“How could this happen… The clown was me all along! You’re the real genius, and I… I’m just someone named Tianjiao… Wuwuwu…” Xu Tianjiao collapsed on the ground, bawling his eyes out. “Prince Consort, I’ve lost. I’m not worthy to compete with you for the Empress’s heart! Only a martial arts prodigy like you deserves to be with Her Majesty!”
At that moment, You Yiran suddenly appeared in front of everyone, showing up as mysteriously as ever. The crowd froze at first, then immediately bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Your Majesty.”
“Wifey! I haven’t seen you all day—did you miss me? Hug, please!” Lin Ze rushed up instantly, hoping to score a hug. But with just one cold glance from You Yiran, he was frozen in place.
“Wifey…” Lin Ze looked aggrieved, like a wronged little husband.
You Yiran ignored him entirely and spoke with a chilly voice, “You bet on me like some prize? You’ve really grown bold.”
“Since when did I become someone you can casually discuss? Grand Elder, is this how you usually discipline the disciples in my palace?”
Everyone could hear the fury in her tone and instantly tensed up, avoiding each other’s eyes, heads lowered, no one daring to speak.
The Grand Elder braced himself and said, “Your Majesty, it was my failure to keep the disciples in line. If there must be punishment, please punish me alone.”
You Yiran snorted coldly, clearly displeased. “If you want to be punished, then those two should be punished as well.”
The Grand Elder turned to Xu Tianjiao and barked, “You ungrateful disciple! You’re to be confined at the rear mountain for three months!”
“As for the prince consort… uh… well…”
He suddenly got stuck. After all, Lin Ze was the Empress’s consort. If he punished him too harshly, the Empress might be displeased. Too lightly, and the other disciples would say it was unfair.
Luckily, You Yiran spoke up.
“Are there any vacant roles left at the chores office?”
The Grand Elder hesitated, “Uh… there’s toilet cleaning… but that’s really…”
“Send him there.”
Right after she said that, You Yiran felt inexplicably refreshed. She didn’t know why, but seeing Lin Ze eat dirt made her really happy.
Everyone around was stunned. Sending the prince consort to scrub toilets? The Empress was truly fair and merciless!
Not even giving him a shred of face!
Lin Ze looked at You Yiran with puppy eyes, completely deflated. But she couldn’t help letting out a soft chuckle. “Heh~”
…
Time passed quickly. By evening, the setting sun was beautiful, but Lin Ze’s heart was bitter.
He squatted beside the latrine, sighing endlessly, a faint sadness on his face. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Er Hu, tell me, how can a man capture a woman’s heart?”
“Urgh… Holy Son, I don’t know. But I do want to say, before trying to capture a woman’s heart, maybe confirm first whether she’s actually a woman!”
Of course, Lin Ze wasn’t about to scrub any toilets himself, so the job naturally fell to Er Hu. At this moment, he was pinching his nose, face full of misery, vigorously cleaning the latrine while wailing loudly, “Holy Son! I want to go home! I want to return to the Azure Spirit Holy Land… wuwuwu…”
“Shut it,” Lin Ze said.
“Holy Son, the rumors outside say that the Empress of Netherveil has a twisted personality and enjoys tormenting people. I finally understand today that they were right.”
Hiding outside the latrine, Lin Ze rested his chin on his hand. “Don’t rush. Just finish cleaning the toilet first. When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head.”
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared before Lin Ze, full of heartache.
“Holy Son, you’ve suffered!” he cried. “That Empress is a devil! How could she make someone of your noble status live in a toilet?”
“This is all my fault for being useless!”
It was Jing Ke, still lurking nearby. Seeing Lin Ze and Er Hu in this state filled him with rage.
Lin Ze rolled his eyes. “Why are you still here?”
“What are you even doing here? I’m not leaving! If my wife finds you, you’re dead!”
Jing Ke looked fearless. “Holy Son, I’m not afraid of death. After these few days of observation, I’ve found a way—we can dig a tunnel to escape from here!”
“I’ve already mapped the path. Give me two more days, and I’ll tunnel our way out and free you from her claws!”
Lin Ze’s mouth twitched violently. Is this really something a carbon-based lifeform could come up with?
When God scattered intelligence down to earth, you really had to use an umbrella and act deep?
“Fine, go dig your hole,” Lin Ze said, completely speechless. “Just stay away from me.”
“Yes, sir!” Jing Ke saluted and ran off.
After he left, he immediately used a sound transmission stone to report all of Lin Ze’s current conditions back to the Azure Spirit Holy Land—of course, adding plenty of his own dramatic interpretation along the way.
When Lin Ruhai received the message, his love for his son overwhelmed him, and he crushed the sound stone in one palm.
“That demoness has gone too far!!”
“You made my son live in a toilet? Clean latrines? Eat dog shit?!”
Lin Ruhai roared to the sky in fury. His precious son, someone he couldn’t even bear to let fall or melt, was now being treated like this?
Unforgivable!
Everyone else at the Azure Spirit Holy Land who heard the news was also outraged.
“This can’t go on! We must rescue the Holy Son immediately!” Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
“Eliminate the demoness! Bring back the Holy Son!”
“Eliminate the demoness! Bring back the Holy Son!!”
That very night, hundreds set out, heading toward Netherveil Palace.
Meanwhile, Lin Ze had no idea that in the eyes of the Azure Spirit Holy Land disciples, he had already been tortured into a wreck by the Empress.
…
Elsewhere.
In the bedchamber.
You Yiran looked at the suddenly arrived woman and beamed. “Aunt, what brings you here all of a sudden?”
The woman standing across from her smiled, her features elegant and refined. Her flowing purple dress outlined her flawless figure—slender waist, full curves, her chest firm and ample like twin jade bowls.
She exuded the mature charm of a fully-grown woman.
Her name was Shangguan Yi, sworn sister of the former Empress of Netherveil Palace and You Yiran’s aunt.
Shangguan Yi raised her brows and pretended to be annoyed. “Hmph! You’ve grown up now. You’re even getting married and didn’t tell your aunt?”
“If I hadn’t heard about it from disciples returning from training at Medicine King Valley, I still wouldn’t know a thing!”
“I’ve waited so many years for this! At last, my little girl is finally willing to marry. I can finally stop worrying!”
You Yiran’s tone grew awkward. “Aunt, I’m not marrying him—I’m the one marrying him.”
Shangguan Yi rolled her eyes. “What’s the difference? You’re still sleeping in the same bed!”
“Quick, let your aunt see what your man looks like. I heard he’s the Holy Son of the Azure Spirit Holy Land—a rich young master, huh?”
She teased with a grin.
“You really don’t need to meet him…” You Yiran said hesitantly.
Shangguan Yi frowned, displeased. “What kind of talk is that? Don’t tell me you and he… have some hidden secret?”
“You’re not faking this marriage just to fool me, are you?”
“Of course not…” You Yiran forced a bitter smile. The thing she feared most was really happening now.