Chapter 178 - Unable To Take It

Someone would suffer whenever the Crown Prince smirked.

The three people were punished to run with the horses.

After registering everyone who had bullied Xie Qiao, she let them go. Qi Huai and the rest had been waiting for that moment for a long time.

Almost immediately, the courtyard was empty. As if they grew wings, they "flew" away without leaving a trace behind.

Even the Orchid Courtyard students went into the classroom. None of them dared to stay out there. They could not bear to show themselves in the presence of the Crown Prince.

"Young Lady Xie, who… did you learn painting from?" Zhao Xuanjing picked up the three head shots Xie Qiao had sketched.. He checked them out in an observational manner.

Her strokes were smooth, so she must have been doing this for years now.

The sketches were too simple. He could not see any uniqueness from them. However, not having uniqueness was the biggest uniqueness.

She sure was great at hiding.

"At the Taoist temple. Master taught me to inscribe talismans," said Xie Qiao.

It was difficult to inscribe talismans, and many required to be finished in a single stroke. Talismans with crooked strokes were definitely useless. Naturally, she needed to practice often.

Zhao Xuanjing glanced at her face. "Young Lady Xie is so good at painting. Perhaps… you could copy a Joy of Living painting for me as a gift?"

"Cough, cough…" Xie Qiao covered her mouth and coughed twice. "I can… It's just that I'm weak. I'm not sure when I can do that for Your Highness…"

Zhao Xuanjing was just guessing initially. He figured Xie Qiao must have known Master Yun Wei since she had obtained his masterpiece. Not only that, it was a big painting.

It was even possible that she was Master Yun Wei's disciple.

Looking at her being pretentious now, he almost confirmed his speculation.

"The Master's painting is rather complicated. You're weak, so I shall not trouble you. However, there's a position that I'd like to invite Young Lady Xie to try," said Zhao Xuanjing.

Xie Qiao was rendered speechless. All she wanted to do was to run away.

They had agreed to start with a clean slate in the Imperial City—they would not know each other. Why was he talking so much to her?

"Don't worry, Young Lady Xie. You won't have to expose yourself, nor will it be exhausting. I just need you to go to the Criminal Division occasionally to sketch the wanted criminals. You'll be paid ten taels of silver for each sketch, and your monthly salary will be 50 taels of silver," he said.

There were many silvers, so many.

Xie Qiao would not be able to spend them all.

She was moved.

However, she was scared when she heard the term 'Criminal Division'.

There were many ghouls there, so she was worried.

She shook her head.

Zhao Xuanjing's eyelids twitched. Could it be that the silver he offered was not enough?

He wanted to pay more, but the position was made up. If he paid more, it would not be in Xie Qiao's favor.

"I'll be supervising the Criminal Division in a few days," Zhao Xuanjing added.

Xie Qiao's eyelids twitched.

Initially… she could still consider the offer. There were many ghouls over there. She could make it if she used talismans and avoided the ghouls as much as she could.

However, if the Crown Prince was going as well, she really could not go.

It was already a scary place. If she went with the Crown Prince, who had ghouls surrounding him, would she not die?

"I'm weak. I won't be able to take it. It won't work." Xie Qiao's tiny face was pale.

She took a step back.

Zhao Xuanjing frowned and said, "Your eldest brother will be there too. With him there, nobody would bully you. Although no women are allowed in the imperial court, we need women for some positions."

"I'm grateful for your favor, Your Highness, but my body…" Xie Qiao rubbed between her brows as she spoke.

Subsequently, she fell into a daze. She held her breath in and smiled at the Crown Prince weakly. Eventually, her head hit the table before her.

She fainted.

Zhao Xuanjing was shocked and yelled immediately, "Imperial doctor!"

He stepped forward instinctively as soon as he yelled to grab Xie Qiao's wrist.

Her wrist was pathetically thin and scarily pale.

He wondered how she had managed to live until now.