Chapter 374

【And during the course of her upbringing, besides Wu Gong, Wei Wuya sought out all manner of rare books for her to study the knowledge of medicine, poisons, and mechanical contraptions.】

【This shaped her into a complex temperament—outwardly aloof and cold, yet inwardly nimble and cunning.】

【It made her seem delicate and pure, aloof and proud, when in truth she was clever and brave, with a heart as Eight Linglong, adept at stratagem, deeply versed in human nature—a true Linglong maiden.】

【And in appearance, her brows and eyes were like a painting, her pupils like the morning stars, her lips Linglong, possessing a transcendent, otherworldly grace that her peers could not match—unparalleled beauty.】

【A single glance back could rob an entire valley of flowers of their color; the charm of her gathering her hair could steal the breath of every man beneath the heavens.】

【At first glance, she looked like a replica of the Grand Palace Master of the Yihua Palace.】

【That matchless elegance, though one cannot say none could surpass it, was beyond the reach of the vast majority of women—leaving people utterly enchanted, secretly intoxicated.】

【Heavenly Dao Evaluation: Linglong maiden, unparalleled in elegance!】

【Heavenly Dao Reward: Youth-Preserving Pill (consuming it grants eternal youthful beauty)】.

219-Loyalty and righteousness unmatched, a heroine who yields nothing to any man! (Seeking subscriptions!)

219-Loyalty and righteousness unmatched, a heroine who yields nothing to any man! (Seeking subscriptions!)

【Nine Provinces Hundred Flowers Ranking—(Tied) Forty-First Place: Shangguan Haitang, Cultivation: early-stage Grandmaster.】

【Identity: Former Xuan-ranked secret agent of the Great Ming's Hulong Shanzhuang, Master of the Number One Manor Under Heaven.】

【Shangguan Haitang, originally surnamed Hai, had her entire Manmen slaughtered by bandits as a child; she miraculously survived among the corpses and was rescued by Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Zhuge Shenhou.】

【To evade her enemies, she changed her surname to Shangguan, was adopted as a goddaughter by the Zhuge Shenhou, and became a disciple under Young Master Lian Wuhen.】

【From then on, she disguised herself as a man, serving the Hulong Shanzhuang as a Xuan-ranked secret agent.】

【Pouring her heart and blood into the Jiangshan and the realm, braving life and death for her adoptive father, taking a knife in the ribs for her friends—truly a heroine who yields nothing to any man!】

【After becoming the Master of the Number One Manor Under Heaven, she gathered the finest talents under heaven, filling the manor with brilliant people and grasping the world's secrets.】

【She was shrewd and resourceful, fanning herself with a feather fan in the manner of a scholar-general, gifted with literary flair, captivating all beings—appearing to be a refined young gentleman of a troubled age, yet in truth a beauty capable of toppling a nation, gathering all the spiritual elegance of heaven and earth in one person, unmatched in grace.】

【It would not be amiss to say she was as lovely as peach and plum blossoms, as beautiful as fragrant blossoms.】

【Besides this, she was versed in every art—qin, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, astrology, and physiognomy.】

【Moreover, her skill with hidden weapons was unrivaled in the jianghu, the finest beneath the heavens—truly one of the top experts among the younger generation of the Great Ming's jianghu.】

【Sadly, despite such talents, she had no way to show them, living only for the Zhuge Shenhou.】

【But what was tragic was that she was nothing more than a chess piece in the Zhuge Shenhou's hand, with no life truly her own, ready to be sacrificed by him at any moment.】

【Heavenly Dao Evaluation: Loyalty and righteousness unmatched, a heroine who yields nothing to any man!】

【Heavenly Dao Reward: Youth-Preserving Pill (consuming it grants eternal youthful beauty)】

As the contents of the Nine Provinces Hundred Flowers Ranking were revealed one by one.

In the void.

Two illusory figures walked out, one after the other.

The first to appear was Su Ying.

She was seen draped in a rainbow-feathered robe, like a fairy.

Drifting over amid a sky full of sunset.

Her brows and eyes like a painting, her cheeks like jade.

Her Linglong lips, though perhaps a touch too full; her broad forehead, though perhaps a touch too high.

But those eyes, like the autumn moon, like the morning star, were more than enough to make up for all of it.

A gentle breeze tousled her hair.

She reached out and lightly gathered it.

Such a simple gesture.

Paired with that aloof, proud, and matchlessly elegant bearing.

It was like a painting beyond all words.

It made the people of the Nine Provinces catch their breath in unison.

An identical flash of infatuation crossing their faces.

Though this was the first time the people had beheld her beauty.

Yet with just that one glance.

Their hearts were inexplicably struck, as if hammered by a heavy blow.

And behind her.

Shangguan Haitang wore a robe of white, held a painted fan, dressed entirely as a refined young gentleman of a troubled age.

But even though she was a woman disguised as a man.

She still could not conceal her matchless beauty.

Her snow-white, tender skin seemed to break at a touch.

Her beautiful eyes, glancing about, sparkled with the light of nimble intelligence.

Her faint dimples stirred an impulse to quicken one's heartbeat.

And that was not all.

As she took two steps forward.

The originally male-attired her suddenly underwent a transformation.

Making people feel their vision blur for an instant.

Then looking closely again.

Where was even a trace of a man about her?

She was dressed in a long gown of plain white.

Two willow-leaf brows carried a faint sorrow.

Long eyelashes trembled slightly.

It instinctively stirred a wave of pity.

Her figure was exquisitely proportioned—too much would make her fat, too little would make her thin.

Her slightly pale complexion was heartbreakingly lovely.

Li Qiushui's eyes, once clear as autumn water, now lay dead and still as a stagnant pond.

Her entire demeanor appeared worn and listless.

Clearly, she had not yet recovered from Zhu Wushi's blow.

"The beauty outside, the inner grace of Shengong's Moon Invitation! This saying is truly no lie!! I once had the fortune to glimpse the Moon Invitation Mistress for a moment—I must say, Miss Su Ying's aura genuinely bears a resemblance to the Moon Invitation Mistress!!"

"Wei Wuya of the Twelve Zodiacs? Isn't that a cripple? And he's hideously ugly! Where did he get the nerve to love the Moon Invitation Mistress?! Ugly to look at, and dreams too grand! Hmph.. Pfft!!"

"Raising her? I never expected that scoundrel Wei Wuya would play such a twisted game!! Truly, it's like a dagger to the buttocks—I've seen it all now!!"

"Forgive me for laughing out loud! I'm dying to know—what expression would Wei Wuya wear right now? Surely the Minghua Palace's assassination order will be issued again?!"

"Shangguan Haitang is truly a pitiful soul! Her entire family was slaughtered when she was young; she thought her adoptive father was her savior, but in truth, he had used her as a pawn from start to finish—terrible! So terribly terrible!!"

"To be fair, Miss Shangguan Haitang, whether dressed as a man or a woman, is breathtaking! No wonder she ranks forty-first on the Nine Provinces' Hundred Flowers List! She lives up to that rank!!"

"Didn't Zhu Tiandan, the Iron-Courage Zhuge Shenhou, vanish from the world? I wonder what's become of Miss Haitang now? Will she be targeted by the Ming Emperor??"

"Such a beautiful girl, yet such a tragic past—alas... what a waste..."

"....."

As the two women's images appeared one after another in the void.

The once raucous Nine Provinces fell utterly silent—not a pin could drop.

Countless gazes locked tightly onto the void.

The sound of swallowing saliva rose in an unbroken stream.

Especially when Shangguan Haitang's image first appeared in male attire, then shifted to female attire.

It sent a shudder through everyone.

Their gazes toward the void grew complex.

Among them,

were burning, lustful stares.

Were looks of regret, sighs, and pity.

Were stares of envy, jealousy, even outright covetousness.

And countless others besides.

Long moments passed.