This rare physical trait would surely spread far and wide. Yi Qing knew that one's identity could be bestowed, but she always felt there was something odd about Princess Dina.
"Purple eyes?" the Ghost Lord sneered. Suddenly, he stifled his smile and rolled his eyes. "There are no people with purple eyes in Beidi, but there are ways to turn one's eyes purple. However..."
"However what?" Yi Qing got excited.
"Why do you ask about this?" The Ghost Lord rarely saw Yi Qing caring about something.
"If we can solve the purple - eye matter earlier, we can go to the Southern Border earlier to detoxify you." Yi Qing looked at the Ghost Lord with a beaming smile, but it felt like a threat.
The Ghost Lord thought for a while and compromised. "I've heard of a shamanic secret technique called the Mind - Bewitching Technique. They select a graceful young girl for sacrifice. If it succeeds, the girl will have the ability to bewitch all living beings, and her eyes will turn purple."
"Could this sacrifice be related to the purple glaze?" Yi Qing thought that for such a rough - and - tumble ethnic group like Beidi, it was strange that they liked the mysterious color purple.
"Sure. All these are under the control of the great shaman of Beidi."
"Then... what are the drawbacks of this sacrifice?" Yi Qing looked at the Ghost Lord.
"How would I know?" The Ghost Lord spread his hands. "I used to think this was just a legend. When I saw that purple - clothed woman today, I suddenly remembered it."
Yi Qing had been up close to the purple glaze and thought there were probably three kinds of organisms mutually parasitizing and depending on each other. Now it seemed there were more than three, and there might be something she hadn't discovered.
But since it was artificially created, there must be a weakness.
The emperor slept for seven or eight hours. When he woke up in the afternoon, he felt refreshed. As soon as he heard the time, he gritted his teeth secretly, thinking that Yi Qing must be taking this opportunity to get revenge.
"Prince Nian took Princess Dina to the General's Mansion. They left soon after." Gan Chengyou reported in a low voice.
The emperor thought for a while. "Keep a close eye on the Beidi mission." He felt that the Beidi mission must have other motives this time.
Having suffered such a great loss in Li City and with Xiao Jinghan returning unscathed from the Beidi Shrine alone, Beidi couldn't swallow this humiliation easily.
Yi Qing held a crystal bottle filled with water brought back from the sacred spring in the Beidi Shrine. She had studied it for a long time, but lacking research instruments and with the limited amount of water not enough for a comparative experiment, she hadn't made any progress.
Now that Princess Dina was related to the purple glaze again, she thought of this water.
It was certain that Beidi had ill intentions, but Yi Qing still couldn't figure out what they were up to. Just the fact that they insisted on Princess Dina marrying Xiao Jinghan was enough to give her a headache.
"Ruo Hong." Yi Qing called out.
"Madam." Ruo Hong came in and bowed.
"Prepare the carriage. We're going to the Duke Yuan's Mansion." Yi Qing ordered.
"Yes." Ruo Hong bowed and left.
Just as Yi Qing was about to go out, Xue Miao'er came bouncing back. The holiday during the New Year had made her wild, and she had just now thought of coming back.
"Greetings to Madam Xiao." Yuan Hecong bowed.
"When did the two of you get together?" Yi Qing looked at Yuan Hecong. It was obvious that he had his eye on their family's "cabbage".
"We just happened to meet." Yuan Hecong bowed.
"I find the capital is too small. I can meet him everywhere." Xue Miao'er ran to Yi Qing's side. "Are you going out? I'm very familiar with the capital now."
"Could it be that Lord Yuan has taken you around the whole capital?" Yi Qing said, glancing at Yuan Hecong.
Yuan Hecong gave a dry laugh.
"We just happened to meet." Xue Miao'er said firmly.
Was this still the Xue Miao'er who used to play confidence tricks? She was so easy to deceive.
It was said that when a scholar meets a soldier, reason goes out of the window. But when a soldier meets a scholar, the soldier might be sold by the scholar and still count the money for him.
"Coincidentally, I'm going to the Yuan family." Yi Qing took Yuan Hecong with her and left.
Sitting in the carriage, Xue Miao'er still craned her neck, peeping at Yuan Hecong outside through the gap in the carriage curtain as the carriage jolted.
"You're not falling for him, are you?" Yi Qing looked at Xue Miao'er.
"What do you think of my taste?" Xue Miao'er said proudly.
Yi Qing sized up Xue Miao'er. Her ability to play the fool to catch the wily had improved. Yi Qing had thought their family's cabbage was about to be eaten by a pig, but it turned out their own was the pig.
"Well?" Xue Miao'er saw Yi Qing sizing her up.
"The man is fine, but have you thought it through? The Yuan family is a prominent family. You..." Yi Qing originally wanted to say that there was a big gap between Xue Miao'er and the Yuan family, but then said, "As long as you like him."
"I think he's great too." Xue Miao'er said proudly.
Yi Qing smiled. Since Xue Miao'er was on her side, she would surely protect her. And Yuan Hecong had been smitten with Xue Miao'er since they met. If they could be together, it wasn't a bad thing.
When they arrived at the Duke Yuan's Mansion, they saw Prince Nian's carriage.
Prince Nian was really busy. He visited the General's Mansion in the morning and the Duke's Mansion in the afternoon. Was he going to visit all the powerful and influential people in the capital?
The gatekeeper announced their arrival. Yuan Hecong had already led Yi Qing and the others to the main hall when Prince Nian was just about to leave.
Yi Qing smelled that strange fragrance again. She looked at Princess Dina, who nodded slightly at her. Those purple eyes seemed to be flowing.
"Madam Xiao." Duke Yuan greeted with a smile.
Yi Qing hadn't met Duke Yuan during her previous visits to the Yuan family. Now that she saw him, he was an amiable old man with white hair and beard, a ruddy complexion, and a kind smile always unconsciously showing in his eyes, making people feel close to him.
"Duke Yuan." Yi Qing greeted with a smile. Then she turned to Prince Nian. "Prince Nian is really busy. Visiting the General's Mansion in the morning and the Duke Yuan's Mansion in the afternoon. Those who know will know that Princess Dina is here to marry General Xiao. Those who don't know might think that Prince Nian is here to choose a son - in - law for his sister. But I have to remind you that our Great Jin is a state of courtesy. We treat others with courtesy, but it doesn't mean we're weak and easy to bully, allowing others to pick and choose."
Prince Nian wasn't angry. "I'm here to visit Duke Yuan to express my gratitude for Great Jin's courtesy."
"Then Prince Nian might have expressed his gratitude to the wrong person. It's the emperor of Great Jin who has treated Prince Nian with courtesy. What's your real intention in coming to thank Duke Yuan?" Yi Qing stared at Prince Nian.
Duke Yuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard Yi Qing's words. "Prince Nian, be careful with your words."
Prince Nian clasped his hands. "I didn't expect there to be so many rules in your Great Jin. Just a simple visit can cause so much trouble. I'll take my leave!" With that, he left.
Yuan Wenqu was signaled by his father to see Prince Nian off. Duke Yuan didn't go out.
"Thank you for your reminder, Madam Xiao. This Prince Nian clearly has ill intentions, but since he came to our door, we couldn't turn him away." Duke Yuan explained.
Yi Qing knew that the Yuan family was very adaptable. Otherwise, they couldn't have persuaded the gentry of Great Jin to support the emperor. But this ability had its pros and cons. "Duke Yuan, you're being polite. I'm here today to ask a favor of you."
"Please speak, Madam Xiao. As long as our Yuan family can do it, we'll spare no effort." Duke Yuan promised before Yi Qing even said what the favor was.