Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Xiao Mei glanced at Ye Piaoling and saw the look of frustration on her face, confirming her suspicion.
Liang Yun, the leader of the Chonghua Palace secret guards, had once said that the owner of that handkerchief-Ye Piaoling-had offended the Regent King. If the Regent King was willing to forgive her, that was already a miracle. How could he possibly grant her such a privilege?
Xiao Mei was certain that Ye Piaoling was lying, which was why she decided to expose her in front of everyone.
A look of triumph spread across Xiao Mei’s face as she spoke loudly, “Your Highness, if I may be so bold, did you truly grant Ye Piaoling the privilege of not bowing to the Imperial Family?”
Di Xiulan’s expression darkened, looking somewhat displeased.
The air fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone held their breath in suspense.
Ye Piaoling gave an awkward grimace, waiting for her sentence to be passed…
After a long moment, Di Xiulan parted his lips and coldly uttered two words.
“That’s right.”
His voice was chillingly deep as he added slowly, “I have made my decision. Do you have an objection?”
“This…” Xiao Mei’s face instantly drained of color.
Ye Piaoling blinked in shock.
Had she heard correctly?
This devilish man, who didn’t have a shred of kindness in him, had actually helped her cover up her lie?
The crowd reacted with a mix of emotions. It turned out this Miss Ye really had received the Regent King’s guidance and favor. They were green with envy!
Xiao Mei’s face was deathly pale. After a moment of stunned silence, she hurriedly kowtowed repeatedly. “I wouldn’t dare! Since it is the Regent King’s decision, I shall certainly obey!”
Di Xiulan was no longer looking at her. He turned his gaze toward Ye Piaoling and said lazily, “Stay behind. I have something to say to you.”
Seeing this, the other new students felt like lemon trees were growing over their heads-they were incredibly sour with jealousy!
The Regent King had actually asked Miss Ye to stay behind alone. No one knew what he wanted to say, but it was clear he held her in high regard!
They couldn’t understand how this Miss Ye could be so lucky to receive such treatment…
After everyone else had departed, Di Xiulan slowly stepped down from the high platform.
Ye Piaoling immediately trotted over with a sycophantic smile. “Thank you for your great kindness just now, Your Highness. Thanks for bailing me out.”
Di Xiulan raised an eyebrow slightly. “You have quite the nerve, using me as a shield.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. I had no choice, and I’m sure a man of your stature wouldn’t mind.”
Ye Piaoling gave a cheeky grin, her tone turning smooth:
“Since you were so generous today, I must show my gratitude! As a reward, how about I give you a scrub-down?”
“…A scrub-down?”
“Yes! One look at you and I can tell you’re a ‘Southern Baby’ who’s never had a proper bath scrub.”
Ye Piaoling rubbed her hands together excitedly. “A scrub-down is when I scrub your body while you’re bathing. It doesn’t matter if you’re dirty or not, it’s great for the skin… My technique is top-notch. I guarantee it’ll be comfortable and won’t hurt a bit!”
“…”
The air fell silent once again.
After a moment, Di Xiulan spoke in a low voice.
“What? Are you trying to seduce me?”
“Huh?” Ye Piaoling was stunned.
She quickly realized that people in this era were very strict about physical boundaries between men and women.
Her suggestion was indeed a bit suggestive.
However, as long as she could get close to the Regent King’s bath towel, the method didn’t matter. Since the Regent King already thought that way…
Ye Piaoling played along, lowering her head and twisting the fabric of her dress. “Oh my, you’re being so blunt, you’re making me blush.”
Di Xiulan: “…”
Ye Piaoling’s eyes shimmered as she asked shyly, “So, do I still have a chance?”
Di Xiulan narrowed his eyes at her and suddenly let out a laugh.
It was a dark laugh that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Of course.”
He spoke, his deep voice carrying a certain intimidating malice.
“But you must give up your entire heart, soul, and life. Are you willing?”
“Wh-what?!”
Ye Piaoling jumped in fright, her face full of questions.
She could understand giving up her heart and soul.
But giving up her life… what kind of trope was this?
It sounded more than a little terrifying.
“Since you didn’t refuse, I’ll take that as a yes,”
Di Xiulan said calmly. “In a few nights, I will have Liang Yun pick you up and bring you to Chonghua Palace.”
“To… to do what?” Ye Piaoling asked with a trembling voice.
“You’ll find out when the time comes.”
After saying that, Di Xiulan gave a meaningful, low chuckle and turned to leave.
Ye Piaoling stared blankly at his retreating back.
It took a long time for her eyes to even blink.
It couldn’t be… he’s taking me there to feed the dragon again, is he?!
She shook her head vigorously.
No, stay positive. Don’t scare yourself.
Think on the bright side. Maybe he knows his Sleeping Curse is about to act up and wants me to break it. That’s a much more likely possibility.
Comforting herself with these thoughts, Ye Piaoling walked out of the Tianwen Sect.
Outside the main gates, Hua Wuhuang and Ximen Chunqiu were actually waiting for her.
“Miss Ye, what did the Regent King say to you?” Ximen Chunqiu asked gossipingly.
“Nothing much,” Ye Piaoling forced a smile. “He just warned me to study hard and stop getting into fights.”
“He didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?” Hua Wuhuang asked.
“No,” Ye Piaoling said. “Are you guys waiting for me for something?”
Ximen Chunqiu said, “I can hand over the things I promised you now.”
“You mean the Weapon Pavilion, the Medicine Shop, and the Silver Banknotes?”
In an instant, Ye Piaoling threw all her worries to the back of her mind. Feeding dragons at Chonghua Palace? To hell with that…
Making money was the priority!
Ximen Chunqiu nodded, and a servant nearby, who had already prepared the Silver Banknotes, respectfully handed them to Ye Piaoling.
“This is ten thousand taels,” Ximen Chunqiu said. “I’ll take you to the Weapon Pavilion and the Medicine Shop now.”
Ye Piaoling tugged on Hua Wuhuang’s sleeve. “Huahua, come with us!”
Hua Wuhuang nodded. “Alright, I’ll join the fun.”
The three of them took a carriage and first arrived at the Medicine Shop in the east of the city.
Ximen Chunqiu told her honestly, “I opened the Medicine Shop and the Divine Weapon Pavilion out of interest. Business is average, but the items in the shops are genuinely high quality.”
Ye Piaoling said firmly, “No matter. I’ll find a way to make business boom in a bit!”
Ximen Chunqiu was somewhat surprised. “You don’t seem to care about many things-you didn’t even want to compete for the position of Top Disciple… yet you’re so interested in getting rich?”
Hearing this, Ye Piaoling let out a long, weary sigh, her face full of worldly exhaustion:
“These eyes of mine have seen too much. If there is anything left in this world that can still blind them, I’m afraid it’s only money.”
“…”