Naturally, the two Halls under Miao Yi's control had also heard about it. It was hard to stop his subordinates from gossiping behind his back.
Xue 'Er played the zither every day, while Qian' Er danced every day. They led a group of palace maids in singing and dancing in Miao Yi's quarters.
Miao Yi's hair was untied and draped over his shoulders. He leaned against the couch and drank his wine. Every day, he watched a group of beautiful women sing and dance, and every day, he would pamper Qian'Er and Xue'Er's delicate bodies. He passed his days in a carefree manner, as though he didn't hear a thing about the rumors going around in the outside world.
However, the more he acted this way, the more Qian'Er and Xue'Er could sense that he was in a bad mood. They could only serve him with endless tenderness.
Actually, Miao Yi didn't care how the people outside scolded him. The reason why he was in a bad mood was because he was worried about how the people he cared about would view him.
Just like that, Miao Yi welcomed the annual tribute amidst the waves of curses. He gradually adjusted his mood, and naturally got used to it after listening to it for a long time.
The handover of the annual tribute proceeded smoothly. Everyone was waiting for the change in personnel after the new official took office. However, Miao Yi didn't seem to make any adjustments at all. He was dragging it out, and no one knew what he was dragging it out for.
After Suppressing Ninth Hall and Suppressing Tenth Hall's annual tributes were all collected, Miao Yi brought Ximen Yan along with him and rushed over to the Wood Traversing Palace.
When they arrived, a palace maid led Ximen Yan to the wing to await her orders, while Miao Yi went to the rear palace to pay his respects to the Palace Lord, Cheng Aofang, and hand over the annual tribute.
After settling the annual tribute with Aunt Qing and Aunt Yu, Cheng Aofang took a seat and asked Aunt Yu to serve tea.
"There seem to be a lot of rumors about you!" Cheng Aofang looked at him with interest.
Miao Yi calmly said, "Your humble servant's name has spread far and wide."
"Famous …" Cheng Aofang chuckled. "Are you angry?"
"Your humble servant is not angry. It's better to become famous as soon as possible. Who knows how many people in the world envy me. Those who say that I'm famous are just jealous of me." Miao Yi mocked himself.
Cheng Aofang teased, "Later, all the Hallmasters will escort me to the capital to pay the tribute. Are you coming? If you feel embarrassed, this empress will allow you to take a leave. "
Miao Yi didn't seem to mind and said, "Go! Why not? If I don't go, others will think that I'm guilty. "
Cheng Aofang smiled and nodded her head. As she watched Miao Yi leave, she loosened her skirt with both hands and crossed her legs. Then, she smiled at the person standing beside her and said, "Those fellows down there are already feeling uncomfortable because this Empress bestowed him the title of Advisor and Master of Two Halls. Coupled with the matter of the 'Miao traitor', I'm afraid a round of mockery and ridicule is inevitable. "
Aunt Qing couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Nothing will happen to them now that they're together, right?"
"I'd like to see how he's going to handle this!" Cheng Aofang slowly sipped her tea and said, "I can give him the position, but whether or not he can keep his position is up to him. If he couldn't even overcome this hurdle, then the positions of Suppressing Ninth Hall and Suppressing Tenth Hall would most likely be targeted by others. If he can't even gain a foothold in the Wood Traversing Palace, what use is he to me? Is it necessary for this empress to provoke a group of people to have an opinion of this empress because of a useless trash? "
Rain and Rain looked at each other without saying a word.
As expected, Miao Yi was led by a palace maid to the waiting room. However, before he could even reach the door, he heard the piercing words' Miao traitor ', followed by a burst of laughter.
The palace maid cautiously stole a glance at Miao Yi, only to see him raise his eyebrows and stride towards the door of the waiting room. He swept a cold gaze across the people in the room and said indifferently, "May I know who was the one who slandered me just now?"
There were already twelve to thirteen Hall Masters in the room. Including the two Advisors they'd brought with them, there were around thirty to forty Red Lotus cultivators in the room, either sitting or standing.
When they saw Miao Yi appear at the door, the room instantly fell silent. Those who were supposed to drink tea continued to drink. Those who were supposed to turn around turned around, pretending as if nothing had happened.
Even though Miao Yi was the Advisor of the two Hall Masters, he couldn't control everyone at all. On top of that, he only had a cultivation at Red Lotus First Grade, so no one paid him any attention.
Most importantly, a guy who hadn't accomplished anything yet had taken on so many responsibilities as soon as he arrived. How could these old men, who had followed Cheng Aofang for so many years, endure this? Could it be that they were useless? Even if they didn't give him any face, they could at least ignore him, right?
Ximen Yan occupied a table in the corner of the room, and his expression was extremely ugly. It was obvious that he'd heard quite a few unpleasant words just now.
"Ximen Yan!" Miao Yi stood at the door with his hands behind his back and calmly called out.
"Here!" Ximen Yan walked over and bowed.
Miao Yi glanced at him, "Who was the one who insulted me just now?"
Ximen Yan was a little hesitant.
"Hmm?" Miao Yi snorted suspiciously, then coldly said, "I'll ask you again. Who was the one who insulted me? Point it out for me. "
Ximen Yan had no choice but to point at a burly man. Miao Yi looked over, only to see the man holding a cup of tea. He crossed his legs and leaned against the chair, fiddling with the lid of the tea. He looked at the tea in the cup, his head twisting left and right. He looked like he was looking at the tea in the mirror, as if he hadn't heard anything.
Miao Yi tilted his head and beckoned to a palace maid who was waiting at the door. The palace maid walked over and bowed, then asked, "What orders does Hall Master Miao have?"
Miao Yi reminded her, "I'm the Advisor of Wood Traversing Palace. Didn't anyone tell you?"
The palace maid was taken aback, then quickly corrected herself, "What orders do you have, Advisor Miao?"
Miao Yi pointed at the burly man and asked, "Who is that guy who doesn't know his place?"
As soon as he said this, many people exchanged glances and smiled playfully. The burly man's' mirror 'couldn't take it anymore, so he raised his head and coldly glared at Miao Yi.
The palace maid hesitated for a moment, then weakly replied, "Advisor, this is the Hall Master of Suppressing Fifth Hall, Ma Weihan."
Miao Yi waved his hand and dismissed her. He then shifted his gaze to Ma Weihan and calmly said, "Ma Weihan."
Ma Weihan coldly glared at him and asked, "Advisor Miao, what business do you have with me?"
Miao Yi retorted, "Advisor, I'm asking you a question, yet you're just sitting there and not responding. Do you have no respect for the hierarchy of Wood Traversing Palace? Or is it that I'm new here, and I don't know that Wood Traversing Palace can disregard the rules of the higher peaks? "
The corner of Ma Weihan's mouth twitched. This accusation was too big for him to bear. He could only put down his teacup and slowly stand up. He slowly walked up to Miao Yi and cupped his fists, then tilted his head to the side and said, "Ma Weihan greets you, Advisor. May I know what advice you have for me?"
Miao Yi calmly replied, "I'm new here, so I can't really say that I have any advice. I just want to ask you one thing. Why did you insult me just now?"
Ma Weihan chuckled and said, "I think you misheard me, Advisor. We were just discussing the recent rumors about you in the outside world, so we couldn't help but speak a little too much. Haha. Please don't take it to heart, Advisor. "
Miao Yi calmly said, "I was going to make a fuss about it, but it turns out he's just a good-for-nothing who doesn't dare to take responsibility for his actions. It seems there's really no need to make a fuss about it."
"Who are you insulting?" Ma Weihan's eyes instantly revealed a fierce glint.
Miao Yi didn't hide it at all. He immediately pointed at Ma Weihan's nose and said, "I'll insult whoever insults me. Do you have a problem with that, or do you think I can't talk back?"
Ma Weihan clenched his fists. However, Miao Yi was still carrying a false reputation. It wouldn't be right for him to go against his superior in front of everyone in Wood Traversing Palace. Ma Weihan could only sneer and say, "We were just having a discussion. If Advisor insists on treating it like we were insulting you, you can always find a way to accuse me. However, I can't discuss this by myself. I can't possibly talk to myself. I'm not the only one who's discussing this! "
He was clearly trying to rope in more people to see what Miao Yi could do to them.
A few of them rolled their eyes at Ma Weihan, as if to say, 'Old Ma, you're being unkind by doing this.'
Ma Weihan chuckled at them, as if to say, 'What's there to be afraid of?'
Miao Yi raised his brows and said, "Oh. So there's more than one person insulting me. Words alone are no proof. Point them all out and let me see who's speaking so rudely to me!"
Ma Weihan didn't hold back at all. He turned around, one hand on his waist, and pointed at them one by one with the other. He chuckled and said, "Self Suppression Hall Master Luo Mingguang, Geng Suppression Hall Master Lu Yunke, Xin Suppression Hall Master Hu Zifen, Sun Traversing Palace's Hall Master Li Yujuan, and Ding Suppression Hall Master Xiao Yecheng. Brothers and sisters, Advisor Miao wants to give us some pointers. What are you still standing there for? "
Including Ma Weihan, there were a total of six Hall Masters, not counting the Advisors they'd brought along. Standing beside Miao Yi, Ximen Yan broke out in a cold sweat. She felt that Miao Yi wasn't calm enough. He should have just closed one eye and pretended he hadn't heard anything. Why did he have to make things so difficult for himself?
The five people who were pointed out all glared at Ma Weihan, as if blaming him for being rude.
However, the five of them clearly had the same attitude as Ma Weihan. One by one, they stood up and walked over, cupping their fists as they said, "May I know what advice Advisor Miao has for us?"
The twelve Advisors that the six of them had brought along also stood up from their seats at the back. One by one, they walked over and stood behind their respective Hall Masters, looking at Miao Yi with disdain. It was obvious that they were trying to intimidate Miao Yi with their power.
As for the others, they exchanged glances with one another. It seemed like they were secretly communicating with each other through voice transmissions. Judging by the slight smiles on their faces, it seemed like they were all waiting to watch a good show.
However, Miao Yi's gaze swept across the twelve Advisors. He lightly nodded and said, "Not bad. Another twelve have come forward to confess their crimes. Explain yourselves. What is the punishment for insubordination? "
"Insubordination?" Hu Zifen chuckled. "Advisor Miao, aren't you being too serious? Ma Weihan has already made it clear. We were only discussing it. What crime is there to be guilty of? "
"Discussing?" Miao Yi swept his gaze over her and scoffed, "Have you ever seen anyone call their superior a 'thief' in public?"
Hu Zifen shook her head in amusement. "Advisor Miao, you're overthinking things. Everyone outside calls you that. We just blurted it out in passing. If Advisor Miao insists on taking it to heart, there's nothing we can do about it. Why don't we apologize to Advisor Miao? If Advisor still doesn't feel satisfied, you can complain to the Palace Lord. We will accept the Palace Lord's punishment. "
Miao Yi said, "At the very least, no one outside has ever shouted it out in front of me, so I can't do anything about it. However, as the Advisor of the Wood Traversing Palace, I do have the right to ask about the internal affairs of the Wood Traversing Palace. I was personally conferred the title by the Palace Lord. If I were to allow my subordinates to insult me, wouldn't that be disrespecting the Palace Lord? How about this? We're all colleagues here. We'll see each other all the time. I don't want to embarrass everyone. "
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