Empress, please have some self-respect. I am not your husband.

"Lu Feng?"

Chu Hongyan repeated the words, then asked in confusion, "No, Xinyi, how did you confuse me? He rejected you first, and from your words, it seems you don't like him either."

"Then why did he suddenly give you such a priceless treasure? You're not kidding me, are you? Is that ginseng real?"

This was also the point that Qin Xinyi found most puzzling: why did Lu Feng suddenly send those rare treasures worth millions of taels of silver to the Qin residence?

She answered Chu Hongyan's last question: "It is indeed true. I've accompanied you to see that ginseng several times, haven't I? I can confirm that it is definitely the one from the Lantern Festival."

"interesting."

Chu Hongyan narrowed her eyes, appearing even more alluring: "Back then, my family offered 20,000 taels of gold and even moved out of the Zhenguo King's Mansion, but the Lantern Festival wouldn't sell it. In the end, this Lu Feng you mentioned got his hands on it. This person's background is not simple."

"What kind of background could he possibly have? He just has some extraordinary talent, and he might really have gotten away with it because of a woman," Qin Xinyi said dismissively.

Chu Hongyan: "Rely on women? What do you mean?"

Qin Xinyi voiced her guess, and Chu Hongyan nodded, "Your guess is possible. If that woman is really as beautiful as you say, she is definitely not an ordinary woman."

"Now I'm starting to want to go see that guy named Lu Feng."

Qin Xinyi forced a smile: "I've already booked a private room at Ningxiang Tower and invited a few other people. After all, he's the one who sent that ginseng, so if you want to use it, Sister Hongyan, you should at least thank him."

Chu Hongyan smiled and gently stroked Qin Xinyi's nose with her finger: "You really know how to care about your sister. You handled this matter very well. I owe you and Lu Feng a favor."

She said with a hint of teasing, "That's really interesting. Your old man actually arranged such a strange marriage for you back then. Why don't you give it a try, Xinyi?"

Qin Xinyi shook her head, her bright eyes filled with determination: "I have already found my heart in this life, and I will never fall in love with anyone else."

As her best friend, Chu Hongyan naturally knew who Qin Xinyi was talking about. She lowered her eyes and said, "Why are you so persistent? You don't even know what the Crimson Flame War God looks like."

"That's fine. If it weren't for his bloody battle that lifted the siege of Xizhou two years ago, I would probably have died in the border city long ago. He has been protecting our Qian Kingdom all these years. If I can gain his favor, what's wrong with serving him tea and water and being his servant?"

If others heard these words, they would probably think that Qin Xinyi was crazy.

But Chu Hongyan felt differently; she deeply empathized because she had also experienced despair two years ago.

As that unforgettable figure from the past two years surfaced in her mind, Qin Xinyi suddenly exclaimed with delight, "But no matter what, with that ginseng, Sister Hongyan, your injuries can finally be healed!"

Chu Hongyan smiled and nodded: "Yes, it can be cured."

Physical injuries can heal, but the scars left in the heart can never be erased.

Chu Hongyan glanced at Qin Xinyi, her eyelids lowered, and said, "I'm sorry, dear sister, I can share anything with you in this world, except for him."

……

The court session was finally over. Today's session was unusually long, so much so that Lu Feng kept yawning and was glared at countless times by the Empress and the ministers.

Especially Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Mingyuan, those high-ranking officials from the court who had clashed with him last night, their eyes were practically murderous.

But why would Lu Feng care?

Upon hearing Qin Ming say that Qin Xinyi had invited him to Ningxiang Tower that evening, he readily agreed. Just as he was about to head to the Imperial Household Department, the chief eunuch came to say that His Majesty had summoned him to the Imperial Study.

Lu Feng guessed that what happened last night had already reached the emperor's ears.

Sure enough, as soon as he arrived at the Imperial Study, he saw Ye Bingyun, dressed as a man, with a helpless expression on her face.

But he pretended to be clueless: "What's wrong, Your Majesty? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Ye Bingyun's eyes turned resentful, and Lu Feng immediately shuddered.

Hey, why are you looking at me like that?

Before he could speak, Ye Bingyun sighed and said, "Lu Feng, although I had thought that there would be a lot of trouble after you entered the court, I never thought you would be so good at causing trouble."

Lu Feng was speechless and prepared to explain. Ye Bingyun then said, "I understand what happened. As for Huang An, the Grand Tutor, he's only a third-rank official."

“Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Mingyuan are high-ranking officials of the second rank. You may ignore them because of your high cultivation, but at least consider my feelings.”

Lu Feng was also starting to have a headache. Ever since he embarked on his cultivation journey and his cultivation level had increased by leaps and bounds, he had been able to overcome any obstacle in his path.

Now you actually have to figure it out yourself? Figure it out my ass.

"Uh... Your Majesty, you're putting me in a difficult position," Lu Feng said seriously.

Ye Bingyun asked in surprise, "What's so difficult about this? Haven't you ever tried to resolve conflicts using a more tactful approach in your life?"

Seeing Lu Feng's serious expression, Her Majesty the Empress was speechless and said somewhat angrily, "I don't believe it. Haven't you ever experienced failure before?"

Unexpectedly, Lu Feng nodded: "Yes!"

Ye Bingyun pricked up her ears: "What setback? Tell me about it."

Lu Feng sighed, "When I was fifteen, I was attacked by three third-rank masters. At the time, I was bragging to my friends that I could kill all three of them with a single move each."

"And then what? You got defeated by them and they beat you up badly?" Her Majesty the Empress asked with some anticipation.

Lu Feng sighed, "Not really. It took me three moves to kill all three of them, and my friends laughed at me for a long time. Since then, I've learned that you can't underestimate any hero. You have to have a clear understanding of your own and your enemy's strength, or you'll become a laughingstock. Hmm? Your Majesty, why are you looking at me like that?"

Ye Bingyun's face flushed red, and after a long pause, she said, "What kind of failure or setback is this!"

"No, it's not my fault!"

Lu Feng was speechless: "It can't be that being too strong is a mistake, can it?"

Ye Bingyun was completely speechless. Looking at Lu Feng's innocent face, she was so angry that she gritted her teeth. How come she always got so angry when she faced him as the emperor?

After staring at each other for a while, Ye Bingyun calmed down and explained, "I am not trying to make things difficult for you. The court needs these officials to function, especially those in high positions of power. Without a replacement, I cannot act rashly."

Looking at the dejected expression on the young emperor's face, Lu Feng felt a surge of irritation. Strange, why did he suddenly feel sorry for this guy?

And that damned emperor's eyes, how come they're starting to look more and more like Bingyun's?