Chapter 143: The Demoness Returns to Her Sect

The next day, Lu Xingzhou moved out of the inn and hid in a secret residence arranged by Sheng Qingfeng.

The conditions were far better than the inn: abundant spiritual energy and a pill furnace with earth fire, creating a cultivation cave dwelling right in the heart of Jingcheng.

Lu Xingzhou no longer involved himself in the turmoil of the capital, devoting himself to studying the alchemy texts in preparation for the upcoming assessment.

Normally, the Alchemy Academy admitted students in early April, with the assessment held in March. This year, for some unknown reason, it was moved up, starting in late February, leaving only a few days.

Actually, the reason for the early start had much to do with him... His answers at Meng Li's house were passed by Meng Li to Gu Zhanting. Gu Zhanting reviewed them and thought this was truly a talent for alchemy, so why waste time in the capital on trivial matters? It was better to let him enroll early. Look at this fellow; he's only been in the capital for a few days and has accomplished more than others do in a year. It's time to give him some proper work.

Thus, the entire Alchemy Academy assessment was moved up, and some people were still rushing on the road.

Of course, the main reason was that Gu Zhanting now valued alchemy more than anything else. Half of the students in the Alchemy Academy failed this semester's final assessment, causing him to fly into a rage of Lei Ting and feel deeply disappointed. At this moment, someone like Lu Xingzhou appeared, and Gu Zhanting was very interested.

So the Emperor's impression of Lu Xingzhou was already very good before this first meeting, and after this meeting, it was even better.

This was on the premise that he didn't know his daughter had used both hands and feet; otherwise, what might have come next was not the Alchemy Academy assessment, but the vegetable market execution ground.

Lu Xingzhou devoted himself to reading, and Pei Qingyan did not follow him into the secret chamber.

In mid-February, the head of the top-tier Pei family, Grand Chancellor of Great Qian Pei Qingyan, claimed that a daughter lost in his early years had now been found and was doted on to the extreme. He held a grand ceremony for her to return to her ancestral clan, inviting all the celebrities of the capital to witness it, introducing the found daughter to the entire upper class of Jingcheng.

No one knew how this daughter suddenly appeared...

Even in an age of cultivation, not everyone has the aptitude for it. For instance, Pei Qingyan's principal wife was a delicate young lady from a noble family, excellent in culture, but unfortunately had no cultivation aptitude. She died from massive hemorrhage during a difficult birth while giving birth to Pei Yu. After that, whether Pei Qingyan wanted to establish a persona of a deep lover, or because his cultivation had reached the upper third grade leaving him with little desire for men and women, he never remarried, making Pei Yu an only child.

You didn't remarry, so how did you suddenly have a daughter two or three years younger than Pei Yu?

If thinking kindly, it should be a child of a handmaid, neglected and thus lost and wandering. If thinking maliciously, it was a child conceived outside, and who knows, perhaps even from a brothel...

Fortunately, no one with the most malicious thoughts ever considered that this was actually a female Bodhisattva from the Chaste Maiden Union of Delight Sect.

But regardless of which it was, with the Emperor's favor as a foundation and the Golden Body of the Imperial Academy gilding her, rumors and slander lost all meaning. That is, even the Emperor acknowledged this daughter as legitimate, her mother could be regarded as a second wife, so who are you?

However, under normal circumstances, for the sake of one's own face, even if such a daughter was found, she would only be quietly taken back, not publicly announced for people to discuss. Unexpectedly, Pei Qingyan was truly willing to throw away his old face, making the ceremony extremely grand, obviously just to not treat this daughter poorly and to declare her status to the world.

Thus, everyone knew how much Pei Qingyan doted on this daughter.

To clear Pei Qingyan's past as Lu Xingzhou's maid of her "shameful past," and more importantly, to prevent others from questioning her purity, Lu Xingzhou simply did not attend this ceremony. What was left for others to discuss was only what Pei Qingyan had said publicly about "helping to find family," minimizing any ambiguity to the lowest level.

Those who went to the ceremony to eat melons were Sheng Yuanyao bringing A Nuo.

"You didn't see that scene; those who knew called it a family reunion ceremony, while those who didn't thought it was a Feng Shan sacrifice—so extravagant... truly wealthy." Inside the secret chamber, while Lu Xingzhou was refining pills, Sheng Yuanyao sat cross-legged beside him, holding her boots, enthusiastically sharing her observations: "And some of the texts they read, wow, I didn't understand at least half the words in an article."

Lu Xingzhou was quite helpless: "My Commander Sheng, if I recall correctly, you have duties, aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I'm recovering from injury."

"Your injury healed a few days ago."

"I am, after all, a person in charge; I decide on my own affairs. If I say I'm recovering from injury, then I'm recovering from injury. If you disagree, go complain to Vice Commander Sheng."

"..." Lu Xingzhou laughed helplessly: "Hey, where did your previous serious and responsible attitude go?"

"Everyone says I came back to the capital just to rot. If not for the Ye Wufeng incident, I'd have nothing to do at all; I was even hunting before." Sheng Yuanyao nudged his shoulder: "Want to go hunting with me?"

"Sorry, I'm a cripple."

"Tch." Sheng Yuanyao's topic unconsciously returned to Pei Qingyan: "Hey, your green tea before even disguised her face to hide her beauty, right? Seeing her true face at today's ceremony, plus her grand attire, she is truly beautiful! You don't know how many Young Masters' eyes went straight, there were even people proposing on the spot, thrown out by Chancellor Pei."

Lu Xingzhou smiled slightly: "That's good."

"No, you still say that's good?" Sheng Yuanyao reached out to touch his forehead: "Are you sick? This means someone is competing with you; she's not just a little maid you can play with however you want."

"After she returned to the Pei family, she was already someone I couldn't touch at will." Lu Xingzhou said calmly: "That's not important... What I mean by 'that's good' is that she deserves to be treated well by her family, and she is worthy of being adored by the masses and famous throughout Jingcheng."

Sheng Yuanyao looked him up and down and said nothing.

"What, what is that expression of yours?"

"Nothing." Sheng Yuanyao said leisurely: "No wonder she grabbed A Nuo and asked where you were; you are indeed worth her missing."

"As for you, weren't you very at odds with her? Now you're speaking good words about her."

"As you said... after she returned to the Pei family, you probably won't have a share anymore. You have Shen Tang; playing with a maid is fine, but a Pei family daughter is impossible, haha, so what's the point of me competing with her... uh..."

Speaking to the end, suddenly realizing he had spoken inappropriately, Sheng Yuanyao blushed red and fell silent.

This meant the fundamental reason for her being at odds with Pei Qingyan was jealousy; once she realized the other party posed no threat, there was nothing left to compete over...

Her mind raced, and she hurriedly made excuses: "Anyway, I just can't stand the sight of her; she was acting so wild, and today she's pretending to be dignified!"

Lu Xingzhou turned to look at her pretty face, flushed red, and said softly: "Speaking of beauty, you are no worse than her."

Sheng Yuanyao stuttered: "Hey, you..."

A voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Is that so? I don't believe it."

The door was pushed open, and Pei Qingyan stood there clapping her hands, with A Nuo beaten and lying on the side, her eyes black and blue.

"Little brat, did you really think you could stop me, trying to create an opportunity for your Sister Yao? Pfft, forgot who lived and ate with you longer? Ungrateful deadbeat." Pei Qingyan clapped her hands and walked in gracefully.

Lu Xingzhou turned to look, and a flash of astonishment passed through his eyes.

He already knew Pei Qingyan's true face was enough to topple kingdoms and cities, but after all, it wasn't like today's grand attire and light makeup. So beyond the bewitching charm seen in daily life, dignity and elegance were added; that noble purity of a great family that keeps people at a thousand miles distance suddenly emerged, creating a striking contrast.

Judging purely by beauty, the little demon girl could truly compete for the top three beauties of Jiangshan, if such a list existed.

Even the melon-eating girl stared straight, this kind of beauty truly kills both men and women.

"Why are you here?" Lu Xingzhou came to his senses, somewhat strange: "It should be after the banquet at this time; you are the protagonist, why are you free?"

"You know it's after the banquet; at this time, noble young ladies should be resting in their boudoirs. Unfortunately, I am a little demon girl; can't I sneak out?"

Lu Xingzhou laughed: "Why bother? Just pretend to be dignified for a few days. You sneaking out, on the surface, no one can stop you, but I think your father has a clear idea; he is a first-grade fierce man."

"No, if I don't sneak out, let you hook up with people here?" Pei Qingyan elegantly lifted her skirt and squatted down, leaning in front of the cross-legged Sheng Yuanyao, smiling: "Young Lady Sheng says my little maid only knows how to hook up, what propriety is that? I thought Young Lady Sheng, with her deep family learning and righteous clear wind, would be different, but it turns out you are also a lone man and woman in a dark room, where is the propriety?"

Sheng Yuanyao angrily said: "I and he are clean and white, friends interacting; anyone with a dirty heart sees everything as dirty!"

Pei Qingyan sneered: "Don't you know about the melon field and the plum tree..."

Sheng Yuanyao: "Where is the melon?"

Pei Qingyan: "?"

The two women glared at each other for a long time, and Pei Qingyan finally piled on a smile again: "Young Lady Sheng, the little maid needs to accompany the bed; do you want to join too?"

Sheng Yuanyao simply couldn't hold it in: "You are now a noble daughter of the Pei family, can you have some shame?"

Pei Chuyun began to unleash her ultimate move: "I know we maids have no right to compete with the Young Lady. Young Lady, please don't be angry; I'll leave right away..."

"You..." Sheng Yuanyao almost swore. She could argue with Pei Chuyun all day and night, but she truly couldn't endure a single cup of tea.

She had thought that with the dead maid recognized and taken back, there would be no one left around Lu Xingzhou for her to occupy, but she never expected this shameless one to sneak out at night to secretly meet her lover. What was infuriating was that she couldn't even get Lu Xingzhou to say a word, because she truly wasn't suited to stay here and had no confidence at all. If she asked Lu Xingzhou to speak, he would only tell her, Sheng Yuanyao, to go back; staying too late would make Sheng Qingfeng explode.

Sheng Yuanyao, seething with anger, stood up and stormed off: "I'll just wait to see when the two of you capsize. Don't let Pei Qingyan bring people to block your door, only for the noble lady just recognized back into the family to be expelled!"

Watching Sheng Yuanyao storm off in a huff, Pei Chuyun pouted: "So fragile."

Lu Xingzhou sighed: "Why bother..."

"Can't I be jealous?" Pei Chuyun moved behind him, reaching out to gently pinch his shoulders: "Young Master... A-Yun misses you..."

"I see that Prime Minister Pei truly cares for you, wishing to pluck the stars from the sky just to give to you. Shouldn't you be so happy you forget about the boat?"

Pei Chuyun bit her lower lip, leaning down to whisper softly by his ear: "But amidst the gaze of the multitude chasing me at the ceremony, what I thought of was merely... if the Young Master saw me like this, would it be even more fun at night? Unfortunately, I waited and waited, but the Young Master never came... so my heart felt empty."

(End of this chapter)