Chapter 147: Gaze

When King Shou's gaze fell on Hua Changxi and the others, they all silently lowered their heads and made no further moves.

The eunuch behind him, seeing that they did not step forward to greet King Shou on their own, shouted harshly: "How dare you! Why don't you come forward and pay respects to His Highness at once?"

Gu Jinfan, upon hearing this, glanced at Mu Qingying and Yuan Tianchou. The two were disciples of the Director, so logically they should take the lead.

Yuan Tianchou caught Gu Jinfan's look, then glanced at Gu Qiming. Seeing that his own master gave him no hint, he paused for a brief moment, then stepped forward and cupped his hands in salute to King Shou.

"First-rank alchemist Yuan Tianchou pays respects to Your Highness."

King Shou saw that Yuan Tianchou only made a bow with cupped hands and did not kneel. His expression turned somewhat displeased: "Your father is the Director of the Imperial Observatory?"

Yuan Tianchou: "Yes."

King Shou knew that there were a few families in the capital that even the imperial family could not easily provoke, and the Yuan family was among them. He appraised Yuan Tianchou, asked nothing further, and dismissed him.

Next came Mu Qingying.

She also greeted him in the same manner as Yuan Tianchou, cupping her hands and bowing: "First-rank alchemist Mu Qingying pays respects to Your Highness."

King Shou knew she was the Director's disciple. He glanced at Gu Qiming standing nearby, decided not to make things too difficult, and coldly dismissed her.

"First-rank alchemist Gu Jinfan pays respects to Your Highness."

Gu Jinfan similarly gave a cupped-hand bow.

The Duke of Xinguo's mansion had developed rapidly in the past two years and was under close imperial scrutiny. King Shou studied Gu Jinfan and said with a half-smile: "I hear that the Duke of Xinguo's mansion even has a third-rank alchemist now. How is it that you are only first-rank? You wouldn't be hiding your talent, would you?"

Faced with King Shou's doubt, Gu Jinfan remained expressionless: "In reply, Your Highness, alchemy requires comprehension. I lack that comprehension."

King Shou did not press further on the truth of her words but suddenly asked: "You aren't engaged yet, are you?"

Gu Jinfan's expression finally shifted slightly. She looked up at King Shou: "I will not become engaged, because engagement means I would have to marry, and marriage means marrying only one man. But there are so many fine men in this world—one is not enough for me."

Good heavens. As soon as these words were out, everyone present looked at Gu Jinfan in shock, admiration, or astonishment.

Even King Shou was left speechless.

After speaking, Gu Jinfan silently retreated. As her eyes wandered, she inadvertently noticed that Hua Changxi's gaze toward her actually carried a hint of admiration, which made her feel somewhat strange.

The reason she had responded to King Shou in this way was that she knew King Shou detested women's betrayal more than anything.

Whether King Shou had asked about her engagement idly or with some other purpose, she wanted nothing to do with him.

He was a mad dog—stopping at nothing to obtain the bloodline ancestral-reversion divine ability, and the number of people he had slaughtered was incalculable.

After Yuan Tianchou, Mu Qingying, and Gu Jinfan, only Hua Changxi, Zhu Qinghuan, and Shen Qianfan remained.

Shen Qianfan looked at Hua Changxi and Zhu Qinghuan, thought that he was from the Disciple Hall, and stepped forward first, cupping his hands: "First-rank alchemist Shen Qianfan pays respects to Your Highness."

The previous three had backgrounds too formidable, so King Shou could tolerate their not kneeling. But Shen Qianfan—a commoner—dared to show such disrespect? King Shou's face directly darkened.

Though he said nothing, the eunuch behind him spoke: "How dare you! You see His Highness and fail to perform the kowtow?"

Shen Qianfan, upon hearing this, showed not fear but indignation: "Your Highness, I object. The three of them did not kowtow, so why must I alone do so? Your Highness's unequal treatment is truly unjust."

King Shou: "..."

After Gu Jinfan's bold declaration, King Shou was again at a loss for words. He looked at Shen Qianfan as if he were an idiot. Was this fellow out of his mind, demanding fairness from him?

Gu Qiming, standing to the side, quickly lowered his head, struggling to suppress the urge to laugh.

Regarding these people who had obtained the wooden tokens, he had put great effort into investigating their families—each and every one of them was a proud, unbending soul.

King Shou was an imperial prince, but times were different now. Whether the imperial family could continue to rule the Great Jin in the future was uncertain. Many people's reverence for the imperial clan was gradually fading away.

When encountering these people who had never been willing to bow their heads easily since childhood, the more King Shou tried to put on princely airs, the more fiercely they would resist.

Even the eunuch behind King Shou was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Insolent!"

Shen Qianfan stood straight-backed: "I pointed out that Your Highness acted unjustly—how can that be considered insolent?"

The eunuch had not expected this man to be so bold. Not knowing how to respond, he could only turn to look at King Shou.

King Shou's brow twitched. He directly released his spiritual pressure, intending to force Shen Qianfan to his knees.

But the spiritual pressure had barely been released when it was blocked.

King Shou knew it was Gu Qiming who had intervened. He glared at him angrily.

Gu Qiming smiled respectfully, then directly said, "Next."

"First-rank Alchemist Zhu Qinghuan pays respects to Your Highness."

Prince Shou was very dissatisfied with Gu Qiming's attitude, but he knew that Gu Qiming was a subordinate of the Heavenly Department Minister. The imperial family wanted to gain control over the Alchemy Saint Hall and could not do so without the support of the Heavenly Department, so he could only suppress the anger in his heart and turned his gaze to Zhu Qinghuan.

"Surname Zhu?"

"That's a good surname—don't let it down."

Toward Zhu Qinghuan, Prince Shou's attitude was relatively mild, and without making much trouble, he allowed her to withdraw.

"First-rank Alchemist Hua Changxi pays respects to Your Highness."

Hua Changxi introduced herself just like the others.

Prince Shou looked at Hua Changxi: "You are that menial who lectures at the Qihuang Hall?"

Hua Changxi: "Yes."

Prince Shou: "Why do you lecture at the Qihuang Hall?"

Hua Changxi: "Because I enjoy teaching medical skills."

Prince Shou: "Isn't it because you discovered something unusual at the Qihuang Hall?"

Hua Changxi: "I only entered the Menial Hall two years ago—if the Qihuang Hall had anything unusual, it would have been discovered long ago."

Prince Shou narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Hua Changxi from head to toe.

Such scrutiny made Hua Changxi's brow tighten directly. This kind of gaze, like being appraised as if she were goods, was the second time she had experienced it.

The first time was at the main residence of the great clan; the great elder's wife had used that very same gaze to select among her and her sisters.

Prince Shou: "Are you willing to submit the wooden token in your hand to me?"

Hua Changxi was expressionless: "No."

Prince Shou's expression turned cold: "I won't take it for nothing—ten thousand spirit stones in exchange for your token is enough to sustain your cultivation for a very long time."

Hua Changxi was speechless: "The wooden token is my opportunity; no matter how many spirit stones, I won't exchange it."

Prince Shou's voice turned cold: "Aren't you afraid that I'll have you removed from the Medical Department?"

Hua Changxi: "What I belong to is not the Medical Department, but the Alchemy Saint Hall. Your Highness can have someone leave the Medical Department, but you have no authority to have someone leave the Alchemy Saint Hall."

Hearing this, Prince Shou's anger instead settled down. After a long silence, he said: "Since you like lecturing, then from now on you will lecture every day at the Qihuang Hall."

Hua Changxi: "That won't do—I had time before, but now I don't."

Prince Shou's expression darkened: "This is an order; you have no right to refuse."

Hua Changxi met his gaze directly: "I am the one lecturing, so of course I have the right not to."

Seeing that Prince Shou was about to erupt in anger, the Seventh Prince standing behind him quickly interjected: "Thirteenth Uncle, what Hua Changxi teaches are medical techniques aimed at mortals and martial artists—they are not of much use to us."

Prince Shou gave a cold snort, his gaze sweeping over Mu Qingying and the others: "You people... fine, just fine!"