Chapter 44: The Arrogant Saintess of the Xuan Sect and the Charming Demon Concubine of the Great Zhou (Seeking Monthly Votes)

To the east of the Great Zhou lies the vast ocean, to the west it borders Wei, to the north are the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, and to the south is the endless Tianyao Mountains.

It is said that two thousand years ago, when the spiritual energy had not yet withered, the Tianyao Mountains were the territory of the Heavenly Demon Palace, the number one power of the Demon Clan; yet, as time has changed the world, one can barely find a few Demons in the world today, and this place has naturally fallen into the possession of the human race.

Because the terrain is treacherous, filled with miasma, and teeming with venomous insects and fierce beasts, no state has any intention of meddling here; thus, not only do wanted criminals love to come here to avoid the limelight, but even the Xuanhuang Sect has established its headquarters in these mountains that are easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The successive high-ranking members of the Xuanhuang Sect spent a hundred years building a giant city deep in the mountains, which is now the only city in the Tianyao Mountains, named the Holy City.

The Holy Palace and the Huang Hall and Yan Hall are all located within the city.

At this moment, in the main hall of the Holy Palace, the masters of the Yan Hall and Huang Hall and the ten Elders are gathered to discuss matters, only the seat of the Sect Master at the very top is empty, with no one to be seen.

"You are all aware of the situation, so let us discuss what should be done," the master of the Yan Hall, whose red robes looked like a raging fire, said in a deep voice.

"As a dignified Saint Son, to actually slaughter fellow disciples for the sake of embezzling spiritual pills, and even causing the spiritual pills to fall into the hands of the imperial court's lackeys—it is simply a disgrace!"

"The letter from Tongzhou says that this Pei Shaoqing is the son of the Weiyuan Marquis; a tiger father has no dog for a son, so the Kaiyang Holy Son dying at his hands cannot be considered a stain on the reputation of our Holy Sect."

"Hah! What do you know? That Pei Shaoqing is a notorious playboy in the Capital; for a dignified Saint Son to die at his hands, our Holy Sect will truly become a laughingstock!"

"Enough!" The master of the Huang Hall interrupted the noisy crowd and said coldly, "Things have reached this point, so there is no use in saying more; let the Elders express their opinions."

An Elder stepped out and said softly, "Since this concerns the Sect Master's beloved disciple, should we wait for them to come out of seclusion before discussing it?"

"The Sect Master has been in seclusion for over a month, and we do not know when they will emerge; how can we drag it out for so long?" The master of the Yan Hall frowned and rejected this directly, saying, "Before the Sect Master went into seclusion, they said that all matters in the sect are to be decided by us."

The hall fell into a brief silence, and soon an Elder said, "For the sake of the Holy Sect's face, the matter of the Kaiyang Holy Son slaughtering fellow disciples to seize the pills should not be made public."

"Indeed, not only must it not be made public, but we must also seek revenge for them," another Elder chimed in.

The master of the Huang Hall asked, "Who is suitable to take on this task?"

"Me." A cold, clear female voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone subconsciously looked toward the door at the sound.

A woman with a beautiful face, wearing her hair in a spirit-snake bun and adorned with golden hairpins, walked in with her head held high; she wore a white cross-collared long dress inside, covered by a thin gauze robe with large sleeves, and a long silk sash draped over both wrists that trailed to the ground; as she walked, the light gauze swayed and the ribbons fluttered, making her look like a fairy from the heavens.

Her body was wrapped tightly, revealing only graceful curves, with not a hint of skin exposed.

Yet, she wore no shoes, her jade-like feet bare; on her well-defined ankles were tied red strings, and her ten toes were painted with red nail polish; though her fair, delicate feet touched the ground directly, they were not stained by a single speck of dust.

"Yao Guang?" The master of the Yan Hall raised an eyebrow.

The person who had arrived was the only female disciple taken in by the Sect Master of the Xuanhuang Sect, and also the only Saintess of the Xuanhuang Sect.

The Elders all bowed in unison: "Greetings, Saintess."

Saintess Yao Guang remained expressionless, ignoring the Elders with an arrogant posture, and said in a calm tone, "The two Hall Masters, please let me go."

The master of the Yan Hall and the master of the Huang Hall exchanged a glance.

Finally, the master of the Huang Hall nodded slowly, "Very well."

"Revenge is secondary; you must prioritize your own safety above all else," the master of the Yan Hall instructed.

Saintess Yao Guang replied softly, "Yes."

She then turned and left, leaving behind a trail of fragrance.

The arrogance in her bones made her look like a fairy untainted by the mortal world, making one afraid to harbor any blasphemous thoughts.

…………………………

The capital of the Great Zhou, Tianjing.

Inside the Imperial Garden.

The Emperor Jingtai was embracing Noble Consort Wan and playing.

"Your Majesty, let this concubine feed you." Sitting in the Emperor's lap and enjoying the supreme honor and favor, Wan Guifei personally peeled a grape and handed it to the Emperor's mouth with a blooming smile.

She was in the prime of her youth, and even her heavy, ornate palace attire could not conceal the full contours of her chest; beneath her skirt, her calves, wrapped in blue Ice Silkworm Silk, were slender and long; she was beautiful beyond compare, and every smile and frown was soul-stirring.

The dignified, ornate dress she wore did not give off an air of majesty that kept people at a distance; instead, it stirred one's desires, giving one the urge to strip her clothes off and ravage her, as she exuded charm from head to toe.

The Emperor, with his head full of silver hair and a gaunt frame, opened his mouth to take the grape, "The grapes peeled by my beloved concubine are indeed sweet."

"Really? Then this concubine will peel grapes for Your Majesty for a lifetime," Wan Guifei said coquettishly.

"Good! Good!" The Emperor laughed heartily, holding her soft, boneless hands, his gaze falling on a few peonies in the courtyard, and he sighed, "I still remember that these peonies were presented by your father all those years ago; I don't know why they haven't bloomed even once in the last two years."

"Your Majesty, that must have been nearly twenty years ago, right? I wasn't even born then." Wan Guifei leaned into his arms and said with an innocent, naive smile, "I suppose the flowers are just too old; let me write to my father to have him present a few more to replace them; it's always good to have something fresh, and next year Your Majesty will be able to enjoy the flowers again."

The Emperor's eyes turned cold for a moment, but they returned to normal in an instant, "Forget it, forget it; the garden isn't lacking a few peonies, let them stay; I have always been sentimental."

"Your Majesty is truly loyal and righteous; it is the blessing of all the ministers and the people," Wan Guifei flattered him in a sweet voice.

Liu Hai, the Director of the Ceremonial Division who was accompanying the Emperor, broke out in a cold sweat, cursing the idiot in his heart.

If flowers are old and need to be replaced, what about people?

Emperor Jingtai ascended the throne at the age of thirty and is now over sixty; he is a truly old man, and as he grows older, he becomes more sensitive to hearing words like "old" or "death."

If it had been anyone else who said what Wan Guifei said.

They would probably have been dragged away and beaten to death by now.

It was only because Wan Guifei's father, the Pingxi Marquis, held great power in the military, combined with her being favored, that she escaped disaster.

Just then, a young eunuch came over in a hurry with his head bowed and whispered a few words to Liu Hai.

Liu Hai told him to wait, then went to the Emperor to report: "Your Majesty, the Commander of the Northern Suppressing Office, Wei Yue, requests an audience."

"Summon him," the Emperor said indifferently, then patted Wan Guifei's hand lightly, "Alright, my beloved concubine, please get down from my lap first; it is improper for an outside minister to see this."

"Hmph! Your Majesty is busy with a thousand tasks, and it was so hard for me to have some time alone with you; this Wei Yue is truly a nuisance," Wan Guifei muttered a few words and got up obediently.

A flash of impatience crossed the depths of the Emperor's eyes.

And just then, Wei Yue walked in, led by a young eunuch, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty!"

"Minister Wei, no need for formalities; why do you seek an audience with me?" Emperor Jingtai asked with a calm expression and a tone as still as an ancient well.

Wei Yue presented a letter with both hands and said, "This is an urgent report sent to the Capital today from the Thousand-Household office in Shuzhou: the son of the Weiyuan Marquis and Jing'an Guard Flag Captain, Pei Shaoqing, killed the Kaiyang Holy Son of the Xuan Sect ten days ago."

"What?" Before the Emperor could speak, Wan Guifei spoke first, her face full of surprise, and then she sneered, "That good-for-nothing known to everyone in the Capital has such ability? I think it must be deception of the Emperor; I request that Your Majesty investigate thoroughly and punish him severely!"

"My beloved concubine, calm yourself." Emperor Jingtai was also shocked and surprised, but he did not show it, and said with a chuckle, "Pei Shaoqing may be unruly, but I believe he does not have the guts to deceive the Emperor; Minister Wei."

"Your subject is here!" Wei Yue immediately replied.

Emperor Jingtai asked, "Is there proof?"

"The head of the Holy Son of the Opening Yang and his Identity Token serve as proof," Wei Yue answered respectfully.

Emperor Jingtai revealed a smile of interest and said indifferently, "Present the letter for Us to see."

"Yes." Liu Hai stepped forward, took the letter from Wei Yue's hands, and only handed it to the Emperor after checking that there were no issues.

After reading the letter, Emperor Jingtai pondered in silence.

Wan Guifei hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, even if the Holy Son of the Opening Yang is truly dead, it certainly could not have been Pei Shaoqing who killed him! Are you not clear on how much ability he has? Your concubine suggests sending someone to Tongzhou to verify this."

Pei Shaoqing had beaten her nephew to death in the street; this grudge was irreconcilable, so how could she watch the other party perform a meritorious service and be rewarded? Naturally, she had to obstruct and sabotage it.

"What does Minister Wei think?" Emperor Jingtai asked.

"Noble Consort's words are reasonable." Wei Yue first expressed agreement, then changed the subject: "But this subject also believes that although Pei Shaoqing is unruly and unbearable, he does not lack a heart of loyalty to the monarch and surely does not have the guts to deceive the Emperor."

"Then let us investigate; it will not be too late to reward him after it is verified." Emperor Jingtai nodded, casually placed the letter on the table, turned his head, and said to Liu Hai, "Arrange a clever Eunuch to make a trip to Tongzhou."

"This servant obeys the decree." Liu Hai immediately accepted.

There are no secrets in the palace; the conversation in the Imperial Garden soon spread, and the upper circles of the Capital all knew of it.

Woke up after three o'clock again today, woke up in pain, it's miserable brothers, what's even more miserable is that writing a few extra lines about female characters while typing makes me hurt, but as a real man, I can only face the difficulties head-on! Requesting monthly tickets.

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(End of this chapter)