Chapter 8
Chapter Summary: Qi Jin.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty has arrived," Ayu's voice rang out from outside.
Yu Jing steadied herself before replying, "Come in."
When the footsteps sounded, Yu Jing's mind was still a bit confused.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty," Qi Jin bowed and paid his respects to Sheng Hua.
"Get up and sit down," Yu Jing replied.
Qi Jin straightened up and slowly sat down in the lower seat. Then, he glanced at Yu Jing's right hand, which was still wrapped in gauze, and asked, "How is Mother's injury?"
Yu Jingyi glanced at her hand: "It's much better now after taking the medicine."
"That's good."
As soon as Qi Jin finished speaking, a palace maid came in to serve tea. Qi Jin raised his hand to lift the tea lid, skimmed off the foam with the lid, and said, "A batch of top-quality thousand-year-old ginseng has recently been presented as tribute from Tanzhou. I had it brought over. The Empress Dowager is injured and needs to be properly nourished."
"Your Majesty has gone to great lengths," Yu Jing said earnestly.
"It is only right and proper for your son to be the Empress Dowager," Qi Jin said slowly, sitting down.
After Qi Jin finished speaking, the entire inner hall fell silent. Yu Jing truly hadn't expected Qi Jin to remain silent for so long, and she really didn't know what to say to this half-grown son who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Yu Jing remained silent for a while. Hearing the noise outside the window, she looked up and saw that it was already getting dark. Outside, servants were hanging lanterns on poles. Suddenly remembering what she had read in a storybook, she hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"It's getting late, Your Majesty, please stay for your meal."
Yu Jing had barely finished speaking when she sensed a moment of stunned silence from those around her. By the time she realized what was happening, it was too late. She closed her eyes in exasperation. The storybooks always said that hospitable mortals would invite guests to dine, especially since Sheng Hua and Qi Jin were mother and son. Dining together shouldn't be an unreasonable request, right? Yu Jing thought that since she didn't know what to say to Qi Jin anyway, she might as well have a meal. Afterwards, it would be late, and he could go home. Judging from her recent assassination attempt, Sheng Hua and Qi Jin's relationship shouldn't be too strained.
"Okay." Qi Jin replied with a smile, but Yu Jing found the smile rather ambiguous.
Yu Jing could only lament once again the damage to the Book of Fate.
Since Yu Jing had said so, the people below got busy. Yu Jing and Qi Jin had nothing to say to each other, so Yu Jing could only pretend to be looking at the poetry book in his hands to avoid embarrassment.
"What is Mother looking at so intently?" Qi Jin's voice rang in her ears.
“Oh, it’s just a book of poems,” Yu Jing replied.
Silence fell once more in the inner palace. Since Qi Jin didn't speak, Yu Jing simply ignored him, pretending he wasn't there. She thought to herself that she had only come down to help Xie Xuan through his love tribulation, and would return to Heaven in a few years at most; mortal affairs would no longer concern her. With this thought, she felt much more at ease.
Qi Jin sat in the lower seat, seemingly focused on sipping tea, but in reality, he was silently observing Sheng Hua. Sheng Hua gave him a different feeling, it was obvious. Although he didn't yet know why she was acting this way, it didn't seem like she was putting on an act.
It was getting really dark, and Yu Jing could see that the words on the poetry book were getting blurry. Just as she was about to call A Yu in to light the candles, she looked up and saw that A Yu had already brought people in.
"Your Majesty, it's a bit dark in the hall. Let me light the candles."
"Hmm." Yu Jing responded, watching as A Yu led the other palace maids closer and lit the candles in the hall. The hall was instantly brightened.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, dinner is ready," a palace maid said after a while.
“Okay.” Yu Jing replied, looking at Qi Jin.
Qi Jin smiled slightly, stood up, and waited for Yu Jing to slowly walk towards him. After Yu Jing walked ahead, Qi Jin followed. A Yu helped Yu Jing to a seat, and Qi Jin sat down beside her.
The food served had all been tested for poison by the eunuchs. Yu Jing was really hungry, and since she and Qi Jin didn't know what to say, the two of them ate in silence. Yu Jing's right hand was still injured, so A Yu had to help her eat.
When Qi Jin placed the Five Spicy Dishes (spring rolls) on the plate, Yu Jing could feel that the space seemed to freeze for a moment.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Yu Jing replied with a forced smile, already having made up her mind. Judging from the reactions of those around her and Qi Jin, the relationship between Sheng Hua and Qi Jin was definitely not as simple as it appeared. Moreover, Qi Jin was very likely testing her now.
Yu Jing forced herself to finish the meal. After finishing, Qi Jin stood up and said he had to leave. Yu Jing breathed a sigh of relief and watched his figure disappear through the palace gate.
Yu Jing felt that there were traps everywhere in Sheng Hua's body! Her temperament was so different from Sheng Hua's, and she didn't have a Book of Fate, so it was easy for others to see through her.
Thinking of this, he felt deflated and said weakly, "You all get out."
"Yes." The group responded and took their leave.
Xie Xuan was somewhat puzzled as everyone left the hall. In fact, he had already found it strange when he heard that Qi Jin wanted to stay for dinner.
I've heard that Sheng Hua and Qi Jin have always been outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds. When Qi Jin greets Sheng Hua, he always comes over as a formality, sits for a while, and then leaves. It's never happened before that he's invited to stay for a meal.
Thinking of this, Xie Xuanwei turned slightly and glanced at the tightly closed door again.
At that moment, Yu Jing was sitting at her desk, feeling frustrated. Her cultivation was shallow, she was young, and she lacked experience. To make her play the role of Empress Dowager Sheng Hua was tantamount to announcing to the world that Sheng Hua had changed her personality. The more Yu Jing thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt, and her eyes turned red.
Suddenly a gust of wind blew by, and when Yu Jing looked up, her eyes lit up.
"God!"
Zelan's appearance in front of her at this moment was undoubtedly her lifeline!
Zhelan had barely stopped when she heard Yu Jing's incessant chatter. She smiled helplessly, glanced at the doorway, and Yu Jing immediately understood, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Then, in a low, excited voice, she asked, "Goddess, what brings you here?"
"If I hadn't come, I would have seen you cry." Zhelan laughed, then took a good look at Yu Jing. "Shenghua's face is exactly the same as yours."
"Yes, I only learned about this after I descended to the mortal realm," Yu Jing replied, then, as if remembering something, she asked somewhat flusteredly, "High God, this Sheng Hua looks exactly like me. Do you think His Majesty will recognize me when we return to Heaven?"
"No, immortals who return from their tribulations drink the immortal water of Laozi to forget the mortal world. Let alone remember you, Your Majesty wouldn't even remember who he was in the mortal realm." Zhelan looked around the clean and tidy palace and said as she looked.
"Your bedchamber looks quite nice."
"It's alright, but I don't have the mind to worry about that right now," Yu Jing continued. "My Lord, my temperament is very different from Sheng Hua's. I'm afraid that in a few days, I'll give myself away!"
Upon hearing Yu Jing's words, Zhe Lan suddenly laughed and retorted, "Given away? Given away what?"
Yu Jing was a little confused by Zhe Lan's question, and stammered, "You found out I'm not Sheng Hua?"
“You are currently inside Sheng Hua’s body. Even if you find that your temperament is different from before, who can prove that you are not Sheng Hua? You are currently inside Sheng Hua’s body, so you are Sheng Hua.”
Hearing what Zhelan said, Yu Jing seemed to understand a little. She was now inside Shenghua's body, and even if they found that her behavior and words were very different from before, what could they say? What Zhelan said seemed to make some sense.
Zhelan sat down at the table naturally, poured herself a cup of tea, tasted it, and then said, "This task is a bit difficult, but if you really succeed, it will be a great honor for me, Zhelan. It won't be a complete failure."
“But God, I don’t understand.” Yu Jing asked with some grievance, “There are so many fellow disciples in the Marriage Hall who are more powerful and experienced than me. Why did this difficult task fall on my shoulders?”
“That’s why it’s called a trial!” Zelan replied naturally.
“If you’re only assigned tasks you already know how to do, how can that be considered training?” Zhelan asked Yu Jing with a smile on her lips. “I asked Laozi for a favor, and he promised that if you successfully break up the marriage between the Emperor and the Third Princess and complete the mission, he will inform the Emperor of this matter after you return to Heaven. You will not have to undergo tribulation and will be promoted to an immortal. At that time, you will be an immortal.”
"Really!" Upon hearing the words "immortal," Yu Jing was somewhat tempted.
“Of course, when have I ever lied to you?” Zelan replied.
"Alright, I will definitely do my job well." Yu Jing perked up immediately and said confidently.
“Yes, that’s more like someone from my Zhelan Palace.” Zhelan nodded with a smile, stood up, and patted Yu Jing’s shoulder. “Alright, I’ve been here for a while, I should go back now. If the Supreme Lord Laozi and the others find out, they’ll scold me.”
"Okay, take care, High God." Yu Jing replied with some reluctance. Zhe Lan was practically her father; for nearly a thousand years since she had transformed into Zhe Lan, he had taken care of her. Although he didn't usually interfere much, he had been devoted to her. Later, although he found her too noisy and sent her to the Marriage Palace, he would still visit her there whenever he had free time. He would also bring her any new or interesting things he acquired.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot the purpose of this trip." Just as Zelan was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something and reached out to hand over something.
Yu Jing looked closely and saw a string of white jade beads lying in Zhe Lan's palm.
"This is?"
"Jade Soul Pearl".
"This is a treasure I found in the Moon Palace. It has been enchanted and infused with some of my divine power. If you encounter any difficult situation, it may come in handy. However, you only have three chances to use it. Wear it just in case."
"Goddess?" Yu Jing was momentarily taken aback and stammered as she called out to Zhe Lan.
“You are different from the Emperor. The Emperor is now a mortal, while you are a celestial being inhabiting a mortal body. You cannot use magic, and once your celestial body is destroyed, you will vanish into nothingness. The mortal world is a mixed bag, so it is best to be careful,” Ze Lan explained gently.
"Thank you, God." Yu Jing was somewhat moved as she reached out and took the Jade Soul Bead, putting it on her wrist. The moment she put it on, the Jade Soul Bead disappeared into her wrist.
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