Chapter 17

Jitang had a dream in Yuhuang Pavilion for two consecutive days.

The murderer who planned to harm the third prince often had dreams, but the nightmare about the third prince was only one, which kept reappearing, nothing else.

Although she was full, she still didn't know who the owner of the dream was.

At the same time, after the big mouth Seventh Prince left Liuguang Pavilion, he told everyone about Jitang.

By the time the word got back to Su Jinzhou, it had become: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince imprisoned a maid as beautiful as a fairy in Liuguang Pavilion, keeping her in a golden house and not letting her go out day or night.

The day Su Jinzhou heard the rumor, he "invited" the Seventh Prince over.

The seventh prince Su Qianchen acts like a king outside, but he is just a coward in front of Su Jinzhou.

He met Su Jinzhou and bowed, "Brother Emperor, I was wrong!"

Jitang watched the fun from the side.

There was some fruit on the table next to her, and she picked a strawberry and put it in her mouth.

Su Jinzhou happened to see the puffed-up side of her face chewing non-stop, and pointed at her and said, "How can a woman who eats like a hamster be so beautiful?"

The Seventh Prince watched silently, secretly marveling: How could this woman be so cute and beautiful even when eating a strawberry...

But the words that came out of his mouth were: "My royal brother is right."

Ji Tang threw a strawberry over and said, "Just educate your brother, why are you attacking me personally?"

Su Jinzhou caught it red-handed and ate the strawberry directly.

Before the situation in the house was resolved, a sharp notification sounded outside Liuguang Pavilion.

"The Queen has arrived—"

When they heard this, their expressions varied.

Su Jinzhou stood up and straightened his clothes, "What is coming will eventually come."

The Seventh Prince's face was bitter, "Royal Brother..."

Jitang was enjoying the fun, and didn't even get up. He just sat on the couch and ate strawberries.

When the queen came in, the crown prince and the seventh prince went up to greet her and bowed.

"Mother."

"Mother, please don't believe the rumors outside!"

The two were both the Queen's biological sons and had a close relationship. The Seventh Prince didn't have to follow so many rules and said, "I only said that my brother had a maidservant who was as beautiful as a fairy. The rest of the story was just fabricated by them. My brother is an upright and polite man. It is impossible for him to imprison someone in Liuguang Pavilion!"

The queen glanced around and saw Ji Tang sitting on the couch.

Jitang's mouth was full of strawberries.

The eunuchs accompanying the Queen stepped forward and shouted, "How dare you! You don't kneel down and salute the Queen when you see her. You want to die!"

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince tried to block the attack, and the eunuch was so scared that he immediately stepped back, and the ferocious look on his face instantly turned into a flattering smile.

Su Jinzhou: "Mother, this is Master's other disciple, Jitang. Master called her here to help me cultivate. She is inexperienced and doesn't understand the palace rules. I didn't want to make a big fuss, so I gave her the identity of a maid."

The Queen seemed to see through Su Jinzhou. "Really?"

"Yes, she has a high level of cultivation and can help me." Su Jinzhou turned sideways and called her, "Ji Tang, come here."

Ji Tang threw down the strawberry in his hand, clapped his hands, got off the couch, and came to the Queen, saying neither servile nor arrogant: "Your Majesty the Queen."

The Queen narrowed her eyes and looked at Ji Tang. She concealed the astonishment in her eyes and said after a moment: "Since your master has called me to help you, I won't say anything."

People who practice Taoism rarely set foot in the mortal world. While traveling and gaining experience, Master Wu Shu saw that Su Jinzhou had excellent bones and physique, and was a good material for practicing Taoism, so he entered the palace to accept him as his disciple.

A large part of the reason why Master Wu Shu was polite to the royal family was due to his own cultivation, and the other part was out of respect for the king of a country.

The emperor was also very humble and polite towards Master Wu Shu. With the emperor in front of him, others were even more so.

As a disciple of Master Wu Shu, he would certainly be treated with preferential treatment.

Ji Tang accepted this statement well and immediately changed his address, saying, "Junior brother has just started on the path of cultivation and it's easy for him to take detours. I will guide him and help him build his foundation faster."

The term "foundation building" has already made people believe it to some extent.

Ji Tang controlled the nightmare energy to take the strawberry plate from the air, and placed the plate in front of the queen amid many gasps and low exclamations.

"Eat strawberries."

Adding these seven points, everyone accepted her identity in a short time.

The queen looked at the floating plate, and the remaining displeasure in her heart disappeared.

People who practice Taoism are not affected by the passage of time, so although Jitang looks young, he actually doesn't know how to do it.

The Queen spoke like the Emperor, politely and carefully: "Thank you for your trouble."

Jitang waved his hand to show that he didn't care.

She waited until the Queen had taken the strawberries and then put the plate back where it belonged.

Mortals cannot distinguish between spiritual power and nightmare energy, so Ji Tang has no scruples about using nightmare energy.

The Seventh Prince was shocked, "So you are a cultivator!"

He looked at Jitang, "So the reason you look so good is because of your cultivation?"

The queen's eyes fell on Jitang's face imperceptibly.

Ji Tang smiled and said, "That's impossible. Your foundation is what it is. However, cultivation can indeed improve your skin and keep you young forever... Queen, how about I teach you a little bit?"

The queen was also a stunning beauty, with picturesque eyebrows, sparkling eyes, and lips like cherry blossoms. Her long reign had made her less delicate and more fierce.

Her skin is flawless and smooth, but who can say too much if there is a way?

The Queen's expression softened, and her eyes looked at Ji Tang with a touch of gentleness. "That's very good."

A safe escape.

As soon as the Queen and the Seventh Prince left, Ji Tang and Su Jinzhou took credit for it, "So, I can now enter the Jade Phoenix Pavilion with full justification!"

Su Jinzhou handed her the strawberry plate and said, "I'll have to trouble you again later."

Ji Tang's eyes curved, he took the plate into his arms, and said vaguely with a strawberry in his mouth: "Leave it to me."

*

Jitang arrived at Yuhuang Pavilion the next morning.

She taught the queen a method to maintain her health and also gave her a lot of advice during her practice.

She stayed in Yuhuang Pavilion for lunch at noon.

Seeing that she had a light diet, the queen did the same and had all the meat dishes on the table removed.

Ji Tang asked as he ate, "Empress, you have so many servants in the Jade Phoenix Pavilion. Can they all serve you to your heart's content?"

The Empress always ate without talking, and she didn't want to lose face for Ji Tang, so she waited until she finished eating, wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "They have been serving me all year round, and they know my habits."

Jitang seemed to be lost in thought.

She temporarily put her thoughts aside, "Does Her Majesty have anything else to do this afternoon? If not, you can continue practicing. As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot. First, you must memorize the exercises thoroughly, so that you can practice them smoothly."

The Queen said happily, "Nothing to do this afternoon."

Ji Tang: "Great! Then I'll rest here with the Queen at noon, and we'll continue in the afternoon!"

The queen nodded and instructed the maid behind her: "Go prepare a room for Miss Jitang."

Jitang achieved his goal and could now eat his meal in peace.

After lunch, the maid brought Jitang into the house.

Ji Tang: "You don't have to stay here and serve."

The maid took the order and left.

Jitang lay on the bed and closed his eyes to rest for a while. He guessed that the others should be asleep by now, so he let out the nightmare.

She had dreamt about Yuhuang Pavilion for two days and was quite familiar with the place. She soon found the dream related to the third prince.

Jitang jumped up from the bed, opened the window quietly, and turned over to go out.

She followed the nightmare spirit, avoiding the guards and maids. If she couldn't avoid them, she would use the nightmare clan's soul-stealing technique.

In the blink of an eye, the guards and maids were distracted and she had already walked past them.

The nightmare eventually led her to the Queen's inner chamber.

The scope of the murderer was narrowed again.

Jitang's eyes were gloomy.

The queen is resting inside, and she must be served by only a few maids. But no matter how brave the maids are, they would not dare to sleep in the queen's room, right?

An incredible thought arose in Jitang's mind.

She released a few wisps of nightmare air, which entered the house through the window cracks. In a short while, the maids in the house were stunned and dazed.

She rolled over and walked into the house, her footsteps very light when she landed.

The maids acted as if they didn't see her. She looked at them one by one as if no one was around, and sure enough, they were all awake. So there was only one person sleeping in the room, and only one person dreaming.

Ji Tang turned his head suddenly and looked at the spread-out golden-red bed curtains.

...Queen?

Jitang walked closer and slightly opened the bed curtain.

The queen lay flat on the bed with her hands on her chest. Even when she was asleep, her sleeping posture was very dignified.

She had taken off her luxurious headdress, and her face looked much cooler.

She had slept very uneasily, and now her brows were furrowed, with a very uneasy expression.

Ji Tang's consciousness entered the dream.

The dream was exactly the same as the past two days.

Ji Tang's face looked grim, and it was obvious who the owner of the dream was.

She had not found the owner of the dream in the previous few times she entered the dream, but this time she was determined to see the owner of the dream with her own eyes.

The dream was not long and always ended abruptly when the third prince fell on the lotus floor tiles, leaving Ji Tang with very limited time to find the owner of the dream.

Jitang skipped the place she had searched before and went straight to the rocks further back.

The Third Prince's trembling voice did not diminish despite the distance; every word was still ringing in her ears, and that childish voice filled with fear seemed to be urging her on.

"Are you almost there, are you almost there?"

Jitang quickened his pace, weaving between the rocks, and finally saw the long hem of the clothes behind a rockery.

The hem of the dress spread out on the ground in a brilliant red, embroidered with golden peonies, on which a phoenix rested, its tail shining brightly in the sun.

Ji Tang's breathing became lighter, she slowed down her pace and walked forward step by step.

More and more hems of clothing came into view, and what she saw was a woman's trembling back.

The woman's long, slender fingers gripped the rock tightly, and because of the great force, her fingertips turned bluish-white.

She stopped abruptly behind a rock, her breathing short and each breath was accompanied by a low sob.

The frail body could hardly bear the violent trembling and was about to slide down.

Jitang walked up from behind the woman, went around her side, and finally saw her face.

Queen.

Although he already knew the answer, Ji Tang still felt cold all over when he actually saw the owner of the dream.

The maid's scream pierced the back garden filled with birdsong and flowers, like a cuckoo crying blood, but the person was looking towards Jitang.

Of course, she was not looking at Jitang, but the queen.

The shortness of breath beside me could no longer be suppressed, and I whimpered softly.

The queen staggered and fell.

"Nuo'er... my Nuo'er..."

The dream came to an abrupt end, and Ji Tang's consciousness was ejected from the dream. She looked at the queen on the bed in horror.

Tears flowed from the corners of the queen's eyes, soaking the soft pillow.

Her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and she looked extremely uneasy and painful.

Jitang turned around and left, taking back all the nightmare energy before climbing out the window.

In the afternoon, Jitang came to see the queen again.

The queen no longer had the fragility she had during her nap. She had a faint smile on her lips and looked decent and dignified.

Ji Tang was distracted and just focused on practicing to get by.

After the Queen had finished her work according to her instructions, Ji Tang gave her a few instructions before casually saying, "I heard from the Crown Prince that he's been dreaming about his third brother these past few days."

The Queen's hand holding the tea trembled, and some tea spilled out.

The maid hurried forward to take the tea and wipe her hands.

Ji Tang looked at the red marks that instantly appeared on her fair skin and asked with concern, "Empress, are you okay?"

The queen is worthy of being the queen. She is still calm and composed. She smiled faintly, "Maybe she is tired from practicing. It's okay."

Ji Tang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, but he showed a look of relief on his face, "Oh, that's right, it's like this at the beginning of cultivation, the body needs to adapt."

The Queen asked her calmly, "What did you dream about, Prince?"

Ji Tang: "She said she dreamed that the Third Prince cried out in pain."

The queen could no longer maintain her composure. She swayed and suddenly looked a little vulnerable.

Ji Tang already had an idea in mind. She said, "I don't know why His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would dream of this. The Third Prince is of noble status, so he must have people serving him. How could he be in pain?"

As soon as she finished speaking, everyone in the room knelt on the ground.

Even their breathing was so light that it was hard to breathe.