Luo Yuheng's Secret

It's only been a short time, and he's already alive?

No wonder she's the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess, she's amazing! Is there any rare and precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures she can't cultivate?

The nine-colored lotus root is a supreme treasure of the earth, and there may only be one in the world. It matures once every sixty years, and the lotus seeds it produces can enlighten all things.

The Taiping Blade thus rose to the ranks of peerless divine weapons.

Now, there are two nine-colored lotus roots, one in the Heaven and Earth Society and the other in his hands.

"In terms of rarity, among my treasures and trump cards, the Nine-Colored Lotus Root ranks in the top three. Even the Taiping Blade is not enough to compare with it. The Earth Book Fragment is just a fragment. Currently, apart from sending messages and storing items, it has no other effects. Its only advantages are luck and divine favor, which rank higher than the Lotus Root."

"Uh, no, I need to ask if it can continue to grow and produce lotus seeds."

Xu Qi'an swallowed hard, suppressing his overwhelming joy, and peered into the water vat, then chuckled:

"Your Highness, I never knew you were so skilled at growing flowers! You even managed to keep this precious plant alive. Hmm, will it grow? Will it produce lotus seeds?"

The princess said calmly, "The growth, sprouting, flowering, and fruiting of plants is a natural Principle."

Does she mean that lotus roots can produce lotus seeds and grow from a small section into a large root? Xu Qi'an was overjoyed.

"Can you induce its birth?" He held back the question, because that would be too blatant, tantamount to revealing the princess's identity as the reincarnation of the Flower Goddess.

This would cause panic among the widows.

"I don't know how long it will take for it to mature; I'll need it again in a while."

Xu Qi'an feigned emotion.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the princess purse her red lips, seemingly hesitant, then, as if making up her mind, she said, "It's growing well, it won't be long."

"My widow really does have a way to make lotus roots grow! Suddenly, the princess fish has become the king of fish in my pond!" Xu Qi'an said with a mix of joy and joking.

The nine-colored lotus root currently has weak spiritual power, but as it grows, its spiritual power will become stronger and stronger. I need to ask Yang Qianhuan for help to set up a spirit-trapping array, so that even if a master passes by this place, they won't be able to sense the spiritual power. Xu Qi'an said with peace of mind.

He walked around the yard and the house; everything he needed was there, nothing was missing, and nothing was damaged.

Upon arriving at the princess's master bedroom, the original intention was to check the furniture and beams for termites. Just recently, the aunt had instructed the household servants to apply termite repellent powder to the beams, furniture, and other wooden items.

These are things women can't do; Xu Qi'an has to do them himself.

As soon as she entered the room, the princess caught up from behind and hurriedly gathered up the few undergarments and bibs hanging on the screen, stuffing them into the bedding.

The young princess's face flushed slightly, but she forced herself to pretend nothing was wrong.

"I've seen your undergarment before." Xu Qi'an thought for a moment and asked, "By the way, why haven't I seen you hanging up clothes?"

There wasn't a single piece of clothing in the yard. Logically speaking, in the sweltering summer, one should be showering and changing clothes frequently. How could there not be a single piece of clothing in the yard?

"I asked Aunt Zhang to wash it for me."

Mu Nanzhi let out a breath, sat on the edge of the bed, her buttocks pressing down on the undergarment under the covers, and while pretending to straighten her skirt, she said, "Her son hasn't given her any money for two months, no, not a single penny."

Seeing that she was really struggling financially, I asked her to help me with the laundry, paying her an extra 20% of the copper coins.

"Do you still remember the principle of not flaunting your wealth?" Xu Qi'an reminded him.

"Of course I remember, you taught me." The princess hummed twice, a sly smile on her face. "I deliberately showed her the money box I hid in the wardrobe; it only contained one tael of silver, and it was all loose silver and copper coins."

"You've made great progress! You're much smarter than before, "Xu Qi'an nodded in satisfaction.

A woman living alone in the inner city had a tael or two of silver in savings, which was neither too much nor too little, placing her in the lower-middle class.

In the morning, Xu Qi'an took her out for a stroll, visiting the bustling market, jewelry shops, and silk shops. During this time, she took a liking to a silver hairpin that cost five taels of silver.

The jewelry on her head was of inferior quality, worth only one tael of silver.

As she left the jewelry shop, she followed closely behind Xu Qi'an, turning back every few steps, but she never asked for anything.

After having lunch at the restaurant, the two returned home. Xu Qi'an brought out a small stool and a small round table from the house and played Go with her.

"You made a mistake; you shouldn't have made this move," the princess said loudly.

"That's right. If I take this step, the next step will be a perfect alignment of five stars, and then I'll beat you."

"So you made the wrong move, you beat me, so how can we continue playing?"

"."

"Could you take one step for every two steps I take?"

What do you think?

"What kind of skill is it to bully a weak woman?"

"If I can't even bully a weak woman, how can I bully others?"

"I'm not playing anymore!"

She threw the chess piece aside in a huff and turned away.

Viewed horizontally, it's a range of peaks; viewed from the side, it's a single peak; its appearance varies depending on distance, height, and perspective. For no apparent reason, this poem popped into Xu Qi'an's mind. He took out a silver hairpin and placed it on the chessboard.

"For you."

Her eyes darted around, glancing tentatively at the area before a smile quickly spread across her face as she happily grasped the silver hairpin.

Seeing Xu Qi'an's teasing expression, the princess immediately straightened her face, raised her back, and said demurely, "Actually, I don't particularly like it either."

"Then give it back to me." Xu Qi'an reached out to snatch it.

The princess immediately hid the silver hairpin behind her back, glaring at her and saying, "Consider it payment for helping you grow lotus roots."

That makes sense.

Xu Qi'an nodded with a smile and said in a casual tone, "It's quite far from the city center here, and it's hot, so it's best not to stock up on vegetables at home. I'll check with the vendors later and have them deliver some fresh vegetables every morning."

There were many peddlers in the city who would go to the market early in the morning to buy vegetables and fruits from farmers at low prices, and then carry them into the inner city to provide to wealthy families who did not like to get up early.

The princess nodded.

Xu Qi'an paused for a moment, then said, "I may be leaving the capital soon, and it won't be long. Will you come with me, or stay here?"

The princess scoffed and said, "I'm not going with you. The capital is so prosperous, why leave? When you decide to leave, just inform the Imperial Advisor. I have a close relationship with her, and she will make arrangements for me."

Xu Qi'an was somewhat disappointed. "I'll leave you some money later."

The princess glanced at him a few times but did not respond.

After a moment, she whispered, "Is Emperor Yuanjing going to deal with you?"

"Not yet, but I have a feeling it won't be long."

"This world belongs to his royal family; it's better that they're gone." The princess nodded and said softly.

"But your cousin is now a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy. Is he willing to go with you? Hmm, let me think... are you planning to find him a powerful backer?"

"You're quite clever," Xu Qi'an said with a smile.

Emperor Yuanjing hated him, not Xu Erlang. As long as he left, and Xu Erlang had a strong backer, his future might be bleak, but his life would not be in danger.

Furthermore, with the Cloud Deer Academy backing Xu Erlang, Emperor Yuanjing would at most dismiss him from office and demote him to a commoner.

"Whether someone is smart or not depends on the situation. These past few days, I've been living alone and I often feel like I'm not smart enough. When I'm cooking, I'm so flustered and clumsy that I've broken several bowls and almost made myself cry."

The princess sighed, "Emperor Yuanjing is a wise man, but sometimes he seems incredibly foolish. For the sake of the elusive pursuit of immortality, he abandoned the beauties of his harem and his reputation, yet after twenty years of cultivation, he achieved nothing. Even the most foolish person knows when to give up, right? The Imperial Advisor said that Yuanjing has a very strong obsession, but it's unclear where this obsession originates."

"You have a good relationship with the Imperial Advisor?"

"She's the only woman in the capital who can speak her mind freely," the princess remarked.

"That doesn't make sense. The Imperial Advisor seems quite intelligent, how could he possibly have anything in common with a stupid woman like you?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

"But she was also a pitiful woman."

The princess chuckled and said, "I'll tell you a secret. Do you want to hear it?"

You look like a female hooligan right now. Xu Qi'an listened attentively. "What secret?"

"The cultivation method of the Human Sect has a terrible side effect: it will cause the cultivator to be plagued by karmic fire, which will flare up once a month. Those of lower rank can resist it with their own willpower."

"But the higher the rank, the more terrifying the karmic fire will be. If one cannot find a way to extinguish the karmic fire, one will die and perish." The princess lowered her voice, as if she were talking about a top secret.

Xu Qi'an looked at her expressionlessly. "I already knew."

Master Jinlian had told him about the drawbacks of the Human Sect's cultivation Cultivation Method.

The three sects of Daoist School each have their own flaws. The Human Sect is plagued by karmic fire, the Earth Sect is prone to falling into demonic ways, and the Heaven Sect is devoid of humanity and emotion.

The princess chuckled twice more, like a mischievous female rogue, and whispered, "So, do you know how to solve this?"

Xu Qi'an glanced at her sideways. "You know?"

The princess nodded vigorously, her voice as rapid as a chick pecking at rice, her face screaming, "Beg me! Beg me!"

"What secret?" Xu Qi'an cooperated by showing the corresponding expression.

"I've heard that one must cultivate with a man to survive the great calamity," the princess said furtively.

"?"

Xu Qi'an's first reaction was that she was lying, his second reaction was that she had just heard gossip, and his third reaction was, "Holy crap, so that's how it is?!"

The Human Sect needed to use the Qi and fortune to cultivate and alleviate the karmic fire, so Luo Yuheng became the National Preceptor and guided Emperor Yuanjing in his cultivation.

To put it another way, if you cultivate with someone who has great fortune, you can achieve the same effect, no, the effect will be ten or a hundred times stronger.

Xu Qi'an's guess was not unfounded, because he had mastered the complete bedroom arts left behind by the High Antiquity Daoist School. Although he had never had a partner for dual cultivation, through his long-term theoretical research, he had learned that when the dual cultivation technique was practiced to a high level, a brief "fusion" would occur when the man and woman knew each other intimately.

Qi (vital energy) and Primordial Spirit will interact briefly.

It's truly a case of you being in me and me being in you.

"Luo Yuheng is a second-rank official. If she cannot extinguish the karmic fire, she will die and her cultivation will be destroyed. In order to survive, she had no choice but to become the Imperial Preceptor, because Emperor Yuanjing is the emperor and has good fortune bestowed upon her."

"Luo Yuheng needs a man with great fortune, a man with great fortune."

Xu Qi'an's expression suddenly froze.

P. S.: I have a cold and feel dizzy. I was thinking of taking a day off, but then I realized it's unnecessary. It's just a minor ailment; my head just doesn't feel right, so I'll be typing slower. Moving on to the next chapter.