Shen Xu and Song Lin were led into Xuanhe Palace, where a pleasant cool breeze blew in their faces.
Like Pei Zhiyuan, the two were asked to take off their shoes, socks, and outer clothes, remove their hairpins, and were searched again before being allowed to enter the hall.
The courtesans in the hall had been dismissed, leaving only the Imperial Master sitting on the throne with his head propped up and his legs crossed. Standing on either side of the Imperial Master's seat were two men with serious expressions.
"We, the common people Song Lin and the Song family, would like to pay our respects to the Imperial Master." Although extremely reluctant, Song Lin and Shen Xu still knelt down and saluted.
Hua Guoshi's face turned pale. His gleaming green bean-shaped triangular eyes lingered on the two men for a long time. He did not ask them to stand up, but snorted softly, "What a pair of beautiful people."
He stood up from the throne, slowly walked to Song Lin, walked around Song Lin, gently lifted Song Lin's chin with his long nails, and looked at him carefully.
A hoarse voice said, "I never thought that a small place like Langya County in Qingzhou Prefecture, with its poor mountains and bad waters, could produce such a handsome young man."
Song Lin turned his head away in resistance, avoiding his nails, obviously feeling uncomfortable with his actions.
He frowned slightly and replied, "Master Imperial Master, my wife and I have come all the way from Qingzhou with a plan to repel the enemy. We have come to serve the court and seek wealth and honor."
"Oh?" Hearing Song Lin's words, Hua Guoshi showed satisfaction and asked, "Song Langjun, do you have any ideas to repel the Xue family in the north and put down this rebellion?"
Before Song Lin could speak, Shen Xu asked, "Master Hua, are you going to make us kneel down and talk?"
"You have a point." Master Hua bent down and helped Song Lin up, then took his arm affectionately and helped him to a chair nearby.
Song Lin's face turned pale as he tried to pull his arm back, but he was firmly grasped. Master Hua caressed his hand without any concealment, his triangular eyes narrowed into slits with a smile, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Song Langjun, sit down and talk."
Shen Xu was still kneeling on the ground. Seeing him helping Song Lin sit down, she stood up as well. However, she was glanced at by Hua Guoshi's sharp triangular eyes. One of the people standing on both sides of the throne understood and stepped forward, reaching out to press Shen Xu's shoulders hard, forcing her to continue kneeling.
Seeing this, Song Lin was anxious to stand up, but he heard the hoarse voice of Hua Guoshi suddenly rise in pitch, "Song Langjun, go on."
"It was my wife who came up with the strategy to repel the enemy. Master Imperial Master, could you please allow my wife to stand up and answer?"
"Oh, no rush." Master Hua didn't respond to Song Lin's request. He just snorted contemptuously and slowly sat down on the chair beside Song Lin, sizing up Song Lin's face. "I heard that you came to the palace to assassinate me?"
Shen Xu said frankly without any hesitation: "Yes."
There were only two loud noises, and the two guards drew their knives and put them against Shen Xu's neck.
Song Lin tried to stand up in a hurry, but was held down by Master Hua's shoulders.
Hua Guoshi spoke in a low voice, with a hint of threat in his tone, and asked, "How do you plan to assassinate me, young lady?"
Shen Xu allowed the two guards to hold a knife to his neck, kneeling on the ground and calmly replied, "We used the hidden weapons we brought to assassinate the Imperial Master, but unfortunately they were all found by Commander Yuan."
Master Hua called a servant and whispered some instructions in the man's ear. The man then lowered his head and quickly walked out of the Xuanhe Hall.
He raised his eyebrows and continued to ask: "Aren't you afraid of death?"
"I'm not afraid." Shen Xu raised his head and replied calmly, "If I didn't have any leverage, how would I dare to come to the capital and give myself up for dead?"
"You have such an arrogant tone, but your current situation is as ridiculous as your plan of sniping from the sentry tower." Master Hua raised his hand and ordered the two men to put away their knives.
He threatened in a deep voice, "Aren't you afraid that I will kill you and your husband right now? You won't even be able to leave this Xuanhe Palace."
Shen Xu, with an expression that said, "I understand you wouldn't kill us," spread his hands and replied, "But, if you kill this little girl so quickly, wouldn't Master Hua have lost a lot of fun?"
"Hmph, what fun can there be in that?" Master Hua sneered again, his expression showing a lack of concern.
Shen Xu replied slowly and methodically, "Master Hua, do you know that there is a small beast in the Nanjing area of Yanyang Country, called the Dragon Carp?"
"The dragon carp's skull is as smooth as a pebble, its limbs are stout, and its body is covered with thick, keratinous scales. Each of its front and hind limbs has five toes, and the claws on the ends of the toes are thick and sharp, capable of breaking through rock and soil and drilling through mountains."
"Thus, tomb raiders often use these small animals to explore tombs and rob caves. To prevent them from escaping after digging a cave, they usually keep two animals, one male and one female, locking up the female and driving the male away."
"This way, no matter how far the male beast digs or how deep it burrows, as long as he remembers that the female beast is chained, he will return to the cage without hesitation and be at your disposal."
Master Hua said, "Oh, that's quite interesting."
Shen Xu paused, looked at Hua Guoshi's pale face, and said with an unfathomable smile: "Master Guoshi, isn't it this method of locking the mother and driving the father that you love most?"
Master Hua also revealed a sinister smile, "Young lady, if you know this, why did you come to the palace?"
Shen Xu and Song Lin looked at each other and replied, “My husband said from the beginning that we came to the capital to seek wealth and honor.”
"It's not just about seeking wealth and fame, right? I heard the young lady even boasted about stealing the Blood Essence Dzi Bead from the Alchemy Hall?"
"Master Pei even told you this?" Shen Xu said without denying it: "Yes, it's normal for the Grand Master to covet such a rare treasure."
Hearing this, Master Hua showed a contemptuous smile on his face. He finally moved his eyes away from Song Lin, walked in front of Shen Xu with his hands behind his back, bent down and looked at her with his sharp triangular eyes.
"Humph! Are you so sure that you can break through the formation I set up and obtain my Dzi beads?"
After saying that, Master Hua ordered his men to take Song Lin and his wife to the alchemy hall.
There was smoke curling up in the hall, and a huge furnace stood in the center of the hall. No elixir was being refined at the moment, and the furnace mouth was pitch black.
With a gloomy face, he opened the mechanism of a dark room and saw a secret door opened from behind the furnace.
Shen Xu was escorted to the door of the dark room. She took a peek inside and saw a huge secret room. Apart from the candles on the wall, there was nothing else in the room.
Shen Xu was standing at the door, and said in a contemptuous tone: "That's it?"
"The Dzi Bead is in this room. I want to see how you will obtain it."
Song Lin frowned slightly. This was clearly an empty room, so where did the Dzi beads come from?
Shen Xu shook his head. "Creation without imagination is nothing more than copying other people's techniques. Doesn't the Imperial Master have anything of his own to show me?"
Master Hua's face darkened, and he had Shen Xu pushed into the secret room and closed the door.
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