These words sounded even more polite, with the onlookers’ eyes revealing hints of amusement. Given Mo Ti Zhun’s relationship with the Chancellor’s mansion, what good words could come from his mouth? Besides, this certainly wasn’t Mo Ti Zhun’s tone… Feng Miao Jun was using this method to tell Li Si that if he continued asking, things would only become more awkward.

The little girl was quite interesting.

Li Yuan Pei showed no embarrassment at all, stroking his chin as he said: “We’re all very curious: Grand Imperial Master Mo has a heart of iron and rarely accepts disciples. How did Miss Feng manage to move him?”

This question voiced the mystery in many people’s hearts, and more gazes turned toward her.

Feng Miao Jun withdrew the smile from her face and said solemnly: “My master was passing through Sweet Water City and stayed at my home for the night. Seeing that I had some potential, he accepted me as a disciple, changed my name, and brought me to Jin Capital.”

Everyone was still waiting for her to continue, but after waiting and waiting, they saw her lips tightly closed. Someone finally asked: “That’s it?”

“Ah.” She nodded.

Lady Mian Hua’s eyes revealed disappointment: “We thought the process would be strange and convoluted.”

“This is my first time becoming a disciple, so I don’t know what other complications there should be,” Feng Miao Jun said cautiously. “Were there any shocking inside stories about my master accepting his first three disciples?”

As for this… everyone shook their heads. It wasn’t that there weren’t any, but rather that they didn’t know.

Princess Han Yue’s eyes turned: “Is the Imperial Master an old acquaintance of your family?” Who would have enough prestige to send their child to become the Imperial Master’s disciple?

Feng Miao Jun thought very seriously, then shook her head: “My family only runs a small business, so they shouldn’t know the Imperial Master.”

So she was a merchant’s daughter. Contempt flashed in many people’s eyes but quickly disappeared.

What did it matter if she was a merchant’s daughter? Having become Mo Ti Zhun’s disciple, she now had her place in Jin Capital. Such luck in rising to prominence was something ordinary people could only envy.

“Your family is in Sweet Water? What business do they run?” This time it was Li Yuan Pei who spoke.

“Grain and jewelry,” she answered without hesitation. These responses had been prepared after she met with the Jin King. Even if the Li family sent people to investigate, they would only discover that there was indeed a Feng family in Sweet Water that ran a grain shop and a gold tower and that their daughter was indeed eleven years old, possessed spiritual roots, and had been taken away by her newly accepted master a dozen or so days ago.

Li Yuan Pei certainly wouldn’t give up and was about to speak again when a servant’s voice suddenly rang out from not far away:

“Left Qiu Yuan from the Great Yao Kingdom has arrived!”

This name also sounded somewhat familiar. Just as Feng Miao Jun was wondering where she had heard these three characters before, a buzz had already started in the crowd: “Left Qiu? Isn’t there only one Left Qiu family in Yao Kingdom?”

Lady Mian Hua clapped her hands and smiled: “Now I’ll give you all a surprise. Left Qiu Yuan just arrived in Jin Capital a few days ago and has accepted my invitation to come here.”

Left Qiu Yuan was a person of great importance. Li Yuan Pei gave Feng Miao Jun a deep look but had no choice but to leave her and join the others in going out to welcome him.

This reception was at a level of formality far higher than what Feng Miao Jun had received when she first arrived. She casually picked up a cherry and put it in her mouth, secretly praising it as “so sweet” – it had just the right balance of sweet and sour, full of the fresh fragrance of berries, yet plump and without pulp. No wonder it was designated as a tribute item for the royal family.

This was something that couldn’t be bought outside. She took the opportunity to taste a few more, and looking up, she happened to see a man in white clothes walking in, surrounded by people. He was elegant and handsome, and his eyes were always filled with gentle smiles when he looked at others.

Her hand, reaching for the fourth cherry, paused slightly.

Coincidentally, she had indeed seen this person before.

Right in Sweet Water, on the day she had hidden the severely wounded Mo Ti Zhun and tricked Young Master He, this man was also at the Ganlu Inn!

This person was indeed addressed as “Brother Left Qiu” by Young Master He at that time, and the night before, he had even offered to give up a superior room for her and her adoptive mother. Later, when the military guards searched the Ganlu Inn, he disappeared without a trace, leaving Young Master He to suffer in silence.

These past few days, Feng Miao Jun had been so busy that she had no time to think about this strange matter. She hadn’t expected this person to appear before her eyes.

As she was observing and pondering, a woman beside her laughed and said: “Left Qiu’s elegance is exceptional; even little sister Feng, at such a young age, is staring in a daze.”

Feng Miao Jun had indeed been staring at him absentmindedly. Hearing this, she giggled: “He is very handsome indeed.”

Her gaze was clear and pure, full of childlike curiosity, so the others knew that when she said “handsome,” she simply meant handsome. At this moment, Left Qiu Yuan’s gaze swept toward the pavilion, and their eyes met directly.

Feng Miao Jun saw a flash of surprise cross his face, clearly recognizing her, but this hint of change vanished in an instant, and he resumed chatting and laughing with those around him.

This person had seen her in Sweet Water and knew she was from out of town; otherwise, why would he stay at the Ganlu Inn? Just this point alone could expose the lie she had just told. However, he didn’t seem to have any intention of coming forward to greet her, and Feng Miao Jun was naturally happy to pretend not to know him.

At this moment, Princess Han Yue snorted: “Everyone says Left Qiu Yuan is exceptionally elegant, but I think he’s just ordinary.”

A noble lady beside her laughed: “Yes, yes, who could compare to Yun Ya, the Grand Imperial Master in Your Highness’s heart?”

Yun Ya? Feng Miao Jun hadn’t expected to hear this name even while standing in the middle of the An Luo River. She couldn’t help but turn her head to look and saw the princess’s face slightly red, but with the corners of her mouth slightly raised, showing that after being teased, her mood had improved.

The look of a girl in love is generally like this. So Feng Miao Jun knew she had feelings for Yun Ya.

She shifted slightly: “Who is Grand Imperial Master Cloud? Is he even more handsome?”

“That’s the Imperial Master of Wei Kingdom. Our princess saw him once two years ago,” the noble lady, knowing she was originally a country commoner unfamiliar with these great figures, smiled and explained to her, “It was a breathtaking sight; we all felt the same.”

Feng Miao Jun recalled the first time she saw Yun Ya and thought that if his gaze hadn’t been so cold and sharp at that time, she might have been able to feel this kind of stunning beauty too. “Do all Imperial Masters have to be handsome?”

The women burst into laughter, and someone said: “Who said that? You haven’t seen the Imperial Master of An Xia Kingdom, with all that white hair and white beard.”

“And our Imperial Master Mo also has a big beard.”

Feng Miao Jun said with a straight face: “My master has shaved his beard this time and is now a standard handsome man. If you don’t believe me, you can see for yourselves at court.”

Amidst the women’s laughter, Princess Han Yue pursed her lips and said: “I heard that Yun Ya’s health is poor, and he has been living in seclusion recently. It seems it will be even more difficult to see him again.”

Poor health and living in seclusion? Feng Miao Jun recalled the image of Yun Ya wielding his sword to kill the giant turtle in a deep pool in the remote mountains. Haha, did that have anything to do with these eight words? The little girl was too easily deceived.

Princess Han Yue snickered again: “And now someone else wants to challenge him, with the time set for half a month from now. These people are truly shameless, only knowing how to kick someone when they’re down!”

Feng Miao Jun stared blankly: “Challenge… the Imperial Master?”