Nine Prince’s Manor.
“A’mo, Qing’er is also worried about wet nurse’s health. If she can catch the eye of the Poisonous Doctor Divine Son and be fortunate enough to become his disciple, learning his poisonous arts, perhaps she can truly save wet nurse.”
Du Chun, clad in white, his white hair swaying gently in the wind.
The seven-colored silver snake he held in his arms was long gone.
A white, fluffy spirit mouse, which he had been nurturing for several days, was currently sleeping on his shoulder, its eyes closed.
Nangong Mo remained silent.
Du Chun continued, “A’mo, you are so angry, is it perhaps because you are worried that Qing’er’s innocent and pure nature will be bullied by others? Rest assured, when she left, I taught her a few self-defense moves. If she encounters danger, they can be used to protect herself.”
Nangong Mo still said nothing.
The spirit mouse on Du Chun’s shoulder opened its eyes, then hopped into his embrace. It nuzzled its white, fluffy head against him, rubbing and rubbing, looking incredibly cute.
Du Chun stroked the spirit mouse’s flawless white fur. “A’mo, if you are still worried, you might as well have your people help Qing’er. Qing’er has studied under me for so many years, and although she has achieved some small success in medicine, if someone helps her, this entrance examination will be easy as pie.”
At this moment, a dark guard dressed in black approached, knelt on one knee, and reported, “Master, everything has been arranged.”
Nangong Mo, who had remained silent, finally spoke, “Mm, you may go.”
The dark guard left.
Nangong Mo slowly turned his gaze to Du Chun, his tone indifferent, “Lan Qing’er’s name is not on the list!”
Du Chun was unperturbed. “Of course I know that. Qing’er only left today.”
The cold light in Nangong Mo’s eyes suddenly intensified. “The people I sent only recognize Gu Qianying. Whether Lan Qing’er lives or dies is of no concern to this King. If she merely wants to live without worry about food and clothing, this King, in gratitude for her parents’ kindness, can allow her to enjoy a lifetime of peace. If she desires anything else from this King, it is but a fool’s dream. If Lan Qing’er intends to cause trouble for Gu Qianying this time, my people will not be polite to her!”
With that, Nangong Mo summoned Bai Qi and had him push him away.
Du Chun was stunned for a moment.
He watched Nangong Mo’s receding figure and called out, “A’mo, how can you treat Qing’er like this for her sake? Qing’er is a good girl.”
Nangong Mo raised his hand.
Bai Qi stopped, and the wheelchair halted.
Nangong Mo did not look back, only stating, “Your previous spirit pet, this King intends to give it to her. From now on, she will be the new mistress of the seven-colored silver snake.”
“Nangong Mo! You…!” Du Chun was choked with anger.
The next day.
The Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall’s triennial disciple recruitment ceremony commenced.
On this day, the area outside the Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall was crowded with people. Only those whose names were called could enter.
Among them, naturally, were the eldest daughter of the Gu family, Gu Qianying, and the current princess, Nangong Xuanning, along with several county princesses.
The news of the bet between the eldest daughter of the Gu family and the current princess had already spread among the populace. Some had even used this news to place bets in casinos. Some bet on the eldest daughter of the Gu family to win, while others bet on the princess to win.
Fewer people bet on the former, while many wagered their entire fortunes on the princess winning. They did not know where they got the news, but they had learned that the princess had recently been diligently studying poisonous arts in the palace and had even used her acquired skills to treat several people. After this news spread, those who bet on the princess to win increased.
At this moment, regardless of whether the contestants whose names were called were royalty or commoners, they were all merely participants here, with no distinction of status. This was the long-standing rule of the Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall. Furthermore, any contestant who entered was not allowed to carry any weapons.
The contestants who entered the hall would not immediately meet the supervising elders of the Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall on the first day, nor would they immediately undergo project testing. Instead, they would first be led by the medicine boys of the Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall to their assigned rooms to rest for a day, to adjust. However, in reality, no one knew that the examination projects set up within the Poisonous Doctor Sacred Hall had already quietly begun.
Gu Qianying, dressed in a pale purple gown that reached the floor, her three thousand dark tresses simply tied up, wore no accessories from head to toe for the sake of convenience in today’s actions.
“Gu Qianying, you and I are in the same room. You did this on purpose, didn’t you?” Nangong Xuanning, accompanied by two women dressed in pink and green, walked towards her.
Gu Qianying looked at Nangong Xuanning indifferently. “What do you think you are, Your Highness, a popular delicacy?”
Nangong Xuanning was furious. “You…!”
“How dare you, what are you, to be so disrespectful to our princess? Are you looking for a beating?” Beside her, the woman in green raised her hand, intending to slap Gu Qianying. This woman was County Princess Jingyun – Nangong Jingyun. Her father was Nangong Yi, a deceased member of the imperial clan. Although Nangong Yi was also a prince, he had only a nominal title and no real power. He lived a mediocre life and was posthumously honored as Prince Nan Yi by the current emperor after his death. His only eldest daughter, Nangong Jingyun, thus became a county princess.
Nangong Jingyun’s raised hand had not yet touched Gu Qianying when Gu Qianying suddenly grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and with a swift kick, sent her to the ground.
“Ah, woo woo woo.” Cries of pain mixed with sobs echoed in the room.
“Princess, this lowly woman, she hit me, woo woo.” Nangong Jingyun cried and complained to Nangong Xuanning.
The others in the same room as Gu Qianying and the others turned to look upon hearing the commotion.
“Gu Qianying, why did you hit someone?” Nangong Xuanning angrily rebuked Gu Qianying.
Gu Qianying looked at Nangong Xuanning and said lightly, “Which eye of Your Highness saw me hit someone?” The trailing emphasis on the word “someone” was quite obvious, but Nangong Xuanning did not grasp the sarcastic undertone of Gu Qianying’s words.
“This princess saw with both eyes!” Nangong Xuanning said furiously.
“Oh? So the princess is not blind. I thought Your Highness hadn’t noticed that this young lady was merely disciplining a beast that was bullying others, not a person.” Gu Qianying’s direct insult was aimed at Nangong Xuanning and Nangong Jingyun, who was still crying on the ground.
Nangong Jingyun cried even harder. “Princess, this lowly woman not only hit me but also kicked me and twisted my arm, woo woo, it hurts so much, it hurts so much!”
Nangong Xuanning’s face turned green with anger. “Gu Qianying, you… how dare you treat this princess like this? This princess will not let you off today.” Saying this, Nangong Xuanning turned and glared at the woman in pink beside her. “What are you standing there for? Go, beat this woman Gu Qianying soundly for me! I want her to beg for mercy on her knees!”
“Yes, Princess.” The woman in pink was Nangong Yuwan, the Princess of Yuwan, the only daughter of the imperial clan who had married far away and, after her husband’s death, was recalled to appease the relatives of the late General Zhou, who had achieved great military merit. She had married the eldest son of his household, Zhou Yang. After her marriage, she had followed her husband and learned martial arts for several years.
Nangong Yuwan struck out towards Gu Qianying. Gu Qianying sidestepped and narrowly avoided Nangong Yuwan’s attack.
*Bang!*
The round table where several women were seated instantly cracked and collapsed. Everyone was startled.
Nangong Yuwan stood before the collapsed round table, looking at Gu Qianying with a sarcastic smile. “I heard that the eldest daughter of the Gu family dared to spar with the Imperial Preceptor a few days ago. I thought her martial arts must be quite poor, but now that I see it, you’re not much either, huh! Eldest Miss Gu, because we are both women, if you kneel on the ground now and beg for mercy from the princess, I certainly won’t hit you. But if you remain stubborn and do not show respect to the princess, I will let you have a good taste of being beaten.”