Chapter 51: The Jiang Family

Presently, the imperial court belonged entirely to the Empress Dowager. Having wielded power for fifteen years, every high position was now filled by her loyalists, and countless heavy accusations and lofty titles were heaped upon Yun Luo.

Guan Feiyan bit her lower lip, pressing both hands tightly against her abdomen. With a resolute gaze directed at Yue Ji, she spoke. A dull ache throbbed in her belly, and a thin layer of cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Yet, given the perilous circumstances, she had to protect her child and safeguard Zhu'er; this dire situation forced her to pull herself together.

Nodding, Qin Fusu waved his hand to signal Night Seven to rise, and the two of them then turned their attention toward the auction unfolding outside the private box.

Seated in the distance, Mu Xici held a wine cup, watching Zhaoyun drain the liquor from the flagon and bring the cup to her lips. With a single upward tilt, the mellow and crisp taste of the fine wine lingered around her lips and teeth, refusing to disperse.

Under the oppressive might of the black Flood Dragon's soul, their own powers were diminished by at least thirty percent, and even their movements grew stiff and sluggish.

The escalating fire was already beginning to spread outward. Amidst the frighteningly vibrant and scarlet glare, the onlookers watched as the structures warped and twisted.

At the thought of Ming Xuanyi, Lu Chuxuan felt as though her heart were being pierced by a knife, and tears welled up and fell unbidden.

As for Gu Xiyuan, she felt that the entire matter was exceedingly bizarre. Take the Empress before her, for instance—why had she recovered in such a short span of time? Not only had her actions changed, but even the tone of her voice had become entirely different.

Subsequently, his gaze swept toward another figure. When his eyes landed upon that pretty face, he was stunned for a moment, falling into a trance for several seconds. Then, his dark eyes fixed intently upon her face, the emotions shifting unpredictably in the depths of his pupils.

Yun Luo frowned slightly, casting a glance around the room. Her eyes caught a white object inside the trash can behind the coffee table. As she walked over, her pupils contracted sharply, and the fruit she was holding spilled all over the floor.

Although Yan Xiyue was not particularly fond of accepting gifts, she always found herself completely helpless against his blend of coercion and inducement, ultimately and obediently accepting them.

Though her mind was somewhat hazy, at that moment she recalled the odd warning the older man had given her: she must never mention him to Uncle Wu.

As for her father's face, she truly could not recall it anymore, and a sudden surge of sorrow welled up in her heart.

Tang Song was stirring up fresh scandals again recently; her motives undoubtedly ran much deeper than this. Even if Tang Song was unaware whether her child was still alive, using such a threat against Song Tingjun would inevitably prove effective.

Deng Jie dispensed with further idle talk, waving a hand at Lin Cha before grabbing Yin Xiaoru by the hood and pulling her toward the school grounds.

Mo Yue had never expected Mo Lianghong to go to such lengths for Mo Liangxing, which only intensified the growing sense of crisis in her heart. Her lowered eyes churned with jealousy and dark gloom.

The designer had lost her inspiration, causing Chi Zao to feel quite anxious lately, especially since she was the type of person who insisted on finishing assigned work within a strict timeframe.

Years ago, when Qin Jinyu participated in the evaluation, Zongzheng Huan had deliberately concealed Qin Jinyu's ability to manipulate time. Qin Jinyu herself had never revealed this matter to the Emperor of Wei, so he remained entirely unaware of it.

Lin Cha stopped speaking and retrieved a bag of bread from the snack cabinet. The three of them each ladled out a bowl of porridge, and thus their breakfast was settled.

"Whoosh." Li Qing reversed the ancient sword in one hand and hurled it fiercely at Xiao Chen. The Heavenly Phoenix flickered with a milky-white radiance, piercing through the dense web of defenses laid down by the spear, and thrust straight toward Xiao Chen's chest.

"Hahahaha..." Every word Han Yue uttered provoked a wave of laughter, leaving Hong Chen and the members of the Hong family utterly devoid of face, with a strong urge to find a crack in the ground and hide.

"Young Master Chang..." Without the slightest hesitation, Mo Chen betrayed Chang Feng, not dragging his feet or showing any reluctance at all.

Having finished speaking, he began to examine the magic wand in his hand. The uppermost section was shaped like a skull, out of which sprouted emerald-green leaves that cascaded backward like human hair. A headdress strung with eight pristine magical beads adorned its brow, giving the entire artifact a truly unique and even somewhat comical appearance.

After calming down for a while, Xiao Feng seemed to have figured out a few things. Perhaps, ever since that utterly accidental encounter on that night, Hong Xiaonan had already known his true identity.

Her exact age was difficult to determine; a mere smile at the corners of her mouth and in her eyes already carried the demeanor of a fading beauty. She could not be called breathtakingly beautiful, but her bearing was both grand and dignified.

That gentle voice was imbued with immense conviction. Chang'e uttered no words of "what ifs," because she believed in her man, believed that crises would always be resolved, and believed that her man could forge a brilliant future for her and her sisters.

After all, they had been misled by the Simuwu Ding in the National Museum of China at the time, failing to ponder many matters on a deeper level. Upon reflection, the possibility that this was merely a replica was actually quite high.

Therefore, these were all things unknown to Li Yan. Since Li Yan could not puzzle them out, he simply stopped thinking about them; in any case, the Emperor of Tang already knew his identity, which was hardly a bad thing. Li Yan also roughly understood why Eunuch Yu had been so terrified—it was precisely because he knew Li Yan's identity that he had not dared to accept the item.

At that moment, overcome by sudden agitation—observe the spectacle: anger bristled the hair straight to the sky, a surge of fierce fury congealed the blood into a clot, a head full of suspicion rushed straight to the crown, blood vessels blocked as the heart suddenly seized.

Yet regardless of how the audience below the stage shouted, Lin Tong on the stage maintained his cool expression throughout.

It seemed that the owner of that restaurant was truly a kind-hearted soul. Yesterday noon, when he led so many wretches like themselves inside to dine, the restaurant management hadn't even frowned once.

If he could manage to drag this eldest master of the Zhen family down into the mire, perhaps he could rely on the Zhen family's influence to preserve his life.

Perhaps he no longer had any need for a physical body, but the trauma inflicted upon his wounded soul could never be repaired.

The trace of unbridled defiance remaining in the giant dragon's eyes vanished without a trace the moment it witnessed this scene.

The double-layered Rasenshuriken attack unleashed by Eastern Yunyang's shadow clone met with no hindrance whatsoever, crashing directly into the newly formed energy barrier of the ghost-masked man.

The homeroom teacher of Class Seven had entered Yin County Middle School in the very same year as Teacher Rong from Lin Chu's class. One looked somewhat aged, while the other was decked out in colorful finery and brimming with youthful exuberance, though neither could be considered exceptionally pretty.

Seeing Ouyang Feng clumsily hauling his nephew ashore, even her typically gloomy and stern face broke into a broad smile. Yet, after all, she refrained from uttering a single word of thanks to Guo Jing or herself. Pulling at Guo Jing's sleeve, she immediately turned back toward the rock cave.