A look of disdain flashed across Xiao Yun's face.

She ignored Wu Zongyun, but looked at Lu Chen, frowned slightly, and then sighed inexplicably.

"Huaiyu, are you going to be like those disloyal and unjust people and go to the Huangji Sect to become a despised and flattering person?"

Hearing this, Wu Zongyun's face suddenly darkened.

"We are doing this in compliance with the destiny of heaven, and we are welcoming the legendary Holy King, so that the common people can be protected from the suffering of wars in troubled times. How can we say that we are disloyal and unjust?"

"Wu Shilang." Xiao Yun's frown deepened. She glanced at Wu Zongyun coldly and said, "Didn't your master teach you not to interrupt hastily when others are talking, otherwise you will appear to be very arrogant?" Uneducated."

Wu Zongyun's eyes widened, and then he threw his hands away: "I just can't bear to see Xiao Shangshu misdirecting someone's future."

"Lu Geizhi is majestic and has an extraordinary bearing. He is no longer a mediocre person at first glance. He will definitely have a bright future in the future. How can such a talented person be buried? Xiao Shangshu, it's all you need to be noble. As long as you don't use the edge of a knife at each other and lead honestly, I'm sick at home, and with the magnanimity of Saint King Cangming, I'm sure he won't care about you, but why should you stop those who are determined to pursue their future?"

In fact, he didn't value Lu Chen, but valued something that Lu Chen had in him.

For example, Lu Chen had so adamantly confronted the Holy King Cangming head-on.

If someone could make him "abandon darkness and turn to light", it would be a big improvement for the Holy King's prestige.

Even such a stubborn diehard was surrendered by the Holy King, which shows that the Holy King is indeed the one who is popular and qualified to become the lord of the world.

And the person who advised Lu Chen to "abandon the darkness and turn to the light" might be able to leave an excellent impression on His Royal Highness, the Holy King, who was about to rule the world.

Hearing what Wu Zhongyun said, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

If this guy wants to find someone to kill him, just say it. How can he come up with so much bullshit?

Xiao Yun snorted coldly, "Mr. Wu knows the truth, so don't deceive yourself and others like this."

"People who don't understand current affairs are really unreasonable."

Wu Zongyun put his hands behind his hands again, no longer looking at Xiao Yun, but turned around and said to Lu Chen: "Lu, please don't waste your time here and delay your future. I just happened to go to Huangji Gate from this way, you and me. Come along, let’s go together.”

Xiao Yun ignored him and then said to Lu Chen:

"Huaiyu, go back. Although the move of Saint King Cangming into the capital is irreversible, as Shenghe court officials, even if we do not do the unforgivable things for the sake of our clan and relatives, we cannot destroy the conscience in our hearts. .”

After she expressed her attitude bluntly, she said no more. She just looked quietly at the man in front of her who dared to confront the Empress Dowager Zhao and stood up to defend the majesty of the empress when the Holy King of Cangming was at the height of her power. Look at him. What choices will be made at this time of great change?

Should we stick to our past beliefs, or should we adapt to the current situation and go with the flow?

Should she go north, like Wang Zhi and other court officials who can't wait to beg for mercy, and go to Huangjimen to welcome the Holy King Cangming into Luojing? Or should she turn around and return to the Xicheng mansion on the original road to the west, as she hoped, neither going Don't do the things you shouldn't do, don't follow the crowd, just let it happen.

The latter is also the choice of quite a few courtiers.

Under the gaze of the two people, Lu Chen shook his head, then cupped his hands to Wu Zongyun, and said in a neither humble nor overbearing tone:

"Shilang Wu misunderstood..."