Ye Qing dodged the bamboo basket and ran out swiftly.
"Your Highness, I..."
"Say no more."
A Jiu seemed oblivious to her surroundings, her gaze fixed on the scene where the Earth Dragon was surrounded by three snakes within the bamboo grove.
The Earth Dragon's poison sacs on its head were puffed up high. Its small body was half-raised, and its forked tongue flicked out with a sibilant hiss.
"Earth Dragon, you are a overlord of this territory. You cannot lose face!" *Tsk*, you can't lose face!
Go, Earth Dragon! Go, Earth Dragon!
Three King Cobras, each ten times larger than the Earth Dragon, eyed the finger-thick creature menacingly.
A Jiu cheered from the side, but the Earth Dragon turned and walked away the very next second.
A Jiu's heart sank. This was your home! Fight them... fight them!
Clutching her chest, A Jiu watched. Behind her, a pair of boots embroidered with five-clawed dragons stopped with a somber air.
"Earth Dragon, you must wash away your past shame! Fight them..."
A Jiu, still on the ground, peered into the bamboo grove, her small fists clenched and waving.
Then, the Earth Dragon coiled itself into a shape resembling a pile of feces and lay there quietly, even retracting its poison sacs.
A Jiu covered her face in disappointment.
Suddenly, a series of hissing sounds intertwined. A Jiu peeked through her fingers and gasped.
The three snakes had started fighting amongst themselves.
Their necks were held high, as if none would yield to the others.
One snake was trying to fend off the other two, forming a triangular formation.
Snake One attacked Snake Two. As Snake Two counter-attacked Snake One, Snake Three tried to reap the benefits. Then, Snake One and Snake Two both charged at Snake Three.
"Interesting."
Who was that? A Jiu, still in her prone position, turned to look.
Didn't that person look like Tuoba Yan with a beard?
She suddenly recalled and quickly got up: "Prince of Nanming, this commoner was sent by the Master of the Medical Hall to treat an illness. My name is Meng..."
Prince of Nanming waved his hand: "This King knows. Meng Jiuer of Hualan Medical Hall."
"Indeed!"
A Jiu still glanced back, unwilling to give up. She wondered why the Earth Dragon was so idle, still coiled up like a snake pancake. Why didn't it learn to go and fight?
"Why are you all standing around? Go help Miss Jiuer catch the snakes!" Eunuch Zhou's voice, with a hint of a lisp, quickly commanded:
"Without this snake venom, how can the illness be treated? And how can Nanming City defend itself?"
"Yes." Although the men stepped forward, they all grumbled inwardly.
"No, no need," A Jiu waved her hands repeatedly. "That snake is mine, and these three snakes are fighting."
A Jiu's small hands waved energetically, disregarding any etiquette between a prince and a commoner.
The soldiers who had stepped forward breathed a sigh of relief.
A Jiu crawled back to the ground to observe the battle in the bamboo grove.
Prince of Nanming looked at the girl dressed like a little beggar and couldn't help but sneer.
"Father, will you not stand up for your daughter-in-law?"
Ye Qing knelt with a thud beside Prince of Nanming.
"How shall this King stand up for you?" Prince of Nanming casually lifted the sleeves of his python robe and placed his hands behind his back.
"The first moment Tuoba Yan appeared, this child recognized him. He is my..." Ye Qing's eyes welled up with tears.
"You are too fixated," Prince of Nanming interrupted Ye Qing's words instantly and turned his back.
When Prince of Nanming first saw Tuoba Yan, he also thought he was his son. However, his temperament, including his memories, had no connection to him whatsoever.
This fact was irrefutable.
His son was valiant and skilled in battle, while Tuoba Yan knew nothing but flattery. His son was taciturn, while Tuoba Yan was like a three-year-old child every day.
Prince of Nanming had experienced all of this and had even investigated it.
Therefore, he naturally knew that Tuoba Yan had a woman he admired, and that was the little girl currently rolling on the ground.
However, that person was not his son, so Ye Qing's marriage to him was thus cancelled.
"Good!" A Jiu suddenly jumped up. "Everyone is tired. Hurry and catch them!"