Chapter 143: As long as it’s valuable, it belongs to the king
Qin Bei disregarded Kong Yu’s attempts to block him and insisted on entering the Imperial Garden.
After all, the Imperial Garden wasn’t exactly a small place, and his targets were few; he figured he wouldn’t run into the Noble Consort anyway.
Once inside the Imperial Garden, Qin Bei finally experienced what a fairyland looked like.
He had seen plenty of valuable items before, but he was seeing such a scene in the Imperial Garden for the first time.
As soon as he stepped in, on both sides were tribute spirit flowers vying for beauty.
Qin Bei recognized a few types.
Drunken Immortal Flower~
Evening Mist Flower~
These were spirit flowers cultivated by the royal family of the Flower Kingdom.
While these flowers had no other utility besides their beauty, they represented a symbol of status and position, and couldn’t be bought outside. Other than the palace of the Flower Kingdom, the only other place to see such flowers was the Imperial Garden of Great Xia.
“Be careful! These flowers are tributes from the Flower Kingdom; they’re quite delicate! Don’t break them!”
“Yes~”
A soft female voice floated over, and Qin Bei turned to see a group of over a dozen palace maids.
Some were watering these flowers with spiritual spring water, while others were carefully trimming the green leaves, ensuring they didn’t overshadow the flowers.
Qin Bei’s arrival also caught the attention of the leading palace maid.
Though she didn’t recognize his identity, she knew he was a prince—his jade pendant was a clear sign of that.
Moreover, the only men allowed into the Imperial Garden were those permitted by Emperor Xia.
Otherwise, there was no way to get past the Imperial Guards stationed outside.
Seeing Qin Bei admiring the beautiful flowers, she assumed he must be a flower lover.
“You, come here.”
Suddenly, Qin Bei waved to the head maid.
Startled, she quickly set down what she was doing and hurried over in small, urgent steps.
“What would Your Highness like?”
The palace maid curtsied and asked.
After scrutinizing the maid for a moment, Qin Bei asked, “Are these flowers valuable?”
Maid: ⊙(?◇?)?
“What do you mean, Your Highness? These are tributes from foreign lands, of course, they’re top-tier and extremely rare. If you’re talking about value, then yes, they’re definitely worth something.”
Though the maid was puzzled as to why Qin Bei would ask such a question, she answered earnestly.
After hearing this, Qin Bei nodded slowly, a strange smile creeping onto his lips.
“Good, carry on with your work.”
Qin Bei waved the maid away.
Then, he crouched down to examine a Drunken Immortal Flower in front of him.
Swish~
With a swish of his hand, the flower was plucked.
This action left the nearby palace maids utterly speechless, gaping in shock.
“Huh? What’s happening?”
Qin Bei stared at the flower in his hand, which was quickly wilting, thoroughly confused.
“Your Highness, what are you doing? The flowers in the Imperial Garden are for appreciation, not for picking!”
The earlier maid rushed over again, her voice a mix of urgency and panic.
“Who said you can’t pick them? I am Prince Bei! My father decreed that in this palace, I can practice wherever I please and take whatever I want. I fancy these flowers, so why can’t I take them?”
Qin Bei declared confidently.
“Ah? Prince… Prince Bei?”
The maid froze at the mention of Prince Bei.
His name carried far more weight in the palace than it did outside.
People out there were completely clueless about the crazy things he had done, but the palace maids knew better.
After all, they worked closely with each other. No matter how much the shadow guards tried to intervene, they could only keep it from leaking outside; within the palace, it would be impossible to silence everyone.
Moreover, Emperor Xia’s orders didn’t just reach the guards; the maids were in the loop as well.
So they were just left to watch as Qin Bei made another bold move on the rare flowers before him.
…
Swish~
Once again, Qin Bei plucked an Evening Mist Flower, but to his disappointment, this flower, like the Drunken Immortal Flower from before, had wilted before he could even put it away in his Qiankun bag.
Noticing this, Qin Bei frowned.
“Your Highness, these flowers aren’t meant to be picked like that; you’re just killing them.”
Seeing Qin Bei about to act again, the maid was quick to intervene.
“What do you mean?”
Qin Bei looked at the maid, puzzled.
“Your Highness, these are treasures of the Flower Kingdom. They are rare not only because of their beauty and scarcity but also because these flowers require the unique spiritual soil of the Flower Kingdom to survive. Once they are removed from that soil, they’ll wither immediately due to their fragility.”
The maid explained.
“Is that so? These flowers really are delicate.”
Qin Bei scoffed.
He had seen plenty of flowers, but this was the first time he had encountered ones that withered immediately upon removal.
It seemed that not everything in this immortal cultivation world was robust.
“Moreover, these flowers can’t be transported in the Qiankun bag, as they need constant contact with celestial spiritual energy; otherwise, just the spiritual soil wouldn’t keep them alive for long.”
The maid continued her explanation.
“Alright, got it.”
Qin Bei nodded, signaling that he understood everything.
The maid respectfully nodded and stepped back, thinking Qin Bei wouldn’t take any further action.
However, before she could retreat far, she saw Qin Bei take out a spear from his Qiankun bag.
This… Wan Mie Spear…
Then, Qin Bei used the spear as a shovel, digging up all the Evening Mist Flowers and the spiritual soil beneath.
Next, he pulled out a few vases from the Qiankun bag, muttering, “Good thing I was prepared; otherwise, this would be tricky.”
With that, the maid watched as Qin Bei placed an Evening Mist Flower along with its roots and a generous amount of spiritual soil into the vase.
But even after that, Qin Bei wasn’t satisfied; he started fussing over the Drunken Immortal Flower in front of him too.
The same process repeated—flower, roots, and a hefty scoop of spiritual soil were placed into a vase, all of it eventually tucked away in his Qiankun bag.
And so, everyone watched as Qin Bei filled vase after vase with flowers and placed them in his Qiankun bag.
The maid didn’t comprehend; she had clearly explained that these could not go into the Qiankun bag as they needed access to celestial spiritual energy, or they would perish.
Yet, Qin Bei continued to do as he pleased.
Even so, the palace maid didn’t dare to step forward and stop him.
Who is this?
Prince Bei!
A ruthless man who dared to cross a second-rank consort right in front of the imperial guards, and now with Emperor Xia’s orders backing him…
It was better to keep a safe distance.
Didn’t the imperial guards outside also notice? Yet, no one dared to take a step forward to stop him, did they?
And outside, Kong Yu couldn’t help but twitch at the corners of his mouth upon witnessing Qin Bei’s actions.
In his heart, he mused, this truly is one ruthless character!
…
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