“What are you afraid of?” Lu Chen remained unwavering, enunciating each word with precision. “I am Lu Chen, an official in the Engineering Department. I intend to go to the yamen to handle official business.”

He finished, staring at Wu Zongyun expressionlessly and calmly asked, “Vice Minister Lu, did you hear that clearly?”

“Good! Very good! Excellent!”

Wu Zongyun repeated “good” three times in a row, looking at Lu Chen as though he were looking at a dead man. “I never expected that I would misjudge so greatly. A young man like you not only lacks the broad-mindedness of those of us who care for the people’s well-being, but you are also more foolish than those who hold themselves aloof from worldly affairs. You’re unbelievably stupid, beyond redemption!”

Xiao Yun’s mouth opened, seemingly wanting to advise Lu Chen further, but the words halted on her lips. Her expression turned complex, and a sense of self-deprecation emerged faintly in her exquisite features.

“If being loyal to the emperor and loving the country is considered foolishness.”

Lu Chen didn’t look at Wu Zongyun again. Instead, he tilted his head upwards at a forty-five-degree angle, gazing at the sky where a pale light was breaking. Deep and profound emotions filled his calm eyes as he slowly uttered those words as weighty as a thousand pounds, “Then I’ll be a fool for the rest of my life.”

As his words fell, a glint of light suddenly flashed from a barely noticeable corner of the alley behind Xiao Yun.

Xiao Yun’s eyes sparkled with intrigue as she looked at Lu Chen, while a sense of inexplicable shame surged within Wu Zongyun. He felt an intense urge to escape this place.

He flung his hand, sneered coldly, and said, “Humph! When you’re dismissed from office, carrying a load of charges, and marched onto the execution ground, you won’t regret today’s decision!”

Leaving these words behind, without waiting for Lu Chen to respond, he turned sharply and walked away, paying no further attention to them. He headed northward along the main road.

After Wu Zongyun left, Xiao Yun finally spoke, “Huaiyu, are you really going to do this?”

Without hesitation, Lu Chen replied solemnly, “I am an official appointed by Her Majesty personally, with the Great Prosperity Dynasty’s official seal in my possession. From the moment I received the seal, I am destined to dedicate my heart and soul to Her Majesty. Therefore, no matter what happens, I will never fail to live up to Her Majesty’s kindness. As long as Her Majesty has not removed me from my post, I will fulfill my duties to the end.”

Feeling Lu Chen’s resolute determination, observing his unwavering gaze, Xiao Yun found herself lost in admiration. For a moment, she seemed a bit dazed, to encounter such an unfailingly loyal person in this world…

However, deep within Lu Chen’s heart, he felt a slight discomfort due to the words he had just spoken. Specifically, he felt a bit… nauseated.

He didn’t want to say such things, but there was no other choice. Who asked him to be saddled with such a bizarre system? Furthermore, he wished to present this image to the Cangming Holy King: a cultivator who was absolutely loyal to the Empress Dowager and would not be tolerated by the new emperor.

Xiao Yun asked softly, “Aren’t you afraid?”

“I am.” Lu Chen sighed. “But I am more afraid of not being able to face Her Majesty’s gaze a hundred years from now.”

Hearing this, Xiao Yun lowered her head involuntarily.

“Has your sect not intervened in your decision?”