{"id":8040,"date":"2026-06-30T08:43:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/?p=8040"},"modified":"2026-06-30T08:43:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T06:43:35","slug":"your-majesty-you-mustnt-chapter-128-is-that-not-allowed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/2026\/06\/30\/your-majesty-you-mustnt-chapter-128-is-that-not-allowed\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Majesty, you mustn&#8217;t! &#8211; Chapter 128: \u201cIs That Not Allowed?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After leaving the Song residence, Xiao Rong held his hand warmers. He looked back at the tall plaque of the Song Family\u2019s residence, said nothing, and walked back the way he had come.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the weather was cold, there were still many people on the streets. Everyone walked in a hurry, though no one knew exactly what they were rushing to do. There were different kinds of haste. Last year, when Xiao Rong saw people in Southern Yong, they also looked like they were rushing home, but those people, besides being anxious, also gave off a tense feeling. They didn\u2019t just look forward, they also had to watch their surroundings. If someone suddenly approached them, they could be startled into a sharp turn, and anyone who didn\u2019t know better would think they were living in a place overrun with monsters and demons.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chenliu no longer had that situation. No one looked around nervously, and no one stood in the street rolling their eyes around. Even someone like Xiao Rong could go out with only one attendant. If anyone blind enough dared to attack him, then he might even be able to recover a bit of his past enjoyment.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since others had things to do, they walked quickly. Xiao Rong, having nothing in particular to do, strolled slowly. When he saw a notice board ahead, he suddenly remembered something he had instructed earlier, and quickened his pace to glance over its contents.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On snowy days with slippery roads, the government urged all citizens to not only clear the snow in front of their own doors.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Donghe Dock was recruiting laborers. Because of the cold weather, an extra charcoal subsidy was given, and strong workers were preferred.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yunsha Pavilion, Hao Yi De. Address\u2014Baibao Street, turn left at Luer Alley, second storefront.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alright, advertisements are being posted now.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The notice board had originally been meant to serve the people. In truth, the government didn\u2019t issue many official documents each month. In the past, Xiao Rong had filled it with small life tips. Now, shopkeepers had discovered the benefits of the notice board as well, indirectly increasing people\u2019s interest in it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, not everyone could be allowed to post things. Otherwise, it would eventually become chaotic, and even official documents would no longer be visible. Fees would have to be charged.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong sighed inwardly. He wasn\u2019t doing it for money\u2014he was doing it for the order of the notice board.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the right side were unimportant postings. The left side contained the official notices, such as the Northern Army\u2019s great victory and the destruction of the Xianbei\u2014things worthy of being placed in the most prominent positions.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, Xiao Rong didn\u2019t come to look at those. He came to look at the wanted notice.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to his earlier instructions, Gao Xunzhi posted an official document announcing the eradication of the Qingfeng Cult. Later, overnight, he ordered woodblock carvings of a portrait, and Han Qing\u2019s face had been posted on every piece of land belonging to the Northern King.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A month has passed now. The portrait\u2019s edges have already curled from wind and sun. During that time, Xiao Rong was traveling and didn\u2019t know how the people reacted, though he assumed it could not have been good, since the Qingfeng Cult had many followers.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking at it now, he thought he should have delayed the order by a few days. Not long after they discovered Han Qing\u2019s trace, Yuan Baifu had rebelled. He originally planned to post the wanted notice first, then, after returning to Chenliu, immediately carry out a sweeping crackdown on the Qingfeng Cult. Who would have expected so many things to happen in between, delaying everything by a month?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gao Xunzhi had already left and was no longer managing affairs here. Song Shuo had been focused entirely on defending Chenliu and likely hadn\u2019t done much either. In the end, their actions had essentially alerted the Qingfeng Cult: \u201cRun quickly\u2014if you don\u2019t, the Northern Army will come and arrest you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How annoying.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Forget it. A monk could run away, but the temple could not. Outside the Central Plains, who else would accept the Qingfeng Cult\u2019s ideology? The lands beyond were almost surrounded by Buddhism, and the Qingfeng Cult would have no space to grow.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter how far they ran, they would still remain within the Central Plains, and as long as they stayed there, there would come a day when they would be completely wiped out.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shaking his head, Xiao Rong walked on.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That night, Ah Shu really did serve a table full of dishes. Qu Yunmie and Gao Xunzhi were still outside receiving guests, so dinner was just the four members of the Xiao family eating together.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At dusk, Danran returned. The moment she saw Xiao Rong, she rushed at him like a cannonball. He had never seen her this clingy before. These two months of separation had indeed left many people with lingering trauma. Danran wasn\u2019t especially young anymore, and she had truly believed she would never see Xiao Rong again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At that moment, Song Shuo had shaken off his own family and came to speak with Xiao Rong. He folded his arms and watched Danran cling to Xiao Rong, and couldn\u2019t help but let out a soft snort.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Little girl, not dignified at all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2026\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only when Sang Yan called her did Danran finally let go of Xiao Rong. Sang Yan carried her medicine bag and did not look at either Xiao Rong or Song Shuo in the eyes, but she no longer had the earlier discomfort of feeling suffocated after staying near them too long.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong watched this mother and daughter leave. After they were gone, he immediately turned to Song Shuo and asked, &#8220;Can Miss Sang now see people?!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pouting slightly, Song Shuo replied, &#8220;Not long after you left, there weren\u2019t enough doctors in the city. The Butewu tribe had no leader left, and Danran couldn\u2019t sit still and wanted to go see how the other tribesmen were doing. I couldn\u2019t possibly take her out myself, and I couldn\u2019t let Lady Xiao take her either. Losing one trip would mean losing two people. Xiao Yi was also busy taking care of Lady Xiao. So only her biological mother could go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this, Song Shuo became smug again. &#8220;Hmph, that stubborn Xiao Yi, even said he would handle it when he had time, but I forbade him from going out. That forced Danran to ask her mother. Now look\u2014who can say she is not a miraculous healer? From now on, don\u2019t call me Mr. Song. Call me Doctor Song.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what does this have to do with you?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although he didn\u2019t like Song Shuo\u2019s smug expression, Xiao Rong knew he had indeed helped.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sang Yan had suffered too much trauma, and neither Gao Xunzhi nor Agusheja could bear to push her, since she clearly looked like someone who would easily fall ill under pressure. Song Shuo, having no personal ties to her, was under more pressure than Sang Yan when Qu Yunmie\u2019s life and death were uncertain. He couldn\u2019t afford to be considerate, he just wanted no one to cause trouble for him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, intentionally or unintentionally, he had pushed Sang Yan out. The timing had also been good, and Sang Yan herself wanted to force herself forward.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie\u2019s situation had been a devastating blow to the entire Northern Army. In the past ten years, Sang Yan had hidden herself in a sealed mental \u201ccave\u201d she had built. Although the later events were difficult, she hadn\u2019t suffered such a blow during those ten years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then this new blow arrived, and if it were real, no one would be able to protect her daughter anymore.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indeed, sometimes destruction was necessary before rebuilding. This outcome had Qu Yunmie\u2019s share, Song Shuo\u2019s share, and of course, his own share.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Back then, he had vomited blood again and again, and that must have scared her as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thinking of this, Xiao Rong couldn\u2019t help but reveal an expression as smug as Song Shuo\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo looked at him in confusion.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Noticing his gaze, Xiao Rong coughed and said, &#8220;Clan Leader Agusheja will not be back for some time. The severely wounded soldiers who cannot move are now staying in Shengle City, and she is taking care of them there. This is the right opportunity. With her absence, Miss Sang must take on corresponding responsibilities. Everything is difficult in the beginning. If she practices more, perhaps her mental knot will be untied.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo\u2019s expression became even more confused.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Huh?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He had only gone along with things at the time. He never planned to \u201ctreat\u201d Sang Yan\u2019s illness. Now they were really going to resolve her inner trauma?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What did this have to do with him or Xiao Rong? Miss Sang was the Northern King\u2019s relative, they shouldn\u2019t be too involved. If the King found out and thought they were meddling, what then? Worse still, what if he thought they were scheming to pursue a widow?<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo was already nearly driven mad by his own family, and he sincerely felt this was a very real possibility. After all, if they couldn\u2019t marry their daughters to the King, then marrying the King\u2019s sister-in-law would also be a shortcut.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alarmed, he grabbed Xiao Rong\u2019s arm. &#8220;Men and women should not be too familiar\u2014you must not interact with her!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who said I was going to interact with her?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He shook his arm free. &#8220;Why would I interact with her? I understand propriety. I mean giving her some work to do so she can gradually get used to interacting with people. Being able to say a few words is already good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo said, \u201cShe does not speak to anyone in the infirmary. She does not even treat patients\u2014she only grinds and boils medicine, then brings Danran back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong thought for a moment. &#8220;Maybe the infirmary is too crowded, and she is afraid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo said disdainfully, &#8220;There is no place in Chenliu that is not crowded now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everywhere was packed shoulder to shoulder. Public order was becoming harder to maintain, and there were several fights every day, each involving incoming noble families.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The incoming families&#8217; statuses were high, so lower officials couldn\u2019t control them. The cases were sent to the government office, where Song Shuo had to deal with them personally.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong has now heard complaints about these incoming aristocratic youths for a second time. He blinked and said, &#8220;In a few days, once the Northern Army stabilizes, I will issue an invitation in my name and host a banquet to see what they are really planning.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo said, &#8220;You still need to see? They want to flatter the King and take a share of Chenliu. I thought you disliked these aristocrats. Didn\u2019t you always oppose them?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong raised a finger. &#8220;First, I do not dislike aristocratic young masters. I dislike the aristocratic system. Noble classes exist everywhere. To put it bluntly, aren\u2019t you and I now equivalent to high-ranking nobles in Chenliu?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then he raised a second finger. &#8220;Second, I never intended to shut out all noble families. There are so many of them, developed over hundreds of years. I cannot possibly kill them all\u2014and even if I tried, I would not eliminate them completely.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He looked away, thinking about the possibility of killing all his relatives.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hmm. It would be convenient, but they weren\u2019t really guilty enough to die.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He stayed silent.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong raised a third finger. &#8220;Lastly, it is better to guide than to block. Aristocrats have many bad habits, but there are also true upright scholars among them. The top families look down on us and wait for us to curry favor, but some lower-ranking families want to rise with the wind. They do not seek long-term glory for their descendants, only a lifetime of prosperity. Why should I not support such people?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo frowned and looked at him for a long time. &#8220;You cannot defeat them alone.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He didn\u2019t think Xiao Rong was incapable, but even he felt incapable of it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This was not one family\u2014it was dozens of families, each with ten or so subordinate branches, and thousands or even tens of thousands of dependents. When united, they were already enough to overwhelm any ruler. If they realized Xiao Rong wanted to restructure their system, they would immediately unite, and it wouldn\u2019t matter whether it was the Northern Army or the Southern Army\u2014they would overthrow them all. Even if the Central Plains split into more than ten small states, they wouldn\u2019t care, as long as their interests were protected.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even someone as confident as Song Shuo could only say \u201cimpossible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong fell silent for a moment, then smiled. &#8220;I am not alone. I have the King, I have you, and I have many loyal ministers and generals. If you go back a few years, would you have believed someone like Qu Yunmie could one day contend for the Central Plains? Opportunities appear in an instant. If you seize them, nothing is impossible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Song Shuo looked at him and said nothing.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">*<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After dinner, and comfortably taking a hot bath, Xiao Rong changed into the soft undergarments produced by Madam Chen. He let his hair fall loose and sat by the bed, thinking over his next plans.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mijing felt that waiting until spring began was too late, while Xiao Rong felt that waiting until spring began was too early. After war broke out, other matters would also erupt like a blowout, and the problem on their side was that they were prepared for war, but not prepared to solidify the fruits of victory.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie was too strong. He was like a bulldozer, constantly pushing the changes of this world forward, but others couldn\u2019t keep up with his pace. Therefore, the seemingly stable situation might be broken again at any time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That system was also useless. It only required Qu Yunmie to become emperor. As for what happened after he became emperor, it didn\u2019t matter at all.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Becoming emperor for even one day still counted as becoming emperor. However, if one became emperor for only a few years and was then overthrown and died as a wronged ghost, then what was the meaning of being an emperor at all? If it were Huang Yanjiong, perhaps he would have felt satisfied, since no matter what, he would have experienced what it was like to be the Son of Heaven. Qu Yunmie didn\u2019t have such a desire. He also wanted to obtain the world, but his idea was based on the belief that obtaining the world meant peace under heaven. Also that in doing so, he would live up to all the soldiers and civilians who relied on him, and he would no longer have to worry about being unable to protect those around him.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He worked hard for these reasons. As for the position, Qu Yunmie truly didn\u2019t care much.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong suddenly froze.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Speaking of Huang Yanjiong, he only just remembered that after Yuan Baifu\u2019s rebellion, they had rushed straight to Ningzhou. They didn\u2019t even know what happened to the reinforcements afterward. After the war ended, the Northern Army dispersed, no one wanted to go deeper. Some of the reinforcements returned on their own, while others returned together with the Northern Army. After the chaos in Ningzhou, he and Qu Yunmie had been unable to care about anything else.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Huang Yanjiong had always been very obedient. He hadn\u2019t even harassed Huang Keji much. After experiencing a real battlefield and real life-and-death situations, Huang Keji no longer took his uncle seriously. At first he had been in Wang Xinyong\u2019s army, and later he was transferred to Gongsun Yuan\u2019s unit. Now he was single-mindedly striving for military merit, hoping to become a formal general as soon as possible. The entanglements of the Huang family could no longer affect him much.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong felt something subtly strange.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In history, Huang Yanjiong had been the one who killed Qu Yunmie, turning such a proud man into a homeless dog.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He had done it without any luck or shortcuts. Although Huang Yanjiong\u2019s character was poor and he was vindictive, in defeating Qu Yunmie he had relied entirely on his own strength.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong had once regarded him as Qu Yunmie\u2019s number one formidable enemy. Even when Huang Yanjiong had still been a small fry, he had never dared to relax his vigilance. Yet now, more than a year had passed, and Qu Yunmie was already planning to point his sword at Southern Yong, while Huang Yanjiong was still trudging his way back to Jianning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now Huang Yanjiong had neither enough troops nor the right opportunity to develop. In just a few months, the situation had changed so drastically that Xiao Rong no longer even needed to worry about him coming to claim his original reward. The Northern Army and Southern Yong had completely broken off relations, so Huang Yanjiong could only swallow his bitterness and accept his misfortune.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His misfortunes weren\u2019t even over yet. He had taken so many troops to reinforce Qu Yunmie, and Sun Renluan had naturally seen that. At this moment, Sun Renluan was short on troops. He would definitely send a letter demanding that Huang Yanjiong immediately come to the capital to aid the emperor. No\u2014with Sun Renluan\u2019s character, he might not even write a letter this time. He would likely intercept Huang Yanjiong before he even returned home and force him to bring all his troops to Jinling.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A warlord without sufficient strength was always in such a passive position. Others could close their city gates and pretend to be ill, but Huang Yanjiong didn\u2019t have that option.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this life, he was truly out of luck. He hadn\u2019t seen a trace of rising fortune as just a small wretch caught in the battles of giants.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Xiao Rong wanted to know was whether such a person could still threaten Qu Yunmie.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While he was still deep in thought, someone suddenly knocked on his door. Before he even had time to look over, the door was already pushed open.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong said a little helplessly, &#8220;If you knock but do not wait for the owner to say \u2018come in\u2019 before entering, what difference is it from not knocking at all?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie saw that his hair was half-dry and half-wet, and immediately closed the door behind him. As he walked over, he said, &#8220;The difference is that after knocking, you know I have come.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong closed the book in his hand, and Qu Yunmie sat down beside him. He touched the ends of Xiao Rong\u2019s hair and felt it was still somewhat wet, so he stood up again to fetch a cloth towel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeing this, Xiao Rong turned slightly on his own initiative. Only when Qu Yunmie began drying his hair did he tilt his head and ask, &#8220;You just came back?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie replied, \u201cMm. There are suddenly many unfamiliar faces in Chenliu.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong chuckled lightly and looked forward again. &#8220;Many people told me the same thing today. This is only the beginning. It will become more and more lively in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie wrapped Xiao Rong\u2019s hair in the cloth towel and gently rubbed it. Even though his movements were very light, they still tugged at the roots of his hair slightly. It didn\u2019t hurt\u2014rather, it was a faint, tingling itch that felt somewhat comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong closed his eyes and began to feel drowsy. Behind him, he heard Qu Yunmie say, &#8220;In the future, I do not want to see so many people. It wastes time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong opened his eyes. He turned around, and his waterfall-like black hair slipped from Qu Yunmie\u2019s hands. Qu Yunmie looked up and saw Xiao Rong staring at him with a scheming expression.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Do you want me to help you with something?\u201d he asked.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie replied warily, &#8220;What help?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong smiled and said, &#8220;Of course something that can get you out of this predicament. Being too good-tempered isn\u2019t good either. Your reputation was not great before. Even if you have improved, people\u2019s impressions will not change overnight. If you meet everyone, they won\u2019t think you are recruiting the virtuous, they will think you are trying to make amends and lowering yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie looked displeased, but he knew Xiao Rong was right.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the solution was simple\u2013stop meeting them. It was only for one day anyway. At most, people would think he was acting erratically.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After he said this, Xiao Rong disagreed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They will think you are capricious, untrustworthy, and lacking resolve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He lost patience. &#8220;Then let them all die! What does this King have to do with those common rabble?!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Good\u2014he had already called them \u201ccommon rabble.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong almost laughed, but held it back. He took the wet towel from Qu Yunmie and casually folded it aside.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So let me help you,\u201d he said. &#8220;I plan to host a banquet in the next few days specifically inviting these newly arrived noble youths in Chenliu. At the banquet, they will definitely compete to show off. When they are alone, they will be cautious and afraid to speak incorrectly, but when gathered together, competition will arise, and some reckless ones will appear. At that point, you can use it as an excuse to lose your temper and drive them all out. Then you will never have to see them again.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So this was making him play the villain.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie laughed in anger. &#8220;Then you can step in to smooth things over for me, get along well with them, and if they do anything that displeases you, you can push all of it onto me and say that after that night I developed a strong prejudice against them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong pursed his lips. He realized he had been seen through, but he didn\u2019t care. He has never really hidden his intentions anyway.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After a moment of silence, Xiao Rong looked up again and smiled ingratiatingly at him. &#8220;Is that not allowed?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qu Yunmie: \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It was allowed. Of course it was allowed.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Xiao Rong smiled happily. Qu Yunmie, on the other hand, sighed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Soon after, Xiao Rong went to arrange everything, but he didn\u2019t know that things wouldn\u2019t go as smoothly as he imagined.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After all, no one could control Qu Yunmie\u2014even Qu Yunmie himself could not.<\/span><\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n<p>Edited by: Antiope<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Support translation:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=25191841\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"217\" height=\"51\" class=\"wp-image-338 lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/become_a_patron_button.png?resize=217%2C51\" alt=\"\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 217px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 217\/51;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/lajnaa\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/kofi3-3.png?resize=185%2C47\" alt=\"This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is kofi3-3.png\" width=\"185\" height=\"47\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 185px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 185\/47;\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>\r\n<p><!--EndFragment--><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After leaving the Song residence, Xiao Rong held his hand warmers. He looked back at the tall plaque of the Song Family\u2019s residence, said nothing, and walked back the way he had come. \u2026\u2026 Although the weather was cold, there were still many people on the streets. Everyone walked in a hurry, though no one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6644,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-your-majesty","entry","has-media"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ontimestory.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240106180053_200_280-1.jpg?fit=199%2C280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8040"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8040\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8041,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8040\/revisions\/8041"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ontimestory.eu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}