Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 528

After driving for a few minutes, Ellie suddenly spoke up.

She asked softly, "Yan Yan, if... someone told you that one of your highly respected elders might have a problem, what would you think?"

'Oh no, Ellie is really going to leave me behind and go eat snacks by herself!'

Yan Yan's face remained expressionless, but her heart was churning like a stormy sea.

As early as tonight's banquet, Yan Yan had noticed Princess Xi's unnatural state and Kou Yu's arrogant and domineering manner.

Although she couldn't figure out why this was happening, Yan Yan clearly sensed the numerous conflicts within the envoy group.

Therefore, only after Princess Xi clearly expressed her interest in Qiu Tu tonight did she take the initiative to reveal Qiu Tu's strength and power.

As expected... Princess Xi has taken the bait, wanting to use Qiu Tu's power to break the deadlock.

As for why Princess Xi didn't use other high-ranking members of the Eighth Sanctuary, such as Elder Pang, to break the deadlock, Yan Yan has two guesses.

Otherwise, it's because Elder Pang's position is too high, and Princess Xi is worried that she can't control him, ultimately letting a wolf into the house.

Otherwise, it's possible that Elder Pang has some issues.

After all, as the head of the "academic faction," Elder Pang should be the one with the closest ties to the 6th Shelter among all the high-ranking members of the 8th Shelter.

It's possible that they have close ties with the Kou family.

Of course, these are all just Yan Yan's guesses, without any concrete evidence.

But... Ellie's words now confirm all her guesses.

Therefore, she didn't even need to think to guess that Ellie would be going to see Qiu Tu tonight at the request of Princess Xi to discuss cooperation matters.

Whether Qiu Tu will cooperate with Princess Xi, Yan Yan doesn't know. But Yan Yan knows that regardless of whether they cooperate or not, since Ellie has offered herself up, Qiu Tu will definitely take her!

'I'm clearly my master's personal money-devouring beast!'

'Why is Ellie the only one enjoying all the good fortune right now?!'

Thinking of this, Yan Yan couldn't help but feel a little angry...

But when she realized that the main target this time was not Ellie, but Princess Xi, Yan Yan suppressed her jealousy and decided to cooperate a little longer.

After all, she believed that if she obediently worked for her master's benefit, her master would definitely reward her.

......

Meanwhile, while Yan Yan was talking to Ellie.

In Dongcheng City, at Old Pang's temporary residence, a guest was arriving.

Looking at the uninvited guest at the door, Old Pang's gaze darkened slightly, but he still nodded and said, "Lord Kou, please come in."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the study on the first floor.

Behind him stood Kou Yu, the second son of the Kou family, who was also the cabinet minister of the 6th Sanctuary and the deputy head of the delegation.

After leading Kou Yu to the study, Old Pang closed the door behind him.

With a grim expression, he poured Kou Yu a glass of water, then slammed it down on the table, saying with an air of authority, "You've gone too far!"

Kou Yu showed little respect to Pang Lao, one of the leaders of the 8th Shelter.

He sat down, crossed his legs, and still had that arrogant and haughty demeanor.

He glanced at Elder Pang sideways, then feigned ignorance and said, "What's excessive? Elder Pang, what are you talking about?"

Upon hearing this, Old Pang snorted coldly, his face darkening, and said in a deep voice, "Do you think you can hide your little tricks from anyone?"

"Qiu Tu isn't stupid, and neither are the other high-ranking officials who came down. Everyone can see that the princess has been controlled by you."

"You haven't even taken control of Shelter 6 yet. Do you know how bad the situation is?"

Hearing what Elder Pang said, Kou Yu casually took a sip of water and then said, "So what if I figured it out?"

“I want them to see it. To know that now, in Shelter No. 6, the Kou family is in charge.”

"King Kang and his queen are nothing but our puppets!"

"Even King Kang now, hehehe..."

At this point, perhaps realizing that Old Pang had been criticizing him, Kou Yu clicked his tongue, then looked up and retorted, "By the way, Old Pang, what are you whining about, this crocodile tears?"

"Isn't this situation partly your doing?"

Kou Yu said sarcastically, "Back then, I don't know who it was that righteously declared to my brother that monarchy was a step backward for the times."

"According to Leviathan's social contract theory, the state is a political system that is supported by the people and serves the people."

"The rights of the state are ceded by the people. The state cannot exercise power that the people have not granted, and the people must always be vigilant against the state exercising power beyond what is permitted."

"Therefore, monarchy is an alienated political system that violently deprives the people of their power. It is a dictatorship."

"That's why you're willing to cooperate with us to eliminate some of the promising talents that King Kang has been cultivating."

"This directly led to a decline in the power of the Kang King, who gradually lost control of the sanctuary."

At this point, Kou Yu leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked at Old Pang with a defiant glare, "What? Old Pang, now that things have come to this, you're starting to blame us?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's words, Old Pang's face turned pale and then red.

He stared at Kou Yu, just stared.

After a moment, he snorted coldly, then sat down heavily and said, "I was thinking of taking things slowly."

"First, transform the Sixth Sanctuary from a 'dualistic constitutional monarchy' into a 'parliamentary constitutional monarchy,' stripping the monarch of real power."

"Then the monarchy will be abolished and replaced by a republic."

"Let's take it one step at a time."

"Who knew you would take such big steps?"

Hearing what Elder Pang said, Kou Yu replied in a nonchalant manner,

"Don't try to pin this huge blame on me."

"I killed all of Princess Xi's close attendants and maids, and then slightly restricted Princess Xi's access."

"But... I'm just worried that she might develop some inappropriate thoughts that could disrupt our plans. I haven't done anything to her."

"As for the rest, those are all my brother's decisions. If you have any questions, just go talk to my brother."

Old Pang's expression froze.

The image of that almost supernaturally intelligent man, who joined hands with King Kang to establish the 6th Sanctuary and single-handedly brought the Kou family back to its peak, involuntarily appeared before him.

In the numerous crises at the 6th Shelter and the Kou family, it was that man who turned the tide and saved the day from collapse.

Even Mr. Rao praised him as a true hero, jokingly saying that the Sixth Sanctuary was half his credit.

Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, Mr. Pang ultimately decided not to continue.

He paused for a moment, then smoothed things over, saying in a low voice, "Alright. I transferred Huang Shangzong away specifically for your sake."

“He had a past relationship with Ellie’s parents, and for the past 10 years he has been raising Ellie as half a daughter. If he finds out about our plans, he’ll probably cause an uproar.”

"That's why I realized that Rao Shou and the others wanted to support Qiu Tu, so I hinted to them that Huang Shangzong was more suitable for expanding the territory, and asked them to transfer Huang Shangzong away, while keeping Qiu Tu in Dongye Prefecture."

Upon hearing what Elder Pang said, Kou Yu chuckled twice and then said, "I heard that you even voted against the first performance in order to go all out in the acting."

Old Pang smiled smugly and said, "Those two old foxes, Rao Shou, are very suspicious. If I had agreed right away, they would have been on guard and suspected something was amiss."

Upon hearing this, Kou Yu slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.

After laughing, he couldn't help but ask, "So, what's Qiu Tu like?"

"Will he affect our plans?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's words, Elder Pang hesitated for a moment before saying, "Qiu Tu is very strong and capable. Moreover, his political acumen is exceptional."

"He is not a meddlesome person, and he even prefers to let things be in his own little world."

"So, as long as you don't provoke him, there won't be a big problem."

At this point, as if remembering something, Old Pang said, "Oh, right. This man has a terrible lifestyle, and he's surrounded by beautiful women."

"Women might be his only weakness. So... you need to make sure he doesn't have any contact with Princess Xi. To prevent Princess Xi from persuading him."

Upon hearing this, Kou Yu said nonchalantly, "Don't worry. It's nothing."

"Today, he actually slapped me in the face by going to see the princess."

"The princess was moved by him and wanted to respond. Fortunately, the maid I had placed by her side managed to restrain her a little."

"I arrived later and separated the two of them."

"At the time, Qiu Tu must have noticed something unusual, but he didn't say anything. He obviously didn't care much about what was going on at our No. 6 shelter."

At this point, Kou Yu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke up,

"By the way, I heard... Qiu Tu captured Mu Ye?"

"How is this going?"

"What's the current situation with Mu Ye?"

Upon hearing Kou Yu's words, Old Pang paused for a moment, then looked at Kou Yu suspiciously before slowly explaining the situation...

.......

Qiu Tu returned to Dongcheng City three hours later.

By this time, Ellie had been waiting at his villa for a while.

Back in his bedroom, after changing into his pajamas, Qiu Tu abandoned his "uncompromising" attitude, then pretended to yawn as he went downstairs.

After several days, Ellie still felt a little awkward when she saw Qiu Tu again.

It was clearly her first time, but it happened so hastily, so surreal, that she even began to doubt whether it was really her that day.

It was precisely because of this hesitation that, despite having devoted her loyalty to Qiu Tu, she had been hesitant to contact him for a long time.

She originally wanted to escape a little longer, but tonight Princess Xi's request has driven her into a dead end.

Actually, she had mentally prepared herself for a long time before coming. She even... gambled on cards with Yan Yan several times.

Her idea was that even if she only won one game, she wouldn't come.

As a result... Yan Yan, whose card skills are usually terrible, seemed to have struck gold tonight, completely crushing her hand in every round.

So... true to her word, she ended up slinking back.

Now, seeing the only man who had ever been inside her, Ellie was momentarily flustered.

They didn't even know where to put their hands.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu naturally walked over, put his arm around the girl's shoulder, and then sat her down, saying, "Why haven't you contacted me all this time?"

Ellie: ? ?

Ellie, who was initially a little flustered, was filled with questions when she heard Qiu Tu's words of turning the tables.

She tossed her pigtails and then asked in return, "But... you haven't contacted me either."

Qiu Tu put his arm around her, lit a cigarette, and said matter-of-factly, "Yeah. You've seen how busy I've been lately."

Ellie's expression froze.

Qiu Tu has indeed been very busy lately. Since parting ways with me, he first went to capture Mu Ye, then got promoted, and then received the delegation.

When you do the math, it really seems like there's not much time.

Thinking about this, Ellie herself was a little confused for a moment.

So... was it really because I was being immature?

Ellie suspects she's being manipulated by psychological manipulation (PUA).

However, before she could figure it out, Qiu Tu smoothly changed the subject, "By the way, what did you come to see me for tonight?"

Upon hearing this, Ellie remembered the important matter at hand.

She reached into her hand, pulled out an envelope, handed it to Qiu Tu, and said, "This is what Princess Xi asked me to give you."

She said she needed your help with something.

"Princess Xi?" Qiu Tu had a premonition that this day would come, but he didn't expect it to come so soon.

He reached out and took the envelope, then opened it.