"...Alright, Sister Xie."
After finishing her treatment for the day, she couldn't help but ask a few more questions, "Have you been going through something lately? You seem to be in a bad mood."
"It doesn't matter."
Xie Qingyan smiled at her and shook her head to indicate that she didn't need to worry.
"There are still some."
Dongfang Xiao said seriously, "As I said before, while my abilities are useful for this kind of mental erosion, it's even more important to have a good mindset. Otherwise, it will not only slow down the treatment process, but in severe cases, it may even have the opposite effect..."
That makes perfect sense. The sea god's corruption is not to be underestimated. An unstable mindset makes it easy for the sea god to take advantage of one's weakness. If it's mild, it's fine, but if it's severe, let alone her, no one could save her.
These words were mostly directed at Xu Shi; it's obvious they've had a fight, right? That Xu Shi, really, everyone knows you're a bad seed, but there's a time and place for doing bad things…
Of course, her concern for Xie Qingyan was genuine. Compared to others, she had always had a very good impression of him, and naturally she didn't want to see him in so much pain.
"Okay."
Xie Qingyan patted her hand gently, her tone tender yet slightly sarcastic, "Of course I know these things... but some people don't."
These words were, of course, also meant for Xu Shi's ears. As she spoke, she became increasingly annoyed—think back to how much effort she put into saving little Xia Ke'an back then? Why weren't you the same as you are now?
The disappointment on her face showed that there is no harm without comparison.
"...Speaking of which, how was the renovation of the palace that we asked Chengcheng to help you with?"
Xu Shi seemed not to hear, and asked about other things on his own.
He certainly wouldn't break his promise to the little empress. Jiang Chengcheng had been making many trips to the palace these past few days. On the other hand, she hadn't been involved much in the Cat Cult's affairs. Everyone has their own area of expertise.
"Hmm...it's still pretty good."
Dongfang Xiao hadn't expected him to completely ignore this, but he could only honestly reply, "The power system has already been implemented throughout the palace, replacing most of the 'Divine Breath' devices. The weapons you brought have also been put into use. Now, a new department has been established within the Royal Knights, selecting young knights to specialize in these areas."
In fact, only a few weeks had passed, but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect. With the experience of Silver Pine Island, the second pilot project, the Imperial Palace, was naturally handled more smoothly. In terms of scale, this place was not as large as Silver Pine Island... not to mention that this place was more like a simple pilot project, and there was no need for large-scale construction like on Silver Pine Island.
And the results were indeed very good, just as the little queen had said.
Since the renovation, both convenience and maintenance costs have greatly improved compared to before—not only for her, but also for other princes and ministers. Apart from a few staunch conservatives, everyone's evaluation of the residences was surprisingly high. The most frequent memorials she's seen these days are requests for the royal family to also carry out a complete upgrade of their residences...
This further convinced her that choosing to cooperate with Xu Shi was the right decision.
"Okay, that's fine then."
Xu Shi nodded slightly, "As for how to promote it, you can handle those things yourself... I sent someone back to Night Sin City before, and they should be back in the next few days, bringing more supplies with them."
"Thank you, teacher."
Dongfang Xiao bowed slightly, and this alone was enough to make her disrespectful to Xu Shi.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
Xu Shi didn't seem to intend to linger; after a brief exchange, he prepared to get up and leave.
"Uh... are you leaving already?"
Seeing that he was about to leave, the little empress asked instinctively.
"otherwise?"
Xu Shi narrowed his eyes. "Is there anything else you want to do?"
"...No, no."
Dongfang Xiao snapped out of her daze and hurriedly waved her hands.
Of course she knew what Xu Shi meant by "other things"—it was nothing more than disciplining her... Of course she wouldn't rush to ask for such a thing. She was just enduring humiliation and biding her time, not that her brain had really been messed up.
She was eager to avoid entering Xu Shi's dark room.
But the fact that he didn't do that is actually the most unusual thing—doesn't this also indicate that there's a serious problem in his relationship with Xie Qingyan? He doesn't even want to spend a single extra second alone with her...
Hmm.
...
"Brother Xu, it's been a long time."
After leaving the palace with Xie Qingyan, Xu Shi encountered Cheng Gujian, who had come to pay his respects, after a long absence.
"Brother Cheng, it's been a long time."
Xu Shi replied politely, "I haven't seen you come to the palace much lately. What have you been busy with?"
"With Brother Xu dedicating himself to the development of the empire, it seems that it doesn't matter whether I come or not, right?"
Cheng Gujian rarely teased, "But I've also experienced the modifications you and your wife made, and they were even more interesting than I expected."
To be fair, he was actually the first person to make a deal with Xu Shi. However, the deal only involved weapons and did not involve daily life, so many things were new to him, and this praise came from the bottom of his heart.
"Since it's a collaboration, I certainly won't go back on my word."
Xu Shi smiled and said, "I am a very trustworthy person."
"I can tell."
Cheng Gujian remained noncommittal, "However, I still have to remind you that although you are using a strategy of gradually encroaching on the Holy See, they probably can't tolerate even a grain of sand in their eyes. They may seem to be not reacting now, but I'm afraid their plans for you haven't stopped at all."
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