Yun Shimo was not part of the imperial family, but had been crowned Prince Nan by the Emperor for his services to the kingdom, and was a highly valued member of the court.
Prince Nan’s exceptional good looks and talent for medicine made him very popular among the ladies, but he’d never shown interest in any of them.
Although the princesses in the stands gave him open looks of adoration, Yun Shimo seemed not to notice.
Naturally, the Emperor sat at the forefront, with his Queen and Concubine Mei next to him. Concubine Lian, who had just achieved the status of Premier Concubine, was next to him as well.
Every single move by Hua Qiyue was seen by the Emperor.
He’d heard that Hua Qiyue was a cowardly woman, yet here she was, not only participating in a tournament, but betting extravagantly on her own success!
The Emperor smiled faintly and said to Eunuch Chu, "Pass me paper and ink. I wish to bet with the dau
As the tournament went on, the women in the stands chittered away about Prince Nan and the other handsome men present, who were far more interesting than the fighting.Hua Qiyue, however, focused intensely on the competition as she attempted to remember every single move made.She was like a diligent scholar, her slim brows shifting between being raised while and furrowed.Qiuyun returned, having handed all the betting slips to Butler Wang.As the tenth round approached, Lvxin's anxiousness increased further. She approached Hua Qiyue, who was absent-mindedly chewing on a piece of watermelon, and whispered, "Miss... let's leave quietly..."Hua Qiyue raised her brows as she stared at her maid in shock. "Why would I leave? My turn is coming up."Beside her, Qiuyun said anxiously, "Yes, Miss, no one would notice if you just left now!"Hua Qiyue put down her piece of watermelon calmly and wiped her
The Emperor was enjoying the match, too. Hua Qiyue was like snow on the stage as her white clothes move with the wind. Her hair flowed with the wind and her beauty captured everyone's heart.Yun Shimo watched at Hua Qiyue silently. The more he learned about her, the more questions arose.From the perspective of an ordinary bystander, Hua Qiyue was frustrated and nervous. She was just lucky to have evaded Ouyang Liuer's attacks, and an extremely lucky one to have evaded so many of them.On stage, Ouyang Liuer had stopped to catch her breath. "You’re not even fighting, just evading my attacks! If you want to fight, do it!"Hua Qiyue also pretended to be tired and gasped, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she blinked innocently. "Master Xuanji said that I would definitely win, but if I don't move away, you will kill me!"Hua Qiyue's speech invited insults from all directions.In the audience, Princess Huiz
Hua Qiyue stepped out of the carriage to shake hands with Ji Jing.Qiuyun's face sank.Ji Jing smiled with overwhelming enthusiasm. "My brother told me that your footwork during the match was outstanding. Can we treat you to a meal?"Hua Qiyue was flattered. "You’re too kind! I couldn’t possibly accept such generosity."Not wanting Hua Qiyue to feel forced, Ji Jing hurriedly said, "You are too humble, Ms. Hua. This is simply a meal between friends."Having a friend in the Ji family could be quite useful, indeed.After a quick glance at Lvxin and Qiuyun, she agreed.As they followed Ji Jing through the streets of the capital, Hua Qiyue began to feel like she knew where they were going, and her heart sank as Ji Jing stepped up to Dong Hai Restaurant.Zhou Zhicheng was standing inside, and it was all Hua Qiyue could do not to murder him on the spot.Everything around her
"Dad, what's wrong? What’s happening?" Ji Jing ran over and asked loudly as she clutched Ji Zhong's robes."There's something in our food. We all felt unwell after eating the same dishes. We’re leaving!" Ji Feng said coldly.The Ji family was well-known family across the plains of Changjing Kingdom, which meant this was bad news for Dong Hai Restaurant."Oh, Lord Medicine Saint, why would I think of doing such a thing? We haven’t noticed complaints from any of the other guests..." Zhou Zhicheng dripped with cold sweat. "Host Wu, bring 1,000 silver taels as a form of compensation to the Medicine Saint!""We do not lack silver taels, Boss Zhou. We'd like you to seriously investigate this matter. We want to know who put poison into our food!" Ji Zhong scoffed coldly.Zhou Zhicheng bowed obsequiously. "Please wait. I'll definitely capture the culprit and hand them over to you!"Ji Zhong scoffed, then headed up
Yun Shimo had to suppress a laugh. It was difficult to believe this was the same woman who had threatened to destroy the Long Red stalks. And neither of those matched the woman he’d seen in the tournament mere hours ago.Which one was the real Hua Qiyue? Or were they all masks?"I rarely find myself in the capital, so now that I have the opportunity to walk about, I asked Qiyue to show me around."Hua Qiyue was surprised by his familiarity, but didn’t let it show on her face.Constantly putting on an act for everyone around her was exhausting. Yes, she was clever and, some would say, beautiful, but putting on the front of the dim-witted old Hua Qiyue was taking a toll on her.Sometimes, she just had to let the cleverness show."Tsk, I didn't expect Miss Hua to have such good fortune to not only win against Miss Ouyang but also find herself in the company of the Medicine Saint himself. She must be truly luc
"Outrageous! You dare to assault the princess?"One of the imperial guards pulled his sword out of its sheath and stepped toward Hua Qiyue. He was a few feet away when Yun Shimo grabbed his arm. The guard tried to pull away, but Yun Shimo’s grip was like steel."Prince Nan, please do not make this difficult!" the guard whispered to him.Princess Huiling could feel the bloody cuts on her hands and screamed bloody murder at Hua QiyuePrincess Huiya said, "Sister, do not be angry at Miss Hua. It was an accident.""An accident? She’s harmed a member of the imperial family — a crime punishable by death! Bring Hua Qiyue to the dungeon!"Ji Feng had seen everything clearly, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he heard Hua Qiyue whisper, "Princess... I didn't do it on purpose... I saw a frog in the grass and I wanted to catch it, and I accidentally pushed you...""You’re lying! How dare you lie to
Ji Jing looked at Yun Shimo with interest. Hua Qiyue's footwork was indeed unique and impressive, but she didn’t know as much about fighting as her brother or Yun Shimo.Yun Shimo turned solemn. "I don’t know what to think. I’ve never seen anything like it. Have you?"Ji Feng shook his head. "No, and neither has my father. He agreed to let Jing invite Qiyue for lunch but didn’t never brought it up.""That's because Dad knows that there must be a supreme master behind Hua Qiyue and that she’s smart enough not to reveal who they are," Ji Jing said, her eyes twinkling in the moonlight. "I told you the rumors couldn’t be true! Everyone else is just too stupid not to see Hua Qiyue for the smart woman that she is!"She turned a sly grin toward Ji Feng."But you weren’t fooled, brother. I saw how you walked so closely to her today."Ji Feng's face reddened. "Jing, don't say such nonsense!"His sister
Qiuyun was kneeling in front of Hua Mengshi in a small rundown pavilion in the back garden. Hua Mengshi gave the girl such a frosty stare, even Surou had to suppress a shiver."Speak! Did you put the drug into the soup?""Yes! Madame, I did not betray you! I placed the laxative into the soup! I don’t know why it didn’t work!" Qiuyun said with a look of terror."Oh, you did, did you? That was the strongest laxative the doctor had." Hua Mengshi smiled evilly. "I heard that Hua Qiyue is giving out cash to her servants like there’s no tomorrow. Tell me, Qiuyun… how much did it cost for you to betray me?"Qiuyun bowed so low her head was resting on the floor. "No! Please, believe me... I never even saw a copper coin!"Hua Mengshi narrowed her eyes. She’d had Qiuyun monitored constantly, and it didn’t appear that she had been bribed by Hua Qiyue.But if Qiuyun had, indeed, drugged the soup, and had