Chapter 920

Qiqi angrily said: "How outrageous! Hong Beimo is actually so arrogant; I'll go settle the score with him right now!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Princess, you must not get angry; the more this happens, the more we need to stay calm."

Qiqi glanced at him and said: "What? You came back here just to have me vent your anger, didn't you?" Actually she also understood that, given Hong Beimo's current status and the Emperor's trust in him, it would be hard to deal with him; even if she were the Yongyang Prince, her true weight in the Emperor's heart might not match Hong Beimo's.

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "How to vent your anger? Hong Beimo is a great meritorious official who helped the Emperor regain the throne; do you think the Emperor would punish him just because of our words?"

Qiqi said: "According to your opinion, what should we do?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "For now, keep this matter in mind; later we can plan revenge. The urgent priority is to find the Emperor and defuse this crisis at the Heaven Dragon Temple."

Qiqi said: "What exactly did you gain from those monks that you are helping them so wholeheartedly?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "Helping others doesn't necessarily require repayment; just as I serve the Princess wholeheartedly, devoted and selfless, I never expected anything in return from her."

Qiqi gave him a sideways glance and said: "Not a chance!" After a pause she added: "He kept this Heaven Dragon Temple matter hidden from me from start to finish; I don't even know where he is now."

"The Princess may not know, but there is someone who definitely does."

"You mean Hong Beimo?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Anyone who does wrong will feel guilty; if you go see him now, Princess, he might not refuse to give you face. Since the incident at the Heaven Dragon Temple stems from his fault, and you enjoy the Emperor's deep favor, turning against you would not be wise for him; given his shrewdness, he certainly wouldn't do that."

Qiqi thought, then nodded: "It seems I still need to meet him in person."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Princess, remember to attack his weaknesses with your strengths."

"Rest assured, I will definitely stay calm."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "You've misunderstood, Princess. In my view, your strength is being willful and unreasonable. Normally you're unreasonable three parts of the time; now that you're completely in the right, you might as well take it to the extreme."

Qiqi's brows furrowed: "Nonsense, you're outright bold! Who are you calling unreasonably occupying three parts?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Being overly mature as a youth actually makes people wary; sometimes being willful and unreasonable instead makes people let their guard down."

Only then did Qiqi understand his meaning; her beautiful eyes turned: "Hu Xiaotian, Hu Xiaotian. If I turn bad, it's because you taught me."

Hu Xiaotian smiled: "Princess, you are naturally clever; why would you need my teaching? I'll just wait here for your good news."

Hong Beimo hadn't expected Qiqi to come to the Heavenly Mechanism Bureau so soon for a visit; regarding this Yongyang Princess, he had never taken her seriously. Even though she possessed wisdom and maturity beyond her peers, in his eyes Qiqi was still just a child. He couldn't fathom why the Emperor would entrust such an important task to a little girl; perhaps the Emperor had thought too much, fearing that power would lean to one side, so he adopted this method to balance it. Mutual restraint is the usual way for a ruler, and Hong Beimo was no stranger to it.

Seeing Qiqi arrive with a fierce presence, Hong Beimo still kept a modest smile: "Your subject Hong Beimo pays his respects, Princess."

Qiqi took out a slender box. Aiming it at Hong Beimo, what she held was actually the Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needle.

Hong Beimo remained calm in the face of danger, smiling at the needle case: "Princess, what do you mean by this?" He of course knew exactly where the Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needle came from.

"This is something I should be asking you: what exactly did Hu Xiaotian do to offend you? Are you going to exterminate him?"

Hong Beimo chuckled: "Where does this come from? Hu Xiaotian is a meritorious official and the Emperor-appointed commander of the Imperial Guard; we serve together in the same hall, so we ought to work wholeheartedly for Dakang—how could I possibly exterminate him?"

Qiqi threw the empty case of the Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needle to the ground: "Don't think I don't know anything; the one chanting sutras and reciting Buddha at the Heaven Dragon Temple is not the Emperor at all—it's someone you had impersonate the Emperor and sent there. Come clean: where exactly did you hide the Emperor?"

Although all the truth had been exposed by Qiqi, Hong Beimo's expression remained unruffled. Since last night, when Fu Yuhong returned fleeing and told him that the three men's attempt to surround and kill Hu Xiaotian had failed, Hong Beimo realized that the scheme of Chi Feixing impersonating the Emperor could no longer be covered up. He certainly didn't fear taking responsibility; although he had proposed it, the Emperor himself had personally approved it. As for the details, he had no intention of explaining them to Qiqi, nor was it necessary.

Hu Xiaotian's strength exceeded his expectations; the reason this plan was exposed was that he had underestimated Hu Xiaotian's strength. Hong Beimo is someone who dares to examine himself; a loss is a loss. One learns from a setback; next time he moves against Hu Xiaotian, he will absolutely not fight an unsure battle.

Hong Beimo smiled: "The Emperor has always been in the Heaven Harmony Garden; this Heaven Dragon Temple affair is also entirely his own idea."

Qiqi said: "Why do you want to kill Hu Xiaotian?"

Hong Beimo shook his head: "If you have any questions, Princess, please ask the Emperor."

Qiqi's heart skipped a beat; Hong Beimo was indeed arrogant. She glared at him: "Mr. Hong, you'd better remember: Hu Xiaotian is my person; whoever dares to move against him is effectively opposing me. I have a bad temper, little insight, and don't understand deep schemes or state affairs—but whoever dares to pull a hair from my head, I'll pull out all his hairs; whoever dares to move my finger, I'll break his limbs. Mr. Hong, if you don't believe me, just come try!"

Hong Beimo laughed helplessly: "Is this little girl threatening me? After all, she's too young and can't keep her composure. He smiled: 'Princess, I have taken note of your words, but there must be a great misunderstanding here.'"

Qiqi said: "Whether it's a misunderstanding, you know it yourself." Having said that, she turned and left.

Behind her came Hong Beimo's voice: "Seeing the Princess off!"

Hu Xiaotian and Mingjing had been waiting in Zilan Palace until noon, when Qiqi finally returned. Seeing her expression, it seemed the trip had been very satisfactory. Hu Xiaotian stepped forward respectfully: "Princess, did you see His Majesty?"

Only then did Qiqi notice Mingjing, who had been waiting far off for news. Her memory was astonishing; at first glance she recalled that this was the monk she had met at the Great State Temple. Seeing Qiqi stare at him, Mingjing lowered his gaze; in fact he also recognized Qiqi, but pretended they had never met.

Qiqi nodded: "You're also a monk from the Heaven Dragon Temple?"

Mingjing understood she was asking him, and replied respectfully: "I, a lowly monk, have been ordained at the Heaven Dragon Temple since childhood; it's been twenty years now."

Qiqi said: "Why have you appeared again at the Great State Temple?"

Mingjing said: "My master sent me there to handle affairs."

Qiqi then stopped questioning him, gave Hu Xiaotian a look, and he followed her into the inner chambers. Impatiently he said: "Princess, did you see the Emperor?"

Qiqi nodded: "I saw him, and right in front of I filed a harsh complaint against that old scoundrel Hong Beimo."

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help laughing; although he hadn't seen it himself, he could imagine Qiqi's scene of lodging a complaint—this girl never shows mercy to her enemies.

Qiqi said: "What are you laughing at? You don't know how hard I've worked today—first to the Heavenly Mechanism Bureau, then to the Heaven Harmony Garden; I've been rushing around all morning and haven't even had a sip of water."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Princess, you've worked hard; I'll go pour you tea right away!" Just then a palace maid brought tea over; Hu Xiaotian took the tray, personally poured a cup for Qiqi and brought it to her, even gently blowing on it. Qiqi gave a look of disdain: "What's the blowing for? Aren't you afraid saliva will drip into the tea cup?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "I'm afraid you'll get burned!" He presented the teacup with both hands; although Qiqi complained, she still took it and drank it down completely—she was indeed thirsty.

Hu Xiaotian waited aside for her to continue.

Qiqi said: "As you expected, the Emperor has taken everything upon himself, saying he already knew all along and that it was all done at his behest."

Hu Xiaotian blinked: "Even the plot to have me assassinated was ordered by the Emperor?"

Qiqi glared at him: "He certainly wouldn't let anyone assassinate you, and he said Hong Beimo couldn't possibly do this; therefore someone must be deliberately stirring up trouble, trying to provoke a conflict between me and Hong Beimo."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Are you talking about me?" He felt greatly annoyed; how could this old emperor be so muddleheaded?

Qiqi said: "I think he's also not in a position to comment on this matter; now the only thing is to help Hong Beimo come to terms with it."

Hu Xiaotian said: "It seems the Emperor ultimately trusts him more."

Qiqi said: "The Emperor told me to settle the Heaven Dragon Temple affair, and also said he won't let Hong Beimo continue to interfere."

Hearing that, Hu Xiaotian also felt relieved; no matter what, the outcome of this affair was still good. As long as Hong Beimo didn't meddle further, they could naturally turn the Heaven Dragon Temple matter from major to minor, from minor to settled. The key point was being able to help the monks there resolve their troubles. Hu Xiaotian whispered: "The Emperor's meaning is that he doesn't want this affair to keep escalating; he wants the Princess to step in and settle it, and then it's over—no one is allowed to keep stirring up trouble over the Heaven Dragon Temple."

Qiqi smiled narrowly: "Smart, that's probably exactly what he meant!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Put the dispute on hold for later handling—high! Really high! After all, he's an old sly fox!"

Qiqi glared at him: "Who are you talking about?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "The lofty words are what the Emperor says; the old treacherous and crafty says that Hong Beimo is nonsense."

Qiqi said: "As for Tianlong Temple, I'll still go there personally; that will settle matters there."

Hu Xiaotian clasped his hands and said: "Princess, you are wise!"

The first update is presented, thank you all for your support; although Zhangyu has only just started typing, it doesn't mean there won't be an outburst—today at least four updates will be delivered! This is the first update. Brothers, watch my performance, pleading for a guaranteed monthly ticket! (To be continued~^~)