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

"Huaiyu, long time no see."

As soon as Lu Chen arrived in the living room, Gu Simiao, who was wearing casual clothes, stood up and greeted Lu Chen with a smile.

Lu Chen responded in a formal manner.

"haven't seen you for a long time."

The two exchanged pleasantries and then took their seats.

Gu Simiao habitually brushed her silver-white hair beside her ears, and before Lu Chen asked why she came, she took the initiative and said, "I heard that Huaiyu, you have been feeling unwell recently, and His Majesty has ordered that you are not allowed to go to court. Do you have to take care of your health these days to handle official duties?"

Lu Chen's face darkened slightly.

He felt a little speechless when he said this.

As a person in a superior position, it stands to reason that she should want the people below her to work desperately for her. However, the empress was lucky enough to take the initiative to give him a holiday, and even issued a formal decree.

This nonsense requires an imperial edict. Is an imperial edict so worthless?

Shaking his head, Lu Chen said helplessly: "I'm really fine, Your Majesty is making a fuss out of a molehill."

Gu Simiao smiled.

"Yeah, that's good."

Lu Chen asked curiously: "Miss Gu, when did you come back?"

"just came back."

Gu Simiao said softly, as if she knew what Lu Chen really wanted to ask, and she added: "His Majesty seems to have noticed that there is an undercurrent in the capital recently, so he specially ordered me to come back to strengthen the defense of the capital. In the past few months, I guess they will all be in the capital."

Hearing this, Lu Chen couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

Strengthen the defense of Beijing and China? undercurrent?

After a moment, he reacted and frowned at the same time.

It seems that although the Empress has twitches from time to time and likes to make fuss out of molehills, she still has an extremely keen sense of crisis and is never ambiguous in the general direction.

What he could detect, the Empress could obviously detect as well.

As expected of a fierce man who could bear the humiliation and bear the burden under the nose of Queen Mother Zhao and then make a comeback, he really has something.

However, in this case... it will be difficult to handle. Even Gu Simiao has been transferred back. There are at least two Guiyi Realm strongmen in the capital to protect them. With the Xuanwu Guards at their backs and the Forbidden Army waiting for them, who is hiding in the dark? Can a "good teammate" like him still have a chance to threaten him?

As soon as he thought about this, Lu Chen suddenly felt a little depressed.

I didn't expect the empress to move so quickly. She really didn't give her any chance.

In desperation, his tone became a little weak.

"I see, you came here right after you entered the palace and met His Majesty..."

However, Gu Simiao shook her head.

"No, I haven't entered the palace yet."

"Um?"

Lu Chen was a little stunned.

What the hell? He leads an army alone, and is also the majestic commander of the imperial army. General Shenwu is the leader of the military officials in the world. Isn't the first thing he does when he returns to Beijing after two months of absence to see the emperor?

Aren't you afraid that the Empress will be suspicious of you?

He, Lu Chen, was not afraid of this, nor was he afraid of anyone gossiping. Instead, he hoped that the Empress would be suspicious. After all, he had a system.

But Gu Simiao doesn’t have a system, right?

"Miss Gu, this... it would be better for you to go to the palace to see His Majesty first..."

Although she really wanted to lower the favorability of the empress, Gu Simiao treated him with sincerity and spoke for him many times in court. No matter how outrageous her advice was, as long as she was here, she would stand firm for him. Here, even if it has the opposite effect on his purpose, this intention cannot be ignored.

Favors are real.

He is not afraid of the enemy's targeting and malice, but he is afraid of the help and kindness of others.

So no matter what he does, he still has to fulfill his obligation to be a friend.

Even though Gu Simiao has proven her loyalty in the matter of Queen Mother Zhao, it is better for the monarch and his ministers to pay attention to things that should be paid attention to.

"Huaiyu, are you worried about me?"

Gu Simiao said with a slight smile, her eyes curved into crescent moons, quite delicate and charming, and she was completely different from her usual coldness.

Of course, Lu Chen was the only one who could see her look like this.

Lu Chen didn't feel much about this. After all, a peerless person who could break through to the Guiyi Realm in his early twenties must be a cultivator and devoted to the immortal way. There was no need to speculate on her thoughts with unnecessary fantasies.

Hearing what Gu Simiao said, he responded naturally: "As a friend, I can't just watch you make mistakes. Moreover, although Your Majesty is magnanimous and never cares about small things, she is the master of the world after all. We all As ministers, you still have to be more conscious, so as not to be unclear about your duties and sow hidden troubles."

Hearing this, especially when Lu Chen deliberately mentioned the word "friend", the smile on Gu Simiao's face faded a little.

Magnanimity and so on... It is estimated that only Lu Chen in the whole court thinks so. After all, the empress' generosity depends on people.

If she was so generous, why couldn't she return to Beijing for two months?

"Do not worry."

She raised her upper body slightly and leaned on the back of the chair in a more comfortable position, making the part in front of her body that was still very conspicuous under the loose casual clothes more prominent.

"I came back ahead of schedule. There are still several days left before the date of return to Beijing specified in the imperial edict."

As soon as these words came out, Lu Chen couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

This is not a matter of advance or not, right?

Besides, why did you come back so many days early?

At this time, Gu Simiao said again: "By the way, Huaiyu, you are not going to court these days, nor are you going to the ministry to handle official duties. Do you have any plans or plans?"

Lu Chen thought for a moment, and then shook his head after a moment.

"Not yet, but if nothing happens, I will probably retreat at home in the next few days."

He was used to being busy, and he felt a little awkward when he was suddenly free.

He was busy at the beginning just to die from overwork. After all, dying on the job can be regarded as death in the line of duty. However, the empress never gave him this opportunity, and he was sent home to recuperate when he felt slightly unwell.

Later, I don’t know when he started to become more and more dedicated to political affairs. When he was busy, he only thought about how to get things done. During this period, he did not even think about systems, dismissal from office, and promotion to immortality.

Then I became a real workaholic.

Being idle like this made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

Maybe this is the so-called cow life.

Of course, it would be nice if that thing was as strong as an ox.

"If Huaiyu you have no plans."

An imperceptible look of anticipation quietly flashed across Gu Simiao's pretty face.

"Would you like to go to the fiefdom in Xingping County together?"

"Going to the fief?"

Lu Chen was a little confused.

"What are you doing there?"

Since the official selection of the fiefdom and the title of Xingping County Duke three quarters ago, Lu Chen has hardly been to the fiefdom. Luo Xiaoyu, the general manager, has always been responsible for the management and management of the fiefdom.

To be honest, his father-in-law didn't care about the fiefdom at all.

After all, Xingping County has always been the most prosperous county in Shuntian Prefecture. The surrounding land is not only extremely fertile, but also located in a strategic location. It is much better than Taihe County where Gu Simiao had not yet developed coal and cement. times.

The foundation is so good, and at the same time, there have been no troubles in Xingping County. Although the people there are still in poverty, as long as they have the strength and are willing to work hard, there is basically no problem in supporting their families.

In this situation, Lu Chen naturally had to focus his limited energy on the areas that the court most urgently needed to deal with.

As for the income from the fiefdom? He didn't even ask. When Luo Xiaoyu talked about it, he just responded casually.

Not to mention the fiefdom system. The various dazzling but amazingly effective decrees in Taihe County were formulated by him himself and were directly applied to his fiefdom. Therefore, even if he did not interfere, the fiefdom was still prospering.

So there is no need to care anymore.

Gu Simiao said calmly: "I heard that the spiritual energy over there has become quite strong for some reason recently, and some places have even formed spiritual springs. Practicing nearby has the effect of calming the mind and deepening the spiritual platform, which is of great benefit to practice. It is most suitable for meditation, and taking a long trip and enjoying the scenery along the way can also effectively relieve fatigue. While you are free now, why not go there to relax?"

As she spoke, she seemed to suddenly think of something, and continued: "By the way, our two fiefdoms still have some business dealings. It's been almost a year now. It's just a good time to stop by to take a look at the situation and check the accounts."

Hearing this, Lu Chen looked at her in surprise.

"You still care about this?"

"certainly."

Gu Simiao said very matter-of-factly: "As the saying goes, a practitioner is nothing more than a lover of wealth and law. One can be missing but the other is indispensable. Naturally, I will care about money matters. Besides, it happens to be on the way, so why not do it?" ?”

"I see."

Lu Chen nodded slightly, agreeing with Gu Simiao's statement.

After all, when it comes to spiritual practice, this woman deserves to be regarded as one of the most knowledgeable and true authorities. Since she said so, it should be true.

"Okay, let's go over there to relax. There's nothing to do anyway."

Lu Chen complained helplessly and then agreed.

Seeing him agree, a bright smile appeared on Gu Simiao's face again.

Afterwards, the two of them made some preparations. Especially since Lu Chen, a well-known official, needed to disguise himself to avoid being recognized halfway, it was a bit embarrassing to have a good private interview in disguise be interrupted like this.

After getting ready, the two of them were about to get up and leave Lu Mansion when Luo Xiaoyu hurried over.

"Cousin, Sister Chai is here."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen just said "Oh" and asked Luo Xiaoyu to lead him over.

However, after Gu Simiao heard about Chai Hongyu, her expression gradually became a little subtle.

But now that Lu Chen was preparing to meet the guests, she didn't urge him or avoid him. She didn't even say a word of complaint or show a dissatisfied expression. She just sat quietly under Lu Chen, looking like the hostess here. Look towards the entrance with ease.

Soon, Chai Hongyu walked in leisurely under the leadership of Luo Xiaoyu.

When she saw Gu Simiao, she couldn't help but be startled, as if she didn't expect that Gu Simiao would be here.

Although she was not very familiar with Gu Simiao, a peerless powerhouse who had been famous for a long time and was also in the Guiyi Realm, she still knew about it. However, like Lu Chen, she did not expect her to come back suddenly.

But she didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, her duty was to protect Lu Chen's safety. There was no need to think too much about other things.

So she simply bowed to Gu Simiao, and then turned her attention to Lu Chen.

"Mr. Governor, what are your plans today?"

Lu Chen said bluntly: "Yes, I will go to the fiefdom in Xing'an County with Miss Gu later. Miss Chai asked me, is there something wrong?"

Hearing this, Chai Hongyu frowned inexplicably.

"It's nothing."

She glanced at Gu Simiao, who was enjoying tea leisurely, and then said, "I'm just afraid, Mr. Governor, that you will be uncomfortable if you suddenly have some leisure time. I want to invite you to go out for a walk together to change your mood."

As she spoke, she slowed down her speech slightly.

"Since you have made arrangements, Mr. Governor, let's forget it."

Hearing what Chai Hongyu said, Lu Chen didn't say anything more and prepared to send her away.

However, at this moment, Chai Hongyu suddenly gritted her teeth and said solemnly: "However, for the sake of your safety, Lord Governor, I will go with you."

"Thank you Miss Chai for your kindness."

These words were not answered by Lu Chen, but by Gu Simiao, who had been sitting leisurely aside.

"However, although I am not talented, I do have some strength in the martial arts. I can protect myself from danger, so I won't bother Miss Chai."

With such an obvious rejection, and a trace of resistance that Lu Chen couldn't understand, Chai Hongyu didn't flinch at all, even though she knew that she had just broken through to the Guiyi realm and was not qualified to question Gu Simiao's strength. There are gaps between realms, too.

"If you are not afraid of ten thousand, you are afraid of the worst. Now the Governor is responsible for the world and is responsible for the welfare of all people. For the stability of the court and the future of the people of the world, even if there is the slightest threat, I have the obligation to kill it and avoid everything. risk."

Chai Hongyu took a deep breath.

"So, it's nothing to worry about. This is my duty."

These words were awe-inspiring, but Gu Simiao didn't take it. She still smiled and insisted on rejecting Chai Hongyu's "good intention", threatening that under Lu Chen's governance in Gyeonggi, bandits would disappear and the people would be disloyal. In addition, under her command, The Forbidden Army continues to strengthen its defense, and now there are basically no Zhili people who can threaten Lu Chen's safety under her nose.

Chai Hongyu was not to be outdone, and constantly strived to accompany the two of them to ensure Lu Chen's safety.

In the end, the two of them couldn't argue and looked at Lu Chen almost at the same time.

Being looked at by them like this, Lu Chen always felt like a thorn in his back.

"Huaiyu, what do you think?"

Gu Simiao spoke first.

I don’t want to see it!

Lu Chen curled his lips secretly, but still pretended to be thinking about something, thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Miss Chai, you should stay in the capital."

Seeing that Lu Chen had clearly chosen to side with Gu Simiao, Chai Hongyu suddenly frowned.

"Mr. Governor, this"

She subconsciously wanted to refuse, but before she could finish speaking, Lu Chen explained his reason: "Chai Hongniang, I know you also want to take advantage of this opportunity to go out and relax, but Liangyu just left Beijing not long ago. At work, Your Majesty has something to say. There is an undercurrent surging in the capital. It doesn't matter what happens to me. However, His Majesty's body of gold cannot tolerate any mistakes. Therefore, there must be no peerless warriors in the capital who can frighten Xiaoxiao. Therefore, I also invite Chai. Girl, please be patient for a while. When I have some free time in the future, I will go out with you to play with you, Miss Chai."

Hearing this, although Chai Hongyu was a little unwilling, she still nodded and agreed. (End of chapter)