The seat area of the major sects was as close to the Golden Dragon Palace as a sneeze away.
The few who could pass through here, whether they were nobility, wearing robes or beasts in suits, or even giants from the martial world, all treated it like a pilgrimage—bows and greetings aplenty.
And the one they honored was an old lady with silver hair. The silk she wore was clearly not of this realm, her eyes shimmering with faint gold, giving off an aura that screamed “not from around here.”
“Achoo!”
Her companion, Tian Miao, sneezed and scratched her chin in confusion.
“Someone’s talking about you,” she said nonchalantly.
After a moment, the old lady finally reacted.
“Who could possibly be thinking of my disciple, Li Mo? We’ve already given him our blessing, he wouldn’t bother, right?”
Tian Miao gazed into the distance and spotted Empress Chuge just past the Noon Gate.
With a hint of confusion, she asked, “Master, why did you rank the empress second this time?”
“Who do you think is better?” the old lady shot back with a grin.
“Well, it’s obviously Miss Ice Girl… but the empress is of high status,” Tian Miao replied, still puzzled.
“Nope.”
The old lady, Yantian, rubbed her cane, squinting her eyes, her voice dropping to a whisper:
“In Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, when it comes to status, no one can outshine her.”
“Huh?”
Tian Miao was taken aback.
Who on earth was she talking about?
Her master didn’t elaborate, but she had her own way to verify it.
Lately, she’d made breakthroughs in her destiny skills and could see more things, so…
She could take a peek at both Miss Ice Girl and the empress and see who made her cough up bl**d more; that’s who her master meant…
But after thinking it over, her curiosity didn’t lead her into action. Scanning around Imperial Capital might just cause unforeseen trouble.
Just then, as the crowd buzzed like a beehive, the bronze carriage slowly moved forward, and Li Mo popped out, leaping down.
Let’s be honest—Li Mo wasn’t exactly eye candy.
But he certainly didn’t ride alone in that carriage.
Countless eyes glued to the bronze carriage, eager to catch a glimpse of the woman who could overshadow the great Empress of Da Yu today.
A delicate hand whisked the curtain aside, and out came the lady, standing in the sunlight. Her skirt fluttered like a phoenix in flight, unmatched across the lands, yet inconspicuous against her stunning face, cold but refined.
And her aura radiated without relying on her status.
When the Tyndall effect kicked in, light took shape.
As she stood there, beauty became tangible.
Especially when she grasped Li Mo’s hand, adding a dash of liveliness to her ethereal aura.
Ding-a-ling—
The wind chimes on the carriage jingled melodiously.
Suddenly…
Flowers began to rain down from nowhere, a celestial shower cascading like the west wind lifting a thousand piles of snow.
That’s right!
“Now that we’re here,” Li Mo mused, clutching the Shiny Reflection Pearl.
What’s wrong with the empress having a grand entrance?
With us, it’s special effects galore!
Ying Bing shot him a glance, half-amused, half-exasperated.
Let him be…
For a moment, the crowd was speechless; this spectacle alone made the whole trip worthwhile.
“Wife, I gotta say, she really is prettier than you. Even if you pull my ears off, I’d rather d*e than give in!”
“Why does it feel like her beauty changed just enough to be different from before?”
“Is she going to perform today? I still remember her sword dance at the weapons forging meet!”
“Oh, clearly not.”
“Why not?”
“Li Mo is a financial backer of the Flower Viewing Festival! Look at his face—it’s practically grinning, and he thinks Miss Cold Fairy will perform for anyone else?”
“d*mn, that’s why he suddenly spent so much money! It all makes sense now.”
…..
At this moment, Empress Chuge passed through, surrounded by palace maids, but paused suddenly to look back deeply.
Her gaze was complicated, filled with longing and jealousy, impossible to sum up in words.
“So beautiful…”
Even the maid assisting her was entranced, her gaze fixated.
Suddenly jolted back to reality by the empress’s stare, the maid lowered her head in fear.
“I’m doomed.”
“Everyone loves beautiful things. I’m not the jealous type,” the empress said gently, patting the maid’s hand.
“We need to go to the ancestral hall and invite my great-uncle over.”
“Yes, your majesty.”
At this, a rather unnoticed young lady perked up, glancing at the emerging couple, before swiftly retreating to a corner.
…..
At the entrance of the festival.
Everyone in the Imperial Capital could see the Hundred Yi Festival, but most could only catch the live streams through the national map; those lining up for the live event held notable status.
Among them were students from the prestigious Imperial Academy.
Some were so excited they spontaneously burst into poetry.
“Miss Cold Fairy… such a celestial beauty…”
Song Qian was awestruck for a moment, then suddenly declared, “I shall compose a poem too!”
“Don’t do that, Song Qian, please!”
“Poetry? You’re going to bring shame to us with your clichés?”
“Someone take his pen away! Don’t let this idiot disgrace the Imperial Academy!”
Those who knew his lack of poetic prowess quickly stopped him.
One of them curiously eyed Song Qian’s entourage, unsure:
“Song Qian, when did you switch your followers?”
At this, Song Qian’s sidekick, the Deer Hall Master from the Greenwood Society, and his entourage stiffened.
That’s right, those following Song Qian now were all reformed members of the Huanmo Sect!
Their style of learning was so peculiar—neither fully martial nor completely scholarly—that they could easily expose their identities.
“None of your business,” Song Qian scoffed, displeased with the attempted pen theft.
At that moment, more people sneaked in to question what the others were whispering near Song Qian’s ear. His face turned pale, instinctively covering his backside, hurriedly backing away from Song Qian like he had caught the plague.
Song Qian: “?”
He felt they had said something terribly rude.
“Gentlemen, let’s head inside first.”
The unflappable hall master of the Xueliantang, posing as a deer representative, casually suggested.
“You all go ahead. I’ll wait here for a bit,” Song Qian stubbornly insisted, craning his neck to peer forward.
“Alright, I’ll wait here for you,” the Deer Hall Master said helplessly, handing the golden invitation to the eunuch at the door.
“Last time, my father and Ke Mo became like brothers; he must have done it for official business, seeing how the Hundred Yi Festival has already begun, hee hee…”
Song Qian thought mischievously.
In the political arena, needing something means you kiss up, and when you’re done, you kick them to the curb. It’s quite normal.
Not that he was afraid…
“Yo, Lord Song.”
As he was lost in thought, Song Baiyue poked his head out from behind the carriage, propped up by someone, and approached the entrance.
The old Mr. Song was so scatterbrained, with so much commotion, that he really didn’t notice his unlucky son.
“Ke Swordmaster, Miss Cold Fairy.”
The purple-clad eunuch first greeted Ke Mo and then turned to Lord Song, his voice sharp and thin:
“Ah, Lord Song, His Majesty was waiting for you to report yesterday and even sent people looking for you three times. You aren’t trying to brush His Majesty off, are you?”
“His Majesty is quite broad-minded, so it’s no problem, but I can’t let the health of the dragon body go unattended, so we must have a good talk.”
Lord Song immediately recognized the situation as an attempt to push his buttons, trying to squeeze something out of him.
The problem was that he genuinely forgot about his report yesterday…
Song Baiyue: “Please invite the eunuch to the Wind Moon Small Residence for a chat.”
“….”
Old Mr. Song was really oblivious—he thought it was a serious talk, but many people knew it was not what it seemed.
Aren’t you just inviting the eunuch to a brothel?
The purple-clad eunuch didn’t buy it, and his expression soured:
“Lord Song, what exactly were you doing last night?”
“I…”
Song Baiyue finally realized he’d misspoken but couldn’t articulate anything, seeing as he genuinely hadn’t done anything productive.
All he could do was look over at Ke Mo.
“Uncle Ke, Auntie… could you help me explain?”
“…..”
Ke Mo truly didn’t expect this.
Old Song’s ability to call out like this was impressive—no wonder he climbed the ranks so quickly; his level of shamelessness was on par with mythical beings.
“???”
Song Qian felt like lightning struck him.
What the heck? Did that just knock him down a peg?
…..
PS: The plot is getting odder, but another chapter will come out tomorrows, mwah!
