Chapter 362 - Rumors In The Capital (2/2)
With a profound expression, she answered, “You’ll understand when the time comes.”
Ou Yangming furrowed his brows even further, and he was itching to understand what she meant. At the same time, however, he did not want to force her to answer him.
‘Extort the princess?’
No, that was not something that Ou Yangming could afford to do.
Wu Hanning then turned around and stated, “Let’s go, Brother Ou.”
“Where to?” Ou Yangming responded subconsciously.
Wu Hanning turned around and sarcastically spat, “You’ve already met up with the Great Ancestor. What else do you want to do? It’s not like you want to stay in the palace, right?”
Ou Yangming was rendered speechless, and with an ashen face, he zipped his mouth shut. Even without the rumors that the palace had forbidden men from staying over the night, Ou Yangming would never have voluntarily stayed over in the palace.
He was already indebted to the princess, and if
would never hear the end of it.
With that, the two left the palace grounds. They traveled shoulder to shoulder, and though neither side had spoken a word, there was an indescribable sense of camaraderie between the two. They did not interact with one another, and instead, they enjoyed the atmosphere in silence. They quietly made their way through the street, and even when the imperial carriages pa.s.sed by, they chose not to board them.
Every road has its end, and despite their best attempts to slow their pace, they still reached the palace gates in the end. Wu Hanning gazed at the ma.s.sive gates before her, and a glint of reluctance uncharacteristic of a princess could be seen within her eyes. It was an extremely rare sight.
Ou Yangming nodded at her. “I appreciate your company, Your Highness.” As if she was startled awake by a lovely dream, Wu Hanning yelped, “When will you head towards Changlong County, Brother Ou?”
After a moment of silence, Ou Yangming answered, “As soon as possible. Hopefully within the next three days.” Had he been alone, Ou Yangming would probably have set off immediately. However, as he had gained a hundred-strong battalion… Indeed, while his troops had only consisted of a hundred men, in terms of combat prowess, they were a force that could overwhelm the battlefield.
Since Ou Yangming would need to lead the force against the spirit beasts in the Immense Forest, he needed some time for his troops to prepare themselves.
Three days. That was the minimum requirement, and throughout the entire world, no one else aside from Ou Yangming would be capable of rallying up a hundred Supreme Great Ancestors without causing dissent.
Sure, the imperial family might be able to achieve a similar effect if they declared a state of emergency, but if that were to happen, those Supreme Great Ancestors would undoubtedly be furious, and some might even go against the imperial family’s orders. However, Ou Yangming was confident that if he gave the order, the Supreme Great Ancestors would immediately rally to him. After all, he had promised them lavish remuneration, and for the sake of the magic tools he promised, the Supreme Great Ancestors would undoubtedly be enthusiastic to answer his call.
Wu Hanning nodded. After giving him an angry glance, she then turned around and left quietly. Ou Yangming’s lips twitched. However, no words left his mouth.
Suddenly, he heard a voice coming from behind him. “Brother Ou, Her Highness was waiting for you to invite her. How could you be so heartless as to disappoint her?”
Ou Yangming rolled his eyes upon hearing the voice. “Young Pavilion Master, shouldn’t you be swooning from all your work? Why do you have so much time on your hands?” Bai s.h.i.+xue giggled mesmerizingly. “Brother Ou…” She stretched out her voice that was oozing with seduction.
Ou Yangming leaped back. “Stop! Stop! Stop! We’re not even that close!” He quickly observed his surroundings and whispered, “You’ll cause misunderstandings if you put it that way!”
“Hmph!” Bai s.h.i.+xue spat. “Her Highness has already left. Who else would hear us?”
Ou Yangming glared at her and stated, “Watch your words, Young Pavilion Master. You need to be responsible for them.”
Bai s.h.i.+xue snapped, “Are you saying I’m irresponsible? Hah, from my point of view, you’re the one who’s going against his word!” Angered, Ou Yangming shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”
Bai s.h.i.+xue stated without hesitation, “Don’t take it from me, the whole capital has already heard of your exploits. Aren’t you aware?”
Ou Yangming froze. He suddenly recalled what Wu Hanning had said back when she tried to defuse the situation between him and the five Imperial Elders. Ou Yangming’s face twisted into a nasty expression. ‘It’s only been half a day at most, how can the entire capital already know about it? Are rumors supposed to travel this fast?’
Noticing Ou Yangming’s panicked expression, Bai s.h.i.+xue jokingly added, “I swear I’m not lying. Feel free to ask anyone you come across. Oh yeah, you trust Woo Lejia, right? Why don’t you ask him?”
Ou Yangming chuckled bitterly and mentally spat, ‘Since you put it that way, there’s no longer any reason for me to look for Woo Lejia.’
Ou Yangming glared at Bai s.h.i.+xue, and anger began to manifest within his heart.
Had he not barged into the imperial carriage that day, none of this would have ever transpired. As such, the true culprit behind this was the beautiful lady before him!
However, upon seeing Bai s.h.i.+xue’s charming smile, Ou Yangming’s thoughts wandered back to the day where he had made contact with the Body of Charm. Upon recalling the sensation, he could not bring himself to hate Bai s.h.i.+xue.
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