Hua Qiyue greeted the Queen respectfully before the Queen asked her to sit down next to her joyously. The Queen sat with the Emperor to her left, with an empty seat to her right and the seat of the First Prince next to the empty seat.
Hua Qiyue"s eyes met with the brown pupil of First Prince Huangfu Changyu, who nodded at her respectfully. He was nothing as rude as Princess Huizhen and Princess Huiling.
Hua Qiyue was unable to reject it, sitting down gracefully. The Queen actually lifted her hand up, looking at the smooth jade-like hand, smiling like a Buddha but with hidden malicious intentions. "Princess Jinghua, every time I see you, I feel extremely delighted. We are indeed fated."
Hua Qiyue smiled calmly as she explained, "Thank you for your compliment, your majesty. Hua Qiyue is only an ordinary woman and cannot be compared to a Phoenix like you."
The Queen had a glimpse of delight hidden in her eyes as she snorted in her heart. She was confident that such a woman cannot compare to her even in another ten lifetimes.
Not everyone could be a queen.
"First Prince, this is Hua Qiyue, Princess Jinghua." The Queen smiled and introduced the woman to First Prince.
Huangfu Changyu smiled and nodded to her, composed.
Hua Qiyue was secretly shocked. Huangfu Changyu was obviously the Queen"s offspring. However, he had a completely different personality from Princess Huizhen and Huiling. His natural n.o.bility and calmness could not be easily imitated by the two princesses.
Seeing that the Queen was so close to Hua Qiyue, Princess Huiling sitting behind was extremely jealous.
Even though she understood that Queen Liu was merely acting, her smile was something absent for a long time.
Hua Qiyue calmly dealt with the Queen and the First Prince. Although she was unsure of any trick the Queen had up her sleeves, she understood that this woman was extremely difficult to deal with.
"The finals are about to begin. You should go and prepare, Princess Jinghua!" After chatting for a while, Queen Liu smiled.
Hua Qiyue bid farewell to the Emperor and the Queen. However, he was stopped after walking merely ten steps.
Hua Qiyue turned around in shock and saw the servant who called her over behind her.
Hua Qiyue"s finger twitched while still maintaining her smile. "Why? Does the Queen want me again?"
"Yes, we would love to ask Miss Hua back as the Queen"s Jade Buddha had disappeared. And you were next to the Queen just now!"
The servant exclaimed, attracting the attention of numerous individuals. They all stared at Hua Qiyue, casting different glances at her.
Hua Qiyue"s face turned gloomy as a slimmer of fear flashed across her eyes. However, she still nodded. "Sure, I am the biggest suspect since I sat next to the Queen just now."
As she spoke, she followed the servant back.
Hua Qiyue met Yun Shimo"s deep dark pupils by chance. He stared at her expressionlessly, with a strange look in her eyes.
Hua Qiyue averted her glance and came to the Queen. The Emperor was looking at the Queen in dismay. "Queen, did you search carefully? Did the Jade Buddha that I give you really disappear?"
The Queen"s face was pale as her eyes reddened. "Your majesty, how can I lie to you? That"s a crime in itself!"
"Your majesty, it"s a big matter that the Queen"s Jade Buddha had disappeared. A gift from the Emperor is the most invaluable. As I sat next to the Queen just now, I"m the most suspicious. To prove my innocence, please search my body."
Hua Qiyue interrupted and the Queen smiled delightfully as she was waiting for this sentence. "I"m glad that Princess Jinghua can understand my difficulty. Your majesty, what do I do now?"
The Queen was indeed sly. If Changlong Emperor refused to do a body search, it was apparent that he was sheltering Hua Qiyue.
Furthermore, Hua Qiyue was the one who requested a body search, making it more difficult for him to deny it. Moreover, it would spell more trouble for her if she was not body searched as she was the closest to the Queen just now. Everyone would suspect her if she wasn"t searched.
Emperor Changlong reluctantly nodded. "Since Princess Jinghua volunteered herself, I shall accept it."
He still believed in Hua Qiyue. As the disciple of a master who had the miracle medicine, there was no need for her to steal a Jade Buddha from the Queen.
The Jade Buddha wasn"t even that expensive, as one Long Red was the cost of a few thousand of such accessories.
"Since the Emperor had allowed it, we shall let Qinglian search the princess" body." Queen Liu smiled, with no frustration of losing her loved possession.
The Emperor suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of disgust.
The Queen seemed too old, too ugly and too malicious when compared to Hua Qiyue.
Even though he did not expose her, the Emperor believed that the Queen did this on purpose. However, with the strong Liu family as her backing, he could not remove the Queen from her position and could only temporarily endure.
Qinglian came in front and searched Hua Qiyue"s body in front of everyone.
Hua Qiyue seemed to have returned to the night of rebirth. The Queen was finally targeting her, showing that she did know some information about the death of Princess Huizhen.
Qinglian"s expression turned pale as she retracted her hand from Hua Qiyue"s body. Respectfully, she said, "The Queen... Miss Hua did not have your Jade Buddha..."
The Queen"s pupils contracted as she apologized. "I have wronged Princess Jinghua. Perhaps I had lost it in the palace today."
"There is no need to be nervous, your highness. Your nervousness already showed that you do care a lot for the Jade Buddha. I hope that your highness can find your Jade Buddha soon. I shall excuse myself." Hua Qiyue said calmly as she bowed before walking confidently to her seat.
Huangfu Changyu looked at her back, a simmer of strange feelings flashing across his eyes as he shook his head. It was clear that the Queen did not like Hua Qiyue, but the tactics she used were too immoral.
"Didn"t I say? Princess Jinghua has the support of a master and the medicine Long Red. She could never have done such a thing!" The Emperor retorted calmly.
The Queen quickly whispered, "Yes, I"m too absent minded. Please calm down."
"Never mind! Let"s just enjoy the tournament."
The Emperor replied calmly but his dislike for the Queen increased further. The rest all heed no attention to this small matter except for Yun Shimo, whose brows twisted unhappily as he saw through some flaws.
"The Queen will not normally do such a thing... she must have intended to frame Hua Qiyue."
Hua Qiyue walked back to her seat, her lips curved up into a smile.
Actually, when sitting behind the Queen, Hua Qiyue knew that the Qi Artist behind her had inserted a Jade Buddha on her waist.
If she was an ordinary person, she would not be aware of it.
However, Hua Qiyue was already a Qi Artist of the lower Dragon Diagram Standard, two standards higher than the Qi Artist who placed the Jade Buddha.
Thus, she knew that the Queen would want to frame her! While leaving the stage, she used her Spiritual Qi to grind the Jade Buddha into powder!
At the lower Dragon Diagram Standard, it was very easy for any Qi Artist to use Spiritual Qi to grind stuff.
Such a move by the Queen was too low level for Hua Qiyue.
""Miss, are you okay?"
Lv Xin saw that the rest were looking at Hua Qiyue with a strange look and thus asked her with worry.
Caiqing and Caining"s eyes were fixated on Hua Mengshi, who was not far away.
"I"m alright. The compet.i.tion is about to start soon, right?"
"Yes, the first round... seems to be Second Miss against Li Yuhe from the Fast Wind Sect."
Youshui explained as she had seen the list and knew Hua Mengshi and Hua Qiyue"s opponents by heart.
Hua Qiyue nodded. Fast Wind Sect was a new female sect with a lot of highly capable Qi Artists.
Li Yuhe easily pa.s.sed through the previous rounds to this stage.
Hua Mengshi and Li Yuhe both went up the stage. They greeted each other before commencing the compet.i.tion.
Since both were Qi Artists who had just completed Oracle Profound Standard, the battle was fierce and intense, with it taking a long time. Hua Qiyue was about to fall asleep when a light flashed across her eyes, attracting her attention.
She saw blue light swirling around Hua Mengshi, protecting her entire delicate body. Li Yuhe shouted and attacked Hua Mengshi, moving as fast as a tornado!
"Dragon Wind Technique! I didn"t expect anyone to still practice such an old technique!"
"Li Yuhe is still as impressive! Looks like this time... it will be hard to distinguish between them."
"Yes, Hua Mengshi is not bad too. After all, she is the top lady in the imperial city!"
"Boom..."
While they were discussing, Li Yuhe"s body collided with Hua Mengshi"s web-like protective layer on Hua Mengshi!
"Oh G.o.d! Royal Armor Technique!"
"Yes, if we are not mistaken, that is the Royal Armor Technique! I didn"t expect a small lady from Hua"s Mansion to know such an exotic technique. It is difficult to cultivate this technique as it depends on the cooperation of the Spiritual Qi of the body."
"Yes, the Royal Armor Technique picks its user. Not everyone can learn it!"
As the discussion noises grew louder, Li Yuhe was bounced back by Hua Mengshi"s barrier on the stage. She retreated ten steps, almost falling off the platform as everyone exclaimed.
While everyone was exclaiming, a bolt of pure blue lightning flew towards Li Yuhe, who was still stumbling.
"Yuhe, be careful!"
Someone shouted, but Li Yuhe noticed it too late!
That bolt of pure blue lightning pierced her arm. Blood flew everywhere following the sound of the lightning striking her. Li Yuhe smiled bitterly as she fell back. She jumped lightly and left the stage, the onlookers exclaiming at the process.
Li Yuhe was a beautiful woman with many pursuers. Many felt disappointed for her defeat.
"The first round of finals, Hua Mengshi wins!"
The host announced loudly as Second Madame clapped joyously. This full victory was the start of her daughter"s fight to top.
"Second round of compet.i.tion, Hua Qiyue versus Princess Mingzhu!"
The host announced. According to the rules, the match will begin in fifteen minutes.
Lv Xin and Youshui became worried once more. "First Miss, Princess Mingzhu must have hated you! Are you sure that you are partic.i.p.ating? Furthermore, I heard that Princess Mingzhu obtained a treasure which can increase her Spiritual Qi. Miss, I think..."
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