Emperor Liang glanced at him, "Who taught you to say such things? Your father?"
Lu Yuan: "Mhm."
Just as Lu Zhaoyan arrived at the door of the Imperial Study Room: "...!!"
Traitorous son!
Can’t go a single day without causing trouble for your father, can you?!
Lu Zhaoyan decisively turned to Prince Ming: "Didn’t I tell you to stop talking nonsense in front of the child!"
Prince Ming’s body visibly trembled!
What does this have to do with ?!
I can’t even savor the fruit, and yet I still bear the bla!
"Father... Father, let explain... ah—"
In the end, all the responsibility fell squarely on the youthful ignorance of Prince Ming.
...
As ng Qianqian and Lady Yan stepped down from the carriage, Lady Yan was called away by a disciple of the Thousand chanism Pavilion.
"The Pavilion Master has summoned all the Elders for a eting."
"Got it." Lady Yan responded, then said to ng Qianqian, "You go back to the courtyard first, make sure to dry the dicinal herbs, and don’t wander around. Wait for to return."
ng Qianqian nodded.
After Lady Yan and the disciple headed to the Elder Hall, ng Qianqian returned to Lady Yan’s courtyard.
Just as she pushed open the courtyard gate, a flying dart sped straight toward her. With a sweep of her sleeve, she shot out a silver needle, striking the dart forcefully away.
Imdiately after, a barbed whip lashed fiercely straight toward her face.
She flicked her fingers, pinning the whip to a large tree with a silver needle.
Gongsun Ziyu struggled to pull it out for quite a while but couldn’t succeed, stomping her feet in fury, "You wretch! How dare you co back?!"
ng Qianqian dusted off her hands, speaking calmly and confidently, "Who are you calling a wretch?"
Gongsun Ziyu tossed the whip aside, her anger flaring, "Still won’t admit it? What sort of despicable trick did you use to harm my elder sister like that?"
ng Qianqian glanced at the Green Simurgh Sword in her hand, "Oh, you an the fact that I acquired the Green Simurgh Sword? That’s not my fault; she couldn’t pull it out herself."
Gongsun Ziyu stared at the Green Simurgh Sword, then at ng Qianqian, "It’s obvious that you cheated! You must have bribed the people at Witch Mountain and conspired with them to fra the Thousand chanism Pavilion!"
ng Qianqian chuckled, "If I’ve got connections like that, are you still bold enough to try and kill ?"
Gongsun Ziyu sneered, "Hmph! What’s Witch Mountain even worth? Our Thousand chanism Pavilion doesn’t regard them as anything significant!"
ng Qianqian raised an eyebrow and turned to address the people outside the gate, "Oh, such ungrateful words—you all heard them."
Gongsun Ziyu froze, quickly glancing behind ng Qianqian.
She had been so focused on confronting ng Qianqian earlier that she hadn’t noticed she wasn’t alone.
ng Qianqian had brought along two guards from the Imperial Palace.
With an air of ease, ng Qianqian said, "Allow to introduce them—they were sent by His Majesty to protect ."
Of course, ’protect’ was an overly generous term for the two; they were rely Emperor Liang’s errand boys. Starting tomorrow, ng Qianqian would be entering the palace to teach and familiarize herself with the location, and these guards were only there to assist her.
But to frighten Gongsun Ziyu, they served their purpose perfectly.
Sure enough, upon seeing the two guards, Gongsun Ziyu’s expression imdiately betrayed a hint of unease.
She sputtered and muttered incoherently, "Anyway, you hard my elder sister! Hand over the Green Simurgh Sword to her!"
ng Qianqian’s tone turned serious, "This sword was gifted by the Goddess herself. If she wants it, let her co and retrieve it!"
"You—"
Gongsun Ziyu knew nothing of the events from years ago. She only knew that her elder sister had been the Phoenix Girl since their youth. But now, for so reason, the Green Simurgh Sword had been taken by a wild girl, causing her elder sister to fall ill.
She wanted to kill this girl and reclaim the Green Simurgh Sword for her sister!
ng Qianqian smiled aningfully, "Junior disciples, why hide inside? Co out and speak. Let His Majesty’s guards hear whether you wish to congratulate , or defy the Imperial decree and act against ."
At that mont, one of the guards spoke up, "His Majesty ordered Miss Yan to teach Miss Zhaozhao equestrian skills. Starting today, Miss Yan is officially Miss Zhaozhao’s ntor."
Faces in the room shifted drastically.
This wild girl had not only pulled out the Green Simurgh Sword but also gained a royal disciple?
Were it not for their familiarity with Gongsun Liuying, they might have genuinely doubted if this girl was the real Phoenix Girl.
No one else’s luck could even begin to compare.
"Senior Sister Yan, we... we heard you pulled out the Green Simurgh Sword and ca specifically to see it for ourselves."
"Yes, yes, we’ve never laid eyes on the Green Simurgh Sword before and wanted to experience it firsthand."
"Senior Sister Yan, could you let us take a look?"
The disciples awkwardly erged from the house.
They didn’t dare kill her—not with Emperor Liang’s guards watching. They couldn’t very well silence the guards, either.
But offering their congratulations? They couldn’t afford to offend the Second Miss either.
"Fine."
ng Qianqian generously showed the Green Simurgh Sword to the crowd.
Gongsun Ziyu spat coldly, "Yan Xiaojiu, do you really think you can hold on to sothing you’ve stolen? If you don’t deserve the fortune, then don’t court disaster—otherwise, I fear it’ll shorten your life!"
ng Qianqian gently stroked the sword sheath with calm composure, "You’re right; taking sothing that doesn’t belong to oneself indeed shortens one’s life."
Gongsun Ziyu frowned in puzzlent.
Was this wild girl too happy to think straight?
The Elder Hall.
Gongsun Yanming, Gongsun Yu, and seven Elders gathered in one hall. Once Lady Yan arrived, everyone was present.
She stood at the center of the grand hall, enduring the scrutinizing gazes cast by all.
Elder Qiu was the first to speak, "Elder Yan, is it true what happened at the palace? Did your disciple indeed pull out the Green Simurgh Sword from Witch Mountain’s Divine Hall?"
"Yes."
Lady Yan replied.
Elder Qiu’s face darkened, "Preposterous! Why did you allow your disciple to commit such an outrageous and unfilial act?"
Lady Yan calmly answered, "I didn’t tell her to do so."
Elder Yuan on the side followed with a question, "It’s said your disciple’s Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles surpass even the eldest Miss’s. Is that true as well?"
Lady Yan said, "I’m not certain; I haven’t seen a needle technique competition between them. However, today Nie’er’s life was indeed saved by her, and His Majesty’s headaches were treated by her as well."
Elder Qiu retorted coldly, "You were supposed to save people, but instead, you let your disciple steal the credit?"
Lady Yan replied steady and firm, "I couldn’t have done it; her Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles have long surpassed my own."
Elder Qiu sneered sarcastically, "A disciple more skilled than the master, is that it?"
Lady Yan remained composed, "The Pavilion Master’s achievents also surpass those of the previous Pavilion Master."
Elder Yuan asked, "So, you’re saying it was all her acting independently? As her master, you had no clue or say in the matter?"
Lady Yan replied sincerely, "Correct."
The crowd turned their eyes toward Gongsun Yanming.
Though Gongsun Yanming did not interrogate her, he continued observing Lady Yan closely, wanting to discern if she was being truthful.
He stared at her without blinking, "Elders, please leave. I have questions for Elder Yan alone."
The others withdrew.
Gongsun Yanming leaned back in the main seat, his face shrouded in shadow, revealing only hawk-like sharp eyes: "Yan Hanshuang, did Shang Jiu truly die in the Prince Chu Mansion back then?"
Lady Yan endured the bone-chilling chill, "I wasn’t the one who killed him; the Pavilion Master is asking the wrong person."
Gongsun Yanming tapped twice on the tabletop.
A masked disciple erged from the shadows, carrying a box, and walked up to Lady Yan.
"Here’s your dicine for this month."
Gongsun Yanming said.
Lady Yan opened the box, only to find just half a pill inside.
She questioned, "What does the Pavilion Master an by this?"
Gongsun Yanming replied coldly, "The other half—trade it for Yan Xiaojiu’s life."
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