Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1313: Chapter 1315: Another Meeting with Sangta at the Imperial Palace_1

”What’s wrong?” the great elder immediately noticed her abnormality, squinting his eyes and asked.

Diao Mo dared not look up, her voice trembling slightly as she said, ”I, I had used it on her before...”

”How dare you!” the great elder, enraged, slapped Diao Mo across the face, ”How dare you act rashly! Did I teach you spells so that you could take matters into your own hands and ruin everything?”

Without asking, it was clear she had not succeeded. Hadn’t Bai Ruozhu just been standing fine in the Main Hall?

Diao Mo’s eyes reddened, and, clutching her swelling cheek, she said, ”At the time, I felt there was something off about her and wanted to deal with her sooner, but the lightning didn’t strike her. Great elder, I know I was wrong, please forgive me this once.”

The great elder’s complexion changed dramatically, ”That woman must be someone blessed with great fortune, rendering that spell useless.”

Saintess Honglian, who had been silent up to now, suddenly spoke, ”What’s great fortune to us? Wouldn’t it be better if we could take her fortune for ourselves?”

The great elder pondered for a moment and then nodded, saying, ”Honglian is right. However, we can’t act recklessly now. Without my orders, none of you is permitted to cause any more trouble!”

Diao Mo eagerly agreed, and Jin Jing also nodded in assent.

The great elder sighed, his mood turning irritable as he left.

After the great elder had gone, Diao Mo clutched her swollen cheek, eyes filled with a spiteful gleam.

Honglian went over to help her sit, examined the swollen area, and carefully applied ointment for her.

”I can do it myself.” Diao Mo, not wanting Honglian to get the scent of the ointment on her hands, reached out to grab the ointment from her.

Honglian avoided her hand, her expression softening again, ”You’re my dear mother, it’s only right that I tend to you.”

But Diao Mo suddenly had teary eyes, her voice slightly choked, ”He doesn’t see us as human beings. We’ll endure a few more years, and then won’t the Holy Hall be ours, just mother and daughter?”

Honglian hummed softly and then lowered her head to continue applying the ointment, disdain flashing in her eyes.

Jin Jing was silent on the side, her expression dark. Diao Mo was also her mother, but Diao Mo only had Honglian, her daughter, in her heart and did not care about her in the slightest.

...

Over at Bai Ruozhu’s side, she returned to the Imperial Palace with the monarch. On the way, she rode horses with Ao Qi and Princess Yingtong and thus had no chance to speak alone with Jiang Yichun. She couldn’t even find an opportunity to lash out at him and instead decided to simply ignore him.

Upon arriving at the palace, the monarch arranged a banquet to welcome them and didn’t invite others to accompany, only keeping Ao Qi and Princess Yingtong, which gave it somewhat the feel of a family dinner.

”I first saw Kailin at the age of thirteen; she was twenty-three and already a high priestess in the Holy Hall. She was like the moon in the sky, emitting a gentle glow that was neither dazzling nor too cold, unforgettable to anyone who saw her. There wasn’t anyone who knew her that didn’t admire her talents. How could she be compared to those in the temple now, who like to put on airs? I even wanted her to take me as her disciple, but she didn’t agree,” said the monarch, who became more talkative after glasses of wine, even dropping the royal ”We” from his speech.

As soon as Bai Ruozhu heard it was about Kailin, she immediately perked up; she too wanted to know what grand achievements her ”fellow townsman” had accomplished.

”It was also during Kailin’s time that the Holy Hall and the Western Regions developed most prosperously, and in those years the Western Regions almost became the dominant power among the nations, it’s just a pity that she left too early,” the monarch said with a choked voice, then turned towards Bai Ruozhu and said, ”You bear a resemblance to Kailin, truly deserving to be her destined partner. I did not save the wrong person today.”

Bai Ruozhu didn’t know how to respond and could only hum in agreement twice, but she read something in the monarch’s gaze.

It was admiration, a kind of fondness mixed with respect, yet an emotion that eluded grasping.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but the monarch did not conceal his feelings well, allowing Bai Ruozhu to discover this secret. In his heart, Kailin was not an elder, not a high and mighty priestess, but a woman he had adored for many years.

But she was a full ten years his senior; when he met her, she likely was already married or had someone in her heart. There was an insurmountable divide between them, and he could only silently watch over her.

And yet, even with the ten-year gap, he continued to love her after her death, which showed how truly enchanting she was.

”I do not know why Kailin sought a destined partner, but I promised Kailin I would take good care of her descendants. You are her destined partner, so if you ever face any difficulties, feel free to speak up, and I will help you resolve them,” the monarch said again.

”Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty,” Bai Ruozhu replied respectfully, while pondering whether to seize the opportunity to inquire about Hao Feng.

Soon, the monarch engaged Jiang Yichun in conversation, and quickly realized that although Jiang Yichun had been silent all along and hardly ever spoke in the Holy Hall, he was extremely knowledgeable once they started talking, and even his martial arts were exceedingly high. The monarch, delighted, encouraged him to drink several more cups, leading to many conversations.

Ao Qi and Princess Yingtong were in good spirits too, while Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat annoyed seeing Jiang Yichun acting as if he knew nothing. She was feeling sulky here, and he didn’t sense it at all? Did he no longer have her in his heart?

It’s said that all crows under the sky are black, and men are most prone to be fickle in love. How could she be sure he wouldn’t be bewitched by Saintess Honglian?

She once thought he could withstand the test, but when comparing his past frivolous affairs with Saintess Honglian, there was simply too great a discrepancy.

The more she thought about it, the more suffocated she felt, so she excused herself to go to the toilet and stepped out of the Main Hall, while Jiang Yichun continued to drink merrily with the monarch, not even turning to glance at her.

This only added to her frustration and heartache. Sulking, she headed towards the toilet, but as she approached, she suddenly saw a black panther standing in the middle of the road. Its pupils were as black as its fur, making no distinction, yet they shone like black gemstones, staring unblinkingly at Bai Ruozhu, as if it had been waiting there for her for a long time.

Bai Ruozhu felt a twinge of panic; wasn’t this the same black panther that had bitten off Jin Jing’s leg before and later appeared to offer her a wild rabbit?

This was Sangta’s Beast Pet; how could she have forgotten that Sangta had also come to Gaochang City. She had better leave quickly.

As she turned around, a tall and upright nose appeared before her eyes, just missing her by mere centimeters. Had she moved any closer, she would have collided with it.

Startled, she leapt backwards, creating distance between herself and the nose, and only then did she see clearly that it was Sangta standing behind her. She didn’t know why he had bent down so close to her, as if he was smelling the scent in her hair, and she had nearly bumped her face into his as she turned abruptly.

Seeing her startled reaction, Sangta couldn’t help but laugh. His amber eyes crinkled, adding a playful look to him, and had it not been for witnessing him command so many beasts in slaughter, one could hardly imagine him as the savage and cold-blooded leader of the beasts.

Bai Ruozhu, thinking about how she had almost ”kissed” his nose, became irritated, with a faint blush spreading across her cheeks.