Shen Yu, who was keeping watch in the kitchen, couldn’t help but let out a sneeze.
“Oh my, Lord Husband! A filthy place like this is no spot for someone of your status! You really should head outside!”
Shen Yu smiled, her gentle expression enough to melt anyone’s heart on the spot.
“Uncle Yan, I just wanted to ask, where am I supposed to go bathe?”
Shen Yu felt a bit awkward. She had been busy all day, touring the city, carrying the bride, chanting spells, and putting her body through the marrow-cleansing process. The filth on her body made her feel as though she had been marinated in grime!
Not to mention whether or not she would share a room with the Grand Princess tonight; even if they didn’t, she couldn’t possibly go to sleep like this!
As for asking her to bathe with the Grand Princess, Shen Yu twitched the corner of her mouth, you might as well just tell her to sleep covered in dirt!
Uncle Yan pondered for a long while. Although the groom hadn’t explicitly mentioned it, he naturally understood his concerns. If it were an ordinary household, things might be fine, but the Grand Princess…
It was a difficult situation!
He cast a rather sympathetic look at Shen Yu, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the expressions the commoners had given her on the street that morning.
Fortunately, they had prepared for this contingency well in advance!
He called over a figure standing in the shadows.
“Yun Cheng, take the Lord Husband to the Baizhi Garden.”
A tall, straight figure materialized from the shadows.
Shen Yu looked at the man with a hint of surprise. It wasn’t that she hadn’t noticed him earlier; she had considered the guards and generals of the princess’s estate to be well within her awareness, but this fellow was rather…
Shen Yu found it hard to put into words. He…
No!
Shen Yu had just re-inspected the princess’s estate moments ago and realized that this applied to seemingly all the secret guards!
The entire estate, or rather, all the secret guards belonging to the imperial palace, were deeply eccentric!
The masks on their faces looked as though they had grown right out of their skin!
Something wasn’t right. This Great Xia…
“Lord Husband need not be afraid. Yun Cheng contracted a severe skin disease when he was young, which is why he looks like this!”
Sensing Shen Yu’s alarm, Uncle Yan stepped in to explain.
Shen Yu reined in her expression, putting on an look of sudden realization, her face appropriately tinged with a trace of shame, as if she were mortified by her own momentary fear.
Meanwhile, the man named Yun Cheng made no move at all, standing like a wooden puppet waiting for its master’s command.
Uncle Yan raised a hand, and Yun Cheng stirred into action.
“Lord Husband, please make haste! Do not keep Her Royal Highness the Princess waiting too long.”
Shen Yu smiled, said nothing more, and followed Yun Cheng toward the Baizhi Garden.
The Baizhi Garden was not far, just past a couple of covered corridors. Yun Cheng walked at an unhurried pace, and Shen Yu seized the opportunity to memorize the layout of the princess’s estate as best as she could.
Upon arrival, she understood why it was called the Baizhi Garden: the sheer variety of exotic flowers and rare trees here was astounding. Aside from the imperial palace and the princess’s residence, this place likely possessed the most complete collection in the entire realm, even including a few low-grade spiritual herbs from the cultivation world!
Though merely low-grade, they were still rare and precious treasures in the mortal realm!
Shen Yu didn’t find this particularly strange. When she opened her Myriad Eye, she had already realized that this region, while not the cultivation world, possessed a certain baseline of spiritual energy. Spiritual energy, stripped down to its essence, was simply the vital breath of flora and fauna, which existed in every single realm, differing only in quantity, purity, and density. It was hardly surprising that certain unique grotto-heavens in the mortal world could nurture spiritual herbs.
The true difficulty lay in finding them and preserving them.
Observing her surroundings, Shen Yu kept pace closely behind Yun Cheng.
The Baizhi Garden was unexpectedly vast, and Yun Cheng led her to a hot spring!
The spring seemed to be tucked away in the northwest corner of the garden, spanning roughly ten meters across. The builder had thoughtfully enclosed it within a pavilion structure, achieving a high degree of privacy.
Shen Yu’s eyes lit up. This she liked!
Even from half a dozen steps away, she could feel the heat radiating from the spring, and a set of fresh garments had already been neatly placed on a nearby chair. How thoughtful!
A wave of delight washed over her expression, and her steps grew noticeably lighter.
“Alright, you may step away!”
Shen Yu waved her hand dismissively. The prospect of the hot spring completely occupied her mind, pushing the abnormalities of the Great Xia secret guards to the back burner.
Two breaths, three breaths, four breaths…
Silence. Total stillness.
Shen Yu’s smile instantly froze on her face, and the corners of her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
“Yun Cheng, you can leave now!”
She repeated herself, her tone carrying a sharper edge!
Still no reaction. She stared intently into Yun Cheng’s eyes, those empty, lifeless orbs that lacked any spark, as if they hadn’t heard a single word she uttered.
Shen Yu frowned, sensing a tricky situation!
She stood there in a silent standoff, though it seemed entirely one-sided, as Yun Cheng remained completely devoid of any other reaction, like a hollow shell without a soul.
A soul?
Without a soul?!
A thought suddenly struck Shen Yu. Combining this with the various bizarre phenomena she had witnessed today and her contemplation of Great Xia’s anomalies, a sharp suspicion violently surged in her heart!
Her fingers subconsciously channeled spiritual energy, her mind instinctively reciting a spell as she took one step, then two steps forward in silence.
Right as she prepared to make her move!
Her heart!
Pain!
It felt as though a hand had ruthlessly seized and crushed it, twisting and tearing at it back and forth!
Shen Yu’s face instantly turned ashen, and beads of cold sweat the size of mung beans rapidly broke out across her forehead.
It hurt!
“Ugh…”
Shen Yu couldn’t help letting out a muffled groan.
It hurts!
Shen Yu, have you lost your mind?
Those reproaching thoughts swept through her mind like a splitting fracture!
What did you come back here for? Why are you tangling yourself up in mortal karma all over again?
What does the weirdness of Great Xia have to do with you? You only need to find your strand of mortal karma, and then resolve it.
When the time comes, dust returns to dust and dirt to dirt. You have your path to the heavens, and it has its single-plank bridge!
Shen Yu, you cannot afford to cause trouble anymore!
Just focus on your actual task!
The sudden wave of intense pain came as quickly as it receded, fading into nothingness right as she neared the brink of fainting.
Throughout all of this, Yun Cheng hadn’t budged an inch, acting as if he couldn’t see a thing.
Shen Yu sat slumped in a disheveled heap on the pebble pathway, panting heavily, gasps escaping her lips.
Shen Yu, you really are…
Hah!
She clutched tightly at her chest, her self-mocking expression directed at who-knows-whom.
It took a long while for her color to return and her breathing to stabilize.
Meanwhile, over at another quarter of the princess’s estate, the Yikun Pavilion:
“Your Highness! Your Highness! What is wrong with you?”
Song Shiwei’s already pale face was now as cold and stern as frost, shrouding her in an aura of deathly gloom, save for the startling splash of red tint upon her lips!
The serving maids panicked instantly.
“Someone come quick! Someone help!”
“Summon the imperial physician! Summon the imperial physician!”
Shen Yu, who had just finished regulating her breath, was naturally oblivious to the chaos unfolding over at the Grand Princess’s quarters. She stared at Yun Cheng for a moment, deep in thought.
Then, as if a thought occurred to her, a flicker of mischievous cunning crossed her eyes.
With a sweep of her long sleeves, she unhesitatingly shed her wedding robe, baring her undergarments with her delicate shoulders half-revealed and her slender waist faintly visible.
She cast a sidelong glance at Yun Cheng, then curved her lips into a smile, part disdain, part sarcasm, part careless indifference.
Her snow-white feet dipped into the scalding spring water, a look of utter satisfaction crossing her face before her entire body slipped beneath the surface, eliciting a relaxed sigh of gratification.
“Ah…”
Shen Yu tilted her head back slightly, looking thoroughly at ease.
The oddities were pushed to the back of her mind.
This is heavenly! Now this is what being a groom is supposed to feel like!
Shen Yu possessed an exceptional physique, her muscles were firm, well-toned, and gracefully proportioned, with slender, long legs gliding through the water. Her three thousand strands of dark hair floated around her, her cheeks flushed with a faint rosy warmth, her eyes moist and luminous, surrounded by blooming floral clusters under a veil of swirling mist.
Here, everything was deathly quiet, as though the princess’s estate had been cleaved into two completely different worlds.
Over at the Yikun Pavilion, Madam Yu’s heart was twisted into a knot as she sat restlessly outside the door, peeking into the room every few moments.
Behind her, two maids knelt trembling, their bodies shaking incessantly, paralyzed by a mixture of terror and anxiety.
“How on earth did the two of you look after Her Highness!”
Seeing them only fueled her anger. Madam Yu glared down at Qiuhua and Qiuhua, furious that a perfectly fine princess had been cared for to the point of coughing up blood and collapsing right inside the hot spring!
Madam Yu’s gaze was so fierce she looked ready to swallow them alive!
The princess’s health was already precarious; could this bout of coughing up blood mean she had contracted some new malignant illness?!
Madam Yu felt a sudden wave of dizziness, her limbs growing weak.
Heavens above!! What kind of sins did I commit in my past life?!
Why is her precious Highness’s fate so bitter?
Plagued by chronic illnesses and a bone-chilling cold since childhood, shivering even in the blazing heat of summer, and now struck down by a sudden severe affliction!
“Madam Yu! Madam Yu!”
Dongzhu hurried over with frantic steps and a panicked expression.
“Madam Yu! His Majesty has arrived.”
Madam Yu’s heart skipped a beat. Silver moonlight bathed the pavilions and waterside terraces, and though it was a pleasant May night, it made everyone’s hands and feet turn ice-cold!
“Where is the groom? Where is the Lord Husband?!”
She looked around frantically, shouting the question.
To her dismay, no one answered.
We’re doomed!
Madam Yu’s heart sank straight to the bottom.
Before she could even react, a sharp announcement pierced the air like a heavy blow to the head.
Chaos erupted.
“His Majesty has arrived!”
There was no time left! She exchanged a knowing glance with Dongzhu, who silently understood and melted swiftly into the dark night!
She had to buy time!
Lord Husband, you had better hurry up and get here!
On the wedding night, the princess was critically ill and the groom was nowhere to be found!
Madam Yu didn’t even dare to keep thinking about it.
A young man clad in a striking vermilion ceremonial robe strode forward with an elegant yet hurried gait, moving like the wind!
His voice arrived before his person.
“Madam Yu! What is wrong with Eldest Sister? Where is the groom?!”
He swept his gaze across the courtyard, his face contorted with a harsh, menacing glare as if suppressing a towering rage!
His newly wedded sister falls ill, and the bridegroom vanishes without a trace, truly a magnificent display!
Madam Yu steadied her nerves and replied calmly, “The Lord Husband went to bathe and is currently on his way back!”
Song Shixing let out a disdainful scoff.
How could he not see through Madam Yu’s cover-up? Yet he chose not to press the matter further, turning instead to ask about what mattered more to him.
His anxious gaze shifted toward the room, where shadows flitted busily back and forth.
“What happened to Eldest Sister?”
Looking at the young man’s face, Madam Yu sighed helplessly and called forward Qiuhua and Qiuhua.
“Speak!”
Qiuhua and Qiuhua exchanged a panicked, helpless look of sheer terror, their grievances plain to see.
If he asked them, they had no idea either!
She had been perfectly fine a moment ago; the moment they turned around to grab a handkerchief, Her Highness had begun coughing blood and collapsed.
Song Shixing lowered his brow, his eyes dark and deep, his expression gloomy.
He remained silent, his fingers tapping rhythmically and unhurriedly against a piece of fine huanghuali wood.
His gaze swept back and forth across the two kneeling maids with suffocating pressure, as if weighing the truth of their words.
Everyone around trembled with fear, terrified that the wrath of this imperial ruler might implicate them.
“Drag them away. We’ll deal with them after Eldest Sister wakes up.”
The two maids shuddered violently, tears welling in their red-rimmed eyes, but under that icy, merciless gaze, they could only remain utterly silent as two secret guards dragged them away into the quiet, soundless dark…
“Where is the imperial physician?”
“This subject is here.”
A handsome young man in green robes stepped respectfully out from a corner.
“Fu Rongqing, how is my Eldest Sister right now?”
The young man lowered his head, his voice steady, “Replying to Your Majesty, she is out of immediate danger. However, Her Highness’s condition stems from prolonged fatigue and pent-up emotional distress, compounded by catching a chill earlier today. The alternation of cold and heat triggered a sudden collapse.”
Song Shixing fell silent, asking nothing about the fatigue or the distress, perhaps he already knew, or perhaps he simply chose not to speak of it.
In a hoarse voice, he asked, “Can I go in and take a look?”
Fu Rongqing hesitated.
This…
Propriety between men and women, and on their wedding night at that, it was truly somewhat improper.
Yet he could not say so, or at least, he should not be the one to say it.
So he could only remain silent.
Seeing Fu Rongqing with his head bowed low, Song Shixing understood.
“Hah! My own flesh-and-blood sister falls ill, and her husband is nowhere to be found! While I, her biological younger brother, am blocked at the door. Tell me, what kind of logic is this?”
Song Shixing sneered.
Shen Yu, who had just hurried over, happened to catch the tail end of this exchange and awkwardly rubbed her nose.
She also hadn’t expected that while she was taking a quick soak in the hot spring, the Grand Princess would pull a stunt like this!
“This subject, Shen Yu, pays respects to His Majesty.”
Song Shixing looked at Shen Yu, who had arrived in a rush with her garments somewhat disheveled, a playful smirk curving his lips.
“Minister Shen is truly living a carefree life. On such a grand celebratory day, ignoring your wife to enjoy yourself in solitude, you really have quite the knack for it.”
Shen Yu instantly felt her scalp tingle, feeling thoroughly uncomfortable under such subordinate positioning.
“This subject deserves death; please punish me, Your Majesty!”
Those scorpion-like eyes stared coldly at Shen Yu for a few seconds, as if sizing her up, before he spoke in a flat tone, “Minister Shen should go inside and check on Eldest Sister first.”
A wave of relief washed over her, and she lowered her head and assented without a second thought, “Thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace.”
With that, she turned and strode into the room without looking back.
Song Shixing paid no further mind to Shen Yu’s, instead turning his gaze back to Fu Rongqing.
Fu Rongqing acknowledged the look and quietly withdrew, while Madam Yu read the room and shooed the rest of the attendants away.
The May breeze was slightly cool and brisk.
Black night was silent, Song Shixing seemed to converse with someone in the dark.
“Rest assured, Your Majesty, the sympathetic linkage is complete. Just await the good news.”
In the empty courtyard, Song Shixing raised his brows as if hearing some delightful news, only for them to twist viciously back into a distorted frown.
His luxurious gold-threaded brocade robes fluttered with the wind, carrying an aura of mysterious unpredictability.
Watching the flickering shadows inside the room with an unreadable expression, Song Shixing thumbed the jade beads in his hand for a long moment before quietly slipping away into the night.