“Self taught?” The Ninth Prince had an envious expression on his face as he continued, “Then you must be very talented! First Brother tried to teach me but I never seemed to make any progress. How great would it be if I were as talented as you...”
After hearing this, Bai Luochu was rather astonished. The Ninth Prince didn’t seem to be someone without talents. As the Ninth Prince of the imperial clan, the cultivation resources he possessed should be nearly inexhaustible. How could he possibly be facing any difficulty in cultivation?
After thinking for a moment, Bai Luochu reached out her hand towards the Ninth Prince and said, “Will Ninth Prince be willing to let me check your meridians?” Bai Luochu didn’t feel any dislike for the Ninth Prince and it had been a long time since she came into contact with someone who approached her without any ulterior intentions or motives.
The Ninth Prince didn’t even think of the repercussions as he stretched his arm over.
A moment later, Bai Luochu withdrew her hand and smiled at the Ninth Prince. “Ninth Prince, if the First Prince says that your talents aren’t good enough in the future, you can just tell him that the problem lies with the cultivation technique. It simply isn’t good enough.”
“The cultivation technique I’m using is one of the strongest techniques the Cloud Water Nation possesses! How can it be lacking?” The Ninth Prince was flabbergasted.
“Even though it’s one of the top cla.s.s techniques, it might not be the most suitable for you. If the Ninth Prince is skeptical about what I said, you can try cultivating another technique.” Bai Luochu smiled. She was indeed in possession of a cultivation technique extremely suitable for the Ninth Prince. It was a pity. Now was not the time for her to take it out.
Seeing how confident Bai Luochu was, the Ninth Prince was convinced. He looked at Bai Luochu and nodded. “No wonder you can obtain my First Brother’s favor. You don’t seem much older than me, yet, you seem so much more knowledgeable.”
Similar age? Bai Luochu smiled. If she really calculated her ago according to how long she lived, she would definitely be much older than the Ninth Prince.
“That’s right. Will you be going to the palace banquet in three days?” The Ninth Prince asked again.
“If I am allowed to go, I will definitely go,” Bai Luochu responded. To be honest, she was rather curious about the birthday banquet as the members of the Phoenix King Valley would be attending as well.
The moment Bai Luochu finished her statement, an attendant rushed over to the pavilion in a hurry. He was in such a rush he wasn’t even able to give them a proper greeting. “Aiyo, my little ancestor, why did you run all the way over here without telling me? The sky is already turning dark. You better hurry back to the palace. If we are late, this servant is going to get a good scolding from Her Majesty again.”
Before the Ninth Prince could even respond, that attendant pulled him and ran off.
As the Ninth Prince was suddenly pulled away, he didn’t even have time to do a formal farewell. He hastily turned his head as he yelled at Bai Luochu, “We have a deal! I will see you at Grandmother’s birthday banquet, three days later! I will give you…” That attendant was in a hurry and the Ninth Prince’s final words vanished into the wind. Bai Luochu didn’t manage to catch what he said in the end.
As a matter of fact, Bai Luochu didn’t catch most of his farewell message. The moment she heard the three words, “Phoenix King Valley”, she fell into a daze and most of the information the Ninth Prince said after that were already forgotten.
The Phoenix King Valley was here to offer their congratulations mainly because of the wedding between the Third Prince and the Valley Master’s daughter. This Third Prince was the Phoenix King Valley Master’s final disciple and was rather reputable throughout Cloud Water Nation. He was also a strong contender for the throne. If he were to truly marry the Phoenix King Valley Master’s daughter, he would be gaining a huge backing.
If Bai Luochu had heard about the relations.h.i.+p of the Third Prince and Phoenix King Valley, she would definitely be able to guess their intentions. There was no way she would take the risk to enter the imperial palace to attend the birthday banquet. She might not even know how she died if she went there.
Seeing that it was getting late and dinner time was coming up, Bai Luochu felt as though Zi Su would be anxious to discover her absence. She tidied up her clothes and made her way back to her room.
After the sun had completely set, when the dim light of the night had pervaded the residence, Bai Luochu took the first step into her courtyard.
“Young Lady, where did you go? This servant has been looking for you for the entire day and couldn’t even catch sight of your shadow. In my opinion, Young Lady will only return after your stomach starts to growl…”
Zi Su pouted her lips and pretended to chide Bai Luochu as she complained without stop.
“Aiyo, I have been cultivating for the past few days and went for a stroll outside. When I reached the garden, I felt drowsy and fell asleep on the couch in the pavilion by the lake. I came back as soon as I woke up! Little Zi Su, please don’t be angry, okay?”
When Bai Luochu saw Zi Su pretending to be angry, she couldn’t help herself. The idea of teasing Zi Su to entertain herself came to mind.
“Did Young Lady encounter the Ninth Prince? Did the Ninth Prince say anything to you?” When Zi Su heard that Bai Luochu had gone to the garden, a wave of anxiety washed over her. She was afraid the Ninth Prince would run his mouth off again.
Bai Luochu roughly narrated her conversation with the Ninth Prince to Zi Su and saw that Zi Su heaved a sigh of relief. “Fortunately, he didn’t say anything unnecessary and ruin our lord’s reputation. The Ninth Prince is truly a spoiled brat.”
After finis.h.i.+ng dinner, Zi Su kept away the leftovers. She turned around and spoke to Bai Luochu, “Earlier on, the commander found this servant and informed me that Young Lady’s ident.i.ty is not suspicious. From now on, Young Lady can enter and leave the residence freely. This is Young Lady’s waist token.” As Zi Su spoke, she handed over the waist token.
This waist token was like a timely rain for Bai Luochu. Right now, if she wanted to attend the palace banquet, there was no other way than to sneak in.
After receiving the waist token, Bai Luochu went back to cultivating. The next thing she knew, the echoing of a gong filled the air. With the signal that night had already fallen, Bai Luochu concluded her cultivation session and went to bed
Just as she was about to fall asleep, Bai Luochu suddenly recalled the words the Ninth Prince used. ‘Receiving the First Prince’s favor’... She was merely a personal servant. Why did he say that she was receiving his favor? Could it be that the Ninth Prince had some misunderstanding about her role?
Bai Luochu didn’t think too much into it as she had been cultivating diligently for the past few days. Most of her energy was used up and she felt extremely tired. Cutting out all the thoughts in her mind, she entered dreamland.
On this night, Bai Luochu was destined to have a chaotic night as she dreamt about the Ninth Prince teasing her and the First Prince. The Ninth Prince was teasing her about how they were lovers who seemed to be stuck together like glue. He also said that they were an extremely affectionate couple matchmade by the heavens.
In the next instant, the scene s.h.i.+fted and she dreamt about herself and a man with an unclear face. They were standing among the flowers under the moonlight as they recited poetry to each other. Bai Luochu originally thought that the man was Lu Wenshu as she had similar dreams in her previous life.
However, when that man came nearer to her and was about to kiss her, Bai Luochu suddenly realized that this person was actually the uninvited guest that appeared out of nowhere in her room! He was the one who wanted to seek treatment!