“Did you just call him an unwise ruler?” Jun Linyuan glanced at Feng Wu.
Feng Wu said, “Well… I didn’t say that.”
Jun Linyuan said, “You’re right. He’s not wise at all.”
Feng Wu said, “Well…”
Jun Linyuan said, “The thing that you’re worried about, it won’t happen.”
Feng Wu asked, “What thing?”
Jun Linyuan said, “About losing the right to the throne.”
Feng Wu said, “Jun Linyuan, aren’t you too confident in yourself?”
Jun Linyuan smiled. “I’m not confident in myself. It’s Master Linghu whom I have faith in.”
“Master Linghu? As in the monk of Wandering Temple in the mountain behind Imperial College?” Feng Wu looked at Jun Linyuan suspiciously.
Jun Linyuan nodded. “Yes. Do you know why I became the crown prince?”
Feng Wu asked, “Weren’t you born to be the crown prince?”
Jun Linyuan looked at her in resignation.
Feng Wu asked, “Was it because of Master Linghu?”
Jun Linyuan nodded. “Master Linghu forced the general of the Dongsang Kingdom to commit suicide. When he chased the army out of our empire, he told my father something.
“He said that he had repaid the favor to the Junwu Empire and owed us nothing after that. If the empire and the Dongsang Kingdom went to war again, only Jun Linyuan would be able to bring back peace.”
Jun Linyuan then glanced at Feng Wu. “I became the crown prince on that day.”
Feng Wu said, “So, Master Linghu is your patron. That explains it.”
The crown prince nodded. “Master Linghu has taught me a few things. He’s like half a master to me.”
Feng Wu was curious. “Master Linghu doesn’t seem to like anyone except you. Even Feng Xun isn’t allowed to enter his place.”
Jun Linyuan nodded. “I’ve been there a couple of times in the past decade, but Feng Xun could only wait in the gatehouse.”
Feng Wu asked, “Has Master Linghu never agreed to see him?”
Jun Linyuan nodded.
Feng Wu scratched her head and wondered why Master Linghu had agreed to see her last time. Moreover, he had been very nice to her.
The crown prince then added, “Master Linghu never meets people he doesn’t know.”
Feng Wu asked, “Is that true? Does he never meet strangers?”
The crown prince nodded. “Even my grandmother can’t see him just because she wants to. She’ll be lucky if she can meet him once every three or five years.”
Feng Wu asked curiously, “Why does the empress dowager want to meet Master Linghu?”
Jun Linyuan looked at Feng Wu in confusion.
That look made Feng Wu even more confused. “Did I ask the wrong question?”
Jun Linyuan asked, “Do you not know?”
Feng Wu asked, “Know what?”
Jun Linyuan asked, “Don’t you know that Master Linghu has a blessing power?”
Feng Wu asked, “What’s that?”
Jun Linyuan was perplexed, but he still answered, “He can give all sorts of blessings, from longevity and health to virility and romance.”
“Wait!” Feng Wu suddenly had a bad feeling. She cut Jun Linyuan off and asked, “What did you say? What do you mean by romance?”
The crown prince said, “I’ve never asked for one. How should I know?”
Feng Wu said, “By the sound of it, does it have something to do with one’s romantic relationship?”
The crown prince said, “Something like that.”
Feng Wu was astonished!
Romance… She clenched her fists.
Was it possible that she hadn’t picked the 12 Trials of Love by accident? Had Master Linghu tricked her into picking it?
The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became. She almost wanted to go to Master Linghu now and get an answer from him.
