Chapter 277: I Don’t Want to Be an Imperial Concubine (Part 2)
“Why is Your Majesty so happy? Did good news come from the border?”
The eunuch with a potbelly next to him asked curiously. The fact that he dared to ask voluntarily showed that he was definitely a trusted confidant of the Emperor.
“Not yet.”
Lin Tu restrained himself a little before saying, “It looks like there will be great news in my harem.”
“Your Majesty means…”
The old eunuch became even more curious but dared not speculate freely.
“Steward Zhong, have you heard of Cheng Hong Ling from Huang Tian Prefecture?”
Lin Tu asked instead of answering.
“Cheng Hong Ling? Your Majesty must be referring to Cheng Hong Ling of the Hong Hua Sect in Huang Tian Prefecture! This girl entered the top sixty of the Xihui Dynasty’s cultivation world’s Immortal Seed Ranking at the age of twelve, which is unprecedented. Legends about her are everywhere among the people. It’s said that she has become even more graceful in the past two years, but whether it’s true or not is unknown, given her origin.”
Eunuch Zhong’s answer was vague. He understood that as the head of the inner palace, it was best for him to know less.
“I thought so at first. What kind of place is Huang Tian Prefecture? It’s famously a den of mice in our Xihui Dynasty. How could a phoenix fly out of it? But according to reliable news from scouts recently, this girl tested the Phoenix Selection Token and scored a perfect score in all six categories.”
Greed flashed in Lin Tu’s eyes.
“What? Perfect scores in all six categories? That’s incredible. It’s very rare for an ordinary woman to get a perfect score in even one category.”
Steward Zhong exclaimed in shock.
“That’s natural. This Phoenix Selection Token originated from the royal family of a great country in Zhongzhou. Their land is rich in talent, and their evaluation standards are naturally very strict. To achieve perfect scores in all six categories, perhaps only a peerless beauty ranked in the top ten of the cultivation world’s ‘Chen Yu Overall Ranking’ can achieve it.”
Lin Tu analyzed. The so-called “Chen Yu Overall Ranking” was actually the overall beauty ranking of the entire cultivation world, selecting one hundred people from the beauties on the “Chen Yu Ranking” of various countries.
Of course, not every country promotes the “Chen Yu Ranking.” For example, small and remote countries like the Xihui Dynasty do not have one. Because the people there are too plain, the publisher of the “Chen Yu Ranking” simply ignored them. That’s why Cheng Hong Ling and Mu Ruoyi were called “Twin Beauties.”
Simply put, the Xihui Dynasty was not worthy of a Chen Yu Ranking.
“It’s a pity. This girl is from the Xihui Dynasty, and from a den of mice like Huang Tian Prefecture. If she were from another country, she would have entered the Chen Yu Ranking long ago and been famous for generations.”
Steward Zhong sighed.
“Isn’t that good? If she were from another country, it wouldn’t be so easy for me to get close to her.”
Lin Tu’s lips curled into a slight smile.
“Your Majesty, are you interested in her?”
Steward Zhong blurted out in surprise.
“What? Is that not allowed? If I don’t accept such a gift from heaven, I would be letting down Heaven’s good intentions.”
Lin Tu exclaimed.
“While that may be true, you know she’s a cultivator. We have an agreement with the Immortal Alliance that cultivators are not subject to imperial authority. What if this girl doesn’t agree?”
Steward Zhong quickly reminded him.
“To tell you the truth, I’ve been paying attention to this girl for a long time. If it were before, it would indeed be difficult, but now it’s different.”
Lin Tu stood up from his chair, his slender figure like a mountain. He paced slowly, a cold smile playing on his lips. “According to reports from spies in the palace, people from the Juexian Cult just attacked the Hong Hua Sect. Although this girl resolved the crisis single-handedly, she herself is not well. Both her main body and clone have been poisoned by Xieqisan.”
“Xieqisan?”
Steward Zhong’s face turned pale with shock.
“Yes, you know what Xieqisan is. Once a cultivator is afflicted, their True Qi will be quickly dispersed, and there is no antidote. Her own cultivation is profound, so she can withstand it, but her clone is different.”
Lin Tu could not hide his joy and continued, “This clone is named Qi Huang. She just cultivated it not long ago and only has a Juling Realm cultivation. This time, due to the severe poisoning, her True Qi has been completely dispersed, and she will never be able to cultivate again.”
“Forgive my ignorance, but I still don’t understand Your Majesty’s intention.”
Steward Zhong’s face became as bitter as a melon.
“Let me ask you, what is a cultivator?”
Lin Tu prompted.
“What is a cultivator?”
Steward Zhong fell into thought and muttered to himself, “A cultivator is someone who can display Divine Abilities? No, without True Qi, how can one display Divine Abilities? Right, a cultivator is someone who can cultivate True Qi.”
“Indeed, only those who can cultivate True Qi are cultivators. This Qi Huang currently has no True Qi in her body. Is she considered a cultivator? Naturally not. Do you think I can control her?”
Lin Tu questioned him word by word.
“Your Majesty’s meaning, this old servant understands! But she is just a clone, can she be considered an independent person?”
Steward Zhong boldly raised his doubt.
“Whether she is a cultivator or not is decided by the Immortal Alliance. Whether she is a person or not, that is for me to decide. The Immortal Alliance would not offend me, the ruler of an entire country, for a Cheng Hong Ling with no background, right?”
Lin Tu said forcefully.
“Your Majesty is wise!”
Steward Zhong suddenly realized, his face showing admiration.
“Steward Zhong, the date for selecting ‘Imperial Concubines’ every three years is approaching. Convey my decree, let the Prefect of Huang Tian Prefecture quickly compile a roster of this girl’s name. When the time comes, you will personally escort that Qi Huang into the palace. This matter should be done sooner rather than later.”
Lin Tu immediately issued the order.
“This servant obeys the decree!”
Steward Zhong knelt and said.
“Hmph, as long as we have Cheng Hong Ling’s clone, my Lin clan descendants will produce countless Cheng Hong Lings. Then, why worry about not dominating the entire cultivation world? We can simply snatch as many women as we want from other countries.”
Lin Tu looked beyond the great hall, his gaze becoming contemptuous.
…
On the other side, Qi Huang had no idea that she had been targeted by the current Emperor. She was still dealing with those who were desperately trying to cure her. It wasn’t mental illness, it was Xieqisan.
Elder Ruan was at a loss for a solution to Xieqisan, but she didn’t want to be looked down upon, so she resorted to “human experimentation.”
Cheng Hong Ling grew impatient, so she immediately used the Thousand Li Sound Transmission Device to consult Mu Ruoyi of Shuiyu Valley.
Mu Ruoyi was worried, so she personally brought her senior sisters to visit the Hong Hua Sect.
“I’m sorry, Xieqisan was specifically developed by the Juexian Cult to deal with cultivators. If there were an antidote, it would have been widely available by now, so even our Shuiyu Valley cannot help with it.”
Mu Ruoyi said guiltily after examining her.
“It’s alright. You coming here personally for me is already doing your utmost.”
Cheng Hong Ling’s attitude was relatively gentle. Although she was aloof, she was not cold.
“Then what should we do? If the poison is not removed quickly, my junior sister’s cultivation will be delayed, and this is no small matter.”
Shen Yuan, who had a hot temper, became agitated.
“Yes! There’s only a little over a year left until the Evergreen Convention. She must obtain the Jinming Flower seed this time. Every moment is crucial.”
Master Xu Mei also spoke.
“Master, don’t put too much pressure on junior sister. If we really can’t get the Jinming Flower seed, won’t I do? I’ll take her place as bait, after all, this trouble was caused by me.”
Ruan Lingyu, the Eldest Senior Sister, said without hesitation.
“Don’t forget me. I’m the second senior sister and I’m also responsible!”
Yun Fei scrambled to take the blame.
“Don’t forget me! I’m the mastermind!”
Miao Xiang blurted out incoherently.
“You’re the mastermind? Are you insulting everyone’s intelligence? Only a genius like me can be the mastermind, okay?”
Su Qing retorted without hesitation.
“Stop arguing. How do you know the owner of the Jinming Flower will agree to this plan? What if the person only wants the seed and not the person?”
Xu Mei retorted.
The senior sisters were speechless upon hearing this, and it was what they were most unwilling to consider.
“Everyone, don’t worry too much. Although our Shuiyu Valley doesn’t have a specific antidote, we have some research on Xieqisan. With Sister Hong Ling’s strength, she only needs to take some top-quality blood-activating and meridian-soothing medicines, combined with cultivation to speed up blood circulation. It should take at most a month to expel the toxins from her body.”
Mu Ruoyi quickly added.
“Thank you! This method is enough.”
Cheng Hong Ling’s eyes lit up, and she thanked them sincerely.
The expressions on the others’ faces also relaxed. If it only took a month, it could indeed be considered the best among misfortunes.
“However, these medicines are very rare, and even our Shuiyu Valley cannot gather them all. Each ingredient is very expensive, so you need to be mentally prepared.”
Mu Ruoyi added immediately.
“It’s okay! Leave it to me.”
Qi Huang immediately stepped forward. She was now a “treasure trove” with inexhaustible wealth. She lacked nothing the most, and with her connections at the Juyin Auction House, she didn’t have to worry about supply issues.
Everyone nodded secretly. Although the facts proved that Qi Huang did have psychological problems, her boasts had never been proven false, so it shouldn’t be that serious.
“That’s good. It’s just that it will be troublesome for Sister Qi Huang. Your cultivation is already low, and you’ve been poisoned by so much Xieqisan. The detoxification process will be very slow, likely taking eight to ten years. And even if it’s completely detoxified, you won’t be able to cultivate anymore.”
Mu Ruoyi then looked at Qi Huang with a sympathetic gaze.
