Ming Yi stood still, her mouth twitching as she thought, “This palace corridor has probably never been this lively before.”
What was the big deal that warranted the esteemed Madam Si to personally come? Not only did she come, but she came in a hurry. The usually poised maids were now scurrying like rabbits, and the beast carrying the phoenix carriage was running with bared teeth, looking as if it might charge straight at her and crush her.
She instinctively moved to the side.
Fortunately, the procession stopped not far in front of her. Then came Madam Si’s angry rebuke, “You useless lot! You can’t even handle a simple task efficiently. Li Quan, I’m watching. Go and do it yourself!”
“Yes, Madam!”
Before Si Tu Ling could even bow, an eunuch conjured a stream of cyan Yuan Power, rushing straight towards Ming Yi.
This Yuan Power wasn’t particularly strong, but it was enough to end the life of a fragile dancing girl.
Ming Yi looked up, feeling the surrounding clamor suddenly fade away. The cyan color before her eyes grew larger. The servants in front covered their heads and ducked. In the distance, Si Tu Ling’s face turned pale as he reached out towards her. Behind her, Madam Si on the phoenix carriage coldly glared at her, then anxiously glanced towards the other side of the road.
What was on the other side? She had no time to look. The cyan Yuan Power rushed over, suddenly engulfing her.
***
From the moment Ming Yi could understand, great hopes were placed upon her.
She possessed the reddest and most righteous meridians in the world, representing the highest and strongest Yuan Power talent. Her mother was promoted to Madam Si because of her, and her relatives and clan all gained official positions and wealth because of her.
Her father’s most frequent words were: “You cannot lose.”
She couldn’t lose, so they hired the strictest tutors for her from a young age. She began practicing combat arts at three, never stopping for wind or rain, illness or funerals. She never even celebrated a single birthday, let alone had any time to play.
Her tutors loved to call her useless. Making mistakes was useless, complaining of fatigue was useless, and not being able to defeat adult fighters was also useless.
Her mother wanted many things: for her to win competitions to secure official positions for her uncles, to win competitions to find good husbands for her aunts, to win competitions so she could host banquets and show off in the inner palace.
Her father also wanted many things: for her Yuan Power to be strong enough to intimidate other main cities, for her to defeat the heirs of other cities, and for her to lead Chaoyang City to rank among the top three cities year after year.
So Ming Yi always felt that her purpose in life was to win competitions for them. People’s admiration, respect, and fondness for her weren’t because of her, but because of her meridians and Yuan Power. To the extent that when she lost her Yuan Power, she felt it was only natural for everyone to abandon her.
But that didn’t mean she wanted to die.
There were still so many things she hadn’t done. She wanted to see the desert sunset that Twenty-seven had mentioned, to experience the life of an ordinary person, and to see if anyone would love her if she was just herself, without Yuan Power.
However, reality proved that without Yuan Power, others wouldn’t even give her a chance to live, let alone love her.
Without Yuan Power, Ming Xian was worthless.
***
As the cyan Yuan Power washed over, the flowers in the surrounding gardens instantly rotted into mud. Satisfied, Madam Si descended from the phoenix carriage and hurriedly bowed to the Grand Si who was walking over from another path: “This humble one deserves death for disturbing the Grand Si.”
The Grand Si, his face full of anger, brushed away her hand as he approached: “What day is this, that you’re killing people on the palace path?”
Madam Si pursed her lips: “This humble one was merely dealing with a runaway maid.”
The Grand Si’s expression darkened. He glanced at Earl Ji beside him, his tone growing heavier: “I was just about to ask you, where is the dancing girl brought by the Ji family? Earl Ji has been searching for quite some time without success.”
“This humble one doesn’t know.”
Li Quan’s Yuan Power was formidable; the person was probably reduced to bone fragments. There was no harm in firmly denying knowledge.
Madam Si lowered her head pitifully: “The Grand Si is so angry with this humble one over a mere dancing girl.”
The Grand Si was furious. This new Madam Si might be beautiful, but her vision was far too narrow. She didn’t know how to consider the bigger picture. When he received news that she had personally left her seat to deal with Ming Yi, he immediately followed but still didn’t make it in time.
If it were an ordinary dancing girl, he might have turned a blind eye. But Ming Yi was of utmost importance, still holding Earl Ji in check. For her to act like this…
Wait, if she had acted, why did Earl Ji beside him show no unusual reaction?
The Grand Si instinctively looked towards Si Tu Ling.
Si Tu Ling was still staring at the cyan Yuan Power in a daze, his hand holding the kaleidoscope trembling slightly. Noticing his gaze, he turned his head, about to speak, when suddenly the cyan Yuan Power shattered like glass.
“Grand Si, be careful!”
“Madam, be careful!”
The eunuchs reacted swiftly, raising shields, but were still splattered with flying Yuan Power fragments. Earl Ji swept away the fragments flying towards him with his sleeve, only to see Ming Yi flash past him, flying to Si Tu Ling’s side, brushing away the fragments for him.
Her complex palace sleeves rose and fell, using some combat techniques unique to Mu Xing City.
He was stunned, looking at her face in disbelief.
It was still that beautiful face, with three parts allure in her eyes and five parts sentiment in her brows. But her movements were nimble, her gestures skilled –a fighter.
“What, what is this?” Li Quan was startled, his voice shrill, “She has Yuan Power?”
And it was the same cyan color as his?!
The Grand Si and Madam Si also pushed aside the guards to look at Ming Yi.
A woman with Yuan Power was rarer than a five-legged frog. Although it was only Cyan Yuan Power, it was still unheard of and unseen.
Ming Yi withdrew her hand and immediately knelt in fear: “Please forgive this slave, Grand Si. I did not intentionally conceal this.”
The Grand Si was somewhat dazed, remaining silent for a long while before asking: “Where did you learn Yuan Power?”
“I learned some rudimentary skills from a traveling fighter in my village.” She rolled up her sleeves two inches, revealing her ordinary meridians. “I had never used it before, but just now I did so in desperation to protect myself. I beg the Grand Si to understand.”
These words couldn’t fool Earl Ji, but they were more than enough to satisfy the Grand Si.
There was no precedent for women learning combat arts, but since one woman had learned, and she was from his Mu Xing City, the Grand Si felt not anger but rather some joy: “It’s good that you’re alright. You may rise.”
“Your Majesty, for a woman to secretly learn combat arts and infiltrate the inner palace, her intentions are treacherous,” Madam Si frowned.
The Grand Si glared at her: “You deceived me earlier, which is already a crime. How dare you now falsely accuse a concubine of the Ji family?”
In the blink of an eye, her status had changed from a dancing girl to a concubine. The Grand Si was determined to protect her.
Ming Yi lowered her gaze, not daring to look at Earl Ji’s expression. She just stood obediently, waiting for the verdict.
Si Tu Ling finally came to his senses and hurriedly stepped forward, offering the token to the Grand Si with both hands: “This subject has failed the task entrusted by the Grand Si. Please punish me.”