"Father dear, I was just making a wild guess. I"m sorry that it has turned out to be true." Hua Qiyue said quietly, motioning Youshui and Lv Xin to take Tianci away.
"No, I"m not going! I will protect Mother!" Tianci started brandishing his fist, shouting loudly at Hua Liting"s darkening face.
Hua Liting gave Tianci a cold stare, his face even angrier. "Qiyue, you must know the inside story! Tell me! Let me clear your Second Mother"s name."
Hua Qiyue gazed calmly at Hua Liting. He was not stupid and knew that she was hiding something. Yet, if she revealed the mastermind behind the plot, he would suffer even more and be at greater risk.
Although her spirit was not close to Hua Liting, her body was still Hua Qiyue"s. How could she have the heart to see him enter a den of wolves?
"Father, you think too much. I knew that it isn"t easy to stay in the dungeons... weak people often commit suicide there... " Hua Qiyue shook her head gently. "Father, those who return from the borders must seek an audience with His Majesty. It"s time."
Hua Liting was savagely suppressing the rage in his heart. He was angry that he could not protect his second wife. He had forgotten Hua Qiyue was the real victim.
"Qiyue! You have really changed! You are no longer the weak First Miss of the past. And you"re still hiding the truth from me. I"m so disappointed in you!"
Hua Liting bellowed angrily. Youshui was about to leave with Tianci, when the boy, hearing Hua Liting"s bellow, immediately wrenched himself free from Youshui"s grasp and dashed over to Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue held the boy"s hand without batting an eyelid. "Father, it"s time. Don"t let your thoughts go wild. We can both see the truth."
Hua Liting watched the calm face of Hua Qiyue. A calm iciness was in her beautiful, watery eyes. Hua Liting"s body shook. The expression in her eyes made him take one step back!
He immediately remembered it was Second Madame who had failed Hua Qiyue. It wasn"t Hua Qiyue who had plotted against Madame Cheng!
Hua Liting knew that Hua Qiyue was still hiding something from him. She did not want to tell him everything. So, he still felt some anger toward her.
"Qiyue, please tell me. Father will not get you into trouble!" Hua Liting still would not give up.
Hua Qiyue shook her head slowly, her eyes exceptionally cold. "Father, Second Mother"s suicide is expected. She used to be the one in charge of Hua"s Mansion, keeping all our accounts. All of a sudden, she lost power and Second Sis was severely criticized. Now that she is a convict, how can she not despair? Father, that"s all I have to say. It"s up to you whether to believe me."
Hua Liting stared coldly at Hua Qiyue. He did not expect this once-timid daughter to intimidate him without losing her temper. He felt almost daunted.
"Fine! Since you don"t wish to tell your father, I will investigate myself."
Then, he waved his robe sleeve angrily and strode away.
Hua Qiyue stared quietly at Hua Liting"s retreating figure. She could not help feeling a little sad. She was still his biological daughter. Yet he only cared for Second Madame.
Second Madame had clearly wanted her dead. If it weren"t for her prescience... Hua Qiyue would be the convict, not Second Madame.
Yet Hua Liting ignored this fact and had blamed her instead.
True paternal love comes not from reproach, but from quietly investigating the case himself or treating her otherwise.
Although Hua Qiyue quite understood her father"s feelings, she knew that this legitimate daughter of his still ranked a bit lower in his affections. Suddenly, Hua Qiyue remembered her former life"s parents...
Her heart ached. Since Zhou Zhicheng was dismembered by five horses, she did not have time to visit her dead parents" graves.
She did not dare to. She would only do it after she had made sure the Empress had let her off.
Leaving the capital meant leaving the Changlong Emperor"s sight. Empress Liu would easily escape censure in the event of an "accident."
Madame Cheng"s dead body was sent back to Hua"s Mansion for alleged suicide. Hua Liting could only hold a simple funeral for her.
The Cheng family was obviously unhappy. After all, they were an exalted family in the capital. Madame Cheng was formerly at loggerheads with Hua Qiyue. Now, everyone was blaming Hua Qiyue for her sudden suicide.
On the day of the funeral, the Cheng family went to Cuihua Court. But Caining and Caiqing kicked them all out.
Hua Qiyue did not show up. She spent all her time on cultivation.
Hua Qiyue only went to the mourning hall at five in the afternoon. She burnt Madame Cheng a joss stick. It was important for Hua Qiyue to burn her a stick of incense, since she was still formally her Second Mother.
"Hua Qiyue, you villainess! Don"t shed crocodile tears! Scram!" Hua Mengshi lost control of her emotions and dashed up. She wanted to strike Hua Qiyue.
"Mengshi, don"t be rude! Control yourself!" Old Madame Hua shouted for Hua Mengshi to get a grip on herself. Caining and Caiqing immediately blocked in front of Hua Qiyue.
Hua Liting quietly pulled Hua Mengshi away. Over the past few days, he had learned everything about Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue was already a Qi Artist at the lower levels of the Dragon Diagram Realm. She was a rare female Qi Artist of Changjing Kingdom.
Hua Liting knew that there were very few Qi Artists above the Dragon Diagram Realm. Among his troops, there were only four Qi Artists above the Dragon Diagram Realm. He himself was a Qi Artist at the Great Completion of the Soaring Cloud Realm.
Hua Qiyue was also rearing divine herbs. Hua Liting felt baffled by what she had gone through.
Now, he felt resentful, afraid and helpless when facing Hua Qiyue. He could only pull Hua Mengshi, who was creating a scene, away.
Hua Qianming--the young son of Madame Cheng with Hua Liting, the family"s only male heir--stared at Hua Qiyue with cold, grudging eyes.
Hua Qianming was a student of the Green Hills Academy. He had taken up lodgings there and had only a couple of chances to return home every year. Sadly, he had to attend his mother"s funeral on this occasion.
Hua Qiyue ignored the malicious stare of Hua Qianming, walking out of the hall coldly.
Although the members of the Cheng family wanted to teach Hua Qiyue a lesson, Caining and Caiqing were no mere Qi Artists. Besides, the Emperor valued Hua Qiyue so highly. No one dared to say anything despite their rage.
After the funeral, Hua Qiyue quickly found Tianci a school. She decided on Green Hills Academy. Thanks to her special status, Tianci could return home every day. He did not need to stay long in the Academy.
Hua Qiyue naturally did not want Tianci to fritter away his time in school. She valued Qi Art, not literacy. Although there were Qi Artists in the academy, their cultivations were far below Yun Shimo"s.
For the next few days, Hua Qiyue ran back and forth between Prince Nan"s mansion and Feng"s Yard.
When Tianci was not in school, Hua Qiyue would send him to Prince Nan"s mansion for Qi Art lessons. She herself would head for Feng"s Yard to learn formations from Ji Feng and Ji Jing.
Tianpi was skilled in Qi Art and Spirit Summoning Art, not in formations.
Hua Qiyue had no interest in Alchemy. She did not need to learn herb cultivation. The Ji family knew this, so they did not force her to leave with them for Ji"s Manor.
The most important thing now was to break through in her Qi Art, Spirit Summoning Art and formations. If she succeeded, Ji"s Manor will not need to fear the Gnawing Devils Sect"s Soul Puppet, even if they managed to nurture one.
Hua Qiyue left six Long Reds with Ji Feng. Ji Feng and Ji Jing were extremely excited. They had not expected such generosity.
Ji Feng"s feelings for Hua Qiyue developed farther. Hua Qiyue would often pretend not to have noticed. On the other hand, Yun Shimo would often show her a scowling face, as if she owed him a million taels of silver...
The eighth month arrived. On this day, the Emperor sent Xiaolizi to Hua"s Mansion, asking Hua Qiyue to attend the next day"s hunt.
The autumn weather was refreshingly pleasant, a good time for a hunt.
Hua Qiyue discovered that the Changlong Emperor had also invited Hua Liting, Hua Mengshi, Third Madame and Hua Xiaoyi. Before they set out, Hua Mengshi stared coldly at her. She did not do anything else.
Hua Liting was lukewarm toward Hua Qiyue. After their falling-out, they did not have another good chat.
The venue for the hunt was the hills behind the palace. There were many ferocious beasts there like tigers, lions, bears, reared by Qi Artists.
Normally, a number of Qi Artists would stay behind to guard the hills, to prevent the beasts from suddenly barging into the palace. These penned-up animals were of course much tamer than wild beasts.
The purpose of captivity was to allow the Changlong Emperor to hunt.
Hua Qiyue"s carriage trundled into the hunting grounds. People were standing everywhere. Youshui lifted the carriage curtains for her. Under the gazing eyes of the crowds, Hua Qiyue alighted her carriage calmly.
So many people here.
Hua Qiyue surveyed the place and remarked to herself. The Empress and the Changlong Emperor sat in the seats of honor in the center.
Hua Qiyue discovered that Yun Shimo was also here. Hey, she had heard that Yun Shimo disdained such hunts. After all, with his cultivation, he could easily kill hundreds of beasts, not just one.
Huangfu Xuan was also there, together with Ji Feng, Ji Jing, Princess Mingzhu, Princess Huiling, the First Prince Huangfu Changyu, and many others... What surprised Hua Qiyue most was the presence of Shui Qianruo. This eminent poisoner was looking less ghoulish than before. Perhaps it was because his wedding with Princess Huiya was near?
There were also the young masters of the Four Great Families. They had seen Hua Qiyue before. Now, they discovered with great surprise that Hua Qiyue was looking even more beautiful than before.
Hua Qiyue was in a white dress, the color of the moon. She was simply attired, yet one of the most attractive girls around.
She was as mild as a lotus, unique and cold. She drew the inadvertent gazes of all the crowds.
"Princess Jinghua, so you are here?" Princess Huiya walked over to greet Hua Qiyue.
Hua Qiyue had a good impression of Princess Huiya. Yet she was shocked by Princess Huiya"s choice of a husband, Shui Qianruo.
"Princess, haven"t seen you for a long time!"
Hua Qiyue gave a faint smile. Princess Huiya smiled shyly. "That"s right. Time really flies! Soon I will be married. Well, I"d like to ask Your Highness to be one of my bridemaids."
Normally, the bridemaids of a Princess would be her maidservants who would follow her and serve in her new home. Sometimes, princesses were also asked to grace the ceremony to make it a more lavish affair.
"No problem. If Your Highness marries willingly, I give you my blessings!" Hua Qiyue said in a low voice. Princess Huiya was momentarily stunned. A strange, complex expression flashed across her eyes.
"Hua Qiyue, you aren"t embarra.s.sed to come, eh? Humph, this is a hunt, not a compet.i.tion. There isn"t any use for your Qi Art!" A cold voice resounded.
Hua Qiyue turned her head and saw Liu Shaoming standing nearby, staring derisively at her.
"Shaoming, don"t talk nonsense!" The House Master of the Liu family smiled apologetically at Hua Qiyue. "Princess Jinghua, please forgive us. He is still an immature boy."
Hua Qiyue smiled and shook her head. Liu Mo glared angrily at Liu Shaoming, looking hateful that his son could not make it good.
Hua Qiyue surveyed her surroundings and discovered Ouyang Liuer staring at her with sinister eyes. Oh, so she had offended many people here. They had all turned up. What show would they put up this time?
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