171: Chapter 161 171: Chapter 161 Long Feifeng had never imagined that her doting father, the King, and her mother, the Empress, would actually confine her like this.
Feeling miserable, tears streamed down as she cried out, “I hate you both, I don’t want to see you, wuu wuu.”
The King, angered, wanted to scold her again.
“Sigh…
let’s go out, King,” the Empress stopped the King from losing his temper.
“Stay in the palace, reflect properly.
Until you understand, you will not be released,” the King said before he left, flinging his sleeves as he went.
Long Feifeng’s limbs were restrained, and she could only lie in bed and sleep all day, becoming increasingly irritable and taking out her anger on the maids.
“Stupid to death!
It’s all your fault.
If you had sneaked me away, maybe I wouldn’t have had to come back.”
“Princess, we don’t have the ability to release the restraint.
The Young General’s cultivation is not something we can compare to.
It’s better to wait until the King calms down and releases the Princess,” one of the maids suggested.
“You sneak in a minister to release me.”
“Ministers are not allowed to enter the Princess’s palace; moreover, I cannot go out either.”
“What use are you then?”
“Please spare your servant, Princess.
If the Princess disobeys, the King and the Empress will blame us, and then no one here will survive.”
“Believe it or not, once I can move, you won’t survive either.”
“Princess, spare my life!” The maid, along with others who worked with Long Feifeng, knelt on the ground.
“Hmph…”
Long Feifeng was left with nothing but her anger.
******
Liu Tao, the son of the Prime Minister, accompanied by guards assigned by his father, who were Ancient Warriors incapable of flying like Cultivators with Flying Artifacts, had to travel in a carriage, along with mounted guards, all the way to Immortal Venerable City.
Upon seeing the bustling Immortal Venerable City, Liu Tao was witnessing such a lively city for the first time, even busier than the Imperial City.
The city was a gathering place for various Sects, attracting many people for competitions, spectators for the excitement, and merchants for business.
Liu Tao felt an unparalleled sense of novelty on his first adventure outside.
Looking through the carriage window, he couldn’t help but yearn to stroll through the streets outside.
“Stop the carriage, I want to get out,” he demanded.
However, the coachman did not stop, respectfully replying:
“I am under orders to take the young master to our lodging.
Master, let us arrive at our lodging first, and then you can make arrangements for leaving.”
This coachman was not merely a simple coachman, but a disguise.
He was a man sent by the Prime Minister to protect his son, and also to conveniently assist his son with his case investigations.
An experienced and trusted confidant from the Prime Minister’s side, this capable man had the trust of the Prime Minister, who had specially sent him to help his son.
“Can’t we discuss this?” Liu Tao, having been protected by the coachman and these guards, had avoided several assassination attempts in the past few days and had grown to trust the coachman’s abilities.
He dared not unleash his temper or give orders.
“No, the young master has to follow the summer arrangements; this place is not the Imperial City, there are many dangers here that we cannot predict,” the coachman firmly refused, and Liu Tao could only dejectedly look out of the carriage window at the scenery.
However, he dared not disobey, as this journey was meant to prove his capabilities, knowing deep down that his abilities were no match for Ye Tian’s, yet he was unwilling to be inferior to him.
Moreover, this trip included Tang Feiyang, one of the candidates for Princess and also his formidable rival.
With such powerful competitors, he had to be cautious.
They arrived at a secret residence of the Prime Minister, which appeared to be a civilian house on the outside but concealed soldiers and horses within.
As their party entered the residence, Liu Tao could feel the stringent security; someone was covertly standing guard, and numerous traps had been set up—if an external enemy entered, they would be met with a barrage of arrows piercing their heart.
Liu Tao secretly admired and praised the setup in his heart, yet he was unaware that these traps and hidden guards would only be effective against ordinary people.
If faced with individuals from the Cultivation World, such mechanisms would hardly prevent them from coming and going as they pleased.
After alighting from the vehicle, he entered the mansion inside and was taken to his courtyard and room under the subordinate’s arrangements.
Having checked out his courtyard and room, he felt they were satisfactory.
Although they did not compare to the Prime Minister’s Residence, it was still considered a luxury dwelling in this area.
If not for this journey, he would have never known his father also owned property here.
He had always been aware of his father’s ambition and was privy to some of his father’s affairs as a son, and his father did let him in on certain matters.
The Liu Family owned many properties across the nation and were even secretly recruiting soldiers and buying horses.
Liu Tao did not know his father’s intention in doing so, but he understood that his father was purposeful, and every family held power to their name.
This was the reason their family stood unshaken.
Their practice of Ancient Martial Arts might seem inferior to those in the Cultivation World, but with enough accomplishment, they too could attain Ascension.
They were not inferior to cultivators, except that they could not use Spiritual Power to fly.
“Young Master, please settle down here for now.
I must attend to some matters.
Without my accompaniment, I urge you not to go outside,” said the coachman as he walked into the residence, returning to his original appearance in an official uniform, which indicated a high-ranking position, akin to a second-grade official.
“Alright, I understand,” Liu Tao responded.
With his unrestrained demeanor, Liu Tao sat down in the living room and gestured for a servant girl to pour him tea.
“Young Master, please have some tea.” The servant girl’s language and appearance bore no significant difference from those in Ancient Xia Country, save for the peculiar clothing which was unlike the garb worn by maids in Ancient Xia Country—she seemed to carry a bundle on her back.
“Where are you from, and why are you dressed so oddly?” Liu Tao asked, grabbing the maid’s hand.
“Please release me, Young Master,” the maid said, bowing her head and showing a look of fearful respect.
“Answer my questions first.
You’re quite beautiful; would you be willing to become one of my consorts?” asked Liu Tao.
Liu Tao, always a libertine, had set out on this trip without his beautiful consorts and was smitten by the exotic beauty of the woman before him.
His flirtatious nature took over, devoid of reservations, for this was his father’s mansion.
“Young Master, Yingzi must follow the leader’s orders; Yingzi dare not make such decisions on her own,” the maid replied as she knelt down.
“Then bring your leader to me.
I wish to see what sort of leader requires the obedience of a maid for my palace,” Liu Tao demanded.
“Yes …” Yingzi then left the room.
In another courtyard, there sat several individuals adorned not in the style of Ancient Xia Country.
Ye Tian, had he been there, would recognize them as members of an assassination organization from a Foreign Country.
Among them, sat the same coachman who had returned to the residence with Liu Tao, now wearing the attire of a second-grade official.
“Knock, knock, knock,”
As they conversed, Yingzi spoke to a guard at the doorway, after which the guard knocked and entered to report.
“Didn’t I tell you no one is to interrupt?” one of the officers scolded the guard in a Foreign Country’s language.