Imperial Cultivation

Chapter 376: Chapter 373 Secret Deliberation

Chu Zhiyuan cupped his hands and smiled, ”Brother Gao, I’m going in first.”

Gao Jiuqu absentmindedly returned the gesture, still immersed in the swordsmanship from earlier.

Chu Zhiyuan sighed, ”With such pure focus, how could he not succeed?”

Zhu Caifu snorted, ”Please spare us.”

She saw through Chu Zhiyuan’s hypocrisy at a glance.

Full of empty talk, never a harsh word, all flattery, clearly not well-intentioned.

Gao Jiuqu was too naive, it seemed he had been deceived, thinking this guy in front of him was a good person.

Chu Zhiyuan was indifferent to Zhu Caifu’s attitude, after all, a Grandmaster has the right to be capricious and speak freely.

He could tell that Zhu Caifu was someone who abhorred evil and couldn’t tolerate any deception.

For someone with such a character, there’s no need to say much, just let actions speak for themselves.

He waved his hand.

Guo Chi and the others stayed outside, with only Zou Fang carrying the Bright Moon Saber following behind him.

Zhu Caifu glanced at Zou Fang and snorted, ”Achieving Grandmaster Perfection is rare indeed.”

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, ”Mr. Zhu is a Great Grandmaster after all.”

”I just got lucky,” Zhu Caifu replied blandly, ”But your luck is even better.”

”Indeed,” Chu Zhiyuan nodded, ”I’ve always had pretty good luck.”

”This time the Princess was assassinated, could that also be considered your good fortune?”

”What do you mean by that?” Chu Zhiyuan asked, puzzled, ”The Princess’s injuries aren’t serious, right?”

”Don’t you know?”

”They said the Princess has two scars on her face, but having scars isn’t a big deal, the Princess needn’t worry too much.”

”Hmph, hypocrite. If you were to marry, would you marry someone with scars on their face?”

”When marrying, the important thing is virtue, not whether there are scars on the face,” Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

”Ridiculous!” Zhu Caifu curled her lip, ”You talk a good game, but if you really married her, you’d avoid her like the plague.”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled but did not reply.

Inwardly, he pondered.

What did Zhu Caifu mean by her words?

She meant that he despised the disfigurement of the Eighteenth Princess and didn’t want to marry someone disfigured.

It wasn’t that the Eighteenth Princess didn’t want to marry him, but that he didn’t want to marry her.

Then the responsibility would be on him.

...

The two arrived at a courtyard and pushed the door open to find two beautiful maids busy at work.

The main room of the courtyard had its door open, and inside sat a woman veiled in white, with brows and eyes like a painting. It was the Eighteenth Princess, Cheng Miaozhen, whom they had seen earlier.

Chu Zhiyuan approached the steps outside the room and cupped his hands, ”How is Your Highness?”

Cheng Miaozhen was holding a scroll. She put down the scroll and looked at him, her eyes revealing a sense of aloofness and coldness: ”Thank you for the Princely Heir’s concern, I’m fine.”

Chu Zhiyuan inspected the wounds on her face.

He found the two scars extending from the corners of her eyes to the corners of her mouth, one on each side.

Even in injury, they maintained symmetry, paying attention to the beauty of balance.

He wondered if it was her handiwork or Zhu Caifu’s.

Apart from the scars on her face, her body was unharmed, with her aura flowing smoothly.

The two auras clashed and extinguished without a trace, almost impossible to perceive.

Every time he saw her aura, he found it fascinating.

The world is vast, with nothing too strange, even such a mysterious mental method exists.

”Your Highness, rest and recover calmly,” Chu Zhiyuan said, ”With a Great Grandmaster taking action, Your Highness is unharmed, which is truly fortunate.”

”It is indeed fortunate, but it will disappoint the Princely Heir,” she said quietly, ”With these scars and disfigurement, I am unworthy of the title of Heir’s Wife.”

Chu Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow.

Zhu Caifu’s earlier words made him think they wanted to place the responsibility on him.

Now, hearing Cheng Miaozhen’s words, he found Cheng Miaozhen more perceptive.

Initially, he admired her decisiveness, and now he liked Cheng Miaozhen even more.

He said gravely and slowly, ”If Your Highness doesn’t want to come to my humble abode, there’s no need to force it. If you do wish to come, the scars don’t matter, as even the strangest poison has an antidote, doesn’t it, Mr. Cheng?”

”There is no antidote for this poison,” Zhu Caifu snorted.

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”I believe an antidote will surely be found.”

Zhu Caifu frowned, staring at him.

Cheng Miaozhen also quietly watched him.

He smiled, facing the gazes of the two women.

They exchanged a glance, vaguely guessing that Chu Zhiyuan seemed to know something.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Would it be too presumptuous if I wished to speak privately with Your Highness?”

Zhu Caifu said coldly, ”I will stay by your side.”

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

Cheng Miaozhen gracefully stood up and walked to a small pavilion in the courtyard.

She waved her jade-like hand.

The two beautiful maids quietly retreated, then exited the courtyard and closed the gate, standing guard outside.

...

”You can find the antidote?” Zhu Caifu asked in a deep voice, ”Where is the antidote?”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”Actually, this question shouldn’t be directed at me, but at Your Highness and Mr. Zhu.”

The two women exchanged a glance.

Zhu Caifu said, ”What nonsense are you talking about, we don’t have any antidote!”

Chu Zhiyuan smiled, ”There are no outsiders here, so let’s be frank. Actually, I’m in the same boat as Your Highness.”

Zhu Caifu wanted to throw him off the boat, and if Cheng Miaozhen felt the same, there would be no need to say anything further.

But Cheng Miaozhen’s pragmatic approach provided a foundation for cooperation.

The two women remained silent.

Chu Zhiyuan was already certain that it was indeed they themselves who had poisoned and disfigured her.

This was a self-directed and acted assassination.

”I don’t want to disappoint Ruoling or take another wife, and Your Highness doesn’t want to marry into Da Jing, so we share a common goal.”

”I have long wanted to find an opportunity to secretly discuss cooperation with Your Highness. The original idea was to let Your Highness fake death to get away, but Your Highness acted even more decisively and directly took action.”

Feigning death to escape.

Later on, we can find a way to resurrect; after all, there are spiritual medicines for such things in this world.

She used the disfigurement to escape.

This seemed more clever, requiring no faked death, still maintaining the dignity of a princess.

But actually, it wasn’t.

The two women exchanged a glance, staring at Chu Zhiyuan, trying to discern the truth in his words.

Chu Zhiyuan continued, ”This matter isn’t something that can be hidden from Imperial Grandfather and your father.”

The methods couldn’t even escape his own detection; how could they possibly hide it from the two Emperors?

Zhu Caifu snorted, ”What are you trying to say?”

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”To completely succeed in this matter, we need to work together.”

Zhu Caifu looked at him distrustfully.

Chu Zhiyuan said, ”Does Mr. Zhu think I am a lecher, who at the sight of Her Highness’s ruined appearance would reject this marriage outright?”

”Would you agree then?”

”Mr. Zhu doesn’t understand; the crux isn’t whether I agree or not. Was Her Highness willing to come here of her own accord?”

Cheng Miaozhen said mildly, ”You’re suggesting the ruins of one’s appearance aren’t that significant, but what’s important is Imperial Grandfather’s wishes?”

Chu Zhiyuan clapped his hands and smiled, ”Your Highness is wise, ... Without further measures, what would be the next step?”

Cheng Miaozhen lightly frowned, ”Imperial Grandfather would see the greater good and not despise me for my ruined looks, still issuing a decree for you to marry me.”

Zhu Caifu frowned, ”Surely not? Marrying a disfigured woman as the main Princess?”

Chu Zhiyuan laughed, looking at her, ”Mr. Zhu truly doesn’t understand the mind of an Emperor, ... In the Emperor’s eyes, women aren’t that important; one more or less doesn’t matter. Marrying one with scars, you just set her aside and marry a beautiful one instead.”

Both women’s faces slightly changed.

They immediately realized they’d fallen into a misconception: projecting their thoughts onto the Emperor’s mindset.