Chapter 0603: Princess Sensitivities
The question struck like a bolt from the blue, and Li Luo was taken aback. Her tone seemed to hold a trace of suspicion and even an inexplicable sense of certainty in her a.s.sertion. As a result, he felt a little astonished. Had she discovered something?
His thoughts revolved quickly and he came to a decision as to his answer. He reflexively shook his head whilst replying, "Huh? What are you trying to say? As you know, I'm just a tiny Resonant Master. Don't you think it's a little outrageous to think I would be able to threaten an opponent that a Heavenly Pearl Stage cultivator like you had problems with?"
The First Princess' gaze roamed across the carriage without looking directly at Li Luo. "I spoke to the vice princ.i.p.al." She smiled sweetly.
Li Luo's eyes almost popped out of their sockets in surprise. Had he been betrayed by Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin? No, that didn't make sense. Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin was cautious, and regardless of the First Princess' stature and influence, she would never leak the details of what had happened. The First Princess was ultimately still a member of the royal court and thus the college would control any information they provided to members of their faction.
Taking all that into account, there was only one possible reason why she would lie about this.
She was trying to pull off a bluff!
At this point, Li Luo continued to shake his head with a puzzled face. "What did Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin do?"
The First Princess' phoenix eyes focused intently upon Li Luo before she gave yet another smile. "You're a sharp one. As you might already have guessed, I just have a lingering suspicion that you were involved in the death of the crimson knight-general. There's no need to attribute all the credit to Qing'e. She may have a ninth-grade light resonance and possibly even some sort of secret trump card, but one fact remains true. When I snapped out of the illusion, I could not sense any remnant light resonant energy in the environment, indicating that a heaven-defying light resonance art had not been used at that point in time. Furthermore, when I awoke, you were already bouncing around. Looking at this with common sense, how could the weakest individual present recover the quickest? Perhaps Jiang Qing'e resuscitated you, but your complexion was pale, as though you had experienced an arduous battle. Vice Princ.i.p.al Su Xin's att.i.tude towards you also seemed a little special, wanting to speak to you personally after all was said and done. I understand her personality very well, and even though she's gentle and caring, all students are treated the same. However, she seemed to have acted out of step by giving you preferential treatment. Thus, there must have been some exceptional circ.u.mstances that led up to this. As a result, based on all the above, my conjecture is that Qing'e could not have been the one who killed the crimson knight-general. Instead, it was you. So, Li Luo, do you want to explain how you did it?" At this point, her gaze was full of interest and curiosity as she looked at the young lord with her phoenix eyes.
Li Luo was shocked numb by her complicated explanation. He had never imagined that the First Princess would possess such deductive prowess. This wasn't some random intuition, she had thought out a whole spiderweb of logical inferences. Just how meticulous and observant could one be? Based on her line of inquiry, even Li Luo had to admit that the situation at hand didn't add up.
However, he could not openly admit to this, and thus he continued to shake his head furiously. "Your Highness, that seems too exaggerated. Common sense will tell you that a Resonant Master could not possibly match up to a Heavenly Resonance Stage cultivator. What are you talking about?"
Looking at Li Luo stubbornly resisting, the First Princess could only bite down on her lip in helplessness. Although her train of thought was logical, the conclusion she had reached was simply ridiculous. No one else would entertain such a ludicrous conclusion. It was the fact that she was a little suspicious at how the situation had turned out that she had done such an in-depth a.n.a.lysis.
Perhaps she felt this way because she had witnessed Li Luo creating mind-boggling miracles multiple times.
"Well, even if you don't admit to it now, we'll see how long it takes for the truth to come out," the First Princess thought to herself as she turned away.
She no longer pursued this line of questioning and changed the topic, starting to chat with Li Luo about other matters.
The mood in the carriage turned lighter as a result.
Li Luo smiled and agreed, secretly sighing in relief internally. The First Princess was truly a difficult girl to handle when compared to the likes of Lu Qing'er or Bai Mengmeng.
As they conversed happily, the carriage eventually arrived at the palace, and Li Luo once again met the Little Emperor.
He was wearing brilliant, yellow dragon robes that seemed to emit an aura of grandeur. However, when this was contrasted against his pale, childish face, they looked a little less majestic and awe-inspiring. When the Little Emperor spotted the First Princess, his face broke out into a beaming smile and he pounced over happily.
The First Princess coughed lightly, and he quickly regained his composure and bearing, instantly taking on a n.o.ble aura.
Seeing that Li Luo was standing behind her, he quickly formed an expressionless face and regained a dignified appearance.
"Your Majesty, please make your preparations. I'll begin your treatment in but a moment." Li Luo bowed deeply as he spoke. In any case, he didn't really care if the little kid was being rambunctious, as it was normal behavior for a child.
The Little Emperor gave the First Princess a glance before she nodded towards him. He immediately made his way into the inner hall to change his robes.
Li Luo was invited in after a short period of time, and the Little Emperor was sitting atop his adorned, yellow bed with his back facing him. His upper robes had been taken off and his fair and transparent skin contrasted strangely against the black lotus mark, looking extremely dazzling with a deathly beauty to it.
The petal that he had previously diffused had started to show some semblance of being restored, ruining some of Li Luo's previous efforts to treat him.
"Li Luo, you're truly amazing. After our last session, my body felt better than ever. You must know that even Dukes couldn't resolve what had been plaguing me!" the Little Emperor said in a clear voice.
"Your Majesty, I'm simply lucky. Perhaps my dual resonances are simply better fitted for this task than others." He would not tell the other party that the reason behind his success was the combination of three kinds of resonant power.
The First Princess slowly walked in and sat down beside them gracefully, simultaneously beckoning a female servant to provide them with some refreshments. She then enjoyed it in a leisurely manner. Even the First Princess felt a certain sense of disconnection when comparing the current relaxing atmosphere with the ascetic troubles they had faced in the Holy Grail Meet.
On the other hand, Li Luo was fully focused upon the treatment of the Little Emperor.
The treatment ended up being even more effortless and smooth than the previous round, a testament to Li Luo's resonant power advances.
An hour later, Li Luo wiped off his forehead full of sweat. His gaze was focused on the back of the Little Emperor, where yet another petal of the black lotus had been dissolved.
The Little Emperor excitedly turned around and exclaimed, "I can feel my body becoming lighter! Thank you, Li Luo!"
Li Luo smiled and nodded as he looked at the jubilant Little Emperor. He could see that the boy was gradually looking more and more alive. A hint of color had returned to his lips and his teeth had whitened. Wait, did his detoxification technique possess a beautifying side effect? "Tell me, Li Luo, what sort of reward do you want? Do you like beauties? My palace has many outstanding ladies of all sorts of temperaments and types. Just say the word and I'll send some your way!" the Little Emperor promised as he was engrossed in his happiness. A hint of embarra.s.sment was seen on Li Luo's face as he declined profusely whilst shaking his head. Was this kid joking? If he dared to bring a legion of girls to House Luolan, he might very well be stopped at the gates!
The First Princess spoke up at this point. "Your Highness, there's no need to worry about this. I'll find a way to thank Li Luo on your behalf." Happiness was also clearly evident in her eyes, and she extricated Li Luo from his new predicament. After a quick conversation, she escorted Li Luo out.
"I hope you aren't angry at me for rejecting His Majesty's well meaning gifts," the First Princess teased as the duo walked out side by side.
"Well then, how else will you show your grat.i.tude, Your Highness?" Li Luo countered back with a smirk.
"I'll just give you one person instead." Smiling, the First Princess raised a single, jade-like finger.
Li Luo was taken aback by this comment. Immediately after, he inadvertently started to size up the voluptuous and regal First Princess before saying with great difficulty, "Your Highness, you may be the beauty of the nation, but I, Li Luo, am an engaged man of the highest values..."
The words immediately caused the First Princess to arch her eyebrow in irritation, and she glared at Li Luo. "Li. Luo. What sort of unrealistic dream are you having? Huh?"
Li Luo coughed dryly in embarra.s.sment. "Ahem. Then what were you trying to say when you said you were going to give me a single person?"
The First Princess gave a cold snort and her tone turned officious.
"Two months from now. House Luolan's Housemeet. I'll send a representative. Just one. A Duke."