119 Imperial Palace

Long Hao Chen turned his head and saw a woman wearing a white veil. He could not see her appearance, but he was mesmerized by the woman's eyes. It was as if her eyes were sucking his soul away.

"Waaaaaahhhhh!!"

Suddenly, when the child saw that he could no longer eat his candy, he cried pitifully. Long Hao Chen was pulled back from reverie. His eyes moved away from the woman and stared at the child who was crying in front of him. Looking at the candy syrup on his clothes, Long Hao Chen's countenance darkened immediately.

"You little brat!! You dare cry after dirtying BenHuang Zi's[1] expensive clothes?! Even if your parents work like an ox for This Prince, they would not be able to pay for it in their entire lifetime!"

Long Hao Chen wanted to punish the child but before he could even raise his hand to give signal to his imperial guards, the woman behind him throw a small pouch. It landed on Long Hao Chen's feet.

"A big man like you who only knows how to bully children, how can you do it as if nothing is wrong with it? Here, the payment for your clothes. This Lady has a spare of money and decided to take pity and pay you."

Hearing the woman's mocking words, Long Hao Chen's cheeks burned due to humiliation. The other person was treating him like a beggar begging for alms. It did not feel like she was paying him for his clothes but rather, it was as if she was giving alms to a beggar. Long Hao Chen's face became twisted. He glared at the woman, wanting to kill her on the spot.

"Eh? Really? How horrible!"

"Tsk. A man who only knows how to bully a child."

"Shhh.. don't say anymore. Look how scary he is!"

"Ai. Who is that person?"

"Isn't he embarrassed? He is arguing with a woman."

Long Hao Chen suddenly realized that many people were now looking at them. Hearing their nasty words, he gnashed his teeth due to anger.

'Clearly a bunch of lowly commoners! How dare those people humiliate This Prince!'

Long Hao Chen wanted to punish those commoners but recalling Chu Ji Qing's repetitive warning to avoid making trouble, Long Hao Chen could only endure. He swept his eyes around and saw that the woman was still standing behind him, staring at Chu Ji Qing like she was belittling him.

"Be grateful that This Prince will not argue with stupid people like you! Humpf!"

Long Hao Chen turned his head and walked away, leaving the pouch on the ground.

When Long Hao Chen left, the people also started dispersing, only leaving the woman and the child. The woman picked the pouch she had tossed away and pulled a silver coin inside of it. She crouched on the ground and faced the crying child.

"Do not cry. Here, for you. Big sister will give you this to buy a new candy."

The child stopped crying when he received the money. He looked at the woman and beamed.

"Thank you, big sister!!"

The woman smiled and subconsciously raised her hand, wanting to pat the child's head. When her hand was almost near the child's head, the woman hesitated a while before she lowered her hand and patted the boy's head.

"You are welcome."

The child ran happily, leaving the woman standing alone. The woman stared at her hand and a small smile bloomed beneath her veil.

Indeed. She was changing.

"Young Miss."

"En?"

"Young Miss, we should go now. Shu Liu is already waiting for us."

The woman, XuanRong nodded.

Time was running out.

The Emperor's birthday banquet was almost there. She had to make sure that everything was under her control.

Before leaving, XuanRong turned her head towards the place where Long Hao Chen disappeared.

'Jing's prince is already here. Ha… Long Hao Chen, it's nice to see you again. This Lady hopes that you will like my gift for you.'

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"Your Lordship! Not good! The spies you planted at the Intoxicated Pavilion were wiped out. Even Yue Ling went missing."

Xu Fei Yi did not say anything but his eyes sharpened.

"Speak. Who made a move?"

The black-clothed man shook his head.

"This subordinate was not able to find any clues. When Yue Ling sent the signal, it was already too late. When this subordinate arrived at the Intoxicated Pavilion, the owner said that Yue Ling ran away after meeting a client. This subordinate tried to check the entire premises and found out that the spies we planted, from the cook to the laundry servants, all of them went missing. This subordinate knew that Yue Ling and the rest must have been found out by our enemies."

"En. You are dismissed."

The black-clothed man nod and disappeared.

"Shadow."

"This subordinate is here."

"Go to the dark palace and tell them to be extra careful. Visit the Moon Pavilion later and send messages to all our spies here in Qian Zou. Do not forget to remind them that they should remain low for now and should avoid contacting each other. Tell Yue Mi to hasten her pace. This Lordship is getting impatient."

"This servant understands."

"And tell Yue Shin to comeback."

When Shadow heard Xu Fei Yi's last sentence, he wanted to cry due to happiness. Finally. Being tormented everyday by that lunatic made Shadow want to quit his job. He could sense the burning jealousy coming from Yue Shin at the distance whenever their Lordship would speak with him.

"Yue Shin will search for Yue Ling and the rest of the spies. If alive, This Lordship wants their body, if dead, This Lordship wants their corpse."

Shadow nodded before he left.

After speaking with Shadow, Xu Fei Yi grabbed the wine bottle and poured it on the empty glass. He was exuding a dangerous aura, very different from the Xu Fei Yi who was a fool. Everything that happened was witnessed by Mu Qing. When Xu Fei Yi was speaking with Shadow, Mu Qing was standing beside Xu Fei Yi.

When Mu Qing found out that Xu Fei Yi was only faking his foolishness, Mu Qing did not ask anything. Although he was a bit hurt because it seemed like Xu Fei Yi did not trust him, Mu Qing was glad that Xu Fei Yi was normal, but at the same time, he was also sad. He recalled the dying words the deceased emperor told him.

["Mu Qing, Zhen[2] was a coward. Zhen was not able to protect Xiao'er and Yi'er… it was all Zhen's fault… If Zhen did not bring Xiao'er inside the palace, she would not suffer and die. Even Yi'er was also affected. Mu Qing…. Zhen's greatest regret was becoming the emperor… Zhen thought that power and wealth will make you happy.. but Zhen was wrong… you cannot buy happiness…"]

"Why are you not asking anything?"

Mu Qing was snapped out of his daze. He looked at Xu Fei Yi who was looking back at him.

"This subordinate will not ask Your Highness. What ever His Highness' plan is, this subordinate will always support His Highness until the end."

Xu Fei Yi's face remained impassive, but his eyes showed warmth.

"En."

Xu Fei Yi twirled the glass and smelled the wine. He turned his head and looked outside the window. He wanted to see XuanRong but he held himself. Someone was aiming for him. He did not want to put XuanRong in danger, thus, even if his entire being was screaming for her, Xu Fei Yi could only suppress his desire.

'Rong'er, seems like I can't visit you for now.'

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XuanRong stared at the majestic palace in front of her.

A month passed and tonight was the celebration for the Emperor's natal day.

Looking at the two huge gates, XuanRong could not help but recall her previous lifetime.

'I cannot wait to burn this place.'

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[1]. 'I'- used by Imperial Princes without rank (Huang). 'BenWang' for Imperial Princes with ranks (Wang).

[2]. 'We/I' used by the Emperor

[Unedited Chapter]