Even though Ye Tinglan and Long Qinghuang rarely confronted each other directly, they could certainly be considered archenemies. For a long time, each considered the other their primary rival, and this holds true even now.

Just as one must refer to Ye Tinglan as “Sir” in front of Long Qinghuang, otherwise the Dragon Empress would surely erupt, similarly, one must never easily acknowledge that relationship in front of Ye Tinglan. Otherwise, the soft and sweet Sir would immediately change expression.

Before mediating their conflict, Lu Xingzhou naturally couldn’t tell the truth: “The Dragon Empress values my abilities; it’s… a discovery of talent, you could say.”

Even with just that much, Ye Tinglan looked a bit displeased.

This time, Lu Xingzhou didn’t back down. Instead, he continued to speak up for Long Qinghuang: “The Dragon Empress is magnanimous and didn’t restrict me; instead, she let me return, for which I am grateful. If comparing the rulers of two nations, Long Qinghuang absolutely surpasses Gu Zhanting by a mile.”

Ye Tinglan’s beautiful eyes gazed at him for a while, then she suddenly smiled: “The chaos in the demon realm, it was indeed you helping Long Qinghuang.”

Lu Xingzhou candidly replied, “Yes.”

“In that case, Long Qinghuang is quite something. To know how useful you are, yet still be willing to let you go. Based on my previous understanding of her, she would usually kill enemy talents who couldn’t be used.”

“Gu Zhanting might, but Long Qinghuang truly might not, even with others,” Lu Xingzhou suddenly said. “My perception of Long Qinghuang has been overturned step by step. Would you like to hear about it?”

“Hmm… tell me.”

“The first overturn was discovering that her inner palace had virtually no one, only a dozen or so palace maids. Did this not overturn the impression that the Dragon Empress loved treasures and indulged in extravagance?”

Ye Tinglan was somewhat astonished: “It certainly does. Everyone thought she loved treasures and must be luxurious.”

“Though she loves treasures, she doesn’t blindly pursue them. Furthermore, this also proves one thing: she looks down on creatures like eunuchs…”

Ye Tinglan chuckled: “Hmm, go on.”

“The second overturn was discovering that humans lived very well in Yaojing. Hmm, perhaps you already knew this? For me, it was indeed very disruptive.”

Ye Tinglan nodded: “Although I knew it originally, I also thought it was just a pretense.”

“The third overturn was that after she discovered dozens of women in the temple, she actually had them ride on her back to bring them back to Yaojing.”

Ye Tinglan had been casually leaning into his shoulder, but upon hearing this, she suddenly propped herself up and looked at him in extreme astonishment.

“It wasn’t because she didn’t care about hierarchy or equality… in fact, she has an extremely serious sense of self-importance, and although she doesn’t express it, she is very proud of her noble bloodline. At the time, it was actually due to urgent circumstances, there was no other way to take so many people at once… but this at least proves that she is not bothered by trivialities and only cares about practical results. Does this overturn the previous perception of her prioritizing face above all else?”

Ye Tinglan’s expression became solemn. Lu Xingzhou’s kind words didn’t reduce her hostility towards Long Qinghuang much; instead, it made her feel that this enemy was much harder to deal with than expected.

Because the supposed weaknesses in the Dragon Empress’s character were actually all non-existent, a complete reversal.

Lu Xingzhou said, “I used the method of ‘observing qi’ that you taught me to see the dragon qi permeating Yaojing. Even if the demonic monks of Sacred Mountain had succeeded in their plot and the dragon’s脉 was cut off, Long Qinghuang’s own qi became even stronger; it was a sign of whale-like engulfment. In contrast, Daqian…”

He didn’t continue speaking here, and Ye Tinglan also fell silent.

They had been flirting earlier about Daqian’s qi being on the verge of exhaustion; though the tone was playful, it wasn’t baseless.

Regarding Daqian’s qi, one didn’t even need to understand the art of ‘observing qi’; any informed person could discern the problems from the situation alone. The things Gu Zhanting was doing were utterly baffling, and he was gradually alienating himself from the immensely important Tianyao Sacred Land. Compared to the diligent Long Qinghuang, even though she had just experienced internal strife, the two were not of the same caliber.

Long Qinghuang said she would lead her army south within a few years, and her chances of success were indeed not low.

The topic naturally transitioned from Long Qinghuang to Daqian. Lu Xingzhou directly asked, “When I arrived, were you observing the stars and divining?”

“Mm.”

“What did you divine?”

Ye Tinglan stopped thinking about Long Qinghuang, sighed, and leaned into his arms: “An ominous hexagram, extremely ominous.”

“No wonder the atmosphere was so chilling when I first saw you,” Lu Xingzhou said, intrigued. “What was the hexagram?”

“Di Lei Fu, Shang Liu.”

Ye Tinglan deliberately didn’t state the hexagram’s interpretation, a small test of the basics she had once taught Lu Xingzhou.

Lu Xingzhou didn’t disappoint her and quickly said, “Mi Fu, ominous, with calamity and misfortune. If an army is used, there will eventually be a great defeat, because the ruler of that nation is ill-omened, to the extent that for ten years there will be no successful campaign. Why does this sound like you were divining the previous battle?”

Ye Tinglan was quite pleased that he still remembered what she had taught him, then shook her head: “No need to relate it to specific events, or the ‘ten years’… This hexagram, I divined it for the nation’s destiny.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “The misfortune of Mi Fu is to go against the path of a ruler…”

“Exactly. ‘Fu’ means to conform to the Dao; being ‘lost’ in ‘Fu’ means going against the Dao, and its ominous nature is thus known.” Ye Tinglan sighed, “When a gentleman loses his way, he later conforms to the norm and eventually finds joy—this is to lose one’s way and return. But he knows his mistake and continues to err, going against the path of a ruler.”

Lu Xingzhou frowned. From this hexagram, it seemed that some of the things Gu Zhanting was suspected of plotting in the demon realm were about to explode, and it might be happening soon.

Ye Tinglan whispered, “You can solve problems for the demon realm; can you give some thought to Daqian?—I know you want to say I’m not a person of Daqian, so why care… but what about the common people?”

Lu Xingzhou said, “The problem now is that we don’t know what he’s planning; we only have some scraps, making it difficult to judge. Also, in the broad scope of Daqian, it’s still a stable and prosperous nation. The people still recognize the Gu family imperial house, the legitimacy is very stable, and all the immortal sects heed their commands. If we mess up, we might become the rebellious villains with ulterior motives.”

“Yes, so it’s very troublesome. Even purely from a strength perspective, the imperial family isn’t that simple,” Ye Tinglan said. “Do you have any entry points?”

Lu Xingzhou thought for a long time, then suddenly smiled: “The Huo family knows a lot about the Emperor’s affairs. I’ll beat around the bush first and see what I can uncover.”

Ye Tinglan was amused by this: “So it’s good for both public and private interests, right?”

“No,” Lu Xingzhou leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. “If I didn’t hate to see you frowning, I honestly wouldn’t bother with Daqian. My own revenge is personal, and for you is also personal; there’s nothing public about it.”

Ye Tinglan looked at him with sparkling eyes: “With Shen Tang around, you still wouldn’t care about Daqian?”

“Tangtang initially just wanted to stay away from her family’s royal conflicts. It was I who made her stand up and contend. In the worst case, she would just be the head of a sect, what would the affairs of the world have to do with her? This was her original idea. If things go well… it would likely be about rebuilding the country, not some royal succession struggle.”

“So you’ve never viewed Daqian and Shen Tang as one entity, which is why you told me to jump out of Daqian, instead of trying to make me help her as well.”

“Mm. From the beginning, I never thought about things like succession or vying for the throne. I don’t even know what Prince Jin and Prince Qi are thinking; their father could live for at least several hundred more years by conventional standards, so what are they bothering about? Oh, the Huangji Jingshi Jing isn’t great for longevity, right? Even so, it’s still two or three hundred years, isn’t it? If I were like them, making helping Tangtang seize the throne a primary goal, then I’d truly be as brainless as them. Of course, several preparations still need to be made, and helping Tangtang gain some political capital is necessary, such as designing this assistance for her… even if it’s about rebuilding the country later, this will be meaningful.”

Ye Tinglan suddenly flared up in anger, pinching the soft flesh at his waist: “And here I thought it was because you considered me more than you considered her!”

“What the hell?” Lu Xingzhou never expected that Gu Zhanting’s thunder hadn’t exploded yet, but his own had first… But he had never said such a thing, what did it have to do with him if Sir imagined it this way…

When it comes to confident imagination, you sisters are indeed related.

And like the narcissistic Dragon Empress, they are worthy of being lifelong enemies; how similar they are in some aspects!

“Get out, you’re not allowed to touch me for three days!” The Grand Imperial Advisor flew into a rage and kicked the County Lord she had summoned out of the Stargazing Platform.

The Taoist priests outside saw Lu Xingzhou emerge looking disheveled, each averting their gaze.

This man had stayed inside with the Grand Imperial Advisor for over an hour, and now his clothes were disheveled.

Of course, one could also say he was beaten to this state by the Grand Imperial Advisor; believe whichever you prefer…

“Ahem, County Lord, a moment.”

Lu Xingzhou turned around and saw Su Yuan: “Uh, Old Su, you’re still here? What should I call you now?”

“Vice Grand Imperial Advisor.” Su Yuan stroked his beard and smiled: “Actually, I always was; before, it was just ‘acting’ Grand Imperial Advisor, temporarily serving as deputy.”

Lu Xingzhou said, “It seems there wasn’t a Vice Grand Imperial Advisor position earlier?”

“That is certainly thanks to the County Lord,” Su Yuan said with a beaming smile. “Previously, the Sacred Lord personally participated in worldly affairs, making her exhausted. Now, she only presides over cultivation, and all secular matters have been entrusted to me.”

That could indeed be counted as Lu Xingzhou’s achievement. Once Ye Tinglan’s perspective broadened, Daqian’s affairs were just that; she could control them from behind the scenes, and personally getting involved was truly unnecessary.

Invisibly, this amounted to ceding a major position to Su Yuan, so Su Yuan’s attitude towards Lu Xingzhou was naturally beyond reproach.

“The Sacred Lord truly favors the County Lord immensely, having people watch for your dismissal from court to call for you, practically impatient. Even just now, she specifically instructed this old man to ask if the County Lord needed any help.”

This Sir, while chasing someone out the door, sent someone to ask if they needed help.

Lu Xingzhou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Not for now, but if I need anything, I won’t be polite.”

Su Yuan lowered his voice: “The Sacred Lord said that if the County Lord wants to deal with the Huo family, there’s no need to be as constrained as before; go all out. Even if you poke a hole in the sky, she will back you up.”

Lu Xingzhou chuckled: “Sir doesn’t seem like someone who would say that. Did you embellish it?”

Su Yuan shook his head: “Her exact words. She also said, ‘Lu Xingzhou went out of his way to cause a ruckus on the demon race’s Sacred Mountain, and that dragoness could back him up and cover for him; she deserved that gain… How could I, Ye Tinglan, be inferior to her!'”

Lu Xingzhou’s eyes widened.

So Ye Tinglan knew about this… no, how did she know?

His heart stirred at the thought, and he turned to see Anu holding a pig, slipping away from the corner.