Just as the Fourth Prince was sitting in a daze, a sharp voice suddenly sounded, "The Emperor has arrived!"
His body shook and he collected his thoughts. He became the calm and steady Fourth Prince again and stood up to welcome the Emperor along with the other officials, princes, and generals.
After the greetings, they saw Zhu Shang and Zhen Xuzi walking out of the hall together with Ai Hong. Everyone was either confused or enlightened. When they were given a seat, they immediately started discussing in low voices.
"Isn't it customary for only the National Preceptor to accompany the Emperor?"
"I heard that Zhen Xuzi presented the real elixir yesterday and made the Emperor very happy. It seems that he is going to confer him the title of National Preceptor."
"Sigh, believing in immortals is something that only happens during the last years of the dynasty. We have to write a letter to advise the Emperor not to indulge in this way!"
"Shut up. Do you want your whole family to be executed?"
Amidst the whispers, the Third Prince frowned and his expression changed. He even spilled some of the wine on the table. He and the National Preceptor, Zhu Shang, had many secret connections. Zhen Xuzi was favored and trusted by his father more or less because of the Fourth Prince. It seemed that he had to mobilize the imperial censors to impeach Zhen Xuzi for deceiving his father by presenting the elixir.
The Fourth Prince's gaze was cold, without the slightest bit of joy or excitement. He was unusually calm, which made the officials who supported him rejoice. "Every time there is a major event, he must be calm and not show his emotions. This is what a ruler looks like!"
The whispers gradually calmed down. The swordsmen raised by the royal family appeared one by one. Some were fast, some were slow, and each had their own beauty. Their exquisite swordsmanship was breathtaking.
As the most popular thing in the capital and even the whole world, the officials liked it. They drank the wine, shook their heads, and enjoyed it quietly. From time to time, they would exchange a few words with each other.
After five or six sword dances, the eunuch reported to Ai Hong, "Next is the swordsmen Mu Jing that the Fourth Prince brought back from beyond the Great Wall."
Ai Hong smiled and nodded with anticipation. "Announce."
As for the other officials, including the Third Prince, after two days, they already knew that the Fourth Prince had traveled day and night and exhausted many horses just to bring this swordsman back to the capital. Their curiosity had long been unusually strong, so they all turned their heads and looked towards the direction where the swordsman had entered. They wanted to be the first to see what kind of amazing skills this swordsman had to have made the Fourth Prince pay so much attention to him!
At the side door of the square, a young lady slowly walked over with a sword in hand. She wore a dark black chiffon dress that accentuated the little bit of skin that was exposed, making it look like snow and jade. Her sleeves fluttered lightly, and when she walked, she gave off the feeling of separating flowers and brushing willows, fluttering like a fairy.
"She's wearing a veil!" Ai Hong, the Third Prince, and all the courtiers were stunned by her graceful steps and graceful posture. However, the woman's face was covered by a thin black veil, making it hard for them to see her face clearly. However, in the haze, they were able to picture the face that they liked the most in their hearts, which made them yearn for her even more.
The Fourth Prince quietly heaved a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced in his heart. "Jing Er really knows me. Even though I'm performing a sword dance, I still have to cover up my face."
"I, Mu Jing, pay my respects to Your Majesty …" A voice that sounded like an oriole in an empty valley rang out softly, making everyone feel that the voice and the person were unusually compatible. At the same time, they were even more curious about her appearance.
Ai Hong could not help but feel pity for Mu Jing as he saw her leisurely walking over. Apart from floating like an immortal, she also had a faint sense of weakness. He slowly said, "You've come from beyond the Great Wall, so you don't have to be too formal. Today, I'm here to see if there are any similarities and differences between the sword dance from beyond the Great Wall and the one from the Central Plains." He did not mention good or bad, but only the similarities and differences. What he meant was, Miss, do not be afraid even if you mess up the performance.
Mu Jing straightened her sword, bowed properly, and spread out her sword light. Everyone present suddenly felt a ray of light, like a flash of lightning, shaking the surroundings. Thus, they could not help but pay attention to it.
The sword moved, sometimes as fast as lightning, and sometimes as vigorous as a swimming dragon. Not only did it set off the graceful figure that was dancing in a poetic and picturesque manner, but it also had the uncontrollable fierceness and sharpness of the sword. It was shocking.
The sword light swirled in the air, and the fine light scattered like a dream.
It came like a thunder, retracted in anger, and ended like the clear light of the river and the sea. Mu Jing's sword dance was very spectacular and beautiful. Everyone present was intoxicated and in a trance. There was actually such a sword dance in the world, and there was actually such a sword master!
Even the Fourth Prince, who had already admired it once, was incomparably intoxicated. Traces of love and pity could be seen in his eyes.
Mu Jing took two steps forward, and the sword light suddenly leaped up, as if she was rushing towards the bright moon. Ai Hong and the others' hearts tightened, and their minds were already attracted by the sword dance.
The sword light dispersed, and Mu Jing landed safely on the ground. Just when everyone was relieved for her, her black veil seemed to have been loosened during the violent movements of the sword dance. At this time, when the strong wind brought about by her landing blew, it leisurely left her face and resolutely went with the wind, revealing a beautiful face that was as clear and beautiful as an orchid in an empty valley. There was a little weakness in her concentration.
Ai Hong, who had been completely focused on the sword dance, suddenly saw this beautiful face. He felt as if his heart had been directly hit. He suddenly stood up, knocking over the wine in front of him and spilling it on the ground. He muttered to himself absentmindedly, "There is such a woman in the world, there is such a woman in the world, could she be a fairy who has descended to the world?!"
The Third Prince's face was also full of shock and yearning. His eyes could not wait to stare at Mu Jing's face, and he did not even notice that his jade chopsticks had fallen to the ground. "Today, I know what it means to be a beauty that can cause the downfall of a city and a nation, a femme fatale …"
The other officials, guards, and even eunuchs and palace maids all had similar reactions. In the midst of the sword dance, the veil suddenly fell off, revealing a beautiful face that fiercely attacked their hearts and left a deep imprint in their minds.
Only the Fourth Prince, looking at his father's loss of composure, clenched his fists tightly, feeling bitter and indignant.
… …
In the side hall of Pure Flowers Palace, Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu were calculating the time. When the banquet was about to reach its climax, the two of them nodded at each other and immediately stood up. They waited for the guards in their minds to pass by before pushing open the hall doors without hesitation and sprinting toward the ancestral shrine.
Along the way, the two of them sometimes dove into the flowering shrubs, sometimes retreated into an empty palace hall, and sometimes hid behind a large tree, avoiding the patrolling guards as they rapidly advanced toward the ancestral shrine. If someone were to see them from above, they would discover that Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu seemed to be able to predict the movements of the guards in advance, or perhaps the guards were coordinating with their movements. They were clearly only separated by a small path and a large tree, but they were unable to discover the intruders who were ostentatiously passing by, brushing past them. It was truly strange.
However, Ai Hong felt rather guilty about his actions of refining pills. He had actually chosen to go in the opposite direction from the ancestral shrine, to the farthest Pure Flowers Palace. Thus, even though Shi Xuan and Mo Jingqiu did not waste much time, after sixty breaths, they had only covered half of the distance. They had just passed through Qian Yang Palace and arrived at the small path behind Clear Flower Palace.
The two of them had clear Dao hearts and were calm as usual. Their minds reflected their surroundings, but just as they arrived at the back of Clear Flower Palace, they suddenly felt an extreme sense of danger. Their mirror-like minds rippled violently, as if they had collided head-on with another person's mind reflection, causing an intense collision.
"Mu Jing!" Mo Jingqiu blurted out, but she immediately deduced from Mu Jing's state of being suppressed by the Innate Dao embryo, "It's an incarnation."
As they spoke, the two of them instantly suppressed their astonishment. Their footsteps did not stop, and they flew at high speed.
This time, they had to use speed to beat slowness!
…
Wrapped in sword light, Mu Jing suddenly cried out and fell to the ground. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her pink lips were slightly parted. Her expression was one of pain, which made one feel pity for her.
Ai Hong seemed to have returned to over twenty years ago, when he was in the prime of his life. His heart ached, and he could not suppress the desire to protect and take care of her. He abruptly rushed up the steps, and within a dozen steps, he was beside Mu Jing. He was completely unworried that she would take the opportunity to assassinate him. He grabbed her jade hand and asked with concern, "Miss Mu Jing, did you sprain your ankle?"
After asking, he felt that her jade hand was slender and smooth, warm and wonderful, causing his heart to flutter.
"It's a pity that I'm not the one sitting in the throne room, so I can't grab this beauty's jade hand." The expression on the Third Prince's face kept changing, and his yearning for the throne grew stronger.
The Fourth Prince, who was halfway to the throne room, saw this scene. His eyes turned red, and he clenched his fists so tightly that a trace of blood flowed out. Unexpectedly, his nails had cut his palms. However, this made him suppress the urge to kill, and he forced himself to stop.
Mu Jing looked terrified. "Your Majesty, there's an assassin!" She took the opportunity to stand up, showing that she was not injured. She was just shocked by the sudden appearance of the assassin.
"Where?!" Ai Hong's heart trembled, and he asked in a low voice. He felt more pity for this beauty. It turned out that she fell because she was worried about him.
Mu Jing pointed to a small path. Since the guards were fascinated by her, they would not pay attention to where the assassin was. She said, "There! They are going in the direction of the ancestral temple! "
Her eyes, which were as bright as stars, flashed, and Ai Hong believed her words without the slightest doubt. He shouted, "Catch the assassin! They are going to steal the treasures in the ancestral temple!"
The guards nearby immediately shouted, "There's an assassin! Go to the ancestral temple! "
The guards in the distance immediately echoed, "There's an assassin! Go to the ancestral temple! "
Loud and clear voices rose and fell, and in the blink of an eye, it spread far and wide. No matter how fast the assassin ran, could he outrun the sound? There were guards patrolling everywhere in the palace!
Mu Jing held his sword and said, "Your Majesty, please help me catch the assassin."
Ai Hong wanted to reject, but when he saw Mu Jing's deep and tearful eyes, his heart softened, and warmth rose in his heart. "Imperial Preceptor, take the imperial token and accompany Miss Mu to prevent her from being accidentally injured. The rest of the guards, follow her. I want to personally command and capture the assassin!"
Mu Jing and Zhu Shang ran quickly. When they brushed past the Fourth Prince, Mu Jing whispered, "It's that adulterous couple."
The Fourth Prince's grief was slightly alleviated. Jing Er was still on his side.
…
The space rippled, and a beautiful woman in a black robe walked in. Lightning that was close to level eight struck down, but a white auspicious cloud appeared above her head. It was as clear as water, but it was slightly dim. As it tumbled, it clustered around a large golden dipper, emitting an immeasurable amount of light. In an instant, all the lightning in the world dissipated, and a door-shaped exit appeared.
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