"Let her in," Jiang Changbai ordered seriously, restraining her emotions. Song Juguang stared fixedly at Sheng Yunxing, who entered slowly, and felt herself release a breath. "Come, stand," Jiang Changbai's gaze swept over Sheng Yunxing, and she asked warmly, "what's so urgent?" Having received permission, Sheng Yunxing hurriedly rose from the ground, and when she spoke, she was quite anxious. "Bixia, that Envoy from Shejin, Qin Zhixun-daren, was attacked by an assassin." "What?!" Both spoke at once, and both Jiang Changbai and Song Juguang were startled. Song Juguang strode to Sheng Yunxing, and the urgency in her gaze shocked Sheng Yunxing stiff. "Say that again?" Luckily, Sheng Yunxing wasn't a coward, and though Song Juguang's expression was shocking, she still quickly adjusted her state of mind, and said, "Wangjun, just now Qin-daren, Qin Zhixun, was attacked by an assassin at the relay station. Lucki...

Time never showed mercy, and her health having been injured years before, now, Su Ya's face had already begun to show wrinkles. Jiang Changbai sighed, and said, "We've heard that Qin Zhixun only entered Shejin's court this year. We saw her before the Palace Banquet, and looking at her features, she appears more like someone from the Great Li. You must have met the guards that follow by her side, yet you don't remember their names." The implication in Jiang Changbai's words was clear. Though Qin Zhixun had come from Shejin, she wasn't from the same place as Su Ya. Even if they met, there wouldn't be the joy of meeting someone from her homeland. As for the guards who followed by her side, the distance between them was as sharp as night and day, and they would be even less familiar with Su Ya. But Su Ya continued to kowtow, and said, "Even if Qin-daren truly is from the Great Li, this subject still wishes to meet her." Su Ya's life in t...

Song Juguang's reprimand startled Qin Zhixun, and she smiled mockingly, and said, "Aren't I just wanting to help Shijie out?" She wasn't wrong; the spiritual power in the mortal world was thin, and not only would one's cultivation not advance, it would regress. Everyone wanted to finish their mission as soon as possible and return to the sect. From the time Qin Zhixun had entered the sect, it was Song Juguang who had acted as the model of how to carry out their assignments, teaching them, and that she would feel filial towards her was normal. But Song Juguang didn't accept her feelings, but rather hardened her expression, and asked, "Setting aside that each world only has one person training in it, your appearance here is already far from the typical. Aside from Shizun, the only one who knows a person's mission is she herself, so what do you mean by 'helping me'?" Though this body wasn't originally Song Juguang's, and its face...

Yet another Spring Festival. It was the first day of the tenth year of Dao'an. Liang Jiwen had dealt with the winds of fortune in Shejin so many years, and now, she'd finally removed all the old ministers who'd been left behind from the old King of Shejin and her older brothers' time, promoting her own confidants and stabilising the government. In large part due to her recollection of Jiang Changbai's past kindness, this year was the first time she'd sent a delegation to offer tribute. The envoy had arrived in the capital early that morning, and now it was evening, and the Palace was about to put on a Palace Banquet. The Palace Banquets of now were quite different from those in the past. In the past, the imperial clan had been large, and only officials of first rank and relatives of the imperial family were allowed to attend. But now, the imperial clan had died off in its entirety in the fighting seven years ago, and only a few of the women who weren't blood...

The sound of rain outside the hall grew heavier, the curtain of rain so dense it could practically wring out ink. The bean-sized raindrops hammered against the glazed roof tiles, as if trying to shatter them. Within the hall was dry, but the scent of petrichor had increased. Hearing her words, Jiang Changbai turned her head, unspeaking, and evasiveness rose on her expression—because this question was equally unanswered in her mind. Regardless of if it were the dynamic of sovereign and minister or master and servant, neither seemed to properly encapsulate the emotion between the two of them. But at this moment, the ground was speckled with bloodstains, carving a gulf between them and the word "lovers". "Bixia, please dispel this minister's doubts," Song Juguang said as she took advantage to press forward, not having the intent to let Jiang Changbai off the hook. Her fingertips hung on Jiang Changbai's collar, and in the space between touch and having yet to ...

Unexpectedly, the next moment, Jiang Changbai's wrist suddenly exerted itself, and in an instant, she wrenched her hand out of Song Juguang's grasp. Immediately, the blade in held tightly in her hand pressed against Song Juguang's neck, and Jiang Changbai glared fixedly at her, asking harshly, "You think We won't dare to kill you?" After waiting a long moment, when Song Juguang didn't reply, Jiang Changbai reprimanded her once more, "Don't bring up any childhood friendship with Us." Jiang Changbai didn't so much as blink as she spoke, and red crept into the whites of her eyes, appearing even more sinister under the reflection of the candle flame. She paused, and only then said, "It's true that A Guang was selected from among refugees, but Our A Guang was taught to read by Us, and her martial arts were learnt alongside Us as well; who she is, We couldn't know any better. It's impossible for her to lead forces and fight as ...

The scent of ambergris hung in the hall, and the candle flames lit on the table swayed and flickered. Song Juguang picked up a few of the memorials and casually glanced over them, a smile of understanding appearing on her face. "It's merely that these imperial censors are making conjecture at my intentions; every word and every action this minister does is for the Great Li." "For the Great Li," Jiang Changbai's voice was still harsh, "can you do as you please for the Great Li? Do you hold Us as in esteem? Song Juguang, We have not treated you poorly." Hearing that, Song Juguang bowed her head, a sudden, strange sensation arising in her heart. From the time Jiang Changbai had ascended the throne, this was the first time she'd used the imperial "We" when it was only the two of them. She gazed furtively about the surroundings, and found that there were a number of people hidden away. She'd been Regent for too long now—she really wasn...