Chapter 175
Seeing the two of them walk away with the Empress, heading towards the pavilion in the middle of the lake, the originally lively and extremely extravagant birthday banquet was now clearly unable to continue.
At the very least, with the heir of the Chaoying Kingdom and the Empress present, the Second Princess, who was originally the main character, would never dare to continue the banquet on her own.
All the people in the garden subconsciously looked in the direction of the pavilion. No one dared to sit down and move their chopsticks, much like when the Empress had not yet appeared at court, and the hundred officials were standing in line waiting.
“Ahem, everyone, please sit down. Don’t just stand there.”
It was the Second Princess who spoke first, clearing her throat and easing the awkwardness of the situation.
No one had expected that a birthday banquet would attract two such great figures.
“Mother, those two just now…”
Lu Ruyi looked at the retreating figures of Lu Dieqing and the other, her heart in a daze for a moment, unable to come back to her senses.
She had always prided herself on her beauty, and her personality was also considered clever. She was a grandchild who was highly regarded by her grandmother, the Empress, among the members of the royal family.
But she had never seen her grandmother, the Empress, be so enthusiastic and benevolent as she had been towards her third aunt and her cousin Lu Dieqing.
This made Lu Ruyi feel wronged in her heart, and she couldn’t help but compare.
She was the child who had grown up in front of her grandmother, the Empress. How could she be outdone like this?
Not only that, but when she saw Lu Dieqing appear, it was as if she were a fairy from the heavens. And beside her stood another woman with picturesque features and a cool and detached aura. Her mind was once again heavily impacted.
The other was actually the heir of the Chaoying Kingdom.
Although it was just a fleeting acquaintance, she found it somewhat unforgettable, and her heart was very sour.
Why was her cousin, who had always been treated as a hostage, so lucky?
To have become a legendary immortal, and to have such a noble and beautiful person treat her with such importance and consideration?
It was as if all the honors and halos she had had in the Shan Kingdom in the past were not as good as everything her cousin Lu Dieqing had shown.
The other had not even done anything. Just by appearing, she had already covered up all the brilliance she wanted to obtain, and even shattered it.
The Second Princess saw the gloomy look on her daughter’s face. She knew best that this little daughter of hers had always been spoiled by her, and her personality was such that she could not tolerate others outshining her. She was probably very unhappy at this moment, knowing that she had been outdone by Lu Dieqing.
Afraid that her little daughter would spoil things and offend someone, the Second Princess covered the corner of her lips with a handkerchief and said to Lu Ruyi in a low voice, “Don’t overthink. Today’s situation is special. Didn’t you see that even your grandmother, the Empress, had to read others’ expressions? You’d better be smart and not cause trouble.”
“Lu Dieqing and you are from the same line. She is your cousin. We are also her maternal family. Don’t go and offend someone without figuring anything out, and ruin a big matter.”
These words were already said very directly.
The Second Princess had been scheming for many years on how to obtain the position of heir. Of course, she was not a brainless person. Today’s matter, combined with the situation, she could guess what the Empress was thinking in her heart, and she, of course, had the same idea.
For any large clan or dynasty, whenever a great power appeared, it was always a case of one person achieving the Dao and their chickens and dogs ascending to heaven.
At this time, what they should be doing most is to properly make up for the grievances that Lu He and her daughter had suffered in these dozen or so years, so as to mend the rift. In this way, they could also ascend to heaven.
Whether Lu He and her daughter looked upon it or not, this attitude had to be shown.
Therefore, when the Second Princess spoke to her young daughter Lu Ruyi, she was rarely so stern.
Lu Ruyi had rarely been so fiercely spoken to by her mother. Hearing this, she lowered her head, her heart unhappy, and inexplicably blocked.
She hadn’t said anything. Why was her mother so serious and not doting on her as she usually did?
Lu Ruyi bit her lip and looked at the direction of the pavilion again.
Grandmother, the Empress, was so polite and solemn towards these two.
…
At this time, in the pavilion, the Empress looked at Lu Dieqing and Zheng Xuening with a smile and said, “I am a little older, and Qingqing is my legitimate granddaughter. We are not outsiders. If the Crown Princess has something to say, you might as well be direct and not beat around the bush.”
She acted like a benevolent old woman from the common folk, and the look in her eyes as she looked at Lu Dieqing was full of benevolence and warmth.
This made Lu Dieqing, who had been prepared to be business-like, inexplicably a little embarrassed, not knowing how to handle it.
The circle she had lived in had always been very small, with only her parents, her friend A’sang, and the most important Ningning.
Except for in the Caiyun Academy, where she had had some friends and had socialized a little more, she had almost no other social experience.
So much so that, even though she knew in her heart that the Empress of the Shan Kingdom was speaking the truth, and that the other was indeed a member of her family, her grandmother, she was at a loss and subconsciously looked up at Ningning.
Zheng Xuening would also never disappoint the girl’s expectations.
She got up and shielded the girl behind her, blocking the Empress’s gaze. When she looked up at the other, her expression was calm and composed.
“I have indeed come this time because there is an important and urgent matter that cannot be delayed. I will be brief.”
To be honest, seeing her little white rabbit, whom she held in the palm of her hand, being approached by others, even though she knew that the other was indeed Qingqing’s grandmother, she still had a feeling of being overstepped, as if someone were trying to steal her carrot, which made her uncomfortable.
“The Empress must also know that this place, hundreds of years ago, and even a thousand years ago, once had many immortal cultivation sects. The Shan royal family has also produced a great cultivator. Later, the spiritual energy was depleted, and it is unknown what exactly happened to cause such a drastic change in this place…”
“Overnight, all the sects and immortals left, leaving only mortals. Later, there were the legends of the puppeteers we have seen, and those sealed immortal ruins.”
“The Shan Kingdom has sent people to investigate these ruins and should have some understanding of them. Then today, I might as well tell the Empress that the former cultivators left some formations for this place to block the loss of spiritual energy, and to prevent people from outside the domain from discovering this place and bringing disaster.”
“Now the formations are about to fail. I’m afraid that soon, the peace of this place will be broken, and it will fall into the attention of people from outside the domain. At that time, what will happen, the Empress can guess with a little thought.”
Zheng Xuening had always been direct in her speech.
The Empress was also someone who had been with the court for a lifetime and could understand the unspoken meaning in Zheng Xuening’s words.
“You mean…” She heard the threat that would be brought by the attention of people from outside the domain.
Her brow immediately furrowed. No emperor would want their territory to be in turmoil or to be affected.
The power of immortals, how could it be blocked by human power?
The people from outside the domain were definitely not mortals. When they came here, they would be like wolves entering a sheepfold. How could they have a chance to stand out?
“What does the Crown Princess mean?” The Empress calmed down, this time truly calming down.
Zheng Xuening’s one hand was behind her, and she quietly squeezed Lu Dieqing’s palm to comfort her. However, the front of her, facing the Empress, appeared calm and composed.
“Find those with talent and open up the immortal cultivation methods.”
Although the Empress had already known about this from her third daughter, Lu He, when she really heard these words from Zheng Xuening’s mouth, she couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
“Is that true?”
If the other was really willing to preach the Dao, she would also have to try and see if she could cultivate! To see if she could return to her youth and regain her youth.
Lu Dieqing stood behind Zheng Xuening. Clearly, she knew that Ningning was talking about business at this moment, and she should also be more serious.
But being held by Ningning like this, and feeling the force of the other’s fingertips pressing and lingering in her palm, she felt as if she were a little kitten, being teased in all sorts of ways from behind.
She pressed her lips together and quietly took half a step behind Zheng Xuening, so that half of her body was hidden a little more securely.
The girl used her other hand to quietly pry open Zheng Xuening’s palm, and with her slender fingertips, she drew on it, stroke by stroke.
Zheng Xuening’s figure stiffened. She only felt a tingling sensation in her palm, which made a current of electricity pass through her spine. She almost let out a muffled groan.
Her little rabbit was like a beautiful rabbit spirit that had come to charm her soul, writing with her fingers in her palm, stroke by stroke.
—Sister.
—Like.
In front of a thousand armies and ten thousand horses, a certain someone who might not have even changed her expression, from her earlobes, quickly became covered in a layer of pink, her heart almost numb.
Damn it.
Her little rabbit not only wanted her heart, but also her life.
