Under the glint of swords and the flash of blades, Lu Zhu hadn't even gotten close to the man in white before being repelled several meters by a palm strike. Lu Zhu clutched her shoulder, her long sword clattering to the ground. She was injured.
Gu Qianying's cold eyes darkened. She leaped from the window, pulled Lu Zhu back, and then flicked two silver needles at the man in white.
The silver needles were coated with a potent poison. Anyone struck by them would surely die, while those with profound martial arts would be poisoned and lose some of their power.
However, the two silver needles didn't graze the man at all. With a wave of his hand, he swatted them to the ground.
Seeing this, Gu Qianying narrowed her eyes. Such profound power!
She drew a sharp dagger from her waist and lunged at the man in white.
At this moment, the patrolling guards in the imperial palace hadn't noticed the anomaly in Jiuhua Palace. As per Gu Qianying's request, only Lu Zhu was attending her here, with no one else present.
Meanwhile, as Gu Qianying thrust her dagger towards him, the man in white made no move to dodge. Just as the sharp dagger was about to pierce his chest, he sidestepped. While deftly evading Gu Qianying, he
reached behind him, produced a red rose from who-knew-where, and, to Gu Qianying's utter astonishment, handed it to her. At the same time, he effortlessly snatched the dagger from her hand and tucked it into his sleeve. "I give you a rose, and you give me a dagger. How perfect."
Gu Qianying: "..."
Was this a gift? It was meant to kill him!
The man in white didn't linger. After presenting the rose, he vanished in a flash. As he left, he called out to Gu Qianying, "I'll be back, little lady. Don't wait too eagerly!"
"..."
Watching his disappearing figure, Gu Qianying just wanted to curse. What a lunatic she had encountered!
On the imperial palace walls, Nangong Mo stood in a corner. He then took out the storybook he had hidden in his sleeve, recalling the words of those romantic young lords.
"To chase a girl, you must be proactive, a bit mushy, and then... thick-skinned. That's how you win the heart of the girl you like."
He casually tossed the storybook away.
He had learned the essence of it, and the book was no longer useful. Glancing back at Jiuhua Palace, a glint flashed in his deep eyes. Why should he desperately snatch the "flesh of his heart"? He wanted that woman to offer herself willingly!
He turned and vanished into the night.
Not far away, Duan Xifeng, who was still cooling himself on the rooftop, saw a white figure flash by. He initially thought of giving chase but then reconsidered. This wasn't his imperial palace, and even if someone killed the dog emperor, what concern was it of his?
"Pfft!"
A book, carried by the wind, landed on his face. He caught it and opened it, reading it several times.
This was a storybook filled with all sorts of sweet talk, and coincidentally, the author of this book was him, Duan Xifeng.
"Heh heh, it seems my writings are quite popular. Look, they've even reached the imperial palace. Hmm... when I have time, I'll concoct even better love phrases. To chase beauties, back in the day, I was the most popular flower thief. All the young ladies I 'picked' and kissed, they all wished to marry me."
Duan Xifeng narcissistically fantasized about creating useful comic books in the future to make a good profit.
With a whoosh,
A small burst of fireworks lit up the sky.
Duan Xifeng sat up abruptly, his expression serious. It was time for business!
He turned his head and disappeared into the night.
Inside Jiuhua Palace at this moment, the candlelight was dim, and silence reigned.
Gu Qianying leaned against a soft couch, her eyes closed in repose. Lu Zhu had already gone to rest. In the sleeping chambers, she was alone.
Suddenly, the wind blew in through the window, and a dark figure leaped in. Before the figure could get close, Gu Qianying spoke first, "I left the door open for you, but you chose to climb through the window. How amusing."
As she spoke, she slowly opened her eyes.
Not far away, beside the round table, Duan Xifeng picked up the teapot and took a large gulp. After setting it down, he sat on a chair, crossed his legs, and said, "Little Ying, you're right. That old Empress Dowager is too scandalous. She's not honest at all; she's keeping a young male concubine. But that pretty boy by her side is so cowardly..."
Gu Qianying got off the soft couch barefoot, walked over, and sat to Duan Xifeng's left. Frowning, she looked at him and coldly interrupted his words, "Have you found out where Shi Momo is being held?"
Shi Momo was Nangong Mo's wet nurse. Now that Nangong Mo was gone, she would protect the people around him at all costs.
"Hmm..." Duan Xifeng scratched his head. He turned to meet Gu Qianying's icy gaze and said softly, shrinking his head, "It's all my fault. Don't be angry, okay? Although I haven't found out where that old woman has locked up Shi Momo yet, your Uncle-Master hasn't been peeping for nothing this time."
As he spoke, he took out a plate of osmanthus cakes, half-eaten, from his embrace, placed it before Gu Qianying, and pushed it towards her.
"What is this? You ate it?"
Gu Qianying looked at the two small osmanthus cakes in the jade dish, her frown deepening. She was allergic to osmanthus, and Duan Xifeng knew this. He wouldn't dare to provoke her into eating it.
"..."
Duan Xifeng was speechless. He picked up a small osmanthus cake from the jade dish, broke it in half, and gestured for Gu Qianying to lean closer and smell it. He said, "Don't you smell anything?"
Gu Qianying sniffed carefully, then her eyes lit up with understanding. She raised an eyebrow, "It's been laced with Five Stone Powder?"
Duan Xifeng nodded. "That old hag schemed and schemed, and in the end, she was schemed against by others. She deserves it."
"Did you find out who did it?" Gu Qianying directly asked what she wanted to know.
"It was that concubine Shu of unknown origin."
Duan Xifeng directly poured the two small osmanthus cakes into a spittoon. Then, still with his legs crossed, he said, "However, your Uncle-Master hasn't found out the origin of this Concubine Shu..."
"No need to investigate. It's Gu Mingyue."
"What?" Duan Xifeng was greatly surprised. He stood up abruptly. "Gu Mingyue? Didn't she die? How could she become Concubine Shu?"
"The Xu family, resurrected from the dead!" Gu Qianying casually uttered.
Duan Xifeng frowned, lost in thought. After a pause, he asked, "Little Ying, wait here. Uncle-Master will go and kill that little bitch Gu Mingyue for you now."
Duan Xifeng got up to leave.
Gu Qianying stopped him. "No need to rush. Compared to killing her, perhaps there's a method that's more interesting than killing her."
Duan Xifeng turned back, suddenly intrigued. "What?"