NoGift

AURUM looked up at the jade pillars and golden tiled roof and she just couldn't help but let out a long sigh. The building in front was Fenghua Palace - the official residence of the Empress of Xing. Yesterday, a eunuch from this palace sent a personal invitation from the Empress inviting Aurum for an afternoon tea. The eunuch personally saw her happily eating snacks with Madame Lin. So they couldn't use the same ruse that she wasn't feeling well to decline the invitation. Thus, this situation.

She came here with two maidservants lent by Madame Lin, one of them was the madame's most trusted servant - Zi Yu. Her brother couldn't come with her because men we're not allowed inside the Imperial Harem. Unless if you're the Emperor, or his sons, or a eunuch. Aurum was not afraid to meet the Empress on her own. She just didn't want this to be another repeat of that shitty tea party.

She just hoped that the Empress wouldn't turn out to be such a b*tch. Because her brother would definitely not hesitate to offend the royal family if she was bullied here. Something they couldn't afford right now. At least not until they found their mother. Because as long as they're in Xing, the Emperor still had the power to limit their movements. Once they've rescued their mother, then Xing's royal family could go to hell for all she cared.

"Don't worry, Lady Aurum, if you're not sure of what to do, this servant will do everything to intervene," Zi Yu assured her.

Aurum smiled warmly at the older woman. "Thank you, Zi Yu."

The eunuch who welcomed them lead them to the palace's garden. There, in the middle of the beautiful field of flowers was a pavillion. Sitting inside was a woman wearing a magnificent red robe with intricate golden embroidery on them. Her long black hair was arranged in a complicated manner, on top of her head was a golden head dress. Her face was clasically pretty but not overwhelmingly so that she would be considered a devastating beauty. But the grace engraved in her totally made up for that.

They said that there's only one woman allowed to wear red in the harem - the Empress. Murong Xue.

"Your Majesty, Lady Aurum Blackbourne has arrived," the eunuch said, announcing her arrival.

Aurum walked towards the pavillion, along with the two maidservants with her and bowed. "Your Majesty."

The Empress put down the cup of tea she was drinking. "Welcome, Lady Aurum. Please do sit down and enjoy this tea with this Empress."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aurum said with a sweet smile on her face. She walked inside the pavillion and sat accross the Empress. A palace maidservant immediately poured tea for her.

"This Empress just heard that you were not feeling well. Are you feeling better now? If this Empress have known that you're not in good health, this Empress wouldn't have invited you so arbitrarily."

[Yeah, right. There's no way you didn't know that I wasn't feeling well, but you still invited me anyway.] Aurum smiled. "I'm already feeling better, Your Majesty. It's probably due to the herbal supplements that His Majesty, the Emperor, sent. And now that I've seen such a magnificent palace and drank such a delicious tea, it lifted my spirits even more."

Murong Xue finally gave a serious look at the young lady in front of her. What she said wasn't over the top but it would still evoke a sense of fondness from the listener. Add that to her overly beautiful face and anyone listening would have a good impression of her. This girl certainly knew how to make people like her.

Her manner's were perfect, even the way she spoke the Xing language was impeccable. With her family background, she would definitely be a perfect candidate for a wife. Especially since that company her brother founded was starting to really gain influence here in Xing. If Murong Xue could marry her off to her youngest son, it would definitely benefit her eldest - the crown prince. Being connected to something like Silver Corporation could only be nothing but advantageous.

The only problem was Lady Aurum being a foreigner. But oh well, she wouldn't be the Empress, so that wouldn't really cause much trouble. Being this beautiful, Li Ren - her youngest - would surely not reject Lady Aurum.

As soon as she heard that the Blackbourne twins would be coming to Xing, a lot of plans had already been swirling inside Murong Xue's head. Especially since she found out that the one bringing them, and with a business deal in hand no less, was the fourth prince. A lot of benefits would fall on the first prince's faction if that deal became successful. But the Emperor already took care of that by taking that deal himself.

Now, Murong Xue only had to take advantage of the time this young lady would be here in Xing. And make sure that before she could leave Xing, she would have no choice but to marry Li Ren. If that plan successfully went through, along with that other deal she made, then that first prince would no longer be a thorn on her side. And Li Ran sitting on the dragon throne would no longer remain as a dream.

"Did Li Jun not visit you? After travelling that long together, he must have already considered you as a friend. That child is quite sociable after all. He could be friends with anyone from all walks of life," the Empress said.

Aurum stopped herself from showing any kind of reaction. Because this woman did not only try to gauge her relationship with the fourth prince, she also low-key insulted him. Because him being able to be friends with all sorts of people meant that he could also be friends with criminals and such. Clearly, this woman wanted her to have a bad impression of the fourth prince. But why? Was she afraid that she would somehow become the fourth prince wife or something? That's stupid. Who would want to marry in this kind of stiffling society? She'd rather stay at her brother's island forever.

Anyway, there's really only one answer that wouldn't offend anyone. "No, Prince Li Jun didn't visit. We weren't really that close. As much as possible, I try to keep my distance from other men. Since it would be disrespectful to my fiance."

The Empress raised her brow. "Oh, you have a fiance?"

"Yes, it's the second prince of Albion," Aurum said with the gentlest smile she could conjur. [Sorry, popsicle. I need you to be my fiance for a while.]

It's not like anyone here could check if it was true or not. And even if they did, the rumor about them being in that kind of relationship was still floating around Albion.

"I see." Murong Xue thought that it wasn't really that surprising. It would be stupid of the King of Albion if he didn't even try to permanently attach their royal family to the Blackbournes. But so what? That could easily be remedied.

They chatted for almost an hour. That was until a raven suddenly flew inside the pavillion and landed on the table. Aurum noticed the miniscule change in the Empress' expression when she saw the black bird. She took the piece of paper tied to the raven's claw. Then the raven flew away. But instead of reading what's on the paper immediately, she turned to Aurum.

"The seventh princess will have her hairpin ceremony next week. This Empress is inviting you to be my personal guess."

Aurum could barely maintain her smile when she heard that. The way this woman said it, it's like Aurum had no other choice but to agree. And maybe she really didn't have any choice. At least not without blatantly offending this woman. She clenched her fists. They couldn't delay any more time in searching for their mother. Which meant they couldn't just sit around here in the capital until that whatever ceremony was finished. No. Wait. Her brother couldn't. But she could.

"I would love to go. It's an honor to be invited by Your Majesty."

Yes. This was the only way that would allow her brother to leave the capital without any problem. Although it's frustrating that she couldn't help in searching for their mother. At least with her staying here, it wouldn't give these royals any reason to think that Argent was doing anything other than looking for locations for that project. Because why would Argent do anything suspicious when her twin sister was alone in the capital and under their mercy?

But her brother would definitely hate this. She could already imagine her reaction.

After a while, their afternoon tea time ended and Aurum bid farewell to the Empress. Aurum only walked a few steps when she glanced back at the Empress. She was currently reading the paper that was attached earlier to the raven and there was obvious joy on her face. No, it was more accurate to say that she was ecstatic.

Aurum became curious. What could possibly be written on that paper? Could she somehow use that against the Empress? You know, just in case the Empress tried to scheme against her. She thought about it and finally made a decision. When they were about to leave the garden, Aurum turned off her limiter.

She could use and fully control her power for five seconds. Which meant she could be at full SS level for those short seconds. It wouldn't be enough in most cases, but in this case, it definitely would. Aurum immediately directed her Mana towards the Empress' position. The moment her Mana touched the Empress, she went through her memory. At least as much as she possibly could in five seconds time. When five seconds were over, she immediately turned her limiter back on.

Aurum's pupils dilated when she went over the memories she collected. What the--?

"You did great, Lady Aurum," Zi Yu commented once they were out of the garden.

Aurum smiled. "Yes, I certainly did."