Although Hua Qingcheng had only met this painting-selling woman in the bookstore once, she was still impressed by the extraordinary aura that emanated from her.
At first, Hua Qingcheng only regarded her as a student who failed the imperial examination and was not admitted to the university. But now, seeing her "reminiscing" with General Feng Cailan in the mansion, and even being treated with respect by General Feng and others, Hua Qingcheng knew that this person's identity was probably not simple, and she was most likely a royal relative.
"Ahem... To be honest, don't be fooled by the fact that this cloth bag looks tattered and patched up. It's actually a treasure bag that can hold a lot of things. It was given to me by a Taoist priest with a celestial presence whom I met by chance."
Facing everyone's scorching gazes, Hua Qingcheng cleared her throat and continued with the same explanation she had given at the Prime Minister's Mansion. After all, space was something that absolutely could not be known to outsiders.
"The Taoist priest was dressed in white, holding a whisk. Although he was quite old, he had a youthful face and a vibrant, energetic look. He was truly a master of the Tao. He also said that I had extraordinary talents and that our meeting was fate, so he forced this Qiankun bag into my hand. He also said that only I could open and use this bag. If it fell into the hands of anyone else, it would really be just an ordinary bag."
As Hua Qingcheng finished speaking, everyone except Si Chengfeng looked at her in disbelief. Si Chengfeng's eyes were as charming as silk, and his fox eyes flickered, as if Hua Qingcheng's words brought back memories.
In order to prevent Hua Qingcheng from looking down on him, Si Chengfeng made a bet with Hua Qingcheng. Later, he weeded in the fields outside the Hua family's old house in the heavy rain. As a result, he caught a cold and suffered a cold attack.
In a daze, Si Chengfeng felt that he was brought to a very unfamiliar place. The woman with a circle of teeth marks on her right forearm not only took care of him patiently and carefully, but later they also made love in a very soft and comfortable big bed.
When Si Chengfeng regained consciousness after his cold attack, he was surprised to find himself in Hua Qingcheng's arms, standing on the edge of the field where he had been weeding. Si Chengfeng thought it was just a beautiful dream, but Hua Qingcheng told him that it was their real experience, and that he and Hua Qingcheng had become lovers at that time.
Si Chengfeng gave Hua Qingcheng a meaningful look. Despite all the irrationalities, Si Chengfeng wasn't one to dwell on trivial matters. He had always studiously ignored meaningless and irrelevant matters, preventing himself from letting his thoughts wander. Now that he thought about it, the place he'd been to in a trance, and that soft, comfortable bed, were all very real.
Si Chengfeng looked at Hua Qingcheng with eyes filled with tenderness and affection. Whether it was her slaying a pack of wolves with a strange hidden weapon on Pinglan Mountain, or her cold attack in the pouring rain transporting him to a strange world, Hua Qingcheng had always captivated him. So, could it be that he had fallen in love with a magical fairy?
"Qiankun Treasure Bag?" Nalan Yunzhi seemed to be thinking about it.
"Your Majesty, for the sake of Laifeng's national destiny, you cannot appoint a princess as crown prince until you are thirty-eight years old."
This was what the Taoist Master Tongtian, dressed in white and holding a whisk, specifically told her eighteen years ago when the nineteen-year-old Nalan Yunzhi had just ascended the throne.
"Why? When I marry a queen in the future, I will naturally want to have children and have many descendants. Wouldn't it be helpful to stabilize my kingdom by appointing a crown princess as soon as possible?" The young Nalan Yunzhi was very puzzled.
"The secret of heaven cannot be revealed. In order to protect the 'chosen girl', Your Majesty, please be sure to remember what I say. Your future princess will be someone holding a treasure bag of the universe and possessing great supernatural powers. The national destiny of Laifeng Kingdom will also reach a new peak because of her." Tongtian Taoist stroked his white beard and spoke with an unfathomable look on his face.
Although Nalan Yunzhi harbored doubts about the old man's words, she was a man of lofty ambition and talent, a master of both civil and military strategies. Whether or not she appointed a crown princess would not affect the stability of her throne. In the eighteen years since she ascended the throne, she had diligently attended state affairs, working diligently to govern the country, never missing a morning court session, and could be considered a diligent and qualified emperor.
Internally, Nalan Yunzhi reduced taxes and levies, prioritizing agriculture and population growth, and encouraging merchants to develop the economy. Although Laifeng was a matriarchal state, its people were clearly more open-minded than other matriarchal states. While slaves and low-class people were prohibited from participating in the imperial examinations, there were no such restrictions for merchants.
Nalan Yunzhi not only prioritized economic and livelihood development, but also military and national defense. He built city walls, a moat, and developed water conservancy projects (including the Tongling Canal and the Grand Canal). He also constructed two intersecting military passages, one running east-west and the other running north-south. These passages were crucial for preventing enemy invasions and preventing harassment.
During Nalan Yunzhi's reign, although she refrained from expanding Laifeng's territory, she responded to invading nations with a simple and brutal approach, dispatching elite troops to crush them with her might. Even now, while neighboring nations still covet Laifeng's rich resources, they dare not attack easily due to the ruthless tactics of the Laifeng Queen.
In the eighteen years since Nalan Yunzhi ascended the throne, although court officials had frequently urged her to establish a princess as the crown prince, under the pressure of Nalan Yunzhi's long-standing authority, they dared only to make suggestions. As for banging one's head against a pillar in the Golden Palace to protest his death, that was absolutely unheard of. After all, if anyone dared to do so, Nalan Yunzhi would most likely have simply struck her with his sword.
Nalan Yunzhi's dusty memories slowly began to unravel as Hua Qingcheng spoke. Previously, Nalan Yunzhi had only been skeptical, but now she was 80% certain that Hua Qingcheng was the daughter Ling Yan had mentioned being abducted by the masked men in black. All that remained was for her subordinates to gather clues to prove Hua Qingcheng's identity as the princess...
"That's right, the Qiankun Treasure Bag." Looking at the stunned woman selling paintings, Hua Qingcheng didn't blush or feel nervous, and lied seriously.
"Good! Very good!" Nalan Yunzhi smiled and looked at Hua Qingcheng with admiration.
"I wonder if the Taoist priest Miss Qingcheng mentioned is named Tongtian?"
According to Hua Qingcheng, the image of the Taoist priest she described, with a stoic demeanor, perfectly matched that of the Taoist master Tongtian. It was likely that Hua Qingcheng's Qiankun treasure bag was also given by the old Taoist master with a big nose. Since Hua Qingcheng was most likely her and Lingyan's daughter, Nalan Yunzhi naturally didn't want to call her "Miss Hua" anymore.
"The other party didn't say it explicitly, so I don't know." Hua Qingcheng complained inwardly. She just made it up casually. Didn't she have time to choose a name?
"Oh……"
"really."
Nalan Yunzhi's lips curled slightly, a look of understanding. Isn't pretense a characteristic of that old-fashioned man?
Seeing that Nalan Yunzhi's gaze towards Hua Qingcheng was becoming more and more scorching, Feng Jingyun knew that the emperor had become suspicious of Hua Qingcheng's identity.
"Mr. Wang, could you please come to the study so I can talk to you for a moment?"
After sighing slightly in his heart, Feng Jingyun could only choose the lesser of two evils and choose to confront Nalan Yunzhi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
