Chapter 98: Seeing Xue Qinghe Again, Continuing the Bamboozling

"Given the situation, Qian Renxue and the others should be roughly in this area. The Spirit Hall is to the west, while the entrance for the Lord and his men is here, in the north?" Xun Yu's finger traced across the map as if drawing a route. "This cannot be a coincidence. Then, how do they ensure the success of their plan? The key factor lies with the Lord, and the factor ensuring the Lord is..."

"Heh, so that's how it is. It's him. As expected of the Spirit Hall, their influence really is tangled and complex. So, is it the Offering Hall or the Pope Palace? Forget it, no matter which one it is, the Lord's subsequent actions will have to change slightly. I also need to collect more intelligence; perhaps I can even use this to plot something for the Lord. It is a pity that I am not skilled in the work of a strategist; if only Fengxiao or Wenhe were here."

Xun Yu was a figure like Xiao He. Although he possessed domestic administrative abilities that even two Guo Jias combined could not match, when it came to planning strategies within a tent to decide victory a thousand miles away, like Zhang Liang, he was also not as good as Guo Jia or Jia Xu.

The strategists under Cao Laoban each had their own strengths, unlike over at Liu Bei's side, where Zhuge Liang had to carry everything alone in the early stages.

Even though Xun Yu saw through the Spirit Hall's plan in an instant, it was a pity that he could not think of a good countermeasure for the time being. For one, it involved areas he was not skilled in, so he could only try his best to collect intelligence to cope.

Secondly, a clever housewife cannot cook without rice; the strength of the Gu Lei Kingdom was simply too far behind the Spirit Hall. Even if he had ideas, he could not implement them casually, lest he do more harm than good. It was just like at Changban Slope; no matter how close to a demon in wisdom Zhuge Liang was, facing the 830,000-strong army of Cao, he could only flee continuously.

The next day, Nan Feihuang packed everything up and once again boarded the carriage for his return.

Moreover, this time, Lan Xue decided to personally escort her son; the events that had occurred previously had left her feeling somewhat like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.

Who knew if he would be assassinated by some reckless person on the road again.

At this moment, Lan Xue happened to have a belly full of anger with nowhere to vent; if someone were to deliver themselves to her door, she would not mind at all letting them taste the power of the Mysterious Ice Halberd.

Of course, there would certainly be no assassination attempts this time. After all, Xun Yu did not need to place two orders, and besides, with the previous lesson, no blind assassin organization would be willing to take the job.

Several days later, the carriage had entered the territory of Tiandou City.

Lan Xue escorted Nan Feihuang all the way into the academy before she was willing to return. Before leaving, she specifically went to find the Three Education Committee Members.

She gave them repeated instructions to take good care of her son, and the Three Education Committee Members naturally agreed again and again.

At the same time, Qian Renxue had already returned to the Eastern Palace. She activated her Spirit Bone Skill, transforming back into the image of Xue Qinghe, as if nothing had changed at all.

Nan Feihuang packed his bags, and after seeing his mother off, he first went to the Imperial Palace to pay a visit to the Great Emperor Xue Ye, and then headed to the Eastern Palace.

He guessed that Qian Renxue had likely already returned.

Xue Ke was probably in the Imperial Palace during this time as well; after all, Yuexuan had to close for the New Year, and Tang Yuehua was not without family. Her second brother was missing, but her eldest brother was still there.

Sure enough, just after entering the vicinity of the Eastern Palace and walking not far, he heard a melodious sound of a zither coming from the garden.

It was as if the singing reached his eardrums; the zither was like flowing water, the flute like falling flowers. Within the zither and flute sounds, whose longing was flowing?

"Is this... 'Phoenix Seeks Phoenix'?" Nan Feihuang muttered.

It seemed Xue Ke missed him a little. Perhaps it was also because the two people she liked most had previously been meeting in private in the Star Dou Great Forest, leaving her alone in the Imperial Palace, making her feel somewhat lonely.

When Nan Feihuang walked closer and heard footsteps, Xue Ke stopped playing. She turned her head subconsciously, and seeing who it was, she called out in surprise, "Brother Feihuang, you're finally back!"

She was not as bold as Lv Lingqi, daring to pounce directly into his arms, but she still subconsciously took Nan Feihuang's arm.

"Sister Xue Ke, long time no see!" Nan Feihuang laughed. Under Xue Ke's strong request, his form of address for her had also changed; it was no longer the very distant Princess.

Nan Feihuang suddenly felt, could he be considered a master of time management? He had shared life and death with Qian Renxue in the Star Dou Great Forest, comforted each other with Lv Lingqi in the Gu Lei Royal Palace, and now he had come to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace to accompany this nominal fiancée.

Ho ho, scumbag...

It seemed that in the future, when he met the likes of Shrek's Dai Mubai or Ma Hongjun, no matter how much he disliked them, he would have no right to scold them; after all, in some aspects, he was not even as good as Dai Mubai.

At least the only person Dai Mubai married in the end was Zhu Zhuqing.

As for Nan Feihuang, he had already decided to fulfill his marriage contract with Xue Ke, but he absolutely could not give up on Lv Lingqi either.

"It's fine, I have E Lai!" Nan Feihuang thought to himself. If he didn't have the right to scold, then he would let E Lai do the scolding.

When it came to a simple mind and a healthy, pure heart, I'm afraid not many people could compare to this naive fellow who possessed a Pure Heart.

"Brother Feihuang, you came back so late. Eldest Brother has also been in closed-door cultivation during this time, and Teacher has temporarily closed Yuexuan, saying she went home for the New Year. Ke'er really feels so lonely," Xue Ke said aggrievedly.

With the people most important to her absent, it was no wonder she would develop such a state of mind.

He couldn't exactly let her go play with Xue Beng or Xue Ye. She only had respect for her father, the Great Emperor Xue Ye, but she kept him at a distance. Facing the majestic Great Emperor, she always maintained her most polite state, not daring to let her youthful nature loose at all.

And as for Xue Beng, who usually only knew how to bully men and oppress women, her disgust for him was maxed out.

Fortunately, now that Nan Feihuang was back, she finally had someone to keep her company.

Just at this moment, the tightly closed gate of the Eastern Palace opened, and Xue Qinghe walked out, preparing to go immediately to pay respects to the Great Emperor Xue Ye and inform him of his "exit from seclusion."

Previously, he had been declining visitors under the pretext of closed-door cultivation.

However, just as he walked into the garden, he saw Xue Ke and Nan Feihuang chatting while holding hands.

Seeing her eldest brother, Xue Ke appeared even more pleasantly surprised. What a joyous day it was today; Nan Feihuang had returned, and her eldest brother had also come out of seclusion.

She waved her other hand and shouted, "Eldest Brother, Brother Feihuang and I are here!"

Actually, in theory, Xue Ke should address Xue Qinghe as Imperial Brother, but when the two were not in public, she called him Brother directly, which seemed more intimate.

Seeing the hands the two were holding, Xue Qinghe frowned. Clearly, when he saw the two being intimate before the New Year, he hadn't felt anything, so why was it such an eyesore now? What was this uncomfortable feeling in his heart?

"Ke'er, in broad daylight, with no regard for the boundaries between men and women, what kind of decorum is this? Did you learn the etiquette of Yuexuan for nothing?" Xue Qinghe scolded.

Xue Ke was startled and hurriedly let go of his hand. "Yes, Eldest Brother, Ke'er knows she was wrong. It's just that Ke'er hasn't seen Brother Feihuang for a long time, and I couldn't help myself."

"Eldest Brother, you just came out of seclusion, are you still feeling tired?"

She felt a bit strange; previously, her eldest brother didn't care at all about her intimacy with Nan Feihuang. What was wrong today?

Seeing this, Xue Qinghe realized that he had been a bit too harsh, which did not fit his persona as a good brother who usually doted on his sister. He quickly adjusted back to his usual appearance. "Ke'er, don't worry. It's not that Eldest Brother is being harsh with you, but you and Feihuang are not yet married after all. If others were to see this, it would inevitably lead to bad talk about you and Feihuang. If you were behind closed doors, Eldest Brother would be happy to see the two of you so close."

Although these words were insincere, they still maintained Xue Qinghe's usual persona.

Hearing this, Xue Ke smiled. "So that's how it is. Hehe, thank you for your concern, Eldest Brother. Sister will definitely be careful in the future."

She knew that her eldest brother was only concerned about her reputation as a princess; her gentle eldest brother would never be angry with his sister.

"Mm, Feihuang, long time no see." Xue Qinghe nodded and turned to look at Nan Feihuang. Even though they had only parted a few days ago, in her mouth, it was as if they really hadn't seen each other for a long time.

Sure enough, when women lie, they can be very natural about it.

A scumbag woman as well!

And today, Nan Feihuang was going to compare with her to see who among them was the bigger scumbag.

It just so happened that before coming, he had teamed up with Xun Yu to design a simple process for bamboozling, which he could use a little bit now.

(End of chapter)