Chapter 101 A Tribute to Fate, A Tribute to Us
After handling the funeral arrangements for Gou Dan and the others, the group set off.
After this incident, the group of people, who had met once before and had a good impression of Gou Dan, were all in low spirits after he was killed. They were depressed and listless for several days.
"Alas, life is unpredictable..." Another day passed, and the group gathered around the campfire in the forest, drinking warm wine. Cui Mingcan sighed and lamented.
Li Tiankuo also sighed.
"Cherish the people in front of you, don't wait until you lose them to realize their value." Cen Ying rested her hands behind her back, looked up at the dazzling starry sky, and said softly.
After listening, Cui Mingcan let out another long sigh.
"Life is short, and things are unpredictable..." Cui Mingcan picked up the wine bottle and toasted them, "Come on, we are destined to meet, where can you find such a fate! This toast is to fate!"
Bai Yuheng, having wine to drink, was naturally the quickest to respond: "A toast to our acquaintance!"
Cen Ying was also delighted: "Let's get together!"
Li Tiankuo followed suit: "Respect to tomorrow!"
Bai Yuheng followed the gazes of the other three and looked towards Pei Yuan.
The latter smiled, his gaze meeting hers as he looked directly at her: "A toast to us."
The four men laughed loudly, and then the five of them downed the drink together.
They sat around the campfire chatting about how they had just started, how they had fought side by side, and the tragic fates of the people they had met. After the laughter and joking, a sense of sadness crept in, and the most memorable thing was the way Gou Dan died.
"How can children these days be so vicious? How...how could they be so cruel?!"
Li Tiankuo: "Human hearts are unpredictable. No matter how good a seedling is, it will grow into what it is depending on where it is born, what kind of water it drinks, and what kind of nutrients it absorbs."
Just like in the deep palace, everyone lives for their own interests. One moment they can be all smiles and call you brother, and the next they can drag you into the abyss, never to be reborn.
He had seen this kind of evil since he was a child. Even the young palace maids who had just entered the palace had become neither human nor ghost in the great dye vat.
At that moment, everyone had their own insights.
However, none of the five were prone to wallowing in sadness, and they quickly shifted their attention to other topics.
I slept soundly through the night.
*
Inside the palace.
"Princess."
A middle-aged woman in green stepped forward and spoke respectfully to the woman in front of the desk.
"But has Father sent a letter?"
The woman in green looked unwell and said coldly, "Your Highness, the Prince in Jiangzhou... has been discovered."
The woman at the desk, who had been wielding her brush with the precision of a knife, paused, causing the characters on the paper to slant and ruining the entire calligraphy copybook.
Princess Jing'an's breath hitched, her delicate brows furrowed, and she asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
"I heard that... they discovered it..." The old woman leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "His Highness the Prince is also here."
Princess Jing'an coldly scoffed: "Useless!"
"They're just a few troublemakers, and people have seen them like this!"
The old woman was also furious, but since things had come to this, she could only comfort her, "Your Highness, please don't worry. The Prince said he will arrange everything. Because the mortal realm and the cultivation world do not interfere with each other, Your Highness need not worry about them saying it. As for His Highness the Wise Prince..."
Speaking of Prince Xian, Princess Jing'an smiled and said, "Do you think my cousin is stupid? He's been living well for so many years under Consort Shu's control. I'm afraid his visit to the capital this time is not well-intentioned."
The old woman's heart tightened, and she asked anxiously, "What should we do? Should we..." The old woman boldly made a throat-slitting gesture at her neck, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her eyes.
"..." Princess Jing'an narrowed her eyes, having made a decision in her heart, "Make proper arrangements. By the way..." As she spoke, she took out a jade pendant from the cabinet, and sneered, "Let people see this, I will be the one who suffers the consequences."
"Yes!" The nanny was overjoyed, took the jade pendant, and quickly left the study.
After the old woman left, Princess Jing'an sat there for a long time. Then she felt uneasy. Although there were rules in place, she couldn't guarantee that those cultivators wouldn't interfere in this matter because of Li Tiankuo. She still had to harden her heart and do it cleanly.
Having thought this through, she blew a whistle, and a person emerged from the shadows. Princess Jing'an said coldly, "Release those people. Kill them if you can, but if not, use them to draw attention and stall for time."
"yes!"
A shadow flashed, and she was left alone in the room.
Still feeling uneasy, Princess Jing'an packed her things and headed out of the palace. She wanted to stir up the water to make it muddy so she could fish in troubled waters.
*
As they approached the capital, Bai Yuheng wasn't the only one who noticed something was wrong. Aside from the occasional stray assassins, there were also those monsters that appeared out of nowhere, fighting them recklessly.
"Look! There's a token here!" Cen Ying picked up the jade pendant hanging from the black-clad man's waist and showed it to them.
Cui Mingcan took the pure jade pendant and examined it, saying, "Finally, I've met someone with a token."
In the few days since we arrived in the capital, countless groups of people and demonic beasts have come, but none of them have given us any tokens of information. There's no way to find out who did it.
Li Tiankuo frowned, examined it, and suddenly said, "This is a letter from Prince An."
"really?"
The group was somewhat surprised.
“Well, Prince An and I have always been at odds. I saw something similar once by chance.” Li Tiankuo didn’t say much, but looking at the jade pendant, he felt that something was wrong with it; it was too stiff.
"It seems the journey to the capital will be exceptionally perilous this time." Bai Yuheng twirled her sword, slaying the last demonic beast, and then soothingly stroked the little golden snake's head as she spoke.
"It seems the Imperial Uncle is about to make a move." Li Tiankuo pondered for a moment, then selected the most likely suspect. Even if he were stupid, he could guess who was behind it. "I've dragged you all down with me."
Cui Mingcan patted him on the shoulder and laughed heartily: "Hey, what are you saying! We're all on the same team, why talk about being a burden or not!"
Li Tiankuo laughed and said, "When we return to the capital safely, I'll treat you all to drinks!"
Bai Yuheng happily agreed, "That's wonderful! I've never tasted His Highness Prince Xian's wine before!"
"..." Upon hearing this, Li Tiankuo's ears turned red, and he said shyly, "Alright, I have a lot of wine stored in my mansion, all of which were bestowed by His Majesty in previous years."
Pei Yuan glanced at him with displeasure, standing silently behind Bai Yuheng. Li Tiankuo suddenly couldn't finish his sentence. He was mostly afraid of Pei Yuan. Firstly, he was her master, and as the saying goes, "a teacher for a day is a father for life." He harbored unspeakable feelings for her, right under Pei Yuan's nose, which made him somewhat embarrassed. Secondly, he felt unworthy of her, and in her presence, he always felt a sense of inferiority and timidity...
At this moment, being glared at coldly by Pei Yuan, he couldn't say anything more. However, he felt that Pei Yuan's behavior was a bit strange. Perhaps it was because he had been in the palace for too long and had become paranoid. He had no choice but to suppress his thoughts and drink the wine in the bottle one sip at a time.
It was originally a fine wine, but now it tastes somewhat bitter.
Bai Yuheng naturally sensed the person behind her getting close. She had already tacitly agreed to give him a chance, and she meant it. Let's see how he performs.
Pei Yuan's recent closeness to Bai Yuheng has aroused suspicion among the group, even among the most carefree Cui Mingcan.
His eyes kept darting between Bai Yuheng and Pei Yuan, and after looking at them, he would wink at Cen Ying, as if he had discovered something extraordinary.
Cen Ying's reaction was rather calm, as if she had expected this all along. Recalling all that Pei Shishu had done before, she was simply putting that answer into practice.
Compared to Cui Mingcan's jeering and surprise, and Cen Ying's "I knew it," Li Tiankuo was not so calm.
But he was always calm and collected. He carefully observed Bai Yuheng's actions and tried to figure out her thoughts. Seeing that she was more affectionate towards Pei Yuan than loving him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
*
"Smack!"
Princess Jing'an coldly rebuked, "What?! They actually managed to enter the capital safely?!"
The teacup crashed to the ground, and the person below buried his head in his arms, trembling like a leaf.
"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!" Princess Jing'an gritted her teeth, wishing she could kill them herself. "I sent so many assassins from you, and not a single one of you could kill them! What use are you to me! Useless trash!"
Enraged, he kicked the man who had answered, sending him flying. The man clutched his chest and quickly knelt back, begging for mercy: "Master, please calm down! Almost all of the demonic beasts we raised have been killed!"
"Useless!" Princess Jing'an's chest heaved rapidly as she gritted her teeth and said, "Where's the jade pendant? Is it properly stored?"
The man replied, "It's placed there."
Upon hearing this, Princess Jing'an chuckled and said, "This time, my father will have to take the blame."
The man kept his head buried deep in his hands, not daring to utter a single word.
"Have you notified everyone?"
"Everything is proceeding according to plan!"
Princess Jing'an poured herself a cup of tea, took a sip, and the lukewarm tea soothed her throat, finally suppressing her gloom.
"That's good. Everything is proceeding as planned. I don't believe they won't get involved this time," Princess Jing'an said confidently.
"Has Father received the letter?" Princess Jing'an asked, still in a good mood.
"His Highness said he'll follow your arrangements. We've reached the final step, but..."
The man looked embarrassed and hesitated to speak.
Princess Jing'an's brow twitched; she disliked his evasive and secretive way of speaking and found it unpleasant.
"explain!"
The man swallowed hard, mustered his courage, and said, "It's just the last step... I don't know if those immortal masters broke in and damaged the formation, or if someone deliberately tampered with it, but progress just can't be made..."
"Bang!"
Another teacup shattered on the ground, shards and tea splashing everywhere. Sharp shards cut the person kneeling on the ground. Trembling, he didn't dare to care about his injuries at all. He only felt that he was particularly unlucky to come here to report the news today. He knelt there without daring to move, letting the blood flow and cover half of his face.
"Useless!" Princess Jing'an had said "useless" countless times. The veins on her forehead bulged, her eyes were bloodshot, and she wished she could tear Li Tiankuo and his men to shreds.
Those who ruined her grand plan deserve to die!
"His Highness said he has sent people to find that Painted Skin Immortal. If they find him, there's still hope for the formation and those people..."
As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. Even Prince Gong himself wasn't entirely confident in his words, and as a messenger, he dared not speak too confidently, lest his master take his anger out on him if things didn't go as planned.
“Heh.” Princess Jing’an paced back and forth in front of her desk. Her previously furious emotions had calmed down. After a long pause, she said, “Help me find Mr. Gongsun and have him go find the Painted Skin Immortal. Also, contact the person who is coming back to the capital…” She paused, as if she felt that the person was elusive and difficult to meet. She added, “I have some communication talismans here. Contact her and tell her that I can give her what she wants, but she has to help me.”
As she spoke, she leaned down and whispered a few words in his ear.
The man listened attentively, nodded, and solemnly said, "Princess, rest assured, I will take care of it immediately!"
"Okay, go ahead."
Having received the order, the man in black vanished from the house in a flash. Princess Jing'an sat in a chair, rubbing her temples, frantically thinking about the next step of the plan.
Now that Father has entered the game, it's just a matter of how long he can hold on. I just hope he can live up to expectations and win her more opportunities so that she can get things in order. Then, that high position will be within her grasp!
Princess Jing'an chuckled, her laughter creating an eerie atmosphere in the quiet study.
"Knock knock!"
"What is it?" Someone knocked on the door, interrupting her thoughts. Princess Jing'an frowned in displeasure and asked sharply.
"Princess, Princess Jianing requests your company on your trip."
Princess Jing'an's face darkened upon hearing this. She suppressed her anger, knowing that this little girl had found another way to torment her.
But being under someone else's roof, she naturally had to swallow her anger, hide her sharpness, and pretend to be happy to cooperate with her.
But she will make them pay a hundredfold or a thousandfold for this bullying and humiliation when she rises to a high position in the future!
A murderous glint flashed in Princess Jing'an's eyes, and a cold smile played on her lips.
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