Ye Liuyun, on the other hand, wasn't affected at all.
He ate when he should, drank when he should, and checked in on time when it was time to check in.
"Sigh!"
Days when you have to go to work before dawn—when will they ever end?
Inside the room, Ye Liuyun let the maid Xing'Er dress him, staring at the pitch-black sky outside, looking utterly melancholic.
"Master, you don't have to worry."
Seeing Ye Liuyun sigh, Xing'Er secured his saber at his waist, smiling radiantly as she spoke.
"Master, when you check in at the Embroidered Uniform Guard today, you might get a surprise."
Thinking of the news she'd overheard last night from Lady Sheng Lanzhi, the smile on Xing'Er's face grew even wider.
"A surprise? What kind of surprise?"
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun froze for a moment, looking over in surprise.
"Not telling! Anyway, Master will find out once you get to the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"Still playing mysterious with me, huh?"
Ye Liuyun flicked a finger against Xing'Er's forehead and walked out with a smile, not bothering to press further.
Anyway, he was about to head out, might as well see what this surprise is.
Xing'Er didn't get annoyed either, still smiling happily as she followed behind Ye Liuyun.
He only left for the office after breakfast.
,,,
"Sir!"
Si Nan had been a little flustered—after all, rank wins, and if a Lord Hundred Households wanted to make trouble for a Commander, it wasn't exactly hard.
But seeing Ye Liuyun walking over with the same calm expression, totally unconcerned, Si Nan's anxiety eased substantially.
Don't tell me he didn't sleep all night.
Seeing Si Nan looking a little tired, Ye Liuyun couldn't help but give him another two glances.
He still needs to work on his mindset.
"Alright, I'm here. The sky isn't falling."
If someone really wants to mess with me, worst case, just find a chance to kill him.
If it can't be handled in the Imperial City, then find an opportunity outside the city. No way Lu Quan will stay locked up inside forever.
"Hahaha!"
Just then, a familiar bout of laughter echoed over.
Ye Liuyun turned his head—it was Shi Sheng and his group walking up. Shi Sheng seemed to be in a good mood, and you could hear his smug laughter from a mile away.
"Shi Master, you seem pretty cheerful today!"
Seeing him approach, Ye Liuyun greeted him casually.
Indeed.
The moment Shi Sheng saw Ye Liuyun, his face instantly changed, and he stifled his laughter.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, he brushed past Ye Liuyun.
Even though the recent incident had made Shi Sheng look at Ye Liuyun differently, he was still going to put on a sour face when it was called for.
"Ha!"
Ye Liuyun simply grinned, unbothered.
After all, spend enough time with Shi Sheng and you'll see—that's his attitude towards everyone.
"Yo, Shi Master, you're in a good mood today!"
Another passing Commander also greeted Shi Sheng like this.
"Scram!"
,,,
No wonder Shi Sheng doesn't have many friends in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He basically looks down equally on everyone, thinks they're all just seat-warmers.
Watching Shi Sheng's retreating figure, Ye Liuyun finally realized why the guy was so pleased today.
"Target: Shi Sheng!
Realm: First-class Martial Artist!
Talent Entry: Thick Skin (Blue), Valor (Blue),"
He'd made a breakthrough, alright—was Second-class Martial Artist before, now made it to First-class. No wonder he's so happy.
,,,
As for Shi Sheng's business, Ye Liuyun didn't give it much thought.
The plan was to look over the files for a while, then visit the Imperial Prison and see if he could collect a few more Talent Entries.
And just then—
"Sir! Sir!"
Si Nan's anxious figure suddenly rushed in.
"What is it, someone here to mess with us?"
Seeing Si Nan all anxious, Ye Liuyun could pretty much guess the situation.
"Pretty much, Lord Hundred Households Lu Quan is here."
Yesterday's business, and already here early this morning—guy's efficient.
"Since a Lord Hundred Households has come knocking, invite him in." Ye Liuyun wasn't flustered at all. What should come will come.
Just as well, Ye Liuyun was curious how Lu Quan would try to make trouble for him.
Soon.
A sturdier man entered, wearing an official robe nearly identical to Ye Liuyun's.
The uniforms for Embroidered Uniform Guard Commanders and Lord Hundred Households were almost the same—only Lord Thousand Households and above had different attire.
The man was Lu Quan.
Ye Liuyun used his system ability to take a look—First-class strength, nothing to worry about.
"Hmph!"
Didn't wait for Ye Liuyun to speak before immediately launching his attack.
"So that's it. I was wondering how you got the guts to provoke me. Turns out, you're just living off your wife."
Lu Quan was originally here to stir up trouble.
But got stopped along the way by a Lord Thousand Households who assigned him some things—Lu Quan realized he couldn't mess with Ye Liuyun like he wanted. Still, he was annoyed as hell, so his words were loaded with barbs.
If it were the old Ye Liufeng, he probably couldn't handle this kind of ridicule.
Proud and vain—but still living off his wife, hoping to look dignified at the same time.
But Ye Liuyun had no such worries.
"Living off your wife is still a skill, isn't it? Shame Lord Lu didn't score that deal—what, are you too ugly, never got the chance?"
"You!"
Came to mock others, but now he was the one about to lose it.
Ye Liuyun cut him off early: "So, Lord Lu, you didn't just come here to talk this kind of nonsense, did you?"
If he's really here to make trouble, he wouldn't just spout a few lines—probably would've thrown hands by now.
Sure enough.
After Ye Liuyun said that, Lu Quan looked pissed, but didn't keep going.
Instead, he threw something at Ye Liuyun, and in his irritation, added a bit of inner strength to the toss.
Just to try and embarrass Ye Liuyun, even if only for a moment.
But.
"Bang!"
Ye Liuyun just raised his hand and caught the fast-moving black shadow steady as you please.
"Your strength—!"
That stunned Lu Quan quite a bit.
With his First-class Martial Artist strength, the old Ye Liufeng who was still Third-class shouldn't have been able to catch that.
"Been training a lot lately, had a bit of a breakthrough."
Ye Liuyun replied blandly to Lu Quan's surprise.
He looked at the thing in his hand—thought it was a hidden weapon, but turns out it was a badge.
"A Lord Hundred Households token?"
Ye Liuyun was briefly surprised. Si Nan, who'd been standing quietly to the side, couldn't help but lean closer at that.
A Lord Hundred Households token?
Is our lord getting promoted?
"Hiss!" Well, that explains it.
No wonder the boss wasn't bothered at all yesterday—he already knew he's getting the promotion.
Good thing I kept my cool. Guess I really didn't bet on the wrong person.
Si Nan automatically filled in the blanks—Ye Liuyun wasn't bothered because he knew he was moving up, that's why he was so chill last night.
,,,,,,,