After hearing the eunuch’s words, Pei Shuhua let out a light laugh, then said, "But why do I feel like he’s currying favor with Ming Fei’s maternal clan?"

Hearing this, the eunuch in the great hall trembled all over and immediately didn’t dare say another word.

Pei Shuhua then continued, "The court has been getting more and more chaotic lately. Your Majesty is still in your prime, and yet my imperial grandsons have already started thinking about fighting for the throne. Truly, it’s a bloodline inheritance—what kind of father produces what kind of child."

At Pei Shuhua’s words, the eunuch kneeling in the hall broke out in a cold sweat. In just a short moment, his back was soaked, turning his blue robe a deep navy.

Pei Shuhua raised her hand at this moment, waved it, and said, "You may go. Keep a close eye on Princess Yun’an for me and see what she’s been up to lately."

The eunuch hurriedly said, "Yes, Empress Dowager."

"This humble one takes his leave."

As his words fell, the eunuch quickly rose and left the Empress Dowager’s Changle Palace.

...

The matter of Emperor Zhou granting Ji Yunmeng a title drew the attention of many factions in the court, yet people were not particularly concerned. Although Ji Yunmeng was the first among Emperor Zhou’s children to receive a title, she was, after all, a woman, and those Princes did not regard her as any sort of threat.

Evening.

Yun’an Princess Mansion.

After Lu Chen followed Ji Yunmeng back to the Princess Mansion, Ji Yunmeng had a Maid arrange an excellent courtyard for him. This left Lu Chen somewhat puzzled. In the end, he was just an ordinary person—why was Ji Yunmeng treating him so well?

He had originally thought that after coming to the Princess Mansion with Ji Yunmeng, he would simply be a servant, perhaps a guard doing errands for Ji Yunmeng. Yet Ji Yunmeng seemed to have no such intention; instead, it looked more like she meant to keep him as a pampered boy-toy.

Lu Chen sat in the courtyard, looking at the quiet little yard before him, a hint of suspicion on his face. Had he really become Ji Yunmeng’s boy-toy?

If that was the case, then that would be wonderful!

He was just worrying about not having a chance to make Ji Yunmeng his woman. He wanted to see whether this system of his could actually be used.

However, what Lu Chen hadn’t expected was that over the next half month, Ji Yunmeng never came to see him. She seemed to still be investigating the Spirit Evil Qi murder case in Xiyang County, busy every day, with no time to pay him any attention at all.

This made Lu Chen a bit restless. If he was always stuck in the Princess Mansion and couldn’t grow stronger, how was he supposed to search for the Burial Furnace?

Although his own Sealing was on the Burial Furnace, there was no guarantee that the Great Powers of this world couldn’t break that Sealing. Moreover, even someone like Ji Yunmeng, who suspectedly was the Cloud Dream Emperor, had appeared in this world; it was entirely possible that an Ancestor of the Strange truly existed here.

If another Ancestor of the Strange discovered the Burial Furnace, it would absolutely be a catastrophe for the living beings within it.

Zhen Nan Prince Manor.

In a room shrouded in Death Qi, an old man whose entire body emitted black aura lay on the bed, coughing incessantly. The important figures of the Prince’s Mansion were all gathered in the room at this moment.

Prince Zhen Nan coughed for a while, swept his gaze over the people in the room, then said, "He is my only offspring. No matter the cost, he must be found and brought back. My days are numbered!"

As he said this, Prince Zhen Nan turned his gaze to a woman in the room. The woman was dressed in a snow-white robe, tall and slender, her hair tied in a high ponytail, her face as cold as ice.

"Bai, if I suddenly fall into a coma and never wake, the entire Prince’s Mansion will be under your command. Also, even if I die, this news must not be spread for the time being. You must wait until Chen’er is found and brought back!"

The woman immediately bowed and said, "Subordinate understands."

Prince Zhen Nan then turned his head to look at the canopy above and sighed, "Is the millennia-old foundation of Zhen Nan Prince Manor to be ruined in my hands? Just who is scheming against Zhen Nan Prince Manor!"

"Zhen Nan Prince Manor has long since ceased to be a threat to the Royal Family. Why are they still unwilling to let us go!"

At this, Prince Zhen Nan let out another deep sigh and slowly closed his eyes.

...

Yun’an Princess Mansion.

Inner courtyard of the Princess.

Ji Yunmeng, wearing a goose-yellow long dress, sat in the pavilion, listening to her Maid’s report.

Her brows lifted slightly. "No wonder I found him somewhat familiar—it turns out he’s the Heir of Prince Zhen Nan."

"Immediately send word to Zhen Nan Prince Manor that he is here with me!"

The Maid before Ji Yunmeng promptly said, "Yes, Your Highness."

The Maid then turned and left the pavilion. Ji Yunmeng looked toward the direction of the courtyard where Lu Chen was staying and murmured, "The Heir of Prince Zhen Nan, huh. He might be of some use to me."

Although Zhen Nan Prince Manor had long since declined, it was still the only Alien King of Dazhou. In its prime, Zhen Nan Prince Manor had been immensely powerful and was bound to have some hidden foundations.

Ji Yunmeng hadn’t expected her luck to be so good—having just returned from Xiyang County, she happened to pick up an Heir of Prince Zhen Nan along the road.

According to the information she had received, the current Prince Zhen Nan’s Physical Body had been corroded by Spirit Evil Qi and he seemed to be on the verge of death.

The Martial Artists of this world were like this: once the body began to age, the Spirit Evil Qi within them would turn into a slow-acting poison, further corroding the Physical Body and causing Martial Artists to die even faster.

If Prince Zhen Nan died, then Lu Chen, this Princely Heir, would become the new Prince Zhen Nan. Although the fief of Prince Zhen Nan had long been revoked, Zhen Nan Prince Manor still had some influence in the south. When the time came, she could use the influence of Zhen Nan Prince Manor to draw in those forces in the extreme south.

At this moment, Ji Yunmeng turned to the Maid beside her and asked, "Xiao Qi, what has Lu Chen been doing lately?"

Xiao Qi replied, "Reporting to Your Highness, Master Lu reads books every day."

Ji Yunmeng asked in puzzlement, "Reading? What kind of books?"

Xiao Qi said, "All sorts of curious anecdotes, or books about strange evil beings and spirits."

As she spoke, Xiao Qi suddenly remembered something and quickly added, "Master Lu seems to want to practice Martial Arts. He even had this servant search for some books on drawing Spirit Evil Qi into the body."

Ji Yunmeng said, "Did you not tell him that he has already passed the age for drawing Spirit Evil Qi into the body?"

In this world, not just anyone could become a Spirit Martial Artist. Martial Artists had to undergo a test for drawing Spirit Evil Qi into the body before the age of five. If, at five, their bodies could withstand Spirit Evil Qi, they could then slowly absorb more Spirit Evil Qi and become Spirit Martial Artists.

There was no Spirit Evil Qi in Lu Chen’s body, which meant that at his five-year test, his body could not withstand Spirit Evil Qi, and so he had remained an ordinary person to this day.

Xiao Qi said at this moment, "This servant has told him, but Master Lu seems unwilling to resign himself to being an ordinary man."

Ji Yunmeng said, "It seems he is a man with ambition."

"Ambition is good. What I need are exactly ambitious people."

...

In the blink of an eye, another half month passed.

That day, Lu Chen was at the stone table in the courtyard, flipping through the books about strange evil beings and spirits that Xiao Qi had found for him. Just as he was engrossed, a burst of noise came from the courtyard gate.

Immediately after, the Maid at the gate of the small courtyard said, "Greetings, Princess!"