"Watch out, Childe!"
The attentant shouted, but it was too late. Sundenly, Liu Shaoming felt an itchiness on the nerves all over his body. A kind of mad magic made him open his mouth, and he laughed without a pause.
Seeing Liu Shaoming's situation, his attendant was freaked out and operated Qing Gong on Liu Shaoming immediately, then they suddenly disappeared in front of the Jing Yue Pavilion...
But many people witnessed this, and they all mocked Liu Shaoming for his arrogancy. But it wasn't a fatal injury, it would be something to see whether Liu Shaoming would blame this on Hua Qiyue.
If he went to blame her, then people would say that it was a trick played by a child, and it would be unmanly for him to argue with a child.
If he didn't get even, this First Childe of the Liu's would have to let it go, which upset him a lot.
Tianci was young, but last night, Hua Qiyue taught him a trick of Qi Art for self defense. Tianci was extremely gifted and he had already mastered it after only one-hour study.
Hua Qiyue was very satisfied with what happened just now. At least, Tianci would be more and more strong in the future, and he would no longer need the protection from his mother by then.
Before the appointed Youshi time (mid afternoon), Hua Qiyue and Tianci had gotten on the carriage, and Lv Xin and Youshui followed them. Although it would be a night of storm, Hua Qiyue had to take Tianci with her.
Tianci was still young, but he needed to grow to maturity, learning about the hideous features of all kinds of people, so that he would be safe and sound in the world that followed the law of the jungle.
But Hua Qiyue wouldn't ruin his innocence. She would still take Tianci outside and find a suitable academy for him.
After meeting Xuanji last time, Hua Qiyue hadn't seen him anymore. He was very mysterious. It was said that he didn't live in the Rongfu Temple anymore.
"Miss, you're just an acquaintance to the Empress. It is abnormal that the Empress would hold this birthday banquet for you." Indeed, Lv Xin was a thoughtful girl. She sat there and couldn't find out the answer, and finally, she had to ask Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue smiled calmly, and she held Tianci's soft little hands, tenderly manicuring his nails.
"Perhaps, the Emperor once talked about Miss to the Empress, so, the Empress pays more attention to Miss," Qiuyun smiled calmly and said.
"Lv Xin, the Empress invited us honestly and sincerely, don't speculate Her Highness' intention as you like." Hua Qiyue said calmly. She fondled Tianci's head after finishing manicuring his nails.
Tianci rubbed his little face on her sleeves, "Mom, is there a lot of delicious food in the palace?"
Hua Qiyue nodded, "Yes, but it is a royal banquet. Even a child shouldn't be too impolite, do you understand?"
Tianci nodded seriously after hearing that.
"However...Tianci, what you should keep in mind is that you can behave as you like in front of me. But in front of others, especially those whom you're not familiar with and you don't know whether they're friends or enemies, you should be extremely cautious and careful. Of course, until the day you're strong enough, until the day nobody is above you, you're allowed to show your true nature." Hua Qiyue calmly smiled, and Lv Xin and others felt unbelievable due to her teaching.
'Why did First Miss say this?'
The Changjing Kingdom had always attached importance to courtesy. In this country, every child, from the poor families or the rich families, would receive such education.
But Hua Qiyue educated her son in an opposite way, which quite confused them.
After a while, the carriage entered the palace and came to the Imperial Garden. The delicacies had already been placed on the table, but the Emperor and the Empress had not yet arrived. Except for the Hua's family members, the childes, ladies and other members from other big families who were also invited.
Princess Mingzhu was invited too, and her eyelashes shook slightly when she saw Hua Qiyue.
She dropped her eyes to conceal that wisp of cold light in her eyes.
Hua Mengshi, together with Second Madame, sat on the second seat on the right, all smiles. Eunuch Xu led Hua Qiyue to the first table on the right, which was obviously arranged by the Empress intentionally.
Hua Qiyue sat down with Tianci after she expressed her thanks to Eunuch Xu.
The members of the Ji family were also invited. Ji Jing very happily ran to Hua Qiyue and held her hands, saying, "Sister Qiyue, it is unexpected that the Empress thinks so highly of you. I'm very happy for you."
"Jing'er, aren't you invited too? So, the Empress likes you, too." Hua Qiyue smiled lightly and let her sit down.
Ji Jing was really naive by thinking that. The Empress held this birthday banquet for Hua Qiyue just because she liked her? It was just a trap.
"Sister must be kidding. I very much like the talented and pretty people like you, too! Look... many childes are looking at you. It seems that your charm is great!"
Ji Jing looked around in secret, discovering that many childes also looked at Hua Qiyue with strange eyes.
Although Hua Qiyue had a notorious fame and it was said that she was very ugly, in fact, it was just a rumor, and she was hundreds of times prettier than Hua Mengshi.
Moreover, Hua Qiyue performed perfectly on the competition held by the Ji family, which attracted many boys' eyes in secret.
Hua Qiyue also noticed that those gleaming eyes were looking at her. She smiled calmly, as peaceful as a chrysanthemum blossom, which was more appealing.
Immediately, many romantic childes came to her with a glass of wine and intended to chat with her.
Hua Qiyue responded to them easily and properly. But Hua Mengshi was seldom visited and there were few who would be inclined to chat with her. It was because more and more negative news about her were spread to the public after Hua Mengshi had voluntarily withdrawn from the competition.
That was why more and more people disliked her. And now Hua Mengshi behaved calmly and smiled like a flower.
Her heart was filled with anxiety and resentment, but she had to oppress her emotions.
Seeing this, Princess Mingzhu stepped forth and sat next to her, "Long time no see, Second Miss Hua."
Hua Mengshi felt flattered when she saw Princess Mingzhu being friendly to her, and she immediately stood up and smiled reverently, "Long time no see, Princess Mingzhu."
A strange light skimmed over Princess Mingzhu's eyes, and she smiled slightly, as light as a breeze, as clear as a cloud.
"You're welcome, Second Miss. We haven't had an intimate talk in a long time. We're as close as sisters, please be casual," Princess Mingzhu smiled and said. They sat together, and the atmosphere around them became especially strange.
Hua Qiyue looked around with her beautiful eyes and finally lingered when seeing Princess Mingzhu and Hua Mengshi, with her mouth curving up.
And now, Princess Huiya showed up leisurely; she was extremely happy when she saw Hua Qiyue. She walked to Hua Qiyue and held her hands, saying happily, "Princess Jinghua, you're so respected that even the Empress held the banquet for you."
Hua Qiyue smiled and said calmly, "Indeed, the Empress is really kind to us ordinary women."
Although Princess Huiya was not the Empress' daughter, Hua Qiyue didn't thoroughly figure out whether she was a friend or an enemy yet. On the surface, Princess Huiya seemed to be that kind of naive princess.
However, it was hard to speculate about what people were thinking, so, it was a good thing to be more cautious.
The guests were chatting with each other mannerly, only to see a group of people pouring in the entrance of the Imperial Garden who turned out to be eunuchs and maidservants leading the way. Then, The Empress who was in Phoenix Robe and tha Changlong Emperor who was in Dragon Robe came in leisurely.
Seeing the Emperor, the guests had different facial expressions. After all, as a learner at the bottom stage of the Dragon Diagram, Hua Qiyue was a God-given genius. So, it was inevitable that the Emperor paid much attention to her.
Old Madame Hua was satisfied because she had never thought that the loser legitimate daughter of Hua's Mansion would be sparkly like this.
"Gosh, Prince Nan and the son of the feudal lord Huangfu came, too!" A scream caused endless envy and admiration among girls, and their eyes shifted to those two men who attracted much attention as soon as they showed up.
Hua Qiyue was a little surprised and she didn't expect that Yun Shimo and Huangfu Xuan would also come to the banquet.
She raised her eyes slightly, only to see that Yun Shimo, dressed in black, seemed to be neater and more handsome. Tonight, Huangfu Xuan unexpectedly boasted, wearing a white robe which made him look like an elf prince riding a horse under the moonlight, and his entire body emitted a sense of freshness.
Huangfu Xuan's eyes met with hers, but this man smugly snorted and looked away. Hua Qiyue smiled slightly, 'Does this man who used to be my fiance still thinks that I have feelings for him?'
Things remained unchanged but people had changed. She was no longer the Hua Qiyue she used to be.
"Ya, Daddy! Is that my Daddy?" As soon as Tianci saw Yun Shimo, he immediately jumped up excitedly. But Hua Qiyue stopped him when he was about to rush to Yun Shimo.
"Tianci... you shouldn't scream in this occasion!" Hua Qiyue whispered. Tianci blinked his eyes, and he listened to her though he didn't understand what she said.
Hua Qiyue was relieved in secret. However, Old Madame Hua and others looked at Tianci in confusion.
"His Majesty comes! Her Highness comes! The First Prince comes!" A eunuch called in a shrill voice. The guests saluted them; the Changlong Emperor smiled and asked them to be casual.
Huangfu Changyu gave a glance at Hua Qiyue significantly, without saying anything.
The Changlong Emperor mannerly looked at Hua Qiyue, gently smiling and saying, "Princess Jinghua, this is your birthday banquet. The Empress says that it's difficult to find a genius of Qi Art, and I agree with her. Therefore, I specially asked the Empress to prepare this birthday banquet, hoping that Princess Jinghua won't mind it!"
Hua Qiyue was overwhelmed and bowed down, saying, "I'm flattered. Thanks for Your Majesty and Your Highness' great kindness!"
Seeing Hua Qiyue being very respectful, the Changlong Emperor sat down calmly, and the Empress also said with a smile, "Princess Jinghua, it's unexpected that you've gotten through Qi Mai and learned about Qi Art; I'm very impressed. It seems that there appears to be one more Qi Art talent in our Changjing Kingdom!"
"Your Highness is joking, it was just the luck that enabled me to have such a wonderful experience!" Hua Qiyue smiled and said properly.
The others echoed. The Empress still kept her tender and dignified smile, however, a wisp of extremely concealed and cold light skimmed over her eyes.
'Hua Qiyue! Tonight will be your undoing! I'll have you loose your reputation and repay the blood debts! I want you to console Huizhen's wrongly understood soul!' These words suddenly arose from the Empress's mind.
Tonight, would be an exciting night.
The banquet began. The Changlong Emperor and the Empress paid much attention to Hua Qiyue, and specially bestowed her some extremely rare treasures.
But somehow, Hua Qiyue frequently felt that the Empress' gaze fell on her, and when she raised her head to meet with that pair of beautiful and smiling eyes, the noble Empress smiled slightly but weirdly.
Hua Qiyue became very popular. But as a young and rich lady in the capital, Hua Mengshi suddenly became undesired just like a bleak and lacklustre stone. Those handsome childes no longer noticed her and shifted their eyes to Hua Qiyue.
Of course, who was reluctant to be friends with a Qi Artist at the bottom stage of the Dragon Diagram? It would be two happy events to marry her because not only could they get a beautiful wife, but also they would gain royal favor!
Hua Mengshi smiled gently and properly without any disappointment and still kept the style that a First Miss should have. Hua Mengshi half consciously looked at Hua Qiyue with a smile, but there was one more wisp of satire in her eyes.
When the banquet went halfway, Eunuch Xu came in hurriedly and screamed, "Your Majesty, there is something wrong, something went wrong..."
Eunuch Xu's facial expression very likely implied that something important had happened. All of a sudden, all the people quieted down, and the Changlong Emperor glanced at Eunuch Xu unhappily to say, "What on earth happened that made you panic?"
"Your Majesty! Just now, Palace Guards arrested a spy named Wang Zhong in Your Majesty's study room, and he is from the Tumo Kingdom. He is a newcomer who joined the Palace Guards three months ago. He also has the symbol of the Tumo Kingdom tattoed on his back, which can prove that he is a hidden traitor..."
Eunuch Xu said with a terrible face. Hearing this, the Changlong Emperor suddenly snorted, "A hidden traitor? People from Tumo Kingdom are so brave that arrange a spy to enter my palace? Someone, fetch him!"
The Tumo Kingdom and the Changjing Kingdom hadn't been getting along well with each other. Moreover, the people living in the Tumo Kingdom were barbaric and robust, often making troubles at the border. As for the king of the Tumo Kingdom, he proclaimed that he would set foot on every piece of land in the Changjing Kingdom. However, he didn't do it because there were twenty senior Qi Artists in the Changjing Kingdom.
Thus, the Changlong Emperor would attach much importance to Qi Artists. For a powerful nation, Qi Artists were an absolutely necessary part of it.
A senior Qi Artist was worth ten thousands of soldiers!