FID – Chapter 1066

Chapter 1066: Hit If You Must, No Personal Attacks!

That night, Xue Qinglian had exhausted all the three-character curses he had accumulated over twenty-some years.

In the end, he was successfully struck at his mute acupoint.

The man even added a single sentence that angered him so much it felt like an internal injury: “Your half-baked skills won’t get you past the palace defenses.”

This wasn’t discrimination. Not at all.

This was contempt.

Xue Qinglian sneered. Fine. He just wouldn’t release the Honglian.

Go ahead, let your dogs bite me.

As night gradually fell, the Prince Shunyang’s Manor lit up with hexagonal palace lamps.

Shan Lai sat in the main hall of the Prince’s residence for a full two hours before finally seeing that figure approaching from outside through the night.

When he saw her, the man showed no surprise, only his trademark warm smile. “What are you doing here?”

It was as if greeting a friend, natural and cordial, yet the same as he treated everyone else.

He smiled like that at everyone.

Fixing his gaze on that face, Shan Lai spoke softly, “Why did you keep the Saintess Tribeswomen here?”

“Even you heard the news? That spread fast,” the man said, smiling as he sat beside her, casually picking up the teacup beside him for a sip. “It’s nothing but an invitation. Once the ceremony is over, the Saintess Tribeswomen will return anyway.”

“The Saintess Tribe’s status may not match the Gu Medicine Clan, and even the Saintesses’ position in the harem is awkward, but for the emperor, their tribe is indispensable,” Shan Lai said, her eyes fixed on him. “The Saintess Tribeswomen are given solely to the emperor; the rest are to bear offspring. No one else in the royal family dares touch them, for fear of displeasing His Majesty.”

“Are you worried about me? Don’t be. I have no improper thoughts toward the women of the Saintess Tribe.” The man laughed as if he had heard a joke, reaching out to gently stroke the smooth, delicate skin of her cheek. “But I don’t like others meddling in my affairs, Shan Lai. Let this be the last time.”

Having said that, he withdrew his hand, rose, and left the hall. His calm words drifted softly into her ear: “It’s getting late. Return to Yun Palace early.”

Only after his figure disappeared from sight did Shan Lai tremble, her lashes quivering, as she looked down at the elaborate attire she had deliberately worn before coming.

Every time she met him, she wore this outfit, and every time he complimented her, saying she looked most beautiful in it. But today, he had not even glanced.

Had he forgotten, or had he lost interest?

She raised her eyes to the courtyard, alight with lamps, and her gaze turned colder than the night sky itself.

The next evening, when the man suddenly appeared in her room, Liu Yusheng was both startled and delighted. She extinguished the lamp and leapt straight into his arms.

“How did you get in here?”

“The surveillance outside has been withdrawn.” Feng Qingbai pulled her tightly into his arms, taking in the familiar fragrance of her body with a deep breath.

“You found out that quickly? Do you come every night to check on things?”

“As I should.”

He answered with complete seriousness, making the woman in his arms laugh softly and uncontrollably.

She had been so afraid he’d be discovered that she’d blown out the lamp the moment he appeared, so fast that she didn’t even get a proper look at him.

Thinking about it, they hadn’t been able to see each other for several days.

Though they were in the same palace, it felt as though they were separated by mountains and seas.

“It’s good you came. You saw the note I left that day, right? This Prince Shunyang, what do you think of him?”

“He’s exactly the kind of person I most want to kill.” Feng Qingbai summed it up in one concise, forceful sentence.

Liu Yusheng: “…” She collapsed into laughter again.

Only when she finally calmed down did Feng Qingbai continue, “The palace is getting more and more dangerous for you. After the sacrificial ceremony, if there’s still no way for you to leave openly, then abandon this identity. I’ll arrange for you to get out of the capital first.”

“What about you?”

“We’ll stay a few more days. We can’t return empty-handed regarding the Xiliang emperor. If we want to sneak in again next time, it won’t be this easy.” During this period, he and Xue Qinglian had taken turns looking for openings, trying to uncover the Emperor’s connections to outside forces, but they’d found absolutely nothing.

The more it was like this, the more suspicious it became.

Royal courts across all nations had been thrown into turmoil,so how was the Xiliang Emperor managing to stay safely in his capital while manipulating everything from afar?

No matter how well a fox hides its tail, there will always be traces. If they hadn’t found them yet, it only meant their skills weren’t sharp enough.

This alone showed how deep the Emperor’s schemes and city walls truly ran.

If they still found nothing after the grand ceremony, he and Xue Qinglian would stay only a few more days before leaving. They wouldn’t linger.

The longer they remained, the more dangerous it would become. He wasn’t afraid for himself, but he couldn’t let Shengsheng stay in danger with him.

“All right,” Liu Yusheng didn’t object to his decision. She knew that her presence did little to help them here; in fact, this time she had even gotten dragged into trouble. “You and Xue Qinglian should pay extra attention to Shan Lai. She’s a saintess of the Gu Medicine Clan, and she lives in a palace residence only members of the royal family are allowed to occupy. That means she’s highly valued by the imperial house. She might not be the emperor’s right hand with a status like, but close to it. I feel like there may be far more to uncover from her.”

Feng Qingbai’s eyes darkened. “All right.”

The Xiliang Emperor, Prince Shunyang, Shan Lai—this trip into the Xiliang imperial palace was fraught with danger on all sides.

A pity they were so short-handed this time; otherwise, what they could accomplish would be far more than this.

Neither of them knew that back in Nanling, a certain ‘Jin’ had already obtained imperial travel papers from Feng Mohan and was sharpening his metaphorical blades, ready to charge toward Xiliang.

Qian Wanjin left the capital and boarded a ship bound for Xiliang, bringing along two full cargo ships of nourishing tea and wine. Looking toward the distant horizon, he brimmed with confidence.

Because Shi Xianrou was a general’s daughter and had once fought on the battlefield, her identity was too sensitive. To lower Xiliang’s guard as much as possible, he didn’t bring her this time. He left her in the capital and went alone into the unknown.

Hands clasped behind his back as he stood at the bow of the ship, watching the canal waters split before him. He felt a heroic surge in his chest, as though he were riding the wind and cleaving through the waves.

Exceptionally grand.

Once he opened a breach in Xiliang and established a firm foothold there, he’d like to see who else dared to say that Qian Wanjin only knew how to make money and was otherwise useless.

He would be Nannan and Feng Qingbai’s savior—hahaha!

Just imagining Feng Qingbai bowing to thank him made a certain ‘Jin’ tremble all over with excitement.

“Pa!” He took a smack to the forehead.

Qian Wanjin clutched his head and ground his teeth. “Dad, you’re a refined merchant. Mind your image!”

“What? The Liu elders can smack you, but when it comes to me, suddenly I need to mind my image? Whose son are you again?”

“How is this a father–son issue? You just slapped away the entire dignified image of an imperial merchant! When we’re out in public, you need to give your son some face. And don’t forget—I’m now the head of the Qian family. Hitting the family head means you’ll be dealt with according to family law!”

Qian Baihao laughed boldly, then turned and went into the cabin. When he came back out, he was holding a feather duster.

Qian Wanjin immediately took off running.

Father and son chased each other around the deck, trading verbal jabs as they ran. Because of these two insignificant humans, the entire canal became lively.

In the end, Qian Wanjin was defeated.

His father pinned him down and whipped his backside with the feather duster.

“Showing off, huh? You’re so young, yet you can’t even outrun your old man. How do you have any shame? Useless brat!”

“Fine, hit me if you want, but don’t make it a personal attack!”

“I’m beating you, literally a personal attack! If you’ve got the guts, make it so your old man can’t hit you!”

“…” He was actually left speechless.