Chapter 13 Pie in the sky...

Chu Xuanyi almost floated out of the Cining Palace.

He felt like he was experiencing a long and strange dream, filled with words like "little pink flowers", "self-knotting", "pie in the sky" and "fruit", which made him dizzy and wanted to find a place to lie down and pray that all this was not real.

Ah Jiu, holding the box of preserved flowers and a pair of heavy red gold bracelets inlaid with rubies given by the Empress Dowager, followed behind Chu Xuanyi, a happy smile on her face. "What a happy day today! Not only did I meet the amiable old immortal Empress Dowager, but I also received so many good things! The palace is such a wonderful place!"

"Sir, why don't you speak?" Ajiu noticed that Chu Xuanyi was silent all the way, and even walked a little unsteadily, and couldn't help but ask with concern, "Do you want to eat some candied fruit too? This box given by the Empress Dowager is so fragrant!" As she spoke, she was about to open the box.

Chu Xuanyi suddenly came back to his senses, pressed her hand, and said in a hoarse voice: "No... no need, I... I'm just a little tired."

He was more than tired; he was completely exhausted! All he wanted now was to quickly send this "lucky star" (or "disaster star") back to the Imperial Master's Mansion, then go to his quiet room and recite the Heart Cleansing Mantra a hundred times to dispel the chaotic "flowers and plants" and "pies and fruits" in his mind.

He looked deeply at Ah Jiu. This little girl seemed to have a magical power. A magic power that could make all unreasonable things reasonable and make all the powerful people accept her outrageous remarks.

Perhaps... she really was sent by heaven to "save" him? To help him quickly see through the mundane world and attain enlightenment? Chu Xuanyi thought with a smile amidst the bitterness.

At this time, the Regent's Palace.

Xiao Yu had just finished processing a batch of urgent military reports sent from the Northern Territory and was picking up his teacup to take a short nap when his personal bodyguard Changfeng hurried in.

"My lord," Changfeng's expression was a little strange, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.

"What's the matter?" Xiao Yu put down the teacup and asked lightly.

Changfeng took a deep breath, tried to organize his words, and then said, "My Lord, today... the Empress Dowager summoned Miss Ajiu from the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion."

Xiao Yu's eyebrows raised slightly. The Queen Mother summoned that little girl?

"Oh? What's that?"

Changfeng's expression became even more bizarre. He cleared his throat and said, "According to the news from the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager...mainly asked Miss Jiu about...about the details of your 'romantic luck'."

"Ahem—" Even though Xiao Yu usually remained calm even in the face of a catastrophe, he was choked by these words and almost spit out the tea.

He calmed himself down and looked at Changfeng sharply: "Details?"

Changfeng gritted his teeth and repeated verbatim Ah Jiu's series of "profound remarks" in the Cining Palace about "little pink flowers", "self-knotting", "little stars playing hide-and-seek", "pie in the sky will bloom", "flowers will bear fruit", etc.

With every word he spoke, Xiao Yu's face became darker.

By the time Changfeng finished speaking, Xiao Yu's handsome face had become so dark that ink could drip out. The veins on his forehead began to throb uncontrollably again.

"A pie in the sky?" He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, his voice as cold as ice.

This Ah Jiu! Not only did she curse his future princess to be "stupid," but now she's also cursing him for his marriage to depend on some unrealistic "pie in the sky" thing?! And... bear fruit?! Did she treat him like a fruit tree?!

"The Empress Dowager...seemed to believe it completely and was very happy. She rewarded Miss Jiu with a lot of things." Changfeng added cautiously, fearing that the master would get so angry that he would directly demolish the study.

Xiao Yu closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his eyes had regained their usual coldness, but the lingering low pressure made Changfeng dare not breathe.

He had originally thought that the little girl had just been speaking without restraint in the Imperial Study, but he hadn't expected her to go even further and start spouting nonsense in front of the Empress Dowager! And the Empress Dowager actually believed it?!

This is simply... ridiculous!

"How's the investigation going on with Master Xuanxu?" Xiao Yu suddenly asked.

Changfeng quickly replied, "My Lord, we've uncovered some clues. Master Xuanxu was indeed somewhat famous in his early years, but later on... he seemed to have become obsessed with unorthodox practices, and his behavior became increasingly bizarre, leading to a gradual decline in the number of people visiting the observatory. As for Ah Jiu, it's said she was an orphan Master Xuanxu picked up from the mountain a few years ago. She's been learning some... inferior divination techniques from Master Xuanxu since she was little, and is known at the observatory for being... well... innocent and naive, and ignorant of worldly matters."

To put it bluntly, both the master and the apprentice are not very reliable.

Xiao Yu rubbed his eyebrows and felt a headache.

He originally thought that the little girl was a little bit stupid, but now it seems that she has no brains at all!

"Master, do you need to... deal with that Ah Jiu?" Chang Feng asked tentatively. After all, this girl had already danced in the Master's "minefield" more than once.

Xiao Yu was silent for a moment.

What to do? How to deal with her? Arrest her and beat her up? Or just throw her out of the capital?

For some reason, Ah Jiu's clear, pure eyes and the way she spoke nonsense with a serious expression resurfaced in his mind. Although it was irritating, it didn't seem that annoying.

Especially the phrase "the silly little pink flower", which actually made him...feel a vague sense of inexplicable...expectation?

No! He must have been distracted by military and court affairs recently!

"That's unnecessary." Xiao Yu finally waved his hand. "She's just a little girl. Let her be. But... pass the order on. From now on, if someone from the Imperial Master's Mansion doesn't come to the palace for important matters, they don't have to be notified."

He didn't want to hear any more about "little pink flowers" or "pie in the sky"!

"Yes!" Changfeng took the order and retreated, but he secretly muttered in his heart: The master's reaction doesn't seem like he is really "letting her go"... It seems more like... a kind of helpless indulgence?

Xiao Yu sat alone behind the desk, his fingers tapping the table unconsciously again.

"A piece of cake..." He repeated in a low voice, the corners of his mouth unexpectedly rising slightly uncontrollably, and then he immediately returned to his calm demeanor.

From today on, he would stay away from that little fortune teller named Ajiu, and everything and everyone related to her! The farther the better!