Chapter 47 Chaoyun Kingdom - Chaos Pearl (XI) The kitten likes cleanliness...
Late at night, in Mingchen Palace.
Li Fuxuan felt like she was being pricked by needles, tossing and turning in bed. Finally, she couldn't help but throw off the covers and get up, angrily saying, "Are you done yet? I said I'm going to bed, and that's it. Why are you staring at me like that? Don't you know there's a difference between men and women?"
The eunuch-looking Song Qingshu remained unmoved: "This is nobody's fault but yours. If Your Highness hadn't broken your promise, I wouldn't have had to be so vigilant."
Li Fuxuan was furious: "You put a Heart-Eating Gu on me! It's not like I'm tired of living! Besides, I have a Silence-Keeping Curse on me!"
“Putting a silencing spell on you is not foolproof. You can also send messages by writing. Besides, you once said that your master is skilled in raising Gu poison. In order to prevent any accidents, it is better for me to stay by your side at all times.”
Li Fuxuan couldn't reason with her, nor could he beat her in a fight, so he was seething with anger. He glared at her, determined to wear this wretched woman down like a hawk being trained.
The next day, Li Fuxuan couldn't find a chance to escape and was watched for the entire day. When the banquet started, he rushed to the banquet, hoping to find Zhang Qing's help, but he couldn't find Zhang Qing anywhere.
He knew Zhang Qing didn't like getting involved in these things, but now that a knife was at his throat, if his master didn't show up soon, he was really going to make a terrible mistake.
Shi Xianxue was still a little groggy after a night of heavy drinking. She felt that she had seen someone who shouldn't have been there while she was half-asleep last night, so she turned around and stared at Cherry suspiciously.
She was Shi Huaiyu's lackey, and usually acted like a bully, taking advantage of Shi Huaiyu's power to do a lot of evil. When she saw Shi Xianxue give her a look, she thought that her princess was going to cause trouble again, so she excitedly went over and asked, "What are your orders, Princess?"
Seeing her fawning manner, Shi Xianxue's doubts were largely dispelled, but she still couldn't help but ask, "Did you see any suspicious people last night?"
Cherry paused for a moment, then recalled before saying, "After I helped the princess wash up last night, I stayed in the room and didn't see anyone suspicious."
"Oh." Shi Xianxue rubbed her face and muttered, "But why does my face hurt so much?"
"Perhaps you drank too much yesterday. Princess, you should take care of your health today and not overindulge in alcohol."
Shi Xianxue hummed in response, resting her chin on her hand as she watched the singing and dancing at the banquet. Before long, with the announcement that pierced the sky, Shi Xianxue saw that indifferent face again.
His appearance immediately drew everyone's attention, the music stopped abruptly, and Li Fuxuan was so excited, as if he had seen a savior, that he wanted to stand up.
Master, you've finally appeared.
The eunuch behind him subtly pressed down on his shoulder.
Li Fuxuan frowned, instinctively wanting to overturn it, but the discomfort in his heart suddenly brought him to his senses.
He slumped in despair, truly hating the feeling of being controlled by others.
Compared to his disciple's uncontrollable emotions, the master was much more composed. He merely glanced at Li Fuxuan, who seemed to have a thousand words to say, and then turned away without looking back.
He calmly bowed to the Emperor and Empress, his gaze seemingly searching for something as he looked past the crowd and landed on Shi Xianxue's face.
He was still wearing the same dark blue brocade robe with a dark floral pattern, seemingly indifferent to the banquet, not even changing his clothes, and a light blue stubble appeared on his chin.
Despite having such an ordinary, unkempt face, her smile was exceptionally alluring.
He said something to the attendant beside him, and then walked towards her in full view of everyone.
As if he were a longtime friend, he sat down beside Shi Xianxue with practiced ease, his smile captivating: "Little princess, are you settling in well in the palace?"
After saying that, he glanced at the cherry being served.
Cherry lowered her head and focused intently on her master's movements.
Shi Xianxue was very dissatisfied with the fact that the two people, who were not familiar with each other, insisted on sitting with her, which forcibly attracted a lot of meaningful glances and attention to her.
She was a princess from a foreign land, and she was already dazzling enough tonight. It was only after the emperor and empress sat down that she finally had some peace and quiet. But as soon as he sat down, Shi Xianxue felt his scrutinizing gaze turn into spears that were about to pierce her.
Shi Xianxue smiled and said, "Grand Preceptor, I feel so comfortable with you here. How could I not be used to it?"
Zhang Qing curled her lips: "That doesn't sound like the truth."
"It's true, Grand Preceptor." Shi Xianxue was a master of pretense. Although she didn't like people who forced her to use her abilities as soon as they met, she could still put on a perfect front.
She squinted, pretending to scrutinize him intently.
Zhang Qing opened his arms wide, allowing her to look at him freely.
Music filled the air, candlelight flickered, and Shi Xianxue said with feigned profundity, "I really feel like I've seen you somewhere before."
Seeing that he didn't believe her, Shi Xianxue said, "Although it may seem like I'm trying to get close to you, Grand Preceptor, I genuinely feel that you look very familiar."
Zhang Qing remained expressionless and withdrew his hand with a faint smile.
"There is a Buddhist proverb that says, 'All sentient beings are the image of self, and the image of self is the image of sentient beings.' If you think I look familiar, isn't it because I've taken another step closer to becoming a saint?"
Shi Xianxue couldn't understand, but she could vaguely guess that he was just bragging. She wasn't mocking his appearance, but genuinely felt that the two of them might have met somewhere before.
Everyone's life is full of little details, including how they speak and the emphasis they use.
Although not everything will be the same, there will always be some memorable aspects. As Shi Xianxue tries to recall, the images in her mind become somewhat blurry.
She smiled and said nothing more.
During the second half of the banquet, Zhang Qing suddenly came over to talk to her.
"Little princess, do you like watching fireworks?"
Shi Xianxue's eyes lit up after hearing this, "Will it be tonight?"
"If you want it, you will have it."
Shi Xianxue glanced at the emperor and empress on the high throne.
Zhang Qing saw through her thoughts: "They listen to me."
What an arrogant person.
Cherry looked up at him for a moment, then quickly lowered her head again.
Taipingyuan was situated on high ground, and officials' families could crowd into the high-rise buildings and see the festive scene on Yuanwu Street outside the city gate.
When fireworks are set off, lanterns are hung, and the light and shadow of the fireworks flicker and change. Fireworks such as wasps emerging from their nests and scattering flowers fill the sky, bursting forth in front of the crowd. The smoke and flames obscure the sky, the moon cannot shine, and the sound of the fireworks exploding just drowns out the strange changes coming from the distant Star-Picking Pavilion.
Shi Xianxue turned around with a bright smile, only to find that the seat next to her was now empty.
Only Cherry, looking blank and absent-minded, remained by his side.
Li Fuxuan originally came to find his master, but unexpectedly, while he came up from one end, his master came down from the other end.
The master and apprentice missed each other once again.
Li Fuxuan was almost laughing in anger. Fine, fine, the palace is bigger than the entire Chaoyun, right? He usually hides from his master, but he can see him every now and then. Now he wants to ask him for help, but he always comes up empty-handed.
He really didn't believe that his master hadn't done it on purpose.
Unwilling to be crowded with the families of officials, he had no choice but to retreat to Shi Xianxue's side.
Shi Xianxue was bumped on the shoulder by him. She looked up and saw that it was Li Fuxuan, so she prepared to greet him.
Unexpectedly, Li Fuxuan bared his teeth first and unexpectedly uttered a harsh threat: "Imposter, you just wait for me!" before hurriedly leaving.
Shi Xianxue: "?"
Inside the Star-Picking Pavilion, the Mermaid Pearl Array was operating smoothly. The twelve fairy children had their eyes closed, and three mermaids were kept in the array's core, providing a continuous supply of energy to the array.
Something went wrong. A crack suddenly appeared at the previously repaired key point of the array. The lotus lamp shone brightly. The twelve fairy children noticed the anomaly and immediately drew an array to activate the formation. The merman was in great pain, and his scales glowed with a bloody light.
The gap was slowly narrowing when a powerful spell was launched straight towards it.
The twelve fairy children couldn't dodge in time and were hit squarely in the bullseye. Unexpectedly, after a flash of bright light, the formation became calm and still, as if nothing had happened. The twelve fairy children looked at the newcomer with confusion on their faces.
"Master."
"A bunch of fools." The voice and the punishment fell together. The twelve fairy children clutched their chests in pain. The light on their bodies was of varying intensity, and they almost lost their human form and turned into lotus roots on the spot.
Zhang Qing's expressionless face was revealed in the light. "It was just a trick to fool you all, almost exposing the formation. So useless, so careless, I don't think you have any reason to exist."
"Master, please spare us! We were just careless for a moment. Please give us a chance to atone for our sins."
Zhang Qing's icy gaze swept over them, and the lotus root spirits immediately flew off in different directions.
The pavilion returned to silence. The merman fell into a deep sleep. The array rippled like water, and a faint, almost imperceptible aura remained in the pavilion. The feigned anger quickly vanished, and Zhang Qing raised an eyebrow, a hint of mockery gradually appearing in his eyes.
Little beast.
--
The fireworks display lasted for half an hour before it ended. The path back to Fuqu Palace required passing through the Imperial Garden. It was late at night, and the autumn wind was chilly. As the master and servant hurried past, they suddenly heard a faint meow.
Shi Xianxue stopped and gestured for Yingtao to lower her voice as well.
Unexpectedly, Cherry frowned, as if it were her usual self, and coldly urged her, "It's getting late, we'd better go back soon."
The kitten's meows in the bushes grew closer. Shi Xianxue waved her hand and said, "Wait a minute, there might be a stray kitten nearby. It's so cold, let's take her back to the palace."
Just as Cherry was about to say something, a white shadow darted out of the grass and jumped to Shi Xianxue's feet, nuzzling affectionately against the hem of her skirt, as if begging for food. Shi Xianxue carefully picked it up, and it didn't flinch, but obediently lay in Shi Xianxue's arms.
Shi Xianxue lowered her long eyelashes, looking exceptionally well-behaved: "I've heard that people who are liked by kittens have particularly pure and kind souls."
Cherry's expression was mocking, and she was about to ridicule her at any moment.
Then Shi Xianxue whispered again, "Wu Xiutang also has a kitten."
Cherry's sarcastic expression froze, and she frowned deeply as she looked away.
Back in the Lotus Palace, Shi Xianxue would ask him to bring her a soft blanket, some hot food, and close the doors and windows to prevent any drafts from getting in.
The kitten was fast asleep, its belly round and full from eating.
Shi Xianxue is still making trouble.
Cherry, annoyed by the constant chatter, produced a jug of wine from somewhere and said, "Princess, have some wine to warm yourself up."
The pain of the hangover was still very clear, so Shi Xianxue naturally refused to drink anymore. "I've already brushed my teeth, so it's not good to eat or drink these flavorful things. Besides, Cherry, you're so strange. You told me to take care of my health and not to drink too much during the day, but why are you urging me to drink more at night? It's like you're going to split apart."
After saying that, he went to look at that damn cat.
Touched on her secret, Cherry grabbed her face and brought the wine pot to Shi Xianxue's lips, her smile stiff and eerie: "Drink it now, okay? Don't make me say it a third time."
Fifteen minutes later, Shi Xianxue wrapped the quilt around herself and poked her head out like a snow doll. Her eyes were unfocused, and she was muttering incoherently, even looking somewhat aggrieved.
"Cherry, you've become fierce, and you even forced me to drink wine. But today's wine isn't as good as the white lychee wine."
Wu Xiutang ignored her and sent out the message by making hand seals.
At Chang Le Residence, a beautiful blue fish tail splashed in the pond, making the water on the shore wet. A sea monster swam over and delivered the message. The young boy sitting on the shore read it but said nothing. He simply plucked a scale from the tail without changing his expression, cast a spell on it, and the scale turned into starlight and disappeared from his fingertip.
Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in the city of Chongming, as if summoned by some force, the waves surged and crashed against the rocks on the shore. The seawater was shrouded in black mist, and schools of fish leaped out of the water in a frenzy, as if some terrifying thing in the seabed was chasing them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com