When Tan Nian saw Jiang Ke’er, his eyeballs nearly fell out of his head.
In the past, when he heard his friend boasting about having a beautiful disciple, he had never taken it to heart.
That friend of his had some mental issues and often spoke of unrealistic fantasies.
He never expected that this time, it was actually true!
And it was as real as it could possibly be!
Amidst the envious, jealous, and hateful gazes of the surrounding people, Tan Nian hurriedly dragged Jiang Ke’er to his residence.
He rubbed his palms together, feeling a bit overwhelmed, and then used the gentlest voice he had ever produced in his life to ask haltingly, “What… what is your name?”
“Shifu named me Nan Xue,” Jiang Ke’er answered shyly.
“I am here to find my Shifu. Senior, do you know my Shifu’s whereabouts?”
“Uh…”
Tan Nian naturally knew that Jiang Ke’er’s Shifu was already dead. He had died from Epidemic Poison, and his death had been miserable.
At this moment, however, he did not know how to answer.
On one hand, he did not want her to be heartbroken by news of her Shifu’s death.
More importantly, he was afraid that if he told her, she would leave.
“Well, I haven’t heard much about your Shifu lately. However, I know some places your Shifu frequent, and I can take you there to look for him later,” Tan Nian lied through his teeth.
Jiang Ke’er knew he was lying, of course, but she still put on an anxious expression and said, “Then please take me there quickly!”
“Hmm…” Tan Nian’s mind raced. A sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he smiled. “Don’t be in such a hurry. You are too beautiful. If I take you out acting blindly, both of us will be in danger.”
“Then what should I do?” Jiang Ke’er asked hurriedly.
“Nan Xue, there are two types of people in this world who are safest. One type is the super-strong powerhouse with a powerful Cultivation Base, and the other is a noble with high status. How is your Cultivation Base right now?” Tan Nian asked.
“I am ashamed to say that despite my Shifu’s best efforts to teach me, I am currently only at the Five Elements Realm,” Jiang Ke’er said.
“That’s too weak! Then, which of the four arts — zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting — are you skilled in?”
“I know a little bit of zither and painting,” Jiang Ke’er answered honestly.
“Then I have a way!” Tan Nian exclaimed with a very fake look of joy.
‘What a terrible actor,’ Jiang Ke’er thought, despising his acting skills in her heart. She then blinked, pretending not to understand. “What way is that?”
“Since you are not a super-strong powerhouse, you can only take the path of becoming a noble…” Tan Nian cleared his throat.
“I wonder if you have ever heard of the official position called ‘Noble Consort’.”
‘An official position? Who are you trying to fool?’
“I have heard of it. But how is that an official position? Isn’t that the Emperor’s wife?” Jiang Ke’er asked, confused.
“You can’t really call them the Emperor’s wives. In fact, many Noble Consorts never even see the Emperor in their entire lives. They have nothing to do with him… You can look at the status of a Noble Consort as a leisure official. The status is high, and you don’t have to manage anything. As long as you are good-looking and talented, it’s enough,” Tan Nian explained patiently.
He knew that “Nan Xue’s” existence was already known to the world. With his strength, coveting her for himself would be courting death.
He had exerted a great deal of effort, even forcing his meridians to the point of rupture and causing himself immense pain, just to barely suppress the thought of keeping her by his side.
His remaining bit of sanity told him that he must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As long as he utilized Nan Xue’s value well, glory, wealth, and honor would all be within his reach!
It just so happened that the Emperor was currently selecting concubines.
This selection was the most important matter for the Kingdom of Dasi at the moment.
If he could act as Nan Xue’s recommender, the Emperor would surely be delighted, and rewards would definitely be plentiful!
For the sake of his rewards, so what if he deceived her and sold her into a tiger’s den where she would lose her personal freedom forever?
“I see that the Royal Palace is quite strict. Once I become a Noble Consort, can I still come out to find my Shifu?” Jiang Ke’er asked worriedly.
“Rest assured, it’s not strict at all,” Tan Nian guaranteed solemnly.
“Once you become a Noble Consort, who would dare to control you?”
Tan Nian’s words were half-truths.
If it were any other innocent young girl who knew nothing of the world, she might have actually been tricked by him.
Jiang Ke’er naturally knew he was using her, but was she not using him as well?
This played right into her hands!
Precisely because all these ideas were generated spontaneously by Tan Nian himself, they were even more authentic and credible.
When the time came, even if Yu Wenhua Ji searched Tan Nian’s Soul, he wouldn’t be able to find a single problem.
She had already solidified her identity as a girl from a good family.
She would definitely not be seen through! This could be described as foolproof!
“To find your Shifu, you naturally have to make a small sacrifice,” Tan Nian continued to guide her, increasing the intensity of his persuasion.
“Then… alright.” Jiang Ke’er looked a bit uneasy, but she clearly cared about her Shifu very much, so she reluctantly agreed to Tan Nian’s proposal.
Tan Nian was overjoyed.
“Then I’ll send you to the Palace of Ten Thousand Flowers right away. Let’s go.”
He was even more anxious than Jiang Ke’er. He knew that her presence was simply too dangerous.
For every second she remained by his side, he risked being killed as a love rival by some Cultivator whose brain was driven by lust.
“Okay.”
Jiang Ke’er smiled slightly.
This Tan Nian was a clever man.
She liked “clever people” who were this cooperative.
As the residence for the candidate concubines of the Kingdom of Dasi’s Emperor, the Palace of Ten Thousand Flowers was truly massive.
Jiang Ke’er only found out after arriving that the Emperor’s selection process involved gathering 5,000 candidates at once.
Then, through rounds of screening among these 5,000 people, the preliminary test would eliminate 1,000 who were overweight.
The second round would eliminate 2,000 who had thick waists, broad shoulders, or moles on their faces. The third round would eliminate another 1,000 who had large feet.
The remaining 1,000 would be stripped naked by old palace maids to be checked for things like fox odor and the size and shape of their chests.
After a series of strange physical examinations, only 300 would remain.
Only after reaching this stage would they be qualified to compete in talent and skills.
It was as if they were picking pork in a wet market.
This made Jiang Ke’er very nervous.
Just after being sent to the Palace of Ten Thousand Flowers and settling into a small, independent bedroom, Jiang Ke’er hurriedly lifted her arms and sniffed her armpits hard.
‘I’m a fox! What should I do if I have fox odor?’
‘Wait, there doesn’t seem to be any…’
‘Is there really none?’
‘Could it be that I’ve grown accustomed to it and can’t smell it?’
‘What should I do…’
“Stop sniffing. It’s fragrant.”
The voice that suddenly sounded in her ear nearly frightened Jiang Ke’er to tears.
Her face flushed bright red as she hurriedly used a quilt to cover her upper body.
She turned around trembling and glared at the other person. “You… why are you here?!”
“I should be the one asking you that.” Qiao Xiaoxian forced Jiang Ke’er against the wall with an expressionless face.
She slammed one hand against the wall next to the girl’s head, her voice chillingly cold. “You should know what kind of place this is.”
“That’s right, it’s the place where the Emperor selects his concubines! It is heavily guarded!” Thinking of this, Jiang Ke’er suddenly grew bold and sneered.
“What? Do you want to cuckold the Emperor?”
“How would I have the guts for that?” Qiao Xiaoxian said with a half-smile.
“On the other hand, you… you’d rather sell your body to a Human Clan Emperor than see me?”
Jiang Ke’er would certainly not sell her body.
However, she had just been startled and was currently in a fit of rage.
She shouted angrily, “That’s right! So what? If you have the guts, then come to the Royal Palace and stop me!”
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