Chapter 301: The Sinister and Malicious First Prince
With Baili Han and Lan Xinyu’s cultivation, they naturally would have clearly heard the words the bald dean had said. Baili Han smiled awkwardly. Having such an unreliable old man was really a headache. Lan Xinyu’s face also flushed red and was a little at a loss.
“I-I have a little headache. You… can you… s-s-support me to go in?” Baili Han stuttered for half day and finally managed to squeeze out those words. Then a tint of red appeared on his pale face.
Lan Xinyu’s face turned even redder as she nodded and supported Baili Han toward the back. The bald dean rubbed his chin in comfort, exclaiming that his son was teachable.
The following matches were without any suspense whatsoever. Ling Chuxi got first place and even though Baili Han was injured, his cultivation was indeed there and he had obtained the second place.
The emperor was extremely happy and wanted to host a banquet in the palace to celebrate Ling Chuxi and the rest. The third place went to a person called Ma Chengping. His cultivation had also reached Battle Qi Level-9. The Lord Divine Messenger from the Deity Temple was to attend this banquet as well. Being able to interact with the Lord Divine Messenger from the Deity Temple at such a close distance made many people admire Ling Chuxi and the rest. Of course, in reality, besides Ma Chengping being a little overexcited, Ling Chuxi and Baili Han did not take this matter to heart. Especially since this Lord Divine Messenger was very familiar to Ling Chuxi.
The banquet was held in the palace. Huangfu Qingjue’s attendance had truly shocked the entire place. This was the first time many people had seen the true countenance of the Divine Messenger and none of them had thought that the Lord Divine Messenger was actually such a handsome, one-of-a-kind man. E Shulan also attended this banquet and she stood by the corner in a low profile. In this time’s competition, she had not just lost her own reputation, but also made Deity Temple lose their flare. Rumors have it that the Deity Temple was even considering to remove her status as the Deity’s Servant Girl.
The fifth princess was especially happy as she chattered by Ling Chuxi’s side non-stop. “Master, I knew that you would win. Haha, Master, this is really great.” Consort Li who was standing nearby, looked at the fifth princess happily. The way she looked at Ling Chuxi was different. In the past, she knew that Ling Chuxi was extraordinary, but she had never thought that Ling Chuxi was already so strong. Good thing that Ling Chuxi had previously expressed her attitude clearly.
“Miss Ling Chuxi, truly, congratulations.” Suddenly, a man’s voice rang in Ling Chuxi’s ears.
Ling Chuxi was stunned. The moment she turned her head, she saw a man smiling gently. The fifth princess called out softly at this moment. “Eldest Imperial Brother.”
‘Eldest Imperial Brother?’ Ling Chuxi finally understood the identity of the person before her. It turned out to be the first prince! The first prince who was before her looked about twenty-six seven years old. His five features were well defined and his expression was calm, but he gave off a vague noble and majestic bearing. The modest smile on his face made people feel comfortable, but with Ling Chuxi’s discernment, it was not difficult to see that there was no smile in his eyes. There was a coldness that was difficult to detect in the depth of his eyes, which would never allow people to see what he was thinking of.
Amongst the many princes in Nan Xia Country, the first prince had wild ambitions and his intentions and schemes being sinister were not a secret since long ago. However, personally seeing him made Ling Chuxi understand how deep his intentions ran. If one had not heard of those rumors beforehand, who would have connected this humble, gently looking young man to the words ‘sinister’ and ‘malicious’?
“Greetings, First Prince.” Ling Chuxi smiled gently as she gave a bow without being overbearing nor servile.
“Miss Ling Chuxi, you have really caused me terrible harm.” The first prince was smiling despite saying such words.
Chapter 302: This was a Dangerous Person
Ling Chuxi raised her brows slightly. Why did he say that? It seemed like this was her first meeting with the first prince? What did the first prince mean, saying such words the moment he approached her?
“You really made my gambling house close down.” The first prince said with a smile.
Ling Chuxi frowned and suddenly understood. So it turned out that the owner behind the largest gambling house in the capital was actually the first prince. She and her friends had gone to exchange their gambling tickets after the match. She got the money, but the owner of the gambling house was nowhere to be found. Even if they wanted to find them to settle the scores, they could not find the person. Now hearing the first prince speaking like this, Ling Chuxi finally understood. No wonder the gambling house was so arrogant. It turns out that the boss behind them was actually the first prince. Thinking about it, it was also actually normal. How could a gambling den without a backer survive?
However, Ling Chuxi did not forget the matter of the people from the gambling house sending someone to assassinate her. At this moment, the first prince took the opportunity to speak first. “However, I really never thought that my subordinates had actually sent people to do you harm. I have already punished them. Miss Chuxi, don’t worry, I will definitely give you an explanation. This matter, I indeed did not know about it beforehand. I’ll apologize to you here.” At this moment, the first prince had already changed the way he addressed Ling Chuxi, from Miss Ling Chuxi to Miss Chuxi. This kind of familiar attitude couldn’t get any more obvious.
Ling Chuxi choked and the words by the tip of her tongue could not be spoken. The first prince had taken the opportunity first. How was it possible to say that the first prince was not in the know? Ling Chuxi did not believe this.
“I hope Miss Chuxi does not keep a grudge. I will definitely give Miss Chuxi an explanation.” The first prince had a gentle smile that was like the spring breeze. This light, playful tone had the effect of using little strength but gaining great benefits. He easily pushed aside the responsibility and even said that he would give a good explanation. If Ling Chuxi still insisted on making things difficult, it would appear as if she was petty.
The corner of Ling Chuxi’s lips tugged into a superficial smile. “Since the first prince was not in the know, then just forget about it.” This first prince was definitely not an ordinary person. Ling Chuxi secretly thought in her heart that this was a dangerous person. It would be better to keep a distance from him.
“Thank you Miss Chuxi for being magnanimous.” The first prince smiled ever so gently like the spring breeze.
With the first prince’s attitude being like this, Ling Chuxi naturally understood what he meant. This was merely because he had seen her cultivation and wanted to act familiarly. Having an additional friend was still better than gaining a strong enemy. It was just that Ling Chuxi did not wish to interact with him more.
At this moment, the first prince also sighed in his heart. The matter regarding the gambling house, the person-in-charge would always report to him. Back then when Fu Chengyu brought people to place heavy bets on Ling Chuxi winning, he was not bothered. However, during the later matches, the cultivation Ling Chuxi had displayed made them see her in a different light. If things were allowed to continue as they were, the gambling house indeed would have to pay a large sum of money and even close down. And even the young master of the Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce had come to place bets on Ling Chuxi winning, which made him notice Ling Chuxi even more.
In the end when they saw Ling Chuxi’s actual cultivation, they were a little panicked. The people under him wanted to use the handsome man scheme to seduce Ling Chuxi but ended up failing because he got the wrong person. Later on, they went to hire a top notch assassin to assassinate Ling Chuxi. That assassin had the cultivation of Battle Qi Level-9 Pinnacle stage! That was an assassin from the Dark Shadow Pavilion! As the number one assassination organization, one could easily guess the price of the Dark Shadow Pavilion with a single thought. They were the top notch assassins in the business and regardless of cultivation or the maliciousness in their hearts, both were first rate. In the end, it was still a failure!
Chapter 303: The Black-Bellied Huangfu Qingjue
This made the first prince reevaluate his estimation of Ling Chuxi’s cultivation. Especially after seeing the final battle between Ling Chuxi and Baili Han, the first prince confirmed something. Ling Chuxi had indeed broke through to Great Fulfilment and experienced the heavenly lightning striking the body! Then, he needed to change his strategy. Being able to take in Ling Chuxi under his own banner and use her for his own use was a matter that could not get better.
“Not sure if Miss Chuxi is free…” The first prince smiled and was just about to invite Ling Chuxi, but before he could finish speaking, the back of a person appeared before him.
The silver-haired Lord Divine Messenger directly stood in front of him, blocking Ling Chuxi from his line of sight.
“Miss Ling Chuxi, congratulations on obtaining the first place this time.” Huangfu Qingjue was a little taller than the first prince and by standing in front of the first prince, he directly blocked out the first prince completely. At this moment, he was displaying a charming smile as he spoke softly.
Ling Chuxi almost laughed out loud. Without seeing, she could imagine the first prince’s aggrieved expression. Huangfu Qingjue naturally did it purposely. Was this bullying the first prince for being shorter than him? Haha! This was too black-bellied!
“Thank you, Lord Divine Messenger.” Ling Chuxi tried hard to act as if she was surprised by the favor bestowed on her as she answered. However, when nobody was paying attention, she winked at Huangfu Qingjue playfully.
“I wish to discuss some matters with Miss Ling Chuxi in detail. Could we step aside to talk about it?” Huangfu Qingjue smiled gently as he asked.
“Of course.” Ling Chuxi smiled and nodded. Naturally, she understood that Huangfu Qingjue was helping her to relieve her of her troubles and nodded gladly as she went aside with Huangfu Qingjue.
The first prince stood at his original spot. His expression did not change much as he still smiled warmly at other people, but there was an icy cold look beneath his eyes.
The fifth princess shrugged and went aside to talk with other people.
Huangfu Qingjue speaking to Ling Chuxi by the side was noticed by many. The emperor and Consort Li was not too worried about Ling Chuxi joining the Deity Temple, because Ling Chuxi had already promised them that she would not do so. Other people were not aware of this, so each of them had different thoughts about it. E Shulan who was at a corner, looked at the two people smiling and talking. She felt both anger and hatred in her heart. Without mentioning that she did not do well in this time’s competition and even affected the image of the Deity Temple, furthermore, this time the Lord Divine Messenger from the Deity Temple had not even looked at her directly in the eye from the beginning to the end and had not even said a single word to her. This made her feel uncomfortable. Now that the Lord Divine Messenger was talking and laughing so happily with Ling Chuxi, this naturally made her jealous and hateful.
Many people pricked up their ears to hear Huangfu Qingjue and Ling Chuxi’s conversation, but they did not hear anything about Huangfu Qingjue inviting Ling Chuxi to join the Deity Temple. The royal powers naturally also felt relieved.
After the banquet ended, Ling Chuxi was preparing to return to the residence, but Baili Han followed after her.
“What’s up? Can’t find the way back home?” Ling Chuxi looked at Baili Han oddly as she asked this directionally challenge idiot.
“N, No. I want to see Xinyu.” Baili Han’s face turned a little red as he said shyly.
‘Already calling her Xinyu, and you’re still acting so shy…’ Ling Chuxi complained to herself in her heart.
“Let’s go. Get into the carriage.” Ling Chuxi smiled. She had attended tonight’s banquet alone. Ling Yichen did not enter the top three and originally did not have the qualifications to participate in the banquet. However, he had already experienced the heavenly lightning striking the body and this was known by the emperor. Thus, he was invited to the banquet, but Fu Chengyu rejected it. Fu Chengyu naturally also did not participate in such a banquet.
After returning to the residence, Ling Chuxi brought Baili Han over to Lan Xinyu and after throwing Baili Han to her, she turned around and went to look for Ling Yichen.
Chapter 304: Young Master Gao’s Difficulty
“How was tonight’s banquet?” Ling Yichen asked with a smile.
“Annoying. The gambling house was actually run by the first prince. He had come to act chummy today. But, he really knows how to talk.” Ling Chuxi sat down, drank a mouthful of hot tea as she said with an unexpected expression.
“He sought you out?” Fu Chengyu who was by the side listening to Ling Chuxi frowned and immediately sneered as he said. “That’s right too, a person such as he would naturally use any possible opportunity.”
“The gambling house is run by him? Previously he had sent people to assassinate you and now he’s trying to act chummy?” Ling Yichen’s expression froze over.
“He pushed the responsibility away very cleanly. He said that it was something his subordinates had done behind his back and even said that he would give me an explanation. I am too lazy to be bothered.” Ling Chuxi snorted and said with disregard.
“The gambling house is indeed run by him.” Fu Chengyu’s tone was also icy. The owner behind the gambling house was the first prince. Naturally, Fu Chengyu knew this. As for the matter regarding the assassination of Ling Chuxi, perhaps the first prince did not take note of it in the beginning. Having to pay up a large sum of money, the people of the gambling house naturally felt anxious and it was not odd to use such methods. It was just that it’s likely that the first prince was now regretful of having taken action against Ling Chuxi. Few people know that the boss behind the number one gambling house in the capital was actually the first prince. Now that the first prince had actually exposed himself in front of Ling Chuxi, this showed his determination to win over Ling Chuxi.
“Don’t interact too much with the first prince.” Fu Chengyu said seriously with an unprecedented solemnness to his tone.
“Yeah, I know.” Ling Chuxi nodded. There were many princes in the Nan Xia country. The emperor relied on his youth and strength, but he never established a crown prince. In other words, every prince had the opportunity to become the crown prince and inherit the throne in the future. So except for Fu Chengyu, all the princes were cultivating their power in private. Ling Chuxi had no interest in getting involved in this maelstrom.
Ling Chuxi didn’t want to be involved in this maelstrom, but some people didn’t want to let her go just like that.
Early the next morning, when Ling Chuxi and Ling Yichen went out to have breakfast, they were blocked on the street. A carriage stopped in front of them. “Miss Ling!” a young man got off the carriage agilely as he smiled at Ling Chuxi and nodded. This person was the young master of the Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce, Gao Wentian.
“Young Master Gao.” Ling Chuxi saw that he was a familiar person so she smiled and greeted him. She did not have much positive feelings toward Gao Wentian, but she did not have any ill feelings either. No matter what, the Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce had given her quite a bit of convenience. Although it was out of the businessman’s nature to seek profit, Gao Wentian’s behavior when dealing with people and matters was pretty good.
“Miss Ling, this time I had specially come to seek you out. Thank you for your reminder, which allowed me to earn quite a bit.” Gao Wentian smiled as he spoke, but there was a hint of helplessness in his smile.
“You are welcome. If you would like to thank me, just give me half of the money you won.” Ling Chuxi said without being polite.
Gao Wentian felt cold sweat dripping down the back of his head. Ling Chuxi was truly not being courteous.
“However, Miss Ling, you have also caused me a big trouble.” Gao Wentian sighed as he said with a bitter smile. “You have to help me this time.” How would Gao Wentian have known that the owner behind the largest gambling house was the first prince! He had won a large sum of money this time round, but he also needed to pay a price for it.
“Huh?” Ling Chuxi was a little perplexed.
“There is a friend that wishes to meet you, and asked me to introduce you to him.” Gao Wentian had a helpless expression on his face. He had indeed won quite a bit of money, but it was really not easily won. Now, trouble had come knocking. If he was not able to invite Ling Chuxi over today, he would be in big trouble.
Chapter 305: Miss Chuxi, We Meet Again
“Oh? Who is it?” Ling Chuxi asked.
“This, I can’t tell you temporarily. Wait till Miss Ling meets the person, you’ll naturally know.” Gao Wentian said apologetically.
“This friend is extremely important to my Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce. Miss Ling, please help no matter what. If there is anything you need of me in the future, I will definitely do my best to assist.” Fearful of Ling Chuxi’s rejection, Gao Wentian immediately added on.
“Alright then.” Ling Chuxi thought about it and nodded. The Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce had also helped her out quite a bit. It was only right to give Gao Wentian some face. Furthermore, who knows if she would need Gao Wentian’s help in the future?
“Chuxi, I’ll go with you.” Ling Yichen said. Gao Wentian did not say who she was to meet, but he kept feeling that this matter was not so simple and therefore was not too assured.
Hearing Ling Yichen’s words, a look of struggle could be seen on Gao Wentian’s face.
“No need. I can go alone.” Ling Chuxi gave Ling Yichen a look that said ‘don’t worry’. With her current cultivation, it was not so easy to hurt her. Furthermore, she believed that Gao Wentian was a smart man, and would definitely not do anything stupid.
“Alright then. Be a little more careful.” Ling Yichen nodded.
“Miss Ling, please get in.” Gao Wentian said happily.
The carriage started its journey and Ling Chuxi made a guess whilst sitting in the carriage. With the display of her cultivation in this time’s fighting competition, there would definitely be people trying to win her over. This was not odd, however, she did not expect it to happen so quickly. And seeing how Gao Wentian was acting, this person’s identity was definitely out of the ordinary. One needed to know that the Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce was ranked first or second in the entire Nan Xia country’s chambers of commerce. What kind of identity would be needed to actually be able to move the young master of the Gao Clan’s Chamber of Commerce?
Shortly after, the carriage arrived at its destination. Ling Chuxi’s question also found its answer.
“Miss Chuxi, we meet again.” In a guest room which was decorated exquisitely and elegantly, a young man dressed casually said to Ling Chuxi with a smile.
‘The first prince!’ The corner of Ling Chuxi’s lips twitched. This person was really an evil spirit that could not disperse. Now, she could connect all that Gao Wentian had said. Gao Wentian had won a large sum of money from the gambling house, but the money he won was the first prince’s money and naturally also got into trouble. It was definitely the first prince who had personally shown himself and got Gao Wentian to be the person to pull the strings and try to win her over. Recalling Gao Wentian’s bitter smile, Ling Chuxi pouted. So it turns out to be like this. Gao Wentian indeed could not afford to offend the first prince.
“Meeting His Highness the First Prince.” Ling Chuxi bowed slightly. There was a faint smile on her face and she acted naturally too.
“Your Highness, First Prince, not sure what is the matter for seeking me out this time?” Ling Chuxi asked knowing full well the reason for his meeting.
“Miss Chuxi had obtained the first place in this time’s competition. It indeed leaves one sighing in admiration. I am here this time to make a friend. Besides, I have a gift I would like to give to Miss Chuxi.” The first prince said very intimately.
The first prince took out a wooden box after speaking. Before he opened it, a faint herb fragrance whiffed out. The first prince opened the wooden box and inside it was an old ginseng that looked as white as jade. Its entire body was crystal clear like ice carved jade, but inside it were bright red lines, like blood vessels distributed inside the mountain ginseng.
“Jade Blood Ginseng!” even Ling Chuxi secretly felt shocked. Hearsay, this was a kind of mountain ginseng that needed a thousand years to take shape and then another thousand years to form the shape of a jade and then another thousand years to grow those blood vessels. One could imagine how precious it was. It seems like that first prince had truly spent a large amount of capital in hopes of winning her over.