In the afternoon, the sun rays shone on the man standing amidst the garden, misting him with a layer of radiance. He was saying, "If the world's beauty had colors, then it must be the red that we are seeing this moment."

At this instance, Qi Zixiao felt ineffably fl.u.s.tered and her heart was pulsating tremendously. Soon after, a desire to kill rose abruptly in her heart but was suppressed by her in a split second.

"What happened to me just now? Why did I have such a feeling?" Qi Zixiao shut her eyes, not knowing what happened to her a while ago. She experienced something which she had never gone through before, and it instantly made her a little alarmed and also a little lost. This led to a thought emerging in her head, if she had killed this person, she wouldn't have felt that kind of fl.u.s.ter previously.

However, she immediately suppressed this thought as killing him was emphatically not her true intention. It was just a reaction of her subconscious mind at that moment.

At the same time that thought was suppressed, the throbbing in her heart was controlled as well. Her heart had already calmed down when she opened her eyes once again.

There was just an indistinct and somewhat, weird feeling in her heart, as if something was changing and quietly sprouting.

"How's that [Ruyi Visualization] that you've been cultivating?" the empress asked. In fact, she knew in her heart that Ren Baqian definitely had not made any progress. But, she didn't know what else to say at that moment.

"I was about to report to Your Majesty. I have a method but I'm not sure if it's feasible. During the period of trying to use this method to cultivate the [Ruyi Visualization], all of my attention has to be invested in it. It will be hard for me to respond to anything in the external surrounding. I'm afraid that I cannot meet Your Majesty during these days," Ren Baqian replied. That was his reason for coming. If he were to utilize the method that the monk had mentioned to cultivate the [Ruyi Visualization], he was afraid that by investing all his attention during this period of time, it would be hard for him to take notice of the outside world.

Should his attention be s.h.i.+fted the slightest bit, perhaps, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

This aspect was naturally already out of the empress' control. In case of any problems, it was better to inform the empress beforehand.

"Okay, I will arrange for someone to send three meals a day to you." The empress was slightly surprised that Ren Baqian actually found a method so quickly. Even though he was not sure if it was feasible, but at least he tried his best.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

Sitting at the side of a round table that was not very big, Ren Baqian could even smell the fragrance that was emitted from the empress. It was similar to that of the fragrance of flowers, very pleasant smelling.

As n.o.body was talking, both of them sank into their thoughts.

Ren Baqian bade farewell and went back to cultivating after the meal as he saw that the empress did not have anything else to say.

The empress watched as Ren Baqian's rear view disappeared into the corner. After being distracted for quite some time, she retracted her gaze and said to the two men behind her, "Back to the palace."

Back at the palace, the empress sat on the couch with a wine gla.s.s in one hand. She was somewhat slightly distracted.

Up till now, she still could not comprehend why she had that kind of feeling just now. Normally, with her sort of potential, how was it possible for her to experience something like a sudden frenzy in her heart?

After pondering for half a day without any conclusions, the empress thought of the [Ruyi Visualization] which Ren Baqian was cultivating. At that time, she browsed through that martial arts manual as well and found it a little odd. But somehow, she felt that there was another gateway in there and that was why she didn't stop Ren Baqian.

However, if he wanted to master it, she was afraid that there would be a certain level of difficulty.

The empress was not very positive about Ren Baqian's ability to master it.

It seemed like she still had to prepare the Spirit Yuan Pill.

First of all was to locate Lu Qi (Lu Pinghai).

"Bring Gu Daxiong here," the empress instructed.

Approximately an hour later, Gu Daxiong hurried into the palace hall. "Your Majesty!"

"Has that Seventh Prince of Great Xia already left?" the empress asked with a cold voice.

"Your Majesty, he had already left with his men yesterday," Gu Daxiong promptly replied.

"Oh." The empress gently nodded. Thinking about the Seventh Prince of Great Xia, she suddenly wanted to have him killed. The thought of having another person with that kind of looks got her feeling a little uneasy. She never expected that he left just after she got someone to send him the kirin blood the day before.

But, it was good that he left as well. There would be some problem if he had died in Lan city. At least on surface, it seemed that he came to deliver gifts to her.

"What about the rest?" the empress casually asked again.

"The majority of them have already left. There are only a few guests remaining. In addition, Ning Caichen requests to see Your Majesty," Gu Daxiong replied.

"Ask him to see me tomorrow. You may take your leave," the empress said as she waved her hand.

After Gu Daxiong left, the empress got lost in thought for quite a while before she shouted, "Summon Hong Bao over."

Hong Bao was a long bearded burly man who was two meters tall. He had strands of stubble for his hair, similar to that of an arable land.

"Your loyal subject Hong Bao pays his respect to Your Majesty." Hong Bao's voice was extremely resonant, comparable to that of s.h.i.+ Wanshan and his son.

"Pick a few men and follow the Seventh Prince of Great Xia's troops. Wait for them to return to the borders of Great Xia and kill him. I want to see his head. Also, do not spare a single one of those who have seen your men."

"At Your Majesty's command," Hong Bao replied loudly. Even though he didn't know how had that man offended the empress, since she had requested, he had to bring back the head for Her Majesty even if it was Great Xia's emperor.

"You may take your leave and get ready. Set off immediately. Remember, I want to see his head," the empress said as she motioned her hand.

After Hong Bao was sent off, the empress felt a little better. In all likelihood, her mood would be better upon seeing his head.

As for whether the death of the Seventh Prince of Great Xia would bring about any shock, she couldn't be bothered.

In any case, Great Xia was already in the midst of preparations.

The empress got on her feet and walked in front of the mirror. Looking at her own reflection, she used her fingers to gently caress the image of her face in the mirror for a bit before retracting them back.

...

…

The Seventh Prince would never have expected Qi Zixiao to develop a killing intent for himself over such a ridiculous reason.

At this moment, he was sitting in his carriage, fiddling with a small bottle in his hands. Whatever the case was, he had accomplished his objective this time. With that bottle of blood, he had saved at least over ten years of painstaking work. He would actually be able to vie with his brother on fair grounds this time.

He simply couldn't believe that Qi Zixiao would want the fellow, who looked exactly like him, to be her husband. It was indeed unexpected.

This world is truly fascinating.

Surprisingly, there's someone who looks exactly like me.

If he were to wear the same set of clothes and not speak, perhaps, even my emperor father and those brothers would not be able to tell the difference.

"Xiu Wu, if I were to stand alongside that fellow and wore the same set of clothes, would you be able to differentiate the both of us?" The Seventh Prince asked with a sudden curiosity.

"Your Highness, it doesn't mean that you are a tiger when you are covered in tiger skin." Xiu Wu laughed softly with tender sentiments circulating in the pupils of her eyes.

The Seventh Prince burst into a loud laughter and embraced Xiu Wu in his arms.

He originally wanted to find a chance to kill that Ren Baqian, but now, it seemed impossible to do so within a short period of time. He could only find an opportunity next time.

I shall arrange a few sacrificial warriors to hide in Lan city once we get back.

Sooner or later, that man will come out of the palace.

One of me is sufficient in this world.

I just don't feel that carefree as long as that man isn't dead.

As a matter of fact, I am the Seventh Prince of Great Xia.

How can I possibly allow someone with the same looks as me to exist in this world and not have the situation within my control.