Chapter 2: The Civet Cat Leads the Way

The Civet Cat Leads the Way

"Raise your head."

Ruan Ci raised her head to let the Empress look at her. She was very careful and did not look around—there was nothing to see anyway. She had been to the Forbidden Palace of the Song capital several times, and the Empress's palace was just a bit larger, nothing special.

Ruan Rong was talented and beautiful, with a famous reputation, but the Crown Prince did not want her and chose Ruan Ci instead. The Empress naturally looked at Ruan Ci critically, but after looking for a long time, she could not find any faults, so she had to hold her tea and sigh, "In the end, she is still a bit young."

The female official beside her smiled and said, "It is rare that the Crown Prince likes her."

She was a concubine personally selected by the Crown Prince, and the Empress could do nothing, only shaking her head slightly. After thinking for a moment, she called her to stand up and sit beside her, asking her a few questions, which Ruan Ci answered one by one.

She was articulate, had a sweet voice, and looked good. After the Empress spoke a few words, she could not help but like her. Holding her hand, she sighed a few times and said, "You are a good child—it's just that you are wronged. If you want to blame someone, you can only blame this bad world."

It was common for children not to understand what adults were saying. Ruan Ci blinked her eyes and acted ignorant, but in her heart, she roughly understood. The Crown Prince's selection of a concubine happened after Second Aunt's visit. It was likely that a major event was already brewing, and her marriage was merely a part of it.

Song Guo had been in constant conflict for seven hundred years. The daughters of noble families lived in luxury but rarely saw the light of day, not having to endure the grinding of the fire miasma and dry wind, so they naturally had to pay a price. Ruan Ci had no opinion on her own marriage; it was all just a part of the power struggle of the great families. She had already bowed to the Emperor, and now she bowed to the Empress to thank her, and then went to pay respects to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was reading and cultivating stillness in the small study of the Bihua Pavilion. He told all the attendants to retreat outside, let Ruan Ci sit closer, and gave her some spiritual jade to eat. "How is your sister?"

Ruan Ci had entered the palace with Ruan Rong when she was young. Ruan Rong was two years older than her, and the Crown Prince was three or four years older than Ruan Rong, so there was a large age gap between them. Ruan Ci was in her early teens, and the Crown Prince was already of age. Sitting together, they seemed to be a generation apart, with no romantic thoughts for each other. Ruan Ci said, "Sister is naturally very sad. I don't know either. I got the news yesterday and came to thank him early this morning. I haven't seen her yet."

Ruan Rong would naturally blame the Crown Prince; Ruan Ci and the Crown Prince both understood this without saying it. The Crown Prince smiled. He seemed to be a bit sad, but he had already resolved it, only saying slowly, "There is no other way. Everything will be fine. Doing this is best for the Ruan family. Your father will explain it to her."

Ruan Rong was from the direct line, the only young lady of the Ruan family's main branch. There were not many noble families in the world that could match this background. If she married into the Heavenly Family, she would naturally be the Crown Princess and the future Empress of the country. Ruan Rong wanted to be the Empress, which was why she hid her talisman cultivation. But the dowry for the Empress would naturally be more precious than that of a concubine. Ruan Ci had thought about it all night last night and had a vague guess, so she could not help but ask, "Is it related to the Earth Pendant?"

The Crown Prince could not help but look at her differently. After pondering for a moment, he did not hide it from her and nodded. "Commander Zhou submitted a memorial asking to choose a match for me. This is a good thing, and the Eastern Palace cannot refuse."

Commander Zhou was the head of the Zhou family in the north. Ruan Ci's shoulders trembled, and she understood everything. "When Second Aunt entered the palace to pay respects yesterday, the Empress mentioned this to her."

The Empress was related to both the Zhou and Ruan families, and it was difficult for her to mediate. It was also difficult for the Ruan family to refuse the Royal Family's marriage proposal, and it was even harder for them to take the initiative to propose someone other than Ruan Rong. If the Royal Family spoke up and Ruan Rong was selected as the Crown Princess, what dowry should the Ruan family take out? If the Emperor was bewitched by General Zhou and asked for the Earth Pendant as a dowry, should the Ruan family agree or not?

Only the Crown Prince could have some say in his own marriage, so it was most appropriate for him to come forward. He probably felt a bit of loss in his heart for not marrying Ruan Rong, and as for choosing someone else, besides Ruan Ci, he had not seen any other Ruan girls of appropriate age. Ruan Ci did not speak, only sighed. The Crown Prince touched her forehead, not without apology. "The Chengqian Palace has few people, and I will naturally take care of you."

Ruan Ci did not dare to accept it and bowed gracefully. "It is I who should thank Your Highness for taking care of the Ruan family." Although her marriage was ruined because of this, the Crown Prince had good intentions. In such a troubled world, the Earth Pendant was far more important to the Ruan family than the lifelong happiness of one or two daughters.

The Crown Prince used to see her as Ruan Rong's little sister, but this time he looked at Ruan Ci with new eyes. Not only did he look at her carefully for a long time, but he also told her many things that the Ruan family would not tell Ruan Ci.

"The three sects jointly guard Song Guo, with a hundred-year term, taking turns sending true cultivators to take charge of the Talisman Gate. Fifteen years ago, the high Daoist of the Pan Immortal Sect went into seclusion, but the Lingxiao Gate did not send the former Immortal Master Chen back to the capital, but instead had High Master Liu take office. As far as I know, the Ruan family is on very good terms with Immortal Master Chen, but has no friendship with High Master Liu."

"So, do the great noble families of our Song Guo all support Immortal Masters?" Ruan Ci asked. "Our family supports Immortal Master Chen, then... which one does the Zhou family support?"

"It is the newly appointed High Master Liu." Ruan Ci understood immediately, and the Crown Prince felt relaxed talking to her. He said in a low voice, "I heard that High Master Liu appreciates Commander Zhou very much and even accepted him as an outer disciple, passing down a set of body-refining techniques."

"Body-refining?"

Ruan Ci's doubts lessened, but her questions increased. "What is a body-refining technique? Is it martial arts? Pan Immortal Sect, Lingxiao Gate, Jade Creek Sect, why have I never heard of these sects? Do they all cultivate talismans?"

The Crown Prince smiled helplessly. "I will tell you about these things slowly in the future. You just need to go back and tell your family these words."

Ruan Ci was reluctant but could only bid farewell. The Crown Prince held her hand and personally sent her to the door, then suddenly sighed.

"For a young lady like you, if you want to know everything, coming to my Chengqian Palace is naturally very appropriate."

To prevent wind and sand, the noble mansions were all built with winding corridors and high eaves, with pavilions connected, making it easy for family members to walk. The Forbidden Palace was naturally the same. The Crown Prince looked through the deep corridors at a ray of sunlight falling into the courtyard. He was fair, handsome, and as elegant as jade. He looked into the distance, while Ruan Ci looked at his side profile, and for a moment, both were lost in thought.

"In the future, you will know many things that many people will never know in their entire lives."

The Crown Prince sighed softly and said slowly, "But after knowing too much, perhaps you will wish you didn't know anything at all."

Ruan Ci had always felt that although he was of high status, he was not arrogant at all. But she did not expect that the Crown Prince would have such a sorrowful and hesitant side. She could not help but feel a tightness in her heart—what kind of thing could make the Crown Prince of a country act like this?

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In any case, Ruan Ci was highly favored by the Crown Prince, which was obvious to all. She was kept by the Crown Prince after entering the palace to thank him and was personally sent off when she left. These rumors seemed to have grown wings and danced in the Ruan mansion. Ruan Ci felt that the servants in the mansion treated her very differently after she returned from the palace. She did not take pleasure in this, however, and sat in a daze, holding the large civet cat she had adopted, not wanting to eat dinner. Her maid, Xiao Li, smiled and said, "Ci-gu, eat your meal. After you finish, the Eldest Master will probably be free, and you will have to go pay your respects."

Ruan Ci was thinking about what the Crown Prince said about "telling these things to your family," so she sat up and ate dinner with Xiao Li. The people of Song Guo only ate one kind of rice, and there was no difference between master and servant. This was the "grain rice" that grew alongside spiritual jade, buried in the soil in pieces, gray and dull. The people of Song boiled jade to drink, and after the spiritual jade was boiled and dissolved, they put in the grain rice. When the rice was cooked, it naturally shed its husk. They discarded the rice husk, drank the soup, and chewed the rice, which was a full meal.

Ruan Ci could not eat after two pieces of grain rice. She drank a few mouthfuls of soup, then took the cat bowl and poured the leftovers into it. The large civet cat let out a "meow" and went over to eat and drink heartily. After licking the bowl clean, it stretched out its claws and licked its fur. Xiao Li complained, "Ci-gu always feeds it like this, so it has become even more spoiled. After eating cooked grain rice, it won't eat raw ones anymore."

"Who said so?" Ruan Ci took a piece of spiritual jade from her bosom, broke it, and handed it to the civet cat's mouth. The civet cat stood up, hugged her hand, and ate piece by piece. Xiao Li stomped her feet in anger, calling the civet cat sycophantic. Ruan Ci felt very proud and could not help but laugh, forgetting the turmoil and setbacks of the past few days for a moment.

The Eldest Master had not sent anyone to call her over. Ruan Ci paced back and forth in the room for a long time before sneaking out with the civet cat to find Ruan Rong. Ruan Rong's complexion was not very good, and she was listless, but she finally saw her.

"He only asked that one sentence?" She asked Ruan Ci about her experience in the palace in detail. When she heard that the Crown Prince only said "How is your sister," she could not help but be angry. "This man is truly heartless."

Ruan Ci hoped that she would only blame the Crown Prince, so she desperately agreed, "Indeed, men are very unreliable."

Ruan Rong was amused by her and flicked her on the forehead. "I'm not blaming you—am I such an unreasonable person? It's just that your temperament needs to change. The Forbidden Palace is not a good place. Since you are going, I must talk to you properly."

Although she said so, she was still inevitably melancholy. It was rare that Ruan Rong did not vent her anger on Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci did not dare to resolve it rashly and sat carefully beside Ruan Rong, looking out the window in a daze. She had not seen the light of day for several months. In Song Guo, there were even many noble girls who had never stepped out of the roof from birth to death.

But Ruan Ci wanted to go out and see. Her heart was filled with many questions. Pan Immortal Sect, Lingxiao Gate, Jade Creek Sect, the three sects jointly guarded Song Guo. Why use the word "guard"? Was there some evil in Song Guo? But no one had ever said this. Even what the Crown Prince said, Immortal Master Chen, who was on good terms with the Ruan family, Ruan Ci had never heard of his affairs.

The large civet cat was held by her for a long time and became a bit impatient, moving around. Ruan Ci put it on the ground. Ruan Rong said, "This cat is fat and big, but it has been spoiled by you."

Almost every family in Song Guo raised civet cats. Civet cats loved to eat grain rice, could chew spiritual jade, often helped in exploring mines, and liked to prey on the fierce crows born from the fire miasma in the wild. They were the first auspicious and useful beneficial beasts. The Ruan family was no exception. There were hundreds of cats in the mansion. The one beside Ruan Ci was the one she had brought into her room to raise when she was young. Like her, it had not gone out for a long time and was lazy every day. Ruan Ci said, "I didn't spoil it. I am very strict with it. Isn't that right, big civet slave?"

The large civet cat let out a long meow, walked to the door, and looked back at her. Xiao Li laughed out loud, "It wants to go back."

Ruan Ci was already feeling awkward, and Ruan Rong would be giving her a lecture in a while. If she didn't leave now, when would she? She got up to catch the cat, but the large civet cat turned and ran out. Ruan Ci lifted her sleeves and chased after it, calling out, "Civet slave, where are you going?"

She followed the cat for a while, tired enough to stop and rest. The large civet cat stopped walking and looked at her from afar. Ruan Ci chased after it, and it turned and ran away again. Ruan Ci was teased and ran while laughing. She felt an indescribable relief in her heart, as if all her worries were temporarily forgotten in the running. Ruan Ci did not know what a teenage girl should be like. In this troubled world, it seemed that no one had the capital for innocence. Even Ruan Rong and the Crown Prince had never been carefree. But she really wanted to rush out of these heavy buildings and run under the starry sky and moonlight, or do nothing, just enjoy the feeling of being free.

If it were normal times, Ruan Ci would not dare to run like this. The Ruan mansion was an ancient house of a thousand years, and there were many places that children were not allowed to go. But she was no longer that adopted daughter of the Ruan family. The Ruan family had raised her, and she had also paid her lifelong happiness for the Ruan family, and was about to rush into the Forbidden Palace so tenderly. Ruan Ci was no longer careful tonight. Her laughter echoed in the heavy corridors, chasing the civet cat, not knowing where she had run. Only then did she find an opportunity to pounce from behind and hug the big civet slave.

"You are courting death!" She hugged the cat and rubbed it. The big civet slave lay lazily in Ruan Ci's arms. The cats in Song Guo were all tall and big. If the big civet slave stood up, it would be almost more than half as tall as Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci could not rub it hard. The civet cat was rubbed for a while and instead purred. Ruan Ci pretended to be angry and said, "What a thick face, I am punishing you."

She could not help but laugh. After laughing, she slowly bent down, leaned her face against the thick fur of the big civet slave, and stretched out her hand, looking at her fingertips. The green talisman power was flowing, taking away the sweat and dirt. Ruan Ci was lost in thought for a while, then suddenly felt sad again, and said in a low voice, "You are so wild, taking you into the palace is harming you. But you are so lazy, if I don't take you in, what should you do?"

She seemed to be asking herself, and also asking the civet cat, "Tell me, will Sister Rong treat you well? Will she think of me when she sees you and secretly take it out on you?"

In the Ruan family, although her food and clothing were the same as Ruan Rong's, she had no parents after all. The care of her uncle and aunt was always different from that of her biological parents. Since she was a child, only this big cat had accompanied Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci did not dare to take it into the palace, but she was very reluctant. She was not happy when she was suddenly selected as the Crown Prince's concubine, and she was not sad when she learned today that her marriage was just the result of a power struggle. Only now, thinking of separating from the civet slave, she really could not accept it. She hugged the cat and cried for a while, wiped her eyes, and wanted to return to her room with the cat. "Sigh, where are we? It's dark, and I can't find the way."

She put the civet cat down and told it to lead the way, but the civet cat did not move. Its four feet stood firmly, and it looked up at her, its big eyes round. Ruan Ci was surprised. Her big civet cat had always been very spiritual and could understand human speech very well. If she asked it to lead the way, it could not fail to distinguish the direction.

"What's wrong, are you throwing a tantrum with me?"

She turned around to find the way herself, but the civet cat circled in front of her and blocked her, looking up and letting out a long, shrill hiss. The sound was miserable and hoarse. Ruan Ci was frightened by it and took a step back, sitting on the ground, and said in surprise and doubt, "Did something happen?"

The wild areas of Song Guo were very desolate, and there were only a few kinds of strange beasts, each with its own wonders. The civet cat was known for its ability to sense changes. Ruan Ci had heard many legends and stories. Many major disasters that shook the earth had warnings from civet cats. It was just that she had never thought that a great city like the Song capital would have any major disasters like earthquakes or stars falling. Just as she was at a loss, there was a sudden noise in the distance. A "clang" sound rang out, and there was a faint neighing of horses, but it soon subsided.

When the Ruan mansion welcomed guests, the gate bell either did not ring, or it would never ring just once. And there was no reason for a distinguished guest to visit at night. Ruan Ci's face turned pale: over the years, the situation in the Song capital had been treacherous, and she had heard such sounds several times. They were all the movements of neighbors. She knew what had happened—

This was the sound of soldiers coming to the door to ransack the house and exterminate the clan.

She also understood the melancholy on the Crown Prince's face—the crime of having a treasure, the situation was compelling. This time, something really big had happened to the Ruan family. I'm afraid the Crown Prince also had a vague feeling in his heart. This time, perhaps even he could not protect the Ruan family.

The civet cat let out a "meow," stood up, and led Ruan Ci to run into the depths of the corridor. The further they ran, the deeper it got, and even the moonlight could not shine in. Only the green talisman on Ruan Ci's chest emitted a hazy light. Ruan Ci took off the green talisman and barely illuminated the road ahead. The large civet cat turned back from time to time, and the faint, bright light in its eyes looked like a candlestick floating in the air. Ruan Ci endured the fear in her heart, stumbled behind the large civet cat, and ran for a long time. The civet cat stopped, stood up, and its claws kept scratching the door panel in front.

To avoid wind and sand, the noble families all connected their buildings with corridors. These corridors were winding and tortuous, like a maze, and were constantly added to over generations. In addition to the additions, there were also many secluded places that were rarely visited. If children got lost and could not find their way back, and if they could not enter a room, it was not strange for them to die in some deserted courtyard after their talisman power was exhausted. Ruan Ci had never been to this place before. She pushed the door and used the talisman to shine on it. "The door is locked."

The iron lock was firm, reflecting a snow-white light under the green talisman. Ruan Ci rubbed her fingers and felt surprised: this place was so remote, it should have been covered in dust long ago, but the talisman power did not react at all, which showed that someone should come here to clean it often.

Behind her, the sounds of killing rose, and firelight lit up in the far distance, illuminating half the sky. Faintly, fierce crows of the fire miasma could be seen dancing back and forth in the sky, their hoarse cries floating in the air, "Should die, should die," making people feel annoyed and restless. Ruan Ci looked back, then lowered her head to look at the civet cat. The large civet cat sat squatting, tilting its head to look at her, as if pondering something. The cat's face had few expressions, and it did not seem to be moved by the chaos, still very calm.

Ruan Ci watched it for a while and said in a low voice, "Civet slave?"

She actually did not know what she was asking, but the civet cat seemed to understand. It slowly stood up, arched its back, shook its fur, and grabbed with its claws. Ruan Ci's eyes blurred, and she did not see anything clearly, only hearing a "clang" sound, and the iron lock fell to the ground. She lowered the green talisman and took a look. The lock was neatly broken into several pieces, as if it had been cut by a sharp weapon.

An ordinary civet cat could not do this no matter what. If it were usually like this, the people of Song Guo would not dare to raise cats. Ruan Ci did not know what to think in her heart, looking at the large civet cat and unable to speak.

The large civet cat yawned, licked its claws, and darted into the crack of the door. Ruan Ci suddenly came to her senses, looked back at the firelight in the distance, gritted her teeth, pushed the door and entered, and turned back to bolt the door in the dark.

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Updated, updated. I will come to send red packets after eating. I will update for three consecutive days after opening the book. Thank you for your enthusiastic comments!

Although this book is a cultivation novel, the pace is relatively fast! I see that some readers are asking what kind of comments I like. I like all kinds, haha. Discussions about the plot and characters are my favorite, after all, it is carefully written by myself!

This novel is very fat in every chapter! (I don't know why I feel proud)

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