Chapter 160

The Imperial Palace.

The Imperial Study.

After coming out of the Sanhua Building, Hong Xuanji found the Emperor and reported the matter.

The Emperor's eyes flickered with brilliance, and he sighed: "I really didn't expect that Yin Qi had already cultivated to Martial Saint; I fear even Yin Tiancheng doesn't know about this. Xuanji, what do you think Su Mu intends?"

Hong Xuanji said in a deep voice: "This woman, Su Mu, is no small matter; her wisdom cannot be measured by ordinary standards. Either she is sowing discord between us and Yin Qi; with those words of hers, there will always be a thorn stuck between us and Yin Qi."

The Emperor nodded.

Great Gan and the Supreme Dao had almost completely torn their faces off.

Su Mu said she wanted to win over Yin Qi; regardless of whether it succeeded in the end, and regardless of how loyal and patriotic Yin Qi was in the end, he could never completely trust Yin Qi, and there would certainly be precautions and constraints in secret.

If Yin Qi really joined the Supreme Dao, that would be fine, but if not, it would only force Yin Qi to become alienated from the imperial court.

But the imperial court had to be on guard.

Hong Xuanji continued: "Or she has absolute confidence and doesn't care at all whether we know about this matter. In other words, Meng Shenji's cultivation after returning from corpse-dissection has likely greatly improved."

Meng Shenji was previously a Creator who had undergone seven thunder tribulations; if his cultivation greatly improved, that would be the eighth thunder tribulation.

Thinking of this, both the Emperor and Hong Xuanji felt their hearts sink.

However, they were not without trump cards; the Boat of Creation had been repaired almost completely, so self-preservation was still possible.

After a long while, the Emperor said again: "Regarding Yin Qi, what do you think should be done?"

Hong Xuanji said sternly: "No matter what, he is a Martial Saint; we cannot easily give up on him. Even if he really joined the Supreme Dao, he could still do things for the imperial court. In the humble opinion of this minister, we can formally issue an imperial decree to betroth Princess Linglong to Yin Qi; at the same time, after the provincial examination, order him to join the army for training and do things for the imperial court."

Princess Linglong, the Emperor's fifteenth daughter.

Sixteen years old this year, exactly the same age as Yin Qi.

Her appearance was, of course, peerless, and her martial arts talent was good; she was already a bone-refining martial scholar.

The Emperor nodded: "Which army should he go to?"

Hong Xuanji said: "In the east, Qingzhou has the Champion Marquis, and in the Western Regions, there is the Divine Might King. In the humble opinion of this minister, it is better to let him go to the south; firstly, pirates have been increasingly rampant in recent years and need to be wiped out; secondly, the south has the Daluo Sect, so no chaos will occur."

The Emperor nodded slowly: "Do as you say."

The Duke of Yin's mansion.

The main hall.

A middle-aged eunuch recited in a sharp voice: "By the order of the Emperor, it is decreed: Yin Qi is virtuous and wise, intelligent and studious... specially bestowing the marriage of Princess Linglong, conferring the title of Earl of Longxiang, bestowing a mansion, to be married on an auspicious day, this is the decree."

"Thank you for the Emperor's great kindness!"

Yin Tiancheng's face was full of joy, and he said to the dazed Yin Qi: "Thirteen, why don't you hurry and accept the imperial decree."

Yin Qi hurriedly stepped forward and accepted the imperial decree from the middle-aged eunuch, while also secretly slipping a ten-tael silver note into his hand.

The middle-aged eunuch's smile became even thicker, and he said: "Earl, from now on, this servant will have to call you the Prince Consort. The Earl of Longxiang's mansion is not far from here, and it will also serve as the Prince Consort's mansion in the future; why don't I lead you to take a look now?"

Yin Qi smiled and said: "In that case, I will have to trouble you, Eunuch."

The middle-aged eunuch said: "Serving the Earl is this servant's honor, please!"

"Father, do you want to go and take a look together?"

Yin Qi turned and said.

Yin Tiancheng nodded happily: "Good, let's go together."

"Thirteenth Brother, I want to go too!"

"Father, I want to go!"

Looking at Yin Qi and the others leaving in a grand procession, Princess Xuanling's expression was complex.

It was as if she were jealous, and also as if she were relieved.

Yin Qi was conferred as the Earl of Longxiang and was now independent from the mansion, so the position of Duke in the future should not fall to him.

This was where she felt relieved, but she was also jealous of Yin Qi's favor.

She knew that Princess Linglong was the most favored princess.

If the Emperor did not value Yin Qi, why would he marry Princess Linglong to him? He would certainly have a smooth career in the future.

The Earl of Longxiang's mansion and the Duke of Yin's mansion were on the same main street, separated by only two or three miles.

Compared to the Duke's mansion, this Earl's mansion was of course much smaller, but it occupied more than thirty acres, and the buildings inside were elegant and exquisite, like a Jiangnan garden, which could be described as having a scene in every courtyard.

According to the middle-aged eunuch's introduction, this was originally the residence of the former Vice Minister of Revenue.

This Vice Minister of Revenue was a southerner who built this residence in the style of a Jiangnan garden, but because of corruption, he was imprisoned, and his family property was confiscated.

Yin Hai, Yin Feng, and the others were envious, while Yin Tiancheng looked as if he were inspecting his own territory.

After visiting the residence, everyone returned to the Duke's mansion.

On the way, Yin Tiancheng said: "This huge mansion won't work without servants. How about this, I will transfer fifty guards, twenty maids, and servants to you to set up the framework first, and later you can buy some more servants yourself."

"Thank you, Father!"

Yin Qi naturally had no objections.

He had originally planned to propose moving out of the Duke's mansion after passing the provincial examination, not expecting it to be realized now.

Yin Tiancheng smiled and said: "Between father and son, there is no need for courtesy."

After returning to the Duke's mansion, Yin Qi began to move his things.

That day, he moved into the Earl's mansion.

Deep in the night.

The Earl of Longxiang's mansion.

Yin Qi walked around the main courtyard, Qingyun Pavilion, and re-arranged a high-level Spirit Gathering Array.

At the same time, he also arranged an illusion array within the high-level Spirit Gathering Array.

After nearly a month of comprehension, he finally understood the primary illusion array and naturally had to use it in practice.

As the illusion array was activated, Yin Qi felt the surrounding scenery change drastically, as if entering another world; all around was the sound of birds and the fragrance of flowers, and what met his eyes was an endless peach forest.

Although it was only a primary array, it was enough to confuse a Martial Saint or a Ghost Immortal.

Having set up the illusion array, Yin Qi was even more confident about the upcoming 'holographic projection live broadcast'.

Although this world also had arrays, the principles were not quite the same.

Even if it was primary, it would be extremely difficult to discover.

"The provincial examination is in three days; let's put this 'holographic projection live broadcast' on the day the results are posted. At that time, the whole city will be paying attention to the posting of the results, and the effect of the broadcast will inevitably be the greatest."

As for the location, it was of course the examination hall, because the list of those who passed would be posted on the wall outside the examination hall.

"Eh!"

Yin Qi gave a light exclamation, his face revealing a strange expression.

He was just about to return to his room to rest when he suddenly felt the array being triggered.

Someone had broken in!

In the middle of the night, it was impossible for the servants in the mansion to come over, because he had long ago ordered that without his permission, no one was allowed to enter the main courtyard, Qingyun Pavilion.

Yin Qi pinched a magic seal, and then a flash of brilliance appeared in his eyes.

The boundless peach forest from before instantly disappeared, replaced by a deep night courtyard, where a middle-aged man wearing a Daoist robe looked at his surroundings in horror, constantly looking around.

To Yin Qi, who was more than ten meters away, he was completely invisible.

Clearly, he had fallen into an illusion.

"This is Xiao Anran!"

Yin Qi's pupils shrank, and a cold light flashed.

As the leader of the Fangxian Dao and the master of Yujing Guan, Yin Qi had once seen the other party from afar.

At that time, Xiao Anran could be described as extremely majestic, surrounded by a group of Dukes and Marquises, including Yin Tiancheng.

But now, Xiao Anran had actually sneaked into Qingyun Pavilion in the middle of the night.

There was no need to think to know that he had come with ill intent.