2285 I Am Saving Your Life
"Masta, Masta, Masta."
"Noisy!" Qiao Mu irritably straightened her belt and hung a small and exquisite purple-gold perfume pouch at her waist.
She turned around and lowered her fine and smooth petite hand for the white snakelet to climb up onto her wrist.
"Masta! What's been happening these two days? You've been bathing three times a day!" Because its masta would throw it out the window every time she bathed, the snakelet felt so busy from getting thrown around so much!
"Masta, I won't peek. Can you not throw me out the window?"
Qiao Mu rolled her eyes and pulled open the door. She patted the snakelet's head. "I am saving your life!!"
The snakelet's body shuddered as the dazzling gold crown on its head also slid down lopsidedly, revealing the "summon" character on its forehead.
Qiao Mu couldn't help herself from touching the "summon" character on its forehead.
The white snakelet's cute eyes gazed at her happily and rolled about on her wrist. "Masta, Masta! Can you just not bathe!"
This darling isn't happy that you are throwing me out every time!
Instead of throwing it out the window, it thought that Masta not bathing was even better!
Qiao Mu: ...
She loathed to talk to this dumb snakelet.
If she hadn't been obediently throwing it out the window every time, how would it still be alive now? Mo Lian would have killed it soon enough!
Qiao Mu yanked open the room door.
There was wintry afternoon sunlight, and a warm breeze brushing past her face caused her damp long hair to flutter behind her.
The eight young men were standing at the ready in the courtyard. They turned their heads and were met with the scene of this graceful young girl dressed in plain clothes.
She had put a hand on the door frame for support as she used her other hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun.
It was exactly this scene that impressed deeply in these young men's hearts, even when they were in positions of power many years later.
When other people asked them, they would proudly say without any hesitation: 'On a wintry afternoon, in an ordinary courtyard, we made our most correct decision. We followed our little master without looking back and tread upon the Divine Province continent!'
At this time, these eight young men were unaware that their fates had long changed drastically.
***
Outside the Taiji Palace of Ultramarine Province's Phoenix Imperial City.
Duan Yue, who was cloaked in a white marten cape, collected his sleeves as he sat on the edge of the carriage.
Yuanzhen was directing people to carry the necessary furniture and foodstuff into the heavily-curtained carriage. She paced quickly toward Duan Yue and saluted. "Your Highness, you can board the carriage now. We must hurry to the Fengyuan Gate in two hours to meet up with the crown prince and the others."
Each year, the Ultramarine Province Emperor's winter hunt required large amounts of people and resources to prepare.
The palace needed a full three months for the whole operation, from the time they started preparing to sending off the emperor to escorting him back.
They would stay in the icebound snow territory for around a month and a half.
Just the Taiji Palace alone had prepared for two weeks to escort His Highness the Chen Prince on this trip. Everyone inside the palace had been put to work.
Duan Yue listlessly tugged at the marten cloak that was about to slip off his shoulder. He leapt onto the carriage and darted inside the heavy curtains.
"Shadow."
"Your Highness." A pitch-black figure appeared noiselessly in front of the carriage.
