Chapter 362

Chapter 362: Audience with Your Majesty (4000 words)

“He went to the Qinglou.”

The maidservant spoke.

Hearing the maidservant’s reply, the Dragon Empress turned her head and looked at this servant.

For a man to visit the Qinglou in Dragon Capital, the Dragon Empress felt no great surprise.

Each of the underwater palaces across the four seas has a famous Qinglou, often frequented by cultivators seeking leisure.

Whenever human envoys visit the Dragon Palace, those envoys usually find time to visit the Qinglou.

What surprised the Dragon Empress was that these envoys generally exercised restraint, waiting for some time before visiting, at least trying not to appear too eager.

But Xu Ming seemed unaware of such decorum.

He was the first envoy to visit the Qinglou just a few days after arriving in Dragon Capital.

Not to mention that as an official from Wu Kingdom, Xu Ming should have been more mindful of his image.

“Which Qinglou did Xu Ming visit? Which ladies did he call for? What did he do there?” The Dragon Empress asked three consecutive questions.

It seemed the Dragon Empress was very concerned about Xu Ming’s visit to the Qinglou.

In reality, it wasn’t so.

The Empress’ three questions were merely to better understand him.

Even if he had spent three nights with dozens of ladies, the Empress would not have shown any emotional fluctuation.

“Your Majesty, Xu Ming visited the most famous Bihaige in our Dragon Capital. After arriving, he didn’t call for any ladies,” said Maidservant Little Blue respectfully.

The Dragon Empress paused, looking at the maid curiously. “If he didn’t call for any ladies, then why did he go to the Qinglou?”

“That young Master Xu simply reserved a seat, ordered some dishes and two jugs of wine, and watched the performances of the ladies. Beyond that, he didn’t enter any rooms with the ladies or interact with anyone else. Even when some ladies tried to approach him, he refused,” Little Blue reported everything Xu Ming did in the Qinglou truthfully.

Dragon Empress: “Then what happened next? Where did he go after leaving the Qinglou?”

Maid: “After leaving the Qinglou, that young Master Xu went to a tavern to eat.”

“Ho ho.”

The Dragon Empress let out a soft chuckle.

“They always have some strange habits among scholars. Polite people call it refined elegance and wit, but bluntly speaking, it’s pretentiousness.”

Little Blue kept her head down and said nothing.

“Have the other three envoys from the Dragon Palaces all arrived? And among our invited guests, who is the latest to arrive?”

The Dragon Empress stopped asking about Xu Ming.

In her mind, she already had a rough impression of Xu Ming.

Little Blue nodded: “Your Majesty, the three envoys from the Dragon Palaces have all arrived. Among them, the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace sent their Crown Prince, the Western Sea Dragon Palace sent the youngest daughter beloved by the Dragon King, and the Southern Sea Dragon Palace sent their crippled Chancellor.

As for the various sects and factions, most of the delegations have already arrived in Dragon Capital, and we’ve arranged accommodations for them.

The White Deer Academy is expected to be the last to arrive; their scholars are indeed quite far away.”

The Dragon Empress nodded: “Those scholars from the White Deer Academy always cause trouble and it doesn’t matter much that they’re always the last to arrive. Speaking of which, who is leading the delegation this time?”

Servant: “This time, the White Deer Academy is led by Zhu Cici, the master’s youngest disciple.”

The Dragon Empress paused: “Zhu Cici? Isn’t she the one who wrote ‘Most difficult to retain in this world, youth fades as flowers leave the mirror and trees’?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Little Blue continued, “That poem was written during Zhu Cici’s visit to Wu Kingdom when Young Master Xu was responsible for hosting her.”

“Hmm,” the Dragon Empress nodded, “That poem was indeed well-written.”

Little Blue smiled: “During the Four Seas Ceremony, we should also ask Young Master Xu to compose a poem for Your Majesty. In my opinion, Your Majesty is far more beautiful than Zhu Cici.”

“Do you think I’m old enough to have someone write poems for me?” The Dragon Empress shook her head.

“Pass the order down, we’ll hold the Four Seas Ceremony in five days.” The Dragon Empress slowly spoke.

“Five days?” Little Blue blinked, “Your Majesty, isn’t that a bit rushed?”

“How?” The Dragon Empress looked at Little Blue, “Is the preparation not enough?”

“The time will certainly suffice,” Little Blue replied.

“Then start as soon as possible and finish quickly.” The Dragon Empress waved her hand. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Little Blue nodded.

Little Blue originally wanted to say that rushing the schedule might make it hard for others to adjust, and we might not be able to perfectly follow proper hospitality, possibly leading to whispers behind our backs.

But if she knew this, how could the Empress not know? Since the Empress didn’t care, she couldn’t say anything either.

All she could do was ensure the task was done well, and that was all.

“Then go and invite Xu Ming over. It’s time to meet him,” the Dragon Empress continued.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Having served by the Empress’ side for a thousand years, Little Blue naturally understood what her mistress was thinking.

At most, her mistress just wanted to determine before the Four Seas Ceremony whether Xu Ming was the reincarnation of someone special.

Most times, once her mistress encountered someone resembling that person’s reincarnation, she would summon them immediately to check.

Over time, the number of people the Empress summoned increased, but every attempt ended in failure.

Gradually, the Empress appeared weary.

Perhaps in a few years, the Empress would give up.

In Little Blue’s view, if her Empress could let go, it might be the best choice.

After all, it had been so many years, and the Empress really needed to move on and stop being stuck in the past.

With that, Little Blue bowed and left the Imperial Palace.

Meanwhile, while dining at the tavern, Xu Ming learned of a not-so-secret secret of the Dragon Empress from the North Sea.

Xu Ming originally knew that the Dragon Empress from the North Sea had an old lover whom she had searched for nearly ten thousand years.

This fact was known throughout the entire world.

This Dragon Empress was extremely devoted, never having changed her affections.

What Xu Ming didn’t know before was that the Dragon Empress from the North Sea had constructed a magic array within the Dragon Palace to search for the reincarnation of that man.

That array could roughly calculate whether someone was the reincarnation of that man.

However, in the thousands of years since its creation, the array had never successfully identified anyone. Previously, the Empress had found similar individuals, but none turned out to be the right person.

Tens of thousands of people had been brought to the Dragon Palace because of this array. After giving them some money, the Empress dismissed them.

Xu Ming guessed why he had been summoned by the Dragon Empress.

The reason was simple—he had been locked onto by that array.

The Empress, adhering to the principle of “better to kill mistakenly than miss,” called him over to see if he was truly the reincarnation.

However, from Xu Ming’s perspective, it was obvious that he was not the reincarnation.

His soul came from the Blue Ocean Star.

Surely, his old lover couldn’t have reincarnated on the Blue Ocean Star, right? Most likely, the Dragon Empress would take one look at him, then walk away without another glance.

Still, considering the existence of reincarnation and the fact that the Dragon Empress hadn’t found her love in nearly ten thousand years, her luck must be terrible!

Ten thousand years is long enough for a soul to wear thin.

Could it be that her lover’s divine soul had already been extinguished? Perhaps the Dragon Empress simply refused to face reality and thus continued her endless search?

Xu Ming shook his head, clearing these thoughts from his mind.

Xu Ming believed this was none of his business.

What puzzled Xu Ming was how the array managed to lock onto him, a soul from another dimension.

How could he possibly be the person they sought? That array must have a bug, given it had been running for nearly ten thousand years—it was normal for issues to arise.

Unfortunately, he now had to make a trip to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

After chatting with some residents of Dragon Capital, Xu Ming finished eating and generously paid the bill for the table before stepping out of the tavern.

However, just as Xu Ming exited the tavern, a woman dressed as a palace maid approached him.

Looking at the maid, Xu Ming furrowed his brow and instinctively became cautious.

Though she appeared to be a maid, she exuded a tremendous pressure through her spiritual energy.

Xu Ming surmised that she was at least at the Jade Pudding Realm level.

A Jade Pudding Realm cultivator dressed as a maid—she must be the personal attendant of the Dragon Empress.

“Your humble servant greets Young Master Xu,” the maid bowed respectfully upon reaching Xu Ming.

Xu Ming reciprocated with a bow, “I wonder who you are?”

The maid smiled, “I am the Empress’s maid. You may call me Little Blue.”

“Miss Little Blue,” Xu Ming addressed her.

Little Blue nodded, despite being at the Jade Pudding Realm, she maintained humility: “May I inquire if you have the time? Our Empress wishes to meet you.”

Xu Ming chuckled, “An invitation from the Empress leaves no room for excuses.”

And even if he were busy, he still had to make time, after all, this was on their turf, and refusing would be impolite.

Little Blue’s eyes curved into crescents, “If so, please follow me, Young Master Xu.”

Xu Ming: “Please lead the way, Miss.”

“Please proceed, Young Master.”

Little Blue turned around and led Xu Ming toward the Imperial Palace.

Previously, Xu Ming was somewhat uneasy, not knowing why he had been summoned.

Now, however, he understood the Empress’s purpose, so he no longer cared.

In fact, this would be a good opportunity to meet the legendary Dragon Empress of the North Sea.

Strictly speaking, this Dragon Empress of the North Sea could be considered a ten-thousand-year-old wife.

If possible, he’d also inquire about a certain treasure. His visit to the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace wasn’t solely for diplomatic reasons; he also intended to secure that treasure for Qingwan.

Upon entering the Imperial Palace, Xu Ming continued inward.

Though the place where Xu Ming and the others stayed was technically within the palace grounds, it was actually more of a transitional area between the palace and the city.

The central area of the palace belonged exclusively to the Dragon Empress of the North Sea, including her office and living quarters.

No one could enter without specific summons.

Xu Ming followed Little Blue deeper inside.

Soon after, Little Blue led Xu Ming into a garden.

As soon as he entered, Xu Ming detected an intense concentration of spiritual energy.

“Master Xu, continue along this path, and you shall meet the Empress. I shall not accompany you further,” Little Blue stopped and bowed.

“Thank you, Miss Little Blue,” Xu Ming nodded and proceeded along the path.

The garden was vast, filled with corals and mystical flowers that only thrived in the ocean. Logically, such a large garden should have been chaotic with colors.

Yet, within this garden, Xu Ming saw only white and light pink.

These two colors were inherently simple and clean, so the garden gave off an elegant rather than overwhelming impression.

After walking about five hundred meters, Xu Ming halted.

Not far ahead, sat a woman.

Dressed in a light blue gown, she sat calmly on a stone bench.

Her gaze was upward, her long lashes fluttering gently, beneath which lay a pair of stunning azure eyes.

Her eyes were breathtaking, like twin sapphires.

Her features were exquisite, flawless, her skin delicate and snow-white.

Even seated, Xu Ming could sense her tall stature, estimating her to be around 180 centimeters.

Her figure was graceful under the light blue gown.

If the top ten beauties on the Red Beauty List were indistinguishable in appearance,

To Xu Ming, she was undoubtedly the most beautifully proportioned woman he had ever seen, especially her legs, which adhered to the golden ratio. Even though they were covered by the gown, Xu Ming could vividly imagine their balanced, elongated shape.

Xu Ming bowed respectfully, “Xu Ming of Wu Kingdom pays respects to Your Majesty.”

…

…

[Had a minor surgery and will need to stay in the hospital for a while, but it’s not serious. Fortunately, it’s not my hand that’s injured, so I can write more during this time. Maybe in the coming days, I can write 10,000 words daily.

The surgery cost quite a bit, so I’ll update more frequently, hoping to earn back the medical expenses.

Another small goal! From tomorrow until the end of this month, I’ll update 10,000 words daily!

Anyway, there’s nothing else to do lying in bed or at home, so I’ll just write more!]