After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

"Does he need to learn? He's the one who helped you ascend the throne!" Xiang An scoffed, but it was no use.

A faint scent of sandalwood rose gently, drifting lightly to the tip of the nose, bringing a moment of tranquility to the imperial study.

a long time.

"...Your subject dares not." Fu Qingbai lowered his eyes calmly, placed the imperial seal beside Xiang Xin, stood up, picked up the memorials on the dragon desk, and left the imperial study.

Before Xiang An could vent her anger, an invisible barrier ruthlessly dragged her away, whether she clung to a pillar or pried open a door, it was all in vain.

"Fu Qingbai! Don't go! Don't go!" Xiang An struggled wildly.

"it's useless."

A slow, drawn-out, and slightly smug remark suddenly appeared.

Fu Qingbai stopped in his tracks and looked towards An, where he saw Xuanqing Daoist in blue robes sitting on the long, secluded steps of the bridge corridor.

Xiang An exclaimed in surprise, "It's you! The scruffy Taoist priest!"

“It’s me, but I prefer you to call me Master Xuanqing.”

This man was the disheveled Taoist priest she could see on the street.

At the time, she thought he was a Taoist priest who had left the Taoist temple and was wandering the world. Who knew that he would appear in the palace now, outside the imperial study.

"it's me."

Master Xuanqing chuckled and stroked his messy, bird's-nest-like beard. "Long time no see. How have you been?"

"Not bad. What are you doing in the palace?"

Xiang An became secretly wary. This person hadn't said who he was back then, so why was he appearing in the palace now?

Although she didn't know his name, she knew there were no Taoist temples inside the palace, so how did he get into the palace?

Instead of answering, Master Xuanqing asked, "And what are you doing in the palace?"

Xiang An put his hands on his hips and said confidently, "This is my home, of course I'm here."

A look of understanding appeared on Master Xuanqing's face, and he murmured to himself, "No wonder...no wonder..."

He spoke inexplicably, which An couldn't understand. Suddenly, she felt a strange fear and hurriedly hid behind Fu Qingbai.

"What's the wonder?"

A Taoist priest appeared out of nowhere. Fu Qingbai knew him, but they didn't interact much.

He stared at him with cold eyes. From the moment Master Xuanqing began to speak, he knew he wasn't being addressed, so he stood still without responding, quietly watching to see what Master Xuanqing wanted to do.

In fact, Xiang Xin brought this old Taoist priest back from outside the palace. No one knew his background. Apart from being a bit eccentric and talkative, he was no different from an ordinary person.

To everyone's surprise, the Taoist priest spoke fluently and naturally into thin air, as if someone were actually standing in front of him and talking to him.

Strange and bizarre.

Fu Qingbai has never believed in or been afraid of gods and ghosts. He knew a little about his past from his colleagues, but he never cared.

Therefore, he waited until the Taoist priest walked up to him in a rambling manner before he spoke up to stop him, in order to avoid bumping into him.

Master Xuanqing stopped in his tracks, as if only now noticing Fu Qingbai, and exclaimed in great surprise, "What are you doing here, Marquis Anwu?"

Fu Qingbai lifted his eyelids, didn't answer, and turned to leave without saying a word. As soon as he left, Xiang An followed suit.

Upon seeing this, Master Xuanqing instantly understood and stepped forward to block his path: "Has the Marquis been feeling unwell lately?"

Fu Qingbai: "..."

Seemingly sensing his indifference, Master Xuanqing made an awkward bow and said with a grin, "My lord, you haven't answered this old Taoist's question yet."

Fu Qingbai glanced at him and said, "Daoist Xuanqing, you should be concerned about His Majesty's health, not this Marquis."

"No, no, no, this old Taoist is asking about you." Master Xuanqing shook his head vigorously. "Is the Marquis unwilling to speak? Is it because the Marquis is seriously ill and will soon pass away, and is afraid that this old Taoist will laugh at you?"

Fu Qingbai: "...You've used the wrong person to provoke me. Get out of my way."

Master Xuanqing remained unmoved, his face shameless: "My lord, you only need to answer yes or no. The question is not difficult to answer."

Fu Qingbai remained unmoved with a cold expression, while Daoist Xuanqing smiled but did not move aside.

For a moment, the two were deadlocked.

Having run out of patience, Xiang An, who had been hiding behind Fu Qingbai, peeked out, his suspicious gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them. After a moment's thought, he said with a playful expression, "Give up, he doesn't even look at you."

Master Xuanqing's mind went blank for a moment, then he blurted out, "Young lady, with too many frivolous thoughts, you'll never get married!"

Xiang An glanced at him nonchalantly and sneered, "Whether I get married or not is none of your business! The world is vast, and you think you can interfere in my marriage? You old geezer, not only do you block a grown man's path in broad daylight, but you also have the audacity to ask a strong and healthy general about his health. Isn't it normal for me to think about these things? What? You're allowed to ask, but I'm not allowed to think?"

When Master Xuanqing heard that what she said matched what he had done, he was immediately like a cat startled by thunder, his fur standing on end, extremely agitated: "Why did I ask for the reason? Don't you know? Is pretending to be ignorant a family ancestral ability?"

He shouted loudly, his voice extremely loud. Fu Qingbai unconsciously frowned, while Xiang An remained indifferent. There was nothing she could do; she simply didn't understand why he said he knew the reason.

Xiang An shrugged: "You just want to test his physique, how long you can play with him, and whether he can withstand your play, right?"

Having transmigrated from the information-saturated modern world, she has an extremely open-minded view of stories about forced love between men or other genders.

There's nothing wrong with two people being in love, as long as they have the other person's consent; otherwise, it's illegal.

Judging from the current situation, the fair-skinned and handsome Fu Qingbai did not take a liking to the disheveled and bearded Taoist Xuanqing.

"You are shameless! Vulgar! Ignorant!"

Master Xuanqing jumped up and down angrily, "If it weren't for you, do you think this old Daoist would have asked? I'm not some idle person with nothing better to do."

"What do you mean by 'for me'? You want to use my name to ask about other people's private affairs to fulfill your own selfish desires, and I have no objection. But don't use what you think is goodwill, like 'for my own good' or 'for my sake,' to stand on the moral high ground and do things that I don't know about, but which make me feel aggrieved afterward and benefit you. I don't know you well; we've only met twice. There's no reason for me to do anything for you."

"You, you, you don't know a good heart! You bite the hand that feeds you! You're heartless and cruel! You're despicable! You're utterly despicable!" Master Xuanqing cursed more and more vehemently, his voice growing louder and louder.

Why did Master Xuanqing curse Marquis Anwu?

The door to the Imperial Study was wide open, and Xiang Xin stood at the doorway watching the two people who were locked in a stalemate in the middle of the road, neither willing to back down.

Master Xuanqing paused in his rant, glancing guiltily at Fu Qingbai, who hadn't said a word the entire time, and Xiang An, who was engaged in a heated argument with him, but no one but himself could see it.