Yu Xiaoxiao brought Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei to look for the kitchens from lat night while explaining herself, “I’m not a mental illness patient, so I don’t need to take medicine.”
Xiao Zhuang hastily chimed in, “How could princess be sick? I think it’s those Eternal Life Temple guys who are ill.”
“Mhm, right,” Yu Xiaoxiao had been searching for someone who could badmouth Eternal Life Temple with her, so Xiao Zhuang’s words made her nod. “They don’t look like good guys to me at all.”
Xiao Wei looked at the two cursing Eternal Life Temple while walking around Safeguard Temple and quickly changed the subject, “Princess, you even knew how to ‘make a feint to the east and attack in the west’ back there.”
That was a military tactic often used by humanity to deal with zombies, but Yu Xiaoxiao didn’t understand why she’d have to use that just to toss some monk away.
Xiao Zhuang recalled the trick to tossing Beiyuan too and grinned. “Right, princess. When you mentioned that woman, that monk really did go looking for her.”
Yu Xiaoxiao creased her brows. “But that was because I really did see a woman.”
Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei exchanged looks before glancing in the direction where the woman had been seen. Why would there be a woman in Safeguard Temple?
“That’s impossible, right?” Xiao Zhuang said. “Safeguard Temple isn’t open to the public today, so how would a woman show up?”
Yu Xiaoxiao recalled the hem of the pale green dress she’d spotted and declared, “Maybe one of those monks was feeling lonely. Isn’t this just those natural men and women things?”
Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei exchanged looks again and decided to drop the subject. If this kept on, the State Preceptor would want to die if he ever overheard.
—
In a secluded guesthouse located in the southeast corner of Safeguard Temple, a young woman dressed in a pale green dress hurried through the doors. Another girl with similar features sitting inside quickly rose to her feet and cried, “Big sis, what’s the matter?”
“N-nothing,” the green-dress girl said as she gasped for breath. Just then, she’d witnessed a girl fling a tall, strong monk clear into the air. Was that girl still human? She was nothing but a monster!
An older matron dressed in gloomy gray robes soon walked in as well, looking sternly at the twin sisters chatting inside the room. “What is the matter with you, Second Young Miss?”
The green-dress girl was clearly fearful of the matron and backed away. Her sister, dressed in pale blue, quickly went to explain, “Auntie Sun,1 we sisters were just playing around in the room.”
“Erqiu,”2 the older sister looked at her sister with gratitude.
But Matron Sun immediately pulled a face and scolded, “Erqiu? Second Young Miss, have you forgotten the prime minister’s words? Your name is Zhao Yingyao (赵缨瑶)3 and Third Young Miss is Zhao Yingqin (赵缨琴).4 What ‘Erqiu’ and ‘Dadong?’5 It’s best for the two young missus to for everyone’s sakes.”
The twin sisters nodded their heads before looking down without a word.6
Matron Sun went on, “The prime minister’s estate has sent someone to have us prepare for the trip back. You young ladies should come with this servant now.”
“Alright,” the sisters chorused before heading out.
“Your steps should be smaller,” Matron Sun said while creasing her brow. “The daughters of rich and powerful families must be light and nimble on their feet, with small lily steps.”
The two sisters were cowed by Matron Sun’s words but didn’t dare to retort. Both of them adjusted their steps and kept walking. The older woman only shook her head. She was a servant born in the Zhao Estate and a steward nanny in charge of general affairs as well as Zhao Qiuming’s trusted aide. Eldest Young Miss Zhao had lost favor in the palace, so these twin sisters who had come to pay respects to their elders caught Prime Minister Zhao’s eye. Matron Sun could understand the prime minister and Eldest Young Miss Zhao’s intentions.
The current emperor was a lover of beauties, so after the Zhao Clan deliver these two flowers into the palace, they could potentially wrest back the love lost on Eldest Young Miss Zhao. That would ensure the Zhao Clan maintained their standing as Fengtian’s top family. Moreover, as the twin sisters were simply a pair of country duckweeds with no background whatsoever, they would be destined to be boytoys for the rest of their lives. It would be easy enough for the prime minster and eldest young Miss to control the sisters to their liking.
However, it was no easy task to change a pair of country bumpkins to daughters of a prominent family and send them into the palace. If they were ever caught, the crime of deceiving the sovereign would–Matron Sun stopped to shake off a chill and didn’t continue the thought.
The twin sisters followed Matron Sun out of the guesthouse and its courtyard. One of Zhao Qiuming’s trusted aides greeted them at the entrance. Matron Sun asked him in a low voice, “Wasn’t it said that His Majesty’s here at Safeguard Temple? The plan was to have the second and third young missus run into His Majesty.”
The steward swept his gaze over the pair of docile girls before muttering, “The prime minister’s changed his mind. Princess Linglong is here too, so he fears she’ll ruin things.”
Matron Sun nodded, then turned to tell the girls, “Young Misses, please come with me and Steward Zhao to leave through the west entrance. Make sure to watch your steps and don’t trip.”
The sisters nodded, and Matron Sun and Steward Zhao escorted them west.
—
Once again, Yu Xiaoxiao was kneeling on top of a wall with Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei. Her Royal Highness had discovered that there was more than one kitchen in Safeguard Temple. In fact, the five courtyards in a row before her each had its own kitchens and matching pill-refining furnace rooms. She couldn’t recall which one she’d been to last night.
“Safeguard Temple sure is big,” Xiao Zhuang sighed.
Yu Xiaoxiao said, “Isn’t it just Daoists who refine pills in furnaces? Why do monks do it too?”
Xiao Zhuang was lost. “Maybe all ascetics refine pills?”
Yu Xiaoxiao looked up at the skies. Xiao Wei followed her gaze and saw that they were a lot of stormclouds above them as if rain would fall any second.
Xiao Zhuang asked, “Princess, what are we going to do?”
“I think it’s going to thunder,” Yu Xiaoxiao said, before gathering her voice and shouting, “Pack up your clothes, it’s going to rain!”
“……” said Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei.
The monks working at the kitchens and pill-refining furnace rooms were startled by the princess’s mighty shout and ran out to see what was the matter. Immediately, muffled lightning rumbled through the clouds before they were followed by flashes of lightning.
“My God, princess, it really is thundering!” Xiao Zhuang exclaimed.
Yu Xiaoxiao looked at the identical courtyards before her. How was she supposed to find yesterday’s kitchens in this mess? She might as well strike them all to save some work. At the thought, multiple bolts of lightning struck from the skies and hit the buildings and pill-refining furnace rooms.
—
Minutes before disaster, the old monk Wang Sheng had just brought out his latest batch of antidote from the furnace. He didn’t have many ingredients on hand, so they were all used up after he managed to make two pills to counter the poison.
“Come with me to see Junior Master,” old monk Wang Sheng said to Beiwang while carefully cradling the pills in his hands. “There are only these two pills. Nothing else can happen to him.”
Beiwang turned up his nose at the comment. “As if the poisoner would dare to poison him again.”
The old monk Wang Sheng wanted to say it was better to be on guard at all times, but the peal of lightning and thunder interrupted him. Seconds later, both men only saw darkness as the pill-refining furnace room collapsed…
—
The lightning bolts destroyed the roofs of the buildings and made the ground shake. On the west end of Safeguard Temple, a crack in the wall soon split under the earthquake before the wall broke into pieces and fell on top of the four figures just passing by.
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