[The liking is the same kind of liking you have for the emperor; he's grateful for your promotion.]

【Ugh, I don't like the emperor at all; he's utterly incompetent.】

Fang Ruotang subconsciously retorted.

The emperor, who had been watching the show, was taken aback. Now, with the appearance of a young man, he was handsome. In addition, having held a high position and wielded great power for many years, he possessed an aura that others did not have.

For the first time, someone's dislike for him almost overflowed the hall. The emperor wanted to argue with them about why he was so unlikable.

[He's terrible at the game but loves to play. He challenges Shishi to fights every day, but he's never won a single time. Shishi can practically fly on a sword now. Doesn't he know his own limitations?]

Even on this continent devoid of spiritual energy, Li Shiyun managed to achieve Foundation Establishment in a hundred days. After all, the little mirror treated Li Shiyun as Fang Ruotang's personal disciple and was very generous to her, so her cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds.

The emperor blushed and looked at Fang Ruotang with displeasure, earning her a glare in return.

He's just not good enough, that's why he wants to learn from Li Shiyun and improve!

How infuriating! Another day of being looked down upon.

Damn it, it's one thing for Li Shiyun to be stronger than him, but how come Yan Yan also cultivates faster than him later? No, he has to hurry up and start cultivating after court.

It must have been the political situation that delayed his progress.

He cannot lose.

[The young master of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion, namely Wei Xuan, is also a sycophant, even more so than the Crown Prince and others.]

[Don't talk about my Crown Prince and his brothers like that! They're not sycophants, they're... well, they're warriors!]

Fang Ruotang recalled a line from the storybook that Xiao Jingzi had shown him.

"Pfft!"

I don't know which minister it was, but he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, people began to laugh, trying to hide their laughter.

The Crown Prince, who had never shown his emotions for many years and never cared about the opinions of others, was now thick-skinned and unmoved. Huo Zhige and the other five were even more so. Anyway, their names hadn't been called out earlier, so they were the ones waiting. But as long as they didn't admit it, no one could laugh at them.

Okay, okay, fine, you can call it Wolf Warrior then! But this Wei Xuan is a sycophant, a sycophant in every way.

Wei Xuan blushed, so ashamed he wanted to crawl into a hole. He thought of a certain beautiful figure and muttered to himself: He's not a simp, he's just deeply affectionate.

The girl he liked was named Zhao Zhen'er. She was the eldest daughter of a fifth-rank family. Her biological mother died when she was born, and she was raised by her stepmother, who had a daughter only two years younger than her. It's easy to imagine that her life wasn't easy.

[This girl met Wei Xuan a couple of years ago. Although he was just a good-for-nothing playboy before this mission, he was, after all, from the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion. The Zhao family treated her well because of Wei Xuan, and then she couldn't distinguish between the two princes.]

[I, as a spirit, am dying of laughter. Zhao Zhen'er has completely forgotten the days two years ago when she was wearing ill-fitting old clothes and barely had enough to eat. She actually looks down on Wei Xuan, this playboy, thinking he's not good enough for her. She hasn't even put down her bowl before she starts cursing. This girl is something else.]

The little mirror spoke so fast that Fang Ruotang didn't quite catch up.

Zhao Zhen'er has the right to like or dislike someone!

【That's right, but the premise is that you can't have it both ways. You can't keep clinging to Wei Xuan while being ashamed of his affections. No matter how irresponsible Wei Xuan is, he's not someone she can look down on. Besides, Wei Xuan is the youngest legitimate son of the Marquis of Yongyi's mansion. He'll have his own family business after the family splits up. He has a doting patriarch above him and protective older brothers below him. Even if he just lazes around, he can still have a good life.】

[Oh, she's still gossiping about Wei Xuan behind his back, impatient with him, using his reputation to associate with other young masters, and that silly boy Wei Xuan still can't see it, rushing to be nice to her. Isn't that just being a simp?]

Fang Ruotang blinked and nodded.

Yes, that's a simp!

Wei Xuan's face turned red, and she was almost in tears.

He couldn't believe that Zhao Zhen'er looked down on him so much in private. If that was the case, then what about all the gifts he had given out over the past two years?

[Coincidentally, among the men was Wei Xuan, and among the women was the Fourth Princess.]

Upon hearing this, the Emperor, knowing it concerned his daughter, disregarded his fragile state of mind after the earlier blow and immediately pricked up his ears to listen carefully.

The Fourth Princess also favored sons from fifth-rank families. These noble-born young masters and princesses were quite fond of helping the poor, and the Fourth Princess had her eye on an unfavored illegitimate son.

[It's bizarre that he saved the princess during her travels. A princess who has only left the palace a handful of times since birth, yet someone managed to rescue her despite the heavy guards. No wonder this realm's Heavenly Dao is weak; it's insane and completely illogical.]

Xiao Jingzi clearly disliked the relationship between the two, constantly complaining and giving Fang Ruotang no chance to interject.

The Fourth Princess is quite capable. Given her status, countless people would go through fire and water for her with just a word. Yet, she fell in love with that illegitimate son after he saved her once, and she relentlessly pursued his affections. And wouldn't you know it, the illegitimate son got carried away, becoming blinded by greed. He started to think he was someone important, even believing the princess's love was suffocating and would ruin his future.

Fang Ruotang tilted her head, her big eyes full of question marks.

There are just too many bad points.

She didn't know where to begin, so she eventually chose to refute it.

The fact that a prince consort didn't serve in the court didn't mean he couldn't write national policies. Many impoverished scholars submitted their writings to my grandfather; talent wouldn't be buried.

"Isn't that right? This fourth princess is also a fool. Her favor has made this illegitimate son an unattainable nobleman in the capital. The illegitimate son has been pampered to the heavens, and he has turned around to resent the princess's pursuit. He has completely forgotten that it is because of the princess's favor that he is adorned with gold. Otherwise, in the capital where royal relatives and nobles are everywhere, he would be completely unknown, and it would be impossible for any noble lady to take a liking to him."

Oh, right, the illegitimate son likes his innocent cousin who used to look down on him. Hilarious! There are so many people in this capital who are blind and delusional. I know a lot more like that. I'll point them out to you next time I see the real deal.

Okay, okay.

Fang Ruotang was completely stunned by this gossip she heard today.

I'm... a little slow to react.

The main problem was that the small mirror didn't give her a chance to show off, but think about it! These two weirdos, who were eating and taking things, were disgusting.

[Actually, love-obsessed people should be paired with love-obsessed people.] Little Mirror sighed. Another day of eating shit. Sure enough, only the relationship between her master and the adult is the sweetest and most adorable. Everything else is dog shit.

Fang Ruotang pressed for an answer, puzzled.

[Are you saying that Wei Xuan and the Fourth Princess are a perfect match?]

These two idiots don't deserve a true partner, not even a chance. They'll end up being treated like dogs.

Fang Ruotang: ...

The little mirror is very irritable today.

It seems that he really does have a severe case of aversion to stupidity.

Fortunately, she is very smart, which is why the little mirror loves her so much.