My Promotion Story Through Time Travel

Chapter 232 Meeting the Saint

"Get up." The voice from before came. "I was just about to praise your composure, but now it seems you're still young and have a childish mentality."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Lin Ziping said.

After kowtowing, Lin Ziping stood up on his own without waiting for the seated person to speak.

Two middle-aged men sat cross-legged on the soft couch beside them; the one dressed in bright yellow robes was presumably His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Zhou.

The middle-aged man opposite was dressed in black, with a beard on his chin and his hair tied up with a jade crown.

"Do you know how to play chess?" the emperor asked, picking up a chess piece.

Lin Ziping replied, "Not really, I can only understand it."

Dongshan scolded, "Didn't you learn the palace rules before entering the palace? How should you answer His Majesty's questions?"

"Yes." Lin Ziping clasped his hands in a salute and muttered, "I never expected to see His Majesty so close when I entered the palace."

The room was quiet, and everyone could hear Lin Ziping's mutterings.

Lin Ziping instinctively covered his mouth, stole a glance at Dongshan, and knelt down with a thud, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me."

The emperor said, "Dongshan, you've frightened the young people!"

He then said gently, "There are no outsiders here. Since you understand how to play chess, come and take a look. Dongshan will have someone bring over two stools so you can sit down and rest for a while."

"Yes, thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty," Dongshan replied with a smile.

"Get up," the emperor said.

Lin Ziping thanked him, got up, and followed Dongshan to move some stools.

Dongshan and Lin Ziping moved two stools to the side of the soft couch and watched His Majesty the Emperor play chess with someone.

The two exchanged blows, and judging from Lin Ziping's skill level, they were evenly matched, making it difficult to determine a winner.

Candles were lit in the room, and the burning wicks made a crackling sound.

The two people on the couch were oblivious to their surroundings, engrossed in the game of chess, fiercely battling each other, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Lin Ziping felt that time was passing too slowly. He stared intently at the two playing chess, looking like he was watching seriously, but his mind was elsewhere.

Dongshan, standing nearby, always had a smile on his face, perhaps because he was naturally cheerful. He stayed quietly to the side, occasionally adding tea, serving snacks, and adjusting the lamp wick.

"Goo-"

Lin Ziping's stomach growled at an inopportune moment, the sound particularly loud in the quiet room.

Lin Ziping unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes with his hands on his lap. He lowered his head slightly. If it weren't for his shoes, his toes would have dug out a three-bedroom apartment in that instant.

"Haha, young friend, you must be hungry!" The middle-aged man in black stroked his beard and laughed. "Your Majesty, our game of chess is over."

"What?" His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand. "Dongshan, get Lin Ziping some food. Zhou Qianzheng, where is this game over?"

Lin Ziping took the plate of snacks from Dongshan, quickly ate a piece, and curiously looked at the middle-aged man in black.

This is Lord Zhou from the Ministry of Personnel, Zhou Chaofeng's second uncle.

Zhou Qianzheng picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Your Majesty, look here."

Lin Ziping followed Zhou Qianzheng's hand and saw that the black pieces were indeed without liberties. He then counted the pieces on the board and found that the white pieces had two more pieces.

The emperor probably saw it too, and threw the chess piece in his hand onto the chessboard, saying angrily, "You old fool, everyone else lets me win when we play chess, so what if you let me win once?"

Zhou Qianzheng said, "Dongshan, look how your emperor is getting more and more petty as he gets older. Is he going to let others win at Go? If someone else is letting him win, why doesn't he ask someone else to play?"

Dongshan smiled and said, "Lord Zhou knows perfectly well that His Majesty never enjoys himself as much with other people."

"You guys..." The emperor gestured towards Zhou Qianzheng and Dongshan, "Lin Ziping, do you think they don't respect me?"

This……

This... this isn't an easy question, it's a blatant death trap!

Lin Ziping was so shocked that he lost his appetite for the snacks, which fell onto the plate. He stammered and couldn't say anything.

Zhou Qianzheng said, "His Majesty is not in our eyes, but in our hearts!"

"Yes, Your Majesty is my only concern!" Dongshan echoed.

The emperor couldn't stop smiling after hearing what the two said.

Although it had a strong sense of cheesy pickup lines, it still helped Lin Ziping out of a tight spot.

Lin Ziping gave Zhou Qianzheng a grateful look.

No wonder I'm still just a guard after all this time. Am I not working hard enough?

No, they just can't speak properly.

Look at these two, they can come up with cheesy pickup lines with ease, both sweet and sassy, ​​making the BOSS smile with just a few words.

You can't envy that, you really can't!

The emperor stopped laughing, pointed at Lin Ziping, and asked Zhou Qianzheng, "Do you know him?"

Zhou Qian looked Lin Ziping up and down, and after a while said, "Young friend, you look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

Lin Ziping quickly stood up and replied, "This humble servant used to work in the Taiji Hall. Perhaps you saw me a couple of times when you went to court and thought I looked familiar."

Zhou Qianzheng nodded thoughtfully: "So it's in the Taiji Hall. No wonder it looked familiar."

The emperor said, "Zhengqian, you don't know this, but the tiger that was chasing me today was lured away by him."

Zhou Qianzheng stroked his beard: "So that's how it is. You really have the courage of a young man."

Lin Ziping smiled modestly on the surface, but inwardly he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat: Today the tiger was chasing the emperor! Luckily, he ran away at the time, otherwise, if something had happened to the emperor, several heads would have been chopped off.

At this moment, the emperor burst out laughing: "You two are being too polite. Qianzheng, you really don't know Lin Ziping? You were the one who wrote his letter of recommendation!"

Zhou Qian seemed somewhat incredulous, and looked Lin Ziping up and down again, saying, "Chaofeng asked me for a letter of recommendation, so it was given to you. How do you and Chaofeng know each other?"

Lin Ziping looked bewildered. Wasn't that recommendation letter from Li Qiongying? Why did Zhou Chaofeng ask for it again?

Thinking this way, Lin Ziping also said, "This humble servant did not know Lord Zhou... Chaofeng before. This humble servant's letter of recommendation is from Miss Qiongying."

"That pampered young lady from the Li family?" Zhou Qian looked at Lin Ziping and then said, "This brat, he's so old and still causing such trouble!"

His tone carried a hint of disappointment and frustration.

"Alright, alright, a beautiful lady is sought after by a gentleman, it's not a big deal," the emperor said. "Chaofeng came into the palace as soon as she was born, and she's at odds with the people there. If we don't ask you for help, who else should we ask? Do you expect me to write it?"

The Emperor took the cup from Dongshan and sipped his tea: "However, it is indeed I who owe you a favor. Lin Ziping saved Gao Chi in Fuchun, and Gao Chi, in gratitude, asked Chaofeng to help him get a letter of recommendation from you, which was given to him by the Li family girl."

“The Sixth Prince and Chaofeng are being too reckless. A woman’s reputation is of utmost importance. How could they…” Zhou Qianzheng looked at Lin Ziping and changed his words, “How could they be so reckless?”

"Gao Chi gives it to Lin Ziping, but would he dare to accept it?" the emperor asked.

Seeing the others looking at him, Lin Ziping quickly shook his head and hurriedly said, "I dare not!"

Dongshan scolded in a low voice, "How can you be so unruly? How can you behave like this in front of His Majesty?"

"Dongshan is good in every way, but he keeps talking about rules all the time." The emperor pointed at Dongshan and said, "Good boy, don't let him become so lifeless."

Zhou Qianzheng said, "He came from Fuchun?"