The Seventh Princess Insists on Making Me Live Off Her - Chapter 18

“Two months from now, at the Wei hour, meet me beneath the parasol tree outside the eastern meditation chamber of the Great Buddha Temple. I will wait for you there.”

Lian Liejin’s expression remained as cold as ice. She casually tossed over a bottle of medicine.

“If the pain becomes unbearable, apply this ointment.”

The celadon medicine bottle was exquisitely crafted. Luo Qian’er held it in her hand and played with it continuously. When she looked up again, she saw Lian Liejin walking back the way she had come. Not far away, a young girl holding the reins of two horses seemed to be waiting for someone.

“Hmph. How do I know you aren’t deceiving me?”

Luo Qian’er called Lian Liejin back once again.

“That is not important.”

The corners of Lian Liejin’s lips rose slightly.

“The initiative is in my hands.”

“Hey, heartless Princess Consort, did you plan to run away today?”

Otherwise, how could she have remained so composed while so generously abandoning her wife?

Hearing the words “heartless Princess Consort,” Lian Liejin stopped walking.

She glanced coldly back at Luo Qian’er before continuing forward.

“Hey! Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to assassinate your princess again?”

Unfortunately, Lian Liejin had already walked too far away. Luo Qian’er could only make out vague fragments such as “you won’t” and “you aren’t capable enough.”

“Hmph. There is definitely something wrong between her and that Seventh Princess.”

Luo Qian’er wore an intensely gossipy expression as she continued muttering to herself.

“It seems eating from the imperial family’s table is not easy at all. Especially when this Princess Consort is living off her wife.”

At that thought, she rolled her eyes.

She had originally intended to continue following Lian Liejin, but the strange pain in her hand forced her to abandon the idea. She could only wrap stellar power around her legs, endure the pain, and speed eastward as though flying.

Beside the Suiyu River, Little Radish yawned beneath a tree.

The moment she saw Lian Liejin, she smiled and said,

“Lielie, you are quite capable. While I was waiting outside Youlan Waterside Pavilion, I saw the First Imperial Prince being carried out. It caused quite a commotion. You must have drugged him, right? But rude people with such vicious mouths should have been taught a lesson long ago.”

“I did not feel much of anything.”

Lian Liejin lowered her eyes toward her left hand—the same hand Gao Jingxi had held earlier.

“But the princess was extremely angry. I noticed it.”

In truth, Lian Liejin had already planned to secretly slip back to Qingyue Mountain today. Unexpectedly, she happened to encounter an assassin and suddenly came up with the idea of pretending to be taken hostage while secretly returning to the mountain.

Otherwise, if the Duke of Yan discovered that she had slipped away, he would force her to return to the home that no longer had her mother.

Receiving a few scoldings was not important.

The real problem was that she did not wish to see those so-called family members.

Thus, being abducted by an assassin provided her with a perfectly legitimate “reason.”

“My goodness. You actually drugged someone for the princess? What a miracle—”

Little Radish stopped halfway through her sentence when she suddenly noticed blood seeping from Lian Liejin’s neck.

“Hey, you’re injured.”

“Mm. It is nothing. The wounds are not deep.”

Lian Liejin wiped away the blood and applied medicinal powder. She then urged Little Radish to mount her horse, and the two headed toward Qingyue Mountain.

The scholars inside Youlan Waterside Pavilion were finally evacuated with great difficulty.

This year’s Poetry and Literature Gathering would unquestionably have to be postponed.

After another incense stick’s worth of time, the guards finally reached the outskirts of the city.

The captain examined the fluctuations of stellar power and confirmed that the assassin had taken the Princess Consort eastward. The guards therefore continued pursuing them toward the east.

Inside Chengqian Hall of the imperial palace, the Emperor sat upon the dragon throne with a gloomy expression.

Gao Jingxi and Lian Pingyou knelt steadily below.

“Excellent. During this year’s Poetry and Literature Gathering, Chen Li was severely injured, and the daughter of the Minister of Personnel is still hovering between life and death. I have already sent every imperial physician there. Gao Jingxi, look at what you have done!”

A eunuch beside the Emperor hurriedly offered her a cup of ginseng tea at precisely the right temperature.

“Your Majesty, please calm your anger.”

But the Emperor’s eyes were blazing with fury. She seized the teacup and hurled it forcefully at Gao Jingxi.

The celadon cup struck Gao Jingxi squarely on the forehead with a loud crack.

It shattered into several pieces, and tea spilled across the floor.

Blood slowly began flowing from Gao Jingxi’s forehead, while the scalding tea splashed across her body.

“Imperial Mother, this daughter is guilty. I failed to arrange proper security and willingly accept punishment. But the Princess Consort—”

Blood slowly streamed down her forehead, yet Gao Jingxi’s expression did not change. She resembled a wooden figure incapable of feeling pain or heat.

“You accept punishment? You have nearly destroyed all my dignity! Within Changyong, directly beneath the Son of Heaven’s feet, you still allowed the assassins to escape!”

The Emperor grabbed a memorial beside her, intending to throw it as well.

“I have lost all face!”

At that moment, the elderly Duke of Yan hurried into the hall.

He was about to kneel and offer his respects when the Emperor immediately replaced her furious expression with a gentle one. She stopped him and ordered someone to bring him a chair.

“Greetings, Your Majesty. This old subject has just heard that my daughter, Lian Liejin, was captured by an assassin and that her whereabouts are currently unknown.”

“Duke, I have already dispatched additional forces. The Princess Consort will certainly be brought back safely and unharmed.”

The Emperor looked at the two people kneeling below and spoke impatiently.

“Stand up and explain the situation properly to the Duke.”

Without bothering to wipe the blood from her forehead, Gao Jingxi rose steadily and bowed to the Duke of Yan.

“Your Highness, you must not! You must not!”

Seeing Gao Jingxi’s injury, the Duke of Yan’s heart jumped.

In the end, he said nothing. He merely rose from his chair, bent his knees and waist, and helped Gao Jingxi stand upright.

“Duke, the Princess Consort accompanied me to the Poetry and Literature Gathering. There were assassins among the dancers who performed for us, and one of them had already reached the rank of Astrologer. To escape, the assassin took the Princess Consort hostage. The guards feared harming her and therefore allowed the assassin to flee.”

After hearing Gao Jingxi’s explanation, the Duke of Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

“This old subject is merely worried that blades have no eyes. If my disappointing daughter were injured, she would have no stellar power to protect her. The child would be in grave danger. But from Your Highness’s words, Jin’er had not been injured at that time, correct?”

“Father, Third Sister was completely unharmed when she was abducted. You need not worry too much.”

Lian Pingyou recalled the situation at the time. Lian Liejin had merely been threatened with the assassin’s sword.

Only then did the Duke of Yan notice Lian Pingyou beside them.

“Oh, Pingyou was also present?”

Gao Jingxi sighed faintly to herself.

“Duke, Liejin… suffered a minor injury. The assassin’s sword cut her during the confusion.”

The Duke of Yan’s heart, which had only just settled, immediately rose again.

Seeing this, Gao Jingxi said softly,

“It was merely a minor wound. Liejin will be fine.”

The Emperor spoke again.

“I have decided to dispatch the Sun Radiance Guard to rescue the Princess Consort.”

The Sun Radiance Guard was a military force created through the immense efforts of the Lan Geng Kingdom. Together with the Moonlight Guard and Stellar Guard, it formed the Three Guards of the Capital.

Each military guard was filled with exceptional talent. None of its members possessed a stellar-power rank below Astrologer, and high-ranking Star Masters were stationed among them.

They could be considered an extraordinarily powerful military force.

Together, the Three Guards defended Changyong and protected the safety of the sovereign. They obeyed the orders of the Emperor alone.

“Imperial Mother, this daughter is willing to personally lead the Sun Radiance Guard and rescue the Princess Consort. Please temporarily bestow the Stellar Fortune Token upon me so that the Sun Radiance Guard will obey my commands.”

“Your Highness, that may not be appropriate.”