Yun s.h.i.+mo felt like laughing. This woman was extremely smart in front of him and back then when she threatened him with the Long Red, she did not look like this at all!

This showed that she was very clever. After all, Hua Qiyue knew that Yun s.h.i.+mo was not one to gossip freely so even if she revealed her true self in front of him, no one else would know either.

Huangfu Xuan was a prince and such high standards, so he would not lower himself to gossip about her.

"I rarely find myself in the capital, so now that I have the opportunity to walk about, I asked Qiyue to show me around." Ji Feng had naturally found himself calling Hua Qiyue casually by her first name.

Hua Qiyue was surprised but it did not show on her face. She dragged Ji Jing to the other end.

She did not feel like constantly putting on an act in front of everybody.

It was tiring to be acting all the time. She was clearly a normal person and it even could be said that she was an extremely clever and beautiful young woman, so why did she have to act like a silly legitimate daughter of the Hua family?

She felt like avoiding those people but those people did not want to let her off this easily.

"Tsk, I didn't expect Miss Hua to have such good fortune to not only win against Miss Ouyang but also find herself in the company of the medicine saint himself. She must be truly lucky!"

A scornful laugh rang out. Hua Qiyue turned to see a beautiful face— it was Princess Huiling. Princess Huiling and Princess Huizhen were both the Empress' daughters and were both extremely bratty because they were used to getting their way since childhood.

The Empress' doted on her daughters and naturally, would not let them experience any form of suffering.

Therefore, it was natural that both princesses turned out to be bratty and rude. However, Princess Huiya whose mother was Consort Mei had a much better temperament. She did not insult Hua Qiyue and thus, so Hua Qiyue developed a good impression of this princess.

"Am I really that lucky? Oh... I thought it was because of Master Xuanji!" Hua Qiyue smiled dumbly. Ji Jing tried her best to rein in her laughter, and tried so hard that her stomach started to hurt.

Princess Huiling scoffed and looked at Hua Qiyue in derision. She had fallen in love with Ji Feng as well so how could she stand by when she saw that this silly woman was in the company of the medicine saint?

"Hua Qiyue, shouldn't you bow in greeting when you meet members of the imperial family? Did the Hua family not teach you any manners?" Princess Huiling stared coldly at Hua Qiyue and wanted to make things difficult for her.

Princess Huiya felt bad and tugged at Princess Huiling as she said, "Sister, Hua Qiyue must have momentarily forgotten to do so earlier. After all, Brother Huangfu spoke to her in that manner earlier and she didn't have time to think of anything else..."

"That's right, there's no need to bother yourself with such a woman." Princess Mingzhu interrupted coldly.

She looked very gentle and warm but Hua Qiyue couldn't help but scoff to herself when she heard the meaning behind her words. Princess Mingzhu was not as genteel as she seemed.

Princess Huiya on the other hand, seemed to be genuinely concerned for her. It was said that Consort Mei's children were all easily approachable and this seemed to prove the rumors true.

Hua Qiyue blinked and said, "Oh, that's right. I must have forgotten but Your Highness, shouldn't you kneel in front of the statue of the wis.h.i.+ng lady? I remember my wet nurse telling me that even the Emperor would kneel whenever he came. Why aren't you kneeling then?"

Princess Huiling turned pale and said, "I'm not making a wish, so why should I kneel?"

Hua Qiyue smiled brightly and bobbed a curtsey at her, "Uh... what are you called again? I must have forgotten, ah, my silly brain..."

Princess Huiling was so enraged that her face flushed as she said, "Oh, I finally recalled that you are that dull-witted woman. I heard that you were both weak and lecherous and that there was something wrong with your intelligence. Get lost then, stop spoiling my mood!"

Princess Huiling was so direct and arrogant that Yun s.h.i.+mo and the others beside her frowned.

Hua Qiyue smiled as she ran away with Ji Jing. Huangfu Xuan stared angrily at her departing figure. For some reason, he felt very uncomfortable when he saw her with Ji Feng.

Ji Feng and Yun s.h.i.+mo went to sit at the nearby pavilion to rest for a while.

This place would only become livelier at night since everyone was now watching the compet.i.tion. Ji Jing and Ji Feng's absence at the scene wouldn't make a difference since this was only the first round. It would only get more exciting from then on.

Hua Qiyue and Ji Jing plucked wildflowers from the flower field outside. Hua Qiyue had never enjoyed herself so much before.

Before she was wed in her past life, she was learning the ropes of business with her father and embroidery and other things with her mother, so she naturally hardly left home. After she got married, she was so busy with the family business and her child, so she didn't have the time to enjoy herself either.

Her heart hurt at the thought of her father. Since she was reborn, she hadn't been back to her hometown and hadn't paid her respects to her parents either.

Revenge came first to her. She felt as though she was only worthy of returning home and paying her respects to her parents after she exacted revenge. This was her motivation to become stronger, so even if she suffered while cultivating Qi Arts, she had to bear with the pain!

"Qiyue? Qiyue? You're bleeding!"

Ji Jing exclaimed loudly, pulling Hua Qiyue out of her reverie and she realised that the wildflower had p.r.i.c.ked her palm, causing blood to drip freely from her hand.

Ji Feng rushed over when he heard her exclamation and so did Yun s.h.i.+mo and the others. Ji Feng's face darkened when he saw that she was bleeding and quickly took out a bottle of medicine from his sleeve pocket. "Come, let me put some medication on your wound."

Ji Feng did not care about the stares from the others. He took her hand and poured out some of the medicine from the bottle as he gently rubbed it on her wound.

Everyone's expression changed since they knew one bottle of the medicine saint's medicine was priceless but yet he generously gave it to Hua Qiyue as he tended to her wound. He even asked for her company as he toured the capital which showed that he treated her as a friend!

Yun s.h.i.+mo's gaze changed rapidly and he pursed his lips but ultimately held his tongue. On the contrary, Huangfu Xuan made a big fuss and loudly exclaimed, "Brother Ji, it takes at least a year to cultivate your medicine! It's really not worth your while to just give it to that crazy woman."

A smile danced in Ji Feng's eyes as he said, "I should be the one to decide whether she is worth it or not."

His words caused everyone to be extremely shocked. They glanced at Hua Qiyue with a complicated mix of expressions, unable to understand Ji Feng saw in this dull-witted woman for him to treat her so sincerely.

Princess Huiling smiled coldly and said in an odd voice, "Brother Ji, Hua Qiyue has adopted a son at the prime of her youth when she isn't even married. She has already created a stir with her scandalous actions and isn't worthy of your expensive medicine!"

Lv Xin was angered by her words but Hua Qiyue gently held her back and motioned for her to remain quiet.

Lv Xin glared angrily at Princess Huiling but unexpectedly, it was Ji Jing who stood up for Hua Qiyue, "Princess Huiling, you have gone too far! Why can't an unmarried young lady adopt a child? Doing good deeds would mean acc.u.mulating good karma and fortune! Furthermore, when has Qiyue behaved scandalously? Have you witnessed her behaving improperly?"

Ji Jing spoke boldly and the rude and bratty Princess Huiling was so upset her entire face flushed red.

"Humph, why don't you ask anyone in the capital? Anyone would be able to tell you how scandalous she is and she has even been labeled a scarlet woman! Have you not heard about those rumors?"

Princess Huiling scoffed but Ji Feng paid no heed to her words as he continued to tend to Hua Qiyue's wound.

This medicine was really magical. Once he applied this medicine to her wound, blood immediately stopped flowing and her wound didn't itch or hurt anymore. She didn't feel any discomfort at all. Furthermore, there was a cooling sensation on her palm which was extremely soothing.

This was the first time Hua Qiyue found herself in such close proximity to a man and she couldn't stop a blush from spreading across her cheeks. The sun had started to set and the sunset colors spread across the skies. The sunset glow enhanced the stain on her cheeks and tinted her smooth skin with a faint orange-red glow.

Yun s.h.i.+mo couldn't help but frown when he looked at them. For some inexplicable reason, he suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"Miss Ji, don't be tricked by her dull-witted antics! Humph, she has long achieved infamy around these parts!" Princess Huiling was extremely jealous and couldn't help but raise her voice.

Ji Jing scoffed and replied, "You've already said that these are rumors, so wouldn't someone as clever as Your Highness know what rumors are? Rumors and hearsay spread from one to ten people, then from ten to a hundred people and would become more distorted the further they spread! Otherwise, why would they be known as rumors?"

Ji Jing retorted sharply and Princess Huiling was not her match at all. She was hopping mad and when she looked down, she saw Ji Feng put the medicine bottle away and asked Hua Qiyue gently, "Qiyue, do you feel better?"

"No... It doesn't hurt anymore. Ha ha, handsome brother, your medicine is really effective!" Hua Qiyue gave a silly response and smiled giddily at him.

"Princess Huiling, Jing'er is right. There isn't much truth to rumors since these hearsay have been pa.s.sed from person to person, without any basis or evidence. How could we judge others based on rumors or hearsay?" Ji Feng said evenly with a smile. His answer was very polite but he made his stance clear.

Princess Mingzhu smiled and agreed, "Yes, Your Highness. Let's not speak any more of this matter. It is already turning dark and if we don't return to the palace soon, we would be scolded by the Empress. Shall we make our way back?"

Princess Huiya nodded, "That's true. Let's go!"

Princess Huiling glared angrily at Hua Qiyue and felt extremely aggrieved. Hua Qiyue walked ahead and soon, Princess Huiling formed an evil plan. She strode up beside Hua Qiyue and forced Lv Xin aside.

Yun s.h.i.+mo and Ji Feng exchanged a glance. Both their eyes were inscrutable and they were unable to tell how the other party felt.

"Hua Qiyue, stop thinking that you are so fortunate. You won't be so lucky after you progress to the next round!" Princess Huiling suddenly said coldly.

Huangfu Xuan who walked behind Hua Qiyue quickly concurred, "Yes, it would be impossible for someone to maintain a lucky streak forever."

Princess Huiling looked at the wildflowers and bushes that reached up to her knees and a sly glint flashed in her eyes as she stuck out her leg to trip Hua Qiyue. Hua Qiyue screamed in horror and Princess Huiling smiled coldly.

Right in front of them was a patch of th.o.r.n.y wildflowers, so the consequences would be disastrous if Hua Qiyue landed into the th.o.r.n.y patch of flowers.

However, Hua Qiyue reached out and grabbed Princess Huiling's sash. Then, it was too late for the guards in black to save her!

Princess Huiling shrieked. She was completely caught off-guard so when Hua Qiyue pulled on her clothes, she fell forward and Hua Qiyue landed directly on top of her!