The daily life of a max-level immortal cultivator

Chapter 244 God’s Domain 3

When the man saw the two of them walk in, he first scanned Liu Zhi from head to toe with a very cold and sharp gaze. Then, for some reason, he lingered on her face for a few seconds before quickly looking away.

Liu Zhi fearfully hid behind the abbot, who let her be. However, the man seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied.

"Your name is Liuzhi?"

His voice was deep, heavy, and cold, unlike the gentle tone he used when speaking to family members, or the excitement and tenderness one would show when seeing loved ones after many years.

Is this really what the abbot said, her father, her family?

The man seemed impatient: "I'm asking you a question!"

Liu Zhi replied hastily, as if startled, "Yes, yes, my name is Liu Zhi."

The man shifted his gaze and asked the abbot, "Did you name it?"

“When your people brought her here, she had neither a name nor a surname. So I took the liberty of naming the child after you. We can’t just leave her name blank, can we? I hope you won’t mind.”

"Whatever, that's fine. We've met the person. Willow Branch, come home with me."

After saying that, he was about to leave, not caring whether anyone followed him or not.

The abbot glanced helplessly at the little monkey spirit behind him: "Go, he is your father. He was only fostered and taught for a few years. The temple can't force you to stay."

Liu Zhi silently took two steps back, then suddenly knelt down and solemnly kowtowed three times to the abbot. The abbot did not stop her, taking it as repayment for the fifteen years of nurturing kindness.

"Remember, listen more and observe more, argue less. Arguing is the most useless thing, especially in a family like that... Sigh, you'd better take care of yourself."

After listening carefully to the abbot's words, Liu Zhi neither cried nor made a fuss. Instead, she simply raised her head and smiled, saying, "It's such a pity that we won't be able to eat Brother Zhang's vegetarian meals anymore."

Having said that, he got up and ran out to chase after her, leaving the abbot in the Buddhist hall sighing in vain.

"It was not meant to stay in the pond; one day, it was swept away by the rain and flew away."

The abbot was still holding the divination slip that Liu Zhi had made when he first arrived at Yushan Temple.

As night fell, the abbot sat in meditation in his room and summoned the young novice who had been serving him: "Tell Zhang Yu to come to my room."

"Yes."

……

The General of the Pillar State's Mansion is very large, even larger than Yushan Temple, and the pavilions, towers, flowers, and trees inside are exquisitely beautiful, unlike anything I've ever seen before.

But Liu Zhi didn't have time to stop and take a closer look, because the man in front of her was walking so fast, one step behind and three steps ahead, that Liu Zhi simply didn't have any time.

Before long, the two arrived at a large hall, which was furnished with exceptional beauty.

Inside the hall, there was a group of people who seemed to be waiting for their return.

The man walked straight to the head seat in the hall and sat down. When the man sat down, the others also found seats, leaving only Liu Zhi standing in the center of the hall, being scrutinized by them.

The man took several sips of tea before slowly introducing the situation of the people in the hall.

He pointed to a beautiful woman on the right and two young men next to her: "This is your Aunt Xu and your elder brother and sister-in-law."

Then he pointed to the two beautiful women and four young men on the left: "This is Aunt Liu and your eldest sister, Aunt Zhao and your second brother, second sister and third sister."

Seeing this, Liu Zhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet everyone in the room. Then the man introduced them to each other:

"This is Liu Zhi, who will be the fourth young lady of the manor from now on."

Once the man introduced them, everyone in the room became very friendly. Some gave gifts, while others offered words of comfort and concern. It was a truly harmonious and joyful family gathering.

Liu Zhi, being tactful, accepted the gifts and chatted with everyone in the room until it was time for dinner. She naturally stayed to enjoy a lively family reunion dinner, and they didn't let her go until the end of Hai Shi (9-11 PM).

Since entering this house, Liu Zhi has only now seen where her room is.

It was nearly midnight, and she couldn't see the place she was staying in very clearly. She only knew that it was very big, the rooms were also very big, and the furnishings were still so beautiful, but she had no mind to look at it anymore. At this moment, Liu Zhi was too tired to do anything but sleep.

The truth is, she fell asleep very soon after. It was the deepest sleep she had had in fifteen years. When she woke up the next day, she was told that she was late for breakfast with her family. So late that the head of the household sent someone to say that she no longer needed to have breakfast with them.

Liu Zhi was quite content with her situation, since she had never eaten breakfast on time when she was at Yushan Temple anyway.

The General's Mansion had no mistress; the household affairs were always managed by Concubine Xu, with her elder sister-in-law helping out. Although Liu Zhi missed this breakfast, all the people assigned to serve her arrived early to wait for her.

One head maid, four first-class maids, four second-class maids, two guards, and eight miscellaneous maids and servants—the eldest daughter was truly given the full regalia.

None of her older brothers and sisters received such treatment, but she, the fourth legitimate daughter, received it on her very first day in the family.

What does Liu Zhi, a young girl who has lived on the mountain for fifteen years, know? She doesn't understand, so she is exceptionally good at using people. She doesn't feel any psychological burden when using this sudden wealth.

During his six months in Yujing, whenever Liuzhi thought something was pretty, delicious, or fun, he would buy it for her, regardless of whether she needed it or not.

In just six months, she transformed from the timid and obsequious fourth daughter of the Pillar of State General's Mansion, who was always the butt of jokes at banquets, into the little tyrant of Yujing, whom everyone avoided.

But her father was a great general who had rendered meritorious service to the country, and he never disciplined her, giving her whatever she wanted, spoiling her rotten.

Do you spoil them?

However, it seems that since she entered the manor, apart from the first day, she has only seen her father twice in the past six months.

He ignored her, and none of his brothers, sisters, or aunts ever came out against her, as if she didn't exist in the family.

why?

She's made such a big fuss, yet no one has stepped forward to punish her; she just can't understand it.

Later, she stopped thinking about these pointless questions and just ate and drank as usual. Then, a year later, someone from the palace came and invited her family to a palace banquet.

In the past, the palace often invited them to banquets and outings, but Liu Zhi was usually not allowed to go. Today was an exception.

Concubines are not allowed to enter the palace; this is the rule. However, since the General of the Pillar State's mansion has no mistress, they became the only exception.

But the truth is far more complex than that.

The splendor of the palace far surpasses that of an official's residence. Even the most luxurious and magnificent general's mansion cannot compare to a corner of the imperial palace. Liu Zhi has witnessed this firsthand today.

A banquet was held in the palace, attended by many high-ranking officials and ministers. Today, Liu Zhi was unusually well-behaved and quiet, as if she were a completely different person from usual.

As soon as they arrived, they were immediately surrounded by a group of sycophantic ministers, while Aunt Xu, who had come with them, tactfully led Liu Zhi, who was visiting for the first time, to find a place to sit.

Immediately afterwards, a group of noble ladies from wealthy families gathered around and chatted with Aunt Xu, but no one came looking for Liu Zhi.

Liu Zhi, being quick-witted and perceptive, sat down and began eating the food on the table.

After a long while, more people came to the main hall for the banquet, but Liu Zhi didn't pay much attention until a eunuch shouted, "The Emperor has arrived! The Empress has arrived!"

The noisy conversation inside the hall ceased, and everyone knelt and shouted, "We pay our respects to Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty! May the Empress be in good health!"

"Rise, all of you. It's just an ordinary palace banquet. There's no need for you to be so formal."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The crowd below rose and waited for the Emperor and Empress to sit down before taking their seats one after another.

Since it was Liu Zhi's first time seeing the emperor and empress, she couldn't help but glance at them a few more times.

The empress was very elegant and dignified, with the demeanor of a mother of the nation. However, the emperor looked to be only in his thirties or forties, yet he appeared sickly and on the verge of death.

No matter how expensive his clothes were, they couldn't hide the sickly aura of someone who was about to die.

Is the capital city of Yujing about to undergo a major upheaval?

The only redeeming quality of this palace banquet was that the food was genuinely quite good. The rest of the time consisted of watching song and dance performances or ministers exchanging toasts and compliments, which was utterly uninteresting.

But when the interesting part came, Liu Zhi couldn't smile anymore, because...

One of the princes and nobles seated above, holding a wine cup, stood up and addressed the emperor:

"Your Majesty, there is a woman present who has captured my heart. On this auspicious occasion, I would like to request Your Majesty to grant us a marriage!"

The emperor seemed intrigued as well: "Oh? I wonder whose daughter has caught the eye of the Prince of Xiang?"

His younger brother's heart was in the mountains and fields, not in court politics, so he was naturally happy that he had finally found someone he liked.

"It is Liu Zhi, the fourth daughter of the Pillar General's family."

Liu Zhi, who was eating her meal downstairs, was stunned for a moment when she heard her name called. Then she looked up and met a pair of determined eyes.

That person was exceptionally good-looking, the kind of person you wouldn't forget after just one glance.

But she didn't know him at all, and had never even met him. Why was she being specifically asked to marry him?