Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 34

The entire afternoon had been spent hunting and eating roasted meat. In truth, neither of them was particularly hungry, but Lianyi still craved the food from the banquet.

The Jiayao Hall was extremely spacious. The two of them got out of the carriage at the hall’s entrance, opened umbrellas, and followed the palace attendants for a while before finally reaching the hall where the banquet was being held.

The hall was brightly lit. Musicians were playing behind the screens. The princesses and princes with brown hair and blue eyes gradually entered and took their seats. Without waiting for the monarch to say “begin the feast,” they raised their cups and started drinking, eating meat after drinking.

In the past, Liu Fenyun had attended banquets in Liuzhi Kingdom with her master, which were far quieter than this one. The Di people were very bold and straightforward, even the royal family members.

After taking their seats together, Liu Fenyun asked Lianyi what she wanted to eat. She then carefully picked the food into her own bowl first, tasted it to ensure there was no poison or medicine, and only then felt safe giving it to Lianyi.

One was a saintess, the other a shaman doctor, and soon members of the royal family began to toast them.

Liu Fenyun busily blocked Lianyi from drinking, filled the cups proactively, clinked cups with the others, and drank in one gulp, leaving the toasting princes stunned.

“Seventh brother has great drinking capacity!” said the tenth prince, Sha Yunhuan, clinking cups with her. After finishing the drink in one gulp, he laughed.

Liu Fenyun smiled in return, but her gaze lingered on the girl behind him.

“Host, she is the girl you saw at the Baishan Hall at noon,” the system reminded her.

The girl was still dressed in black, though this black outfit was decorated with intricate and elaborate patterns, and the fabric was of the finest quality. Feeling Liu Fenyun’s gaze, she raised her head; her eyes were as fierce as at noon, like a young wolf.

“This is Xiao Shiwu, Sha Rulang,” Sha Yunhuan hurriedly introduced her, also pulling the girl in front of Liu Fenyun. “Rulang, this is your Seventh Sister’s husband and also our Zhuo Huang Kingdom’s shaman doctor.”

“Greetings, Shaman Doctor,” Sha Rulang said absentmindedly, her fierce gaze unrelenting.

“Hello, Princess Fifteen,” Liu Fenyun replied as if she had never met Sha Rulang before, smiling politely.

Unlike other members of the royal family, Sha Rulang’s eyes were not blue but black, somewhat similar to the Luo clan.

Sha Rulang hesitated for a moment, lifted her cup, imitated her brother’s actions to clink cups with Liu Fenyun, and took a gulp, but choked and coughed violently.

The tenth prince hurriedly patted her back, apologized to the others, and quickly led her away.

After walking a few steps, Sha Rulang suddenly turned to Liu Fenyun and asked, “Shaman-Doctor, do you truly willingly marry a member of the demon race?”

Caught off guard by the question, Liu Fenyun froze, about to answer, when the tenth prince whispered sharply, “Rulang, do not be rude!”

Her voice was not low, and people around instinctively glanced at Liu Fenyun.

Regarding this “sixth prince” from a small country, rumors had circulated both inside and outside the palace since Ping’an and Lianyi’s marriage.

Some said that after a night together, the cat demon had assimilated the prince into the demon race.

Others said that the shaman doctor, as the foremost disciple of the heavenly doctor, had used medicine to control the cat demon, ensuring its obedience, otherwise how could he have survived next to it for so long?

For a while, whispers filled the Jiayao Hall.

Sha Rulang finally realized she had asked an inappropriate question and tried to explain, but the tenth prince covered her mouth. She whimpered as he led her away.

Once the siblings were out of earshot, Liu Fenyun quietly asked, “Has the princess offended her before?”

“She met her at the Reunion Banquet,” Lianyi said calmly, putting down her steak. “She’s an upright and good child.”

Liu Fenyun was momentarily stunned.

She hadn’t expected a demon to praise a human.

“She’s just a bit slow-witted and tends to ask strange questions,” Lianyi added, then continued eating her steak.

Halfway through the cleansing banquet, the monarch ordered the musicians to stop and raised a cup to make a toast.

After this banquet, the spring hunt officially began.

According to the itinerary issued by the Ceremonial Department, after the cleansing banquet, the princesses and princes had three days of free time. After three days, at the hour of Chen, everyone would head to the highest hunting grounds. The men would participate in the spring hunting competition, while the women would wait in designated areas.

The spring hunting event was managed by the Ceremonial Department, which incidentally gave the High Priest a short break.

As Liu Fenyun peeled duck skin for Lianyi, she noticed Luo Binglun and Yu Qingyue seated together.

Yu Qingyue ate her vegetables slowly, occasionally clinking cups with others. Luo Binglun followed, eating the same vegetables, but her gaze wandered, seemingly distracted.

Lianyi had exerted considerable energy treating injuries earlier. She hadn’t finished a duck leg when she began feeling sleepy. She reluctantly drank some vegetable soup, cleaned her hands, and left the table.

“This is my first cleansing banquet. I didn’t expect the dishes to look good but taste mediocre,” she complained while walking along the long corridor.

“Even the food you brought from Baishan Hall at noon was better!”

Though she complained, she had eaten quite a lot, patting her slightly bloated stomach as she walked.

Liu Fenyun worried she might feel uncomfortable sitting in the carriage, insisting they stroll around Jiayao Hall for digestion. Lianyi, wanting to walk off her food, allowed Liu Fenyun to lead her.

They reached a garden, and the system suddenly alerted, “Host, Sha Rulang is nearby.”

“Is she alone?” Liu Fenyun asked, slightly surprised. “Where’s the tenth prince, Sha Yunhuan?”

“He’s not here,” the system replied, then displayed a map showing Sha Rulang’s location only about a hundred steps away.

Liu Fenyun found it odd why would the young princess be alone in the garden at night?

She stopped when she saw Sha Rulang lost in thought. Lianyi, curious, also stopped and asked, “Why did you suddenly stop?”

Liu Fenyun, momentarily at a loss, was interrupted by sensing a strange and dangerous aura in the garden.

This time, Lianyi also sensed something unusual.

Exchanging a glance, the two walked toward the garden.

The garden was not large, planted with green bamboo and some flowers. Liu Fenyun checked the map as they walked. Near Sha Rulang appeared a light representing a demon, the aura very strong, far surpassing Lianyi.

Liu Fenyun suddenly recalled what her master had said during the day: indeed, there were formidable demons in this palace!

She immediately stopped Lianyi and used the system’s X-ray function to examine the garden.

She saw a black shadow standing in front of Sha Rulang, its species indistinguishable. The shadow did not harm Sha Rulang but lowered its “head” toward her.

“You’re late,” Sha Rulang said impatiently to the shadow, holding a food box. “The roasted fish will get cold if I don’t go back soon. If my brother scolds me, it’ll be your fault!”

She spoke while efficiently opening the food box. A large black paw emerged from the shadow and poured the roasted fish into the box.

“You should leave and eat in your den,” Sha Rulang said while rubbing its paw and closing the box. “There’s an Exorcist here. I know they can’t defeat you, but if you get injured, no one can treat you except the Shaman Doctor.”

Mentioning this made Liu Fenyun shiver.

Her aura faltered for a moment. The black shadow withdrew its paw, glanced in Liu Fenyun and Lian Yi’s direction, but did nothing else. A whirlwind surrounded it, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished.

“What kind of demon was that?!” Lianyi asked, her voice trembling as her earlier sleepiness disappeared.

Even facing Yu Qingyue, she hadn’t felt such fear.

“I’m not sure. Its concealment technique was strong. I couldn’t see its true form,” Liu Fenyun said. Seeing Sha Rulang walk toward the exit, she quickly pulled Lianyi away.

Walking along the corridor, Liu Fenyun couldn’t help asking, “Earlier at the banquet, why did Princess Lian say Sha Rulang was an ‘upright and good child’?”

Lianyi, still recovering from the fright, collected herself and said, “It’s a demon’s intuition. Besides, Li Hua and the others truly benefited from Princess Fifteen in the past.”

“But the demon she fed just now…” Liu Fenyun hesitated.

“Yes, that demon carried a lot of killing intent. I sensed it,” Lianyi said gravely. “Don’t rush back. It seems to have noticed us. We should first find your master.”

Ever since discovering Yu Qingyue was also a demon, Lianyi had almost entirely relied on her.

The two circled the hall and returned to the banquet hall to find Yu Qingyue.

Yu Qingyue was still slowly eating. Once those toasting her had left, only the meat dishes remained in her bowl.

Meeting Liu Fenyun’s serious gaze, Yu Qingyue whispered something to Luo Binglun, who helped her rise from the seat.

“When we were walking to digest, we nearly encountered the demon you mentioned,” Liu Fenyun reported immediately. “Luckily, Princess, your concealment technique was strong, or we would have been in serious danger!”

Yu Qingyue raised an eyebrow, glanced at their intact clothing, and said coldly, “Don’t wander around. Follow your master back later.”

“All right!” Liu Fenyun responded immediately.

Luo Binglun, however, looked at Lianyi with surprise. Having fought Lianyi in her demon form before, she didn’t think Lianyi needed to hide from any malicious demon.

Yu Qingyue and Luo Binglun rode in the same carriage. The High Priest’s carriage was spacious enough for two extra people.

Once inside Luo Binglun’s Guizhi Hall with the doors closed, Liu Fenyun finally spoke: “Master, are you going to deal with that demon?”

Because Luo Binglun was present, Yu Qingyue shook her head.

Seeing her master shake her head, Liu Fenyun didn’t press further, only saying, “Then, if you need help, you can call on us.”

Lianyi instinctively pinched her. Liu Fenyun yelped and corrected, “Uh… you can call me.”

Yu Qingyue nodded coldly.

Luo Binglun, all the way worried about their encounter, asked Liu Fenyun, “Jiayao Hall is heavily guarded. Where did you meet the demon, and how did you escape?”

Liu Fenyun looked at Lianyi. Seeing no objection, she told the truth but omitted the part about Sha Rulang feeding the demon.

After hearing this, Luo Binglun frowned deeply.

“I’ll first contact the accompanying Exorcists…” She hadn’t finished her sentence when she suddenly felt chest discomfort and coughed, covering her mouth.

Liu Fenyun realized something was wrong. Had the High Priest’s illness not improved?

It seemed odd. With her master beside her, the High Priest should have been diagnosed and treated. More than half a month had passed. Even a severe illness shouldn’t have shown zero improvement.

Liu Fenyun looked at her master, only to see her master staring at Lianyi.

“You didn’t tell Fenyun?” Yu Qingyue asked.