Early morning, Court of Blossoms.
The palace hall was filled with a breakfast carefully prepared by the Imperial Chefs, the Imperial Meal exquisite and delicious.
Yet the atmosphere at the dining table was strange, and the expressions of the Divine Glory visitors were varied.
Other than Her Highness the Princess, no one moved their chopsticks.
Even Ji Shiyu, who was always gluttonous and protective of food, had lost her appetite, her suspicious gaze wandering between Yunliu and Jing Tan’er.
Teacher seemed no different than usual. If anything, he appeared to support his waist upon entering earlier?
Behind Yunliu, Xiao Xinran stared blankly with her mouth open, as if her soul had left her body—rumor had it she’d been like this since last night.
Little Yun had visited both princesses at night, but no one knew what had happened.
Strange sounds had been heard, and then a soundproofing spell was cast, as if some unspeakable deed was taking place.
No matter how you thought about it, it was not normal!
As the eldest young miss of the Xiao family, she had read many popular stories about the affairs between men and women since childhood, knowing more about such matters than her peers.
Just seeing the princess disheveled after the event, she could already imagine countless 18X scenes.
She had lost all sense—never would she have thought that while the sandpiper and clam struggled, Jing Tan’er the fisherman would reap the benefits!
No way…
Could they have already entered the inner chambers?
“Eat. Why are you spacing out? These are delicacies tributed from the various Ling Heaven Cave Estates. When would you ever have such a chance in the sect?”
“Jing Tan’er” ate elegantly under the service of maids, radiant as if refreshed from the previous night.
Nini and Luer exchanged glances.
Why was one person missing?
“And the other… Her Highness?”
“Who knows? Why not ask our all-powerful Mr. Yun?”
Qincha tugged at the corner of her mouth, her “kind” smile making Yunliu’s hair stand on end.
Where he had gone last night could not escape the eyes of a Jindan sword cultivator.
“Ahem. Last night, I conducted a surprise test on the two princesses. The details are confidential, but I guarantee absolute fairness and openness.”
Ji Shiyu crossed her arms, her eyes wide.
Why hadn’t she ever taken such a test?
Even with such an outstanding apprentice like herself, he was still giving others special treatment—what a fickle teacher.
Yet she had boasted about his loyalty to Liusu.
“Question! What kind of experiment requires taking off clothes?”
“Oh? Something so exciting, and no one told me?”
Qincha raised a willow brow, and Yunliu immediately looked away.
The fake princess, her face red, glanced secretly at Yunliu before lowering her head in embarrassment, only darkening the misunderstanding.
“Hmph. Grown-up matters—you little brats wouldn’t understand! Anyway, you should know the answer by now. Fakes are fakes; a few moves and they’re bedridden, completely defeated!”
Ji Shiyu was still pondering what kind of test had to be performed on a bed and left someone unable to get up, while Qinxing detected the undertone of provocation.
She glanced at Yunliu, and under the table, her hand pinched his waist with two fingers and twisted.
‘Sss.’
Yunliu sucked in a breath, clarifying, “It’s just an acupoint-massaging technique to stimulate the Jade Palace spiritual base with external force. Removing clothing makes it easier to locate the meridians!”
“Really?”
“If I lie, I’m a puppy. If you don’t believe me, come with me to the room and I’ll demonstrate!”
“Ah?”
Qinxing retracted her hand, cheeks burning.
She was not as bold as Her Highness the Princess.
“I-I-I-I-I! Then let me try first!”
Ji Shiyu raised her hand excitedly.
Xiao Xinran shook her head, her soul finally returning to her body.
So that’s all it was.
Why not say so earlier?
As idle talk continued, a tall man strode into the palace, bowing before the princess.
“Greetings to the Princess and the Prince Consort.”
Gengzhi looked straight at Yunliu, his face unsightly as if his spirit had fled.
A faint scent of blood lingered on him.
“Sir, may I have a word in private?”
“Have a word… Commander Geng is interested in the surprise test too? No cutting in line! Go queue behind me!”
Ji Shiyu tilted her head, imagining the scene of teacher massaging the back of a burly, naked body cultivator.
She shivered.
Girls sticking together was pleasing to the eye, but boys—not so much.
Yunliu furrowed his brows and slowly stood, a sense of foreboding rising within him.
“Jing Tan’er” spoke discontentedly.
“One after another, all becoming more audacious. Is there anything that can’t be said in front of the real princess? Or is it because there’s another me?”
Qinyao let out a mute laugh, only realizing something after a moment.
“Wait. What did he call Little Yun just now?”
“Prince Consort. Is there a problem?”
“Ha?”
“Jing Tan’er” nodded matter-of-factly.
Ji Shiyu and the others looked at each other, their expressions growing stranger with an ominous feeling.
Yunliu and Gengzhi walked into the courtyard, the surrounding guards withdrawing.
“Mr. Yun, can I trust you?”
Gengzhi suddenly turned, going straight to the point.
The pressure of a Jindan expert instantly enveloped the white-clothed youth.
Yunliu’s spirit was strong; he remained unmoved.
He said blandly, “Believe me or not, what does it matter to me?”
Gengzhi hesitated for a moment, then exhaled in a trembling voice.
“The King… has passed away!”
“What!?”
Yunliu looked up in shock.
Although he had been mentally prepared, he hadn’t expected it to happen so suddenly.
“When did this happen?”
“Last night. He left behind an imperial edict and final instructions, entrusting me and the remaining loyalists to your command, but showed indifference to the true or false princesses.”
“What’s stranger is that now one of the princesses is missing, disappearing right under my nose, and it happened after you and the two of them met separately. Tell me, isn’t that odd?”
Gengzhi growled in a low voice, his Jindan peak aura alarming Qincha and the others, who came running.
Yunliu waved his hand, signaling everyone not to worry, and cast a distant glance at the “frightened” fake princess, first eliminating this demoness as a suspect. She had yet to acquire the Sun Wheel Royal Seal from Jingyan.
“Given all this, you should be more certain this has nothing to do with us.”
Gengzhi brooded for a while, reined in his pressure, and sighed in defeat.
Such a grave event in the palace made him feel responsible and unable to accept it.
“That’s right. The edict is real. No one can mimic His Majesty’s tone and handwriting, nor force him to self-destruct his Jindan and die with a smile. Besides, I was watching you all the time. What I don’t understand is why.”
Jingyan committed suicide?
Unable to bear the pain of a corrupted Jindan, or unwilling to drag out his remaining life?
Yunliu supported his chin.
All he knew was that Jing Tan’er had used the Sun Wheel secret passage beneath the royal palace to escape, meeting her father before leaving.
Perhaps it was after that meeting that Jingyan made his decision.
“A friendly reminder—never mind how the King died. Do you think anyone here understands this place better than you? Who could escape the royal court under your surveillance without anyone knowing?”
The northern palace was empty.
Gengzhi, slow on the uptake, finally slapped his forehead in realization.
“Sir means—the one who escaped is the real princess!”
Gengzhi shook his head, even more confused.
How could he know why the real princess would run while the fake one stayed put?
The situation was shrouded in mystery, but the late king’s edict was undeniably authentic, passing the throne to the royal daughter and granting marriage to Yunliu.