Imperial Cultivation

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his fist and smiled, "Brother Gao, I'll go in first."

Gao Jiuqu reluctantly returned the greeting, still immersed in the swordplay just now. Chu Zhiyuan sighed, "So focused and pure, how can he not succeed?"

Zhu Caifu snorted, "Please do." She saw through Chu Zhiyuan's hypocrisy at a glance.

Full of empty talk, not a single bad or harsh word, all flattering remarks. It's obvious he has ulterior motives.

Gao Jiuqu is too naive; he's clearly fallen for his trick, thinking this guy is a good person.

He could tell that Zhu Caifu was one who hated evil and couldn't tolerate a speck of dust in her eyes. With such a straightforward person, there's no need to say much; facts speak for themselves. He waved his hand.

Guo Chi and the others stayed outside, only Zou Fang followed behind him, holding the Bright Moon Saber. Zhu Caifu glanced at Zou Fang and snorted, "A Grandmaster at perfection, quite rare."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "But Master Zhu is a Great Grandmaster."

"I just got lucky," Zhu Caifu said lightly, "But your luck is even better."

"Yes," Chu Zhiyuan nodded, "I have always been quite lucky."

"This time, the Princess was assassinated. That can also be considered good luck for you, right?"

"What do you mean by that?" Chu Zhiyuan asked, puzzled, "Is Her Highness's injury serious?"

"Don't you know?"

"I only heard that two scars were left on Her Highness's face. Actually, scars on the face aren't that important; Her Highness doesn't need to care too much."

"Hmph, saying one thing and meaning another. If you were to marry, would you marry someone with scars on their face?"

"Marrying a wife is about marrying virtue. The key is to see who it is, not whether they have scars on their face," Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

"Ridiculous!" Zhu Caifu curled her lips. "Easy to say, but if you really married one, you'd avoid her."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled without saying a word, but muttered to himself inwardly.

What did Zhu Caifu mean by that?

Was she implying that he disliked the Eighteenth Princess because her face was ruined and that he didn't want to marry someone whose face was ruined?

It wasn't that the Eighteenth Princess didn't want to marry him, but that he didn't want to marry her. Then the responsibility would fall on him.

The two arrived outside a courtyard, pushed open the door, and saw two beautiful maids busily working.

The main room of the courtyard had its doors wide open. Inside sat a woman with a white veil covering her face, her eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as a painting. It was the Eighteenth Princess, Cheng Miaozhen, whom he had met before.

Chu Zhiyuan came to the steps outside the room, cupped his fist, and said, "How is Your Highness?"

Cheng Miaozhen was holding a book. She put it down, looked at him, and her eyes revealed alienation and indifference: "Thank you, Your Grace, for your concern. I am fine."

Chu Zhiyuan examined the injuries on her face.

He discovered that both scars extended from the corners of her eyes to the corners of her lips, one on the left and one on the right. Even injured, she insisted on left-right symmetry, valuing the beauty of symmetry.

He wondered if it was her doing or Zhu Caifu's doing.

Besides the injuries on her face, her body was unharmed, and her aura flowed freely. The two auras clashed and annihilated without a trace, almost impossible to sense. Every time he saw her aura, he felt it was wonderful.

The world is vast, and there is nothing that isn't strange. Such a profound and mysterious technique exists.

"Your Highness, please rest and recuperate and open your heart," Chu Zhiyuan said. "With a Great Grandmaster taking action, it's fortunate that Your Highness is safe and sound."

"It is indeed fortunate, but I'm afraid I will disappoint Your Grace," she said faintly. "With my scars and ruined appearance, I am not worthy to be the Princess Consort."

Chu Zhiyuan raised his eyebrows.

He had thought Zhu Caifu was trying to shift the blame onto him. Now, hearing Cheng Miaozhen's words, he felt that Cheng Miaozhen was more sensible.

He had originally thought she was decisive and admired her greatly. Now, seeing Cheng Miaozhen like this, he felt even more favorably disposed toward her.

His expression turned grave, and he slowly said, "If Your Highness does not wish to enter my estate, there is no need to force yourself. If you wish to enter my estate, scars are not important. After all, no matter how strange the poison, there is always an antidote, ... isn't that right, Master Cheng?"

"There is no antidote for this poison," Zhu Caifu snorted.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "I believe we can definitely find an antidote." Zhu Caifu frowned and stared at him.

Cheng Miaozhen also quietly looked at him.

He smiled and met the gazes of the two women.

They exchanged a glance, vaguely guessing that Chu Zhiyuan must know something.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If I wanted to say a few private words to Your Highness, would that be too presumptuous?"

Zhu Caifu said coldly, "I will be by her side." Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Cheng Miaozhen gracefully stood up, walked out of the room, and came to the small pavilion in the courtyard. She waved her jade hand.

The two beautiful maids gently retreated, then exited the courtyard, closed the courtyard door, and stood guard outside.

"You can find an antidote?" Zhu Caifu said in a deep voice. "Where is the antidote?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "Actually, this question shouldn't be asked of me; it should be asked of Your Highness and Master Zhu."

The two women exchanged a glance.

Zhu Caifu said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Where would we get an antidote!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, "There are no outsiders here. Let's speak frankly. Actually, I am on the same boat as Your Highness."

If Zhu Caifu wanted to push him off the boat, and Cheng Miaozhen did too, then there was no need to say anything more.

But if Cheng Miaozhen was so particular, then there was a basis for cooperation. The two women were silent.

Chu Zhiyuan was already certain that they had poisoned themselves and disfigured themselves.

This was a self-directed and self-acted assassination.

"I don't want to let Ruoling down, and I don't want to marry another person. And Your Highness doesn't want to marry into Da Jing. We have a common goal."

"I have been wanting to find an opportunity to secretly discuss cooperation with Your Highness. My original idea was to have Your Highness fake her death to escape, but I didn't expect Your Highness to act even more decisively and take action directly."

Fake her death and escape.

Then, they could find a way to resurrect her in the future. It's not like there aren't such elixirs in this world. She used disfigurement to escape.

This seemed more clever, as she wouldn't need to fake her death and would still retain her noble identity as a princess. But that's not really the case.

The two women exchanged a glance, staring at Chu Zhiyuan, wanting to see through the truth of what Chu Zhiyuan was saying. Chu Zhiyuan continued, "This matter, in fact, cannot be hidden from the Imperial Ancestor and your father."

Even he could guess this method, how could it be hidden from the two emperors? Zhu Caifu snorted, "What exactly do you want to say?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If you want this matter to succeed completely, the two of us need to cooperate with each other."

Zhu Caifu stared at him distrustfully.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Does Master Zhu think that I am a lecherous person who, upon seeing that Your Highness has ruined her appearance, would directly reject this marriage?"

"Would you agree?"

"Master Zhu doesn't understand. The key is not whether I agree or disagree. Did Your Highness come here willingly?"

Cheng Miaozhen said faintly, "Are you saying that whether my appearance is ruined or not is not that important? The key is still the meaning of your grandfather?"

Chu Zhiyuan clapped his hands and smiled, "Your Highness is wise. ... If there are no further measures, what will be the next step?"

Cheng Miaozhen lightly furrowed her brow, "My Imperial Ancestor will understand the greater good and will not dislike me for having my appearance ruined. He will still issue an edict ordering you to marry me."

Zhu Caifu frowned, "Not that far, right? Marrying a disfigured woman as the official Princess Consort?"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and looked at her, "Master Zhu seems to really not understand the mind of an emperor.

. In the eyes of the Imperial Ancestor, women are not that important. Having one more woman or one less woman is not that important. Marry one with scars, then put her aside and marry another beautiful one."

The faces of both women changed slightly.

They suddenly realized they had fallen into a misunderstanding: they had substituted their own thoughts for the emperor's thoughts.