THE NEXT DAY was boring. With nothing else to do, Lily decided to go play in the street. She had also heard about a newly opened medicine pavilion and thought she might as well take a look. With the strength of her two maidservants, they were enough to accompany her. On their way to the said pavilion, they noticed a certain someone following them from behind while wearing a gentle smile.
Lily came to a halt and gave a suspicious look. The man also came to a halt, his smile brightening even more.
"Fifth Imperial Uncle, it's good to see you here," Lily said perfunctorily, then added, "I didn't know the fifth imperial uncle had the habit of walking around the capital." She looked behind him and noticed a few guards blending in with the crowd. The fifth imperial uncle appeared to be alone, but there were actually a large number of guards following him.
Hugo approached the girl slowly and only stopped when he was just half a meter away. "The Medicine Sect invited me to their grand ceremony, but I was unable to attend. Now, I'm thinking of coming to take a look."
What Medicine Sect? Hugo had no interest in such a sect. He had just learned from his aide that Lily wanted to visit, so he decided to follow.
"Medicine Sect?" Lily echoed. Although she hadn't considered them much, she wasn't surprised. She should have expected this.
In her last three lives, she never bothered to learn who owned the medicine pavilion. After all, despite her knowledge of medicine, she was never interested in it.
Hugo gave a nod. "The Medicine Sect has been spreading its influence in recent years, and now that our empire is somehow prospering, they thought that establishing their name here is just right," he explained.
Lily nodded, indicating that she understood, though she didn't care. The four major sects in the Earth Realm were just a horde of conceited beings. She disliked bothering herself with such people—just a waste of her valuable time. However, since she was already on her way there, she decided to continue on.
"Fifth Imperial Uncle didn't take a carriage or a horse? Won't you be tired?" Lily inquired, shifting the subject.
Hugo shook his head leisurely. In this girl's eyes, what kind of person was he? Would he get tired just from walking? The girl was belittling him too much.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Miss Pei, but walking is not strenuous; in fact, it is beneficial to one's body. Besides, I wanted to take a look around the capital. Seeing our empire's citizens bustling about and enjoying a good life puts my heart at ease."
Lily took a look around. Seeing the citizens busying themselves, her heart didn't feel at ease at all. She only felt tired from looking at them. They were too busy—too busy that Lily started to think they didn't have a life at all. As someone as sluggish as she was, the sight made her shiver.
"Then, since the two of us are going to the same place, would the imperial uncle mind walking with me?"
Hugo's eyes instantly glowed. "I don't mind."
Soon, the two of them reached their destination. The medicine pavilion looked magnificent. Just by looking at its exterior, one could tell how much money one would end up spending to purchase even a single piece of medicine there.
The opening ceremony had taken place four days ago, and the Emperor himself had been present. Hugo was also invited due to his influence and authority. Regrettably, he was uninterested.
The housekeeper recognized the fifth prince right away, his cold face softening into a slight smile. "Fifth Imperial Uncle Hugo, welcome to our Medicine Pavilion," he said before turning to Lily, "And who is this young lady?"
Lily didn't bother to respond. How could this idiot-looking housekeeper not recognize her? It was impossible for the Medicine Sect to be unaware of the empire's situation—how this empire had relied on her Pei family to survive for decades. They couldn't possibly have kept that a secret from the housekeeper. But with his demeanour, wasn't he implying that their Medicine Sect didn't take her Pei family seriously?
The housekeeper's face scrunched into an ugly expression. He was a member of the Medicine Sect. If his position in the sect wasn't high, would the sect even have given this pavilion for him to manage?
So, seeing Lily's nonchalant attitude, he was, of course, angry. The emperor didn't even dare disrespect him, yet this girl, who had just reached marriageable age, dared not give him any face!
"Young miss, this one is talking to you," he sneered. "How dare you ignore me!"
Hugo frowned. He didn't like how this housekeeper was speaking to Lily at all. Yet, before he could react, the girl beside him immediately said, "You can't even take a little bit of neglect?" Her left brow rose slightly as she continued taunting, "I've heard about the Medicine Sect parading their status, bullying the weak, and forcing people to bow down to them. I never thought it was true. But looking at you," her eyes moved up and down, "rumours are, indeed, not created without basis."
The housekeeper's face darkened even more. "Little girl," he said coldly, "the Medicine Sect is a power behind the Earth Realm. Your emperor doesn't even dare disrespect us, yet you're here looking at us with disgust. Your Pei family is nothing in the eyes of power. Do not be ignorant and continue being arrogant. Otherwise, you will never know when you're going to die."
Lily puffed. "I thought you didn't know me?" She didn't wait for the housekeeper to reply and added, "Now, who's acting arrogant?"
"Girl, do not make me repeat—"
"There's nothing good in your medicine pavilion at all," Lily remarked, her eyes scanning the interior. "These are nothing but third-rate medicines that only help cure a cold. Yet you're daring to sell these good-for-nothing medicines at ten times their normal price. Really. How daring. And conceited," she said, looking directly into the housekeeper's eyes with mockery.
"Hmph! What do you even know about—"
"Since there's nothing good to see here, Fifth Imperial Uncle might as well accompany me for a meal," Lily cut off the housekeeper once again, now turning to her side to look at Hugo's handsome face. It was better than looking at the housekeeper—at least, her eyes wouldn't get damaged.
"You—!"
Hugo's eyes twinkled in amusement. Young Miss Pei really knew not to let herself lose. He chuckled as he replied, "It's my pleasure."
Lily raised a brow. She didn't expect the other to openly offend the Medicine Sect. Isn't he afraid of the sect's revenge? Just looking at the attitude of this housekeeper, Lily could already tell what kind of people the Medicine Sect were.
"Then, let's go."
They were about to leave when the housekeeper hurriedly said, "Is the Fifth Imperial Uncle going to let this young miss disrespect us just like that?" His eyes twitched in annoyance as he confronted Hugo.
Hugo stopped in his tracks and replied, "I also thought that since the Medicine Sect was originally established to help people, its members would be humble and kind. Unfortunately, I was wrong." He sighed and shook his head in disappointment before following Lily, who was already outside.
The housekeeper's face turned colder. A moment after his 'good' visitors left, he went upstairs, entered a certain room, and then bowed slightly. "Elder, you've seen the attitude of this young miss from the Pei family. She is not humble and acted arrogantly in the face of this servant. She even dared to criticize our sect. Fifth Imperial Prince Hugo is not that good either."
The so-called elder, Elder Leo, harrumphed. He was sitting elegantly, a cup of tea in his right hand.
"Olivia told me that the young miss of the Pei family developed an arrogant personality because of her family's status," he remarked. "A girl like this—she's really not compatible to become an empire's empress."
The housekeeper nodded in agreement. "It is still Young Miss Olivia who is good and kind. She is beautiful and was raised to be the mother of the world. Plus, she is the sister of Elder Leo's disciple. The sister of the elder's disciple will surely be a peerless woman!"
Elder Leo didn't reply. However, he tacitly agreed. Aside from the fact that Olivia had a good foundation to become a disciple of his Medicine Sect, he also needed this woman to establish his power in the secular world. Although the Immortal Dragon Empire was not the most powerful in this world, it was not the weakest either. This empire was the right place for him to show the world his might. With Olivia becoming the empress, and the imperial family succumbing to him, control would be within his hands.
His only problem was Hugo. The Fifth Imperial Uncle's origin was not something he could trifle with. However, with the current events happening in the Fifth Imperial Uncle's maternal family, Elder Leo was certain that he could erase the Fifth Imperial Uncle's presence in this world.
As for the Pei family—he had never heard of them in the Earth Realm. Upon investigation, they were nothing but an ancient family in the secular world. Since that was the case, he couldn't be bothered with them. It was just a waste of his precious time.