268 The Divine Bird Has Turned Into a Duck
“Phoenix!” The imperial preceptor raised his voice.
“Quack!” Suddenly, a duck’s cry was heard.
The imperial preceptor’s eyes widened and he almost fell to the ground. The imperial preceptor, who had always been calm and composed, no matter what happened, now panicked. The Phoenix stared at him and opened its beak again, “Quack…” There was another duck’s cry, and the entire city fell silent. Then, with a boom, the crowd was in an uproad.
“Even the divine phoenix was forced to cry out by the state preceptor. How miserable.”
“Imperial Preceptor, please let the phoenix go. It’s a divine bird no matter what…” The commoners below were extremely uneasy.
The imperial preceptor clenched his fists in anger. This phoenix actually learned how to build momentum and find helpers? phoenix held her head high and sneaked a glance at the imperial preceptor, pretending not to see his expression.
The imperial preceptor’s head hurt even more. He felt that he had caused a big problem. What if he raised the phoenix in a wrong way? Would he be beaten to death when he was sent back to the west? Back then, he had begged for a pair of phoenixes to bless the country, but after taking them for a walk around Happy Town, only one of the two phoenixes was left. The other one was roasted and eaten, not even the bones were spat out, and he was punished for it.
This pair of phoenixes had a very high status in the west. They were extremely arrogant and always had a faint aura that did not belong to the human world. Every time they came out, there would be sounds of people kneeling down and worshiping them. The people said that phoenixes would bring good fortune and peace. The imperial preceptor did not know if it was true, but he knew that the phoenix was very vengeful and loved to act tough. Since the phoenix lost its wife, it would come here every few years. Even if someone saw it and did not let it fly away, it could still escape. In the past, the phoenix used to rest on parasol trees. Now, it was sleeping on rotten branches. Moreover, this phoenix had become wretched! When the imperial preceptor saw phoenix���s wretched appearance, he felt that all the noble and holy things were lies! Would this thing still be respected after flying back to the west?
“Phoenix, you left the Heavenly Lake without permission and didn’t guard the saint properly. Let’s see how you’ll be punished when you return!” The imperial preceptor frowned and walked towards the emperor. The phoenix was was behind him, spitting something out from its long beak. Upon closer look, it was spitting its saliva!
After the phoenix spat, it looked at Jiang Xi from a distance. It put away her tail and wings and stood upright. It looked at Jiang Xi as if to say, “Did I do well?
When it saw Jiang Xi nod, the phoenix heaved a sigh of relief, but it felt aggrieved! It had been preparing itself for more than a year, but when it saw Jiang Xi, its legs were still weak and it was afraid…
Ever since the emperor got off the carriage, he felt that every step he took was getting more and more difficult. It was too cold.
When the emperor went over, all the Zhao family members were kneeling. Only Jiang Xi looked at him coldly. The emperor paused and did not dare to ask her to kneel. He was slightly stunned when he saw her clear black and white eyes. Her eyes seemed to have never changed.
“Jiang Xi, kneel down.” Zhao Hongwei’s face was full of stubbles, and his charm had been greatly reduced. He actually looked a little dejected, as if he had grown up a lot.
“You talk too much,” the emperor said as he glanced at Zhao Hongwei. Zhao Hongwei’s expression changed.
“Immediately remove the princess’… Miss Jiang’s shackles, you blind people, hurry up!” The eunuch gestured with his thumb and index finger, and the guards quickly stepped forward to remove the Golden shackles from Jiang Xi’s body.
“Give Jiang Xi a seat. She’s lost weight after staying in the prison for so long.” The emperor kept looking at Jiang Xi, deeply at her.
Jiang Xi pinched her small face and said, “Thanks for taking care of me, I’ve gained a few pounds.” She pinched her waist again. Yes, it was round.
“Hurry up and get some clothes for Jiang Xi. Don’t let the cold damage her body.” The emperor frowned. Seeing that Jiang Xi was still wearing thin clothes, he was about to go forward and hand her his cloak.
“I’m not cold. You don’t have to. You can keep it for yourself.” Jiang Xi waved her hand. She did not understand why the emperor was in such a sorry state. What had he experienced? Had he crossed thousands of mountains and rivers? His eyebrows had turned white from the cold…
The emperor did not know that his eyebrows, eyelashes, and hair were all covered in a thin layer of snow. There was no one like him around.