NoGift

AURUM looked up at the jade pillars and golden tiled roof and she just couldn"t help but let out a long sigh . The building in front was Fenghua Palace - the official residence of the Empress of Xing . Yesterday, a eunuch from this palace sent a personal invitation from the Empress inviting Aurum for an afternoon tea . The eunuch personally saw her happily eating snacks with Madame Lin . So they couldn"t use the same ruse that she wasn"t feeling well to decline the invitation . Thus, this situation .

She came here with two maidservants lent by Madame Lin, one of them was the madame"s most trusted servant - Zi Yu . Her brother couldn"t come with her because men we"re not allowed inside the Imperial Harem . Unless if you"re the Emperor, or his sons, or a eunuch . Aurum was not afraid to meet the Empress on her own . She just didn"t want this to be another repeat of that s.h.i.+tty tea party .

She just hoped that the Empress wouldn"t turn out to be such a b*tch . Because her brother would definitely not hesitate to offend the royal family if she was bullied here . Something they couldn"t afford right now . At least not until they found their mother . Because as long as they"re in Xing, the Emperor still had the power to limit their movements . Once they"ve rescued their mother, then Xing"s royal family could go to h.e.l.l for all she cared .

"Don"t worry, Lady Aurum, if you"re not sure of what to do, this servant will do everything to intervene," Zi Yu a.s.sured her .

Aurum smiled warmly at the older woman . "Thank you, Zi Yu . "

The eunuch who welcomed them lead them to the palace"s garden . There, in the middle of the beautiful field of flowers was a pavillion . Sitting inside was a woman wearing a magnificent red robe with intricate golden embroidery on them . Her long black hair was arranged in a complicated manner, on top of her head was a golden head dress . Her face was clasically pretty but not overwhelmingly so that she would be considered a devastating beauty . But the grace engraved in her totally made up for that .

They said that there"s only one woman allowed to wear red in the harem - the Empress . Murong Xue .

"Your Majesty, Lady Aurum Blackbourne has arrived," the eunuch said, announcing her arrival .

Aurum walked towards the pavillion, along with the two maidservants with her and bowed . "Your Majesty . "

The Empress put down the cup of tea she was drinking . "Welcome, Lady Aurum . Please do sit down and enjoy this tea with this Empress . "

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aurum said with a sweet smile on her face . She walked inside the pavillion and sat accross the Empress . A palace maidservant immediately poured tea for her .

"This Empress just heard that you were not feeling well . Are you feeling better now? If this Empress have known that you"re not in good health, this Empress wouldn"t have invited you so arbitrarily . "

[Yeah, right . There"s no way you didn"t know that I wasn"t feeling well, but you still invited me anyway . ] Aurum smiled . "I"m already feeling better, Your Majesty . It"s probably due to the herbal supplements that His Majesty, the Emperor, sent . And now that I"ve seen such a magnificent palace and drank such a delicious tea, it lifted my spirits even more . "

Murong Xue finally gave a serious look at the young lady in front of her . What she said wasn"t over the top but it would still evoke a sense of fondness from the listener . Add that to her overly beautiful face and anyone listening would have a good impression of her . This girl certainly knew how to make people like her .

Her manner"s were perfect, even the way she spoke the Xing language was impeccable . With her family background, she would definitely be a perfect candidate for a wife . Especially since that company her brother founded was starting to really gain influence here in Xing . If Murong Xue could marry her off to her youngest son, it would definitely benefit her eldest - the crown prince . Being connected to something like Silver Corporation could only be nothing but advantageous .

The only problem was Lady Aurum being a foreigner . But oh well, she wouldn"t be the Empress, so that wouldn"t really cause much trouble . Being this beautiful, Li Ren - her youngest - would surely not reject Lady Aurum .

As soon as she heard that the Blackbourne twins would be coming to Xing, a lot of plans had already been swirling inside Murong Xue"s head . Especially since she found out that the one bringing them, and with a business deal in hand no less, was the fourth prince . A lot of benefits would fall on the first prince"s faction if that deal became successful . But the Emperor already took care of that by taking that deal himself .

Now, Murong Xue only had to take advantage of the time this young lady would be here in Xing . And make sure that before she could leave Xing, she would have no choice but to marry Li Ren . If that plan successfully went through, along with that other deal she made, then that first prince would no longer be a thorn on her side . And Li Ran sitting on the dragon throne would no longer remain as a dream .

"Did Li Jun not visit you? After travelling that long together, he must have already considered you as a friend . That child is quite sociable after all . He could be friends with anyone from all walks of life," the Empress said .

Aurum stopped herself from showing any kind of reaction . Because this woman did not only try to gauge her relations.h.i.+p with the fourth prince, she also low-key insulted him . Because him being able to be friends with all sorts of people meant that he could also be friends with criminals and such . Clearly, this woman wanted her to have a bad impression of the fourth prince . But why? Was she afraid that she would somehow become the fourth prince wife or something? That"s stupid . Who would want to marry in this kind of stiffling society? She"d rather stay at her brother"s island forever .

Anyway, there"s really only one answer that wouldn"t offend anyone . "No, Prince Li Jun didn"t visit . We weren"t really that close . As much as possible, I try to keep my distance from other men . Since it would be disrespectful to my fiance . "

The Empress raised her brow . "Oh, you have a fiance?"

"Yes, it"s the second prince of Albion," Aurum said with the gentlest smile she could conjur . [Sorry, popsicle . I need you to be my fiance for a while . ]

It"s not like anyone here could check if it was true or not . And even if they did, the rumor about them being in that kind of relations.h.i.+p was still floating around Albion .

"I see . " Murong Xue thought that it wasn"t really that surprising . It would be stupid of the King of Albion if he didn"t even try to permanently attach their royal family to the Blackbournes . But so what? That could easily be remedied .

They chatted for almost an hour . That was until a raven suddenly flew inside the pavillion and landed on the table . Aurum noticed the miniscule change in the Empress" expression when she saw the black bird . She took the piece of paper tied to the raven"s claw . Then the raven flew away . But instead of reading what"s on the paper immediately, she turned to Aurum .

"The seventh princess will have her hairpin ceremony next week . This Empress is inviting you to be my personal guess . "

Aurum could barely maintain her smile when she heard that . The way this woman said it, it"s like Aurum had no other choice but to agree . And maybe she really didn"t have any choice . At least not without blatantly offending this woman . She clenched her fists . They couldn"t delay any more time in searching for their mother . Which meant they couldn"t just sit around here in the capital until that whatever ceremony was finished . No . Wait . Her brother couldn"t . But she could .

"I would love to go . It"s an honor to be invited by Your Majesty . "

Yes . This was the only way that would allow her brother to leave the capital without any problem . Although it"s frustrating that she couldn"t help in searching for their mother . At least with her staying here, it wouldn"t give these royals any reason to think that Argent was doing anything other than looking for locations for that project . Because why would Argent do anything suspicious when her twin sister was alone in the capital and under their mercy?

But her brother would definitely hate this . She could already imagine her reaction . Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .

After a while, their afternoon tea time ended and Aurum bid farewell to the Empress . Aurum only walked a few steps when she glanced back at the Empress . She was currently reading the paper that was attached earlier to the raven and there was obvious joy on her face . No, it was more accurate to say that she was ecstatic .

Aurum became curious . What could possibly be written on that paper? Could she somehow use that against the Empress? You know, just in case the Empress tried to scheme against her . She thought about it and finally made a decision . When they were about to leave the garden, Aurum turned off her limiter .

She could use and fully control her power for five seconds . Which meant she could be at full SS level for those short seconds . It wouldn"t be enough in most cases, but in this case, it definitely would . Aurum immediately directed her Mana towards the Empress" position . The moment her Mana touched the Empress, she went through her memory . At least as much as she possibly could in five seconds time . When five seconds were over, she immediately turned her limiter back on .

Aurum"s pupils dilated when she went over the memories she collected . What the--?

"You did great, Lady Aurum," Zi Yu commented once they were out of the garden .

Aurum smiled . "Yes, I certainly did . "