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RECAP

"Oh please" Jiang rolled his eyes, not that the emperor could see him.

Jiang reaction didn't bother the emperor nevertheless he got serious "I will be back in two weeks time, precisely two days before my birthday, so until then my esteemed empress elect, don't miss me too much to the extent that it causes you a severe heart attack, see you soon" and with that emperor Qin Jie Huang finally cut off all communication between Jiang and himself.

87 A Visit to the Eastern Palace Treasury

Jiang stood at the same spot for a while, biting at his lower lip, he didn't have the courage to look at Han Sheng or Lu Han because he just couldn't stop blushing despite swearing in his head previously that he wasn't going to do that no matter what the emperor said, anyway he was the one that brought the emperor's extreme teasing upon himself, who told him to act like he was so desperate to know when the emperor will be coming back.

Lu Han believed it was better to wait for Jiang to calm down from his high and gather himself, so once Lu Han thought it was okay to speak with Jiang he didn't hesitate anymore " Esteemed empress elect may we leave now" Lu Han still had to take Jiang to the Huang palace and didn't wish to delay this matter anymore.

Jiang understood what he meant and so he nodded but before leaving he turned to Han Sheng and said "You will follow me there while the rest servants will stay back at fairy tale phoenix palace" with that said, the trio proceeded to the emperor's Huang palace which was not too far from the fairytale phoenix palace.

Just like how Jiang entered the Huang palace before, Lu Han took them in the same way because he had a medallion that served as a permit into the Huang palace and once inside and with the directional sign given by the medallion Lu Han took Jiang to a different direction from the one he once walked when he was at the Huang palace the last time, also with the help of the medallion they were able to avoid dangerous situations and soon they arrived at the western wing area of the Huang palace.

As they entered inside the courtyard doors of the western wing, Lu Han stopped their movement by using his left hand to block them and then he said "Please wait here esteemed empress elect while I go and disarm the core of the dangerous mechanisms put in place as well as separate this wing so that you don't have to go through too much trouble when you wish to move about"

"Will that is okay" Jiang worriedly asked because he knew that those mechanisms were perhaps put in place by the emperor.

Lu Han felt touched that Jiang appeared to be worried about him for such a small issue, also he began to have this mindset that the emperor might have really caught something very rare and precious "without the emperor's permission I won't dare to do this esteemed empress elect"

Jiang didn't really understand the half of what Lu Han had said previously about separating the wing but he soon did when both he and Han Sheng felt the earth of this western wing courtyard quake, they had to hold onto the circular door handle of the courtyard in other to be able to remain standing on their two feet, they then heard snapping sounds, as if the protective mechanisms where indeed been disarm, however, what took them by surprise was the fact that they felt like the Huang palace had started descending to the ground from the air where it once was.

When Jiang believed that everything was once again stable he opened the courtyard door and was surprised with what he saw, he also understood what Lu Han meant because the whole west wing of the Huang palace which by the way looked like a moderate mansion of its own had separated from the rest of the Huang palace, Jiang looked upwards at the remaining structure of the Huang palace still in the sky and it appeared normal and just as grand as it used to be, however now there was a long stairway at the area that the western wing use to be and it leads all the way to the back entrance of the western wing Huang palace that was now isolated and stationed on the ground. It was a beautiful stairway and the whole situation made Jiang feel like the Huang palace in the sky was a place where an immortal heavenly being resided whiles the western wing was a place for the mortals that the heavenly being looked after hence the connecting stairway.

Jiang couldn't stop himself from imagining the emperor as that heavenly being walking down the long flights of stairs in all his glory and glamour just to meet his mortal which can be none other but Jiang himself, although Jiang strongly believed that if the emperor was that immortal heavenly being then he did certainly be sneaking through the back door of the western wing courtyard where the connecting stairway leads to without Jiang's knowledge of his arrival and his motive won't be as simple as just looking after the welfare of a mortal, his motives will certainly be more shameless, as a matter of fact Jiang had this premonition that the emperor will certainly do something like that once he returns.

Anyway, the western wing of the Huang palace that was once just another courtyard in the Huang palace now looked like a manor of its own.

Lu Han came out from wherever he had gone to previously and following behind him was an entourage of servants which Jiang had not seen any broken light of them previously, Jiang always believed that the Huang palace had no servants because during the time he spent there he didn't see a shadow, what he didn't know was that the servants of the Huang palace weren't just the usual ordinary servants that the imperial palace had but instead where individuals at the lowest level of the emperor's shadow guard team headed by Lu Han so they were very skilled as remaining unnoticeable, this was after all the most minimum requirement to be able to be a part of the shadow guard.

These servants could be said to be the ones that didn't qualify to be a part of the emperor's personal shadow guards but they were nevertheless very talented and could lead certain armies as lieutenants if they so choose, but instead they preferred to protect and serve at the emperor's Huang palace as his shadow guards servants.

"Esteemed empress elect these are the shadow guards servants and they will be attending to your every need while you stay here, also some guards will be stationed outside the doors of this courtyard for your protection, if you need me for anything else please send any of the guards to summon me, with that can this humble servant be excused" Lu Han respectfully stated.

"Sure," Jiang said and with one final look at Han Sheng, Lu Han walked away.

"I won't need all of you for now but I do need someone to take me to my bedchamber" Jiang said to no one in particular as he looked at the shadow guards now kneeling and bowing before him in perfect order, Jiang even felt like they were somehow lifeless because he couldn't perceive the breath of life in them, it was really strange how the shadow servant guards could do that and now that Jiang thought of that, Lu Han was no different from them, he was even much scarier to be this group's leader.

Once Jiang's words left his mouth the eldest among the shadow servants stepped out and said "Welcome to Huang palace your highness and please follow this noble servant" Jiang was stunned when he heard the way the eldest servant addressed him, after all the title 'your highness' was usually only used for a person that had become the empress and definitely not for an empress elect such as himself, what Jiang didn't know was that since the first time he stepped into Huang palace and the emperor acknowledged him all these shadow servants had already begun to regard him as the empress of Tan Qin Shang,

Also Jiang wondered if this eldest servant was of noble lineage but was willing to serve as the emperor's servant, Jiang thought this way because the servant had refereed himself unlike other servants that Jiang had met so far, the servant had said 'noble servant and not humble servant' in his statement so Jiang wondered which nobleman will actually be willing to serve as a servant, it was extremely rare, almost impossible to see such a thing happen but Jiang understood that with the emperor nothing is actually impossible and common sense doesn't even apply.

Eventually Jiang was lead into a luxurious room with Han Sheng following close behind and then the eldest shadow guard servant brought out something and then turned to Han Sheng and said "Please have this" Han Sheng quizzically looked at the strange pentagon jade-like object been held out towards him, he didn't quite comprehend why the eldest looking servant was giving him what he believed to be a gift.

"It's a special whistle used to contact any of the shadow guard servants whenever we are needed, please use it whenever his highness needs our service" He explained and with that Han Sheng took it.

Jiang stared intently at the eldest shadow guard servant before allowing him to leave but Jiang again began to ponder about a matter "He knows my gender" Jiang whispered to himself, he had noted the fact that the eldest servant had addressed him as 'his highness' and not as 'her highness', Jiang realized that his secret was really not one anymore because it seems like a lot of the emperor's people have been informed about his true identity or at least his true gender and Jiang didn't know how to feel about this knowledge but there was a sweetness in his heart that he couldn't describe, Jiang now truly believed that the emperor didn't care about his gender and he also didn't care who knew about Jiang's true identity and probably the only reason the whole of Tang Qin Shang hadn't known about this matter was because Jiang himself wasn't ready for all that attention just yet.

Jiang sat at the middle of his bed in a meditative position while Han Sheng stood silently beside the bed since he had not yet been asked to leave, he figured that the empress elect still needed him for something because if that wasn't the case then Jiang would have let him go find his quarters where he will be staying while they are at the western wing courtyard of the emperor's Huang palace.

Jiang sent his spirit to enter the heavenly defying golden space, he walked on the pathway leading to what he now calls his storeroom, the former small old building in the space was demolished and rebuilt by him, Hua Jingshen had told him that if he had to remodel or build new structures in this space all Jiang had to do was to think about what he wanted, however this ability had serious restrictions and presently the bungalow looking storehouse filled with lots of cabinets was all Jiang could build in this space.

Jiang looked around the space for Hua Jingshen but he couldn't see the spirit anywhere but he could sense her presence and it seems she was in a slumber and cultivating, Jiang really envies Hua Jingshen in a way because the spirit only had to sleep for a long while and then when she wakes up she did go boasting to Jiang about how her mission to get her mortal flesh is progressing by leaps and bounds.

Hua Jingshen had once told Jiang that it's possible that once she gets her mortal flesh she might also be blessed with entering the path of immortality through been a wood elemental who is also at the magus realm, it's just a feeling she has but she believes that it might actually happen.

Anyway once Jiang entered his storehouse he walked towards a particular cabinet and checked through it and from there he picked up a couple of bottles that were tagged as 'bone marrow washing pill and enhancement pill' once he had this in his hands he walked over to the medicinal plants field to check up on the growth of the plants, after noting that everything was in order Jiang sent his spirit out of the space and by doing so the bottles he had picked up from the storehouse appeared on his physical body, in the same hands that his spirit body had held them.

Han Sheng eyes wanted to pop out on seeing this happen, he couldn't stop stammering gibberish " Yo-young-esteemed" Jiang kept smiling and waiting for his little Han Sheng to start making some sense but seeing as that wasn't going to happen anytime soon, Jiang decided to explain in simple terms " I am also a space elemental and it's a secret so do keep it to yourself"

"Of course big brother, I will tell no soul" Han Sheng seriously said, he was a bit surprised about the whole situation even if he tried to act like he wasn't, the shock of seeing something appear out of thin air was really serious especially for someone who knew nothing about space magic, also although Han Sheng had agreed to address Jiang as Jiang had wanted him to but that didn't mean he didn't still see Jiang as a young mistress, Han Sheng still doesn't know that Jiang is male.

"Good, now keep this with you" Jiang handed the pills bottle to Han Sheng before he continued speaking "Considering where we are going I don't want to have to bring it out from my space, who knows who might be secretly spying on me there"

"Where are we going to again big brother" Han Sheng curiously asked.

"Well, we are going to pay a visit to the Eastern Palace Treasury" Jiang said as he climbed down from his bed and began walking out of his bedchambers, Jiang didn't have to look back for him to know that Han Sheng was excited about this outing after all although the eastern palace treasury was a place built for the servants of the imperial palace, not every one of the court maids or eunuchs could visit there especially if they had no business with the place.