It was unimaginable that a young lady could defeat the best fighter of the Daye Dynasty within a hundred moves.
At this moment, they were at a loss for words to describe their inner feelings.
Qin Chuyuan also finally let out a sigh of relief as Gong Xiaohua was safe and sound.
He knew she was capable, but did not expect her to be so capable to such an extent.
The onlookers below had completely changed how they looked at Gong Xiaohua.
By defeating the Lang Commander, what did that signify? It signified that this young lady had risen to become Daye's number one master.
The few from the royal family sitting above were also dumbfounded, especially the Crown Prince, who looked at Qin Chuyuan meaningfully with an expression that said "Don't think I don't know you were nervous about her the whole time, and that you're screwed."
What he got in response was Qin Chuyuan's indifference.
The Qin family matriarch kept murmuring by the side, "I really wonder how this girl grew up. I really underestimated her."
Among the Zhou family crowd, Zhou Yao fell into deep thought. Could it be that the other party was not just talking nonsense randomly, and that she really could cure her face?
Lin Yueru was so angry she almost went mad. Cheap people always get lucky in disasters.
I just don't believe you can keep getting lucky today. Just you wait!
The fight with the Lang Commander helped sober Gong Xiaohua up from her tipsiness quite a bit.
Her mind also began to clear. The wine in the palace was really strong.
In her past life, with her identity as a special agent, such a small amount of alcohol could not possibly have made her feel even slightly drunk.
It seemed like she had attracted a bit too much attention today. She wondered whether this would bring her fortune or misfortune.
Princess Linglong stood up and walked to Gong Xiaohua's side. She hooked her arm around Gong Xiaohua's arm arrogantly, with an expression as if she had been the one who won the match.
"Father, Mother, didn't I say that sister Gong was very capable? Now you should believe my judgment, right?"
"Yes, yes, our little princess is quite remarkable now, even making friends with such a formidable one." The king doted on Princess Linglong from the side.
"Of course!" Princess Linglong giggled happily.
Gong Xiaohua looked at the innocent girl who had unknowingly put her in such an awkward situation, yet was still smiling foolishly at her. She was quite helpless.
She signaled for the little girl to let go of her arm, then walked to the front of the Lang Commander and bowed, "Thank you for going easy, Commander Lang."
She then prepared to help him up. But he seemed to have guessed her intention. He staggered slightly and rejected her kind gesture.
"Your Majesty, I have lost. Please punish me," said the Lang Commander to the king above.
As the protector commander of the Daye Dynasty, having been defeated by a no-name, and a young lady at that, how could he still face others?
"Give him thirty heavy rods," said the king.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The Lang Commander saluted the king above, then saluted Gong Xiaohua as well before withdrawing without another word.
Looking at Gong Xiaohua standing below, the Queen was quite surprised.
She did not expect this young lady to be so capable. It was a pity she was of low status. But keeping her by her side as a guard would still be good.
"Miss Gong, We are conferring you the title of First-class Attendant. You shall serve at the princess' side. What do you think?" said the Queen.
Since she transmigrated here, the Gong family had given her the warmth of a home. This warmth made her deeply reluctant to part from them.
In this life, she only wished to live freely and happily together with her current family.
If she entered the palace, how would that be different from her cold, lonely life of living in the shadows in her past life?
But she deeply understood that in this society centered around royal power, angering those of high status would make crushing her as easy as crushing an ant for them.
She had already rejected the Queen earlier. Rejecting her again would surely displease the Queen.
Gong Xiaohua could only take a gamble. She replied, "If it pleases the Queen, serving the princess would be my honor. However, since young my aspiration has been to eliminate harm for the people. I'm afraid I'm unable to take on the role of an attendant. I plead for the Queen's understanding."
She did not know if the Queen believed her words. But she had no choice but to say this, otherwise what possibly awaited her would be prison.
The Queen narrowed her eyes as she looked at Gong Xiaohua. Having been rejected by an insignificant Ministry of Justice clerk multiple times, she was quite angry as well.
But with the refusal said right in front of the King, she also could not directly retort. It was truly vexing.
"Are you sure you have thought this through carefully?"
From her many years of experience as a special agent in her past life, reading subtle facial expressions was also an essential skill she had honed.
She knew the Queen was very displeased and was thinking about how to respond. But just then, she heard the sound of the King's loud laughter coming from the front.
"Hahaha! What a aspiration to eliminate harm for the people. This is the attitude my Daye citizens should have," said the King sitting beside the Queen.
Gong Xiaohua secretly heaved a huge sigh of relief. It seemed her luck was not too bad after all.
The King continued, "My Queen, since Miss Gong harbors such fervent passion, why force her so?"
With the King having spoken, the Queen could only temporarily set aside the indignation in her heart for now. She said to the King, "I shall let Your Majesty decide on this."
"Since this is the case, Miss Gong may continue working at the Ministry of Justice. But I must make this clear first—if in the coming year, Miss Gong does not accomplish anything at the Ministry of Justice, you will still have to follow the Queen's orders to enter the palace and serve as Princess Linglong's guardian."
"Father, I do not need sister Gong to be my guardian!" Princess Linglong anxiously objected at the side.
But the Queen sternly and harshly cut her off as soon as she finished speaking. Though her gaze carried warning and contempt as she looked at Gong Xiaohua.
"Linglong, watch your status as a princess! Come back to your seat properly!"
Anyone could see the contempt and disdain she held toward Gong Xiaohua.
It was also difficult to believe her son the Crown Prince and daughter Princess Linglong had completely different temperaments from her.
Princess Linglong knew the Queen was angry and could only obediently bid Gong Xiaohua and return to her seat.
She never understood why the Queen always looked down on the common citizens. Without these people, how would the nobility establish themselves?
As for those young ladies of prestigious families she was always made to befriend—other than their higher status, they were either fawning over her or just plain dull.
Gong Xiaohua knew this was already the best outcome. She bowed to the King, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Mm. Very good. You may leave now."
"Yes, this subordinate shall take her leave."
"Bootlicker," Qin Chuhan softly grumbled from amongst the Qin family crowd.
But he obediently kept quiet with one cold look from Qin Chuyuan.
This Queen was becoming more and more ignorant. If not for the Crown Prince and Princess Linglong she had borne, she would probably have lost face in front of His Majesty long ago.
Qin Chuyuan's eyes flashed a warning look at the Crown Prince. The implied meaning was loud and clear.
The Crown Prince smiled innocently to indicate he meant no harm.
Gong Xiaohua withdrew and returned to her original spot, only then feeling the cold sweat that had soaked her body. The people in the palace were really hard to deal with after all.
They had agreed it was just a friendly match, yet in the end the Lang Commander still got punished with thirty heavy strikes. When the Son of Heaven flares with anger, even if you don't die, a layer of skin will be flayed.
When she returned, she would have to go all out on her career no matter what. Otherwise if she really had to enter the palace and serve as a guardian in a year's time, she might as well go and die again and transmigrate back.
