Lu Changfeng slowly withdrew his power, his breathing slightly labored from the exertion.
After a moment of silence, he told her honestly, "Your Highness, this reversal of True Qi has damaged the very foundation of your heart meridians. From now on, you must rest completely. You must not let the fire in your heart stir again and trigger a backlash from your cultivation method."
"The fire in my heart?"
Princess Taiping suddenly gave two low chuckles, thick with self-mockery and sorrow that would not dissolve. "Lu Changfeng, your medical skill borders on the divine, and your mastery of observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking has reached perfection. Surely... you can diagnose what lit this 'fire' in This Palace's heart?"
At last, she turned around, exceedingly slowly, to face him.
Her face held no expression, only a stillness that made the heart tremble. Then she asked her first question, and her most direct. "How does This Palace's beauty compare with Luo Qingge's?"
"..."
Lu Changfeng knew the time had come to speak frankly, so he opened the window and let the light in. "In features and appearance alone, Your Highness and Qingge are like spring orchids and autumn chrysanthemums, each with her own beauty. But in regal bearing and presence, she naturally falls far short of you."
Princess Taiping nodded slowly, unsurprised by his answer. She continued in the same even tone, as though checking accounts. "Then how does This Palace's power compare with hers?"
Lu Changfeng said, "Your Highness is the Princess Taiping Who Guards the Nation. A single word from you can decide countless lives and deaths. Though Qingge is the young sect leader of the Heavenly Music Sect, it is only one sect in Jianghu. The difference is that between clouds and mud."
"And the resources, wealth, and connections