Reborn into the palace, she seduces the emperor's heart, driving the chief minister to madness!

Chapter 44 A Talent Like an Immortal

"call out--"

As soon as Chu Qingyin heard the noise, she felt a lightness in her arms, and the next moment she saw a snow-white ball rushing towards Lu Mingzhu's face.

"Get away from me, you little beast!"

Lu Mingzhu was terrified and frantically tried to shake it off.

Little Snowball, however, seemed intent on revenge, viciously slashing two bloody marks on Lu Mingzhu's hand with its sharp claws before darting away into the bushes at lightning speed.

By the time Lu Mingzhu came to her senses and called for people to catch the cat, Little Snowball had already disappeared.

Chu Qingyin couldn't help but smile. As expected of the cat she raised, it was indeed clever.

This scene was captured by Lu Mingzhu, who immediately cried out despite the pain, "It was you! You did it on purpose—"

"You instructed that little beast to do this on purpose! I will definitely go before His Majesty to expose your true colors and let him know your vicious heart!"

"Snapped--"

Before anyone could react, Lu Mingzhu, clutching her aching cheek, stared blankly at Chu Qingyin: "You...you actually dared to hit me?"

"I'll hit you then, so what?" Chu Qingyin said coldly, her clear, cold gaze fixed on Lu Mingzhu.

In her past life, her most cherished child was Little Snowball, who was one of her most precious sources of solace in the deep palace after losing her own child.

Therefore, what she hates most is when others call Little Snowball a beast, but this Lu Mingzhu has repeatedly violated her taboo.

She didn't want to cause trouble, but the person in front of her kept acting like a jerk, so she couldn't blame herself.

That innate air of superiority made Lu Mingzhu feel intimidated, and her momentum diminished: "You...you...how dare you! My cousin is the current Grand Secretary. If you slap my face, you slap the face of our Lu family. He will definitely not let you off."

Speaking of Lu Zhiheng, Lu Mingzhu seemed to regain her confidence, and her tone became even more arrogant: "Qiao Qingyin, don't think you're so great just because your father is the Minister of War. If you dare to offend my cousin, your entire Qiao family will still be finished! Don't you want to implicate your father?"

Upon hearing that the entire Qiao family was in trouble, Qiao Qingling, who was standing to the side, immediately stopped sitting idly by and watching the fight.

She quickly stepped forward, tugged at Chu Qingyin's sleeve, and said timidly, "Sister, we can't afford to offend Sister Lu. Please apologize to her quickly. Sister Lu is magnanimous and will surely forgive you."

Upon hearing this, Lu Mingzhu became even more arrogant: "That's right, if you obediently beg for mercy, I might still..."

"It's not necessary."

Lu Mingzhu was interrupted by Chu Qingyin before she could finish speaking.

"What do you mean?" Lu Mingzhu was both angry and furious.

"It doesn't mean anything, it's just the literal meaning, besides—"

Chu Qingyin raised her voice slightly, with certainty: "Not only will I not apologize, you should thank me."

Lu Mingzhu reacted as if she had heard an extremely ridiculous joke, "You hit me, and I'm grateful to you? Qiao Qingyin, is the water that was poured into your brain during the Lunar New Year still not dry?"

"The death of the Imperial Concubine is a taboo in the palace. Not only have you mentioned it repeatedly, but you have also publicly cursed the Imperial Concubine's favorite pet as a little beast. If this gets to His Majesty's ears, I'm afraid you will lose your position as a concubine."

"Even if you have Grand Secretary Lu Zhiheng behind you, so what? Does he, as a mere subject, have more power than the Emperor?" Chu Qingyin's tone was sneer.

Besides her disdain for Lu Mingzhu, she also felt contempt for Lu Zhiheng, the culprit who harmed her Chu family.

If it weren't for his power, where would Lu Mingzhu get the audacity to provoke her again and again?

"You, you!" Lu Mingzhu was choked and speechless.

Hearing this, Qiao Qingling, who had been on tenterhooks, secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly helped the swaying Lu Mingzhu up, saying, "Sister Lu, calm down."

"You'd better think before you speak in the future, otherwise even if Lu Zhiheng is very capable, he can't control a fool like you!"

After saying that, Chu Qingyin turned and walked towards the artificial hill.

Lu Mingzhu, filled with resentment yet speechless, stood in the wind, leaning against Qiao Qingling.

After scolding the idiot, Chu Qingyin happily took Little Snowball out from behind the artificial hill.

That was an agreement between the mistress and her servant; if they caused trouble, they could find it by hiding behind the artificial hill.

"My baby is so smart. You have no idea how good I feel seeing the Lu family get their comeuppance. It wasn't for nothing that I doted on you so much before—"

"Oh, I had no idea that Consort Qiao harbored such great hostility towards the Lu family?"

The man's cool voice seemed to come from a distant wind. As soon as Chu Qingyin raised her eyes, she saw that familiar yet annoying handsome face.

What's Lu Zhiheng doing here?

Her eyelids twitched, and she turned to look at Lu Mingzhu and Qiao Qingling, who were still resting in the pavilion. A terrible guess suddenly surged in her heart: Lu Zhiheng must have been there just now.

He watched all of this unfold quietly from a distance.

What exactly does this man mean?

Isn't Lu Mingzhu his cousin? Seeing her being beaten, he didn't even step forward to help?

"What are you thinking about?"

Just as Chu Qingyin snapped out of her daze, she suddenly caught a whiff of the fresh and refined fragrance of pine trees. The tall man had already walked up to her, and the two were very close.

Fortunately, they were in a secluded spot on the side of the artificial hill, which blocked the view from the distance.

Now, apart from her and Lu Zhiheng, there is no one else here.

Sensing the dangerous aura emanating from the man, Chu Qingyin immediately looked at him with wary eyes: "Lord Lu, it is rather impolite for you to be so close."

As she spoke, she subtly took two steps back, creating distance between them.

Noticing her evasive movement, Lu Zhiheng's lips curled into a smile that he himself was unaware of.

He looked around, as if he were looking at something.

Seeing this, Chu Qingyin couldn't help but ask in confusion, "What are you looking at?"

Is someone nearby?

Lu Zhiheng suddenly smiled, a hint of interest in his eyes: "I'm wondering where that fearless Miss Qiao went?"

Chu Qingyin frowned, her eyes wary. "What do you mean by this?"

"It's nothing. I was just curious. You were the one who said I, Lu Zhiheng, couldn't cover up everything, and you were the one who wanted to see my Lu family suffer. I never expected Miss Qiao to have two faces. Now that you're in my presence, you're timid and hesitant, and you're talking to me about etiquette?"

Lu Zhiheng countered with a question, a faint smile playing on his handsome, jade-like face.

Just then, a spring breeze swept by, and the man's loose, flowing blue official robe billowed in the wind, making him appear even more like a jade-like figure, as if he were an immortal.

That was a handsomeness completely different from Pei Yuanling's.

Chu Qingyin was stunned for a moment, so much so that she forgot to refute him.

Lu Zhiheng was not in a hurry, but simply gazed at her quietly.

It seemed that every time he met this Miss Qiao, she would bring him a different surprise.

She used to be outside the palace, but now she's inside, and she's still Pei Yuanling's woman.

Even though this woman had just been arrogant and said that his Lu family were all despicable, seeing her stunned for him now, he felt a strange and inexplicable pleasure.

"If Lord Lu finds my words offensive, then I apologize."

Chu Qingyin lowered her long, dark eyelashes. "But it was your cousin who spoke rudely first. I was just protecting myself."

She didn't want to have any contact with Lu Zhiheng for the time being. After all, dealing with Pei Yuanling was already enough of a headache for her. If another cunning old fox came along, she was afraid she wouldn't have time to spare.

Those who achieve great things can bend and stretch. Right now she bows her head to him, but when she turns the tables, it will be his turn to bow his head to her.

Lu Zhiheng was quite surprised that Chu Qingyin admitted defeat so quickly.

Then she continued, "I believe that Lord Lu is a magnanimous man and will not hold it against me. I will not disturb you and Consort Lu's reunion any longer, and will take my leave now."

Without waiting for Lu Zhiheng to speak, she turned and left.

Even though her steps remained dignified, the frequency of the swaying of her skirt clearly revealed her eagerness to avoid the situation.

He knew she was hostile towards him.

She was avoiding him, and he knew it.

But Lu Zhiheng felt more and more that this Miss Qiao was much more interesting than he had imagined.