Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 325 Sharp Edges (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Lu Xingzhou hadn't yet gotten Pei Qingyan to open her front door wide enough, but he got to experience it first with Sheng Qingfeng.

Looking at Sheng Qingfeng, who came out with a big smile, Lu Xingzhou was completely confused.

Previously, it was obvious that the father-in-law harbored resentment towards his daughter and the blond-haired man, especially after the daughter took sick leave from her father, which made his resentment even more pronounced.

I never imagined I'd be greeted with such a smile, my old face as red as a chrysanthemum.

A'Nuo was even taken away by Madam Sheng to play in the garden. Madam Sheng had always liked A'Nuo.

Even after being ushered into the side hall and served tea, Lu Xingzhou subconsciously sat on only half of the chair, sensing something was amiss. He cautiously asked, "What are your orders, Head Master?"

Sheng Qingfeng glanced at him, suppressing his anger towards Huang Mao, and still smiled: "Nephew, what brings you back to the capital this time?"

"Look at what you're saying, Chief. I'm still a student of the Dan Academy."

"Don't try to hide it from me." Sheng Qingfeng lowered his voice: "Others may not know who your mentor, Madam Ye, is, but if I, the dignified head of the Demon Suppression Division, don't know, I might as well retire and go home!"

Lu Xingzhou thought to himself, "You didn't know before. It's probably because the Demon Suppression Division learned about the battle at sea that you guessed that Madam Ye was the Imperial Preceptor from the fact that I and A Nuo were there representing the Tianyao Holy Land."

But this can only be speculation; his own answer is the concrete evidence he wants.

Lu Xingzhou sat up straight and leisurely sipped his tea: "Who else could Madam Ye be? She's just a first-grade alchemist from a reclusive sect."

"You son of a bitch..." Sheng Qingfeng couldn't help but swear, then sneered: "Have you thought this through? The treatment of the Imperial Preceptor's disciple and the disciple of the alchemist from the hidden sect is not the same here."

Lu Xingzhou tried asking, "Then... shall I go out first and then come in through the side door?"

The servants standing nearby couldn't help but turn away to stifle their laughter. Sheng Qingfeng's face turned all sorts of colors, and after a long while, he sneered, "I can give you a dog hole to come in through."

"Why go to such lengths, Headmaster?" Lu Xingzhou took the initiative and poured him a cup of tea, smiling apologetically, "Even if I am not a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor, I am still a legitimate student of the Alchemy Academy. How could you humiliate me so casually, Headmaster?"

Sheng Qingfeng glanced at him as he poured tea, and only after he finished did he slowly pick up the teacup and take a sip: "If you still only appear in the capital as a student of Dan Academy, then just like a few months ago, you can't do anything."

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

"Pfft..." Sheng Qingfeng spat out a mouthful of tea.

“Old Sheng…” Lu Xingzhou reached out and patted him on the 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. The prestige of the Chief Seat will increase…”

"Tall my ass." Sheng Qingfeng, panting heavily, slapped his hand away. "You want me to choose sides? I'm not taking your place!"

"If that's the case, what is the purpose of summoning me, Chief?"

"I sensed you were going to cause trouble, so shouldn't I give you a warning first?"

"Then you can rest assured." Lu Xingzhou grinned, revealing his teeth: "I am a law-abiding citizen."

"A law-abiding citizen who trespassed into the Misty Rain Pavilion and knocked out Huo Heng's teeth in front of the Prince of Jin?"

Lu Xingzhou said, "Don't worry, Chief, there will be no more such blatant acts of violence."

"you said?"

"I said."

Sheng Qingfeng's expression softened a bit, and he lowered his voice again: "It's not that I'm putting pressure on you, but I really don't want you to be found guilty because of this. With your appearance in the East China Sea, I'm not the only one who can guess who Madam Ye is... Although it's not exactly common knowledge, those at a certain level should know."

"Um……"

"So His Majesty's attitude towards you now is not the same as before when he viewed you as a young upstart... No matter how close you are to the Imperial Preceptor, whether you are just an ordinary apprentice or a close disciple, or even closer... in short, you have essentially become the political link between Princess Chaohuang and the Imperial Preceptor. Do you understand this concept?"

"Yeah. I know."

"So now you can't act as freely as you used to. Back then, if you did something unconventional, people would just laugh it off and say that the young genius was impetuous and they were happy to see the Huo family suffer a bit. But now? His Majesty doesn't dare to touch the Imperial Preceptor casually, but if you really have something to hide and have broken the law, then you can be perfectly justified. He's waiting for you to expose your weakness."

Lu Xingzhou obediently continued to pour him tea, saying, "I understand."

“Of course, it’s not that your situation is worse now than before,” Sheng Qingfeng said. “As long as you have a valid point, even if you knock Huo Heng’s teeth out, or even if you actually kill him, His Majesty can’t do anything to you no matter how angry he is. You didn’t dare to kill him back then… Now, as long as you are in the right, there will be people to defend you.”

Lu Xingzhou smiled and said, "It still doesn't seem enough... If one day even if I'm wrong, people will still defend me, then that would be about right."

"You wish... Princess Chaohuang hasn't ascended the throne yet. Even if she does, hmph, be careful she might be the one to take your life, whether she's right or wrong."

"...This is for your eye drops."

Sheng Qingfeng fell silent. "If you break up with Shen Tang, I'll make Yuan Yao marry you right now."

Political allegiance is irrelevant; nothing is more important than my daughter's happiness.

But not now, get as far away as you can.

There are also rumors that you are the Imperial Advisor's lover, although everyone believes that the Imperial Advisor is not that kind of person... Anyway, this man attracts many women, and I don't know what my daughter likes about him.

Never mind, she herself is a bee and a butterfly.

Sheng Qingfeng sighed wearily, "I believe you know what you're doing... Alright, now that we've finished discussing personal matters, let's talk about business. You timed your return to the capital so precisely this time, it must be because of the demon race's deployment of troops in the northern border, right?"

"Yes."

"Ten years ago, the Great Qian defeated the demon race because His Majesty and the Grand Preceptor cooperated closely. The Grand Preceptor's attack on the demon race's sacred mountain was a great success, which affected the outcome of the main battle. If the Tianyao Holy Land had not intervened with all its might, the Great Qian would not have been able to compete with the demon race on its own, and it has been on the defensive for thousands of years."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Based on what I've seen this time, it seems that they probably had some means to hold back the sea demons back then, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy to defeat them."

"That's right, the Tianyao Holy Land also deserves great credit for contacting various immortal sects in the sea to suppress the sea demons."

"I see."

"So the Grand Preceptor's prestige didn't come from just one battle, but from many aspects. She is probably the most influential Grand Preceptor in the history of the Great Qian Dynasty." Sheng Qingfeng said, "Even so, saying that the demon race was severely weakened is just the Great Qian Dynasty's propaganda to glorify itself. In reality, on the main battlefield, the Demon Emperor and His Majesty were only mutually injured and withdrew their troops. The demon race's losses were not very great... Well, the Demon Emperor's injuries were much lighter than His Majesty's."

"I know that. His Majesty's injuries have not yet healed, but the Demon Emperor is alive and kicking without any problems."

"...Of course you know, no one knows more about the rumors of the Demon Emperor and the Holy Lord fighting over a man than you."

Lu Xingzhou immediately changed the subject: "Then why did the demon race suffer repeated defeats afterward, giving the Huo family credit?"

Sheng Qingfeng glared at him, knowing that there was no point in talking nonsense about rumors, so he continued, "There are a few reasons. First, the demon race has indeed suffered some losses, and at least some strong people need to be sent to guard the sacred mountain. The demon emperor is injured and it is difficult for him to take charge of the overall situation. Second, the demon emperor's injury has also made the demon race unstable. As we all know, the demon race is not a single race."

"Um……"

“At that time, the demon race was indeed at its most chaotic and vulnerable. Now that things have returned to normal, it's most likely a result of the Demon Emperor's recovery and suppression of everything.” Sheng Qingfeng sighed, “Long Qinghuang is truly a king that the demon race sees only once in a thousand years. You must know that the Northern Territory itself has been fragmented for thousands of years, and it has never been this troublesome before…”

Lu Xingzhou asked curiously, "If there are only these two reasons, then why did the Chief Elder say there were several reasons?"

This guy deliberately made a "slip of the tongue" when it came to serious matters, testing the limits of his own sanity.

Sheng Qingfeng clearly understood, but too lazy to interrupt due to the seriousness of the matter, he simply pretended not to hear: "The third reason exists as private speculation, and cannot be spoken to others. However, if that person is you..."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "I have a strong suspicion that the Huo family has some kind of connection with the demon race, and that some of their military achievements were given to them by the demon race."

Lu Xingzhou narrowed his eyes.

"Your luck is strange, it can even reach the Demon Emperor directly, which is also the biggest reason why I came to find you..." Sheng Qingfeng said, "If the Huo family is still in charge of this battle, I don't have high hopes for it. For the sake of the millions of soldiers in the Northern Frontier, and for Yao'er who is still serving in the army... Lu Xingzhou, can you find a way to prevent this battle from happening, or at least affect the leadership of this battle, so that it can no longer be handed over to the Huo family?"

Lu Xingzhou's luck is indeed strange. The two key points of this matter, the Demon Emperor and the Huo family, are both related to him.

As long as he was there, he suddenly became the core figure.

Lu Xingzhou stood up, cupped his hands, and said solemnly, "Rest assured, Your Excellency, I have returned to the capital for this very purpose."

"The reason we opened the main gate to welcome you is precisely for this purpose, and also to send a clear signal to others." Sheng Qingfeng also stood up: "In this matter, I will do my utmost to help you."

"What if His Majesty has a problem with you?"

Sheng Qingfeng said calmly, "Then I have my opinion."

Lu Xingzhou stared at him intently.

In her mind, her father-in-law, who claimed to be neutral, was actually very politically astute. He was well aware of many things and always instructed his daughter to observe from the sidelines, trying to mold her into his smooth-talking self. In the emperor's eyes, however, he was a lone minister who did not form factions.

He did indeed succeed, rising to the position of Chief of the Demon Suppression Division. In this unique world of martial arts, this position represents the most typical form of violent power besides the military, holding the highest rank and being the pinnacle of officialdom.

But at this moment, Lu Xingzhou realized that when the bottom line was crossed, he could also be sharp-edged, all for one result.

What is the bottom line? It is the thousands of soldiers in the northern border region, and it is my daughter.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)