Chapter 14
Ji Tang blinked, almost dizzy by his words, and simply waved his hand and said: "You mortals' lifespans are too short, how can you compare!"
She: "You haven't said when you can eat nightmares."
Su Jinzhou sat upright and said, "There is one place that you will definitely be satisfied with."
Jitang became interested, "Where?"
Su Jinzhou: "Cold Palace."
During the New Year, the palace was filled with joy.
The sun was shining brightly during the day, warming up the cold palace.
But there is only one difference, the cold palace.
Jitang was still able to move freely in the heavily guarded imperial palace.
She casually stepped into the threshold of the cold palace, and no one stopped her - because there was no one.
This is Jitang’s first time visiting the cold palace.
The reddish-brown paint on the double wooden doors was peeling off in bits and pieces, and the floor tiles had been there for who knows how long, with cracks and chipped edges.
There was a choking charcoal fire burning not far away. Although the flames were burning, it still gave people a chill.
She heard some nagging and cursing coming from a small room nearby, and guessed it was the old maid who served the servants.
Ji Tang ignored him and went straight into the main building opposite the door.
When the door opened, the creaking sound sounded like a woman's plaintive cry.
She slipped in and closed the door behind her.
The room was dark, with only a little sunlight shining through the tattered window paper, and the light was filled with flying dust.
She walked in, passed through the dilapidated front hall, and easily found the innermost bedroom.
The bedroom smelled damp and had been kept too long.
She moved closer to the bed. The wooden bed didn't even have a curtain. A woman in old clothes lay on it. Her disheveled hair covered most of her face. An unpleasant smell emanated from the quilt covering her.
The woman frowned, obviously experiencing a nightmare.
Ji Tang was suddenly delighted, and the nightmare aura emerged from her hand, like countless soft cotton threads integrated together to form a long ball of thread as thick as an arm, which slowly seeped into the woman's forehead.
Her consciousness also entered the nightmare.
In the dream, the woman was wearing gorgeous clothes, with golden hairpins and step-shaking ornaments on her head and delicate makeup. She was drinking tea on the chaise longue in the palace.
The maid beside her held a peacock fan in both hands and fanned her slowly, while another maid half-knelt to serve her, massaging her legs.
She looked comfortable and at ease. After drinking her tea, she picked up the palm-sized night pearl and played with it.
A maidservant beside her bowed and flattered, "Your Highness, this night-shining pearl is truly magnificent! It's a once-in-a-lifetime find. The Emperor bestowed it upon you just after it was presented as tribute. Looking across the entire harem, only the Lanxiang Palace has this honor. The Emperor loves you the most!"
Just as Jitang was about to go forward to take a look, there was a loud kick on the door from outside.
Then a lot of people rushed in, all of them with bad intentions.
Nightmares are always incoherent.
The scene in front of Jitang changed. The imperial concubine who was drinking tea leisurely before was now kneeling on the ground and shouting for justice at the top of her lungs. The golden hairpin and step-shake in her hair had fallen to nowhere.
"Your Majesty! Someone must have framed me! I treat the Third Prince like my own son, how could I possibly hurt him?"
She looked up in panic, but the emperor said nothing. The pressure from the superior was overwhelming, and the woman collapsed on the ground in fear, repeating over and over again, "It's not me, it's not me, I am innocent..."
Several imperial physicians trotted in with their heads bowed, knelt down, and kowtowed several times, saying in great sorrow, "Your Majesty, we are incompetent! The Third Prince...is dead."
The emperor sitting on the throne suddenly stood up, his body swayed, and he was able to steady himself by supporting himself on the wooden armrest carved with phoenix feathers.
Beside him, the queen supported the emperor, her expression filled with grief, and the next moment she lost strength and fainted.
"She's dead..." The imperial concubine couldn't believe it and was even more frightened. "Your Majesty! I'm innocent!"
She knelt backwards and pulled over the weeping maidservant who was also kneeling on the ground. "Tell me! I've been suffering from a cold for the past few days, and you've been serving in the palace the whole time. No one has left, right? How could I possibly harm the Third Prince?"
Her hair fell down, and she crawled to grab the hem of the emperor's robe, "Your Majesty! I sent someone to Wenshu Palace to ask for leave from the Empress. I have never been to the back garden. You must help me and clear my name!"
The emperor kicked her away, his face furious.
Everyone in Wenshu Palace knelt down and wept bitterly.
This dream was centered around the imperial concubine, and Jitang felt more confused, aggrieved, fearful, and unwilling.
Her consciousness withdrew from the dream.
This imperial concubine who was banished to the cold palace only dreamed of this today.
She never interfered with the dream owner, nor did she forcibly tamper with the dream. When the imperial concubine's dream ended, her meal was gone.
Ji Tang looked down and saw that the imperial concubine was pale and had a little sweat on her forehead. It seemed that she was frightened by the nightmare.
She noticed that the imperial concubine's eyelids were trembling slightly, so she left the cold palace first.
Returning to the Prince's Palace, she couldn't help but look.
The magnificent and luxurious palace is extremely spectacular, and even a speck of dust is nobler than the cold palace.
What a huge disparity.
As soon as she entered the palace, the coldness she brought in from outside disappeared completely.
She originally thought that there was a fairyland above and the Forgotten River and evil spirits below.
Now I know that the imperial palace alone encompasses both heaven and hell.
She easily avoided the mortals and entered the house through the window from the same place as before.
As soon as he arrived, he saw that in addition to the prince, there was also a white-haired old man in the room.
"Who is this?" Ji Tang jumped off the window frame and looked at the old man curiously.
The old man, with his sword slung behind his back, had been talking to Su Jinzhou. Seeing her come in, he stroked his beard and said, "This little kid does look just as you described, but his appearance is even more extraordinary than the Nightmare Clan I've seen before."
Ji Tang smiled when he heard that, "What did Su Jinzhou praise me for?"
The old man didn't answer, and she looked at Su Jinzhou again.
Su Jinzhou was afraid of her pestering him and said, "They said you were naive."
So stupid.
The old man smiled and shook his head helplessly.
"I am the prince's teacher and a cultivator. The little kid is young, but he is already in the early stages of his passion. I believe he must have been practicing diligently."
Ji Tang waved his hand and said, "I have always been extremely intelligent, so cultivation is no problem for me."
Su Jinzhou said from the side, "Master was just being polite, but you're already boasting. Don't you understand what humility is?"
Ji Tang smiled proudly: "This old man is telling the truth, why should I be modest? But you, how long have you been learning from this old man? Until now, you only have a trace of spiritual power, not even reaching the threshold of the foundation building stage. If he can't teach you, you might as well become my disciple instead!"
Su Jinzhou: "How dare you! Don't be so rude!"
Ji Tang was not afraid at all, and impatiently picked his ears, "How dare you! I've been doing this for more than a day or two, aren't you used to it yet?"
The old man patted Su Jinzhou's shoulder, looking neither angry nor annoyed, with a smile in his eyes. He calmly asked Ji Tang: "Where did you practice before, little kid?"
Ji Tang: "Of course it's in my Nightmare Clan."
"Does your Nightmare Clan have sufficient nightmare energy?"
"That's natural."
"Your current level of cultivation is the result of the right time, right place, and right people. But you must know, little kid, there are always people better than you. Since you are new to the world, you must be careful with your words and actions, and don't let your mouth harm you."
Ji Tang couldn't tell the old man's cultivation level, so he felt a little apprehensive.
Her dream-eating experience in the mortal world is limited, but she can still learn some mortal affairs from nightmares.
If ordinary people do not practice cultivation, their lifespan is only a hundred years, but it is complex and difficult to understand.
This is true for ordinary people, and it is even more so for cultivators.
Although Jitang doesn't understand people, he can judge the situation.
Her biggest meal ticket is right in front of her, and this old man is the master of the meal ticket.
Ji Tang immediately smiled and bowed to the old man, "I know, Master!"
Su Jinzhou stepped forward and asked, "What are you yelling about?"
Ji Tang looked him in the eye. "What's wrong with calling me Master? Why are you so incompetent? Why can't you do anything?"
She also took a step forward, and the distance between them was only an arm's length.
Su Jinzhou's brows were stern, "This is not the place for you to act wildly!"
Ji Tang glanced over his head, his peach blossom eyes twitched, and he said lazily: "Don't threaten me, you are not even as tall as me, and your momentum is three points weaker."
In fact, she was very powerful, but she did it on purpose to piss him off.
The old man stood slightly in front of Su Jinzhou, cleverly defusing the tense atmosphere between the two.
He said, "I am Liu Wushu, a cultivator of the Suxuan Sect. Master, please don't call me that. You can call me Master Wushu."
Ji Tang took the opportunity to call out, "Master Wu Shu."
Liu Wushu nodded, "Are you going to stay by the Crown Prince's side from now on?"
Ji Tang wanted to refute that they were in a transactional relationship and she was using her abilities to make a living, not to follow the prince.
After thinking about it, he decided not to offend Meal Ticket too much, so he said, "Yes."
Liu Wushu: "If that's the case, you can't dress like this anymore. There are only three types of people around the prince, and you have to become one of them."
Jitang: "Which three?"
Su Jinzhou raised the corner of his lips, "Guards, maids, and eunuchs. You look like this, and since you can't pretend to be a guard or a eunuch, you can only pretend to be a maid."
Although Jitang was not very worldly-wise, he had eaten a few meals in the palace and knew about eunuchs.
She shook her head. "I can't pretend."
They were submissive and either bowed or kneeled all day long.
Su Jinzhou: "Maidens are not an option. Do you want to pretend to be a eunuch?"
Liu Wushu: "A maid is still the most suitable. Don't bother her. There's no way a little kid would want to pretend to be a eunuch."
Ji Tang: "In my eyes, there's no difference between a prince and a eunuch. I just can't put on that humble and submissive look."
Su Jinzhou's face froze, and he was about to take out a dagger, but was calmed down by Liu Wushu.
He raised his eyes and saw an even more obvious smile in Liu Wushu's eyes.
Even more angry.
Jitang asked: "Is there no other choice?"
Liu Wushu: "You can also leave now."
"That won't do!" She couldn't bear to give up all the food in the palace.
Ji Tang was reluctant, "Then I'll be a maid."
Seeing that the matter was settled, Liu Wushu, before leaving the Crown Prince's Palace, specifically instructed Su Jinzhou, saying with a hint of meaning, "Remember what your master said."
Su Jinzhou folded his hands slightly in front of his chest and said, "Yes."
Jitang came closer, "What did you say?"
A faint woody fragrance lingered with her. Su Jinzhou calmed down and replied, "You really are not afraid of death."
Ji Tang: "Besides Master Wu Shu, I am the most powerful person in this palace. Why should I be so scary?"
Su Jinzhou didn't respond, but instead said, "I'll have them prepare some clothes and put them in the side hall. Go and put them on."
Jitang turned and left.
Her skirt fluttered, and the ends of her black hair brushed against Su Jinzhou's bright yellow cuffs and wrists, causing a tingling sensation.
Liu Wushu’s words suddenly appeared in Su Jinzhou’s mind.
“Although that doll is innocent, it is also a member of the Nightmare Clan.
Don't be fooled by her appearance, don't take her lightly, and remember to be on guard at all times."
"Someone come."
The palace door opened and the maid came in.
She walked slowly and approached Su Jinzhou, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Su Jinzhou: "This king is going to have a new maid, so you should teach her some manners in the future."
Just then, Ji Tang came back after changing her clothes. The purple silk gauze dress she was wearing had turned into a lotus-pink palace dress. Just as she was about to call for help, she was stopped by Su Jinzhou's gaze.
She changed it to: "Prince."
The boat stayed all night but there was no answer.
Ji Tang was puzzled.
It was the maid who observed his expression and whispered, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Ji Tang followed suit: "Your Highness the Crown Prince."
Su Jinzhou: "Alright, I'm going to Zhuxuan Pavilion today." His eyes fell on Jitang, "You will serve me with the writing brush and ink."
Jitang: “Oh.”
The maid was frightened and pulled her over. She lowered her head first and saluted the prince respectfully and submissively, "Yes, Your Highness." After saying that, she winked at Jitang.
Jitang imitated her, but his movements were awkward and strange, with his half-bent legs swaying from side to side.
The only thing she didn't lower was her head. She was glaring at Su Jinzhou, enunciating each word fiercely, "Yes! Your Highness!"
The maid couldn't see her expression, but she could hear the tone of her words. She was almost scared to death, fearing that the prince's next words would be "Drag him out and behead him."
Su Jinzhou glanced at her nonchalantly and said, "Alright, no need to be so polite."
He swung his sleeves behind him and walked out of the main hall in a good mood.
The maid was even more shocked and horrified, secretly guessing Ji Tang's identity, and kept her head down and remained silent from beginning to end.
She can't see, can't hear, and knows nothing, so she can live long.
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