"Do you want to become my disciple?" Fang Ruotang took the spirit-testing stone and fiddled with it in her hand, a little puzzled. She was as powerful as the little mirror said, so how come she didn't have any spiritual roots at all?
"Master, please accept my bow." Before Fang Ruotang could finish speaking, Li Shiyun knelt down and kowtowed three times forcefully.
Fang Ruotang nodded, then took out the bamboo slip given to her by the small mirror and gently placed it on Li Shiyun's forehead.
"How was it? How did it feel?" Fang Ruotang was extremely curious, as it was her first time doing something like this.
Li Shiyun stared in disbelief and exclaimed in shock, "It's just that a cultivation technique suddenly appeared in my mind, and a lot of knowledge was stuffed into it."
"That's pretty impressive."
Fang Ruotang took the bamboo slip again and looked at it, even curiously sticking it to her forehead. She instantly understood the mysterious feeling that Li Shiyun had mentioned.
Wow, this is so much fun!
Fang Ruotang laughed excitedly, raised her hand and went towards the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince bowed and cooperated. Even he, who was usually indifferent, opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"Isn't it fun? There's a little person dancing in your mind."
"This isn't dancing," the prince said, both amused and exasperated.
The onlookers, who had been eagerly waiting, disregarded everything else and rushed over in a frenzy, like a flock of chicks released from their coop to forage for food.
"Your Excellency, may I take a look?"
"Your Excellency, please allow me to take a look."
"Your Excellency, the Imperial Advisor..."
Fang Ruotang was startled by this group of people. The Crown Prince immediately turned serious, and the people who had just gone crazy regained their senses in an instant.
Fang Ruotang thought for a moment and generously gave her the bamboo slips. "You can all stick them on your foreheads to see, but this is not very useful to you. The spiritual energy has not recovered yet, so you can't cultivate. You can't even do the most basic thing of drawing energy into your body."
Fang Ruotang was unaware of the hurtful nature of her words and generously handed Li Shiyun a ring.
"Drop a drop of blood onto this ring. Inside is a cultivation technique for guiding qi into the body, as well as some spirit stones. Follow the instructions and ask me again if you encounter any problems."
Fang Ruotang remained calm and composed, appearing to know everything.
I hope she won't ask me; I don't know either.
[She won't ask you. After all, she only has one spiritual root. There are no stupid people with single spiritual roots; they're all cultivation geniuses. If she can't even understand the introductory cultivation technique, you don't need to pay any more attention to her.]
The little mirror's words pulled Li Shiyun down from her elation. She secretly resolved that she must infiltrate these things herself and not disturb the Grand Preceptor.
Madam Li looked thoughtfully at the ring that Li Shiyun had happily put on her hand.
"How amazing! This ring can actually change size according to my fingers." Li Shiyun was only twelve years old and this was the first time she had seen such a magical object. She put it on her thumb and then her index finger, and in a short while, she had gone through all ten fingers.
"Grand Preceptor," Madam Li suddenly stepped forward and said solicitously, "Although our young lady is not very old, she is very meticulous and considerate. She has received your favor today. If you don't mind, why not take her in as a maid?"
Li Shiyun's smile faltered slightly, and she looked flustered.
[Didn't you say that Madam Li didn't treat Li Shiyun badly because of her background? Why is she kicking her out now?]
I don't know either!
The little mirror is, after all, a spirit, and doesn't understand human nature.
The crown prince glanced at him and immediately understood why.
"Don't you want this daughter anymore? She'll be very capable in the future, and she'll be much more filial than your biological daughter. Your biological daughter has been spoiled and will hardly ever love you again."
The real daughter is not wrong in herself, but she was brainwashed too much by her mistress since childhood. Her heart is with her mistress, and she is not close to her biological mother after returning home.
“No,” Madam Li quickly rejected, glancing at Li Shiyun’s uneasy appearance, and took her hand, asking Fang Ruotang, “Grand Preceptor, may I speak to you in private?”
Fang Ruotang agreed without hesitation.
They followed Madam Li into Li Shiyun's boudoir.
As soon as the door closed, Madam Li pulled Li Shiyun to kneel down.
Fang Ruotang was startled and immediately went to help him up.
She felt it was only right that Li Shiyun knelt before her, since Li Shiyun would be her disciple in the future. Her brothers also had to perform the same apprenticeship ceremony when they went out to study under a great Confucian scholar.
But Mrs. Li was different; she was an elder.
“Grand Preceptor, I know that what I’m saying will cause you a lot of trouble, but I have no choice.” Madam Li stood up. She only wanted to show respect, not to threaten anyone by kneeling.
"You value my daughter, took her as your disciple, and gifted her such a miraculous cultivation technique and a ring. I am very grateful to you, but my daughter is young and I am afraid she cannot protect these good things."
"To be honest, my family situation isn't great either. It would be even more difficult for her if she stayed at home. So I'd like to ask you if you could take my daughter in and let her be your little apprentice, serving you tea and water?"
Li Shiyun is intelligent. After understanding her mother's heart, she was no longer afraid that her mother would kick her out, and obediently responded.
"This disciple will serve Master wholeheartedly and not cause Master any trouble."
Should I accept her or not? Would it be inappropriate to have her serve me? Wouldn't that be a bit like bullying?
"Take her in! What's wrong with that? Isn't this how disciples serve their masters? Besides, with her by your side, you can often guide her. If she feels insulted, then she's just not thinking straight. Just destroy her spiritual root and send her away."
Li Shiyun shook her head excitedly, wishing she could speak her mind directly.
She's not stupid.
She knows right from wrong.
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