Qin Keqin had to admit that this Qiuxiang Huan had indeed caught her off-guarded. She had never thought of giving any excuse for the attack on the Solitary Manor since she was not involved in it. However, the gestures that were displayed by her protégés had touched her deeply.
Therefore she had decided to take the rap for it.
She had also never thought that Celestial Shi Guanyin would actually lead an attack on the Solitary Manor for her sake. Previously Celestial Shi Guanyin had been a little indifferent to her. Therefore she had played a trick on her and this had caused Shi Guanyin attitude to change.
Although Qin Keqin had played a trick on Shi Guanyin, she was also quite generous and had actually given a real Seven Hearts Hollow Pill to her as a secret compensation.
She had of course lied to Tang Bufan that the Seven Hearts Hollow Pill was tempered with. As a matter of fact, it was not. When Shi Guanyin had taken such a powerful divine pill, naturally she would be consumed by the heat of the divine pill and would temporary lose her profound strength since her profound strength would be consumed in the process of absorbing the Seven Hearts Hollow Pill. It was at that time that she had stepped in to aid Shi Guanyin.
Shi Guanyin was actually not the target of her prank and instead it was Tang Bufan. It was because Tang Bufan had not only interrupted her moment with Lu Qingyun, he had also insulted her by calling her an old hag that lusted after her new disciple Lu Qingyun.
Of course she would have punished Tang Bufan directly but if she did that then she would not be the 'Devil Goddess'.
Qiuxiang Huan smiled gently, "It is perfectly alright for Sect Leader Qin not to disclose the reasons. After all, it is good to teach Supremacy Wen a lesson or two. After all, he had been quite a bully lately."
Qin Keqin rolled her eyes as she tried very hard to think of a reason. Usually she was quite quick witted but because Lu Qingyun was now looking gently at her therefore she was a little distracted by him as she stole several glances at him.
Between the two of them, it was as though the others did not exist at all.
Lu Qingyun seemed to be saying to her, "Keqin, we don't need to explain to anyone. If the Heavenly Fragrance Princess comes down hard on us, I am willing to lay down my life for you."
Even though Qin Keqin was the Great Saintess Fan Yuqing but the might of the entire divine realm was not something that she could clash with. After all, the celestial cultivators were mortal as well and no one had unlimited profound strength.
Qin Keqin lit a faint smile as she replied, "I don't mind telling you or anyone here the real reasons why the Heavens Ridge Villa had attacked the Solitary Manor. I believe that it is time for me to give everyone an accounting too. After all, you are all here to attend my crowning ceremony and to befriend me, am I right?"
Lu Qingyun: ???
Ouyang Xue, Leng Qiuyue and Lie Xingyuan: ???!!!
Lu Qingyun, Ouyang Xue, Leng Qiuyue and Lie Xingyuan were suddenly anxious. It was because if their sect leader had said the wrong words then it would be a total disaster for the Heavens Ridge Villa.
Ling Chong and Fairy Ling Xiu were both thinking, "You mustn't tell anyone that the Flying Armament Sect is involved…" Although it was not a secret that the Flying Armament Sect had aided the Heavens Ridge Villa on that night but some things were better left unsaid.
Qiuxiang Huan was smiling wryly. It was not easy to cook a story that could convince everyone. If she was thinking of telling a story then it would be easy for the many ears to find a plot hole in it and she would be furthered dragged into the mud hole of her own making.
It was a fact that the Heavens Ridge Villa had broken the sacred laws of the Heavenly Fragrance Divine Realm. No excuses could possibly have justified such an act. In fact, several smaller celestial clans and interest groups were already distancing themselves from the Heavens Ridge Villa as they had predicted that it would not be long before the Patriarch Clan Heavenly Fragrance Villa were to take action against it.
In New Empyrean City, there were many fragile alliances and formidable enemies. Throughout the years, the Heavens Ridge Villa had made plenty of enemies. Even if Supremacy Wen did not lodge a complaint against the Heavens Ridge Villa in the presence of the Heavenly Fragrance Princess, there were bounded to be others who were willing to do so.
Lu Qingyun quickly stepped in to say to say to Qin Keqin, "Master, there are some important matters waiting in the clan for you to settle. Why don't you make a move first?"
Qin Keqin smiled faintly as she looked gently at him. She knew that he had only said that to get her out of this awkward situation. "Yun'Er, that's alright. Master has some spare time anyway. It will be rude if I don't give an explanation since all the dignitaries are here today and I can't allow the reputation of the Heavens Ridge Villa to be tarnished due to unsightly gossips."
Then she turned to Qiuxiang Huan to say gently, "Since you have asked, I may as well make an earlier announcement first."
Although her voice was soft but in the ears of all the hundreds of listeners in the hall, it was clear and everyone was edging to have a closer listening ear…
Qin Keqin had suddenly taken out a white and blue token as she said in a stern voice, "This is the leadership heavenly fragrance token of our Patriarch Clan Heavenly Fragrance Villa. Seeing this token is as good as seeing an elder of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa!"
This heavenly fragrance token that was displayed by Qin Keqin was not the same as the one that was tossed by Feng Minyue to the Solitary Manor. That was an order token and the one that was displayed by Qin Keqin was the leadership token.
The instant that Qin Keqin had displayed the leadership token, there was an intimidating profound aura that shook the hearts of all the people in the hall.
Ouyang Xue and Leng Qiuyue were both stunned. How did their sect leader got her hand on the leadership heavenly fragrance token of the Heavenly Fragrance Princess?!
Old Councilor You was startled, "This…"
He had seen quite a few of the leadership heavenly fragrance tokens in the past and had only seen only one in the past with this kind of intimidating profound aura. The leadership tokens of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa had their own auras depending on the profound strength of the Heavenly Fragrance Princesses that issued it.
There was only one Heavenly Fragrance Princess that had this kind of profound strength and that was the Great Saintess Feng Minyue!
So he was stammering with shock, "This is…the leadership token that is issued by the Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng Min…" but he stopped short of completing his words as he had suddenly realized that it was horribly rude for him to call out Great Saintess Feng Minyue personal name.
But it could not stop the some of the panicky crowd from muttering, "Great Saintess Feng Minyue…it is the leadership token of the Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng Minyue…"
Even Qiuxiang Huan was stunned by the display of the leadership heavenly fragrance token as she thought, "This can't be real right? This token must be a fake…"
Lu Qingyun had sharp ears as well and at this moment, his countenance had a weird expression on it and his mind was pacing. "Senior Feng Minyue is the Great Saintess Feng Minyue?! She is the Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng Minyue?!"
He did not know who Feng Minyue was back then. It was because after Feng Minyue had passed the Heavenly Fragrance Princess position to her successor, she had gone into seclusion.
The astonishing alluring maiden that had poured tea for him during their first meeting was actually the divine ruler of this entire divine realm?! Was this even possible?!
He felt as though his legs had gone jelly and his head was in a great daze…
Now it made sense to him all of a sudden. He knew that Feng Minyue was a great saintess and there was only one great saintess in this divine realm and that was Feng Minyue. No, wait! There is also Xuan Danfeng and she is also a great saintess. And who is Xuan Danfeng? Even Keqin is also a great saintess. There are actually three great saintesses in New Empyrean City and they have addressed each other as sisters?!
"Keqin is the Great Saintess Fan Yuqing and the great heroine of the Nine Celestial Fraternity. It is not surprising that she knows the Heavenly Fragrance Princess…but why should a lofty existence like Senior Feng Minyue be in this small city and is doing petty things like 'spying' on the others? To think that I am part of their 'gang' and I have the lowest cultivation level…"
Lie Xingyuan was startled as well but she was not too surprised. It was because she was more interested in the histories of the past celestial heroines and she knew that the Great Saintess Fan Yuqing had adventured together in the past with Feng Minyue, Xuan Danfeng and Ye Jing. The four of them were as close as sisters. Moreover the Great Saintess Fan Yuqing was her idol that she had worshipped in the past and she knew everything about her…or so she had thought until she had discovered that she was the Devil Goddess.
She still could not believe that she would actually be staying under the same roof as her idol. Although she had disliked the Devil Goddess but she was actually glad that she would be seeing her idol everyday…
"Alas, if only she isn't the Devil Goddess…"
Qin Keqin chuckled and said with authority, "I've met 'Old Matriarch Feng' by accident and she had made me an elder, entrusting me with the task of reprimanding the Solitary Manor."
She had purposely said Old Matriarch Feng because she did not want Lu Qingyun to fall suddenly in love with Feng Minyue and to hint him that Feng Minyue was many centuries old. Sisters were sisters only if they were not love rivals. After all, at one point Feng Minyue was even the renowned number one top beauty of the Nine Celestial Fraternity until she had unofficially ousted her from the position.
Then she swept her eyes across the hall, "I'm sure that all of you have already known what had happened in general."
She paused to say with a smile, "I had a private conversation with Old Saint Wen because I did not want to alarm anyone that I'm an elder of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa. I had merely showed him this token and he was wise enough to stand on my side…"
Qiuxiang Huan and many others in this hall had heard that after Old Saint Wen had come out of his private meeting with Qin Keqin, he seemed to be a changed person and he had even attacked Supremacy Wen and Celestial Bai Laoxiong. Needless to say, everyone had assumed that Qin Keqin had sacrificed herself in order to save her celestial clan…
So that was the reason why Old Saint Wen had a change of attitude…
Everything seemed to make sense now for everyone…
Ouyang Xue and Leng Qiuyue were looking with blanked expression at each other. Did it mean that it was unnecessary for them to attack the Solitary Manor? What a big blunder…
Qin Keqin added, "Why do you think that I will dare to attack the Solitary Manor and why do you think the Solitary Manor will take this lying down?"
That was the weirdest part. The Solitary Manor with its numerous protégés and branches was surprising quiet about the whole incident. Of course, they did not know that Qin Keqin had actually sent Feng Minyue to silence the Solitary Manor because she was starting to like the Heavens Ridge Villa and its people.
Ouyang Xue and Leng Qiuyue had suddenly realized that Qin Keqin was making up a story. It was because their sect leader had no clue that they had attacked the Solitary Manor as they did not inform her about the attack. It seemed to them that their sect leader was trying to take up the rap for them…
Qin Keqin smiled alluringly, "I actually didn't want to let anyone knows that I'm the elder of Heavenly Fragrance Villa but I guess that I've no other choices now."
Old Councilor You was secretly pleased. To have an elder of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa in New Empyrean City was an extreme honorable affair and moreover she was also the top beauty of New Empyrean City now.
"We have all wronged Sect Leader Qin…"
"She is a true goddess with an outstanding background…"
"She is even an elder of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa…"
"Does it means that the Heavens Ridge Villa is also under the direct protection of the Heavenly Fragrance Villa?"
Qiuxiang Huan was smiling weakly. Although the story itself had many plot holes like, how did she meet the Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng Minyue and why did the Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng make her an elder. There were more questions that she had wanted to ask but she knew that she had to trend carefully lest her malicious intentions would be revealed prematurely.
Therefore she said gently, "Thank you for sharing. This is truly enlightening. I didn't know that Sect Leader Qin is also an elder of the Heavens Fragrance Villa as well. I really wish that I would have the honor to play host to you in the future at the Clear Sky Pavilion."
Qin Keqin chuckled, "Why should we wait for the future? We can go to the Clear Sky Pavilion now."
Qiuxiang Huan was startled and her lips were trembling lightly. She was just making a polite speech and had not expected that Qin Keqin would really want to visit the Clear Sky Pavilion.
She muttered, "Welcome, welcome…"
Why was it that all her plans seemed to be so screwed up all of a sudden?
Qin Keqin whispered to Lu Qingyun, "Yun'Er, are you well? You don't look so good?"
Lu Qingyun was smiling weakly, "I'm good…"
He was still recovering from his shock that he had seen the Patriarch Heavenly Fragrance Princess Feng Minyue in person and could not believe his experiences…
When Lie Xingyuan saw the shocked expression that was on Lu Qingyun, she was also secretly gasping. "Senior brother seems a little startled after hearing the name of the Great Saintess Feng. Omg…don't tell me that the other Devil Goddess that I've seen is actually Feng Minyue…"
Lie Xingyuan was clearly shocked. If that was the case then this divine realm had already become the dark territory of the Devil Goddess…
In the meantime Qin Keqin was laughing in her heart, "Minyue, guess that I have to borrow your name and token for a couple more times now." She had made up this story at the very last minute.