“Commander Geng, what nonsense are you spouting?”
“Hurry and stand down! Offending His Highness is a capital offense!”
Nini and Lu’er’s faces turned pale, not understanding a single word.
Yun Liu’s face shifted from green to white.
Sensing something, his sharp gaze bore straight into Jing Tan’er—but her expression was even grimmer, overflowing with anger beyond even his own.
“Who dares to touch me! Me? An impostor? Geng Zhi, if you have the guts, say it again!”
Jing Tan’er lifted her chin, walked to the front of the Imperial Guard commander, called him by name, and stared directly into the Golden Core Physique Cultivator’s eyes.
Her boots stomped heavily, exuding an air of authority.
“Wait!”
Commander Geng scratched the back of his head and sucked in a cold breath.
He was Geng Zhi in both name and character—honest to a fault.
The young woman’s arrogance and wild words matched the little princess whose messes he’d been cleaning up for more than ten years.
Yet seeing her now, accompanied by the East Extreme Pavilion Master and two daughters of Fengchen Nobility, uncertainty crept into his heart.
This was too damn hard on him!
“His Highness and the Divine Radiance Sect’s Qin Fairy returned to the Temporary Palace earlier, with the Zhusheng Order and Shenhua Token. So where did you all come from?”
“What!?”
Jing Tan’er glanced back at Yun Liu, her shock entirely genuine.
Xiao Xinran and the other two were equally dumbfounded.
Did this mean there was a Jing Tan’er brought back by Qin Senior Sister’s group too?
This was like a sparrow pecking a bull’s rump!
Yun Liu felt dizzy, that sense of unease now fully realized.
He spread his divine sense, but his wariness was aimed not at Geng Zhi, but at Jing Tan’er.
What on earth was going on?
“Commander Geng, please take me to see them!”
Yun Liu flashed his Mountain Sea crest, quietly summoning the Shadowy Wraith.
No matter real or fake, he had to keep his eyes on ‘Jing Tan’er’.
“The Imperial Guard obeys!”
Geng Zhi looked at the pale-faced youth in white, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and immediately ordered the escort of the group into the palace.
He maintained utmost vigilance, not daring to relax for a moment.
Real or fake, if he couldn’t distinguish between sect mates who lived together day and night, how could he judge anyone else?
At this point, a direct confrontation was the only option.
Mistaking the true princess was also a grave crime.
Jing Tan’er strode forward, fearless, determined to expose the imposter before all.
***
Before the Zhu Hong Court’s Falling Feather Palace.
Within the Qiongyu Garden of the Prince’s Palace, the Golden Crow Lanterns of the Royal Court burned brightly.
Geng Zhi marched straight in along the white brick path, summoning more Imperial Guards to surround the inner and outer courtyards, not letting even a fly escape.
If an assassin with ill intent infiltrated the Royal Court and harmed His Majesty, he couldn’t bear such responsibility.
From a distance, they saw a woman in green standing in the garden.
Qin Xing was admiring the rare plants of the Royal Court and looked up as a group approached with imposing momentum.
“Yun… eh?”
Upon seeing Yun Liu, Qin Cha broke into a smile, her pretty face turning from worry to joy—but she too sensed something was off.
Tan’er—shouldn’t she be inside the room?
“What’s going on?”
Yun Liu pulled Qin Cha aside, shaking his head, signaling her to watch and see.
Jing Tan’er stood in the courtyard, impatiently waving her hand.
“Geng Zhi, drag that imposter out for me!”
She ordered.
Commander Geng gave a bitter smile and scratched his head, still alert, cautiously asking to see the ‘Princess’.
“Is such a thing possible?”
Xiao Xinran and the others explained briefly to Qin Xing, both sides equally shocked.
Neither side had noticed anything amiss along the way, nor any strange behavior from their respective Tan’er.
If Qin Cha’s group had the imposter, she’d paid little attention to Mingya Court’s movements while fighting Elder Min Hen.
After rescuing Ji Shiyu and Jing Tan’er, she’d hurried back without separating again.
On Yun Liu’s side, they’d run into each other by chance at the Golden Crow crash site, with Nini and Lu’er at his side.
The maids who’d served His Highness for so long hadn’t noticed anything wrong either.
Thinking carefully, both sides had opportunities for imposters to slip in…
If this was true, then the imposter’s strength was unimaginable—even Yun Liu’s divine sense and Qin Xing’s cultivation couldn’t see through the disguise.
Their impersonation was flawless.
And that person had been on the Golden Crow the entire time!
“Where’s Ao Tian?”
“Ao Tian?”
Qin Yao blinked in confusion.
“What about Ji Shiyu?”
Yun Liu rubbed his temples and changed the question.
At that moment, all he wanted to do was smack the Yellow Chicken’s bird head.
It was all its fault for making a mess and giving the Demon Sect’s double the chance to act, sowing confusion.
“Oh, she couldn’t sit still and went out to walk the crow. I thought her strength wasn’t weak, so she shouldn’t run into any big trouble in Yudu.”
Yun Liu nodded, helpless.
Even after thinking for so long, he couldn’t recall any dangerous shapeshifter like this in the villain camp.
Shiyu was already the top repeater of the Ephemeral Realm, adept at turning enemies’ skills against them.
If even the Nine Heavens Phoenix Spirit couldn’t tell, then just who was the Demon Sect Fiend disguised as the princess?
Soon after, everyone saw another Jing Tan’er run out from the palace, leaving them all dumbfounded.
The little princess was dressed in pink palace robes, her makeup bright and exquisite, her face full of joy at finally stepping outside.
There was a trace of grievance at not having seen the Prince Consort in so long.
She was about to scold Yun Liu for being slow.
Then Jing Tan’er saw another Jing Tan’er standing in the courtyard.
She was struck dumb.
Geng Zhi stood there, dazed.
He’d only reported the arrival of distinguished guests and had no idea how to explain this bizarre matter.
He finally said, “Your Highness, it’s best you see for yourself.”
The two faced each other, scanning the other up and down, both expressions equally incredulous.
“Who are you?”
“Who are you?”
“I’m asking you!”
“I’m asking you!”
Jing Tan’er grabbed her skirt and shouted,
“Don’t copy me!”
“Don’t copy me!”
The other Jing Tan’er didn’t back down, just as angry—like looking into a mirror, their only difference being their attire.
“………..”
Qin Cha and Xiao Xinran looked left and right.
Their heads were spinning.
The two maids were even more incredulous.
The Highness’s habit of pointing with her hip, the angle of her raised eyebrows, even the trembling in her voice—they were identical.
Yun Liu’s face was covered in dark lines as he checked one detail after another.
He couldn’t find a single decisive difference.
The Zhu Hong Order was on the palace-robed Tan’er.
The sword and maids were at the side of the plain-clothed Tan’er.
Aside from that, the two’s spiritual aura, Jade Palace, and cultivation were identical.
“This…this…”
“What are you all standing around for! Don’t you know you’ve let a wolf in the door? Hurry and seize that imposter!”
“What are you all standing around for! Don’t you know you’ve let a wolf in the door? Hurry and seize that imposter!”
The two princesses pointed at each other, hands on their hips, shouting in unison.
“Your Highness, I, you, how am I supposed to…Mr. Yun?”
Geng Zhi’s jaw nearly fell off.
He’d fought in countless battles but had never seen such a scene.
For a moment, he didn’t know whom to obey.
Let alone the other guards.
“Youyou?”
Yun Liu’s voice was strained, seeking outside help.
The Shadowy Wraith answered awkwardly.
“I…I can’t tell. It’s so weird, Boss—their spiritual auras are synchronized. It’s like my own shadow…like they’re both real?”
Impossible!
There must be a fake.
Madam Jing Rui had really given them a headache.
Yun Liu pressed his forehead and stepped forward to check, touching the left Tan’er’s small hand, then pinching the right Tan’er’s thigh.
At this moment, no one cared that the youth was offending the princess under so many eyes.
They just hoped someone could resolve the confusion.