Smack
His Highness flicked his jade-like fingers, which gleamed with a delicate white light, across Zhou Fuling's mischievous hand. The latter cried out in pain and quickly released her grip. Looking at her bright red hand, she said angrily, "You little A Xi, how could you hit me so hard!"
Her Highness rolled her eyes at the loudly shouting Zhou Fuling, finally abandoning her usual regal demeanor and asking calmly, "What exactly is your relationship with that Lu Ming?"
Zhou Fuling blinked her long eyelashes and said, "What relationship? We're just ordinary senior and junior brothers."
"Oh? Is that so? Then I don't need to protect him anymore. I'll just find an excuse to get rid of him and let him die a violent death in the street," His Highness said with a faint smile.
"Hey, how can you go back on your word?" Zhou Fuling exclaimed angrily.
"Do you like him?" His Highness sat elegantly in the stone pavilion, picked up a teapot, poured tea for himself and Zhou Fuling in front of him, and asked casually.
"Ah?!"
Zhou Fuling's fair and pretty face immediately flushed red. She quickly shook her head and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I just think this kid is very resilient, has good talent, is decent-looking, knows how to make people happy, and doesn't seem to have any designs on me. He's quite sincere, and it's more comfortable to be around him than those young prodigies from powerful families. That's why I gave him some help and support."
His Highness looked at Zhou Fuling with a half-smile, "Heh, so many good points?"
Zhou Fuling was slightly embarrassed, but she still forced herself to remain calm and said, "I just think highly of him. I believe he has great potential and may Major Accomplishment in the future. Investing in him now might bring great rewards in the future."
"There are countless potential geniuses in this world, but only a handful can ultimately transform that potential into real strength. Many more geniuses are crushed by the numerous hardships and obstacles on the path to supernatural powers, their ambitions shattered, and they fade into obscurity." Her Highness remained noncommittal, after all, given her status, she had seen mostly so-called young geniuses.
"He's different!" Zhou Fuling said with certainty.
At the same time, she didn't forget to recommend him to His Highness: " A Xi, Lu Ming is truly outstanding, and he is also a grateful person. If you support him now, he will definitely be a great help to you when he grows up!"
"I've already promised to protect him from the trouble caused by the Great Golden Crow Hall. Isn't that enough? What else do you want? Do you expect me to just destroy the Great Golden Crow Hall?" His Highness said calmly.
Feeling slightly annoyed by her subtle jab, Zhou Fuling muttered, "Actually, it's not entirely impossible."
Her Highness extended her delicate hand and pushed the teacup toward Zhou Fuling, saying calmly, "Here's a four-word evaluation for you."
"What?"
"Big boobs, no brains."
Zhou Fuling slammed her hand on the table in embarrassment and anger, saying, " Yin Xi, I've seen yours, and you're not any younger than me!"
Even with His Highness's composure, he was momentarily stunned by Zhou Fuling's outburst of vulgar words in her anger and embarrassment. The next moment, he crushed the teacup in his hand, gritted his teeth, and said expressionlessly, " Zhou Fuling, I think you deserve a beating!"
Zhou Fuling shrank back and said, "You insulted me first."
Her Highness sighed, speechless. But faced with her only close friend, who held such a profound place in her heart, she could do nothing more. After a moment of silence, she said, "Once this matter is settled, you will have to return to the Great Shang Imperial Domain. Lu Ming will stay here. In the future, you two will likely never see each other again. I just want to remind you not to get too deeply involved, lest you hurt yourself."
"Moreover, your status is different from his. If you don't cut your losses in time, not only you will be in trouble in the future, but he will too."
"There are some things you should seriously consider yourself."
Zhou Fuling was taken aback, and then the bright smile on her pretty face gradually faded, and the light in her eyes dimmed a little.
Looking at Zhou Fuling, whose spirits had suddenly dimmed, Her Highness felt a pang of heartache. She didn't want to see this girl, who had always had a bright smile since childhood, show such an expression.
In everyone's life, there will always be moments of redemption.
Just like when she was a child, in that cold and dark palace of sin, enduring boundless hunger and desperately waiting for death, she saw that petite figure crawl in through the dog hole. The dim oil lamp illuminated the bright smile on that little face, as if it could dispel all the gloom in her heart.
When she carefully handed over the hot pancake she had hidden in her bosom, the radiant smile on her face was, in Yin Xi's eyes, a form of salvation.
Later, she left that cold and dark palace of sin, gradually revealing her own brilliance and reclaiming her rightful place.
She swallowed all the forbearance and grievances she endured indifferently.
She never cared about anything, not even herself, but the bright smile of the girl in front of her was something she had always wanted to see and never wanted to lose.
So His Highness didn't say anything more, and changed the subject, saying, "I heard that this Lu Ming is also studying Dao of Alchemy under your fourth uncle?"
Zhou Fuling nodded and praised, " Lu Ming's talent in Dao of Alchemy is also excellent. Even Fourth Uncle praised him highly, saying that he might become Grandmaster of Dao of Alchemy in the future."
His Highness remained noncommittal; who knows how much of that evaluation was given by Zhou Xuan out of consideration for Zhou Fuling?
"You're prejudiced against him." Seeing her expression, Zhou Fuling knew exactly what she was thinking and immediately said with dissatisfaction.
" Zhou Fuling, we've known each other for over ten years, while you've only known that kid for less than six months. And you're questioning me about him?" His Highness asked coldly.
"That's not what I meant. Our sisterly bond is as strong as iron, how could that brat compare? If you're unhappy, A Xi, I'll go and beat him up to vent your anger." Zhou Fuling leaned closer with a grin, then put her arm around the princess's waist, resting her cheek on her soft, fragrant shoulder, and playfully blowing on her swan-like white neck.
Her Highness wanted to maintain her stern and imposing demeanor, but the wind was making her neck itch so badly that she could only shrink back and turn her head away helplessly. Her aura had no effect on this guy.
" A Xi, I have a favor to ask of you," Zhou Fuling said.
"Could this be related to Lu Ming again?" His Highness frowned slightly.
Zhou Fuling nodded shyly.
His Highness said helplessly, "Tell me about it."
" Lu Ming is truly extraordinary. He is very talented. I have seen many young prodigies from Great Divine Ability families in the Imperial Domain, but I feel that they are not as good as Lu Ming. So as long as Lu Ming is given a suitable platform and opportunity, his future achievements will definitely be extraordinary," Zhou Fuling said earnestly.
The prince listened expressionlessly.
"So... once this matter is settled, could you think of a way to get Lu Ming a qualification to enter ' Jianmu Mountain ' in the Great Luo Domain? If he eventually becomes a ' Great Luo Domain Scion,' he will naturally become famous throughout the Great Shang. At that time, he can come to the Imperial Domain," Zhou Fuling whispered.
His Highness remained silent for a few moments, then said calmly, " Zhou Fuling, how come I never noticed before that you're such a love-struck person?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean by 'love-struck'? That's awful. I'm just being sincere," Zhou Fuling retorted.
"Ha, Jianmu Mountain, that's the highest place in the Great Luo Domain. Countless powerful families in the entire Great Luo Domain would love to send their own children there, but it's not that easy."
" Divine Ability Master is the threshold for entering ' Jianmu Mountain,' and Lu Ming is far from that level. Even if I use my methods, I can't achieve that."
"Moreover, ' Great Luo Domain Scion '? You're quite audacious. In the entire Great Luo Domain, there are only forty-nine Great Luo Domain Scion in each generation. One radish per hole, countless brilliant geniuses hesitate to even try. Yet you think Lu Ming can secure one? On what grounds? On your love, Miss Zhou Lineage? Sorry, this is the Great Luo Domain. Your Zhou Lineage family can't reach here." His Highness's words were sarcastic and slightly venomous.
Zhou Fuling curled her red lips slightly, released her arms from the prince's waist, and snorted, "Fine, don't help me then, I can think of other ways."
His Highness lowered his eyelids slightly and finally said, "Let's see when he reaches the level of Divine Ability Master. If he can't even take this step, going to the Hall of Ten Thousand Masters will only make him look bad."
Zhou Fuling asked in surprise, "So you agree?"
His Highness said calmly, "I didn't agree; I just said I'd think about it further."
Zhou Fuling laughed happily, took the prince's arm, and said with a grin, " A Xi, you're so kind. To thank you, I'll give you a bath tonight!"
"Hehe, I'd like to see who it is, with both big breasts and brains!"
His Highness finally lost his temper, stood up expressionlessly, pressed the outspoken fellow onto the stone table, and slapped him hard twice.
Snap! Snap!
The crisp sound echoed between the stone pavilions in the middle of the lake, startling all the fish in the water into fleeing.