Chapter 177

Since Lin Yue'e took office in Shanghe City, the public security there has been exceptionally good.

It is truly a place where doors are left unbolted at night and lost property is left on the road for the owner to find.

The patrolling soldiers stand tall with firm strides, making the residents feel a sense of stability they have never known before.

The officials of Shanghe City, from the highest to the lowest, are working diligently, solving all sorts of problems for the residents.

While all of this appears to be Lin Yue'e's achievement, in reality, Li Chen's incognito inspection has terrified the local officials.

With his incognito inspection being so undisguised, there is not a single official now who does not know that Li Chen is in Shanghe City.

They are terrified that while Li Chen is walking through the streets and alleys, he might see something or encounter residents filing complaints.

If Li Chen were to catch them, it would basically mean an immediate conviction with no room for negotiation.

Ding Tianming, the City Lord of Shanghe City, is the best example; how could the officials of Shanghe City not be afraid? They are working extremely hard to do their jobs well.

In truth, they are overthinking it; Li Chen rarely comes out and just stays at the Jiang family residence, so how could he possibly catch them?

Actually, the weather is nice today, and Li Chen really does intend to go out for a stroll and, incidentally, check on the preparations made by Prefect Zhang Zhishan.

As it turns out, someone came to ask him for a drink early in the morning.

Seeing Zhu Zhuying and Ning Xiaoxiao return, Li Chen asked, "How did the investigation go?"

Even though Zhu Zhuying was somewhat angry, seeing Li Chen, she restrained her temper, put on a very sensible appearance, and said respectfully, "Many thanks for Your Majesty's grace. This commoner has already investigated clearly. Having received so many rewards from Your Majesty yesterday, I do not yet know how to thank Your Majesty."

Zhu Zhuying did not want to talk about her fiancé, so she used their adventure at the Ancient Supreme Tomb yesterday as a topic to start chatting with Li Chen; this was her taking the initiative to express her affection.

Next, Zhu Zhuying wanted to invite Li Chen out for a drink to express her gratitude once more, and she indicated that she could hold her liquor well.

Since she mentioned drinking, Li Chen felt there was no need for such trouble; the Jiang residence had long since prepared many fine wines, so he had the maids bring out the good liquor.

Seeing the wine brought out, Zhu Zhuying used various excuses to toast Li Chen.

Seeing this, Ning Xiaoxiao had a headache; it seemed this good sister of hers could not be persuaded.

Li Chen is in the Sage Realm, so as long as he does not want to be drunk, he simply cannot get drunk.

However, the plump and graceful beauty beside him was already tipsy after drinking for a while, which was truly charming.

Whether it was intentional or subconscious, Zhu Zhuying said she had not slept all night and wanted to have a good rest.

Li Chen has always had deep research into solving the sleep quality problems of beauties.

If it were any other man, in order to maintain his demeanor, he would mostly let the beauty have a good rest, cover her with a quilt, and leave quietly.

But Li Chen does not like to waste things, so he had no choice but to accept graciously.

Ning Xiaoxiao, who was nearby, just watched as her good sister was carried away.

The two of them grew up together, so Ning Xiaoxiao naturally knew that Zhu Zhuying had drunk a lot but was not yet drunk; doing this must have been intentional.

Perhaps she just wanted to indulge herself for a day.

There were no acquaintances left here, so Ning Xiaoxiao prepared to leave first.

But just as she stepped out, she saw Xiao Rou and her mother eating in the courtyard, and what they were eating seemed to be that fairy herb called the Charm Spirit Fungus.

The mother and daughter were laughing and chatting.

A-Mei was especially happy today; seeing her daughter finally sign a contract with Li Chen, she could often accompany the master, and she would slowly forget that boy surnamed Tang.

This was simply a double blessing.

Ever since she followed Li Chen, A-Mei's complexion had become very good, all troublesome matters had been resolved, and everything had become so smooth.

No matter how she thought about it, she felt she should be loyal to Li Chen and do her best to satisfy all of Li Chen's requirements; this was what a pet should do.

When Xiao Rou first saw her mother trying hard to win an opportunity for her yesterday, she also realized her mother's painstaking efforts.

Coupled with that exaggerated scene which made her blush and feel dizzy, she joined in unconsciously.

By the end, when she called Li Chen "Master," she was truly willing.

Now Xiao Rou always feels that her mother is really good to her, and whenever there is something good, she thinks of her.

The mother and daughter were chatting here about the next cultivation problems; after all, having climbed onto Li Chen's thigh, rare cultivation materials like the Charm Spirit Fungus could be eaten by the mother and daughter as snacks.

Just at this moment, Xiao Rou heard footsteps nearby, turned her head to look, and saw an acquaintance walking over.

In an instant, her expression became evasive, just like a child caught stealing candy by other children.

"Xiao Rou, Auntie Mei, why are you here?" Ning Xiaoxiao is still the more cheerful type, so she took the initiative to come up and greet them.

Xiao Rou glanced at her mother, not knowing how to answer.

In order to let her daughter break off relations with that boy Tang Shan, A-Mei said directly, "Oh, it's Xiaoxiao, come and sit down. It's a long story; I'll have a maid get you something to eat."

Ning Xiaoxiao had nothing to do and was curious about the identities of this mother and daughter, so she sat there to listen for a while.

After the maid brought some pastries, A-Mei told her that she and Xiao Rou were of the demon race and had defected to Li Chen.

Ning Xiaoxiao was stunned on the spot, her cherry mouth biting a piece of pastry, but she did not bite down for a long time.

Having lived for so many years, she had experienced quite a few storms and waves.

But the shock this brought her was simply unimaginable.

She had only accompanied her good sister Zhu Zhuying to catch an affair, but Zhu Zhuying had given herself away in anger, which was already a significant shock to her.

Now she was even more shocked to the point of numbness.

What? Xiao Rou and her mother were actually of the demon race?

And they had already become Li Chen's pets yesterday?

Coupled with Xiao Rou's expression, Ning Xiaoxiao could mostly understand what kind of relationship a pet was.

Because a powerhouse at the level of His Majesty Li Chen is not lacking in helpers or summoned beasts.

Ning Xiaoxiao had seen with her own eyes that the demon corpse of the Ancient Supreme was scared into shrinking back into its coffin.

Besides their beauty, Xiao Rou and her mother had nothing else that Li Chen could need, so the result was obvious.

Ning Xiaoxiao felt that this world was too crazy; the friends she had known for so many years were all throwing themselves at Li Chen one by one.

As for Zhu Zhuying, Ning Xiaoxiao could still understand, but didn't Xiao Rou like Tang Shan the most? How could she change so quickly?

If Xiao Rou knew she was thinking this, she would definitely say: At first, I just wanted to sign a contract, but then there was no turning back, and I kept wanting to sign a contract.

His Majesty even said that tonight's contract might be very complicated.

In the past, Ning Xiaoxiao had always regarded Xiao Rou as her rival, but now that she suddenly had no rival, she had an inexplicable sense of loss.

Anyway, the matter had been explained clearly, and A-Mei could not let her daughter go back; that sect place was too dangerous.

She only needed to sign the contract a few more times, and her daughter would be able to follow His Majesty wholeheartedly.

If that didn't work, then a few hundred times, so that her daughter would have something to rely on.

However, to thank Ning Xiaoxiao for taking care of her daughter for so many years, A-Mei invited Ning Xiaoxiao to have lunch together and treat her well.

Ning Xiaoxiao felt a bit embarrassed; she had been the one tagging along for so many years, and she should be the one thanking Xiao Rou for her help.

Now she really had nothing to do, so she agreed.

She thought to herself that by lunchtime, Zhu Zhuying might be back.

Then the two of them could go back together, so as not to be questioned by Tang Shan and the others.

As it turned out, let alone lunch, Ning Xiaoxiao waited until the afternoon, and Zhu Zhuying still had not returned.

Ning Xiaoxiao had no choice but to return to the Chenshen Dao Sect alone.

The Chenshen Dao Sect is very large, with outer sect disciples doing chores, ordinary inner sect disciples, and then core disciples.

Core disciples have a certain status in the sect and also have separate residences.

Ning Xiaoxiao and the others had all slowly worked their way up from ordinary inner sect disciples to core disciples.

Arriving at their living quarters, she saw Tang Shan practicing there, and Dai Xiaoyao seemed to have just woken up and was yawning.

All along, Ning Xiaoxiao had liked Tang Shan very much; now, taking advantage of Xiao Rou's defection to the Emperor, she should tell Tang Shan this news. After Tang Shan became disheartened, he would definitely take a fancy to her.

Then she could get her wish and fly away with Tang Shan.

But the problem is, Ning Xiaoxiao did not have such thoughts at all.

Her way of thinking was that Xiao Rou had now climbed onto a better man, and Tang Shan had been abandoned by Xiao Rou; what was the point of her picking him up?

Tang Shan is very outstanding, Ning Xiaoxiao admits this, but that is only compared to the people here; compared to someone at Li Chen's level, he simply cannot compare.

Li Chen can be said to be dozens of times stronger than his peers in all aspects.

Ning Xiaoxiao feels that she liked Tang Shan before, perhaps because he was outstanding, but now she doesn't seem to like him that much either.

She is now slowly beginning to understand why Xiao Rou changed her heart.

It really is that without comparison, there is no harm.

At this moment, Tang Shan also discovered Ning Xiaoxiao staring at him.

According to Tang Shan's thinking, Xiao Rou was not by his side now; if Ning Xiaoxiao took the initiative to please him, he could indeed reluctantly flirt with her, say a few nice words, and continue to keep her on the hook.

When Xiao Rou returned, he could immediately draw a line again.

Come on, come on and please me.

Tang Shan would not take the initiative, just waiting for this little fan girl Ning Xiaoxiao to please him. He just didn't know that Ning Xiaoxiao now felt he was already something that had been abandoned.

At this time, Dai Xiaoyao walked over while stretching, scanned the area, did not find Zhu Zhuying, and said to Ning Xiaoxiao, "Where is Zhuying? Aren't you with her?"

Ning Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him and said, "She is messing around with another man now."

Dai Xiaoyao laughed and said, "This routine again? Just let her have fun, and when she's had enough, she'll come find me."

Dai Xiaoyao didn't care at all; his fiancée was like this every time she lost her temper.

He felt that Zhu Zhuying had intentionally not returned and let Ning Xiaoxiao come back to say this, nothing more than wanting to find an excuse to anger him.

Dai Xiaoyao knew better than anyone that his fiancée was a woman whose chastity was extreme.

Before they were married, she wouldn't even let him touch her hand; what kind of outrageous things could she do?

If he went down to look for her now, he would definitely have to lower his posture, and he was not in the mood for that.

Ning Xiaoxiao looked at Dai Xiaoyao with some surprise; that expression seemed to be saying: Do you really think I'm joking?

The "messing around" I said was just a polite way of putting it; do you want me to tell you directly what your fiancée is actually doing?

Ning Xiaoxiao was not even in the mood to greet Tang Shan now and went straight back to rest.

!

The next day, Zhu Zhuying still had not returned.

Ning Xiaoxiao looked at Dai Xiaoyao, who was practicing, and asked, "Are you sure you won't go down the mountain with me?"

In her view, if Dai Xiaoyao went now, it might still be in time to persuade Zhu Zhuying to turn back.

Of course, maybe it was just "might."

But Dai Xiaoyao didn't even open his eyes and said casually, "Tell her that the opportunity of the Immortal Ancient Linghu is about to descend, and now is not the time to throw a tantrum; tell her to come back quickly, lest the elders punish her."

Ning Xiaoxiao sighed and didn't say anything more.

When she went down the mountain, Tang Shan even coughed on the road she had to take.

The meaning was: Hurry up and please me, I have no woman by my side.

But Ning Xiaoxiao ignored him and left directly.

This made Tang Shan not understand; could it be that Ning Xiaoxiao had not been feeling well lately?

Ning Xiaoxiao's unexpected move made Tang Shan not gain a sense of superiority.

But it was not a big problem; it would be fine when Xiao Rou returned.

No matter what he did, Xiao Rou would praise him.

At the Jiang family residence, the retainer Lin Mo was still guarding the house as usual.

Because Jiang Rong's mind had recently been busy trying to please Li Chen, she didn't care much about business matters, so Lin Mo had nothing to do.

Jiang Rong used to be busy to death because she had to beg other merchant families for help or count bills and the like.

But now it was different; she didn't know who had spread the news that she had become an Imperial Consort.

People from merchant families saw her go out and all begged to come and please her, which made her annoyed, so she simply stayed at home.

Even if she didn't pay attention to the Jiang family's industries, they were now growing rapidly.

Every day, she only needed to have the shopkeepers of the major stores send the bills to the Jiang residence.

Lin Mo was thus left idle at the Jiang residence, acting as a retainer guarding the house.

Yesterday, he accompanied two beauties to handle matters, one of whom was already drunk and gave herself to Li Chen.

Seeing Ning Xiaoxiao leave the Jiang residence, he bet that Ning Xiaoxiao would come again.

Sure enough, Ning Xiaoxiao came again today.

Lin Mo had no feeling of surprise; he was already used to it.

Ning Xiaoxiao entered the Jiang residence and found Zhu Zhuying.

She discovered that the clothes on Zhu Zhuying's body had already been changed, and her temperament was even more alluring than before.

Taking advantage of the fact that others were not around, Ning Xiaoxiao came to Zhu Zhuying's side and said seriously, "Sister Zhuying, let's go back when you've had enough fun."

In her view, Zhu Zhuying's decision was just made in a fit of anger.

Zhu Zhuying, however, said lazily, "I'm not playing; I am now also an Imperial Consort of the Tian Ce Dynasty, and I'll tell you a piece of inside information: Xiao Rou is also His Majesty's woman!"

Zhu Zhuying felt that when she said this news, Ning Xiaoxiao would definitely be surprised.

It was just that Ning Xiaoxiao had an "I knew it already" expression; not only Xiao Rou, but even her mother was.

The two chatted for a while, all about Li Chen.

Ning Xiaoxiao seemed to want to confirm it, so she continued, "Sister Zhuying, are you really not going back?"

Zhu Zhuying nodded and replied, "Why go back and suffer? I still have to prepare to please His Majesty."

The competition among these women in the Jiang residence is also very great; they are all putting in effort to please Li Chen.

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhuying glanced at her good best friend Ning Xiaoxiao.

Because she was at a disadvantage, being alone here.

Other women were either mother and daughter or mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Zhu Zhuying was thinking, why not drag Ning Xiaoxiao into the water? This way, she and Ning Xiaoxiao could form a group, and they could also gain Li Chen's favor.

Thinking this, Zhu Zhuying whispered into Ning Xiaoxiao's ear.

It made Ning Xiaoxiao's heart beat faster and her face blush.

At first, Ning Xiaoxiao exclaimed, "How can this be!"

Under Zhu Zhuying's persuasion, she began to waver.

Because Zhu Zhuying was right; she didn't have a boyfriend or a fiancé, so why not choose an outstanding man?

Finally, Zhu Zhuying started to fan the flames, saying, "Are you willing to be compared by Xiao Rou for the rest of your life?"

This hit Ning Xiaoxiao's sore spot; if she went back and followed Tang Shan, wouldn't she live in Xiao Rou's shadow for the rest of her life?

Things Xiao Rou doesn't want, I don't want either!

Zhu Zhuying didn't care whether she was ready or not, and coaxed her into changing her clothes.

In the backyard of the Jiang residence, Li Chen had just come out of the pile of beauties, only to find that another one had come?

Looking at Ning Xiaoxiao, who was dressed very beautifully, and Zhu Zhuying, who was constantly winking at him, Li Chen understood that his newly accepted consort seemed to be providing him with assists.

Sometimes Li Chen even started to wonder if he had some kind of "succubus" constitution; why couldn't these women walk when they saw him?

Strange, strange!

Li Chen felt that Ning Xiaoxiao's performance was still relatively timid; young virgins are all like this.

Since Ning Xiaoxiao and Zhu Zhuying had teamed up, Li Chen wanted to see how their tactics and coordination were.

In fact, the officials of Shanghe City should be most grateful to the women who were silently contributing in the Jiang residence.

They left Li Chen, the Emperor, with no time to catch their faults.

The only one who ran into the gun, the former City Lord Ding Tianming, could only blame his own bad luck.

Who told him to jump out himself, wanting to perform a dimensionality reduction strike on the Jiang family, only to be dimensionality-reduced by the Emperor who was passing by.

The most unbelievable thing was Wu Nanzhi; she also didn't expect that what she said casually at the time would lead to so many women appearing around Li Chen.

It seems that Wu Nanzhi was destined to be this gold-medal assistant.

This is also the reason why Wu Nanzhi has always been highly favored by Li Chen.

The Jiang family residence is now Li Chen's temporary palace; perhaps after returning this time, Li Sining will not be able to continue complaining about Li Chen's lack of initiative.

The happiness of an Emperor is just that simple and unadorned.

Li Chen had been in Shanghe City for a while, and it wasn't that he didn't intend to handle matters, but he just hadn't waited for the opportunity.

As Prefect Zhang Zhishan of Shanghe City led the army to request an audience with Li Chen, Li Chen changed his clothes and set off with the Shanghe City garrison army, heading toward the Immortal Ancient Linghu.

At the same time, hundreds of surrounding sects were also heading toward the Immortal Ancient Linghu.

Especially the Chenshen Dao Sect and the Jade Void Immortal Mansion, with a vast force of several thousand people.

Other sects had only a dozen or so, and the better ones had hundreds.

Sects that could reach the thousand-person level were all top-tier of the era.

Not to mention these two major sects, which had teams of several thousand people.

In order to obtain this opportunity, the two major sect forces also flexed their muscles.

With several thousand cultivators, the resonance of their meridian arts alone could make the earth tremble!

The two major sects came aggressively, making the nearby people feel somewhat terrified.

Because they knew that today, an even more heavyweight and mysterious powerhouse would appear!

(End of chapter)