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

“That’s right, that’s why I came out to cause trouble and disrupt their plans,” Lu Feng said.

Ye Bingyun understood and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I see, then I misunderstood you."

Lu Feng was immediately furious and got goosebumps all over. He looked at the young emperor in front of him with some shock. How could a grown man speak in such a effeminate tone?

Ye Bingyun didn't notice his expression and then asked in confusion, "But this method might work once, but it might not work the next time, especially when the King of Zhen returns to court."

"What happened to the King of Zhen?"

Lu Feng was still somewhat interested in his father-in-law, whom he had never met.

Ye Bingyun sighed, "King Chu Fangming of Zhen Kingdom can be said to have almost absolute authority in the court. Right now, those people just lack a backbone. Once he returns, the situation in the court will change instantly."

"Even Zhang Tianyuan and Wang Mingyuan wouldn't dare to confront him head-on."

Hearing her say that, Lu Feng didn't care. He wanted to say that so what, he could just cripple her with one palm if she really pushed him too far, but when he thought of Chu Hongyan, he couldn't say those words.

He coughed and said, "We'll talk about it later."

Ye Bingyun hummed in agreement: "It seems that's the only way. You should go back to the Imperial Household Department first."

"Row."

After leaving the Imperial Study, Lu Feng arrived at the long-lost Court of Imperial Sacrifices, where a group of minor officials immediately surrounded him upon his arrival.

They all learned that Lu Feng had been promoted to Grand Master and offered their heartfelt congratulations.

However, some people were worried. Wang Hao said, "Your Excellency, I heard that you seemed to have offended Minister Shi of the Ministry of Justice in court today. Will they retaliate in the future?"

"Who knows?"

Lu Feng said indifferently, "Don't worry about it. Just do your own thing and don't worry about anything else."

Hearing this, the group of minor officials did not press for further questions, since they had no say in the matter.

When it was time to leave work, Lu Feng returned to his residence.

Xiao Miao had already prepared the meal, but the taste was naturally not as good as Lu Feng's own cooking, which made the little girl a little embarrassed.

Seeing through the other person's thoughts, Lu Feng smiled and said, "I'll teach you how to cook later."

The little girl's eyes lit up immediately: "Really, young master?"

"Of course it's true, otherwise you usually eat three big bowls of food, but today you only ate a small bowl. What if you get thin from starving like this?" Lu Feng joked.

The little girl became even more shy.

Lu Feng asked, "Has anyone come looking for me today?"

Xiao Miao shook his head repeatedly.

Lu Feng listened and then stopped asking questions.

Time flew by, and it was Chu Hongyan's birthday, which she had mentioned before.

After changing into clean clothes and giving Xiao Miao a few instructions, Lu Feng took the gifts and left the mansion to head to the Zhenguo King's Mansion.

Chu Hongyan had arranged for the coachman who had met Lu Feng to meet her outside early on, in order to avoid a repeat of the situation that occurred in front of the Prince Ye's mansion last time.

"Young Master Lu, you've arrived! Please come inside." Upon seeing Lu Feng, the coachman immediately greeted him warmly.

Lu Feng nodded: "Thank you for your trouble."

"It's alright, Miss. You asked me to wait for you here early this morning," the coachman said respectfully.

He had seen Lu Feng carrying Chu Hongyan into the car before; even a fool would know that their relationship was extraordinary.

Who knows, this young man might be the young lady's husband in the future, shouldn't she hurry up and try to win him over?

Thinking of Chu Hongyan, Lu Feng smiled knowingly.

She followed the coachman all the way to the main hall. Before they even entered, the coachman announced, "Miss, Young Master Lu has arrived."

The main hall of the Zhenguo King's Palace was naturally extraordinary; it was not only magnificent and grand but also very imposing.

Lu Feng looked inside and couldn't help but smile; it was quite lively indeed.

Xu Zilong and Zhang Hanliang, whom he had met before, were all there. Surprisingly, Zhang Feng and Wang Qi, two spoiled brats he had dealt with, were also there.

In addition, there were quite a few young masters and ladies who were obviously from wealthy and noble families.

Of course, Qin Xinyi was also present, sitting next to Chu Hongyan in the main seat.

As he was sizing him up, everyone else was also sizing him up, and Zhang Feng and Wang Qi were somewhat intimidated.

Xu Zilong had a playful expression, Qin Xinyi's eyes were cold, and the others were mostly curious.

Chu Hongyan stood up and quickly walked to Lu Feng's side, asking, "Why are you only arriving now?"

"The official business at the government office caused a slight delay," Lu Feng explained.

"Come inside with me quickly."

Chu Hongyan chuckled softly, completely disregarding the stares of others, and pulled Lu Feng's hand to lead him inside.

The young masters and ladies who were unfamiliar with Lu Feng were somewhat surprised by his girlish demeanor.

Although Princess Hongyan was known for her dissolute behavior in the eyes of outsiders, this was the first time they had ever seen her hold a man's hand in front of everyone.

Lu Feng was naturally seated next to Chu Hongyan. Seeing the curious gazes of the crowd, Princess Hongyan smiled and said, "Let me introduce you all. This is Lu Feng, the hero who was recently the talk of the capital and won three matches against Western Chu."

Upon hearing this, those who didn't know Lu Feng were even more surprised, their curious gazes intensifying.

Because of Chu Hongyan, Lu Feng was not as cold as usual. He smiled and said to everyone, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Lu Feng. Please take care of me if it's our first meeting."

The others also greeted him politely.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Zilong, seeing the cold look in his beloved goddess's eyes, immediately said, "Your Highness, today is your birthday. I have specially prepared a birthday gift for you, and I hope you will accept it."

As he spoke, he had someone bring out the gift he had prepared. It was a uniquely shaped red coral, its color as vibrant as blood and its surface as smooth as jade. It was clearly very expensive and attracted everyone's attention.

One person complimented, "Young Master Xu, you're really generous! This coral is of such high quality, it must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Xu Zilong exclaimed, "It's just thirty thousand taels of silver. What does it matter as long as Your Highness is happy?"

Chu Hongyan nodded and smiled lightly: "You're very thoughtful."

Once someone started, the others couldn't wait any longer and took out their own prepared gifts.

Some of them came by invitation.

Some shamelessly asked Chu Hongyan if they could attend the birthday banquet.

After all, Chu Hongyan has now been granted the title of Princess of Xingguo and is recognized and endorsed by the Crimson Flame Legion.

If she hadn't wanted to be too high-profile, it wouldn't have been surprising if even the six ministers of the government had attended her birthday celebration.

Among the gifts presented by everyone, Qin Xinyi's was the most outstanding. It was a white jade Bodhisattva, conservatively estimated to be worth over 80,000 taels of silver. As soon as it was taken out, it drew gasps of amazement from everyone.

"Thank you so much, Xinyi." Chu Hongyan seemed very happy.

Qin Xinyi finally smiled and said, "As long as you like it, Sister Hongyan, that's all that matters."

At this moment, Xu Zilong's voice rang out, "By the way, Brother Lu, it seems like we're just missing you. What gift did you prepare for the princess? Let us see it."