IMPERIAL MATTERS OUTSIDE IMPERIAL WALLS.

***In the Imperial grounds of Continent 'Eclipse of the Oceans'..

***Imperial City(In the Circumference of the Imperial grounds)..

***In the Inner sector of a relaxation center and bar..

..

This is interesting..

Fei Lin finds his curiosity piqued by the ongoing exchange. While it is absolutely none of his business, he cannot help but get curious and even a bit excited as this is his first interaction with someone related to Imperial royalty outside of Imperial Grounds.

 Silently flicking the Singer Qi ring on his finger, Fei Lin manages to zoom his senses onto the suspicious duo's position only to be obstructed by a powerful sense blocking barrier that is obviously the result of a high level antique.

 His brows makes a small furrow as he can immediately tell that he's dealing with no ordinary pawn.

Although some can afford the cost of expense, no-one carries or uses a high level antique for a casual or shady meetings as moving an hight level artifact around without detection brings about an even more ridiculous level of expenses and planning!.

 As an Imperial Prince, Fei Lin's Signet ring is obviously a top tier high level antique though his own is conditioned and he does not have to manage the cost.

The fact that a high level artifact is involved in this meeting once more leaves Fei Lin in thought.

*PÅNG!*

 Flipping a red piece to capture a black piece, Fei Lin weight almost three options about why there is need for an high-level artifact for this shady meeting.

 Either the duo are our on a secret Imperial mission they can't take chances to spill.. OR

 They are having a highly important meeting that's B.I.G.. OR,..

*PAÑG!*

 Putting a black piece across the board, Fei Lin rubs his chin with his curiosity rising as he takes in the third possible option.

 .. The mission and meeting itself is something that must be kept an absolute secret!.

 With a natural expression and a natural gaze that has not for a single moment strayed from the gameboard, Fei Lin rubs his singet ring while imputing a wave of mana at he sends a massage to his hidden guard.

 Soon, a maid approaches the duo(the veiled woman and the mysterious man) with a soft smile while bringing with her a tray of specially jaded alcohol kettle and exquisite ceramic shot glasses.

 The probe blocking barrier around the duo disappears for a moment as they grant the maid entry to their space whole turning attention to the smiling maid who in turn greets the duo with a small bow.

 "A special treat, for special people. This is a very rare Rank two wine that mildly settles internal mana. Its main ingredient are gotten from an ancient Qi Mangrove sap of over a thousand years old and other rich flavors complements its fine taste. It is a treat we give to only our first time VIP's.", The maid says calmly with a polite smile still plastered on her face.

 "Thank you.", The mystery man responds with a small polite purse of his lips. The maid bows slightly as if to say its my pleasure and then she leaves the duo alone as she walks away.

 Another different yet unnoticeable pulse of mana from the mystery man silently scans the delivered jug, it's wine wine and their surroundings before the probe-proof barrier comes back up.

 'Careful..', Fei Lin nods to himself in appraisal of the mystery man.

*PÅNG!*..

*PÅNG!*.

Fei Lin gracefully moves a red chip twice on the board while successful eating up two black chips.

 '..Unfortunately, the deed is already done.', Fei Lin says internally as he takes the defeated black pieces off the board.

 Though he is not gifted with a shadow, Fei Lin has contacted his Sworn Knight a minute earlier and he has given her instructions to slip her contact Qi-ring into the wine jug before it gets served.

This task is of course not any problem to a high level Knight.

 While his Sworn Knight's Ring is not considered a high level antique, it is not much off and its power cannot be easily detected by Cultivation arts or spells.

Fei Lin highly doubts that the mysterious man and veiled woman have another high level antique for detection and so he rakes a gamble and from what it seems,.. it has paid off.

 As an Imperial Prince, planning and adaptation is one of his most taught subjects and he's fully using this master chess level ability while playing a game of checkers.

 Flicking his Singet ring once more, Fei Lin effortlessly connects to his Knight's Qi ring despite the high level probe-barrier. With his gaze still on his board game, Fei Lin begins to spy on the suspicious duo's conversation.

 "..a lot of bravery delivering a message into the Palace.", The veiled woman says as the neutral faced Fei Lin listens in with a buzz in the tone of their voices due to slight interference from the barrier.

 "Barely a message, only a coded sentence and even that takes a undeniable hassle.", The mystery man says with slight indifference yet annoyance in his mannerism.

 "..Who are you people and how dare you reach out to my master so boldly?.", The veiled woman speaks in a harsh tone though the mystery man is obviously not buying into her mannerisms as he replies calmly.

 "And yet, here you are."

 Listening in on them, Fei Lin is not only able to confirm that they are from the Imperial Palace but he's also able to confirm that they are in relation to a member of the Imperial family. With this prices, Fei Lin is also able to confirm the fact that something is seriously off.

 The messages flowing in and out of the Imperial Palace is not exactly controlled or monitored so for them to have gone through such lengths like they've just spoken of to pass a message means that either the message or the sender must never be discovered for fear of retaliation!.

*PAÑG!*

 Confirming this, Fei Lin casually moves a black chip on the board in order to trap a red one.

 The veiled woman looks at the man in front of her for an uncomfortable while before speaking once more though with a slightly icy chill in her tone this time.

 "What do you want?.", She asks with her voice even and her gaze sharp and proud.

 "Wrong question, You should be asking 'What do we have?' and the answer to that is 'exactly what you need'. Power, influence, resources, information and finally.. significance.". The man answers confidently with his presentation very impressive though his response only seems to anger the veiled woman even more as the ice in her stare intensifies.

 "What.. do.. you.. want?.", The veiled woman asks slowly once more while obviously not swayed an inch by the mystery man's appeal.

 "We want to help the princess become an Empress.", The mystery man finally responds after a second of silence.

Hearing this, Imperial Prince Fei Lin brows slightly furrow as he already creates the most likely possibilities in his mind with his signals pointing to one specific direction.

*PÅNG!*

 With his mind spinning, Fei Lin moves a red piece two paces across the board as he continues listening..

 "Then the first step to that would be telling us who exactly you are.", The veiled woman says while almost giving the impression that she has the upper hand in this exchange.

 "..Judging by the methods we used for communicationvthen I think you can tell that we aren't exactly in the side of the light but trust us when we say that our intentions are. We want to invest heavily in the princess though in exchange we want certain discussable compromises before and after she sits on the throne.", The mystery man proposed calmly.

 "Why are you so sure that whatever 'investment' you can fork out would guarantee the Princess's Crowning?." – The Veiled Woman asks almost with mockery in her tone.

 "Without our investment, what are the chances that the princess would sit on the throne?.", The mystery man shoots back while the coldness in the veiled woman's eyes returns with a new found intensity at his provoking words!.

..

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