Perilous

After leaving Prince Qing's Estate, he slowed his pace and let out a sigh of relief.

He and his sister had taken etiquette lessons when they were children.

But back then, their household was under lockdown, and they had no idea if they would ever be free in their lifetimes. Learning it felt pointless, and they even developed some rebelliousness, not taking the lessons seriously.

For ordinary occasions, it was fine. But in formal, solemn settings, they inevitably showed their shortcomings.

Attending the Prince's birthday banquet was manageable, but the New Year was not far off. It was tradition for the princes and young masters to go to the palace and celebrate the New Year with the Emperor.

In previous years, they couldn't go. This year, they probably would have to.

Having Chu Yi study etiquette again would not only give her confidence but also prevent her from making a fool of herself.

The palace had many rules.

He first went to the Ministry of Rites to check in, then headed to the Audit Department two hundred meters away.

Outside the palace, the Prince's Mansion lay to the west, while the six ministries and various departments were to the east, all clustered in one area, not far apart.

Wearing his official robes, he entered the Audit Department without being stopped.

As soon as he stepped through the gate of the Audit Department, he felt a starkly different atmosphere of intensity and bustle. Officials and clerks hurried back and forth, a world apart from the leisurely strolls of the Ministry of Rites.

Zou Fang had already scouted the location of the person they were looking for. They went straight to a courtyard, and Zou Fang entered first.

A moment later, Zou Fang came out with a thin, middle-aged man.

The thin, middle-aged man clasped his hands in salute from a distance: "Your subordinate Song Shunnian greets the Young Master."

"Minister Song, sorry for the trouble." Chu Zhiyuan clasped his hands in return and smiled. "Have my merit points been tallied yet?"

"Young Master, rest assured. I've already placed those two merit requests at the very top and marked them for urgent processing. Results should be out within three days."

"Then I thank Minister Song." Chu Zhiyuan showed a smile and gave Zou Fang a meaningful glance.

Zou Fang stepped forward and slipped a banknote into Song Shunnian's sleeve.

As a Grandmaster, his movements were graceful and precise. Before Song Shunnian could react, the banknote was already in his sleeve.

"This..." Song Shunnian hesitated.

Chu Zhiyuan waved his hand: "Eighteenth Uncle is Eighteenth Uncle, and I am I. I don't have a habit of letting others work for nothing. I won't trouble Minister Song any further."

"...Young Master, please."

Song Shunnian personally saw Chu Zhiyuan out of the Audit Department.

The Audit Department was a prestigious office, holding an exalted status. It reported directly to the Emperor and was not subject to the control of the six ministries or other departments.

Outside forces could hardly interfere with its operations—but that didn't include the princes.

This Song Shunnian was a relative of Chu Mingxuan. He wouldn't dare bend the rules to change the results; that would be a capital offense, and no one would risk it.

But adjusting the order of processing was still within his ability.

Originally, it would have taken a month or even longer. Now, with the change, the results would come out in three days.

That was already the fastest possible.

After all, they had to send someone down to verify everything, and not a single error could be tolerated, or heads would roll.

Chu Zhiyuan left the Audit Department and headed toward the Heavenly Treasure Department.

The Heavenly Treasure Department was adjacent to the Tongtian Pavilion, at the easternmost end of the six ministries' district, right at the intersection of two main streets—a hub in all directions.

From the outside, the gate of the Heavenly Treasure Department looked no different from any other department: solemn, dignified, and plain. But the flow of people coming and going was immense, shoulder to shoulder, rivaling a top-tier hospital in his past life.

As soon as he stepped through the gate of the Heavenly Treasure Department, he felt an inexplicable pressure.

The hairs on his body stood on end, warning him to flee immediately.

His Super Sensation landed on an old man sitting before a flower bed by the wall.

The old man wore a gray robe, his frame thin and gaunt, looking like an ordinary old fellow.

He lay lazily in a chair, one hand holding a scroll, a small tea table beside him with a red clay stove bubbling white steam.

He was utterly serene and leisurely, as if the hustle and bustle around him had nothing to do with him.

Chu Zhiyuan glanced at the top of the old man's head and felt a sudden dizziness.

Before his eyes stretched a vast starry sky. Seven stars blazed especially bright, shimmering fiercely, their light forming a longsword.

The old man stood in the void, wielding that sword of starlight, poised in a downward strike, as if to shatter everything in the world.

Just as his mind and spirit trembled violently, a cool breath flowed through his palm. The Qingying Sword snapped him back to awareness.

His body was already covered in sweat.

The last time he had probed a Grandmaster, it was Chu Qingfeng. Because they cultivated the same method, he hadn't been attacked.

This time, if not for the Qingying Sword's help, his mind and spirit might have been wounded.

He inwardly shuddered, quickly withdrew his Super Sensation to avoid the old man, and followed the crowd toward the main hall, arriving in a vast chamber.

The noisy crowd entering this hall looked like a swarm of ants, appearing especially tiny within its immense space.

Unlike the clamor outside, the hall was very quiet.

The wide sandalwood platform formed a semi-enclosed ring, behind which stood the clerks of the Heavenly Treasure Department, men and women alike, each wearing a stern and indifferent expression.

Chu Zhiyuan stepped forward personally and handed over a gleaming silver token.

This was the Ninth Grade Merit's ivory plaque, carved with nine epiphyllum flowers on one side, while the other bore his portrait, along with his name and age.

The clerk behind the platform was a young man of ordinary appearance and cold demeanor. After taking the plaque, he first gave Chu Zhiyuan a measuring glance, then looked at the plaque, and said flatly, "What do you want in exchange?"

"Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill."

"Wait a moment."

He pressed the plaque into a red inkpad beside him, then onto a sheet of white paper, then flipped the plaque, pressed it into the inkpad again, and stamped it onto the paper.

The front and back impressions lined up neatly on the paper. He then picked up a brush, wrote the words "Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill," turned around, and left.

Chu Zhiyuan waited about a minute. The young clerk returned and handed him a green porcelain bottle.

Chu Zhiyuan opened it for a look, broke into a smile, and nodded. Then he dipped his index finger into the red inkpad and pressed it onto the paper.

He had already gone through this procedure once before, so no reminder was needed.

Tucking the Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill into his sleeve, he left the Heavenly Treasure Department together with Zou Fang and Guo Chi, and headed straight for the adjacent Tongtian Pavilion.

After a day of reading, he returned to the manor in the evening and went directly to Chu Yi's courtyard.

The moment he stepped into Chu Yi's small yard, it was like stepping into another world.

A hundred flowers vied for beauty, and a faint fragrance drifted through the air.

All kinds of rare and exotic plants were scattered across different spots in the courtyard—some formed small flower beds, some swayed in the wind atop rockeries, and others floated in the stream, creating a world of wondrous blossoms and strange herbs.

In the open space between the flower beds, Chu Yi was balancing a bowl of water on her head, her upper body motionless while her feet shifted lightly in lotus steps as she moved forward.

Two middle-aged palace maids supervised from the side. One pointed out mistakes from time to time, while the other occasionally demonstrated the correct posture. Chu Yi's small face wore an expression of utter misery, as if she wished she were dead.

Chu Zhiyuan felt like laughing but held it in with effort.

When the two maids saw Chu Zhiyuan appear, they gave a graceful bow, their movements elegant, displaying an impressive mastery of deportment.

Chu Zhiyuan clasped his hands in return: "My thanks to both aunties for your trouble."

The two maids smiled respectfully, then gracefully took their leave.

Chu Zhiyuan watched them depart with folded hands, then took a small wooden box from his sleeve and handed it to Chu Yi, who looked at him with a face full of grievance. "Take a look at what this is."

Inside the box was a small flower, each petal a different color.

"Seven Rainbow Flower!" Chu Yi's face lit up with delight. She stepped forward eagerly, carefully picked it up to examine it, and wore an expression of pure enchantment.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "With this, you can practice your etiquette properly now, can't you?"

"I'll practice, no big deal." Chu Yi's gaze seemed glued to the Seven Rainbow Flower as she answered absently.

Right now, her eyes held nothing but that flower.

Chu Zhiyuan chuckled to himself, left her courtyard, and returned to his Quiet Room, intending to try breaking through another level.

But when he took out the Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill and was about to begin, he suddenly stopped and furrowed his brow.

A subtle intuition arose within him.

His instinct told him that this attempt would not succeed.

One Minor Marrow Cleansing Pill would not be enough to achieve results—he would need at least two.

He shook his head helplessly and put the pill away.

At dawn, when he went to Bright Martial Hall to train, he thanked Chu Mingxuan. As he was about to leave, Chu Mingxuan pulled him aside and invited him over for dinner that evening.

"I got another jar of medicinal wine." Chu Mingxuan grinned smugly. "Also, Third Brother has returned from the northwest, so it'll double as a welcome banquet for him."

Chu Zhiyuan was taken aback.

He knew this referred to the Third Heir, Chu Zhiyao, the heir of the Fourth Prince, Prince Xuan.

Chu Mingxuan said, "If you think about it, among your generation, there are only the three of you who are Xiantian Masters. Don't you want to meet him?"

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Who else will be there?"

Before himself, among the heirs of the "Zhi" generation, only the Third Heir, Chu Zhiyao, and the Sixth Heir had become Xiantian Masters and then entered the military.

Chu Zhiyao was twenty-four, four years older than him, and had left Bright Martial Hall two years ago to join the border troops.

Once in the military, there were more opportunities to earn merits and exchange for Miraculous Pills and Elixirs, which meant faster progress.

He just didn't know if it could be faster than his own.

The Jade Lock Golden Pass Technique might not allow him to become a Grandmaster overnight, but combined with the Heavenly Yuan Art and Earthly Yuan Art, it granted him an inconceivable cultivation speed.

Still, the world was vast and full of wonders, and there were always those greater than oneself. Perhaps Chu Zhiyao had encountered some stroke of fortune and his cultivation had skyrocketed.

"Besides that, it'll just be the Ninth Son and the Tenth Son. No outsiders."

"Alright." Chu Zhiyuan nodded in agreement.

He, Chu Zhiting, Chu Zhichuan, and Chu Mingxuan had already formed a small circle, and their bond was growing closer by the day.

After leaving Bright Martial Hall, he went to the Ministry of Rites to check in, then hurried off excitedly to the Audit Department.