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Ever since the beginning of time, palaces have been reputed for being the breeding ground for evil spirits. However, thanks to the heavy dragon aura in the palace, demonic spirits are usually suppressed and driven away; even on the rare occasion that an evil spirit does manifest, it would be exterminated quickly. Yet, in recent times, probably due to the atrocities of the counterfeit Celestial Master Zuo, who had directly or indirectly caused the deaths of the countless yeomen and guards, that the palace is now swarming with evil spirits.

Although Rong Jialuon was a powerful emperor, he was unfamiliar the arts of exorcism and still required the services of priestly masters to exterminate the spirits.

Celestial Master Zuo had not been in the country lately; it was said that he went to the original Haoyue Kingdom under The Lord's order. On the other hand, Celestial Master You had retreated into seclusion again. Therefore, this critical task has fallen onto the shoulders of Gu Xijiu.

Thankfully, Gu Xijiu was extremely adept at this task. No matter how strong the evil spirit, it would only have to accept the fate of being exorcized when coming face to face with her.

It was no different this time as well. Gu Xijiu exorcized the six evil spirits in the imperial palace in a flash. Qian Lingyu watched the process from the side and was struck with awe.

Gu Xijiu cast her spells with the highest prowess and immense spiritual power. The evil spirits did not even have a chance to strike back and could only move on to the next life reluctantly

After the exorcism, Rong Jialuo invited the pair to a banquet. Gu Xijiu had to honor the imperial invitation and thereby stayed back.

The imperial banquet was lavish with luxury. As Rong Jialuo knew Gu Xijiu's tastes well, and their table was almost filled all with the dishes that she favored, much to her surprise.

During the banquet, Rong Jialuo did not a.s.sume the air of an emperor and chattered light-heartedly with Gu Xijiu. Although he was normally known for his golden silence, in front of Gu Xijiu, he became more talkative and even a bit jocular as well, making her laugh from time to time.

Of course, this made Qian Lingyu quite jealous. He had only seen Rong Jialuo from a distance before and did not really make out his image. Now that he saw the emperor in his full handsome charisma and regal elegance—the charm of a true man, things were different.

Although he was not one to smile a lot, he was extremely charming when he did. Unfortunately for Qian Lingyu, when Gu Xijiu conversed with Rong Jialou, a smile usually hung on his face.

His royal elegance was extremely attractive and did not pale in comparison to that of Di Fuyi; even Qian Lingyu could not help but take a few good looks at him.

After the banquet had ended, the pair took their leave. A canopy of starlight hung in the sky in the embellishment of the crescent moon with the lanterns in front of the shops in the streets swaying slowly to the tranquility of the night.

In front of this serenity, Qian Lingyu and Gu Xijiu walked together and felt a fragrant warmth in a placidity. Gu Xijiu did not speak much while walking back and seemed to have something on her mind.

Qian Lingyu turned his head and took a few looks at her. She did not seem like a girl who had recently gone through a breakup; she was solid and composed, orderly in handling her matters, and talked normally. If he had not known, he would have thought that the news of her breaking up with Di Fuyi was fake. 

This girl is so cool, it's terrifying!

At the same time, Qian Lingyu was also struck with sympathy, an unpleasant feeling in his heart.

He had seen the interaction between Gu Xijiu and Di Fuyi before. He saw her childlike happiness. Occasionally, he would see Gu Xijiu flirting with Di Fuyi and pout at him playfully like a young lady. However, when she was in front of other people, she became stolid and discerning, and handled matters swiftly; she exuded an air of confidence that made people think that as long they have her presence, all problems could be resolved.