Chapter 478 - Proper Palace Intrigue (17) (2/2)

Master, are you even listening to me?!’

“She’s the Emperor’s concubine!” Zhi Yuan emphasized.

Cool moonlight illuminated Ming Jin’s face, adding a hint of coldness to his normally gentle features. He turned back slightly, specks of moonlight raising ripples in his eyes. He looked at the towering walls of the imperial city, and his lips moved slightly. “And so what?”

Zhi Yuan was so angry he started hyperventilating, yet was too helpless to do anything. ‘There’s pretty much no convincing Master once he’s made up his mind… Just what’s so good about that Zhuang Qiong? She’s already…’

Ming Jin and Zhi Yuan were completely dumbstruck upon entering their residence—the whole place was in shambles.

‘Why does it look like a scene after bandits have entered a village?’

“Sir…” A dishevelled looking servant stumbled as he ran over. “Sir, you’re finally back!”

“What happened?” Zhi Yuan anxiously asked.

The servant panted as he pointed towards where all the noise was coming from. “The sword Sir brought back…is being troublesome.”

‘Sword?’ Ming Jin started to walk over, prompting Zhi Yuan to abandon his line of questioning to hurriedly follow the former.

The coldly gleaming sword floated in mid-air, surrounded by the thoroughly wrecked remains of the buildings in the area.

Several servants stood at a distance, gesticulating at the sword.

When Ming Jin approached, the group immediately surrounded him. “Sir, Sir, is this sword a divine weapon with a spirit like in the rumours?”

‘Not long after Sir left, this sword started acting up! If anyone dared to try and stop it, they got hacked!’

Zhu Yuan examined the sword. “Sir, this sword that you took from the academy…just who does it belong to?”

‘It can actually float in the air all on its own!’

Ming Jin’s gaze turned slightly solemn.

The sword continued hacking apart the room, as if it was chopping radishes.

‘I tested the sword this afternoon, and it didn’t appear as sharp as it does now.

So…this sword truly possesses a spirit?’

Word in jianghu had it that the best of weapons could birth their own spirits, but no one ever verified it for themselves, so this remained but a rumour.

This was definitely the first time he’d witnessed a sword with its own spirit.

“Sir, quickly stop it ah! If it keeps hacking like this, where are we going to stay?!”

……

Proof of Shu Fei poisoning the young prince was discovered in the end. Due to her family’s position, Yuwen Xun didn’t execute her, but instead consigned her to the cold palace.

The young prince’s life was no longer in danger, but Lu Ruo was still punished by Yuwen Xun for her negligence in watching over him.

Tao Qin reported all these to Shi Sheng.

Ever since Yuwen Xun gave her the 10 day deadline, he no longer attempted to poison, trick, or assassinate Shi Sheng, so she finally got several days reprieve.

“Mistress, it’s the final day tomorrow.” ‘Will what Mistress said really come true?’

“What’re you worried about? It’ll still take a few days for news to travel here.” Shi Sheng spoke in a relaxed tone. “Did you ask around like I told you to?”

“Yes—there has never been a Weiyang Palace before.”

Shi Sheng fell silent.

“Mistress, just what are you looking for?” Tao Qin was truly curious.

‘If only I(bbb) knew what I’m(bbb) supposed to be looking for.’

Shi Sheng sprawled over the table listlessly. ‘System, I dare you to give me another hint!

Just two names for a hint is really screwing with me… I got no leads.’

[Host, didn’t you claim you were smart?] ‘The time has come for an IQ test! Go, Pikachu!’

‘Where’s my(lz) sword?! Oh, right, still hacking apart Ming Jin’s place.’

The sword only went to work at night, remaining motionless during the day. So the cycle of the place being repaired during the day and destroyed at night continued.

And yet, despite this, Ming Jin still hadn’t returned her sword to her.

‘Scared. There’s a pervert coveting me(bbb).’

[……] ‘You have the gall to call others a pervert, when you’re one yourself?’

[1] In case you didn’t know, only the Emperor is allowed to use the dragon motif. Sometimes, he’ll allow his sons to use it, but they generally use snakes (at least in the Qing Dynasty, I believe).

[2] Sanlu was a company that produced milk powder formula, but got into hot soup when they were involved in a scandal with adulterating the formula to include dangerous chemicals. Some people believe (or at least like to use in a meme) that it caused problems with some children’s IQ.