Emperor Jie

"Boss is something wrong," Qin Xifeng asked.

"There's nothing wrong with me," she answered.

"Then… How come you don't remember who Priestess Kong is," Qin Xifeng asked.

"Should I know who Priestess Kong is," she asked confusedly.

"Priestess Kong is the priestess that has been helping you since you first came here," Qin Xifeng explained.

"How come I don't remember her then," she asked.

"What do you mean," Qin Xifeng asked back.

"I only remember the masters that taught me how to fight, how to cultivate, and how to conceal," she explained. "All of them were males. The only females were the ones that taught me alchemy, calligraphy, art, and the multiple female arts there could be."

"You don't remember a priestess at all," Qin Xifeng asked.

"None at all," she answered.

"Not even someone in all white," Qin Xifeng asked.

"Xifeng, are you forgetting that I'm blind," she asked.

With a shocked face, Qin Xifeng coughed out embarrassedly, "I forgot… Boss, you really don't remember someone by the name of Kong?"

Shaking her head, she answered, "None at all. Who is she?"

"Since you don't remember her, then let's forget it," Qin Xifeng said, thwarting the conversation to another. "Boss, are you hungry?"

A little bit surprised by the change of conversation, she made a sound in confusion before answering with a yes and standing up to go freshen up.

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[TIME SKIP TO 3 YEARS LATER]

This was the first time that she would be attending an event held by the royal, so she was nervous, but she held her calm front as she walked out of the very luxurious golden carriage with multiple different shiny gemstones that decorated it. As she walked down from the steps of the carriage, Qin Xifeng held her hand and helped her to balance on the floor. The royal palace was a place in which she was unfamiliar with the most, so she was two times as careful as normal.

As they slowly walked to the imperial hall where the emperor's birthday was being held, Qin Xifeng quietly complained, "Boss, I can't believe that dummy would actually force you to come here! It's already been told that we must have nothing to do with the royal family!"

Using telepathy, she calmed Qin Xifeng, "Xifeng, calm. Even I, as the master, am not mad, so why are you?"

"You already said that being affluent with the royal family is bad luck… But that idiot! He is so! So stupid! How can he use you!? He was the one that wanted to help the prince! Not you! Seriously," Qin Xifeng quietly exclaimed.

Chuckling on the inside, she said, "Xifeng, you've gotten more wild and honest as the years pass."

"That's because you as the boss have also changed," Qin Xifeng replied.

"Have I," she asked.

"En," Qin Xifeng answered truthfully. "You used to be more closed back then, but you've become more open and embrace almost every weird part of us. Truly, I do not regret having…"

"Do not regret having what," she asked.

Taking a moment to change her words, Qin Xifeng finally continued her sentence, "Do not regret having met you three years ago. Boss, you've grown and expanded a lot since then also."

Right when Qin Xifeng said that, they had already reached the entrance to the imperial hall and saw the little eunuch that was announcing people. However, even after they entered, the eunuch did not announce them.

Actually, there was no hate between her or the royal palace, but that nobody knew who she was due to her face being covered by a black silk cloth all the time. In fact, nobody knew what she looked like aside from her people. However, the people that she chooses were always loyal people that never spilled her appearance.

Except for this time, her friend happened to ask her for help. This was the first time she was exposing herself to people she did not trust and people she did not recognize. However, since she owed this friend of hers a favor, she had no choice but to expose herself.

Not caring that her name was announced, she continued walking until she felt the presence of multiple people. Once she felt this presence surrounding her, she knew that she was in the middle of the room. Just when she was about to tell Qin Xifeng to find her friend for her, a deep gruff male voice was heard from above.

"This is the first time this emperor has seen you. Your name was not announced either. This emperor would like to ask, who are you," the emperor asked.

Hearing him address himself like that, she made note of what the emperor's voice was like and to remember it. When Qin Xifeng was about to introduce her to the emperor, she patted the back of her hand and used telepathy to say, "Find Xiaosheng for me. Don't worry about talking for me."

Sensing Qin Xifeng's worrying eyes, she continued, "I feel that this emperor is worthy of me to speak to."

At first, she only thought about staying quiet and examining the emperor, but after hearing him speak, she could tell that this was a wise person. It would seem that the empire would be in good hands. When this emperor sat on the throne, he gave himself the name of Jie, gaining the name of Emperor Jie.

Though she had heard that he was a good and wise emperor, she did not believe it well. It is a known story that the royalty had many secrets and many emperors were merely rumored to have wisdom when in fact, they lacked several things. However, based on the voice of this current one, she could tell that he was a decisive and experienced man.

After hearing that, Qin Xifeng quieted down and searched for Tao Xiaosheng silently.

With a soft that was quiet but could still be heard, she introduced herself, "Does Your Majesty know of the Li World Trade?"

"As the ruler of this empire, if Zhen does not know of such a famous place, Zhen could not be Zhen," Emperor Jie stated. "You must be Master Li."

"Indeed, I am Master Li," she announced.

"Zhen did not think that Master Li would be a woman," Emperor Jie admitted.

"Oh? Why so," she asked.

"It has been rumored that Master Li is a man of many talents and knows the hearts of women. It has also been rumored that Master Li has stolen the hearts of many women. Even the women of Zhen's palace can not resist the temptations of Master Li," Emperor Jie honestly answered.

"That is merely an overexaggerated rumor. How could there be a man in this world that could understand the hearts of women," she stated. "Without women to help, I am afraid those men would not have wives that adore them. Though, what they adore more are probably the materialistic values more than the emotional values."

Giving a loud laugh at her honest statement, Emperor Jie said, "Zhen never thought that Master Li would be so honest. Master Li, it seems that you have spoken many true facts. So true that you might make enemies at this point."

"Can they beat me even if they hate me," she honestly pointed out. "I say, they should at least try to beat my words first."

"Zhen also agrees," Emperor Jie stated happily. "Zhen finds that Master Li is very entertaining."

"I also find that Your Majesty is very much different from many other emperors I have spoken with," she admitted.

"Oh? How so," Emperor Jie asked out of curiosity.

"With the words I have said alone, I am sure that they would have tried to shut me up," she said. "Not only for the loss of face for the men, but also the loss of face for the women."

"Are you not a woman yourself," Emperor Jie asked.

"I am indeed a woman," she answered. "But, I am a woman of independence. I find that if I can survive without relying on a man, it would be better. At the very least, I will not have to fight for the favor."

Hearing her honest answer, Emperor Jie laughed out loud again. He had never met someone who spoke so sharply and honest, but yet still able to sound like a nice girl. He was sure that this lady of whatever age was definitely not only entertaining but also interesting.

Since her introduction was done, she walked away from the center of the room and headed to where Tao Xiaosheng was.

Right when she sat next to Tao Xiaosheng, he asked her, "Uh… Miss Li, how were you able to talk to the emperor so straightforwardly like that? Aren't you supposed to be afraid of strangers?"

"Really want to know," she asked.

"Yes," Tao Xiaosheng answered expectantly.

Despite the black silk cloth that covered her entire face, she gave a brief smile before replying with, "A closed mind is like a closed book; just a block of wood."

Tilting his head in confusion, he asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Ignoring his question, she said, "I've already prepared a gift as you asked. After this, I don't owe you anymore."

The entire time that she was speaking she was using telepathy, so she was for sure that no one knew what she had said or spoken to Tao Xiaosheng but after a while, she felt that there were a pair of eyes on her. She could feel for sure that the eyes were locked onto her, so she tried to sense who it was that was looking at her so deeply. However, every time she tried to sense who it was, it would disappear.

Though she could feel that the eyes meant no harm to her, she was still being careful, so she asked Tao Xiaosheng, "Xiaosheng, currently in this hall, who are the most dangerous people I should be aware of?"

"Huh? Uh, there's really only two people," Tao Xiaosheng answered. "One is the emperor. The second is…"

"Don't go silent on me," she told him.

"Uh… The second one… I'm not quite sure about him," Tao Xiaosheng admitted.

"What do you mean you aren't sure about him," she asked with furrowed brows.

"I mean… He's the only reason why I'm here so it should be okay," Tao Xiaosheng meekly answered.

"You are talking about the ninth prince," she asked.

"Uh… Yes," Tao Xiaosheng answered.

"Xiaosheng, you are not confident in your answer," she pointed out. "Your voice is shaking which shows that you-"

She was unable to complete her sentence. Just when she wanted to lecture Tao Xiaosheng, her name was called out. Not using the "Master Li" name, but "Miss Hua" name.

Hearing her personal name being called out, her brows furrowed. In this world, the only people who knew her personal name was Qin Xifeng, Ren Lei, Tao Xiaosheng, and a few others. Who was this person that called her by her personal name?