I'm a villain, not a devil

"The war is intense, and not many people care about Bai You's affairs anymore. It's time for you to return to the palace."

On the top floor of the Lan family’s building, Lan Youshan was talking to Lan Keer.

Elisa Lam didn't say anything, but just nodded: "I understand, father."

"Yeah." Lan Youshan took a sip of tea and looked at his daughter again.

He has been in the imperial officialdom for his entire life, and the girl in front of him is his own daughter. If we talk about understanding, no one knows Elisa Lam better than him.

Lan Youshan knew very well that his daughter had disliked life in the palace since she entered it. However, he had brought her up well, and she was also sensible, so it was not a big problem.

In the past, he could see the sorrow and loss hidden in Elisa Lam, but compared with the survival of the Lam family, these were just trivial matters, and he would not comfort her.

It was a little strange when I saw her today. Although her expression looked almost the same as usual, Elisa Lam's face was much rosier and her brows were not as furrowed as before.

Something's wrong...

Lan Youshan had met countless people and had a vague feeling that something had happened to his daughter.

Even, what kind of person she met... After all, her daughter has no feelings for His Majesty, so it is not an exaggeration to say that she is a widow. Put yourself in her shoes, it is a rare opportunity to live outside the palace for a long time, so it is not surprising that she has a few male favorites.

Although the maid assigned to her didn't send back any news, Lan Youshan was still worried and prepared to give it a try.

After all, this is no small matter. If His Majesty knew about it...

Lan Youshan sighed, looked at Lan Ke'er with an apologetic look, and said with some self-blame: "Ke'er, I know that you have been working hard for the Lan family all this time... It's rare for you to leave the palace and spend a few days relaxing. Now I want you to go back. This is unfair to you."

As he spoke, Lan Youshan looked at Lam Ker's expression silently.

She seemed indifferent, but the slight movement of her sleeves betrayed her actions under the table.

She was clenching her fists, which meant she was still dissatisfied.

Lan Youshan was not angry, but relieved. Fortunately, his daughter did not betray His Majesty.

Based on his understanding of his daughter, if she really had a male lover, she would not be affected at all - she had acting skills, but they were not enough, so, being calm was the best option.

"My daughter knows that as a member of the Lan family, this is what I should do." Lan Keer forced a smile.

Lan Youshan was completely relieved. After saying a few soothing words, he put down his teacup and said, "Go back as soon as possible. Since Bai You's incident, we have no sources of information in the palace. We have to rely on you."

My role is still just these... Lam Kelvin sighed in her heart, her position in her father's heart has never changed.

It’s just that she doesn’t care now… After she stops caring, many things become simpler. For example, with my father’s suspicion, he would probably test me a few times.

Elisa Lam knew that her father knew her very well, but what no one knew was that she also knew her father very well.

After all, she once admired her father very much. After all, her father helped her record the first song.

But things have changed and people have changed. Everything has changed.

After calming down, Lan Ke'er asked softly with an unchanged expression, "How is the matter of you going to see Grand Duke Yuantie going?"

At this point, Lan Youshan pressed his temple with a headache and said, "We can talk, but I'm afraid the Second Prince will be in trouble."

"Why do you say that?"

Lan Youshan sighed, "On the day the Marshal issued the logging order, he had the Security Bureau deliberately delay the process. Led by Grand Duke Yuantie's personal guards, he led his troops to advance from behind, intending to destroy the enemy forces near Ilia City... I received news yesterday. With so many people, and with people from the other three political regions sent in to intercept and surround them, an elite force still escaped. Now there is no trace of them at all."

Lan Keer was surprised and said, "Then, if this elite enemy army penetrates deep into the hinterland, won't the empire have to allocate several times or even ten times its troops to restrain the enemy?"

Lan Youshan frowned, "That's it... He disobeyed the Marshal's orders and ended up not making any contributions. I heard that even His Majesty knows about this and might want to call him over to reprimand him."

"What about us?" Elisa Lam asked tentatively.

Lan Youshan waved his hand and said, "The eldest prince is powerful, so we still have to join forces with the second prince. Although we will be scolded, it will not be like Bai You. Anyway, the second prince and Grand Duke Yuantie have always been unpopular, so this is not a big deal. However, I am afraid that he will spit out something."

The chairman's eyes gleamed with a gleam of light: "The thing from the Security Bureau was eaten by the little girl Bai Ye. It seems that it was the prince's intention... We can't snatch it, but the other things that Bai Wen vomited, we can use the name of fighting for it to let Bai Si eat it. Grand Duke Yuantie and Bai Wen will not refuse."

He looked at his daughter and said, "So, you need to go back to the palace and see which way the wind is blowing. If His Majesty is angry, we may be able to swallow a little more."

Elisa Lam nodded silently, indicating that she understood.

After finishing the business, Lan Youshan stood up and led Lan Keer out.

"When you return to the palace, bring some gifts and give them to the palace prime minister and others to express your gratitude for their care during this period of time." He ordered.

"I see. However, Mr. Covens never accepts gifts."

"It doesn't matter whether you accept it or not, you have to have an attitude. Besides, Baiyou is still in Heige. Although your gift is against the rules, no one can blame you. You just need to take this opportunity to observe Covens's movements and judge His Majesty's thoughts... In addition, this time is different. Covens will be tempted."

"I see."

The father and daughter walked out, the elevator door opened, and a group of Lan family's personal staff were inside.

Seeing the two of them, the leader quickly greeted them.

Lan Youshan nodded, signaling them to leave, and then took another elevator.

In the elevator, Lan Youshan casually chatted, "The facilities on the rooftop might be broken. A lot of water leaked the night before yesterday. Alas, you're not at home, no one uses the swimming pool, and no one goes to the rooftop to play, so it's just abandoned."

Elisa Lam lowered her head and said softly, "My daughter is already this age, and she has no interest in fun things anymore."

She said this, but her heart was filled with waves when she thought about what happened between her and Sean on the rooftop that night.

Should we find a chance to ask Sean to come to our swimming pool?

Elisa Lam, who had been completely liberated, thought excitedly.

……

Outside the palace, the galloping team stopped. The dusty Second Prince got off the car and ran quickly towards the palace.

In the team, the extremely cool Qi Qia raised her middle finger towards the second prince's back. Of course, no one dared to look at her.

"You have no ability, but you still have to do this to make a little money. Tsk, it's boring." Qiqia glanced around boredly, and finally set his eyes on Moza.

Although the operation ended very badly, Moza, who found the enemy's position and killed the enemy bravely, still received a lot of attention, including Qiqia.

However, Qiqiya’s emphasis may be different from that of the Second Prince.

"Hey, Moza, come to my place tonight." She said in a commanding tone.

Moza, who was leaning against the side silently, just raised his head slightly and said, "I'm not interested. Besides, the Second Prince probably won't like you taking me out to have fun after giving him the middle finger."

Qi Qia snorted, "I only helped him because of his mother, Grand Duke Yuan Tie. If he had the guts to ask me to get out of the team, I would look up to him."

As she spoke, she walked to Moza's side and pressed her powerful body against him without any hesitation: "You are quite interesting. Although you haven't reached the deep red level yet, it's only a matter of time. After you advance, you will definitely be stronger than Bai Wen. Don't you want to consider it? As long as you make me happy, I will help you advance."

Moza still didn't look up: "Not interested, I just have to work hard for His Highness, and I will get what I want sooner or later."

"Tsk, are you impotent?"

"Whatever you think."

Moza straightened up calmly: "Please tell your highness that I'm going back to training."

After saying that, he left the place without any reluctance.

When Moza walked away, Qiqia, who had been so coquettish just now, narrowed his eyes slightly, and his subordinates wearing kite iron armor approached.

"Sir, do you want to follow him?"

Qi Qia curled her lips and said, "I can't follow him. He suddenly disappeared in Ilia City to look for the traces of those tree people, and I couldn't follow him, right?"

"That?"

Qi Qia rubbed his shoulders and said, "We can relax the monitoring for a while. Go back and report to the Grand Duke. Moza is quite sincere. Tsk, you can consider giving him a promotion. He is indeed very capable."

"Yes."

……

The Imperial Palace located on the top of the mountain is steep and huge, and most of the palace complex here is built on the hillside. It is said that the bones of a special mutant species were used during its construction, so the overall building is extremely solid.

Going further up, you will reach the highest point of the mountain, the deepest part of the palace, which is also the highest place in the entire empire.

I heard that there is an observation deck there, and through a special telescope, the owner of the observation deck can see the entire territory of the empire.

Of course, there is only one master, the famous Baidi IV.

I heard that he once publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with this name - because he was the first person to expand the empire's territory, he did not like the title of the fourth generation, so no one would call him that.

It is said that he once gave himself a title, but for some reason, he no longer allowed anyone to mention it after a few years.

Therefore, all the people in the empire now respectfully address him as Your Majesty, without any special title.

In front of the emperor's bedroom that looked like a temple, the second prince Bai Wen, who looked extremely embarrassed, was kneeling on the stone road.

Because of His Majesty's request, this place, in addition to a few servants and guards, was only staffed by the eunuchs headed by the Prime Minister, Covens. The huge courtyard was empty, and the towering and majestic palace stood in front, giving people a great sense of oppression.

After kneeling for a long time, Bai Wen heard footsteps.

Is it finally here... Bai Wen lowered his head even more, making him look more embarrassed and annoyed.

The palace minister, Covens, walked over quickly and whispered, "Your Highness, Second Prince, His Majesty asks you, why don't you go find His Highness the Prince first?"

Bai Wen's body stiffened. He didn't expect his father to ask this question.

After thinking it over again and again, he still said in fear: "Bai Wen has failed the expectations of my father and uncle, so I dare not go."

Covens asked again: "Your Majesty, why did you come to see him?"

Bai Wen gritted his teeth and continued to answer: "I hope my father will punish me..."

At the same time, a faint sigh came from the bedroom, and Bai Wen quickly knocked his head on the stone slab.

"Father, Bai Wen knows he was wrong. Please punish me!"

Covens looked back and bowed to Bai Wen. "Your Majesty is going to rest. I have to deal with some matters. Your Highness, if you are tired of kneeling, go to His Royal Highness to receive the punishment. Just remember not to disturb His Majesty."

After saying that, Covens walked out of the courtyard. The empire's database and government affairs were all in the office below the courtyard. His Majesty had not asked about government affairs for a long time, and most of the matters were handled by the eunuchs led by him.

Bai Wen's expression froze. He had helped out in the office for a period of time before, so he knew very well that when Covens left the bedroom, his father would really rest.

Then... should I kneel down? Or should I go to the emperor's uncle to apologize...

Covens really didn't care about the second prince anymore. He took the lift platform and arrived at the office in a short while.

The top priority now is foreign invasion, but that is mainly the responsibility of the military, and the real decision-makers are only His Majesty and His Royal Highness. For Covens, his work during this period has become a lot easier.

Walking around the corridor, Covens sensed something and looked up to see Lan Fei.

"Greetings, Princess Lan." He immediately bowed his head.

Elisa Lam quickly asked him to excuse himself: "You're welcome. Mr. Covens, you've worked hard during this period."

"This is all my job, what are you doing?"

Elisa Lam glanced around and then slipped a card into Covens' sleeve: "I went out of the palace to relax and just came back to say hello to Your Majesty."

Covens took a step back and gently pushed the card away: "His Majesty has read the report before you returned to the palace, but His Majesty has been resting for a long time recently, and he knows your feelings. His Majesty said that you still have to worry about the affairs of the harem."

Because of the incident with the Third Prince, Concubine Lan left the palace to avoid suspicion. Now that the incident is over, it is normal for her to come back.

Covens also knew that the other party was just going through the motions. After all, she and His Majesty had not met for several years.

Every time Elisa Lam came, she would bring gifts, not only him, but other eunuchs also received gifts. As for other people accepting gifts, Covens acquiesced. His Majesty had not been involved in government affairs for many years, and they, the eunuchs, had no reason to make money, so Covens would not stop others from making some money. After all, it was not easy to serve His Majesty who was ill.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and then Elisa Lam asked about the second prince.

Covens picked out a few things to tell the other party and prepared to say goodbye and leave.

However, Elisa Lam stopped him and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Covens, I want to look up some information. Can you help me?"

As she said that, she stuffed the card back in, and the card became a little thicker.

Two sheets.

Without waiting for Covens to refuse, Lam said again: "The northern enemies are harassing the border. Although the empire is not afraid, it is also troublesome... After the loss of the vanguard army last time, the military is recruiting again. This time, many people have the opportunity to be awarded the title."

She lowered her voice again: "I heard that the logistics troops are also going to expand their recruitment..."

Covens' eyes flickered slightly.

There is no need to say much about the safety factor of the logistics troops. As long as they stay there safely until the end of the war, there is a high probability that officers and above will be awarded titles.

Since they said so... I guess they know about my son outside the palace...