Li Jiyan’s heart pounded, and his rough palms were sweating. He had specially worn all white today, and he vividly remembered what she had said to him on the wall of her house that day: “You’re all ugly, just as ugly. Only the one wearing white looks a little bit better.”
He clumsily thought that perhaps she liked men who wore white.
As Yu Ziyu walked towards him step by step, Li Jiyan suddenly felt despicable, like a wild beast in heat seeking a mate.
He craved Yu Ziyu’s face and her body; he was so craving that just seeing her made him secretly swallow his saliva.
He’s a lecherous scoundrel, a womanizer. He’s been lusting after her ever since he met her three years ago, dreaming about her every night. He’s truly despicable and shameless.
He eagerly awaited Yu Ziyu’s approach.
However, when Yu Ziyu was still four or five steps away from him, a tall figure stood between the two. Yu Ziyu stopped and bowed to the man, saying, “Third Prince.”
The Third Prince smiled gently and warmly: “Ziyu, it’s been a while since we last met. You’ve become even more beautiful.”
Yu Ziyu raised her face, her smile bright and clear: “Third Prince, you praise me every time you see me.”
”Ziyu is so adorable, everyone who sees her must praise her.” The Third Prince’s voice was light and cheerful. “Ziyu, have you been cultivating immortality lately?”
Yu Ziyu forgot that she had originally come to find Li Jiyan. She walked side by side with the Third Prince, entered the palace gate together, and happily reported her recent situation.
”I’ve been cultivating immortality all along. I’ve recently been studying the ‘Taishang Laojun Neiguan Jing’ and have gained some insights. Would you like to listen?”
”Alright, tell me, what have you figured out?” As they reached the threshold, the Third Prince carefully supported her. “Be careful, don’t fall.”
Yu Qingdai called out from behind, “Ziyu, wait for us!”
Yu Ziyu turned around and waved, “Sister, I’ll go in with the Third Prince first, and I’ll find you later! I need to talk to the Third Prince, so I don’t have time to keep you company!”
”Okay, but don’t go too far.”
Li Jiyan stood rooted to the spot, watching Yu Ziyu and the Third Prince walk further and further away. He seemed to be inferior to everyone, not even male courtesans, let alone the Third Prince, who held a high position and great power.
As night fell, a banquet was held in the Lingde Hall of the Inner Court.
Li Jiyan sat diagonally to Yu Ziyu’s left, and could see her with just a turn of his head. The candlelight shone on her face, flickering and causing his emotions to surge.
After a song and dance performance, the palace official’s voice rose high: “His Majesty has arrived!”
Everyone knelt down and shouted loudly, “Welcome, Your Majesty!”
After a long while, a hoarse voice was heard saying, “My beloved subjects, rise.” The voice was extremely unpleasant to hear, low and hoarse yet sharp, like the cry of a dying crow for help, sending chills down one’s spine.
As the voice faded, everyone slowly stood up.
This was Li Jiyan’s first time seeing the current emperor. He had heard Li Fanglian say that the old emperor was quite old. But seeing him now, he was still shocked and felt his scalp tingle.
The old emperor’s hair was completely white, most of it had fallen out, leaving only a small tuft that barely supported the crown.
He was emaciated, thin as a bone, with sunken cheeks covered in dark brown age spots. He walked with a stooped back, as if one foot was already in a coffin, looking terribly old.
Li Jiyan had seen all sorts of people in the borderlands, including many blond-haired, blue-eyed Westerners. He also often went out on business with Li Fanglian, so he was quite knowledgeable.
But he had never seen anyone as terrifying and ugly as the old emperor, or as old as he looked, resembling a dried-up old man’s corpse, which was particularly horrifying.
Li Jiyan couldn’t imagine how someone this old could live.
Li Fanglian noticed Li Jiyan’s surprise and tugged at his sleeve.
”Don’t look at him, it’s getting scarier the more you look. I don’t dare to look at him for too long, I’m afraid I won’t be able to sleep at night.”
Supported by eunuchs, the old emperor shakily sat on the dragon throne. He coughed heavily a few times before looking down at the crowd and revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
”My dear ministers, today’s banquet is merely to help you relax and not be tense… cough cough cough!”
The crowd responded in hushed tones, not daring to make a sound, lest they frighten the old man out of his wits.
The old emperor stretched his neck in an extremely strange posture, his neck tilted forward but very long, like a frozen old snake, and finally his gaze fell on Yu Ziyu.
He stretched out his hand, which looked like old tree bark, and waved it at Yu Ziyu a few times, while continuing to make unpleasant noises.
”Ziyu, come here to your imperial grandfather! Come, come, sit here! Cough cough cough!”
Just as Yu Ziyu was about to get up, her father, Zhao Tianjun, solemnly instructed her: “Daughter, when you talk to him, try to hold your breath so as not to catch his illness.”
”It’s not that serious.” Yu Ziyu was already mentally unstable and her thinking was different from ordinary people. Everyone was afraid of the old emperor, but she didn’t care.
Zhao Tianjun quickly added, “Being infected with illness will affect your cultivation.”
With cultivating immortality being the top priority, Yu Ziyu became vigilant and replied seriously, “Okay, I will be careful.”
She approached the old emperor and sat to the side, a privilege reserved for her, a seat even the crown prince was forbidden to occupy. The loving gaze in the old emperor’s eyes contrasted sharply with his ugly, sunken face, making him appear even more eerie.
”Ziyu, cough cough cough! How’s your cultivation going?” the old emperor asked breathlessly.
Yu Ziyu replied seriously, “This commoner has made great progress. Now that the outer realm has been broken, the next step is to cultivate the inner realm. If the inner realm can be broken through, then you can cultivate the inner core.”
The old emperor’s laughter was sharp and chilling: “Not bad, not bad. After Ziyu attains immortality and enters the fairyland, bring the elixir of immortality to your imperial grandfather, shall we?”
”Of course, Ziyu will live up to the Emperor’s high expectations.”
After exchanging a few words, the old emperor told Yu Ziyu to return to her original position.
No one could understand the old emperor’s attitude towards Yu Ziyu. It was true that he doted on Yu Ziyu, giving her special privileges such as allowing her to bring weapons into the palace, letting her sit to the side of the dragon throne at banquets, and even giving her a pardon.
However, it seems that she was not given real power. Now the court is in turmoil, the Yu family has lost its former power, and the old emperor does not seem to favor the Yu family.
The rest of the banquet proceeded in a rather ordinary manner, and apart from the fact that no one dared to look at the terrifying old emperor on the throne, nothing else happened.
During the meal, Yu Ziyu seemed to see his ancestor, Ling Xuzi.
Feeling suspicious, she used the excuse of going to the outhouse to sneak out and follow Ling Xuzi.
However, she discovered that the Ancestral Master had entered the Sanqing Hall in the inner palace. The hall was filled with smoke and had a pungent smell. Yu Ziyu could easily smell that it was the smell of refining pills.
Could it be that the Ancestral Master also entered the palace to concoct the elixir of immortality for the old emperor?
Yu Ziyu was completely baffled. She grabbed a handful of her hair and thought, “This is so annoying! I don’t even have anyone to talk to! If only I had a cultivation partner to grow immortality with!”
She patted her head, clearing her mind, shook her head and sighed, “So be it, the higher you climb, the colder it gets. This must be the loneliness of being the only one who matters. To become an immortal, one must endure loneliness.”