Feng Ninghe immediately recognized the bone fan in Sixth Master's hand as a spiritual artifact, and a fourth-grade one at that, not of low caliber.
She smiled dismissively, "Indeed, it is me."
Sixth Master gazed directly at Feng Ninghe, his eyes tinged with a hint of interest, "You are so young, where did you learn your skills? Or rather, who informed you of this method?"
The woman before him was not old, yet possessed such capabilities, making one suspicious.
Feng Ninghe merely smiled, "It is not important how I know. What matters is that with this prescription, I can strike a deal with you, can I not?"
Sixth Master said with interest, "Tell me, what kind of deal?"
Feng Ninghe explained the purpose of her visit.
Sixth Master clicked his tongue, "To offend the Duke of Zhenguo's manor for you, the Willow Face Pavilion has suffered a great loss."
Feng Ninghe raised a delicate eyebrow, unfazed, "Sixth Master, compared to the prescription for the beauty-preserving pill, this loss is nothing, is it?"
Her words made Sixth Master laugh heartily, "The deal is struck."
With the transaction concluded, Feng Ninghe did not linger.
After she left, Sixth Master played with the bone fan in his hand, leaning back lazily and elegantly on the soft cushions. He took out the prescription Feng Ninghe had written in the front hall earlier.
The characters on it were like silver hooks and iron strokes, strong and vigorous. He suddenly let out a soft laugh, "Feng Ninghe, quite interesting."
Someone who could produce the ingredients and refining method for a beauty-preserving pill.
Was definitely not the mediocre good-for-nothing described by the world.
As Feng Ninghe arrived at the Duke of Zhenguo's manor, she saw a luxurious sedan chair parked at the entrance, accompanied by several palace attendants.
A palace maid, dressed more sumptuously than the others, was descending the steps. Her eyes met Feng Ninghe's, and she exclaimed with joy, "Eldest Miss!"
Feng Ninghe was slightly taken aback, finding the woman before her somewhat familiar.
After searching her memories, she finally recognized the palace maid as a confidante of the current Empress of the Li Kingdom, Aunt Su.
"Eldest Miss, it is truly wonderful that you are still alive."
Aunt Su smiled charmingly at her, "News of you reached the palace yesterday, and the Empress was overjoyed. She has sent me to escort you to the palace today to reminisce."
Mentioning the Empress, Feng Ninghe's thoughts shifted.
The Empress and the original owner's mother were close friends, even addressing each other as sisters.
Duke Zhenguo, Feng Lie, had once saved the Empress, which made her grateful and led her to regard the original owner and her brother as her own children.
Now that she was the only one left of the Duke of Zhenguo's family, it was only natural for the Empress to summon her.
Recalling her thoughts, a smile appeared on Feng Ninghe's radiant face, "It has been many years, and I miss the Empress dearly."
This Empress treated her like her own daughter. The memories in the original owner's mind gave her a very favorable impression of the Empress.
As she boarded the sedan chair, she set off for the imperial palace under Aunt Su's guidance.
With the Empress's decree, the journey into the Li Kingdom's imperial palace was smooth and unimpeded.
However, the sedan chair stopped at the palace gate, and the rest of the journey had to be on foot.
Compared to the lush vitality of her Lin Kingdom's imperial palace, where even the spiritual energy was more abundant than in the Li Kingdom.
The Li Kingdom's imperial palace, in Feng Ninghe's eyes, seemed rather dilapidated.
Upon entering the imperial palace, Feng Ninghe could keenly sense several intense gazes sweeping over her from the shadows.
There were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage guarding in secret.
Furthermore, she detected three formations laid out within the Li Kingdom's imperial palace.
From the faint aura emanating from the formations, Feng Ninghe instantly judged their grades.
Two Profound-grade formations in the northeast, and an Earth-grade formation in the center.
Formations were graded from Heaven, Earth, Profound, to Yellow, with Heaven-grade being the strongest and Yellow-grade the weakest.
Formations could be for support, defense, or attack.
An Earth-grade offensive formation, once activated, was sufficient to kill a Nascent Soul stage cultivator.
Xiao Zhao, hiding in Feng Ninghe's sleeve, poked its tiny head out, wrinkling its small pink nose, its sapphire-like eyes curiously observing the unfamiliar surroundings.
"Ying ying ying."
Master, the spiritual energy in the Li Kingdom's imperial palace is so thin, it's not even as good as our Medicine Valley.
Feng Ninghe chuckled. Generally, the formations in imperial palaces of various countries, besides defending against enemies, also operated as auxiliary formations to absorb spiritual energy.
Therefore, the spiritual energy in imperial palaces was usually more abundant than elsewhere.
However, the formations in the Li Kingdom's imperial palace were far inferior to those in the Lin Kingdom, and even the Earth-grade offensive formation would likely not be able to trap Xiao Zhao.
Feng Ninghe then decided to proceed directly to the Empress's sleeping quarters with Aunt Su.
In a corridor not far away, a eunuch dressed as a chief steward was respectfully leading the way, accompanied by a tall man with a sinister appearance.
The man's gaze swept around, eventually falling upon Feng Ninghe, who was walking ahead.
With just one glance, he was instantly captivated by the woman before him.
The woman wore a goose-yellow tail dress, her smooth, waterfall-like black hair cascading freely over her shoulders. Her face, beautiful without being seductive, held a calm demeanor amidst her aloofness, her features exquisitely delicate.
The man immediately stopped, his eyes narrowing, a hint of lust appearing in his gaze, "Who is that woman?"
Such a beautiful woman, what would it be like to have her beneath him?
Lost in thought, his gaze remained fixed on Feng Ninghe, unwilling to retract.
The chief steward glanced at Feng Ninghe and replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Enforcement Elder, that is the Eldest Miss of the Duke of Zhenguo's manor."
Feng Ninghe's return to the imperial city yesterday had already caused a stir throughout the city.
If the Emperor were not entertaining a more important distinguished guest from the Immortal Sect today, he would likely have personally summoned this Eldest Miss of the Duke of Zhenguo's manor.
The Duke of Zhenguo's manor?
The man's gaze slightly narrowed, "I recall that Feng Qingcheng from my sect also hails from the Duke of Zhenguo's manor. What is their relationship?"
He thought Feng Qingcheng's beauty was already top-notch, but he hadn't expected this woman to be even more beautiful.
If Feng Qingcheng and he were not both in the Immortal Sect, studying under the same master, how could he let such a beauty go?
The chief steward answered truthfully, "Feng Ninghe is the daughter of Duke Zhenguo. If not for the accident back then, it should have been Feng Ninghe who was recruited by the Immortal Sect."
"Oh~" The man raised his tone meaningfully.
Feng Ninghe, as she walked, felt a gaze fixed upon her from the shadows. She subconsciously turned her head to look behind her.
She immediately noticed the eunuch and the man not far away.
Coincidentally, the man was staring intently at her.
The man was handsome with a sinister charm and a debonair aura, but his eyes made one inexplicably uncomfortable.
"Who is that person?" Feng Ninghe raised a delicate eyebrow.
Aunt Su glanced in the direction the man was standing and explained, "He is Mo Zisang, the Enforcement Elder of the Immortal Sect. He is here at the imperial palace to discuss the recruitment quotas for the Immortal Sect this year with the Emperor of Li."
These simple words piqued Feng Ninghe's interest.
She had not forgotten that Feng Qingcheng was currently in the Immortal Sect.
After retracting her gaze, she continued walking on her own.
Her calm departure, however, made Mo Zisang slightly surprised. He stared at her receding figure, lost in thought for a long time...