Smiling and not saying anything, the Empress remained silent for a while before finally saying, "You're more interesting than I expected. How about accompanying me on a walk?"
Nodding his head, Jian Shen began walking beside Lei Xifeng who walked out of the courtyard and into the herb garden.
"Do you smell that?"
Taking a light sniff of the air, Jian Shen's nose was assaulted by the overbearing scent of rich herbs in the air.
Just the scent of the herbs which were concentrated in the air was so nice that Jian Shen's body quivered a little from.
After all, just breathing the air made Jian Shen feel like he had been reborn.
"The herbs?"
"That's the scent of wealth."
As Jian Shen turned to look towards her, the Empress bent over and randomly plucked a herb out.
"All this herb garden serves to show is how wealthy the Winter Jade Empire is."
Indeed the woman's words and actions were true because not just anyone could afford to maintain such a huge herb garden and even plucking a herb so valuable in such a savage way.
One should know that unless a herb was plucked properly, it would be completely useless with a high probability of it losing all of its medicinal properties.
Unfortunately, none of Jian Shen's focus was on the herb garden or on the plucked herb, rather he was looking towards Xifeng's ass which was in view due to her bending over.
"You're looking at the wrong place boy."
"Really? I don't think that's possible."
As a woman who stood at the top of an Empire, Lei Xifeng didn't consider such actions as anything too bad and wrote it off with a light chuckle.
"I guess you've understood what I'm trying to say, right?"
"Yup. You're saying the same thing your daughter tried to say. The Winter Jade Empire is just as rich as any other force out there."
Smiling happily, the Empress continued walking forward with the flower which had crystal glass petals in her hand until they came across a table.
"Take a seat, I'm going to let you taste something really special."
"Oh? Is it what I think it is?"
Shaking her head with a smile at how Jian Shen's words and actions clearly showed what it was that he was thinking about, Xifeng said, "Get your mind out of the gutter boy, it's tea that I'm talking about."
Coinciding with the woman's words, a maid carrying a tray arrived and set it down on the table between them.
On the tray was a pot of purple tea and two frail and transparent glasses.
"Is this really tea? It looks like boiled wine."
"Just watch."
Plucking two petals of the flower she had plucked, Xifeng dropped one of them each in both of the cups after which she poured the purple tea in them.
"Do you know? This purple tea is actually the tastiest and the most poisonous tea in existence in the Divine Realm."
"Drinking a single sip can be considered as taking a trip to heaven both due to how good it tastes and due to how it kills you after your body comes in contact with it."
"Please."
Moving her hands as if to tell Jian Shen to not hold back and help himself to drink the poisonous tea, Xifeng picked the cup on her side to enjoy it herself.
"What is this? Mutual suicide?"
"How about we consider this as a way to show our trust and faith to each other? You're going to drink the poisonous tea I served you, while I'm going to accompany you in drinking the same."
Blinking his eyes, Jian Shen who had already learnt everything he needed to know about the tea from the two swords picked up the cup without any hesitation.
Eyeing the clear water which no longer looked purple and the transparent petal which was now purple in colour, Jian Shen began slowly drinking the tea while making sure to not consume the petal.
Xifeng herself also did the same while her impression of Jian Shen had become even better after seeing him not panicking or refusing when he was asked to drink poison.
If it wasn't because she knew that he had just ascended, Xifeng would've thought that Jian Shen knew about the tea.
"How is it?"
"Tasty."
"Make sure to not consume the petal, it contains all the poison which had been absorbed from the cup of tea."
Saying the unneeded because Jian Shen already knew so, Xifeng asked, "Shall we now make a deal?"
"Yes."
"The Winter Jade Empire needs your support for the next 1000 years or until you once again ascend, whichever comes first. Feel free to ask whatever it is that you want in exchange."
"Anything?"
Only smiling subtly when he said those words, Jian Shen didn't say anything stupid like saying he wanted her. Rather he said, "I don't mind supporting the Winter Jade Empire, in exchange I want.. "
Cutting Jian Shen short, the Empress said, "The location of the pieces of the Myriad God Sword in the Divine Realm, right?"
"You knew."
"Can I consider those words as an agreement between us?"
Nodding his head, Jian Shen asked, "How did you know about the Myriad God Sword?"
Smiling proudly, Lei Xifeng explained how one of her ancestors had ascended to the Dao Realm and then came back before he was dying to reveal many details including those related to the Nine Heavenly Creations.
This was why the rulers of the Winter Jade Empire had done their best to search and locate any of the Nine Heavenly Creations and the pieces of the Myriad God Sword inside the Divine Realm.