Chapter 1102: The Unexpected Blind Date (Part 3)

Miss Luo Quan had always believed that those elderly people were just ordinary believers, as the system had not detected any hostility, so Bai Xingwei was definitely overthinking it.

However, one couldn't blame Bai Xingwei; after all, she didn't have a system, and upon seeing abnormal situations, she would naturally grow suspicious.

Therefore, Miss Luo Quan didn't argue much, but she had to be serious about being called a bit stupid—she wasn't stupid at all, and in fact, she was witty as hell most of the time.

Bai Xingwei's behavior was slander against her.

However, considering that she was far from being a match for her, Miss Luo Quan chose to endure it; after all, this could be considered a traditional virtue of the Chinese nation.

"Haha, you're just a coward." Bai Xingwei laughed directly as she listened to Miss Luo Quan making excuses for herself.

Miss Luo Quan lifted her chin and retorted: "I call this 'following my heart,' not being a coward. Watch your language!"

"Not convinced? Hit me if you're not." Bai Xingwei made a face at Miss Luo Quan, looking like she was begging to be punched.

The key was that Miss Luo Quan really couldn't do anything about her, just like when she faced Ye Zhining.

After the horseplay, Miss Luo Quan stayed at Bai Xingwei's house for the night, and then early the next morning, she was summoned to the Empress's bedchamber.

"My mother and the others have already reached the Universal Frontier; they could appear at Universal Star at any moment. You can start preparing."

Ye Zhining's expression was calm, while Miss Luo Quan was actually a bit nervous.

She had heard that Empress Ye's mother was also a master at the Dao-Entry level, and she didn't know if her disguise would be fully effective.

But the arrow was on the string and had to be fired, so Miss Luo Quan immediately began her transformation.

Before long, she had changed from a slender, graceful girl into a handsome, dashing young man, though she still wore a mask on her face.

"Why wear a mask?" Ye Zhining asked curiously.

Miss Luo Quan replied: "No matter how I disguise or apply makeup, the recognizability of this face of mine is simply too high.

The ministers in the imperial court have almost all seen me, so it's better to cover my face in this situation.

When we are in private, I can take off the mask; not only will it give your mother and that blind date a little shock, but I also won't have to worry about being recognized by others."

"I can't tell, you're actually quite witty." Ye Zhining praised with a smile.

"Just kidding." Miss Luo Quan widened her eyes, "Although my age is still considered a child in the Universal realm, don't you really take me for a child."

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Zhining's light-machine vibrated.

She pulled it out to look, and her expression changed: "My mother has already arrived."

"So fast!" Miss Luo Quan's eyes widened, "Then hurry up and prepare to welcome her."

Ye Zhining looked at her speechlessly: "Think about your current identity; both of us have to go!"

"Don't worry, I won't drop the ball." Miss Luo Quan took a few deep breaths, bringing out her state as a two-time Best Actress, swearing to perform this play perfectly for Ye Zhining.

"Are you ready?" Ye Zhining looked at Miss Luo Quan, asking one last time.

"Let's go, there's no problem anymore." When Miss Luo Quan spoke again, not only her demeanor but even her voice had completely changed into a gentle, jade-like male voice.

Ye Zhining then waved her sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, they moved to the Profound Dragon Platform.

This was the martial arts arena for competing for the title of Martial Champion; because many people from the Qiankun Divine Kingdom had come this time, they had chosen a relatively spacious place for the reception.

As soon as Ye Zhining arrived, everyone present immediately found their backbone and shouted in unison toward her: "Welcome, Your Majesty."

"No need for formalities." Ye Zhining flicked her finger, and immediately four maids walked over carrying two chairs.

One for Ye Zhining, one for Miss Luo Quan.

When the ministers saw this golden-haired man who had suddenly appeared by the Empress's side, they immediately cast curious and probing gazes.

"Who is this person? Have you all seen him?"

"Never seen him before, don't know where he popped out from."

"Could it be a concubine taken in by the Empress?"

"Haven't heard the Empress announce anything."

"Even if taking a concubine, there should be a formal investiture first; isn't this a bit against the rules?"

"The Empress is in her prime; is it worth gossiping about her taking a male pet?"

"Ahem!"

………………

Perhaps the Prime Minister simply couldn't listen to everyone gossiping about the Empress's private affairs anymore, so he coughed heavily twice.

Instantly, the ministers fell silent, bowing their heads and not daring to look up.

"This old man with the white beard is quite impressive," Miss Luo Quan whispered to Ye Zhining, her eyes constantly sizing up this minister dressed in red official robes.

In the Holy Tang Heavenly Dynasty, official robes defined rank by color.

From high to low, they were red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple; those below the seventh rank were all black and were not qualified to attend court.

Red official robes meant a first-rank high official; on the entire Profound Dragon Platform, Miss Luo Quan only saw three people wearing such clothes.

Other ministers were all bowing and stooping, their attitudes humble.

Only these three held their heads high and chests out; one could tell at a glance they were no ordinary ministers.

"This is my great-uncle, the current Prime Minister Zhang Youjue. When I am not here, he is the highest authority. In the future, if you encounter him, don't tell him everything."

Perhaps only when encountering elders would Ye Zhining appear so cautious.

Upon hearing this, Miss Luo Quan took another two looks at this white-bearded old man.

Standing next to him were two equally aged ministers; one was as thin as a bamboo pole that would fall over if the wind blew, and the other was as sturdy as a temple-cleansing envoy.

Ye Zhining said the thin one was the Imperial Tutor, in charge of the Imperial Academy.

The other was the Grand Marshal, commanding the three armies on behalf of the Emperor.

Seeing a row of ministers standing behind each of these three old men, Miss Luo Quan roughly understood the division of power in the imperial court.

However, Ye Zhining didn't even have an heir yet, so no matter how these people formed cliques, it seemed useless.

Just as Miss Luo Quan was wondering if there were any Eastern or Western Secret Agencies, there was a loud boom in the sky.

Space was torn into a pitch-black, jagged crack, and a few seconds later, a massive black-and-white battleship emerged.

This battleship was absolutely the largest human creation Miss Luo Quan had ever witnessed.

As soon as it appeared, the entire sky was shrouded in its shadow.

That scene, which felt like Mount Tai growing wings, made Miss Luo Quan feel incomparably shocked in her heart.

However, what was even more shocking was that the Holy Tang Heavenly Dynasty only dispatched one guard riding a golden flood dragon to stop this behemoth.

"According to the Heavenly Dynasty's laws, except for the Empress, no over-specification vehicles are allowed to hover. I ask the Empress Dowager to land immediately!"

The guard's tone was still polite, after all, the person sitting inside was the current Emperor's own mother.

If it were any other spaceship daring to fly like this in the Imperial City, it would have been shot down long ago.

The Empress Dowager clearly knew the guard wasn't joking with her, so this beautiful black-and-white giant ship quickly landed on the ground.

As Ye Zhining stood up, all the ministers also swarmed behind her, walking together to the side of the black-and-white giant ship.

They saw a gap of about three meters open on the side of the giant ship's bow, and then an automatically operating staircase extended down, with dozens of people walking down one after another.

Leading them was a beautiful young woman dressed in black-and-white magnificent robes with a cold gaze.

Out of curiosity about beautiful women, Miss Luo Quan swept a glance and found that this young woman had an imposing aura and an unbelievably good figure.

No wonder she could give birth to such a great beauty as Empress Ye; sure enough, like mother, like daughter.

"Welcome, Mother." Facing her long-lost mother, Ye Zhining knelt down excitedly to welcome her.

Since the Empress had knelt, none of the ministers dared to stand, so they also followed suit, kneeling and shouting: "Welcome, Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager live for a thousand, thousand, thousand years."

"No need for formalities, rise." The Empress Dowager swept a calm glance over the crowd, then bent down to lift her daughter's hand, saying with deep affection: "It's been many years, Ning'er, you've become much thinner than before; it must be because government affairs are busy and you are overstretched."

Just as she finished speaking, her tone suddenly shifted, and she turned a stern expression toward the Prime Minister beside her: "Zhang Youjue, when the late Emperor left, didn't he tell you to properly assist and take care of the Empress? Is this how you take care of her?!"

"This old minister is guilty." The old Prime Minister had just stood up, but immediately knelt down again.

Ye Zhining hurriedly excused him: "Mother, you are overthinking it. My great-uncle has been loyal and devoted all these years, helping me share many affairs, and he has absolutely no dereliction of duty.

I look thinner, but in fact, my body is healthier than before; it has nothing to do with anyone else."

"In that case, it is this palace that has wrongly blamed the Prime Minister." The Empress Dowager looked at Zhang Youjue, but there was no intention of apologizing in her words.

Zhang Youjue also laughed: "The Empress Dowager's concern for the Empress is human nature. This minister failed to notice the Empress's changes; it is indeed a dereliction of duty, and I am willing to self-punish with three years of salary."

"It is good that you know." The Empress Dowager gave a light hum and walked toward the inner palace, holding Ye Zhining's hand.

Now it was inconvenient for the ministers to follow; it seemed the Empress Dowager had no intention of continuing to spend time with them, so under the Prime Minister's order, they each went home.

Soon, only the group of people brought back by the Empress Dowager remained in the inner palace.

Miss Luo Quan remained guarding beside Ye Zhining, her heart constantly thinking about why the Empress Dowager had lost her temper at the Prime Minister as soon as she returned.

"System, you say, why did this Empress Dowager give a first-rank high official a hard time as soon as she returned?"

"Can't you even see this?" The omnipotent system had already seen through everything, "It's very obvious, this Prime Minister is the Empress Dowager's person, specifically used to monitor and report the Emperor's whereabouts.

Now that there is a dereliction of duty, of course, he will be scolded."

Miss Luo Quan still didn't quite understand: "Then how did she know the Prime Minister was derelict in his duty as soon as she returned?"

"Because of you," the system continued to answer, "You came out today using a brand-new identity that no one had ever seen before.

Since the Empress Dowager is monitoring the Emperor, she naturally knows exactly who is around her; seeing you today, she realized the Prime Minister had never mentioned you.

If it wasn't intentional concealment, then it was a huge dereliction of duty; either way, he definitely needed to be given a good warning."

"Damn, I didn't expect there to be so many twists and turns in this." Miss Luo Quan felt a bit dizzy listening to it.

However, if she combed through it carefully, it really seemed to be the case.

But then a new question arose: why was a mother monitoring her own daughter?

"There are too many possibilities for this; it is suggested to ask the person herself." The all-knowing system couldn't answer this either, and then fell into silence.

Miss Luo Quan glanced at Ye Zhining's mother, and the more she looked, the more she felt this woman was truly too majestic; even just sitting there, she gave people a feeling of wanting to kneel down.

If she swapped clothes with Ye Zhining, Miss Luo Quan felt this Empress Dowager looked more like an Empress.

"Ning'er, you haven't introduced to this palace who this is, have you?" The Empress Dowager took a sip of tea and finally cast her gaze toward Miss Luo Quan.

"Mother, this is Gao Liang; we fell in love at first sight."

Ye Zhining's answer was concise, and the Empress Dowager's gaze toward Miss Luo Quan became somewhat unkind: "I've never heard Ning'er mention him before; did you just meet recently?"

Ye Zhining nodded: "Gao Liang and I indeed only met this year."

The Empress Dowager asked: "Since it is a husband chosen by Ning'er herself, why wear a mask and not show your true face?

Looking at your hair color, you don't look like a local of the Holy Tang Heavenly Dynasty; could it be from the Divine Blessing Federation?"

"Gao Liang actually comes from the borderlands and is currently considered half a Universal Star person." Ye Zhining spoke up to help explain, "As for why he doesn't show his true face, it's mainly because Gao Liang is too handsome; once he shows his true face, it's easy to cause trouble, so he usually wears a mask."

The Empress Dowager gave a disdainful laugh: "Ridiculous, your mother has traveled the universe; what kind of handsome men have I not seen?"

"Since that's the case, Gao Liang, you take off your mask." Ye Zhining turned her head and said.

Miss Luo Quan didn't speak and directly took off the mask.

Subsequently, gasps of air sounded one after another all around.

The group of maternal relatives from the Qiankun Divine Kingdom who had followed the Empress Dowager were all shocked by Miss Luo Quan's "beauty."

If being handsome was a punishment, then they had all been sentenced to life imprisonment at this moment.

Facts proved that the beauty level of 【Star Charm】 was indeed something not everyone could withstand.

Even though she had processed herself to look more like a man through makeup, it still made a group of men reveal a different kind of gaze.

And the Empress Dowager also coughed lightly twice and said: "It seems Ning'er's taste is indeed good; to be able to find such a handsome husband."

As she spoke, her eyes looked at Miss Luo Quan, flashing with an inexplicable light, as if she wanted to see through her body and mind.

"Warning, Charm Eye detected, starting charm judgment.

Charm Eye is only effective on males; judgment failed, host escaped a disaster."

The system's voice suddenly sounded, leaving Miss Luo Quan completely unable to react to what had happened.

She looked blankly at the Empress Dowager, stunned for only a second, then immediately pretended to be infatuated.

However, although she was only stunned for a second, she still gave herself away.

The Empress Dowager had already sneered: "Ning'er, this husband of yours is quite interesting."

Although Ye Zhining didn't understand what had happened, seeing her mother's sudden change of face, she realized something was wrong.

However, considering that this might be her mother trying to trick her, her expression didn't change at all, and she asked suspiciously: "Mother, why do you say that?"

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, letting all the idle people around her withdraw; between mother and daughter, only one Miss Luo Quan remained.

After everyone had left, the Empress Dowager directly reached out and grabbed toward Miss Luo Quan's chest.