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Thinking of this, without further hesitation, Ziyan naturally and gracefully took a seat at the table.
A meal shared among those with their own thoughts passed in a complex and subtle atmosphere, and then Ziyan followed the two princes to prepare for an audience with the emperor.
For some reason, when Ziyan stepped out of the Zi Family Spiced Braise restaurant and Xiang Wang reached out to pull her into the same carriage as him, Ziyan inexplicably felt a fiery gaze watching her from somewhere on an upper floor not far away.
Relying on her instincts, Ziyan looked towards a window on the third floor of the building across from Zi Family Spiced Braise. She noticed that the curtain of that window was suddenly pulled shut by someone inside in a very swift manner.
Who was it? It was clearly someone peeking at her.
"What's wrong? Hurry up and get in the carriage!" Just as Ziyan was filled with confusion, she heard Ling Feng's urging voice beside her.
"Uh? Oh!" Ziyan immediately snapped back to reality and allowed Ling Feng to pull her onto his large carriage.
At the same time, the Crown Prince's cold and piercing peach blossom eyes were filled with jealousy as he stared at Xiang Wang's hand pulling Ziyan until both of them entered the carriage, before he finally shifted his gaze thoughtfully away.
Next, several luxurious carriages headed towards the royal palace.
Meanwhile, inside the room behind the window that Ziyan had just noticed, six people were gathered.
At the forefront was Ling Yuxuan, followed by Qin Ming, Old Man Mo, and Old Man Mo's most favored disciple, Mo Ziyu. Additionally, there was Strongman Wu Xiang and Wu San.
"Do we really not need to inform Miss Zi about this?"
Seeing that the three generations of gentlemen above had just coincidentally stood at the window watching Miss Zi get into the carriage, Mo Ziyu felt somewhat bewildered and confused. After they sat down again, he couldn't help but ask a question.
Ling Yuxuan did not respond but merely glanced at Mo Ziyu indifferently.
Old Man Mo nodded while stroking his beard and said succinctly, "No need. Right now, her foundation in the Heavenly Pivot Sect is unstable, so it's not convenient to involve her for the time being."
"Yes, yes, I was slow to understand. I hope the Young Master can forgive me," Mo Ziyu finally grasped the situation and its general context.
Meanwhile, Ziyan and her group quickly arrived at the resplendent Grand Palace. Just looking at the tall red door made Ziyan feel a sense of solemnity and seriousness.
The Crown Prince walked in front, while Xiang Wang tightly held Ziyan's hand closely behind him. They passed through a spacious grand hall; the distance from the entrance to the palace was nearly 2000 meters. After ascending and descending several steps, they finally entered the court.
Soon, a eunuch came to lead them. They traversed many pavilions, turning left and right until they reached the legendary Imperial Garden.
The Imperial Garden was vast and beautiful, filled with exquisite pavilions and numerous artificial hills surrounding a large artificial lake.
The water in the lake was clear and beautiful, with various sizes of goldfish in red, yellow, white, and black swimming leisurely.
Along the small path by the lake, they were finally led by the Young Eunuch to the largest Octagonal Pavilion by the lakeside. There, Ziyan saw the Supreme One dressed in a yellow robe leisurely savoring tea.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has brought along the Sixth Prince and that young lady," the young eunuch said in a high-pitched voice while bowing to Ling Zhiyuan.
"Mm!" Ling Zhiyuan nodded lightly at the young eunuch and waved his hand, signaling him to step down.
Then everyone saw the young eunuch who had been standing before them bowing as he retreated to one side.
Thus, the Crown Prince was the first to step forward to greet Ling Zhiyuan: "Your son Xianjun pays respects to Father Emperor."
Following that, Xiang Wang Lingfeng pulled Ziyan along and also knelt beside the Crown Prince to pay respects to Ling Zhiyuan: "Your son Feng'er pays respects to Father Emperor."
"Commoner Ziyan pays respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty!"
"Well, ha ha ha, Miss Zi has finally arrived." Ling Yuxuan didn't even glance at his two sons; instead, he wore an expression of delight as he stared intently at Ziyan, who was kneeling below.
What’s going on? In the next moment, Ziyan inexplicably felt like she had walked into a tiger's den.
She wanted to take a good look at the exaggerated expression of the lord before her, but she couldn't even dare to breathe.
Just as Ziyan was secretly wanting to complain, Ling Zhiyuan spoke again from above: "You may all rise. Someone, bring chairs."
Immediately, several palace attendants brought over a few finely crafted redwood chairs for Ziyan and her companions.
"Thank you, Father Emperor." The two princes almost simultaneously thanked their Emperor Father.
At the same time, Ziyan quickly followed suit, bowing again and saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."
"Mm, sit down!" Ling Zhiyuan nodded with a smile, in a very good mood.
"Miss Zi, have you thought about the dishes you will prepare for my birthday banquet? There will be many guests celebrating my birthday this time, coming from various places in the East Southwest, including foreign tribes and envoys from different countries. As the saying goes, it’s hard to please everyone; I hope you won’t embarrass me in front of all these foreign envoys."
"Uh? Embarrass?" Ziyan was somewhat taken aback and unconsciously muttered without any guard.
"Yes, I cannot be embarrassed in front of everyone; it would be a joke if people say that Nanchu Kingdom has no good chefs." Ling Zhiyuan affirmed seriously.
At this moment, the two princes had their own thoughts. For instance, the Crown Prince wanted to see if Ziyan would make any blunders; meanwhile, Sixth Prince Ling Feng was secretly worried for Ziyan, fearing that she might inadvertently offend this esteemed lord before her.
"Your Majesty, rest assured. You mentioned that it’s hard to please everyone; perhaps the dishes made by Ziyan won't satisfy everyone present one hundred percent, but as a commoner, I am confident that I can satisfy over eighty percent of them. I wonder if this would please Your Majesty?"
Ziyan thought about how complex the situation would be at that time and decided not to make such absolute statements; otherwise, she would have no way out. Thus, she came up with the idea of testing this lord's true nature by claiming she could satisfy over eighty percent of the guests.
"Eighty Percent," he said, "makes sense. Today, I will make it clear: as long as you can ensure that over eighty percent of the people present are satisfied, I will reward Miss Zi handsomely."
Ling Zhiyuan nodded and smiled at Ziyan with approval.
"Yes, Ziyan will do her utmost and will not disappoint Long En." Ziyan saw that the Supreme One was not as terrifying as she had imagined, and she smiled back confidently, pledging her commitment.
"Haha, good! Miss Zi truly deserves to be called a Heroine. I like young people with your character," Ling Zhiyuan said with a hearty laugh, praising Ziyan.
However, as they spoke, Ling Zhiyuan suddenly turned his gaze to his two princes and then looked at all the palace attendants nearby, including Elder Eunuch and Chief Steward Pan.
Then he shifted the topic: "I would like to have a private conversation with Miss Zi. Everyone else may leave for now."
Immediately, all the attendants withdrew. Crown Prince Ling Xianjun exchanged glances with Sixth Prince Ling Feng, both of them looking somewhat incredulous as they glanced at the Supreme One above.
In silence and confusion, they took one last look at Ziyan, as if to say, "We will take our leave now; take care of yourself."
Once everyone had stepped back, Ling Yuxuan unexpectedly asked, "Miss Zi, may I ask if your fiancé has come to the capital with you this time?"
"Uh? Oh, replying to Your Majesty, the commoner's fiancé did not come to the capital with me." After a moment of shock, Ziyan answered truthfully.
"Oh—so that's how it is!" Ling Zhiyuan responded with a deep and meaningful expression.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Ziyan nodded in a somewhat dazed manner.
"Then I have another question. Would Miss Zi be willing to tell me the truth?" At that moment, for some reason, Ling Zhiyuan's eyes sparkled with intensity.
"Your Majesty may ask without hesitation; whatever the commoner knows, I will certainly disclose." Although Ziyan felt uneasy inside, she still spoke very sincerely.
"That day outside Chucheng City, I encountered some villains attempting to assassinate me. Fortunately, a young man and a young woman in Golden Masks saved me. I would like to ask, is that young woman Miss Zi?" Ling Zhiyuan's eyes were fixed intently on Ziyan's face, as if he did not want to miss any subtle expression from her.
Ziyan's heart suddenly raced; she hadn't expected to be recognized.
Well, being recognized is just that! After all, it was a matter of saving your life. However, seeing his demeanor, she couldn't help but worry that there might be some hidden "landmines" waiting for her, traps set for her to fall into.
"Miss Zi, are you reluctant to admit it?" Ling Zhiyuan seemed to see through the worries in Ziyan's heart. He continued, "Don't be afraid; I just want to clarify who my savior is. You need not bear any excessive burden. I am not someone who forgets kindness."
"Uh? Oh, no, Commoner didn't mean that." Ziyan was momentarily confused.
"Then Miss Zi admits it? I believe my eyes cannot be mistaken. You must be one of the Masked Men who saved me from peril," Ling Zhiyuan stated directly, confirming Ziyan's identity.
Uh? This old man actually used both kindness and authority to leave her with no way out. Damn it, fine, I'll admit it; I'm curious to see what he will do next.
"To Your Majesty, it is indeed Commoner," Ziyan replied calmly while gazing steadily at the Supreme One above.
"And who is the valiant person who came to your aid before you?" Ling Zhiyuan naturally continued to inquire.
Tch, so this is where the "landmine" was planted; the question awaited her here. Ziyan finally realized the situation completely.
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