Song Qingshu shook his head with a wry smile. He naturally knew the real reason…on the surface, Huang Shang was angry at seeing him “bullying” his disciple, but in truth, he’d grown suspicious of his identity and wanted to test his martial arts style. Fortunately, Song Qingshu had studied a wide range of techniques…he just hoped he’d managed to fool the old man.
“Months apart, and your martial arts have reached another level,” the Yellow-Robed Maiden suddenly exclaimed in admiration. “My master rarely makes a move these days. Very few in the martial world can last even a single exchange with him. Yet you held your own for dozens of moves without showing any sign of defeat. I don’t know how you cultivated such skill at your age.”
“Want to learn? I can teach you.” Song Qingshu looked at her meaningfully.
“You teach me?” Her heart stirred. Though she wasn’t as martial-obsessed as Zhou Botong, as a martial artist she still had a strong drive to improve.
“There’s a tantric practice called the *Joyful Meditation Method* that increases power through dual cultivation…fast progress, and a pleasant process too. If you want to learn, I’d be willing to be your cultivation partner.” A mischievous smile played on his lips.
“Pah! Nothing good ever comes out of that mouth.” She spat and turned to leave.
“Hey, don’t go! I haven’t thanked you for saving me back there.” He hurried after her.
“Hmph…I should have let Master finish you off. The world would have one less menace.” Despite her icy tone, a faint smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
Song Qingshu chuckled: “If I die, your two sisters would be widows. Would you really want that?”
“What do you mean ‘Would you really want thatt’? Kindly watch your words.” She left him with that cold statement, her face frosty, and walked away without another glance.
Song Qingshu was taken aback. *We were getting along fine a moment ago…now she’s genuinely upset. Why? Was it because I mentioned her sisters?*
While he was still stunned, she’d already disappeared into the distance. He sighed…*Great. Now I’ll have to ask for directions to the banquet hall.*
Whether it was because of the assassin incident earlier, or because she’d deliberately led him down a secluded path, there were hardly any people around. He couldn’t find a single eunuch or palace maid to ask.
After walking for who knows how long, he began to wonder if he was lost. Just as he was debating whether to use qinggong to get a view from above, he suddenly heard a woman crying by a nearby lake.
“Wuu wuu wuu~”
It was already dark, and a woman’s sobs echoing through the palace were rather eerie. Having heard many legends in his past life about restless spirits haunting the imperial palace at night, he couldn’t help but gulp.
Then he realized…with his current cultivation, even if it really were a ghost, what was there to fear? With that thought, he followed the sound, figuring he could ask for directions while he was at it.
Rounding a rockery, he spotted a girl in a palace maid’s uniform sitting by the lake with her knees drawn up, weeping softly. With her back to him, he couldn’t see her face, but her silhouette was slender and graceful.
“Uh, miss, excuse me…” He hesitated…it seemed a bit unkind to ask for directions when she was crying so sadly.
“Get lost!” The maid wasn’t polite at all.
Song Qingshu was dumbfounded. But with his status now, he wasn’t about to get angry over a little palace maid. He smiled wryly: “Have you been punished by some consort, or bullied by a eunuch? I just want to ask for directions…no need to be so harsh.”
“You’re the one who’s been bullied by a eunuch!” She was furious at his words, turning around and snapping, “Which palace are you from, eu…eunuch…”
When she saw his face clearly, her mouth dropped open in shock. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t mistaken, then growled: “It’s you!”
“Uh…” Song Qingshu was equally speechless. The breathtakingly beautiful “palace maid” before him was none other than Ah Ke!
“I heard you were made a noble consort…why are you dressed like a maid?” he asked in confusion.
“None of your business!” She glared at him hatefully, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “It’s all your fault anyway!”
“My fault?” He tensed…*does she know that everything that happened was my doing?*
“If you hadn’t tricked me into coming to the capital and then left me to rot, I wouldn’t have been put under house arrest. Then I wouldn’t have been rescued by these Southern Song people, and my father wouldn’t have taken the opportunity to marry me off to that…that so-called emperor. I’d still be back at Shanhai Pass, living freely as a commandery princess!” She enumerated his sins, growing sadder as she spoke. “And at least my mother was with me. But now she’s been taken by some villain, severely wounded by an expert in the palace…I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead. I begged the emperor to punish that old man, but he refused…” Her voice broke. “Now I’m all alone in this palace, helpless…”
“So you changed into a maid’s clothes and snuck out here to cry?” Song Qingshu felt a pang of guilt. Ah Ke’s fate had indeed been upended because of him, and today’s events were also largely his doing.
“Yes. I know a lot of people in the palace are waiting to see me make a fool of myself, ready to kick me when I’m down. I didn’t dare cry in front of them, so I changed clothes and snuck out…” She suddenly realized she’d been explaining herself far too much and clamped her mouth shut.
Watching her frail figure shiver in the night breeze, Song Qingshu sighed and took off his outer robe, draping it over her shoulders. “The palace is huge. If you sneak out alone and run into some scoundrel who means you harm, no one would even know.”
She blinked at him with watery eyes: “When you say ‘scoundrel,’ are you referring to yourself?”
“Uh…” He was speechless, realizing just how low her opinion of him had sunk.
She tugged at the robe he’d draped over her, then spoke up: “I heard you came here to propose marriage?”
Song Qingshu nodded wryly.
Her face turned cold: “I’ve met those two princesses…they’re indeed pitifully lovely. But I’m prettier than them, and my status as a commandery princess is no less. Why did you reject me when Kangxi arranged the marriage?”
He was at a loss. He couldn’t exactly say it was because her father’s reputation was too foul. All he could say was: “What’s past is past. What’s the point of bringing it up now?”
Realizing she was now a Southern Song imperial consort, Ah Ke’s expression dimmed: “You’re right. It’s pointless now.”
She lifted her head suddenly. “I want to ask you to do something for me. If you succeed, I’ll agree to any condition you name.”