Chapter 29. The tree planted by my fiancé, no one else should try to enjoy its shade…

As soon as Jin Ying finished speaking, a dark shade flashed through Mu Jiulu’s ink-black eyes, then she turned to look at the left side of the great hall.

Gu Sui, who had been dozing off with his hands tucked in, suddenly straightened up, as if his tail had been stepped on. Even the leopard pattern on his court robes seemed to show a fierce expression.

That dark shade gradually dissolved, and Mu Jiulu couldn’t help but curve her lips slightly, the word “cute” flashing through her mind.

Jin Ying raised his head after bowing, the black veil lightly lifted by the wind at one corner, revealing the youthful face beneath.

“Your Highness’s demeanor is extraordinary, as cold and beautiful as snow, as lofty as the moon. Just a glimpse has made Jin Ying’s heart filled with admiration. I wonder if Your Highness could fulfill Jin Ying’s wish?”

The young man’s voice was as crisp as a bell, resounding clearly. After these words, the crowd burst into an uproar.

Although the current social customs were more open and not as rigid and outdated as the previous dynasty, it was still rare for a man to publicly express his love.

Moreover, the object of his affection was the current Regent.

This little prince of the Flower Scorpion Kingdom looked young, but he was truly a fearless newborn calf!

“This is the royal court, we should not discuss such private matters.”

The ethereal voice echoed above the great hall. Those important ministers in the chambers fell silent, and Gu Tingsong turned to look at her son, her lips half-open, wanting to speak but hesitating.

“Regent, Jin Ying is the precious gem of the entire Winter State. His marriage concerns the diplomatic relations between our two countries. How can it be considered a private matter?”

Su Tong rarely smiled in the court, but now the curve of her lips was as deep as a rainbow bridge.

Gu Sui couldn’t help but take a step forward, but was pulled back by Gu Tingsong.

“Mother!”

He lowered his voice, and Gu Tingsong shook her head at him.

“Heh, since you insist on discussing it, this king won’t hold back. This king already has a fiancé. Please find another good match for your precious gem.”

Mu Jiulu’s voice was as cold as ice, freezing to the core, but it extinguished the nameless anger burning in Gu Sui’s head.

Hehe, fiancé.

She admitted in front of so many people that she has a fiancé.

Gu Tingsong saw her son, who had just been so angry he wanted to draw his sword, suddenly grinning foolishly again, and shook her head helplessly.

Those ministers in the court who had been repeatedly shocked looked at each other, doubts suddenly rising in their hearts.

The Regent has a fiancé?

When did this happen?

Jin Ying in the hall obviously hadn’t expected this response either, his smile freezing for a moment.

“Your Highness, may I ask who this person is?”

“I heard that before the new year, the Regent obtained the embroidered ball used in General Gu’s son’s matchmaking at the Yulu Tower. I suppose the fiancé mentioned by the Regent is the young general?”

Ying Xuanyue, a compiler of the Hanlin Academy, spoke up. Mu Jiulu nodded.

“That’s correct.”

Mu Huan, sitting on the dragon throne, glanced resentfully at Su Tong below.

If she hadn’t brought this up, Mu Jiulu wouldn’t have mentioned it in court at all, and there would still be room for maneuvering.

But now…

Mu Huan looked towards Gu Tingsong, very much wanting her to stand up and say a few words.

Gu Tingsong remained motionless, and released her grip on Gu Sui’s hand, her eyes showing a melancholic expression.

“The Regent’s words are mistaken!”

The curve of Su Tong’s lips instantly flattened, her voice carrying a hint of viciousness as she spoke.

“I heard that brother Gu’s matchmaking was through martial arts competition. You only obtained one of the embroidered balls, you haven’t won him yet. How dare you claim him as your fiancé!”

“Then why don’t we complete the final step of the matchmaking right now.”

A clean and slightly deep voice came out. Gu Sui, with his jade-like stature, stepped out from the ranks and faced the gloomy-faced Su Tong and Jin Ying in the center of the hall.

These two had been stomping on his landmines step by step. If he didn’t stand up now, they would really think he was easy to bully.

“Brother Gu, you…”

Su Tong clenched her fists. Gu Sui warned her with a glance, then turned to look at Mu Jiulu.

“What do you think?”

Mu Jiulu’s toes lightly leapt, flying from the steps in front of the golden throne to land gracefully before him.

“As you wish.”

Gu Sui curved his lips in satisfaction, turning back to look at the Winter State group.

“All of you, make way. Clear out a space for us to have a fight. After that, we can get engaged.”

The young man with flamboyant eyebrows spoke boldly, his peach blossom eyes carrying a challenging look. Jin Ying and Su Tong exchanged glances.

“This is not fair.”

Su Tong suddenly spoke up. Gu Sui crossed his arms and glanced at her with displeasure, saying,

“Why are you meddling so much?”

Su Tong: “……”

“How is this meddling? I also wish to marry brother Gu, I just didn’t get to participate in that matchmaking. If I had, I definitely would have snatched the embroidered ball and married brother Gu!”

Gu Sui’s mouth twitched. Where did she get such confidence from?

“Then what exactly do you want now?”

Gu Sui asked with furrowed brows. She kept blocking the center of the hall, not letting them make a move!

He actually wanted to just admit defeat, but that wouldn’t look good. They had to at least go through the motions.

Su Tong looked at Mu Jiulu with ill intent, her voice rising.

“Since it’s a martial arts matchmaking, if I defeat the Regent, doesn’t that mean I can marry brother Gu?”

Gu Sui: “……”

Mu Jiulu’s motion of turning her bone ring paused, then she snorted and unexpectedly thrust out a palm.

Internal force surged out, a gust of qi suddenly rising in the air, directly striking Su Tong and forcing her back dozens of steps.

“You’re asking for humiliation.”

The cold and contemptuous voice echoed in the silent great hall. Su Tong’s eyes flashed with a fierce light. After steadying herself, she uncoiled the snake bone whip from her waist and charged forward.

“Sister Su Tong!”

“Mu Jiulu!”

In an instant, the two were entangled in combat. The surrounding ministers all stepped back, and Mu Huan stood up, watching this scene with some astonishment.

This was her grand court session!

Her Regent had just started fighting with the Winter State envoy like this?

How could such an outrageous thing happen!

When Su Tong charged forward, Gu Sui had been pushed aside by Mu Jiulu, stopping in front of the dragon-coiled pillar on the left side of the hall.

Directly opposite him stood Jin Ying, who had also avoided the battle.

Across a distance of several meters, Gu Sui met Jin Ying’s amber-colored eyes.

He saw an unusual color flash through them, and beneath Jin Ying’s veil, his lips curved into a malicious smile.

Burdened with misfortune, tainted with bad luck, endless ill fate.

He was already lucky just to be alive in this world, where did he get the qualifications to compete with him?

Gu Sui narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn’t understand why Jin Ying’s gaze towards him had suddenly changed, but he didn’t want to understand either.

A sharp and cold gaze swept across Jin Ying’s face. Gu Sui gave him a cold smile, full of murderous intent, making one shiver.

What nonsense, the tree he planted, no one else should try to enjoy its shade!

Gu Sui quickly averted his gaze, no longer paying attention to Jin Ying. He leaned against the dragon-coiled pillar, focusing all his attention on the duel between Mu Jiulu and Su Tong.

He was never worried that Mu Jiulu would lose, only afraid that Su Tong would play dirty, after all, the feeling she gave him was as venomous and cunning as a snake.

The snake bone whip was wielded by Su Tong like a raging tornado, breaking through the air with each strike, the angles tricky and vicious.

Mu Jiulu didn’t use any weapon, her feet shifting and dodging. After avoiding several of Su Tong’s attacks, she suddenly appeared in front of her during one of Su Tong’s moves, grabbing her wrist and bending it downwards.

Su Tong’s eyes narrowed, her left knee quickly kicking upwards. Mu Jiulu’s eyes flashed with mischief, her right hand casually striking downwards, but the force hitting Su Tong’s knee was enough to make her let out a muffled groan.

Su Tong knelt on one knee, a cold light flashing in her eyes. Her other hand attacked Mu Jiulu’s lower body in a claw-like motion, her sharp nails tinted with a dark color.

Mu Jiulu raised her knee to dodge, then directly kicked Su Tong’s abdomen. Su Tong let out a scream of pain, sliding across the great hall for more than ten meters before stopping.

“Using poison? Is this all you people from the Winter State know how to do?”

Mu Jiulu stepped forward one step at a time, looking down at Su Tong on the ground with disdain, her voice cold and contemptuous. This sparked anger among the watching members of the envoy.

“You’re going too far! Young Mistress, are you alright?!”

Su Tong abruptly pushed away that subordinate, standing up on her own, her five fingers clenching.

“So what if we are?”

She threw a punch with all her might, but it was blocked by Mu Jiulu’s palm right in front of her face, a sticky force preventing her from advancing even half a step further.

She couldn’t even infiltrate her snake venom.

Su Tong let out a long howl, pushing her body to its limit, throwing another punch. Mu Jiulu simultaneously struck out with her palm again.

The intertwined internal energy was completely disrupted. Amidst flying clothes, Su Tong was sent flying, crashing into the door frame at the entrance of the great hall, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

“Regent!”

Mu Huan called out urgently. If she directly killed someone, wouldn’t the peace treaty they just signed be for nothing?

Seeing that Su Tong had no strength left to stand up, Mu Jiulu turned and walked towards the center of the hall.

“Your Majesty, don’t worry, she won’t die.”

Jin Ying quickly ran over, supporting Su Tong whose clothes were in tatters, his expression anxious.

“Sister Su Tong, sister, are you alright?!”

“This… It seems this poor Daoist has come at an inopportune time.”

At the entrance of the great hall, a white-robed woman with silver hair stopped her steps, slightly bowing, her ethereal voice instantly attracting everyone’s attention.

Jin Ying looked up, and upon seeing the newcomer, he instantly felt a shiver, his amber pupils trembling.

What an intense sense of pressure!

“Who… who are you?”

Jin Ying asked in a trembling voice. The newcomer glanced at him and smiled slightly.

“Wan Qi Xing Yin.”

“Great National Preceptor, please come in quickly!”

Mu Huan called out loudly. Wan Qi Xing Yin nodded again to Jin Ying upon hearing this, then stepped over the threshold and walked forward.

When she was at the entrance earlier, she was surrounded by the sunlight outside, and Gu Sui couldn’t see clearly. As she came closer, an unusual light flashed in the young man’s calm peach blossom eyes.

Wan Qi Xing Yin had chestnut-colored skin, yet wore a white robe with wide silver-woven sleeves, holding a carved iron ruyi scepter in her arms.

Half of her silver hair was tied up in an intricate yet elegant hairpin, while the other half cascaded down her back like a waterfall, occasionally lifting with her movements, giving an ethereal feeling.

Her eyes were as calm as a mirror, with a rather immortal and Taoist aura. Gu Sui’s gaze followed her all the way forward, until a low voice sounded beside his ear.

“Are we still going to fight?”

Gu Sui startled, quickly looking towards the source of the voice. Mu Jiulu had somehow walked to his side, her gaze unfriendly.

Gu Sui swallowed, putting away his curiosity, standing a bit straighter, and quickly responded.

“Yes, yes, of course we’re fighting!”