The little Emperor, holding the memorial of the Nanjiang envoy, asked Ji Youzhi, "Should I meet with him or not?"
Ji Youzhi gave him an exasperated chuckle. "You’re the Emperor!"
Was it for him, a mere minister, to make the Emperor’s decision?
"Alright, let’s meet him then!"
The little Emperor kept the memorial. He ordered Eunuch Ling to deliver the decree to the post station and, at the same time, commanded Eunuch Ling to go to the Imperial Household Department, select some beautiful gold and silver jewelry and luxurious brocade, and have them sent to the Ji Mansion.
Ji Youzhi knew this was the reward for Little Suisui’s Guiyuan Pill.
"She’s still young. You’ll spoil her if you do this. Beware that when she grows up, she might become arrogant and incompetent."
After saying this, Ji Youzhi stood up to take his leave but was stopped by the little Emperor. "Don’t go. I’ll be summoning the Nanjiang envoy later. You should stay and listen."
Ji Youzhi yawned, indicating he hadn’t slept well for several days. If he didn’t rest now, he would certainly collapse.
The little Emperor allowed him to rest in a side palace but denied his request to leave the Imperial Palace.
Eunuch Ling went to the post station. After conveying the Emperor’s oral decree, he specifically instructed Long Wu, "Lord Long, the Emperor has ordered you to personally escort the Princess of Nanjiang to the palace for an audience!"
Long Wu knelt to receive the order. After Eunuch Ling left, he went straight to the Ji Mansion to deliver the gifts from the Emperor.
When he arrived, he found Little Suisui playing with the crescent blades she had just received from a Nanjiang guard.
As Eunuch Ling entered the Ji Mansion with his men, he heard Little Suisui’s joyful voice coming from the backyard.
"What a treasure! This is truly a treasure!"
"Little Ancestor, I beg you, stop playing! You’re still a child, and those blades are taller than you! You’re scaring me to death."
Nanny Zhang clutched her heart, watching Little Suisui brandishing the two crescent blades, one in each hand, with formidable flair. Her own heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.
She hurriedly signaled a little maid to go call the Old Lady to come and coax the young Princess!
The little maid turned but saw Xie Pan’Er running over anxiously.
"Princess, you must stop! Look how you’ve terrified Nanny Zhang. What will you do if something happens to her?" As Xie Pan’Er spoke, she gave Nanny Zhang a meaningful look.
Understanding the cue, Nanny Zhang promptly lay on the ground. "Oh! My chest hurts, my chest! It hurts so much I can’t bear it! Princess, please stop! You’ve scared this old servant sick!"
Little Suisui did stop, but she was reluctant to put down the crescent blade she was holding and walked towards Nanny Zhang with it.
"Nanny, what’s wrong? Let me take your pulse!"
Seeing her approaching with the blade, Nanny Zhang scrambled up in fright. "Princess! This old servant is fine now. I’ll... I’ll go back to my room..."
Little Suisui was speechless. Wasn’t Nanny Zhang’s chest hurting? How can Nanny Zhang run that fast?
Xie Pan’Er sucked in a breath, utterly exasperated. She quickly reached out to take the blade from Little Suisui’s hand. She then gathered both blades and cautiously tucked them away.
"If I were Nanny Zhang, I’d run too."
"Why? My medical skills are excellent!"
Xie Pan’Er was beside herself with frustration. She trembled just holding the two blades.
"Why don’t you let your seventh uncle keep these blades for you? When you’re older, you can ask your seventh uncle to return them to you?" Xie Pan’Er suggested, looking at the two crescent blades.
Little Suisui shook her head, disagreeing with Xie Pan’Er’s suggestion.
"No! My seventh uncle doesn’t use crescent blades. These are for my fourth uncle!"
Xie Pan’Er couldn’t help but blink. "Fourth uncle?"
Little Suisui nodded. "Yes! My fourth uncle’s two blades aren’t as good as these. They can be retired."
「Far away in the Illusion Sect, Ji Youbo was practicing a new set of Martial Skills—his own creation!」
He was thinking that once he had perfected his self-created Martial Skills, he would go back and teach them to Little Suisui.
Just as he was thinking this, a dark, unidentified object suddenly fell from the sky. It appeared so abruptly that Ji Youbo, startled, swiftly swung his blade towards it...