Chapter 19: The Uninvited Guest

  The legendary scene of women fighting for their husbands did not take place in the Orchid Pavilion that day. The women in the harem were not fools, and things were not all laid out on the surface. The emperor's favor was never going to last long, and everyone knew the ins and outs of this ever-changing situation, so they all maintained a few degrees of courtesy on the surface.

  However, when facing the 16 or 17-year-old woman with a delicate face and luxurious clothes in front of him, Qing Xia was really stunned for a moment, because in this harem, there were few women who still wore their hair in a maiden's bun.

  "Your Highness, this is Princess Jia Yun, she's our temple's younger sister."

  Xiang Yu saw the green summer, a wordless girl staring at her, softly reminding. Who knew that the girl who rushed in without any courtesy would suddenly raise her delicate white hand, take a step forward, and shout loudly: "Big mouth! Who asked you to report my royal name?"

  Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed, and although she acted slightly later, she quickly grasped Jiayun's arm with one hand. With a slight exertion of strength, the force was misaligned, and the princess stumbled to the side for several steps.

  "How dare you!" Jiayun struggled to stand up straight, turned around and pointed at Qingxia, shouting: "You actually dared to be rude to me?"

  The young man glanced at the arrogant and ignorant girl with a faint gaze, hummed coldly, and didn't even want to look at her again. He turned around and sat down on the chair, saying in a light tone: "Princess, you'd better go back where you came from. You won't get any benefits here. In the future, be more careful when doing things, don't let others take advantage of you, and don't let them scold you as a fool behind your back."

  "You...". Princess Jia Yun was stunned, her round eyes wide with shock, and it took a while for her to regain her composure. She still looked arrogant, "What did you say? Who dares to slander me behind my back? I'll dig out their tongues."

  Qing Xia turned her head to look at this arrogant young girl, revealing a reluctant expression as she slowly shook her head. She thought to herself: Is it the habit of the Nan Chu royal family to produce fools? Chu Li is not intelligent, and this little girl is even more stupid. Not wanting to say anything else, dealing with these women today had already exhausted her. She felt that these hypocritical social niceties were more tiring than fighting ten big men. Gently rubbing her shoulders, she said to Xiang Ju beside her: "Xiang Ju, go prepare hot water, I want to take a bath."

  "Hey! This princess is talking to you!" Jiayun, who had no memory of it, suddenly became furious and rushed forward to grab Qingxia's arm.

  Qing Xia's eyebrows twitched, and a hint of impatience flashed across her face. At this moment, if it were the 21st century, those familiar with her would know that this was a sign of Qing Xia's impending anger, and clever people would quickly retreat to find a safe place to hide. However, this spoiled and arrogant princess had completely forgotten how easily she was pushed aside just now, and still rushed forward, shouting loudly: "You, you bold woman, can't you hear me when I'm speaking to you?"

  Just as Jia Yun's hand was about to land on Qing Xia's shoulder, a dark energy suddenly attacked Qing Xia's brow. The elegant woman with exquisite clothes and refined temperament quickly turned her head around, her arm swiftly coiling around Jia Yun like a water snake, and with a standard over-the-shoulder throw, she heavily slammed the most noble Princess Jia Yun of the Nan Chu Dynasty onto the luxurious floor.

  "Ah!" "Princess!" "Your Highness!"

  Innumerable blood-curdling screams rose up simultaneously, Jia Yun was thrown to the ground, sprawled out in a daze for a long time unable to get up. Qing Xia looked down at this still immature and arrogant young girl with a faint smile, slowly crouching down, facing the girl's eyes that were spitting fire, calmly said: "If your parents didn't teach you what is called manners, then I'll be the one to teach you."

  A row of palace maids followed behind Qing Xia, taking small steps, while Qing Xia led the way with a majestic and elegant demeanor towards the spacious bathroom, leaving only Princess Jia Yun, who was fuming with anger in the grand hall, and a group of busy servant girls.

  She really has no patience to deal with these naive little girls, and she doesn't have to be careful about flattering them either. This seemingly large cage actually has no restrictive power on her. If she wants to leave, she can leave without any effort. And the reason why she is still here now is entirely because of a sense of latent responsibility.

  Everyone knows that in today's society, selecting special agents, the primary condition is not martial arts skills or family background, but rather having absolute loyalty and a strong sense of responsibility. Qing Xia doesn't dare say she has absolute loyalty, but from a responsibility perspective, she is absolutely a qualified special agent.

  Previously, Qing Xia thought that Zhuang Fu was just a feudal bureaucrat who had lost his humanity in pursuit of wealth and glory. But after meeting him, Qing Xia's perception of this old man, who was cursed by the world, changed instantly. Perhaps others may not understand, but Qing Xia, who had spent many years lurking in Afghanistan and Iraq, deeply understood the cruelty of war.

  She had witnessed with her own eyes the aftermath of a brutal bombing, where starving children who had lost their parents were eating charred human flesh in the ruins. She had also seen an old man who had been blown off one leg, crawling alone on the street with a rope tied around his back, carrying the disfigured bodies of his eight family members. She had witnessed refugees who had lost their homes after the war, covered in white maggots all over their bodies. Since ancient times, fighting has been humanity's weakness, and human life is as worthless as weeds in chaotic times, not even worth as much as pigs or dogs. Those painful scenes still lingered in her mind, so although she didn't have the same high hopes for Nan Chu as Zhuang Dianru did, she couldn't bear to let Zhuang Dianru's lifelong efforts and dreams be destroyed because of her own actions.

  Zhuang Qingxia could leave, she could die, at least a hundred ways to make her disappear without anyone knowing or suspecting anything, leaving the Nan Chu Imperial Palace. But absolutely not at this time.

  It was absolutely not at the time when Prince Qi had just escaped from Southern Chu.

  Because she didn't want to implicate that hunchbacked old man. The real Zhuang Qingxia might not have understood him, but she did. So, she couldn't bear to destroy everything with her own hands.

  The sound of gurgling water flowed quietly, Qing Xia Ping retreated to serve her maid, standing by the pool, just wiping herself clean with a vague intention. The wound on her lower abdomen was not deep, but she still couldn't get into the water like this. Last night's actions were still underestimating the enemy, looking down on these ancient warriors. She had thought that Chu Li wouldn't dare to use torture on Qi An, and apart from being stabbed by herself once, Qi An's injuries shouldn't be severe, and dealing with three to five people would be no problem. It was this kind of thinking that got her stabbed, and she couldn't help but laugh at herself in self-mockery.

  If it were a straightforward fight, she might barely be able to handle two Iron Floating Temple guards. However, the terrifying aspect of special agents lies not in their overt combat skills, but rather in their ability to hide, ambush, track, poison, assassinate, and disguise themselves. Once they seize an opportunity, there is no turning back. Coincidentally, Qing Xia was such a person, and what's more, she had the advantage of being the only one who knew this secret, aside from Prince Qi An, in the entire world. Moreover, Qing Xia firmly believed that Qi An would never reveal this information.

  Just as she was thinking, a faint voice suddenly came from the direction of the tunnel entrance. Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed and a hint of chill flashed in her eyes.