Xiao Mo did not refuse. He followed Qin Mujiu to her sleeping palace.

At this moment, the Hall of Holding Wine was not quiet—if anything, it had a touch of bustle.

After all, Qin Mujiu had only just entered the palace, and most of the palace maids did not have much to do.

So several of them gathered together to chat, their hands doing a task here and there without any urgency.

But when they saw their mistress enter the Hall of Holding Wine with His Majesty, they startled and hurried forward, kneeling to either side as they called out in unison:

“This servant greets His Majesty and Consort Mu upon returning to the palace...”

“Rise.”

Xiao Mo nodded and told them to rise.

“Go do what you should be doing. In the Hall of Holding Wine, there’s no need to be overly restrained—so long as you don’t break the rules.”

Qin Mujiu waved her hand as she spoke.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Consort Mu.” The maids answered in unison.

Qin Mujiu did not spare them another glance. She led Xiao Mo into the inner room.

“Your Majesty’s Brother, drink a cup of tea first.”

She guided him to sit, poured a cup of tea, and offered it to him with both hands.

Xiao Mo looked at the teacup in her hands, a trace of hesitation flickering across his expression.

“Could it be that Your Majesty’s Brother is worried Mujiu has poisoned it?” Qin Mujiu let out a soft laugh when she saw him like that. “Your Majesty’s Brother, please rest assured. Mujiu would rather poison herself than allow Your Majesty’s Brother to suffer even the slightest harm.”

“Beloved Consort has misunderstood.” Xiao Mo took the cup from her. “How could I possibly suspect Beloved Consort of poisoning me? I was only thinking about what, exactly, Beloved Consort is thinking about right now.”

Qin Mujiu’s lips curved. “Then has Your Majesty’s Brother guessed what I’m thinking?”

“I can’t guess.” Xiao Mo shook his head and took a sip of tea.

“This morning, National Preceptor Jiang told me that you and Ruxue both want the same thing.” Xiao Mo’s gaze settled, heavy and calm. “I’ve thought it over and over, but I truly can’t figure out what, in this small palace, could possibly exist that would interest both you and Ruxue.”

“Yes...”

Qin Mujiu’s eyes held a faint smile as she looked straight at him.

“What could it be? That really is hard to guess.”

“Then can Beloved Consort satisfy my curiosity?” Xiao Mo asked.

“Please forgive Your Majesty’s Brother. Some matters carry karma that is too heavy.” Qin Mujiu’s voice remained gentle. “I can’t tell Your Majesty’s Brother yet.”

For an instant, something flashed through her eyes—guilt, heaviness, worry.

But it was gone just as quickly, pressed down until nothing showed on the surface.

“Although I still have no way to tell Your Majesty’s Brother everything right now, Your Majesty’s Brother may rest assured.” Qin Mujiu looked at him with a composed smile. “One day, when I’ve finished handling everything, I will definitely tell Your Majesty’s Brother. But before that, Your Majesty’s Brother still needs to wait a little longer.”

Xiao Mo did not reply.

Qin Mujiu changed the subject as if she had remembered something. “Enough about that. I almost forgot the main matter.”

“There is a gift I want to give Your Majesty’s Brother...”

“A gift?” Xiao Mo asked, puzzled.

“Yes. It can also be considered my dowry.” Qin Mujiu’s eyes curved. “Please wait a moment, Your Majesty’s Brother.”

She went to one side of the room, took a small box from a chest, and placed it in front of Xiao Mo.

The lid lifted.

Inside were a mask, and a small clay figurine.

The moment Xiao Mo saw the figurine and the mask, his heartbeat sped up beyond his control.

He was certain he had never seen either of them before—yet an overwhelming familiarity rose in him all the same.

More than that, he felt these two things were strangely important to him.

As if they belonged to him.

The sensation was so peculiar it left his thoughts drifting for a beat.

“This small clay figurine,” Qin Mujiu said with a smile, “is something I pinched into shape when I was little. I kept it all the way until now.”

“I thought that when I married someday, I would give it to my future husband.” Her tone softened. “And now, I finally have that chance.”

“As for this mask—Your Majesty’s Brother, don’t look down on it for being old. There’s even a bit of rust on it.” Qin Mujiu brightened again. “But this mask has a long history. Legend says it’s a traditional face adornment from Ancient Qin.”

“I heard that in Ancient Qin, during major festivals, men would wear this kind of mask and dance a battle dance, praying for peace and blessing.”

Qin Mujiu blinked at him, eyes full of anticipation. “I think if Your Majesty’s Brother wears this mask, it will look extremely good. Will Your Majesty’s Brother try it?”

Xiao Mo’s gaze lingered on the mask. Then he reached out, lifted it, and put it on.

He raised his head and looked into the mirror in the room.

The face in the reflection looked both familiar and unfamiliar. Xiao Mo’s expression grew even more dazed.

He shook his head, forcing his mind back into order, and reached up to remove the mask.

“Your Majesty’s Brother, wait...”

Qin Mujiu gently caught his wrist.

“What is it?” Xiao Mo asked.

“I still want to look a little more.” Qin Mujiu smiled at him.

“Is it that good-looking?” Xiao Mo asked.

Qin Mujiu nodded. She raised her fair, slender hand and lightly stroked his cheek, a low, gentle light rippling in her eyes. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Your Majesty’s Brother wearing this mask.”

“It looks so good...”

*****

“Over here.”

“And over here.”

“This area also needs to be swept.”

“The table needs to be wiped clean too.”

In the front courtyard of the Hall of Congealed Snow, Daqing was directing the palace maids as they cleaned the courtyard.

Daqing had entered the palace last night together with her young lady.

She had hidden herself within the wedding procession, wanting her young lady to give His Majesty a surprise—wanting His Majesty to realize that the woman he had married was the same woman who had crossed paths with him before.

Xiao Mo had been busy to the point of dizziness, and he truly had not noticed Daqing.

What left Daqing feeling regretful in the end was—

Young Lady really did give His Majesty a surprise.

His Majesty had even been about to spend the night in Young Lady’s sleeping palace.

But who would have thought that His Majesty, exhausted and having drunk too much, would simply fall asleep...

Otherwise, last night, Young Lady might have already conceived His Majesty’s dragon heir.

“Didn’t you see the leaves over there? Hurry and sweep them up!”

The more she thought about it, the more Daqing felt it was a pity. She puffed her cheeks and shouted at the palace maids, her emotions leaking into her voice.

Before long, the sound of carriages and horses came from outside the Hall of Congealed Snow.

“Young Lady, you’re back!”

Seeing her young lady return, Daqing hurried forward in delight.

“Mhm.” Bai Ruxue nodded with a smile. “How is it? Bored in the palace? I told you—you didn’t have to follow me into the palace. If you want to go out now, I can send you out as well.”

“No, Young Lady, it isn’t boring, it isn’t boring.” Daqing shook her head quickly. “This servant has followed Young Lady since childhood. Wherever Young Lady is, this servant will naturally also be there. Young Lady must not drive this servant away.”

“If you’re willing to stay here, I’ll be happy before anything else. Why would I drive you away?” Bai Ruxue flicked Daqing’s forehead with a smile.

“Hehehe...” Daqing rubbed her forehead and hugged Bai Ruxue’s arm, then craned her neck to look behind her. “Eh? Young Lady—His Majesty didn’t return with you?”

“His Majesty should have gone to Consort Mu’s place.” Bai Ruxue said calmly.

Daqing’s face changed at once. “Young Lady... His Majesty has gone to Consort Mu’s place now, then—His Majesty and Consort Mu... If Consort Mu conceives first, then...”

“Enough, enough.” Bai Ruxue patted her head. “I’m going back to rest. Do what you should be doing—but remember, the palace is not the same as outside. Do not break the rules. Do you understand?”

“Understood, Young Lady...”

Daqing lowered her head, thinking that Young Lady truly did not know how to be anxious.

Competing for favor in the rear palace was no small matter.

In the storybooks she had read, rear-palace struggles for favor could turn into life-or-death battles...

Yet Young Lady remained the same as always—calm and unhurried, as if nothing in the world could truly count as a “big matter” in front of her.

Bai Ruxue said nothing more and turned to enter the sleeping chamber.

And the moment she stepped inside, a spell formation that blocked divine-sense probing was laid down within the room.

When Bai Ruxue turned around, a girl in a blue long dress was already standing before her.

“Elder Sister...” Daqing called softly, urgency in her expression.

Yesterday Daqing had entered the palace with the procession, but she had not had time to speak with Elder Sister alone. She had been anxious to the point of suffocating.

“If there’s something, speak slowly. Drink a cup of tea first.”

Bai Ruxue brushed her skirt and sat down, pouring Daqing a cup of tea. “What did Qin Mujiu say? Will she agree to our conditions?”

About half a year ago, the demon-race world had made a big move—especially with the Nine-Tails Kingdom swallowing neighboring small states, with signs of intending to attack the Ten Thousand Arts world.

In order to keep Qin Mujiu from disrupting her plan—and disrupting her wedding ceremony—Bai Ruxue had sent Daqing out to ensure that no major trouble would be stirred up in the near term.

“Qin Mujiu’s temperament is still the same as before—reasonable.” Daqing sighed. “She said that what she intends to do, she will do. She won’t be influenced by anyone.”

“But fortunately, she doesn’t seem to have any intention of attacking the Ten Thousand Arts world right now.” Daqing shook her head. “Still, ten years from now, everything will be hard to say. After all, she’s that crippled old man’s granddaughter. She inherited his will, and she’s even faintly becoming an existence that may become the co-lord of the demon-race world.”

“Elder Sister, in Bai Ruxue’s past life, what exactly happened between her and Qin Mujiu?” Daqing could not help asking, baffled. “Why does Qin Mujiu hate her to the bone like that—killing her once wasn’t enough, and she kept hunting her down all the way until now, lifetime after lifetime, never letting her go?”

“Who knows?” Bai Ruxue shook her head, her gaze turning toward the sky beyond the window.

“In the Four-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan, they are born for love, prove the Way by love, and how many die by love?” Bai Ruxue’s voice was quiet. “Of forty thousand words, only this one word—‘love’—is the hardest to grasp.”

She withdrew her gaze and continued, “Since Qin Siyao is unwilling to form a contract with us, then forget it. We only need to do our own matters well.”

“As for the Ten-Thousand-Li Great Wall—what should be helped must also be helped. Do you understand?”

“Understood, Elder Sister.”

Daqing answered, but her eyes flickered, as if she wanted to speak and yet held back.

Bai Ruxue glanced at her and spoke gently. “You and I are sisters. There is nothing that needs to be hidden. If there is something, say it.”

“Elder Sister...” Daqing bit her lip. “When will you be able to tell Xiao Mo the truth, and take ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) him away? Even if it is above the clouds, beyond that Heavenly Gate—so what if there is a remnant god there?”

“Elder Sister, you are already at the perfected completion of the Ascension Realm. If you then use Seven-Seas Union with the Way... even if that remnant god truly wants to stop you, can it stop you?”

Daqing finally voiced her doubts.

Ever since Bai Ruxue left Elder Sister for the second time, Elder Sister had learned that he had been noticed by the gods of the world. She had immediately changed her name and identity, retreated into the shadows, and had Sizhu serve as Lord of the Four Seas.

Sizhu was a woman who, due to a fortuitous chance, had been taken in by Elder Sister as a disciple.

After several thousand years, the world believed that Lord of the Four Seas was a blue dragon at the perfected completion of the Immortal Realm. Only those old, high-ranking figures of major sects knew who the true Lord of the Four Seas really was.

And the reason Elder Sister did this was because Bai Ruxue had died for Elder Sister back then. The karmic bond between Elder Sister and Bai Ruxue was like a red thread, and it had been noticed by that remnant god of the world.

Later, Elder Sister used heaven-reaching means and spent enormous effort to hide that red thread.

In order to prevent that remnant god from following the thread to find Bai Ruxue, Elder Sister could not renew her karma with Bai Ruxue in an overly obvious way.

Otherwise, the red thread would appear again and draw that god’s attention.

But in Daqing’s view, Elder Sister’s current realm was terrifyingly powerful. If Elder Sister wished, she could use Seven-Seas Union with the Way, and stepping into the legendary seventh realm was not impossible.

Did Elder Sister really need to show herself under a false identity?

“Silly girl.”

Bai Ruxue smiled gently and tapped Daqing’s forehead.

“Who said that in this world, there is truly only one remnant god left?”

“Elder Sister... what do you mean by that?” Daqing blinked, stunned.

“In ancient times, those legendary gods truly all died.” Bai Ruxue’s eyes dimmed. “But will they truly remain ‘dead’ forever?”

“And who do you think it was, in ancient times, that killed those gods seated high above the clouds?”

“And if those gods could live—who would be the person they hated most?”

Daqing’s eyes trembled. Her throat rolled, but she did not dare say her guess aloud.

“Daqing...”

Bai Ruxue folded her hands over her slender thighs. Her peach-blossom eyes seemed to hold all the spring of the world.

“Elder Sister doesn’t want to lose him again...”

“He protected Elder Sister twice.”

“This time...”

“It’s Elder Sister’s turn...”