Hearing that last sentence, Jing Hengbo nearly fell off the eaves.

Propose to the State Preceptor? Which State Preceptor?

In her heart, she knew this answer didn’t need asking. Only one State Preceptor remained in Dahuang—the future Black Water King Consort in her heart, the divine Gong Yin.

Sitting on the eaves, Jing Hengbo sneered coldly in her heart, thinking there were truly many oddballs in Dahuang. These Shang Kingdom and Ji Kingdom people—welcoming when they wanted, driving away when they wanted, mocking when they wanted, stealing people when they wanted. Did they think she, Jing Hengbo, was a vegetarian?

She was very interested in this Ji Kingdom princess under the eaves who considered herself the cleverest, intending to capture Dahuang’s State Preceptor in one stroke to secure Ji Kingdom’s throne.

She quietly lifted the roof tiles and peered down at the magnificent hall below. A young woman sat upright in the seat of honor. From her angle, she couldn’t see her face, only that the woman sat extremely properly with a straight back. From her perfectly arranged hair, impeccable posture, and exceptionally neat clothing, this princess who boasted of winning over Gong Yin was clearly a serious, sharp, rigid, and boring character.

From her tone, you could also tell she wasn’t interested in Gong Yin himself—purely attracted to his supreme status, thinking marriage with him would powerfully help her obtain the throne.

Jing Hengbo pursed her lips. Among the people she’d encountered in life, there was no lack of such rigorous, solemn types. Such people mostly had great ambitions, deep thoughts, treated others harshly, and were difficult to get along with. For such a woman to win Gong Yin’s favor? Dream on.

That rigorous, abstinent, aloof, and sultry someone naturally liked her type—full of passion and charm, a gorgeous, unrestrained lioness-type woman.

She pointed her finger at the area under the eaves—given the chance, go learn from Taishi Lan! That was the most rigorous and solemn woman she’d ever seen, but Taishi Lan was graceful within her dignity, spirited within her solemnity. Her every gesture had androgynous beauty, handsome beyond measure, full of elegance. If this princess could learn half of Taishi Lan’s qualities, she might still be a competitor.

The woman under the eaves clasped her hands together, seeming to contemplate. After a while she said, “Purple Lan Vine must be obtained, but that still needs some time. However, the throne is an urgent matter. How about this—you go send some treasures to Di Ge for the State Preceptor, saying Third Princess Ji Qiong admires the State Preceptor and asks him to accept them with a smile. Also help me find out the State Preceptor’s preferences—where he likes to go, what he likes to do, what he enjoys—tell me everything promptly.”

Everyone below responded. Someone then said, “I heard the State Preceptor seems to have some entanglement with the Black Water Queen.”

“Is that so?” This Third Princess of Ji Kingdom seemed uninterested in gossip, sounding quite surprised. Then she sneered, “No matter what woman he likes. If the State Preceptor accepts me in the future, I’ll allow him to take concubines.”

Jing Hengbo chuckled on the eaves, thinking there were oddballs every year, but especially many this year. She hadn’t even met the person yet dared consider herself his wife.

“But that’s the Black Water Queen…” someone reminded in a low voice, meaning surely a queen couldn’t become a concubine.

“What Black Water Queen—call her that after she actually ascends the throne. Besides, can the Dai Mao Queen compare to my Ji Kingdom Queen?” Ji Qiong sneered again and waved her hand. “Bring the Snow Jade Cream—I need to apply it to my face.”

A servant went to fetch things. Jing Hengbo followed, watching the servant enter an inner room and very carefully open a locked cabinet. On the second shelf was an extremely exquisite white jade box.

The cabinet had three shelves total. The first held various treasures, the second had the white jade box, and the third also held boxes, but judging from their design, the second shelf’s box was refined and lustrous while the third shelf’s boxes were dark and strange.

Jing Hengbo sighed silently. No need to guess—the second shelf held good things, the third shelf mostly poisons. You could tell this Third Princess’s style at a glance: excessive self-confidence, insufficient cunning.

She felt this Third Princess would definitely die miserably on the path to succession. Anyone who thought themselves so clever while viewing others as fools actually had both IQ and EQ below average.

The servant reached for a snow-white box. Jing Hengbo waved her hand, lifting a nearby curtain and patting the servant’s back of the head. The person turned to look. Jing Hengbo took this chance to open both the white box’s lid and a black box’s lid from the third shelf.

Finding nothing when she turned back, the servant turned around again to get the box. Jing Hengbo used the same trick, tapping her again. The servant turned back again. This time Jing Hengbo used a nearby spoon to dig a hefty scoop of transparent liquid from the black box and mix it into the white box.

The servant still found nothing but felt creeped out, nervously looking around the room. Jing Hengbo had just hidden the spoon but hadn’t yet wiped up the drips along the way when the servant turned back. But being somewhat nervous, she didn’t notice the opened box lid or the drip marks on the floor, hastily closing the box and taking it back to the main room.

In the main room, the princess was washing her face, sitting on a couch. One maid held a steaming basin high, one rolled up her sleeves, one dampened cloth for her. She tilted her face slightly upward with eyes closed, waiting to be served while her face was dried, then waiting for someone to apply the Snow Jade Cream that would make her skin flawlessly white.

The maid holding the Snow Jade Cream opened the lid and saw that what should have been crystal clear cream inside suddenly seemed somewhat cloudy. She couldn’t help hesitating slightly.

After waiting a while, Ji Qiong felt her face growing cool. This fragrant cream worked best when applied immediately after washing with hot water. She couldn’t help making a questioning “Hmm?” sound.

Hearing this sound, the maid trembled slightly, knowing her master had an impatient and strict temperament. Not daring to delay further, she steeled herself and quickly scooped out a glob of cream to apply to Ji Qiong’s face.

Jing Hengbo, who had been secretly watching from the eaves, silently chuckled and flashed away.

From the third shelf of poison boxes, she had chosen the one with the most normal appearance and color, figuring it wasn’t any serious poison. This Third Princess should have antidotes herself—let her slowly solve it herself, saving her from being too idle and constantly coveting her man.

…

She didn’t completely leave the courtyard where the Ji Kingdom princesses lived. She was thinking that before the Purple Lan Vine and other medicines fully matured, she should first eliminate these competitors in batches.

To eliminate someone, you first had to know their weaknesses, so she went to the servants’ quarters.

All servants in the world loved gossiping about their masters—this was experience Jing Hengbo had gained from frequently sneaking around Di Ge’s royal palace.

Sitting on the roof of the servants’ quarters, listening to a group of resting maids chatting gossip below, she quickly learned that four princesses had come from Ji Kingdom this time—the four most powerful competitors for Ji Kingdom’s throne. Third Princess, Fourth Princess, Seventh Princess, and Eleventh Princess.

Third Princess Ji Qiong was the one coveting her future king consort who had just been helped with poisoned face cream. She was also Ji Kingdom Queen’s eldest daughter—the first two had already died.

Fourth Princess Ji Yao was supposedly a romantic type who already had a fiancé, quite cunning by nature but very timid. Some said her timidity came from killing too many people.

Eleventh Princess Ji Lin supposedly focused on enjoyment. Being young, she was charming, lively, and much beloved by the Queen, but also because of her youth, wasn’t greatly accepted by court ministers.

Supposedly Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince was mainly courting Eleventh Princess this time, and the young girl didn’t seem opposed to marrying a husband a full generation older than herself.

But after listening for a long time, Jing Hengbo didn’t hear the gossip women mention Seventh Princess. They seemed quite wary of this princess. She only heard someone whisper, “Who knows what Seventh Princess is really thinking…” immediately followed by someone saying “Silence!” Then the atmosphere grew quiet.

After waiting a while with no new content, Jing Hengbo left the servants’ quarters, casually stealing a loose white hemp robe before heading straight to Fourth Princess Ji Yao’s courtyard to wait until dark.

Lying on roof tiles in this weather wasn’t pleasant—the tiles transmitted bone-chilling cold. She pulled her collar tight and let her mind wander to distract from the cold.

Thinking and thinking, she thought of Gong Yin, wondering how much Purple Lan Vine there might be, how to handle it once obtained, how to make Gong Yin accept this thing to cure his problem. Would she then be one step closer to happiness? Should she build a palace to house Gong Yin, name it “Hidden Palace”—a double entendre for hiding her Gong…

With her thoughts racing, she didn’t notice time passing. When her imagination had progressed to what kind of daughters-in-law each of her three future children should marry, she looked up to find night had fallen deep.

She smiled with anticipation and looked down at the now quiet, sleeping courtyard below.

Then she flashed into the room.

Then came a scream. Fourth Princess Ji Yao, wearing only sleeping clothes, ran out barefoot screaming, “Ghost! Ghost!”

Everyone awoke at the sound but found no problems. Questioning the terrified, trembling Ji Yao, she said in a shaking voice, “All in white with lots of blood on the clothes, smiling at me! I lunged forward but she vanished—that speed… that speed… absolutely couldn’t be human!”

Everyone looked at her silently—Fourth Princess actually often had such nightmares, always saying female ghosts haunted her. The royal family’s external explanation was that Fourth Princess was naturally weak with slightly poor vital energy, making her susceptible to ghosts and demons. But more people believed the reason ghosts didn’t haunt others but only her was naturally because she had created more ghosts than others. Having created so many ghosts yet being afraid of them was certainly quite interesting. But then again, Fourth Princess’s frightened, delicate, timid appearance made many people feel protective and lower their guard, thus becoming new ghosts—that was even more interesting.

Accustomed to Fourth Princess’s startled ghost sightings, everyone planned to just go through the motions. Who knew Ji Yao would suddenly scream and shout, “I saw that ghost go west and disappear in a flash! Who lives to the west? Who?”

Everyone looked at each other. To the west lived her elder sister Ji Qiong, and further west lived Luoyun Tribe royalty—all people who couldn’t be offended.

Ji Yao’s face twisted with hatred. “It must be Ji Qiong! It’s her, wanting to use this unfamiliar place to strike and kill me, then blame Shang Kingdom!”

Listening, everyone felt this was somewhat possible. Ji Kingdom princesses’ competition for position was intense with all kinds of methods—all of Ji Kingdom knew this. Now with several princesses on foreign missions, it was the best time to strike. Nothing else to say—hadn’t Seventh Princess been assassinated a few days ago, only escaping safely with help from a strange man?

Ji Yao put on outer clothes and brought her full guard, using “chasing the assassin and fearing the assassin might disturb Third Princess Sister” as an excuse to head straight for Ji Qiong’s courtyard. Before arriving, they heard a scream from Ji Qiong’s courtyard, followed by a “crash” as if something broke, then saw a white shadow flash out of Ji Qiong’s courtyard heading further west.

Ji Yao cried out, “That’s it! That white shadow!”

This time everyone saw it with their own eyes and withdrew their previous dismissiveness. This white shadow truly seemed like a ghost or demon—visible on the left, suddenly on the right, not a speed achievable by lightness skills.

With a triumphant expression, Ji Yao went to knock on Ji Qiong’s door. Ji Qiong naturally wouldn’t open it. The maid who answered spoke frantically, saying Third Princess had already retired and couldn’t receive guests. But everyone clearly heard vague sounds of cursing and crying from inside the room, as if something had happened. Ji Yao listened with unbearable curiosity, instinctively sensing something was up. How could she restrain herself? Pretending to leave, she turned and secretly scaled Ji Qiong’s courtyard wall, running right into Ji Qiong who was rushing out with her face covered.

This was perfect. The sisters immediately staged a full martial arts performance—one saying why are you sneaking around and breaking into my quarters, perhaps harboring ill intentions; the other saying why won’t you open the door and why are you being so sneaky, perhaps feeling guilty about something; one saying my affairs need no explanation to you, get lost quickly; the other saying why do you keep covering your face, what happened? Somehow this escalated to Ji Qiong driving people away, Ji Yao defending herself, then later somehow involving the western courtyard’s Luoyun Tribe, with both sides pulling at each other wanting to go to Luoyun territory to identify the “white-clothed assassin.” Luoyun Tribe had sent a prince who naturally wouldn’t allow this, then it became a three-way dispute, disturbing the entire Huitong Hall and waking royalty from all six kingdoms and eight tribes to watch the excitement.

At this time, the instigator Jing Hengbo was already lying in bed fast asleep.

Whether Ji Kingdom or Fushui, anyone coveting Purple Lan Vine and those great medicines would definitely try to delay time after the Zhaiying Grand Assembly, staying in Shang Kingdom to steal the Purple Lan Vine. She only planned to hide in the shadows as much as possible, letting these people cause one disturbance after another, planting causes and effects.

But she couldn’t sleep long because the matter had escalated, alarming Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince. Hearing of disputes between two nations in Huitong Hall, the Crown Prince personally came to mediate. After hearing about the “white-clothed assassin,” the Crown Prince felt the matter was serious, immediately ordering strengthened defenses for Huitong Hall and personally visiting each courtyard to express comfort and concern for the guests, while also wanting to investigate clues about the “white-clothed assassin.”

The Crown Prince’s actions were just to win hearts and earn himself some good reputation. Supposedly his position as Crown Prince was recently precarious—his aging father king favored the youngest son, intending to change the heir apparent, only temporarily abandoning this due to ministers’ dissuasion. Thus the Crown Prince felt quite crisis-conscious, always wanting to perform better in public.

A group of guards led Shang Kingdom Crown Prince Shang Lue toward the “Jade” Queen’s courtyard. Crown Prince Shang Lue, not yet thirty, could be called imposing, except for an overly curved nose that slightly marred his appearance.

As he walked, he frowned slightly, thinking it was truly regrettable not being able to receive the Black Water Queen. His father—the older he got, the more he interfered. What an old fossil.

Thinking of news he’d heard a few days ago, he sneered coldly in his heart but couldn’t help sighing with slight regret.

Unlike what outsiders guessed, Shang Lue’s invitation to Jing Hengbo wasn’t due to lust, but for the same reason his old king refused Jing Hengbo.

Shang Kingdom’s ruler was his father. If the Black Water Queen truly carried evil influences harmful to rulers and killed his father, wouldn’t that benefit him greatly?

Once he became ruler, he could just expel the Black Water Queen.

Too bad the old man was too vigilant…

He sighed again, casually glancing upward, then suddenly froze completely.

Ahead was the Jade Queen’s courtyard. Each Huitong Hall courtyard was quite refined. This courtyard had a small building with a carved and decorated balcony upstairs. Just as dawn was breaking, a woman who seemed to have just risen from sleep was stretching on the balcony.

The sky was clear and bright as if washed, with a faint streak of rosy clouds on the horizon like a blush on a woman’s cheek, slowly tinting the clear sky half red, half blue. That woman’s silhouette was etched against this fresh background, painting a breathtakingly beautiful curve. Though he couldn’t see her upturned face, he could see her neck was snow-white, her arms and waist-legs slender and graceful, yet her chest was abundantly full. That slightly backward-leaning pose with arms spread made one worry whether her slender waist could bear such abundance without dangerously snapping.

As a nation’s Crown Prince, Shang Lue had seen many beauties, but searching his memory, he had never seen such a wonderful silhouette. He couldn’t help stopping and looking up, yearning and mesmerized.

On the balcony was naturally Jing Hengbo, who had risen early to get fresh air on the building and do some yoga movements. Being far away, she didn’t notice someone peeping below and went downstairs for breakfast after finishing her exercises.

Shang Lue kept watching until she went downstairs, from her waist to her hips to her gait, secretly praising in his heart: “Must be an absolute beauty!” He hurriedly asked his attendants, “BIU, whose residence is this?”

“Replying to Crown Prince, BIU, Jade Queen Yu Ming.”

Shang Lue was stunned, his eyes brightening: “She still has such a figure after bearing children!”

He had never seen the Jade Queen but knew this queen was twenty-six or twenty-seven, with a child around ten years old. Supposedly her facial skin was quite poor too—how could she still be so young and beautiful?

That body… he secretly swallowed, feeling slightly feverish all over. Based on his experience with countless beauties, the woman on that balcony would absolutely be a man’s blessing in bed…

Seeing the Crown Prince’s unable-to-move-his-legs appearance, the guards knew the Crown Prince’s old problem was acting up again—Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince just liked mature women, not minding whether they had husbands or had given birth. He had corrupted countless lonely wives and young widows in Shang Kingdom. Fortunately, the Crown Prince was romantic but not vulgar, quite good at courting women, so most cases were still consensual.

Could it be he had set his sights on the Jade Queen, unmarried with children and alone for ten years this time?

Everyone suddenly felt enlightened—speaking of which, this wasn’t a bad choice either. Rather than seeking marriage with a Ji Kingdom princess who might not inherit the throne, better to choose a queen who had already secured her throne and was wealthy. The queen was also the Crown Prince’s favorite mature woman type. Though her face was somewhat poor, what precious medicines didn’t Shang Kingdom have? Curing her face would be effortless. Besides, the Crown Prince had a famous saying: “When lights are out, looks become secondary—the body is a man’s most beautiful enjoyment.”

Looking at the Crown Prince’s expression, he was clearly moved, yet his facial expression became more solemn.

He solemnly knocked on the door, solemnly requested to see the queen, solemnly watched Er Gouzi and Feifei play in the courtyard. Er Gouzi was holding a dirty hemp cloth, flying around the courtyard pretending to be a white phoenix, only to be slapped down by Feifei and pressed into the mud.

The Crown Prince saw this scene but didn’t retain it in his mind, his head full of that soul-stirring graceful figure stretching on the balcony, his gaze looking straight past Er Gouzi toward the pearl curtains inside.

Hearing that Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince had come to visit about this matter, Jing Hengbo naturally had to come out to meet him, but not wanting to be seen with this face, she spoke a few words through the curtains.

Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince, seeing through the curtains that it was indeed the beauty from the balcony, was overjoyed in his heart but his face became even more solemn. After explaining the situation and instructing Jing Hengbo to be careful, he solemnly and seriously withdrew.

The Crown Prince, well-versed in pursuit methods, believed courtship shouldn’t be rushed—one couldn’t leave an impression of being overly eager from the start. Good impressions had to be slowly cultivated.

As he left Jing Hengbo’s courtyard, Er Gouzi and Feifei ran past him pulling something white, tugging from both sides. With a “rip,” the thing tore in half right in front of him.

The Crown Prince, his mind full of big chests, said amiably, “These two little ones are quite interesting,” and solemnly stepped over the white thing.

After he left, Jing Hengbo rushed out and saw what Er Gouzi and Feifei were playing with. Her hair nearly stood on end.

“Courting death!” she cursed loudly.

The white hemp robe she wore last night to scare Ji Yao—she had clearly thrown it in the stove after returning, and Yong Xue would burn it when she got up to make breakfast. When had Er Gouzi and Feifei dragged it out to play?

Jing Hengbo hurriedly stuffed the hemp robe in the stove and threw it away, patting her chest while feeling grateful, “Such good luck, such good luck! Fortunately that Shang Kingdom Crown Prince is nearsighted! These two were playing with this hemp robe right in front of him and he didn’t notice!”

Yong Xue, tending the fire, slowly pursed her lips.

Nearsighted?

Clearly his eyesight was quite good.

Otherwise how could he see your big chest through the pearl curtains from such a distance and stare fixedly?

…

Not far from Jing Hengbo’s courtyard, several banyan trees were planted, their green shade canopied like umbrellas.

People coming and going praised how tall these trees were, but rarely did anyone think to look up and see what might be in the twisted, umbrella-like canopy above.

At this moment, something seemed to be sliding back and forth on those python-like branches, the same color as the bark—at first glance like snakes, on second look like people.

Some people wearing half-gray, half-green clothes with slender figures, looking almost the same color as the branches.

On their wrists, small bees were tattooed with particularly prominent stingers like awls.

“Bee Stings” under Gong Yin’s command, specialists in reconnaissance, assassination, and secret protection missions.

Using environment for color camouflage was an essential skill for the Bee Sting organization.

This group of “Bee Stings” came from Yi Kingdom. Gong Yin had disbanded Yi Kingdom’s spider web bee stings, giving them a new mission: closely protect Jing Hengbo, relay news about Jing Hengbo and everything around her at all times, but not interfere with her freedom of action.

Now, this Bee Sting was writing busily on a sheet of paper.

“Shang Kingdom Crown Prince seems attracted to the Queen, intending to pursue. Additionally: Ji Kingdom Third Princess seems to want to pursue the State Preceptor, has already suffered the Queen’s punishment.”

Carrying the letter, a pigeon flew gracefully away.

…

Jing Hengbo soon felt the passionate pursuit from Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince.

By afternoon, her room was already piled with many gifts from Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince. Most were medicines, along with jewelry and silk that women loved most. Jing Hengbo had initially thought every tribe received them, considering it consolation for last night’s scare, but inquiring revealed only she had received them.

When she opened a medicine box and read that the medicine was royal collection, specifically for treating facial acne, she knew what this Crown Prince intended.

Touching her face, Jing Hengbo found the Crown Prince’s taste quite strange. Her face was aged now, and she was playing an older woman who already had children. Why didn’t this Crown Prince like those young, beautiful Ji Kingdom princesses but instead pursue her, this orange-peel mama-san?

Among the gifts was also an invitation.

Tonight Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince would host a reception for royal dignitaries from all nations at Shang Kingdom’s largest royal estate “Bihua Garden,” holding a small sales and exchange meeting. Shang Kingdom would provide some precious medicines for sale while also allowing dignitaries from all nations to exchange resources in various ways.

In other words, this was an auction—an auction where goods could be bartered. Supposedly this was the opening of Shang Kingdom’s every grand assembly. After the auction came palace banquets, after palace banquets came the Zhaiying Grand Assembly. These three grand events were the silent battlefields where royal families from all nations competed—who won, who lost, who laughed last wouldn’t be known until the end.

The first auction was the only exchange meeting where other nations would also participate. Everyone present wasn’t short of money and wouldn’t mark clear prices, so exchange demands would be all kinds of strange and wonderful. Many times, it tested everyone’s wisdom and resources.

Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince wanted to invite Jing Hengbo as his female companion to attend the banquet and sales meeting, sending over evening gown for the dinner.

Though Jing Hengbo had been queen for a long time, she had always been a suffering queen who hadn’t experienced much high society life or enjoyed such passionate masculine pursuit—she had encountered an iceberg who only knew how to stand before her blocking wind and rain. As for romance and that kind of delicate masculine attention to women, the aloof State Preceptor didn’t understand.

However, every woman had a princess dream, so Jing Hengbo couldn’t help opening the dress box. Upon opening, she couldn’t help exclaiming “Wow!”

An emerald green palace dress with high collar and fitted waist, the style that best displayed one’s figure. The dress wasn’t that vulgar green but chose the most precious Bright Silkworm silk satin available only in Ji Kingdom—that material naturally had flowing luster, warm and moist as jade, truly like an entire piece of water-clear, transparent emerald.

From the waist down, the skirt had layer upon layer of gold threads woven into phoenix tail feather patterns forming long trailing hems, slightly fluffy, dreamlike and winding, dotted with tiny crystals, brilliant and splendid under sunlight and lamplight.

Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince had even thoughtfully matched a mask in the same style, woven with gold thread and inlaid with crystals, generally flowing with brilliant colors. One could imagine such a mask would disguise any problems in a burst of magnificence, while the only exposed part—Jing Hengbo’s eyes—were currently her proudest feature, her never-aging charming bright eyes.

Simplicity and magnificence merged, ethereal and noble enhanced each other. This old hand experienced in flower fields had vicious and sophisticated taste in sending clothes. Even Jing Hengbo’s picky eye, having seen all kinds of gorgeous modern formal wear, couldn’t help clicking her tongue in admiration, unable to put it down.

…

On that nearby banyan tree, a “Bee Sting” was sweating profusely, writing furiously.

“Shang Kingdom Crown Prince has begun formal pursuit of the Queen, sending gifts that fill the entire hall. The Queen opened the gifts, including one gorgeous gown. The Queen showed surprised delight.”

…

Jing Hengbo never had resistance to beautiful clothes and immediately agreed to Shang Kingdom Crown Prince’s invitation.

Agreeing to the invitation also involved her little spite—she wanted to anger that “boyfriend” far away in Di Ge. Who told you to leave without saying goodbye?

Though Gong Yin had just run off like that, and while she was magnanimous enough not to hold grudges, she inevitably felt reluctant in her heart. Thinking that after he returned, he might still encounter that little bitch Ming Cheng’s entanglement—the lone man and woman together in one palace situation was a thorn in her heart. Previously when harboring resentment she tried not to think about this, but now she couldn’t avoid thinking about it, making her even more indignant and unable to resist a little revenge.

That evening she deliberately groomed and dressed herself, preparing to snatch away everything that should be snatched at the auction.

At this time, Pei Shu was galloping fast, having already entered Shang Kingdom’s royal capital Tianwen City.

The seven eccentrics at Shang Kingdom’s border had intercepted a renowned jianghu figure’s convoy coming to participate in the assembly, mixing in as guards.

Yu Wuse failed to rob anyone’s invitation but, being sweet-tongued and quick-witted, was adopted as godson by a Di Ge noble lady and brought into Shang Kingdom.

At this time, Yelu Qi had already heard news of the Jade Queen’s arrival, immediately understanding Jing Hengbo had come. He immediately held his invitation and, as the “Queen’s future King Consort,” requested entry to Huitong Hall to reunite with the Jade Queen.

Huitong Hall didn’t stop him, immediately and courteously invited him in. Just after entering, a Huitong Hall maid approached to guide him, saying she would lead him to the Jade Queen’s courtyard.

After following her a few steps, Yelu Qi suddenly stopped with a smile and said, “Miss, if you don’t guide me to the correct path, I’m afraid I’ll have to make you walk the path of death.”

The guiding maid turned around, not nervous at all, completely composed, smiling, “Sir is truly perceptive. To be honest, this servant isn’t a Huitong Hall maid but a servant of Ji Kingdom’s Seventh Princess. My Seventh Princess requests a meeting with you, sir.”

“A man and woman alone together, why meet privately? Please tell your princess that our roadside encounter then was a casual rescue requiring no thanks—I only ask that we each remain at peace.” Yelu Qi smiled and turned to leave. The maid didn’t stop him either, watching him leave unhurriedly and slowly sighing, “Eleventh Princess, you see, he didn’t take the bait.”

A corner of pink skirt hem turned from the flower bushes, revealing a pair of matching pointed, delicate embroidered shoes and a similarly somewhat pointed girl’s voice laughing, “Supposedly that man who saved my Seventh Sister that day was him? Seems Seventh Sister was moved and is looking for his whereabouts. I thought it was love at first sight, but now it seems Seventh Sister has feelings while the gentleman has none.”

“Eleventh Princess,” the maid said, “this person is definitely not weak. If you want to trick and kidnap him to make Seventh Princess yield, I’m afraid you won’t succeed but will suffer instead.”

“Then don’t kidnap him,” Eleventh Princess Ji Lin laughed. “Give him some sweetness, let him take some advantage—how about that?”

“Eleventh Princess means…”

“He wants to find the Jade Queen, right? The Jade Queen is bathing and changing clothes right now. I heard Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince actually took a fancy to her and invited her to attend tonight’s reception banquet together. Hehe, tell me, if we add honey grass powder to the Jade Queen’s bath water, then have someone blow a sheep whistle on her roof, what would happen?”

“Ah… Princess, brilliant plan!” The maid’s eyes lit up, covering her mouth in delicate laughter. “Our Great King’s imperial camel-sheep Chasing Wind that we brought this time has been quite restless lately. Smelling honey grass scent and hearing sheep whistles, it will definitely charge over desperately.”

“Exactly,” Ji Lin said leisurely. “Calculate the timing well, let Chasing Wind crash him into the room just when Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince arrives. Do you think if he sees this scene, will he be angry? Will there be conflict? If my Seventh Sister discovers he’s conflicting with Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince, will she intervene? If Seventh Sister intervenes and hurts Chasing Wind, which the Great King specifically had us bring for treating illness, do you think the Great King will still let her become Crown Prince?”

“Excellent,” the maid laughed and clapped. “If the Jade Queen loses face when her bathing wall is broken with everyone watching, will she leave immediately, giving us one less competitor? If we incidentally frame Third Princess and Fourth Princess, will it cause them to kill each other? If you save Chasing Wind at the crucial moment, will the Great King like you more? This is simply a six-birds-with-one-stone plan!” She suddenly sighed, “It’s just that Her Majesty the Jade Queen will be pitiful…”

“Ugly people, why leave them around to cause trouble?” Ji Lin answered lightly.

The two looked at each other and smiled, their smiles sweet and pure as flowers.