"Tell her she must hold off. Wait until I get back to help her!"
After turning it over and over in his mind, Ren Tao could see no other way forward.
He feared that this battle between Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue was precisely the opportunity Asura and the Sea God had deliberately engineered. Whatever happened, he could not let events fall onto the course they wanted.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qian immediately fell silent for two seconds.
"Do you really want to help me? Why?"
This was Qian Renxue. She had originally used Xiao Qian's identity to avoid the awkwardness of speaking directly to him, but now she felt that confirming Ren Tao's intentions mattered more.
"You like the way people live in Chang'an too, don't you? Going to work and coming home every day, getting together occasionally, chatting over afternoon tea, having lots of friends... and you don't want to be Empress either. Wait for me. I'll come back with a solution."
Ren Tao knew that no amount of explanation would help now, nor was it necessary. What Qian Renxue needed to see was that he understood her and stood unwaveringly on her side.
That mattered more than a thousand words.
"All right!"
A flicker of a smile crossed Qian Renxue's face.
I just had to force you to pick a side. Now I've already gained an edge over Bibi Dong!
"Interested in taking a position at Spirit Hall?"
While Ren Tao was distracted, Hu Liena began brazenly poaching his recruit.
"I'll pass on Spirit Hall. The threshold's too high."
Ding Shanfeng smiled cheerfully, but his refusal was crisp and decisive. "That's the domain of princes and nobles. I'm a commoner. I can't compare with them!"
Hu Liena's gaze shifted, but she said nothing more.
"If you