Within three days, every orphan girl had to arrive at the Imperial Palace. Those who disobeyed would be beheaded!
The whole affair was far too strange. Ye Jing sensed something was wrong, and his expression darkened.
He wasn't a fool. The current fatuous emperor had summoned every orphan girl in the Imperial Capital to the palace with such fanfare. He must have some ulterior motive.
Although Ye Jing had no idea what the emperor was plotting, a faint unease stirred in his heart.
"Officer, just a small token of my esteem. Here are three hundred taels in silver notes. Please treat yourselves to some tea."
"Officer, might you share a few words with me? Why does His Majesty want the orphan girls of the Imperial Capital to enter the palace?"
"This maid of mine has had little discipline since she was young and hasn't seen much of the world. I'm truly afraid she'll cause a great disaster in the palace."
Ye Jing pulled several silver notes from his robes and slipped them into the sleeve of the thousand-household commander before him, hoping to glean some information from him.
Seeing the silver notes in his hand, Commander Zhang showed a hint of delight. His gaze toward Ye Jing softened as well.
"Brother, I'm only a thousand-household commander. How could I know what His Majesty is thinking?"
"But there's talk all around the Night Watch Division that two important figures have come to the Imperial Capital. I hear they're looking for a relative."
"Don't worry, brother. This is a good thing. If your maid is a relative of those two officials, you'll rise to great heights. Even if she isn't, she'll come back safe and sound."
Looking for a relative! The unease in Ye Jing's heart grew stronger. Qiuyue possessed the Innate Dao Body and had astonishing talent. Someone with such gifts must have an extraordinary background.
When the commander had mentioned those two important figures, his words had been filled with admiration. It seemed they had truly impressive status.
The more Ye Jing thought about it, the more he felt that the relative those two were seeking could very well be Qiuyue.
"Officer, what exactly is the background of these two important figures? They even got His Majesty himself to help them!"
Ye Jing wanted to fish for more information from the commander, but the man was only a thousand-household commander in the Night Watch Division. His position wasn't high, and he knew little. All he knew was that the two important figures came from an Ancient Clan.
An Ancient Clan! Ye Jing felt a flicker of confusion. He searched through the original owner's eighteen years of memories but found not a scrap of information about the Ancient Clans.
Clearly, these so-called Ancient Clans were beyond the reach of ordinary people.
"Don't worry, officer. I'll make sure my maid goes to the Imperial Palace within three days."
Ye Jing couldn't be certain that the two important figures were looking for Qiuyue, so he could only agree for now.
After watching the Night Watch Envoys leave, Ye Jing hurried home.
"Master, if something's troubling you, you can tell Qiuyue."
At the Eight Immortals table, Qiuyue saw Ye Jing sitting lost in thought, the food before him untouched. Her face filled with concern as she asked him.
"It's nothing, Qiuyue. You're overthinking it."
Ye Jing laughed it off, trying to divert her attention.
Qiuyue fixed him with a penetrating gaze, a trace of indignation flashing across her face. "Young master, you're lying to me again. We grew up together. Whenever you lie, your eyes dart away."
"Besides, ever since you came back, your face has been covered in worry."
Seeing that Qiuyue had seen right through him, Ye Jing could no longer hide it. He might as well use this chance to talk things over with her.
"Qiuyue, when my parents found you in the snow all those years ago, were you carrying any token?"
"Something like a jade pendant or a longevity lock that could prove your identity?"
Though he already had his suspicions, Ye Jing wasn't certain. He could only ask Qiuyue and see if she had any clues about her origins.
"Master, why are you asking me this again?"
"You already know about the things the old madam left me before she passed away, don't you?"
"There wasn't any token that could prove my identity. Besides, young master, Qiuyue thinks our life now is quite nice. I don't care about some vague, distant identity."
Qiuyue rolled her eyes at Ye Jing, a flicker of confusion in her heart. Ever since he had seen her cultivating, her young master seemed to keep asking about her background.
That was true. Qiuyue had grown up with him since childhood. If she had any token, how could he not have seen it over the past decade?
He had only been grasping at straws in his desperation. If he could truly confirm Qiuyue's identity and origins, he would have taken her and fled the Imperial Capital that very night.
It was precisely because he couldn't confirm her identity that he hesitated.
To be honest, staying at the Hanlin Academy was the best option for now. First, his strength didn't make him truly invincible.
The Hanlin Academy held many historical records and Ancient Texts. He could use them to activate Heaven-Defying Comprehension and rapidly increase his strength.
Second, the signs of a great upheaval in heaven and earth had already appeared. The whole of Dali would surely fall into chaos in time. But no matter what happened, the Imperial Capital of Dali would remain one of the safest places for the foreseeable future.
Besides, Qiuyue possessed the Innate Dao Body and peerless talent. In just over a month, she had gone from an ordinary mortal to someone in the Innate Realm.
With such terrifying cultivation speed, she needed a stable environment where she could focus on her cultivation.
For those two reasons, Ye Jing knew full well that today's affair was suspicious and might involve Qiuyue, yet he still hesitated.
He looked at Qiuyue for a long while. A fierce glint flashed in Ye Jing's eyes. If those two from the Ancient Clan had truly come for Qiuyue, then they could both go down together.
If those people from the Ancient Clan really meant Qiuyue harm, he would have no choice but to strike without mercy.
He had the system, after all. He could pack up all the Ancient Texts in the Hanlin Academy and take them with him. With Heaven-Defying Comprehension, he could gain countless cultivation techniques from those books and rapidly increase his strength.
Ye Jing pulled three Sword Talismans from his robes and placed them in Qiuyue's hands. "Qiuyue, these three Sword Talismans were given to me by that Sword Sect expert who caused such a stir in the Imperial Capital over a month ago."
"Each Sword Talisman contains a strand of Innate Sword Qi. If unleashed, fewer than ten Great Grandmasters in all of Dali could withstand its power."
"Three days from now, His Majesty will summon the orphan girls to the palace. Keep these three Sword Talismans with you for protection."
Ye Jing looked at Qiuyue, his expression grave. "Unless your life is in danger, don't activate these three Sword Talismans. The consequences would be unimaginable."
"But don't worry, Qiuyue. The moment you unleash this Sword Qi, that peerless expert will sense it and come to save you."
The Sword Qi contained in the three Sword Talismans was Ye Jing's own Primordial Sword Qi.
As long as Qiuyue carried the three talismans, Ye Jing could sense her location at any time.
If something truly went wrong three days later and the two from the Ancient Clan took Qiuyue away, Ye Jing could ambush them along the way and snatch her back.
This was the best plan he could come up with.
Hopefully, those two from the Ancient Clan hadn't come for Qiuyue. Otherwise, his peaceful life would be interrupted again.
Ye Jing murmured to himself, a trace of worry in his eyes.
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