Genius Demon Empress - Chapter 23

Chapter 23 - The Awakening of the Loyal Servant

Translated by Luxican

In the memories of "Yue Jing Hua", there were no special details of the Profound Pearl Imperial Academy. She had not known that the Profound Pearl Imperial Academy was divided into an outer and inner court.

The inner court was for the students who were either extremely talented or had an amazing family background, you could enjoy truly elite education there.

Lie Si Si was the favorite type of student in the inner court. Her family is outstanding and her talents were good. In the future, she would surely be a soaring bird.

As for the outer court, the students were just like Yue Jing Hua, the cultivation a mess, and the family a disappointment, but for various reasons the academy could not refuse them.

The matter of the profound pellet was just an excuse for the Profound Pearl Imperial Academy. Profound pellets had neither name nor surname. How could be judged if it was obtained by Yue Jing Hua herself.

When Hong Ling returned from Profound Pearl Imperial Academy today, she kept kneeling outside Ming Xiang Courtyard and refused to get up despite Lie Rou's persuasion.

"Jing Hua, help Hong Ling get up. The profound pellet affair isn't her fault. Over the past ten years, she has devoted herself to her duties and left her hometown, leaving her parents and friends, and following this mother and daughter to the Lie Family. Let her get up first," Lie Rou sighed, anxious, and those people of the Profound Pearl Imperial Academy, if Lie Chang Gong was still here, they wouldn't have dared to do this.

Yue Jing Hua and Hong Ling also understood that the profound pellet matter was nothing but the inner court of Profound Pearl Imperial Academy felt that the fame of the academy would fall if they recruited a waste like Yue Jing Hua and came up with a reason to stuff her into the outer court.

Like it was said before, profound pellets had neither name nor surname. And judging from Yue Jing Hua's inability to practice Profound Qi, it was indeed impossible to determine whether Yue Jing Hua truly had obtained it herself.

In the past there had been many cases of someone cheating their way into the inner court, but they were never exposed. Only this month, Yue Jing Hua was "discovered".

Hong Ling shook her head and bit her lip. She had heard those people wantonly scold and laugh at her lady, and she couldn't help but clash with them.

Wasn't Profound Pearl Imperial Academy a place of knowledge? She was surrounded by several students of the inner court, and was beaten cruelly. Her hands and feet were injured.

After learning the ins and outs of that event, Yue Jing Hua didn't tell Hong Ling to get up, but said, "Mother, you go back to rest first, Hong Ling's matters will be handled by me,"

Yue Jing Hua's voice was particularly clear in the night, and as it fell into Lie Rou's ears her words had an irresistible force.

Lie Rou looked at her daughter uncomfortably, but after seeing the firm color in her daughter's eyes she couldn't help herself. She nodded, and turned back to the Ming Xiang Courtyard.

In the remote courtyard's doorway, a few lonesome bamboos rustled in the wind.

The master and servant were silent for a while. Hong Ling had knelt all night, the blood on her wounds had already dried up. In her lowered eyes, only depression and regret could be seen.

For a long time, Yue Jing Hua looked down at the girl, who had a face as white as a sheet of paper. "Hong Ling, if I remember correctly, you have been serving this mother and daughter since childhood. How do you think this mother and daughter treat you?"

"The lady is kind-hearted and treats this servant like her own daughter. This servant still remembers that when she was ten years old, this servant accidentally broke a collection of old jade vases of the master. The steward wanted to kill Hong Ling immediately, but young lady saved this servant. This servant was hungry all day and night and the young lady begged the old man to save Hong Ling's life. It was also the young lady, who begged the old steward to let this servant be her Study Companion, so that this servant could have today's cultivation. This servant will forever remember the good Miss and Mrs. If Miss wants it, this servant would even take her own life," Hong Ling recalled many things, and her words were choked, eyes reddening.

Lie Rou perhaps did not know, but Hong Ling, who had accompanied "Yue Jing Hua" since she was a child, was aware that "Yue Jing Hua" wanted to enter the inner court with the intentions of meeting Fa Xiao Yi more often. She had even taken the risk of going to Hundred Beasts Mountain.

Hong Ling remembered very clearly that before leaving for Hundred Beasts Mountain, the young lady had been full of joy. But now? Because of her uselessness the plans of the young lady were ruined.

If she had been stronger, she would surely been able to shut that group of inner court students up.

"Treated as a daughter, close as a sister? Hong Ling, it's just like my mother said, you have been loyal and dedicated to my family for the past ten years. And I think, even though, you're loyal, you're also stupid. What you did today truly was a mistake, even more ridiculous than the group of people in the Profound Pearl Imperial Academy," Yue Jing Hua's words, like a sharp blade, pierced Hong Ling's heart.

The young lady had never said such heavy words to her before, the young lady was really different.

Hong Ling suddenly raised her head and looked at Yue Jing Hua in disbelief.

At night, Yue Jing Hua's face looked a little blurry.

"Miss." Hong Ling, who felt insulted, bit her lip until she could taste blood. "Even if Miss is the master, Hong Ling still wants to say, what you said, Hong Ling won't admit."

"You disagree? What you did was in a certain way "disobedience", but at least you know how to refute it. Hong Ling, in this world, the most undesirable thing is to be cheap and self-depreciating. You were originally a servant of the Yue Family, and now that the Yue Family has fallen, you don't need to sell your life for anyone. I don't want your life. What's the use of the life of someone who can't even protect their own body?" Yue Jing Hua's hand fell on Hong Ling's shoulder.

A gentle wisp of energy, instantly poured into Hong Ling's wounded areas.

The pain of the wounds quickly disappeared, and another word was whispered into Hong Ling's ear: "I will give you another wise saying: Don't bully the young and poor, but always remember a grudge. Tonight, you will kneel here and you will remember the ones who insulted, bullied, scolded during the day one by one. Tomorrow morning, come find me in my residence." Yue Jing Hua said, turned and walked away. When she passed the doorway, she found that Yue Chen stood there, and heard the entire conversation.

He opened his mouth slightly, the jade-like face even more prominent in the moonlight.

"If you don't go rest early, your body will easily fall ill and you won't grow tall," Yue Jing Hua lightly flicked Yue Cheng's forehead.

Yue Cheng's delicate nose wrinkled, and he reached out to cover his forehead.

After witnessing Yue Jing Hua's strikingly tall figure and his dwarf-like self, he flattened his mouth and went back to his residence to rest.

Hong Ling kept kneeling on the ground, and did not get up overnight, at dawn, she patted the dust off her knees and walked towards Yue Jing Hua's residence.

T/N: Anyone else having the suspicion of Yue Chen being the purple-eyed man?  I also think that that sounds ridiculous, but even then, this author thinks of the weirdest things....