Green Bamboo pulled Yuan Qi away, saying, "The Fifth Prince rarely comes to our residence, and many people are watching. Not to praise the Fifth Prince, but he is really handsome. Miss, you'd be missing out if you didn't go see him."
Yuan Qi silently compared them in his mind. Could she be even more beautiful than Tu Shanli or Bai Fujun?
As soon as they stepped outside, Yuan Qi saw Jiang Jiulu running excitedly in their direction: "You're going to see the Fifth Prince too, right?"
Yuan Qi smiled awkwardly. Weren't women in ancient times supposed to be very reserved? What's going on? They all look like wolves eyeing meat.
Jiang Jiulu pulled Yuan Qi and ran towards the front hall. Sure enough, a lot of maids, and even old women and servants were crowding at the entrance of the front hall to watch the excitement.
Although it was impolite, no one pursued the matter.
"Make way, everyone." Jiang Jiulu said softly, and the people on one side of the doorway made way.
Jiang Jiulu pulled Yuan Qi in and walked in with an air of importance, leading Yuan Qi to obediently bow to the people in the room.
She asked Jiang Junjing in surprise, "So Second Brother is here. I've been looking for you everywhere."
Yuan Qi's gaze lingered on Xiao Zhen. She wasn't admiring his good looks; compared to Bai Fujun and Tu Shanli, Xiao Zhen paled in comparison—their aura was simply different. She always sensed a dangerous aura emanating from Xiao Zhen.
Others might not be able to tell, but Yuan Qi recognized the things on his body.
Xiao Yi carried many amulets and protective magical artifacts. The jade hairpin in his hair, the thumb ring on his hand, and the jade pendant at his waist were all magical artifacts. They looked similar to ordinary items, but they were actually quite powerful magical artifacts, capable of exorcising ghosts, eliminating evil spirits, and even subduing demons.
It's unknown how many defensive devices he has hidden on his body in places that are not visible to the naked eye.
Upon closer inspection, this person's aura is not weak, and there are fluctuations of spiritual energy around him, clearly indicating that he is a cultivator. But why does he carry so many protective items?
Who provided those powerful magical artifacts? You should know that there aren't many people who can make such powerful magical artifacts.
Jiang Junjing knew Jiang Jiulu's thoughts. Like Jiang Songlu, she also hoped to marry into the royal family one day. Her coming here to find him was just an excuse. She just wanted to show her face in front of the Fifth Prince. He didn't expose her.
"What do you want?"
Jiang Jiulu said sweetly, "I made some pastries and wanted to give them to my second brother."
Jiang Junjing didn't know her? She simply didn't like going into the kitchen.
"Then hurry up and bring it here!"
Jiang Jiulu had already come up with this excuse, and the maids behind her immediately brought out the pastries, one for each of them.
Jiang Bailu and Jiang Songlu were very unhappy, especially Jiang Songlu, who understood Jiang Jiulu's intentions perfectly. She said sarcastically from the side, "Can you make pastries? Did you make this? Don't try to pass off something made by the cook as something else."
Jiang Junjing knew the two would start arguing, so he quickly stopped them: "No arguing, shut up."
The three girls snorted, turned their heads away, and refused to look at each other again.
Xiao Zhen was also looking at Yuan Qi. He recognized that the hairpin in Yuan Qi's hair was a magic artifact, and the small cloth bag on his body was unusual. He could tell that the other party had spiritual power, but he could not tell his cultivation level.
Could it be that his cultivation level has already surpassed the Foundation Establishment stage?
Maybe?
No wonder Xuanqing asked him to come and take a look at Yuan Qi in person. This little girl is not old, but she seems to have some skills.
"And this is..." He looked at Jiang Junjing and asked, feigning confusion.
Jiang Junjing introduced, "This is my seventh younger sister. She was raised outside for a long time and was only brought back a few months ago. Yuan Qi, aren't you going to pay your respects to the Fifth Prince?"
Yuan Qi glanced at Xiao Zhen's face briefly. He had the appearance of someone destined for great wealth and honor. He had no blood on his hands and no murderous aura about him; he was very clean.
But she wasn't quite sure; perhaps some magical artifact on this person's person was concealing some truth.
She obediently stepped forward to greet Xiao Zhen.
"This young lady is exceptionally beautiful and intelligent. I wonder if she's engaged yet?" Xiao Zhen asked Jiang Junjing with a smile, as if he were asking seriously, yet also as if he were joking.
Jiang Junjing immediately sensed that this question was unusual: "Seventh Sister is not even ten years old yet and is not engaged."
Yuan Qi didn't know the other party's background or who his master was, but he felt that the other party was not a good person, so he said directly: "To be honest, Your Highness, I am a disciple of Daoist Chongxu of Fusang Temple. I intend to serve the Daoist sect for the rest of my life and have no intention of getting married."
Regardless of whether the other person wanted to propose or not, her words effectively shut them down.
Xiao Zhen cursed under his breath, but laughed and said, "How old are you? Deciding your future path so easily? You should think it over carefully. In this vast world, wouldn't it be a lot less fun if you didn't get married?"
He looked at Jiang Junjing: "A woman should be a good wife and mother, and serve the Taoist sect for life..."
He didn't say the rest, but the meaning was clear.
Yuan Qi's last bit of goodwill towards him vanished.
"Fifth Prince, everyone has their own ambitions. What I want to do is to catch ghosts and exorcise demons, and to eliminate evil and protect the righteous path." She stared at Xiao Zhen with firm eyes for a few seconds, showing no fear of his intimidating gaze.
Jiang Junjing smoothed things over, saying, "Let's not talk about that anymore, Seventh Sister. His Highness the Fifth Prince is holding a dragon boat race. You should go and join in the fun."
Xiao Zhen was cursing Yuan Qi to death in his heart, but on the surface he extended a very friendly invitation: "Yes, I've been busy training with your second brother these past few days. If you have time, come and visit Saihe."
Jiang Jiulu didn't notice the subtle banter between the two. When she heard Xiao Zhen's invitation, she was delighted: "Yes, yes, we're just killing time anyway, let's go take a look."
Xiao Yi has not had another attack during this period. He admires and is grateful to Yuan Qi, and invites her to go out and play together.
Yuan Qi agreed.
She wanted to see who this Xiao Zhen was, so she stayed and chatted with everyone.
Xiao Zhen knew that the Gu worms released by Kong Qing through Xiangli Mingzhu had been captured and controlled, and Kong Qing asked him to take the opportunity to use Gu on Yuan Qi.
While he was drinking tea, he released the Gu worm hidden in the ring.
As if possessing a spirit, the Gu worms crawled down Xiao Zhen's body, unnoticed as they slid down the chair towards Yuan Qi.
Everyone was busy chatting and no one noticed that there was an extra bug on the ground.
Yuan Qi had sharp eyes; she had noticed Xiao Zhen's movements for quite some time, and the Gu worms were naturally within her sight as well.
When the worm crawled to her feet, she stomped it to death.
Xiao Zhen's heart skipped a beat. This was the king of Gu worms, which Kong Qing had nurtured for more than two years, and she had easily crushed it to death.
He really wanted to slap her to death.
I don't know if it was a coincidence or if she had already discovered it.
If she had discovered it earlier, would she also have known his identity and his collusion with Xuan Qing?
Yuan Qi acted as if nothing was wrong, continuing to drink tea and eat snacks, thoroughly enjoying herself. However, she was now certain that there was something fishy about the dragon boat race, but she couldn't be sure who it was targeting.
After discussing most of the important matters, it was already noon. Xiao Zhen was very unwilling to accept the loss of a Gu worm, so he had no intention of taking his leave. Jiang Junjing had no choice but to have the servants prepare lunch.
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