After Sili became Xiao Mo’s personal maid and won Xiao Mo’s trust, she followed at Xiao Mo’s side every day.

At the beginning, Sili truly did not understand the matters of the palace.

But before long, after asking the palace maid Yang’er a few times, Sili quickly mastered all of the affairs.

Then Sili realized that her master’s life in this incarnation really had been far too full of hardship.

Her master truly had become a puppet emperor—there was basically no serious business to do all day long, other than cultivation and reading.

When Xiao Mo had nothing to do, Sili naturally did not have much to do either.

But even though Xiao Mo was a mascot, Sili still felt proud of her master.

Leaving everything else aside, her master had only cultivated for a single year, and yet he had already reached the perfected completion of the twelfth layer of the Qi Refining Realm, about to establish his foundation.

For ordinary people to establish their foundation, even the talented ones needed three or four years.

Her master’s cultivation talent—if you placed it in a top-tier sect—would be more than enough to make him a true direct disciple.

But for an emperor to establish his foundation—how could that be easy?

Cultivation was, in the first place, a matter of defying the heavens.

And even more so when you were an emperor.

In Sili’s view, if her master did not abdicate this imperial throne and instead forcibly cultivated while bearing the body of an emperor, then it would no longer be merely defying the heavens.

It would be stealing heaven’s secrets.

Sili also did not really understand why her master insisted on staying in the palace and not going to some other sect.

When she could not think of a reason, Sili stopped thinking about it.

When the time came, she would find an opportunity to take her master out of the imperial palace, and then head for the Western Regions.

As long as they returned to the Western Regions, everything would be easy to handle.

So what if it was the Ten Thousand Swords Sect?

Could the Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s hand really reach into the Western Regions?

And while caring for Xiao Mo, Sili also went to the Palace of Spiritual Heart every two days to report Xiao Mo’s situation to the Empress Dowager.

When she went to the Empress Dowager’s palace, Sili would bind herself up again with the chest-binding cloth. When she came back, she would untie it, and then tell Xiao Mo about the matters of the Palace of Spiritual Heart.

These sorts of backbiting schemes and power struggles in the palace were not all that important to Sili.

If her master was willing, Sili felt she could kill all of those people, and then take her master away, or else return this Zhou to her master.

But...

That woman at the National Preceptor’s Residence in the palace made Sili not dare to have any thoughts at all for the time being.

These days, through Sili’s inquiries and her oblique probing of Xiao Mo, she learned that the veiled woman at the National Preceptor’s Residence was merely an inner disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, serving as Zhou’s National Preceptor by the Ten Thousand Swords Sect’s command.

But in truth, Sili understood perfectly well.

How could she possibly be an ordinary inner disciple?

Others might not know, but she had fought that woman herself—how could she not know?

What kind of inner disciple was at the Ascension Realm?

And in this world...

Sword cultivators at the Ascension Realm were few enough to count on one hand.

Among them, female sword cultivators at the Ascension Realm—within this world—there was only a single one.

That person was the sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect—Jiang Qingyi.

But why would Jiang Qingyi, the sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, appear in the Zhou imperial palace?

And even be willing to serve as a National Preceptor?

Sili truly could not understand it no matter how she thought.

But a woman’s instincts told Sili—

This Jiang Qingyi definitely had different intentions toward her master.

It was just that Jiang Qingyi’s feelings toward her master were very strange.

She seemed to want to draw close to her master, yet she also seemed to reject her master—always neither near nor far. Where was the crisp decisiveness of a sword cultivator in that?

Yet she had to admit it.

The sect master of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, Jiang Qingyi, truly did teach her master real things.

Just as her master had said.

Jiang Qingyi really was cold outside and warm inside—sharp-tongued, soft-hearted.

With her words, she constantly picked at her master’s cultivation.

But in truth, she was incomparably concerned, terrified that her master would take even a single step onto a crooked path.

In any case, in Sili’s view, the one she most needed to be careful of was her.

As for the two consorts who would be entering the palace in the future...

Sili had never put those two in her eyes at all.

One was the daughter of the Minister of Rites.

One was a princess of Qin.

Just two mortals.

She had plenty of ways to deal with them.

And Xiao Mo would not be able to read minds, so he naturally knew nothing about the thoughts in Sili’s heart.

He still cultivated every day, and read every day.

But Xiao Mo felt that this “Si Li” really was quite useful.

She was clever and quick-witted, had a good eye, and when she did things she was crisp and efficient.

Of course, Xiao Mo also knew that the premise for how increasingly pleasing she looked to him was that she truly was loyal to him.

Ability truly mattered.

But sometimes, no matter how capable someone was, the premise still had to be loyalty.

But Si Li was not completely without “flaws.”

Every time she bent over to pour him tea and water, Xiao Mo could see that delicate and utterly magnificent snowfield of flesh.

Every time she changed his clothes, or came into close contact with Xiao Mo, those twin snow mountains would brush against Xiao Mo from time to time.

She even often dampened her collar when she drank water, and the thin fabric would cling directly against those towering snow mountains.

Her face, too, would sometimes bloom with a faint blush, looking extremely enticing.

But two consorts were about to enter the palace, and Xiao Mo knew he had to keep himself under control.

Not to mention, the Empress Dowager would have lady-officials check Sili’s chastity from time to time.

So even though Xiao Mo knew her intentions, knew she very much wanted to advance, he pretended not to see.

As the days passed one by one,

the day of Xiao Mo’s wedding grand ceremony also drew closer and closer.

Invitations had already been sent out from the Zhou imperial palace, one after another.

Even though the wedding grand ceremony had been postponed twice before,

Xiao Mo knew that the wedding grand ceremony, in the end, was still coming.

With only seven days left before the wedding grand ceremony, the various feudal lords of Zhou, as well as envoys from the dynasties and realms friendly with Zhou, and the stewards from the mountain sects, all arrived in the Zhou imperial capital.

As Zhou’s ruler—even if he was only a mascot—Xiao Mo still had to personally receive them.

So from morning until night, Xiao Mo met with envoys from every nation and every sect, without a single moment for cultivation.

To be honest, Xiao Mo felt that what Fairy Jiang had said before was not without reason.

Forget the rule set by that Great Qin emperor from tens of thousands of years ago—that an emperor’s cultivation must not surpass foundation establishment.

Even without that rule,

an emperor had to handle state affairs every day, and also play scheming power games with ministers. How much time could be spent on cultivation?

Unless it was an emperor with absurdly outrageous talent, how high could an ordinary emperor’s realm possibly rise?

Even when some emperors truly had high realms, it was because they had spent most of their time cultivating.

And once an emperor became addicted to cultivation, they would hand governance over to their ministers and stop caring about anything.

Some would even seize resources from all across the realm for cultivation, no longer treating the common people as their subjects, but as nourishment for cultivation.

What use was a high realm for an emperor like that?

The common people would only suffer beyond endurance.

And because such emperors had long lifespans, the common people would have to suffer for a thousand years, or even ten thousand years—unable to see an end at a glance.

Besides receiving envoys, Xiao Mo also had to go around and look over certain wedding arrangements, to see whether there were any improper points.

In addition, Xiao Mo still needed to review the documents sent over from the Palace of Spiritual Heart.

Even though the wedding grand ceremony was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Rites and the Empress Dowager’s Palace of Spiritual Heart, the matters they decided—no matter how Xiao Mo refused—would still stand.

But regardless, the Ministry of Rites and the Palace of Spiritual Heart still needed Xiao Mo’s side to “walk through the procedure,” so that their own reputations would sound better—at least making outsiders think, “It was all decided by His Majesty.”

All in all, Xiao Mo truly felt that marrying once was more exhausting than cultivating for ten years.

Of course, perhaps it was also because the two women he was marrying were not people he had much feeling for.

If they were women he truly loved, he probably would not feel so tired.

But sometimes, in Xiao Mo’s heart, he also felt a few strands of daze.

It felt like none of this was real.

Because aside from those false experiences inside the Book of a Hundred Lives, Xiao Mo had never had a lover from start to finish.

And now, he was about to marry.

And it was even marrying two at once...

This was something Xiao Mo had never imagined.

With only four days left until the wedding, most of the guests had arrived at the imperial capital.

The Palace of Spiritual Heart and the Ministry of Rites also no longer needed to send documents over for Xiao Mo to walk through procedures.

So some of the unimportant matters in the rear palace, Xiao Mo would have Sili handle on his behalf.

When he could free up time, Xiao Mo would sit alone at the Asking-the-Dao Altar and stare off in a daze.

For Xiao Mo, the Asking-the-Dao Altar had originally been a cultivation place meant to conceal things from others.

But gradually...

this place truly became a place where Xiao Mo could still his heart.

Coming to the Asking-the-Dao Altar, sitting on the stone bricks, Xiao Mo would gradually peel away from the complicated, clamorous reality, and find a thread of tranquility.

Soon, the days reached the third-to-last day before the wedding.

The entire imperial palace was busy to the point of taking flight.

Originally, Sili still had the leisure to flirt and tease in front of Xiao Mo.

But now, Sili herself was so busy she was spinning in circles, her feet never touching the ground.

She simply could not understand it.

Clearly, kneeling and bowing for a wedding was an extremely simple matter.

How could a mortal realm make it so troublesome?

What use were so many tedious rituals?

Could they be eaten?

Sili often cursed in her heart while helping Xiao Mo manage the rear palace.

Another two days passed.

It became the day before the wedding.

After today, it would be the grand rite.

Because all preparations were already complete, only the final inspection remained—and this inspection only needed Sili to do it.

So Xiao Mo once again freed up a bit of time and came to the Asking-the-Dao Altar.

In the Asking-the-Dao Altar, Xiao Mo did not even know what he should do.

He did not have much mind to cultivate right now.

Forget the fact that the Book of a Hundred Lives was not ready for the sixth life.

Even if the sixth life had opened, Xiao Mo would not have wanted to enter the Book of a Hundred Lives today.

Xiao Mo just wanted to stay quietly by himself for a while, and enjoy his “single” life one last time.

So, Xiao Mo sat on a stone stool in a daze, feeling the spring breeze, watching the white clouds drifting across the blue sky.

Xiao Mo recalled everything that had happened since he came to this world.

He recalled every scene in the Book of a Hundred Lives—so incomparably blurry, and yet still carved into his bones.

Without realizing it, Xiao Mo slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of enlightenment.

Xiao Mo felt that everything between heaven and earth had disappeared.

Xiao Mo forgot time, forgot his surroundings, and even forgot the self.

It was as if Xiao Mo had fused into this slice of heaven and earth.

Without Xiao Mo noticing, Xiao Mo’s dao heart became more and more calm, and his spiritual power gradually spread out.

The originally blue sky actually drifted in with a few dark clouds, blocking the sun.

And right at this moment, a fragrant breeze swept past, lightly teasing Xiao Mo’s nose, suppressing the spiritual power that Xiao Mo was releasing.

“Hmph!”

A woman let out a cold snort.

Sword qi invaded Xiao Mo’s body.

Xiao Mo felt a sharp pain, and only then did he come back to himself.

He slowly opened his eyes, and saw National Preceptor Jiang—veiled, with a graceful figure—standing in front of him.

“Your Majesty really is leisurely. At a time like this, you still have the mood to seek enlightenment here, and you even almost tried to establish your foundation!”

The woman’s cold voice entered Xiao Mo’s ears.

“Establishing your foundation in the imperial palace—does Your Majesty have no wish to live?”

Xiao Mo shook his head and gave a bitter smile.

“It truly was an accident. I did not expect myself to gradually enter the dao.”

“Hmph.”

Jiang Qingyi snorted coldly again, then stepped forward and sent three strands of sword qi into Xiao Mo’s body.

“I used three strands of sword qi to seal three of Your Majesty’s spiritual apertures. These three strands of sword qi can suppress Your Majesty’s realm for a period of time, but for these days, Your Majesty should still be careful. For now, do not cultivate.”

“Understood.” Xiao Mo nodded. “Many thanks, Fairy Jiang.”

“What is there to thank?” Jiang Qingyi turned her head aside /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and lifted her fair, tender chin.

“But Your Majesty is clearly about to marry, yet you are still sneaking leisure here. I see that personal maid of Yours with the excellent figure—she is so busy she cannot stop for even a step.”

“Si Li truly has worked hard.” Xiao Mo replied. “When this is over, I will naturally reward her. I will not let her work in vain.”

After he spoke, Xiao Mo gathered his sleeves and lifted his head into silence.

“Why does it feel as though Your Majesty carries a trace of melancholy toward tomorrow’s wedding?”

Jiang Qingyi glanced at Xiao Mo, her tone carrying a trace of mockery.

“Could it be that Your Majesty does not look forward to tomorrow’s wedding? Whether it is Yan Ruxue or Qin Mujiu, they are both rare beauties in this world, with looks that could topple nations. If I were Your Majesty, I would already be thinking about how to spend every night in music and revelry with two noble consorts.”

“That is true.” Xiao Mo drew his sleeves in tighter, lifting his head to look beyond the imperial palace. “But between them, one is treated as a sacrifice for her family, and one is for a political marriage between two realms. Even if Mujiu looks very bright and lively, do they truly want to marry me?”

“Who says they do not!”

Jiang Qingyi bit down and spoke softly through clenched teeth.

“In their hearts, they want it!”

“What did Fairy Jiang say?” Xiao Mo did not hear clearly.

“Nothing.”

Jiang Qingyi’s tone carried displeasure.

“What I mean is, Your Majesty is neither Yan Ruxue nor Qin Mujiu. How would Your Majesty know they truly do not want to enter the palace? Even if they do not want to enter the palace, so what? The overall situation is already decided. Does Your Majesty still want to change it?”

“That is also true.” Xiao Mo smiled faintly. “No matter what, from now on, this quiet imperial palace will, in the end, become a bit livelier.”

“Isn’t that so?”

Jiang Qingyi’s eyes narrowed, her gaze like a sword.

“From now on, this rear palace is going to get properly lively!”