The cry absolutely attracted the attention of all the people present, who unconsciously stared at the entrance of the palace. Clenching her fingernail guard, Empress Chen felt that her heart was pinched.
There was a teenage boy in blue at the entrance of the palace. With his hair half down, he looked at about the age of 15 or 16. He was delicate with red lips and white teeth. Despite his slim figure, the determination and resolution in his eyes revealed the maturity and tenacity beyond his age.
“My greetings, Your Majesty, Her Majesty, and Queen Mother,” Sima Qiu stood at the center of the palace. Years of living in the Imperial Mausoleum had left him a peaceful and quiet temperament.
Today was the 60th birthday of Queen Mother, so the atmosphere was festive. In addition, many senior officials led by Minister Liu had mentioned the goodness and sensibility of the Seventh Prince multiple times, making the emperor remember his love for the son. Therefore, Emperor Zhaoxuan was a bit moved when he suddenly saw his youngest son, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time.
“Come. Sit here,” Emperor Zhaoxuan pointed to the nearest seat to him, ordering Sima Qiu to sit there.
Sima Qiu sat down quietly. However, Imperial Concubine Yun couldn’t bear it. She cleared her throat and said softly, “Well, the emperor really thinks highly of the Seventh Prince! My son, Ruo, has never had such an honor!”
Trying to ease the situation, Empress Chen smiled, “What are you talking about? Don’t you remember, at the Grand Prince’s 12th birthday, he wrote a poem? The emperor liked it so much that he went around the feast with the Grand Prince in his arms.”
Hearing that, Emperor Zhaoxuan seemed to recall those wonderful memories. He asked the Grand Prince in his left side, “Yes. However, speaking of writing poems, it seems a long time since you ever wrote anything as good as that.”
The Grand Prince raised himself slightly. Before he could answer, Imperial Concubine Yun raised her beautiful eyebrows and said, “A real man should take the world affairs as his duty. Ruo hasn’t focused on those romantic poems for a long time. Now his task is to learn how to govern the country from the teachers of the Imperial College so that he can help you in the future. Is it correct?” Imperial Concubine Yun’s voice was sweet. Her body was about to stick to the emperor’s body.
Her words made Emperor Zhaoxuan quite satisfied. He nodded without extra words.
The feast soon began. At first, there was a group of dancing girls from Persian. This was a chorus that was found by an anonymous official in a foreign country. Their amazing and novel dancing postures were refreshing. Their passionate dance steps and the waists moving boldly attracted people’s attention. When everybody was focusing on the dance, Sima Ray put up his wine cup to greet guests present one by one. When it came to Qin Yunuan, the song and the dance just reached their climax. The loud music and dancing girl’s swaying skirts covered the conversation between the two people.
“Third Young Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion, please,” Carrying a cup of fruit wine, Sima Ray politely invited Qin Yunuan to raise the wine cup by her hand.
Qin Yunuan was not surprised at the appearance of Sima Ray, because he had been toasting and interacting. However, when Qin Yunuan saw the obvious desire of possession in his eyes, she hesitated. Maybe it was because Sima Ray had drunk much before that his face flushed, and the emotion hidden in his eyes was more and more apparent.
He liked the woman right before him. He liked her wisdom, her cruelty, her decisiveness to disconnect with the Qin Family, and her resolution to leave no chance for her enemies. This was the woman worthy of him, Sima Ray. He wanted her. No matter she had married to others or not, Sima Ray spoke to himself in his mind, he would have her sooner or later, even not now.
“I can’t drink,” Qin Yunuan refused with a smile.
“Why?” After a few drinks, Sima Ray was more and more daring. What’s more, the seats were a little far from each other. So even Princess Ning could not hear what they were talking about. Sima Ray pointed to Leng Changxi, who was sitting next to the emperor, “Is it because of him? Because he was not by your side, you dare not to take a drink?”
“What about the Third Prince’s Concubine?” Qin Yunuan replied coldly. The words and behavior of Sima Ray were a little too straightforward, “The Third Prince’s Concubine is my sister, so you are my brother-in-law. When you said that to me just now, didn’t you ever think of her?”
At her refusal, Sima Ray didn’t seem to give up. A wide smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth, “You really have a gift of the gab and are never willing to suffer losses. But you know what? I like women of this kind.”
“Third Prince, you drink too much,” Qin Yunuan turned her head. She felt Leng Changxi’s look from far away, so she returned with a look, implying that everything was fine, and there was no need to worry. However, just in a flash, Sima Ray’s words were much bolder.
“Qin Yunuan, you always refuse to give me a serious look. There seems to be no one but Leng Changxi in your heart. However, I believe that one day you will regret your choice of marrying him,” Sima Ray was tipsy. It also seemed that he took the chance to say what had been buried in his mind for long. Marrying Qin Yunzhuang was absolutely better than marrying Qin Yunuan to his future, so he bore it.
“The Grand Prince was drunk. Leng Shuang, send him back to his seat,” Qin Yunuan ordered Leng Shuang calmly.
Sima Ray didn’t refuse it, but he said when he was about to leave, “Make yourself easy, Qin Yunuan. One day you will become my woman, the woman who only belongs to me, Sima Ray.”
“Nonsense,” Seeing that Leng Shuang took Sima Ray away, Maner stood by Qin Yunuan’s side to protect her, her heart still fluttering with fear, “Third Young Madam, when you were unmarried in the Qin Family, I thought that Prince Ray liked you. Now it seems to be trouble.”
“Trouble?” Qin Yunuan picked up the silver chopsticks on the table leisurely and picked the Glutinous Rice Balls which seemed particularly delicious in the silver plate. While the Glutinous Rice Balls made by the imperial cook didn’t taste as typical as those on the market, they were stickier and more delicious, “I’ve already had much trouble now. How come there is only this one?” Answering herself, she picked up a Glutinous Rice Ball in the flavor of purple sweet potato. Taking just a bite, she had a sudden feeling of nausea as if her gastric juice were squeezed out. She vomited it back to the plate.
“Third Young Madam,” Maner hurried to carry a cup of Jasmine Green Tea for Qin Yunuan, “Have you choked? Come, drink it to relieve yourself.”
Oddly, the scent of jasmine which Qin Yunuan used to love very much now smelled revolting.
“Take it away. Hurry to take it away,” Qin Yunuan pushed the cup of tea away. It was lucky that now there were songs and dances. Nobody discovered Qin Yunuan’s difference except the people around her and Leng Changxi, who was looking at her silently.
“Third Young Madam, are you not feeling well? Have you eaten something wrong?” Maner was nervous. Qin Yunuan had never been so uncomfortable like that.
“I don’t know,” Qin Yunuan shook her head. Her face was pale, and her chest was suppressed, “I’ve been caring about the transporting route in Luguan, Golden Butterfly Embroidery House, and the three shops in the east of the city. With so many things, I feel tired. But it’s all right. After the situation in Luguan is stable and young master Shen is back from his journey, I won’t need to worry anymore.”
Maner nodded and continued rubbing Qin Yunuan’s back.
The song and dance ended. Following was a Taoist with bare feet and strange clothes. His appearance was a little different from other Taoists. He was tall and thin, wearing clothes as dark as the night with the wide sleeves raised by the wind and his hair tied up high. Just like Leng Changxi, he wore a mask on his face. However, unlike Leng Changxi’s mask covering only half of the face, his mask was like facial makeup. It has golden patterns in black background, covering the whole face, and making a mysterious atmosphere.
“My name is Guo Shidong, Your Majesty, Her Majesty, and Queen Mother,” he saluted with neither humility nor arrogance. His confidence raised more curiosity.
“You are?”
At this time, Sima Ray stood up. His face was no longer flushed because of the drunkenness, “He is a living immortal whom I found for parents and Queen Mother after innumerable hardships. It is said that he knows astronomy, geography, and history. What’s more, he is a master of astrology. He learned from Gui Lingzi, and he is one of the seven best students of him.”
“Guo Shidong?” Imperial Concubine Yun said in her sharp voice, “I have never heard such a living immortal in Qi. Indeed, everyone in Qi knows that Gui Lingzi is the best person in augury. However, look at his strange clothes! We don’t know whether he is Gui Lingzi’s student or not. Third Prince, you might be tricked by your servants.”
“Oh,” Sima Ray was not angry at all. He nodded calmly, “Whether his identity is true or not will be clear by the test.”
Finishing his words, he said to the “Living Immortal,” ”Mr. Guo, please.”
“Third Young Madam, what’s going on?” Maner asked Qin Yunuan in a low voice.
“I don’t know either,” Qin Yunuan frowned slightly. Gui Lingzi lived in seclusion in Qi, but his fame was known by people of five countries. It was said that he had lived for more than 200 years, and he could know the future simply by pinching his fingers. Even those that happened in distant places would not be ignored by him. Therefore, countless people wanted to learn from him. However, he only picked seven people to teach carefully by his side. Unluckily, he was harmed by his grand student, nearly losing his life. What’s more, kings always came to harass Gui Lingzi to know about the future so that they could enlarge their territories. As a result, Gui Lingzi lived in seclusion angrily and dispatched his students to all places, never seeing them again.
While the teacher was gone, the students must have learned something. So these students became masters welcomed by many. Some of them followed the mainstream, while others chose to live in seclusion as Gui Lingzi did. If Guo Shidong was a real student of Gui Lingzi…
When Qin Yunuan was still thinking, Guo Shidong had already begun to close his eyes and pinched his fingers. It seemed that he was calculating something. All of a sudden, he opened his eyes and said, “The emperor, please forgive my straightforwardness. There is an evil spirit in the palace.”
