252: Showdown with Bai Meng

Facing Gu Xiaoyue's questioning, Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi awkwardly shook his head.

“On the contrary, the first thing I did when I came here was to provide an alibi for Mr. Gu.”

“As I said, you were the only outsider who entered the treasure vault before, so everyone might suspect you.”

“But now that I have seen it with my own eyes, you are resting in the room. If anyone dares to suspect you, I will be the first to stand up and disagree!”

Gu Xiaoyue chuckled softly when she heard him say that.

“Then if any guards come to question me, I’ll trouble Your Highness to block them for me. After all, I’m not feeling well and don’t want to see all sorts of people—”

Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi nodded in agreement, asked her a few questions, and then left.

After confirming that he had left, Gu Xiaoyue took out the imperial edict from her Yu Beast Space to examine it, her brows tightly furrowed.

That old scoundrel Bai Yu Kang was indeed feigning compliance!

He had indeed established an imperial edict, but the throne was actually passed to Prince Duan, Bai Jinchen!

So, despite Bai Jincheng and Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi having more power and military strength than Bai Jinchen on the surface, everyone thought that the overlooked Prince Duan was Bai Yu Kang's chosen heir!

The old scoundrel understood the art of checks and balances, which was why he had been so reluctant to establish an imperial edict.

He must have wanted to stabilize Prince Duan's power as much as possible before he died.

It was a pity that Bai Yu Kang had been ill for the past six months, except for two months after Gu Xiaoyue helped treat him, he had been bedridden the rest of the time.

During those two good months, he also focused most of his energy on finding spiritual plants that could increase his lifespan, neglecting Prince Duan both overtly and covertly.

Since that was the case, Gu Xiaoyue decided that she would keep Bai Yu Kang alive and change the heir in this imperial edict!

She remembered an unofficial history she had heard in her previous life about an emperor changing his imperial edict, and now she was going to do the same thing.

Gu Xiaoyue unfolded the imperial edict, touched the handwriting with her hand, and then brought it closer to her nose to smell it.

In the unofficial history, the one who changed the imperial edict was originally a prince, and the ink for the imperial edict was readily available.

But the imperial edict in her hand used a special ink. If Steward Shi exposed it during the announcement.

If she used a different ink to change the name, it would immediately reveal her tracks!

Gu Xiaoyue took the imperial edict to the lamp and examined it herself. She could see tiny specks of starlight on the ink, which should be bright powder mixed into the ink.

It didn't matter, she didn't need to replicate whatever was mixed in.

To put it simply, the composition of ink was nothing more than carbon black and some additives.

As long as she moistened it with water and used water molecules to push it, she could change the direction of the ink marks!

Once the water evaporated, no one would be able to see any traces of alteration, and it would be useless even if Steward Shi jumped out and said the imperial edict was fake!

But to avoid less trouble—Steward Shi had better die before Bai Yu Kang!

Having finalized her plan, Gu Xiaoyue placed her hand on the imperial edict. The character “Duan” for Prince Duan gradually changed into “Yi” Wang.

Bai Jinchen was also changed by her to Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi.

She couldn't roll it up in a hurry, doing so now would cause the ink to smudge.

She kept it flat and put it into Little Black's hidden space.

Of course, she was also afraid that her pet beasts might accidentally burn it to ashes while playing!

She wouldn't enter the palace these next few days. With such a big commotion at the treasure vault, the palace guards should be even more stringent.

The imperial edict was originally only known to Bai Yu Kang and Steward Shi.

Everyone's attention should be on the treasure vault, and no one would care about the imperial edict anymore.

After taking care of all this, Gu Xiaoyue went to sleep in her clothes.

The ordeal tonight was not only physically exhausting, but mainly because staying invisible consumed Mental Power. The moment her body touched the bed, she fell asleep.

Gu Xiaoyue slept for a full day and two nights. When she woke up, White Gaze told her.

The palace guards had come several times, wanting to question her directly about what she was doing at the time, but Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi had fended them off.

“Your Highness is thoughtful.”

“The palace guards are also strange. What could I, a dying person, possibly do? Really—”

After she finished speaking, she coughed a few times to make herself seem even closer to death.

White Gaze felt a pang of heartache and took Gu Xiaoyue’s hand.

“Sister, didn’t Father give you something a few days ago—aren’t you feeling better?”

Actually, he had a rough idea of what Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi had given Gu Xiaoyue.

But now his sister's body was barely holding up. It shouldn't hurt his maternal grandfather to lose a little blood, or—

White Gaze took out a dagger from his Yu Beast Space and cut his arm.

“Or, Sister, drink mine.”

“It might not be as effective, but it’s definitely better than nothing!”

“I am strong and healthy. As long as I can extend your life, I can keep providing for you!”

“Alright, stop messing around!”

Gu Xiaoyue raised her hand, and a cloud of water mist surged onto White Gaze's arm. The wound immediately stopped bleeding, then slowly healed, leaving only a red mark.

Now, everyone should believe that what she handed over was a companion beast.

It was clearly causing pain to loved ones and joy to enemies, and she no longer wanted to hide it from White Gaze.

“To be honest, what I handed over was not a companion beast, but just an ordinary pet beast.”

“I was—acting all along!”

Gu Xiaoyue even prepared for White Gaze to get angry immediately.

But White Gaze was only stunned for a moment, then gave her a big bear hug!

“That’s great! Sister, you—”

He wanted to cheer, but constrained by the fact that this was a huge secret, he forcibly suppressed it.

Gu Xiaoyue put her index finger to her lips, making a shushing gesture.

She summoned Little Black and pulled White Gaze into the hidden space.

“Celebrate now, I’m fine!”

She took out a few Huanpo Lotuses that she had taken from the treasure vault, as well as some other rare treasures, and gave them to White Gaze.

White Gaze's excitement hadn't worn off yet, and these items completely stunned him.

“The palace treasure vault was stolen—oh my goodness!”

“Exactly, and this too!”

Gu Xiaoyue showed the imperial edict to White Gaze and told him about her agreement with Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi.

“Now that seventy to eighty percent of the matter is settled, some finishing touches are still needed.”

“I’ll need to sneak into the palace again after a while to extend His Majesty’s life.”

“When His Majesty passes away, Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi will be busy with the succession ceremony, so the defenses of the Yi Wang Mansion will likely be weakened. It's a give and take.”

“I'll find another opportunity to rescue your mother, and your maternal grandparents!”

“After we rescue them, what should we do next?”

White Gaze glanced around and asked, biting his lip.

“Sister, can your pet beast temporarily accommodate my mother and them?”

“It can, but we can’t let them live here forever, can we?”

“What’s the difference between that and keeping them locked in a secret room?”

“There is a difference, at least we won’t torment them—”

White Gaze also knew that Gu Xiaoyue wasn't being stingy; it was just that keeping his mother and them in the hidden space indefinitely was indeed not a long-term solution.

“When His Majesty passes away, according to Damon’s tradition, someone needs to guard the imperial mausoleum for three years.”

“Why don’t I apply to guard the imperial mausoleum for three years? Once I’m there, I can arrange a way out for Mother and them.”

White Gaze's attitude made Gu Xiaoyue feel a pang of heartache. Even if it was just a plan, she couldn't even plan to spend a few more days with her family before they had to continue their life on the run.

Anyone would feel sad, right?

She carefully examined White Gaze's face and teased him.

“My little crybaby is getting stronger and stronger! Good job, you’ve grown!”

White Gaze lowered his eyes, forcing out a smile that was hardly better than a cry.

“To be honest, Sister, I grew up without my mother by my side, so I don't have much of an impression of her anymore.”

“My obsession with her is to rescue her from her predicament, but if it comes to a comparison—”

“You leaving me, Sister, might make me even sadder!”

White Gaze knew his analogy wasn't quite appropriate, and he didn't know how else to describe his current feelings.

He pursed his lips, his head bowed very low.

Gu Xiaoyue raised her hand and stroked his head. Didn't they say boys didn't like having their heads stroked? White Gaze didn't seem to resist.

“I understand how you feel. It’s been too long since you felt true family affection, and even thinking about it can feel awkward. It’ll be fine once we’re together more often.”

She herself was the same. She was adopted by her master when she was young.

She also fantasized about her mom and dad coming to take her home, from hope to despair.

Even when she first transmigrated here and met Gu Yu and Mu Qingning, it was so awkward.

She remembered at that time, it was also when the original host had just tested as having twelve attributes, and she happened to be locked in her room, not communicating with them.

It took her almost a full month to accept the setting of having a “family.”

It had been almost a year since she transmigrated here, and she wondered how Gu Yu and Mu Qingning were doing—

At this moment, in Hechuan, Long Country, Mu Qingning had coaxed Gu Xiaoyang to sleep. After closing his door, she held a stack of documents and asked Gu Yu.

“Gu Yu, explain to me, what is this?”