Chapter 476 The Truth

Chapter 476 The Truth

When the people heard that this was the work of the celebrated Little Princess of Great Wei, they all bowed and kowtowed toward the sky before receiving their share of meat.

"Thank you, Little Princess! Thank you, Little Princess! The Little Princess is truly kind-hearted and benevolent. She will surely become the greatest princess in the world!"

"We shall pray for the Little Princess every day, asking the heavens to grant her a long life, boundless longevity!"

The people's prayers transformed into auspicious energy, surging toward Baby Ruo Xi.

Baby Ruo Xi felt herself enveloped in rays of light within moments.

She did not descend the mountain but stayed atop it with Ci Xin accompanying her.

By Emperor Xiao Yin's order, the Wuji Sect was to be completely disbanded:

This sect was nothing but a haven for evildoers, so all members of the Seven Colors Palace were expelled from Cangming Mountain and banished from Great Wei: Western Yue, now largely under Mo Jingyu's control, also refused to accept anyone or anything related to the Seven Colors Palace. Thus, any Wuji Sect members affiliated with the Seven Colors Palace were barred from remaining in Western Yue!

The disciples of the Wuji Sect were dumbfounded. They had assumed that cultivating Western Regions Yizhichun and Spring Flowers on the mountain were inconsequential.

After all, whether officials or martial artists, most gave Bai Cangming some face, so they would never dare to come up the mountain.

Thus, the Wuji Sect members ran wild.

They even used the cultivated Spring Flowers to make rouge and ointments, sneakily having them smuggled down the mountain to sell.

Now that they'd been exposed, with a wave of Xiao Yin's hand, soldiers carrying portraits came forward to arrest the troublemakers, including those who had fled up the mountain in the past.

"So, in the end, is Cangming Mountain just a mountain with an undeserved reputation?"

"Not only is Cangming Mountain falsely renowned, but it also harbors bandits—aiding and abetting evil! Even the Master is complicit!"

"Hah, Master Bai Cangming—I heard he’s the Great Palace Master of the Seven Colors Palace! All these years, whether it was Great Wei or Western Yue’s court searching, who would have guessed it was him?"

"Wasn’t it said that the Great Palace Master of the Seven Colors Palace was a woman, an old woman? How did it turn into a man?"

The rumors spread among the people, eventually reaching the Imperial City.

On her way, the Virtuous Consort heard such tales.

When she arrived, she saw the people distributing meat—loads of wild boar meat and even the carcasses of ligers.

"Ah, don't discard the liger pelts! They can be made into fur coats. And these bones—soak them in wine for medicinal purposes!" the Virtuous Consort said.

"I’ve heard of such things before. But who is this lady?" the people remarked.

"Amitabha, this is Her Highness the Virtuous Consort of our dynasty—a woman from the border of Eastern Ming, the eldest daughter of General Lü, and a skilled warrior in her own right!" Master Jing'en stepped forward, paying respects before introducing her.

"Master Jing'en, as a monk, why fuss over formalities? My father is but a minor garrison commander, and in that remote borderland, he holds no renown!" The Virtuous Consort waved her hand dismissively.

"By the way, last month, my nephew who fled from the east mentioned... trouble brewing in Eastern Ming..." A villager began but was nudged by a companion and fell silent.

The Virtuous Consort did not press further. Along her journey, she had already heard the rumors about her homeland.

They said the garrison commander had surrendered the city, allowed Eastern Ming’s people to wreak havoc at the border, and permitted the slaughter of Great Wei’s citizens. These rumors had already reached her—and the Imperial City as well.

That was why she had set out urgently, hoping to find the emperor first. She wanted to help him and Xiao Xi'er resolve the Cangming Mountain situation before requesting their aid in heading straight to the Eastern Ming border.

Some matters were best handled by the emperor himself.

If things really get messy, it would be even better for Xiao Xi'er to come along, especially since Xiaoyue is also here.

"Alright, everyone has taken their share of meat, now go back!" At the foot of the mountain, Eunuch Gao glanced at the crowd before approaching and saying, "Virtuous Consort, is the palace at peace with you being away? This old man heard that that person in the palace... might be causing trouble for the Empress Dowager!"

"The Empress Dowager already knows. It was she who discussed it with me and allowed me to leave. As for here, the Empress Dowager said Bai Cangming is not easy to deal with. However, my father once helped him and saved his life, so he owes my father a life debt. I intend to use it to make him do one thing!" the Virtuous Consort replied.

"That is indeed good!" Eunuch Gao nodded, then led the Virtuous Consort up the mountain.

Bai Cangming paid them no mind. Among the disciples in Cangming Mountain, some of the senior disciples who'd advanced in their cultivation still refused to believe their Master was evil or that he intended to use them as cauldrons. Thus, their assessment of Xiaoyue and Ci Xin was: "White-eyed wolves! Ungrateful traitors who betray their master and ancestors!"

Xiaoyue and Ci Xin didn't take offense and simply wandered around the mountain.

"To defeat him, we must find the actual Fleshy Fungus specimen. If we can locate it and refine it into poison, we can break his immortality," Ci Xin said.

"Does it require burning in an alchemy furnace?" Xiaoyue turned and asked.

"Yes, with the urine and blood of a pure youth," Ci Xin affirmed.

"Speaking of pure youth urine..." Xiaoyue glanced at him, arching a brow. "Su County..."

"That was the monk, not me. I went along with it to save face—for him and... for myself, so..." Ci Xin stammered.

"Ci Xin, let me ask you again!" Xiaoyue turned to face him squarely. "Are Lin'er and Xier your children?"

Ci Xin had talked nonsense in the past, and Shangguan Jinghong often claimed he was being disrespected, as Xiaoyue only became pregnant twice—both times when she was drugged. Otherwise, as long as she was sober, Shangguan Jinghong could never get near her bed.

"I..." Ci Xin held her gaze, hesitating for a long moment before finally saying, "If I admit it, will you resent me?"

"Did you know all along, or were you ordered by my mother?" Xiaoyue pressed.

"I did it willingly. When I rushed to find you, Shangguan Jinghong was already in your room. Fortunately, he drank some wine to bolster his courage, so I drugged him. But by then, you had already been poisoned—with the strongest concoction, so..." Ci Xin looked at her, his gaze steady and sincere for once.

In the past, no matter how Xiaoyue speculated or how Xiao Yin asserted, he'd just stay silent and take it.

But today was different.