Lu Xingzhou had yet to experience Pei Qingyan opening his main door to him, but he got a taste of it firsthand from Sheng Qingfeng.

Looking at Sheng Qingfeng, who greeted him with a beaming smile, Lu Xingzhou was puzzled.

Before, this father-in-law had clearly shown resentment towards his daughter and this yellow-haired fellow, especially after Guamei’s “filial piety” of taking sick leave for her father, which made his displeasure even more obvious.

He never thought he would be greeted with such a wide smile, his old face wrinkled like a chrysanthemum.

Anuo was immediately taken by Madam Sheng to play in the garden; Madam Sheng had always doted on Anuo.

Even after being led into the side hall for tea, Lu Xingzhou instinctively sat on only half of the chair, feeling that something was amiss. He cautiously asked, “Does Chief Sheng have any instructions?”

Sheng Qingfeng glanced at him, suppressing his annoyance with the yellow-haired fellow, but still keeping a smile on his face: “My dear nephew, what brings you back to the capital this time?”

“Look at Chief Sheng’s words, I am still a student of the Dan Academy.”

“Stop hiding it from me.” Sheng Qingfeng lowered his voice: “Others may not know who your mentor, Madam Ye, is, but if I, the dignified Chief of Zhenmosi, didn’t know, I might as well retire and go back to my hometown!”

Lu Xingzhou thought to himself, “You didn’t know before either. Most likely, after the Zhenmosi learned of the naval battle, you deduced that Madam Ye was the Imperial Advisor from Anuo and my appearance there representing the Tianyao Holy Land.”

And this could only be a guess; his answer was the concrete evidence Sheng Qingfeng wanted.

Lu Xingzhou sat up straight, slowly sipping his tea: “Who else could Madam Ye be? She’s just a First-Grade Alchemist from a reclusive sect.”

“You damn…” Sheng Qingfeng couldn’t help but curse, then sneered: “Think carefully, the treatment I give to the Imperial Advisor’s disciple and the disciple of a reclusive sect’s alchemist is not the same.”

Lu Xingzhou tentatively asked: “Then… should I go out first, and then come in through the side door?”

The servants standing by couldn’t help but turn their heads to stifle their laughter. Sheng Qingfeng’s face turned several shades, and after a long moment, he sneered: “I can let you in through a dog hole.”

“Why go to such extremes, Chief Sheng?” Lu Xingzhou took the initiative to pick up the teapot and refill his cup, smiling apologetically: “Even if I’m not the Imperial Advisor’s disciple, I’m still a proper student of the Dan Academy. How can Chief Sheng insult me so casually?”

Sheng Qingfeng squinted at him pouring the tea, and waited until he finished before slowly picking up his teacup and taking a sip: “If you still appear in the capital only as a student of the Dan Academy, then just like a few months ago, you won’t be able to do anything.”

“That’s different. I can become sworn brothers with Mr. Su Yuan, the acting Imperial Advisor.”

“Pfft…” Sheng Qingfeng spat out all his tea.

“Old Sheng…” Lu Xingzhou reached out and patted his back: “Yuan Yao and I are buddies. Once I become sworn brothers with the Imperial Advisor, Yuan Yao will also be the Imperial Advisor’s brother, raising Chief Sheng’s status…”

“Status my ass.” Sheng Qingfeng took several breaths, batting away his hand: “You still want me to pick sides? I’m not getting involved!”

“In that case, what does Chief Sheng want from me?”

“I feel you’re going to cause trouble, so I’m giving you an early warning. Shouldn’t I?”

“You can rest assured then.” Lu Xingzhou flashed a toothy grin: “I’m a good citizen.”

“A good citizen who trespassed into Yanyu Lou and knocked out Huo Heng’s teeth in front of Prince Jin?”

Lu Xingzhou said: “Chief, rest assured, such blatant acts of violence will not happen again—”

“You said that?”

“I said that.”

Sheng Qingfeng’s expression improved slightly, and he lowered his voice again: “It’s not that I’m pressuring you, but I truly don’t want you to be caught with a handle over such matters. With your appearance in the East Sea, I’m not the only one who can guess who Madam Ye is… Although it’s not widely known, those at a certain level all know.”

“Mm…”

“So now His Majesty’s attitude towards you is no longer that of a promising young talent… No matter how close you are to the Imperial Advisor, whether you are a common apprentice, an inner disciple, or even more intimate… In short, you have effectively become a political link between Princess Chaohuang and the Imperial Advisor. Do you understand this concept?”

“Mm, I know.”

“So now, your actions can no longer be as uninhibited as before. Back then, doing something unconventional would only elicit a laugh, with people saying the prodigious youth was full of youthful vigor, and they were even happy to see the Huo family suffer a bit. Now? His Majesty dares not casually touch the Imperial Advisor’s people, but if there’s a serious handle, and you break the law, then he’ll have every right to act. He’s waiting for you to expose a weakness.”

Lu Xingzhou continued to honestly refill his tea: “Understood.”

“Of course, it’s not as if your situation is worse than before,” Sheng Qingfeng said. “As long as you stand on solid ground, let alone knocking out Huo Heng’s teeth, even if you actually killed him, His Majesty couldn’t do anything to you, no matter how angry he was. You wouldn’t have dared to kill back then… Now, as long as you’re in the right, someone will naturally argue for you.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled: “It still seems not enough… If one day, even when I’m in the wrong, someone still argues for me, then that would be just about right.”

“You wish… Princess Chaohuang hasn’t ascended the throne yet. Even if she takes that position, *hmph hmph*, be careful of the bird-hunting bow. It might be her who wants your life, whether you’re in the right or not.”

“…You’re really trying to sow discord.”

Sheng Qingfeng stopped speaking.

If you break up with Shen Tang, I’ll make Yuan Yao marry you right here and now.

Political alignment means nothing compared to my daughter’s happiness.

But not now. Get as far away as you can.

Besides, there are rumors that you are the Imperial Advisor’s male favorite, though everyone believes the Imperial Advisor isn’t that kind of person… Anyway, this man attracts too much attention, and I don’t know what my daughter sees in him.

Forget it, she herself is a butterfly.

Sheng Qingfeng sighed wearily: “I believe you have your own sense of propriety… All right, private matters aside, let’s talk about public affairs. Your timing for returning to the capital is so precise, it must be because of the demon tribe massing troops in the northern border, right?”

“Yes.”

“Ten years ago, the Great Qian defeated the demon tribe because of the sincere cooperation between His Majesty and the Imperial Advisor. The Imperial Advisor’s successful attack on the demon holy mountain was what turned the tide of the main battlefield. If the Tianyao Holy Land hadn’t fully intervened, the Great Qian alone would never have been able to compete with the demon tribe; for a thousand years, it had always been on the defensive.”

Lu Xingzhou said: “From what I’ve seen this time, it seems that there were probably some means to hold back the sea demons back then, otherwise it wouldn’t have been so easy to fight.”

“Exactly, and the Tianyao Holy Land also made a great contribution by contacting various immortal sects in the sea to suppress the sea demons.”

“I see.”

“Therefore, the Imperial Advisor’s prestige didn’t come from just one battle, but from many aspects. She is likely the most influential Imperial Advisor in the history of the Great Qian,” Sheng Qingfeng said. “Even so, saying that the demon tribe was severely weakened is merely propaganda from the Great Qian to glorify itself. In reality, on the main battlefield, the Demon Emperor and His Majesty merely suffered mutual losses and retreated their respective troops. The demon tribe’s losses were not significant… And, the Demon Emperor’s injuries were much lighter than His Majesty’s.”