The princesses seldom left the palace, but the Emperor had given them permissions to leave for the duration of the tournament, so they finally had an excuse to wander around.
Princess Huiling had heard about Wangyue’s sterling reputation and brought her sisters along. When she’d heard that Ji Feng was also there, she’d asked the waiter to show her to his table.
What she hadn’t expected was for Hua Qiyue to be there, as well.
She snorted in disbelief. "Brother Ji, did you really catch frogs with this idiot?"
"Yes." Ji Feng responded simply.
Ji Jing glanced at Princess Huiling in annoyance.
Tianci saw Princess Huizhen and Zhou Zhicheng, and began trembling. Hua Qiyue held his hand.
"Tianci, aren’t you going to greet your father?"
Zhou Zhicheng’s face briefly lit up as he saw Hua Qiyue, then seemed to remember the princess beside him. He smiled gently at Tianci, but the boy only look
As Princess Huiling’s maidservant made a second attempt to calm the princess down Hua Qiyue used her Spirit Summoning Art to release a puff of air from her finger toward the Princess Huiling, injecting hatred and inhibition into it.When the hateful air reached her, Princess Huiling screamed, pulling an ornate knife out of her dress and stabbing it toward Princess Huizhen!The group at the table held their collective breath.Princess Huizhen cried out as the knife pierced her arm.Ji Feng stood to intervene, but he wasn’t quick enough to stop an engraged Huizhen from picking up the fish plate with her good arm, sending fish flying everywhere, and slamming it into Huiling’s face.Blood began pouring from her nose as Huiling let out an incomprehensible scream of pure rage as she lunged at her sister.It was at this point that the imperial guards intervened, pulling the two bloodthirsty princesses apart as th
Princess Huiling tried to suppress the contempt in her eyes. She couldn’t treat Hua Qiyue poorly with so many people watching."Miss Hua! Please, join us."Hua Qiyue wore a slight smile and sat down with Tianci. The meal before them was quite simple – a couple of basic dishes and a bowl of soup."My son was hungry, and I’d heard this restaurant was quite good, so we stopped in to get a quick bite. I never imagined you’d be here, princess. I am honored."Princess Huiling said with a smile, "You should be.""Princess Huiling... last night...”Huiling clenched her fists beneath the table. How dare she bring up last night in public!“…Princess Huizhen really over-reached," Hua Qiyue finished.Princess Huiling snorted, but unclenched her fists."Princess Huizhen has secretly been with Mr. Zhou for a long time. I’ve heard that before his wife passed away, they..."
Hua Qiyue knew what the Second Madame was up to. She wanted her to marry someone with a bad reputation."Second Madame, I know you're joking. How could I marry your nephew when he has such a strong reputation? Grandma, this is about my marriage, so I humbly ask that I be allowed to make the decision!"Madame Hua wasn’t an idiot. When she saw Qiyue’s confident smile, she knew that her granddaughter had a plan. Besides, she’d become such a boon to the Hua family in recent weeks.If Hua Qiyue could provide yet another pleasant surprise, she would be happy to accept.Madame Hua nodded. "I suppose it depends on what you have in mind, Qiyue.” After departing the main hall, Hua Qiyue spent some time with Tianci. Looking down at his happy, pink face, Hua Qiyue promised herself she’d be a perfect mother in this life.Later on, Lvxin and Youshui served dinner, joined by Qiuyun, who appeared to be well-rested. The y
Later in the evening, Princess Huizhen noticed Huiling staring at Cuilian from time to time, as if she trying to signal something. She narrowed her eyes slightly, but didn’t say anything.After dinner, Princess Huizhen returned to her palace. Once the doors were shut, she whirled around, slapping Cuilian sharply across the face.Cuilian shrieked and staggered backward. Her eyes welled with tears, but she didn’t dare retreat."Princess... what… what did I do wrong?"After getting shouted at by her mother, Huizhen was in no mood to deal with a traitor."What did you do wrong?” she shouted. “You bitch! Why are you hanging out with Huiling? Did you betray me for her? Do you want to spoil my relationship with the queen?"One side of Cuilian's face was red and swollen, and the corner of her mouth was bleeding slightly. "No, no... you've got it wrong, princess, I wouldn’t betray you!"Princess Huizhe
"I’m honored you’d skip the tournament because of me!” Hua Qiyue replied. “Jing, would you like to come to Hua Mansion?"Ji Jing's eyes lit up. She winked at Ji Feng, and said, "That sounds great! I'll visit you at Hua's Mansion with my brother sometime."As the ladies chatted, Ji Feng eyed Hua Qiyue with curiosity. He’d been floored when he’d heard about her personal garden of Long Red. She hadn’t exactly kept it a secret. If Yun Shimo was correct, and she had only entered the tournament to win the Purple Lotus Phoenix Ice to cure her son, why not simply offer to trade some Long Red for it?When the conversation died down, Ji Feng said with a smile, "Qiyue, I heard that Tianci needs Purple Lotus Phoenix Ice to heal his throat. We would like to give it to you in advance."Hua Qiyue was taken aback by the offer. Was he certain she would win? Was he trying to bribe her with a gift?She desperately wanted to accept, but k
Hua Qiyue grabbed Tianci's hand to leave. When they were in the outer corridor, they met with Third Madame and Hua Xiaoyi.Hua Xiaoyi's entire face was veiled by a black mask, except for her sharp eyes.Xiaoyi wasn’t happy to see Hua Qiyue. She was all anyone at the mansion was talking about these days. Hua Qiyue had won a tournament match. Hua Qiyue had divine herbs in her garden. Hua Qiyue had gained the emperor’s favor."Older sister, I didn't expect to see you here. Are you really going to marry the crown prince?"Hua Xiaoyi was, surprisingly, much better behaved these days and no longer called Hua Qiyue a “bitch” right off the bat.The Third Madame smiled slightly, then looked at her daughter proudly. Over the past two weeks, she had been constantly keeping a close eye on her daughter in an attempt to change her manner of speech. It appeared her teachings had finally produced some results.Hua Qiyue s
The whole table of food arrived. Yun Shimo ignored Hua Qiyue, giving food only to Tianci as if he was the closest one to him as if he was the one that he was going to discuss matters with. Hua Qiyue ate a bowl of rice and ignored Yun Shimo as well. She was alright as long as he was nice to Tianci. Sipping on the soup, Hua Qiyue peered at Yun Shimo, who was still sending food to Tianci. The smell of the soup... seemed to have implied that Seven Ultimate Ginseng was added into it. Seven Ultimate Ginseng was a fascinating type of spiritual medicine. Hua Qiyue only recognized it as she had smelled its fragrance in that special world. She did not expect Wangyue Restaurant to have such an excellent soup. Hua Qiyue looked at the menu discretely and did not notice any soup with Seven Ultimate Ginseng in it. "Waiter, what soup is this, it's delicious!" Hua Qiyue smiled faintly and asked the waiter.
He didn't expect this woman to be angry. "There is a natural spiritual qi within Tianci's lower abdomen." Yun Shimo sipped on his he looked at Tianci lovingly. "A natural spiritual qi?" Immediately, Hua Qiyue understood what that meant. That was because only those who have learned Qi Art will have spiritual qi. If one has spiritual qi during birth, that means... Tianci will become an incredibly strong master at Qi Art. Hua Qiyue pulled Tianci over with delight as her eyes reddened. It was not a long term strategy for her to be strong. Only when her son was strong can he protect himself even after her death. With natural spiritual qi inside his body, Tianci can progress twice as fast as ordinary people, which meant that he can progress two levels when any ordinary man can only progress one level! "Thus, I want to keep him as my disciple." Yun S