Although Rong Jialuo was good at martial arts, he was not supposed to be more expert than Long Siye was. Besides, that person was invisible when he was standing there, but he could not mask his strong aura which had the tendency to suffocate people. Apparently, he was someone with great character and good at martial arts. Perhaps, his martial arts were much better than Long Siye's...
"Xiao Cang (nickname of the Firmament Stone), who else has better Kung Fu than Long Siye does?"
"The Lord!" The Firmament Stone answered without hesitation.
Gu Xijiu remained silent.
Was that true?! The legendary martial arts expert was watching her!? Impossible!
She just came into this world not long ago, how could she capture the attention of such a great person? Not to mention offending him, no less!
She remembered every single person she offended and none of them could compare to the title of The Lord.
Besides, if she really has offended such a powerful person, he should seek revenge openly!
After all, he was The Lord, he should be fair to live up to his great title...
"Anyone else?" Anyone who is as powerful as him or just slightly lousy?"
"Overlord of Jiuxing Clan a.k.a Qian Yueran, Overlord of Yinyang Clan a.k.a Gu Gu, Master Zuo a.k.a Di Fuyi, and Master You a.k.a Tian Jiyue." The Firmament Stone listed four people in a row.
Other than Tian Jiyue, Gu Xijiu had not heard about the other three people; she should not have offended them.
She stopped for a second and asked, "Is there anyone in the royal family as good as they are?"
"I havent heard about this. However, its possible. After all, there are many hidden experts in the world. I heard that there was a legendary genius in the palace many years ago but he had gone missing for many years."
While Gu Xijiu was leaning on the tree trunk and thinking about the information she had, the bird rushed back to her and took away the hair at her fingertips, before flying away.
It seems like the bird had felt embarrassed as it did not notice the hair earlier and took the initiative to track the person down.
Gu Xijiu quickly told the trainer to follow the bird.
"Yes!" The bird trainer was good at Qing Gong and tried to catch up from behind.
Gu Xijiu followed suit.
The Firmament Stone was not satisfied and said, "Master, you don't have to do it by yourself as the bird would come back to report once it obtains the information. You can't teleport now and your Qing Gong"
Gu Xijiu only said two words to it, "Shut up!"
...
Gu Xijiu chased after the bird with her Qing Gong. Right after she disappeared from the Generals residence, two men appeared at the corner.
Both of them should know the camouflage technique as their clothes were similar to the color of the wall. They looked towards the direction where Gu Xijiu disappeared and then quickly followed her.
The bird stopped by the moat and kept chirping at the bird trainer.
"What is it talking about?" Gu Xijiu finally arrived and asked.
"It told me the aura had stopped right here and disappeared."
Gu Xijiu knew that person was good at escaping from pursuits, and he knew the water could help vanish his aura.
There were numerous stones on the shores. Gu Xijiu did not manage to find anything until she saw something shocking!
The place looked similar to where she threw her suit and equipment!
She bumped into the mysterious person who wanted to take revenge. Although he had never revealed his face, he found everything she threw into the river and gave it to the soldiers...
She was wondering whether the person would tell her the truth by luring her here.
Was it possible that the mysterious person was living in the moat?
Gu Xijiu considered the possibility that the mysterious person was a spirit in the water!
"Master, what should we do now?" The Firmament Stone asked her.
"What else? Go home and sleep!" Gu Xijiu answered and then walked towards the direction of her home.
"What? Thats it? Youre not going to investigate anymore?" The Firmament Stone kept pushing Gu Xijiu to reconsider.
Gu Xijiu did not answer, but she seemed to have a plan.
She had limited information about the mysterious person, but at least she had got some new information.
For example, the mysterious person was the one who peeped at her from the tree. Also, his martial arts were as good as Long Siye or even better. Besides that, the individual carried the same fragrance which the royal family possessed and it smelt special! She had only previously detected it from Rong Jialuo and the princess.
It was now much easier for her to find this mysterious person. She need only talk to Rong Jialuo or Rong Che, and the truth should unfold itself. Once she had figured out the identity of this person, she could design and strategize a plan to put an end to him.
On the way back to the town, the Firmament Stone reminded her, "Master, someone is following you!"
"I know." Gu Xijiu replied and continued, "I am doing this on purpose."
"Huh? Why?"
"They should be the experts from the Department of Central Intelligence. I guess Rong Yan must have accused me and these people are here to find out whether I know any martial arts."
"I see!" The Firmament Stone understood and was impressed. Its master had outstanding IQ! Since it found a good owner, its life would be easier in the future.
Gu Xijiu was right, the two men who were following her were indeed the investigators from the Department of Central Intelligence. They were patiently following her until she returned to the Generals residence.
They looked at each other and then one of them began to write down rapidly, "Gu Xijiu, Qing Gong level three, zero spirit power."
Another person asked, "Chief, do we need to go in and check?"
The one who was recording shook his head and said, "Not necessary, these are sufficient."
Based on her current martial arts ability, they believed that she could not even travel in and out of the Generals residence secretly, what more of killing Count Le Hua. Therefore, there was no point to waste time on her.
...
The Sun blazed brightly right above Gu Xijiu's head. She was sitting in her sedan chair, and it was scorching hot. She had received a message from the emperor when she returned home. She was asked to drop by the palace for a brief critical discussion.
The officer who brought the decree urged her to get ready quickly, so she did not even have time to take a sip of water before she was sent to the palace. Although she had interacted with a few princes before, that was her first time visiting the palace.
The red walls, the high-ceiling basilica, the long corridor, and hundreds of doors....
The layout was quite similar to the Forbidden City. The main difference was that the roof of the Forbidden City was made from glass tiles while the roof of the current palace was covered by the blue tiles made from hawksbill.
"Watch out, Master! I can sense dang...!" The Firmament Stone on her wrist reminded her.
Before it finished talking, a strong wind blew, and a few beams of light shone directly on the sedan chair!
Gu Xijiu slid down the backrest, and the beam of light penetrated the door and shone toward her direction. The entire roof of the sedan chair seemed to be thrown up into the air.
Everything happened too quickly that only the bearers reacted to the incident, "Assassin! Protect the lady!" All the royal bearers were familiar with martial arts, and although they were panicked, they still managed to carry the sedan chair and run.
It was chaotic outside, and it seemed like the assassin did not want to stop his pursuit. He even attacked Gu Xijiu with hidden weapons. Luckily, the bearers were quite skilled in martial arts and were able to avoid the hidden weapons. However, the bearers could not follow their planned emergency routine anymore due to the fierce attack.
They were initially moving towards the royal study room, but they now went into a dead end street. "I can't believe there are assassins in the palace!" The Firmament Stone was surprised!
Gu Xijiu held the handles of the chair tightly. She looked a bit panicked and shocked, but she replied calmly, "Another test!" The Firmament Stone remained silent.
"What now?" The bearers asked.
"Just go with the flow." Gu Xijiu replied.
An assassin dived down from the wall and pointed his sword at the sedan chair. The sword was glowing and had a blue tone to it. Gu Xijiu suspected that poison was placed on the blade of the sword and the unlucky person to get attacked by it would die immediately. Everyone was shocked.
After some commotion, the sword eventually scraped her arm, and her sleeve was torn. She was injured, and the blood that oozed out from her wound was blue! She was poisoned! The sword of the assassin who struck her was stuck under the sedan chair, and Gu Xijiu quickly took out her short knife to try to stab assassin's heart. However, the assassin managed to avoid her attack and finally retrieved the sword out from the sedan chair.
He pointed to Gu Xijiu again and continued to attack. The sedan chair was too small for her to escape, so she decided to get off from the chair. At this point, more than 10 assassins were attacking her. However, there were only four bearers, and two of them were already dead. The remaining two were struggling to survive, and they knew they could not save Gu Xijiu.
As one of the bearers noticed her leap out of the sedan chair, he immediately shouted, "Miss Gu, run leftwards! There are royal army members there to help you."
Gu Xijiu quickly ran in the said direction, and the assassins were chasing after her. The two bearers blocked them, but one of the assassins managed to escape! It was chaotic with the sound of weapons clashing against each other followed by loud noises and screams. A few people were standing somewhere on top of the basilica watching the fight scene unfold.
A few pairs of eyes were watching Gu Xijiu and carefully observed every single movement of hers. One of them shook his head and said, "Given that she was in such a critical moment, her martial arts is pretty lousy. Based on her movements, her spirit power would be only around level two, and Count Le Hua was way better than that!"
Another person said, "You're right, it's impossible for her to kill Count Le Hua. She is not the murderer! Your Majesty, I feel she is innocent." The third person gave a verdict.
A man wearing a yellow robe was surrounded by the three people, and that was the Emperor. He nodded and said, "I don't think she is the murderer either.
His Majesty nodded and said, "I dont think shes the murderer either."
He turned around and asked the Chief General of the royal army, "Are your people reliable? Make sure that Miss Gu is unhurt."
The Chief General bent down and said, "Your Majesty, they are all reliable people. They wont hurt her even though they look deadly. Custodian Li had only gently sliced her skin earlier. The drug is not poisonous and is an exorcism drug."
The Emperor turned around and asked a man in a blue robe, "Custodian Huo, is the drug only harmful toward people who had been invaded by spirits?"
Custodian Huo bent his body slightly and said, "Dont worry, Your Majesty. The drug wont hurt her if she is just an ordinary lady."
Mr. Huo was the custodian of the Jiuxing clan as well as the celestial uncle of Gu Tianchao. He had excellent spirit power, and he was expert in exorcism. Due to this, he was well known in the Starry Crescent Land.
When Gu Tianchao's mentor received the news from him, he found it very dangerous and informed Custodian Huo that he suspected Gu Xijiu was possessed by a particular evil spirit... Custodian Huo hated evil spirits, and he never let any devils he encountered escape freely. Hence, he wanted to find out for himself.
The exorcism drug was one of his talismans, and if someone got possessed by an evil spirit, their body would harden like a mummy and eventually they would be paralyzed.
The Emperor was watching Gu Xijiu who was running around to escape. Although she did not have any spiritual power, she was agile! His Majesty exhaled a sigh of relief and said, "Now we can see that she is just herself and not an evil spirit, right?"
Custodian Huo looked at Gu Xijiu and said, "Its a severe thing, please be patient, Your Majesty. Lets see how she reacts in the Jiuxing matrix later."
...
The end of the alley was a basilica with its door ajar. Gu Xijiu was in a hurry and entered the basilica as she did not have any other option. The layout in the basilica looked strange as there were many layers of yellow cloths with weird patterns on them. It seemed like a Sanskrit script. There was also a censer placed on a big piece of green jade at the center of the basilica.
Suddenly, loud noises were heard from the outside. The royal army had arrived. They were shouting and fighting with the assassins.
No one had followed her since she entered the basilica.
She quickly headed into the layers of yellow cloths and landed on the green jade floor. But before she could even stabilize herself, the floor was tremoring, and there were nine pillars rising from the ground.
Gu Xijiu seemed to have been frightened and looked to her left and right curiously. She did not appear to do much after the pillars rose from the ground, but she did them. She pretended to be curious, but she was laughing sarcastically in her heart.
She had seen such matrix before which was usually used for exorcism.
It was at this point that she realized that the Emperor had suspected her of being a murderer and tried to test her.
This method was handy for exorcism, but she was not a demon. She was someone with superpowers. Also, the grievance of the real Gu Xijiu had gone and she now fully owned the body. She would be safe even if she enters the matrix.
"Master, luckily you have gotten revenge for the owner. If she were still grieving, you'd be trapped in the Jiuxing matrix and lose your life here! These human beings are so fake. They treated you nicely in front but are also trying to trick you from behind." The Firmament Stone sighed.
"True! It was upsetting!" Gu Xijiu smiled sarcastically. She looked at the pillars again, "These pillars look quite valuable, they must feel sad if it is damaged."
"Haha! Their whole body will feel pain if it's damaged. The production of black jade is scarce that even those the size of a fist would cost a few million, not to mention this big pillar! And there are nine of them! Only the Jiuxing clan could afford to own it!"
Gu Xijiu sighed, "I want to destroy it. Unfortunately, I dont have enough strength!"
Black Jade is robust and compact, it would not have been an issue if she was a mature woman, but her current body size was so petite...
"I can." The Firmament Stone said arrogantly.
Gu Xijiu was delighted and smiled, "What are you waiting for?" She grinned evilly.
The Firmament Stone sensed her emotion and got excited, "I'm just worried they would hurt you if I destroy it. How about this? I'll add something to preserve it first so that it would only break the next time they try to set up the matrix."
Gu Xijiu tapped on its body with her finger and replied, "Youre such an evil stone! Great! Go ahead!"
That was probably the first time the Firmament Stone had done something terrible. It was excited and kept urging Gu Xijiu to follow what it said.
Gu Xijiu quickly walked around the matrix so that the Firmament Stone could have close contact with all the pillars.
"Done!" The Firmament Stone was delighted.
"You're an amazing baby!" Gu Xijiu smiled.
"Excuse me! Im a Firmament Stone, not a baby! Dont annoy me." The Firmament Stone felt disgusted.
"Alright my dear teacher." Gu Xijiu was in a good mood and patted the Firmament Stone.
The Firmament Stone was speechless.
The bracelet replied, "Youre such a pervert!"
Gu Xijiu frowned and said, "You're great! So what's wrong with me addressing you as a teacher?
What does this have to do with a pervert?"
The Firmament Stone was speechless and felt annoyed.
The Firmament Stone remained silent for a short while and said, "You can call me little Cang, but not a teacher!"
Gu Xijiu wanted to burst out in laughter! She then thought, "What exactly is the identity and nature of this Firmament Stone? It knew many things about this world, and it seemed to even know about the world she came from."
Prior to this, Gu Xijiu was quite lonely in this current world. Luckily she had the Firmament Stone which could at least talk to her. Gu Xijiu could not care less about precious stones, bracelets, and the like, but now she seemed to be quite close and attached to the Firmament Stone.
The Firmament Stone could not read her mind, but it could sense her emotion. It suddenly popped up with this phrase, "Dont be captivated by me, Im just a legend."
Gu Xijiu laughed again.
Just when she laughed, she heard many quick footsteps drawing near, and someone shouted, "Arrival of His Majesty!"
The door of the basilica was opened, and the Emperor entered the basilica with the company of a group of people. The Emperor was amazed when he saw Gu Xijiu perfectly fine, "Xijiu, are you alright?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Im fine." Gu Xijiu got up and said, "Im surprised that there are assassins hidden in the palace, this is beyond my expectation."
The Emperor was stunned. Although she was tiny and short, she was not cowardly or weak. Her eyes were bright and firm as though she has noticed everything around her. The Emperor shivered as he looked at her and felt guilty. He coughed and said, "Im surprised, too. Ill get my people to investigate and find out the truth!"
Gu Xijiu smiled, and her eyes were wandering around all those people who just came in. She said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my random opinion but the custodians in the palace are not doing their work properly! Fortunately, those assassins were attacking me instead of Your Majesty. Otherwise, the result would have been worse. The royal army failed to conduct their work well, dont they deserve some punishment? What do you think, Your Majesty?"
She had a point with sufficient reason, and there was no way the Emperor could refute. He then said, "Youre right! They deserve a punishment!"
"How are you going to punish them, Your Majesty?"
"Umm"
"I've studied the national constitution and am aware that it is considered as a misconduct of the royal army when assassins are found in the palace. They should be punished with a wooden bar or caning depends on the level of seriousness. If they cause a severe consequence, they should be beheaded as a warning to the other custodians. Am I right?" Gu Xijiu was good at talking, and her words were lingering in the basilica.
The Emperor said, "This"
The Chief General of the royal army was standing beside the Emperor. He could not stand still anymore. He stepped forward and knelt down on the floor and said, "Indeed, Your Majesty. We didnt perform well, and we are willing to take the punishment."
Although he received orders from his master to execute the attack, he could not get the Emperor into trouble. He could only endure the pain for the consequences of his loyalty. The Emperor had no choice and issued a decree to punish him with 100 strokes of the cane and reward him with an annual salary.
It was not difficult for the Emperor to allocate the money to him as compensation, but 100 canes would be carved on his buttocks.
After the caning, he needed to drag himself back to the basilica to acknowledge the reward from His Majesty. As Gu Xijiu looked at his injuries, she even generously gave him a bottle of cream and said, "Chief Xiao, you have to be more careful next time. Otherwise, His Majesty would take away your brain if there are assassins in the palace again.
The Chief General was depressed and almost vomited blood. However, he still needed to thank her sincerely, "Thanks for the reminder, Miss Gu."
In fact, he was cursing her in his heart, "Who the heck said she is as gentle as a rabbit? She is as smart and cunning as a wolf!"
The Chief General then left the basilica for treatment.
There were a few more ministers besides the Emperor. Gu Xijiu gazed at them and which made them uncomfortable. They were worried that she might get them into trouble. All of them wanted to find an excuse to leave.
Fortunately, Gu Xijiu only took a glance at them and before she shifted her focus to other things. "Your Majesty, why do all the basilicas look so strange? What are these for?"
Now, she finally looked like a 13-year-old kid as she looked naive and curious.
The Emperor felt relieved, but he wondered how a child could be so daring.
Although he knew that she was not possessed by demons, the Emperor still felt confused.
Witnessing the naive and curious side of Gu Xijiu made him slightly relieved. In fact, he was happy. It was difficult to find a talented person, and it was even more challenging to find one that was not possessed by evil spirits.
The Emperor cleared his throat and spoke, "Xijiu, it is a blessing to us that youre fine. Lets go! We are headed to Basilica Baohe. Ive something to talk to you."
To show his concern, the Emperor held her hand and walked.
That was a blessing from the Emperor, and Gu Xijiu did not reject it. However, just as they were leaving, Gu Xijiu tripped and crashed into a pillar. Fortunately, she reacted quite quickly and hugged the pillar! The pillar was shaking and almost fell.
"Watch out!" Custodian Huo quickly rushed forward and supported his precious pillar.
Although it was not that fragile, it was precious! It would be considered a disaster if anything happened to the pillars. Custodian Huo only aimed for the pillar but forgot about the person who knocked it. Gu Xijiu fell into his arms.
Custodian Huo was shocked as he had never been so close to a woman. He was an emotionless person so all the female students in the clan would keep a distance from him whenever they saw him.
That was the first time a female was in his arms. To make things worse, Gu Xijiu's head was cushioned in his chest! At that moment, a hairpin fell off from her hair and poked his chest. Despite only being a hairpin, Custodian Huo felt a stinging pain in his chest and subconsciously tried to push Gu Xijiu away. Fortunately, the Emperor grabbed Custodian Huo's wrist just before he did and said, "Huo, she is just a kid."
He pulled Gu Xijiu close to him and said, "Be careful." The Emperor wanted to avoid any other incidents, so he quickly left with Gu Xijiu. The basilica had finally returned to its peaceful state.
Custodian Huo sighed as it was the time he had to keep the pillars and remove the Jiuxing matrix. His chest was itchy after keeping two of the pillars, and he started to scratch it a little. He ignored the sensation and continued to keep the other pillars, but the itchiness was overwhelming! He was frustrated and accidentally dropped the pillar on the ground!
Upon picking up the pillar, Custodian Huo was shocked to find numerous cracks on it.
...
The Emperor was still holding her hand when he got into the royal chariot. Gu Xijiu was hesitant, but the Emperor told her gently, "Xijiu, dont worry. Youre just like my daughter, come and talk to me."
Gu Xijiu was always on alert, and she did not like people to hold her hand. Even when she was with Long Xi in the modern world, they hardly had any physical contact. Her favorite thing was to watch Long Xi prepare tea, and she enjoyed the tea he made for her.
However, in the current world, her tiny hand was engulfed by the Emperors big hand. Although it felt warm, she felt annoyed. She tried her best to endure and suppress her external abilities so that she would not struggle out from the Emperors hand.
The Emperor was relatively good at martial arts, so the only way for Gu Xijiu to escape was to kick His Majesty out of the royal chariot!
Therefore, she could only follow the Emperor. When the royal chariot was about to depart, someone shouted, "Stop!"
Custodian Huo rushed in front of the royal chariot to block it! Custodian Huo commanded a very high authority in Jiuxing clan. But even the Overlord would need to talk courteously to the Emperor. No one should block the royal chariot or stop the Emperor! What was this mere custodian thinking!?
The Emperor was upset and asked, "Custodian Huo, what are you trying to do? Do you think you can simply stop in front of my royal chariot!?" His voice was as cold as an iceberg.
Custodian Huo was shocked by this remark and came to his senses. He bent his body in respect and said, "Sincere apologies, Your Majesty. Ive been poisoned by Miss Gu! I was panicked and hence, neglected your dignity."
"Poisoned?" The Emperor looked at the face of Custodian Huo. He seemed fine with a healthy skin tone and complexion. There was not the slightest hint on his face that showed that did not look or feel well.
"Did you just say you got poisoned? I cant see any sign of that!"
"Your Majesty, the symptoms are invisible. But the spot where I got poisoned is very itchy"
"Where is it?" The Emperor started to check him from his head to his legs, but he could not see anything abnormal.
Custodian Huo was frustrated and said, "My chest!"
The Emperor looked at the royal physician and said, "Have a look at Custodian Huo."
Custodian Huo was an arrogant and conservative man, he hardly fell sick or injured and did not like others to help him. Usually, he would handle his injuries by himself. Hence, no one had seen his body before. But now, he was forced to expose his body in front of this beardy physician. He wanted to reject, but he had no choice as the Emperor did not believe in him.
To avoid a few pairs of eyes from watching him, he turned around and opened his robe to allow the royal physician to inspect his body. The royal physician looked at the wound and then looked at him again. He checked his pulse and pulled his eyelids.
Custodian Huo was mad and asked, "Have you finished checking!?"
"Yes." The royal physician answered emotionlessly and went back to report to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, there is a scar as big as a nail on his chest. It looks red but is not bleeding. I did not see any sign of purplish wounds or any symptoms of poisoning. His pulse is as normal as a healthy person, and his eyes are normal"
In other words, he was not being poisoned!
The Emperor stared at Custodian Huo and felt annoyed!
He said Gu Xijiu was possessed by an evil spirit and that it would be harmful to the entire kingdom if the Emperor refused to investigate. The Emperor gave him the green light as he thought it was really serious. The Emperor also respected him as the custodian of the Jiuxing clan.
However, it now looked as though Gu Xijiu was an ordinary girl who had not been possessed by an evil spirit! That made His Majesty look bad in front of a little girl. Although Gu Xijiu did not say anything about that, the Emperor could sense that the little girl was unhappy with him and became more cautious.
This wa all thanks to Custodian Huo.
The Emperor asked emotionlessly, "Custodian Huo, anything else you want to say?"
Custodian Huo was nervous, "Your Majesty, I got poisoned! I feel very itchy at my chest, and I accidentally dropped the pillar. Its cracked now!" He then went straight to the point, "Your Majesty, Miss Gu accidentally toppled the jade pillar, and I rushed to support it. She then fell into my arms, and her hairpin poked my chest. Her hairpin must be poisonous! Your Majesty, please check her hairpin!"
He looked serious and the Emperor seemed to believe in him. He asked Gu Xijiu, "Xijiu, is your hairpin poisonous?"
Gu Xijiu took a glance at Custodian Huo and seemed to have recalled something, "Your Majesty, I have difficulties in protecting myself. Hence, I put some medicine on my hairpin to make people feel itchy. However, its just medicine but not poison. He will be back to normal after a while."
Custodian Huo was mad and asked, "What are you talking about!? Ive been feeling the itchiness for a long time! Youre lying!"
Gu Xijiu frowned and asked, "How many days has it been since you have bathed?"
Custodian Huo was speechless and then asked, "Why are you asking about this?" What does it have to do with him not showering for a few days?
Gu Xijiu frowned again and said, "I think you havent bathed for half a month, am I right?"
Custodian Huo was mad, "Wh...What!?"
Gu Xijiu answered calmly, "The medicine on my hairpin wouldnt work on ordinary people and the itchiness doesnt last long. However, if someone hasnt bathed for more than two weeks they would feel the itchiness for a longer time."
Custodian Huo was furious and speechless.
Everyone around the royal chariot was looking at Custodian Huo with a strange expression.
The citizens of Feixing Kingdom prioritize cleanliness, to the point that even ordinary citizens would bathe at least once every two days.
For the royal family, they would at least bathe once a day, and some bathed more frequently than that. It was rare to find someone who did not bathe for two weeks! It was unbelievable to know that the custodian of the Jiuxing clan was so dirty.
Initially, everyone looked up to him, but now their idol had collapsed!
Indeed, Custodian Huo did not like to bathe but he was fussy with his attire. Therefore, he still looked neat and no one noticed his bad habit. However, he felt the insult when Gu Xijiu exposed his wound in front of everyone. His face was as red as a tomato.
He wanted to throw his tantrum but there was no reason for him to do so because Gu Xijiu did not poke him intentionally. He knew there was nothing he could do now and quickly said, "It seems like a misunderstanding, I'd better make a move first." He then rushed out of their vision.
It was too embarrassing for him to stay and he could only continue to bear with the itchiness. It was not too late to get revenge. The Emperor laughed as he saw Custodian Huo disappear. "Xijiu, I cant believe you have such a special medicine! Interesting!"
Gu Xijiu smiled and said, "Its for self-protection only."
"Do you have a name for this?"
"Anti-pervert gel."
"Hahahaha! Anti-pervert gel! Excellent! Xijiu, youre such a genius!" The Emperor looked happy and said, "Lets go! Off to Basilica Baohe! Ill prepare a party for your celebration!"
...
Basilica Baohe was the place for the scholars to sit for their examinations as well as the venue to serve all the ministers.
More than 10 ministers waiting in the basilica and everyone was shocked when they saw the Emperor arrive with Gu Xijiu. He was holding her hand!
The Emperor was someone with the highest authority, and nobody had seen him hold anyone's hand before.
Not even his daughters!
The Emperor held her hand and walked up to his throne. Initially, there was only one throne on the platform which represented the royalty of the Emperor. However, the Emperor got someone to add another table on the platform just below his throne, "Xijiu, you sit there."
Such grace was terrifying. Gu Xijiu felt insecure and uncomfortable. She bent her body and said, "Im so grateful to have the blessing from Your Majesty. However, Im just a normal girl. Its not suitable for me to sit here. I shall go back to where I am supposed to sit." She turned around and left.
The Emperor held her back and said, "Xijiu, sooner or later youll be part of the royal family. You arent normal, have a seat."
Part of the royal family?
Gu Xijiu frowned. Did the Emperor still want her to marry Rong Yan? He was such a jerk!
According to the laws of the Feixing Kingdom, if Rong Yan were to be guilty of the death of Count Le Hua, he would be kicked out of the country as an ordinary citizen even if he were not beheaded.
Did the Emperor have another plan? Did he want to use her to help Rong Yan? She smiled but thought to herself, "Was he dreaming!?"
This time, the Emperor had invited many people including Gu Xietian, Rong Jialuo, Rong Che, Rong Chu, and a few other princes.
The servants were bringing all the delicacies over and placed them on the red table in front of them.
The Emperor had given a speech, where he repeatedly complimented Gu Xijius medical knowledge and how happy he was about it. He then suddenly asked, "Xijiu, who is your mentor?"
Gu Xijiu was well prepared for it and answered, "I always read a lot about medicine when I'm free, I learned it by myself."
The Emperor frowned and repeated, "Self-learning?"
Gu Xijiu nodded, "Yes."
"Xijiu, are you lying?" The Emperor banged the table when he asked that question.
Gu Xijiu was calm. She frowned and asked, "Apologies Your Majesty, why would you say that?"
The Emperor said, "Where did you get those books? You know all the medical books from the factions are not allowed to be spread, don't you? The books available in the market are very ordinary, but the things you've listed out when you had a bet with the Tianwen saint are all the essences of medical knowledge which is not available in the market. According to the report, there weren't many books related to medicine in the General's residence. Hence, I was wondering where did you get those books from?"
It made sense for the Emperor to suspect her. Gu Xijiu quickly asked the Firmament Stone, "Why didnt you tell me earlier?" She was embarrassed that she told a lousy lie which she could not back.
The Firmament Stone answered depressingly, "I feel all these things are not so important."
Gu Xijiu was speechless and ignored it.
"Xijiu, stop lying. Please come clean to us." Gu Xietian was worried that his daughter would tell another lie and quickly reminded her.
In their presence were experienced ministers, so it was difficult to fool them. Everyone's eyes were on her for an answer.
Indeed, it was not easy to explain. Gu Xijiu could not tell them that she was from the modern world right? Nobody would believe her!
As she knew they were very cautious and wary about spirit possession and exorcism, they would probably burn her to ashes if her real identity was revealed.
She decided to tell them the favorite excuse people who traveled across space would use. She took a deep breath and said, "I wasn't lying, but I have difficulties telling the truth to avoid disaster from falling on me"
The Emperor frowned and asked, "What do you mean? Are you telling me that you've got this talent from the gods?"
Smart! The Emperor knew her well! It did not seem like a new thing in this world. Therefore, she could continue her lies! Gu Xijiu nodded, "Yes."
Everyone was speechless when they heard what she said.