Yu Shiming nodded grimly and said seriously:

"Take Dad to see him."

Looking at his expression, Yu Qiaoqiao knew that he must have come for something important.

"Dad, please come this way."

As she spoke, she led the way in front, and Yu Shiming followed behind her with a serious expression.

Leng Xi's wound had healed a lot in the past few days. When Yu Shiming came in, he was already able to sit up by himself by holding the edge of the bed.

"Lord Xi, have you recovered?"

Leng Xi frowned and looked at him, then nodded in surprise.

"Master Yu came to Prince Xi's Mansion so early in the morning. Is there something important?"

Yu Shiming sighed and instructed Qiaoqiao:

"Qiaoqiao, please go out for a moment and close the door. Dad and Prince Xi want to talk."

Yu Qiaoqiao nodded, walked quickly to the door and closed it from the outside.

When they were the only two left here, Leng Xi asked in surprise:

"Master Yu, why is this happening?"

"well!"

Yu Shiming sighed deeply.

"I just came from the imperial court. The emperor issued an edict to reduce my position and that of a number of other officials. I was demoted three levels. Now I am no longer an imperial censor, but just a small official."

"What?"

Leng Xi looked at him with surprise.

“Who were demoted?”

"They are all your subordinates, and all of them have been demoted."

Leng Xi's eyes tightened instantly, and he murmured,

"It seems that Leng Yu wants to wipe out the roots."

"Not only that, he promoted Leng Ming to the rank of Second Grade, and all his subordinates were promoted. The entire court is under his command. I asked him what position he would assign you, and he said he would arrange it individually, so I thought I'd tell you so you can be mentally prepared."

Leng Xi's face turned gloomy at this moment.

After a moment of silence, he clenched his fists and shook his head heavily.

"This result isn't surprising at all. Well, let him arrange it however he wants!"

"But...but he didn't announce the decree in the court to reward you. This is unfair to you. After all, you have made contributions on the battlefield..."

"But I almost rebelled, do you think I didn't know that? He hasn't directly ordered the raid on my Xiwang Mansion and sent everyone in it into exile. He's already been quite lenient with me. I'll take it as atonement. How could I dare to ask for anything else?"

"this……"

Yu Shiming suddenly felt suffocated.

He sighed, clasped his hands together and said:

"In that case, I will leave first. I need to go back and prepare to take up my new post. From now on, I will be at ease as a sixth-rank official."

Seeing that Leng Xi did not respond, Yu Shiming put on a cold face and walked quickly towards the door.

Seeing Yu Shiming coming out, Yu Qiaoqiao, who was waiting at the door, stepped forward in surprise and asked:

"Dad, are you leaving?"

Yu Shiming glanced at her, sighed helplessly and shook his head.

"well……"

He just sighed and walked away, which made Yu Qiaoqiao curious.

When she came into the room, she saw Leng Xi frowning, holding his forehead with both hands, thinking about something.

She stepped forward, poured a glass of water and handed it to him.

"What did my father say to you?"

Leng Xi did not take the glass of water, but laughed at himself and said:

"He told me that he had been demoted to a lowly sixth-rank official, and he blamed me for getting him into trouble."

Yu Qiaoqiao was a little surprised. Her father's official position in the court had always been stable. Why was he suddenly demoted this time?

Leng Xi continued:

"Not only that, everyone related to me has been demoted. All those under Leng Yu have been promoted three levels. Even Leng Ming has been promoted three levels to become a second-rank minister."

At this point, he suddenly shook his head and smiled bitterly, muttering to himself,

"From this we can see that if you follow the right master, everyone under you can enjoy the good life, but if you follow the wrong master, everyone will suffer!"

"What about you? What do you want to do?"

Yu Qiaoqiao is now very afraid that he will have any inappropriate thoughts again.

Leng Xi leaned on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the corners of his mouth drooping slightly.

"I don't want to think about anything right now. I'm just resting and recovering from my injuries. As long as I maintain my position as Prince Xi and my business is still going strong, I can support my people and support this family."

His idea surprised Yu Qiaoqiao.

She stared at him blankly.

"You...are quite open-minded this time."

"Isn't this what you wanted?"

Yu Qiaoqiao was silent for a while, then nodded slowly.

"This is indeed the life I want. Not arguing or talking, not thinking about things that don't belong to me, and living a stable life. If you can think this way, I'm very relieved."

Leng Xi didn't say anything, but sighed secretly.

It's not that he doesn't want to fight, it's that he is unable to fight.

What he had done was enough for Leng Yu to order his house to be raided several times, but Leng Yu did not do anything to him.

He originally thought that the first thing Leng Yu would do after ascending the throne was to take him down. Now it seems that Leng Yu did not do that. He was just cold to him. It seems that he still cares about their brotherhood.

On his first day in court, he was not rewarded in front of the civil and military officials. This was a punishment for him, but also a tolerance for him. What right did he have to fight for it?

…

Hall of Mental Cultivation

Leng Yu had just returned from the court. When A Cai and A Hong learned that they had been appointed as female officials, they came to Leng Yu to express their gratitude.

Looking at the two people kneeling on the ground, Leng Yu breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand slightly.

"Everyone, get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"No need to thank me, this is what you deserve. You have taken care of the Queen for many years, through thick and thin, and have endured a lot of hardships. Especially Ah Cai, I am sorry for what happened with the twins!"

When Ah Cai heard the emperor mention the names of the twins, her mood, which had just calmed down, was stirred up again.

She bowed with red eyes,

"Your Majesty, you must be so humbled by my words. What happened to the twins was their fate. You and the Queen have taken such good care of Ah Cai over the years. If it weren't for the Queen taking her in, Ah Cai would have been living on the streets by now. How could she even dream of being a court lady?"

Ah Hong also followed suit and said:

"Acai is right. Back then, my sisters and I were trapped and sold on the streets. If it weren't for the Empress who rescued us, we really don't know what kind of life we ​​would have faced. We will never be able to repay you and the Empress for your kindness to us in this lifetime."

Seeing the two sisters talking about what happened back then, Luo Lan nodded with satisfaction.

"You and I suffered a lot back then, and now it's time to enjoy some happiness. From now on, I don't want to be involved in the harem affairs. You two will take care of them. Also, you two will serve me during the day and don't have to keep watch at night."

Hearing this, Ah Cai and Ah Hong bowed together.

"Thank you, Queen, for your consideration."

At this moment, Qin Shun walked in quickly, bowed and saluted.

"Your Majesty, Prince Ming and Princess Ming are here."