Chapter 9

"Let my Imperial Sister-in-law come to Chen Tang Pass?"

Madam Yin nodded and said: "Indeed, only by empathizing can we better understand the people's hardships. I will now write a letter to my Imperial Sister-in-law, inviting her to reside in Chen Tang Pass for a while."

"Hehe, Madam truly possesses a virtuous and gentle nature!"

Ao Yifan laughed and praised.

Swatting away Ao Yifan's mischievous hand, Madam Yin gave him a sideways glance and said: "I'm pregnant with your child now, so stop scheming with me. Besides, I've said before, the back door is absolutely out of the question. If you can't hold back, go find Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai, or buy a few more beautiful maids. Don't disturb my work!"

Alright, the imperial family is truly the most heartless.

The minister who had just offered advice and strategies was driven out of the room by Madam Yin.

"Prince Consort, we have just bought a batch of maids from the city. Would you like to go and have a look?"

Now the General's Residence has been cleared out by Li Jing's people.

The maids and servant girls originally in the residence were naturally sent away, and since the princess needed attendants, Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai bought another batch from the city.

"Alright, since there's nothing else, I'll just go with you to take a look!"

Ao Yifan said, stepping forward to embrace Xiao Qing, having just been driven out of the room by his wife, he is now full of anger.

Feeling the flame-like aura emanating from Ao Yifan, Xiao Qing's body went slightly limp.

……

"These are the maids you bought in the city, and there are so many of them!"

Ao Yifan looked at the dozen or so girls before him and couldn't help but nod.

"It must be said, Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai have good taste; at least, the ones they selected are all according to Ao Yifan's personal preferences."

"Prince Consort, these girls are all pitiful people who lost their families to the demon tribe; I pitied them, so I bought them all!"

Xiao Bai whispered.

It cannot be denied that in this era, girls selling themselves to noble families as maids is also a way out.

After all, without family protection, wanting to survive in this era is extremely difficult for ordinary girls.

Moreover, these girls are quite beautiful; wanting to stay safe is even harder.

The principle that beauty brings a thin fate has existed since ancient times.

"Well, they're all unfortunate souls; helping a few is better than none."

Ao Yifan sighed and said.

"Then, Prince Consort, do you have any you like? You can pick first!"

Xiao Qing said with a smile.

"Hehe, you're still obedient; this Prince Consort didn't dote on you for nothing!"

Ao Yifan gently pinched Xiao Qing's smooth cheek, then his gaze swept over the girls.

Ao Yifan's gaze was scorching like fire; wherever it passed, the girls blushed and lowered their heads, silent.

"Turns out, there is actually such a powerful immortal in Chen Tang Pass; no wonder..."

Among the girls, Mirage unconsciously restrained her aura.

Mirage, who entered Chen Tang Pass using illusion techniques, also successfully gathered much information about the city.

The former Commander-in-Chief, Tu Feiyuan, was actually slain on the spot!

And the one who killed him was precisely the princess from Chaoge and her prince consort.

Wanting to see who the opponent really was, Mirage, being bold and skilled, appeared directly before the princess's maid.

Because she had heard that the princess's maid seemed to be preparing to purchase a batch of new maids.

The shape-shifting Mirage was easily picked out by Xiao Qing and Xiao Bai.

After all, although her transformed appearance was less than half of her original beauty, it was still quite lovely.

Entering the Commander's residence, Mirage indeed saw her target this time: the prince consort known to the princess, that mysterious immortal.

Just a glance, Mirage sensed the opponent's strength: a peak Heavenly Immortal, somewhat stronger than her late-stage Heavenly Immortal self.

"However, as long as it's not the Demon-Hunting Squad, there's no problem; with the strength of a peak Mystic Immortal Evil Dragon, we can easily slay it!"

Mirage thought to herself.

However, at the same time her heart also felt a bit disappointed, after all, if possible, she truly wished someone could kill that evil dragon.

"Her then!"

Just then, Ao Yifan's voice came.

The next moment, Mirage, who was pondering how to deal with the evil dragon's oppression, felt gazes directed at her.

She looked up and saw that the mysterious prince consort was pointing a finger at her.

"Hehe, little sister, you're fortunate to be picked out at a glance by the Prince Consort!"

The next moment, Xiao Bai gently took Mirage's little hand and walked to Ao Yifan's side.

"Me, I've been selected?"

Mirage secretly felt a bit regretful.

Just now, having heard Ao Yifan and their conversation clearly, she knew that the person selected at this moment likely wasn't just for pouring tea; she might also have to warm the prince consort's bed.

"Ah, if I had known, I would have made myself uglier!"

Mirage was unwilling to sacrifice herself; after all, she was only here to gather information—there was no reason to give up her body.

However, now being on someone else's turf, Mirage couldn't immediately act out; she could only endure the discomfort and be led away by Ao Yifan's embrace.

"When we're alone, I'll deploy my illusion technique; I reckon even if he has peak Heavenly Immortal strength, he won't be able to resist my illusion!"

Mirage thought thus, unaware that she had already been brought into a room by Ao Yifan.

"This, it's still broad daylight, right? What kind of prince consort is this, isn't it too absurd?"

Having reacted, Mirage couldn't help but feel a bit speechless, yet she quietly deployed her own illusion technique.

Huh? How did the mist arise?

Ao Yifan looked at the water mist in his field of vision and couldn't help murmuring.

"How absurd, humans—I don't have time to play with you!"

The Mirage curled the corner of its mouth into a smile, then prepared to use an escape technique to leave.

But before the Mirage could act, suddenly it felt its body tighten.

Her shoulders, waist, and legs were actually clamped down by something.

"How is that possible?"

After reacting, the Mirage suddenly discovered that what bound it was a golden pillar.

The golden pillar emitted a lustrous treasure light all over, with coiling dragons wrapped around it, and what clamped her body at various points were indeed the claws of those coiling dragons.

"This is, a magic treasure!"

In an instant, the Mirage's soul nearly flew out; she never imagined that, after constantly scheming against others, she would ultimately be schemed against herself.

"However, it's merely a trivial magic treasure—how could it possibly bind my Mirage Dragon clan?"

With a low shout, the Mirage prepared to unleash the Mirage Dragon clan's strongest escape technique, Phantom Body Escape, to break free from the magic treasure's bonds.

However, just then, Ao Yifan's voice sounded in its ear——

"Hehe, what a coincidence—if it were any other monster clan, there might indeed be some trouble, but you happen to have dragon clan blood in you!"

Hearing that, the Mirage's heart turned cold.

And what chilled the Mirage even more was that her Mirage Dragon clan's strongest Phantom Body Escape had actually failed.

"What exactly did you do? Why did my escape technique fail?"

The Mirage no longer remained calm, looking at the man nearby, her body slightly trembling.

"I have no need to explain to the enemy, monster clan—you actually dare to barge into the General's Residence, preparing to welcome the Prince Consort's artillery fire?"

Ao Yifan's words left the Mirage somewhat puzzled.

After all, one should be using fury right now—what the hell is this artillery fire?