Chapter 56

Hearing this, the already flushed cheeks of Ye and Lin grew even hotter. They didn’t understand how Xiao Minghuang could so casually say such embarrassing words. Even though they were all girls, she showed no restraint.

But it was precisely this aspect of Xiao Minghuang that they loved.

Bright, cheerful, and generous.

When facing enemies, she was the supreme Empress of the Nine Heavens, whose words could decide life and death, treating all living beings as mere ants.

But in front of them, she was a gentle and caring older sister, looking after them with meticulous attention.

Both Ye and Lin realized that they truly couldn’t live without Xiao Minghuang.

After some affectionate moments, the three of them packed their belongings, ready to leave Beiyang City and return to the imperial capital.

But while organizing their luggage, Xiao Minghuang suddenly noticed that the dual cultivation manual she had picked up from the evil cultivator leader was missing.

In its place was a small booklet titled 《Jade Purity and Ice Clear Dual Cultivation Technique》.

Seeing this new manual, Xiao Minghuang couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.

“Jade Purity and Ice Clear… Dual Cultivation Technique?”

For now, Xiao Minghuang didn’t delve into the contents of the booklet, instead pondering another question.

“Who did I give that manual to?”

She had clearly given away that manual, otherwise, she wouldn’t have received a system compensation.

A few days ago, she had frequently been giving gifts to Ye and Lin, and the system’s notifications had nearly overwhelmed her mind, becoming an unbearable annoyance. So, she simply muted the system alerts, and thus had no idea on which day she had sent them out.

“If Ruoshui or Wanqiu sees this secret technique, it would be a disaster!”

Xiao Minghuang’s delicate brows furrowed tightly, her thoughts in turmoil.

Her relationship with Ye and Lin was like that of sisters, akin to real family.

If Ye and Lin were to see that little booklet, wouldn’t her image of a noble, elegant, gentle, and intellectual elder sister collapse in an instant?

How could she ever hold her head high in front of Ye and Lin again?

But.

What’s done is done, and all she could do now was pray.

“I hope Ruoshui and Wan Qiu never discover that booklet!”

At the same time.

In Ye Ruoshui’s room, she was organizing the miscellaneous items in her storage bag when she inadvertently discovered a small, yellowed booklet.

“What’s this?”

Ye Ruoshui took it out of the storage bag and opened it to look.

“This!”

As soon as she turned to the first page, Ye Ruoshui’s eyes widened, and her face flushed crimson.

Snap!

She immediately closed the booklet, fumbling so much that she nearly dropped it on the floor.

Ye Ruoshui felt her cheeks burning hot, her heart pounding wildly.

“This storage bag was given by Her Highness, so this booklet must have been given by her as well…”

“Did Her Highness give me this booklet because she wants to do the things depicted in it with me?”

Ye Ruoshui took a deep breath to calm her surging emotions. After cooling down, she couldn’t help but think:

“Her Highness is noble and dignified, intelligent and wise. How could she possibly do something so vulgar?”

Moreover, she remembered the jade slip Xiao Minghuang had given her before.

It clearly recorded a martial art, but she had mistaken it for…

“Could this booklet be a normal martial art?”

Ye Ruoshui thought this way. She had read in cultivation manuals that high-level martial artists, with their long lives, would seek like-minded companions to become cultivation partners to avoid loneliness over the long years.

Cultivation partners are different from ordinary spouses.

The contract between spouses mainly seeks the propagation of offspring or mutual pleasure.

The contract between cultivation partners, however, is a mutual vow to never abandon each other and to pursue the Great Dao together.

Although both are agreements, their purposes and forms are different and should not be confused.

Thinking this, Ye Ruoshui had an epiphany and suddenly felt enlightened.

“It seems Her Highness doesn’t want to… be intimate with me…”

But rather to cultivate together with her.

Comparing the two, Ye Ruoshui suddenly felt it wasn’t so embarrassing after all.

She vaguely remembered Her Highness once saying that kissing and hugging between girls is a very normal thing.

So by extension, cultivating together with Her Highness should also be a normal thing, right?

However, she could never do such intimate things with anyone else, regardless of gender!

…

Not long after.

There was a knock on the door.

“Ruoshui, are you ready? We should get going.”

Hearing Xiao Minghuang’s voice, Ye Ruoshui’s heart trembled. She took small steps to the door and slowly opened it.

“Your Highness…”

Ye Ruoshui stood at the door with her head down, her small hands twisting the hem of her clothes, as if making a difficult decision.

Xiao Minghuang glanced at her and couldn’t help but ask curiously:

“Ruoshui, what’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so hesitant?”

Hearing this question, Ye Ruoshui’s heart tightened. Could it be that Her Highness was unaware of the matter regarding that secret technique?

Perhaps I obtained it from somewhere and then forgot about it later?

Thinking this, Ye Ruoshui let out a deep sigh of relief, a smile appearing on her delicate face as she said:

“It’s nothing, Your Highness, let’s go!”

At this moment, Lin Wanqiu had also finished packing her belongings and walked over slowly.

“Your Highness, I’m all ready.”

Xiao Minghuang nodded, not dwelling too much on the earlier question, and said with a smile:

“Since everything is packed, let’s set off!”

“From Beiyang City to the imperial capital, it will take ten days of non-stop travel. After we return, we’ll need to go into seclusion to recuperate and prepare for the grand competition.”

“Alright!”

Both Ye and Lin nodded in agreement and stepped out of the room.

Their belongings had already been stored in their spatial pouches, so there was no need for further packing.

Thus, the three of them—Xiao Minghuang, Ye Ruoshui, and Lin Wanqiu—headed toward the main hall.

Inside the main hall.

Lin Zhengquan upon seeing the Ninth Princess, realized that she had stayed in this place for nearly two months and it was time for her to return to the imperial capital.

Lin Zhengquan stepped out from behind the desk and bowed respectfully, saying:

“Your servant pays his respects to the Ninth Princess!”

Xiao Minghuang gestured for him to rise, saying:

“City Lord Lin, you are too polite. I have shared both hardships and glory with Beiyang City, so there’s no need for such formalities.”

Especially in front of Lin Wanqiu.

This last thought, Xiao Minghuang did not voice aloud.

Seeing her father bowing so humbly in front of her, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated, Lin Wanqiu’s heart would surely feel uneasy.

Hearing her words, a trace of gratitude appeared in Lin Wanqiu’s eyes. If it weren’t for her father’s presence, she might have knelt in thanks right then and there.

Lin Zhengquan, having experienced much in life, naturally understood the reason behind Xiao Minghuang’s words. It was likely that her concern for Lin Wanqiu was the primary factor, with Beiyang City being secondary. Thus, his gratitude toward Xiao Minghuang deepened even further.

“In that case, this humble servant will be presumptuous.”

After the pleasantries, Xiao Minghuang brought up the matter of leaving Beiyang City.

Lin Zhengquan tried to persuade her to stay, but he also knew that the Ninth Princess surely had important matters to attend to in the imperial capital, so he did not insist too much.

However, he did request that the Ninth Princess wait a moment, as he had a generous gift to present.

Since they were to stay a while longer, the three of them—Xiao Minghuang, Ye Ruoshui, and Lin Wanqiu—took their seats, waiting for the so-called generous gift to arrive.

Not long after.

Dozens of guards carried over ten large chests into the courtyard, each chest nearly half a person’s height, exquisitely decorated and covered with red cloth. It was clear at a glance that the contents must be extraordinary.

Lin Zhengquan clasped his hands and smiled, saying:

“Your Highness, you cannot leave Beiyang City empty-handed. This humble gift is both a farewell token for Your Highness and a small gesture of goodwill from the entire city.”

“Come! Open all the chests and let Her Highness see!”

As soon as he finished speaking.

The ten large chests were opened simultaneously, revealing a dazzling array of rare treasures. Thick spiritual energy surged out, condensing into a dense mist that filled the entire courtyard and even spread beyond its walls.

Xiao Minghuang focused her gaze and saw that within the ten chests were spirit stones, spirit herbs, and spirit materials—all essential items for cultivation.

To say nothing of the other treasures, just the ten chests of spirit stones alone likely numbered over ten thousand.

Witnessing this scene, not only was Xiao Minghuang astonished, but even the two ladies, Ye and Lin, were equally shocked.

Especially Lin Wanqiu, whose pupils slightly dilated as she exclaimed in surprise:

“Father, how come the City Lord’s Mansion has so many spirit stones and treasures?!”

Before this, she had also visited the treasury of the City Lord’s Mansion, which was almost empty, containing only a few boxes of spirit stones.

Hearing Lin Wanqiu’s question, Lin Zhengquan coughed lightly and spoke:

“The City Lord’s Mansion has many treasuries, Wanqiu, it’s normal that you didn’t know about this.”

He then turned to Xiao Minghuang and said earnestly:

“These spirit stones, medicinal herbs, and spiritual materials, I sincerely hope Your Highness will cherish them and not misuse them!”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Minghuang hesitated for a moment, without any polite refusal, but nodded with utmost seriousness:

“Thank you, City Lord Lin, I will certainly treasure them and not let you down!”

“With Your Highness’s promise, I am at ease!”

As he spoke, he took out a storage bag from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Minghuang.

“Those earlier were gifts from Beiyang City to Your Highness. This storage bag contains gifts from the Lin family and myself to Your Highness.”

Xiao Minghuang took the storage bag and probed it with her spiritual sense, seeing a jade pendant emitting a faint blue light, with two delicate characters engraved on it, which were “Wanqiu.”

Although Xiao Minghuang did not know what material the jade pendant was made of, just by observing its mystical aura, she knew it must be extraordinary.

“This jade?”

Lin Zhengquan explained:

“This jade pendant was left by Wanqiu’s mother before she passed away. She said it was Wanqiu’s identity token, which might be useful in the future.”

“Identity token?”

Xiao Minghuang looked puzzled and asked.

Hearing this, Lin Zhengquan explained:

“Your Highness may not know, Wanqiu’s mother was not from the Great Xia Kingdom, nor was she from the Southern Territory, but from another great state in the Eastern Pole.”

“Back then, she was persecuted by enemies and drifted to the Southern Territory. I met and got to know her during my travels, we married and returned to Great Xia, where Wanqiu was born.”

“Unfortunately, due to being secretly harmed by enemies in her early years, she developed a chronic illness and passed away shortly after giving birth to Wanqiu, who also suffered from congenital deficiencies and meridian blockages.”

At this point, Lin Zhengquan’s face showed a look of sorrow, clearly recalling painful memories.

Beside him, Lin Wanqiu, upon hearing her father mention her mother, looked utterly bewildered. In her memory, the role of a mother had always been missing, and now hearing about it, she felt somewhat at a loss.

The atmosphere in the room gradually turned sorrowful. Xiao Minghuang squeezed Lin Wanqiu’s hand, gently pressing her palm, and quickly changed the subject, saying:

“This jade pendant, I will keep it for Wanqiu, City Lord Lin, please rest assured!”

Lin Zhengquan composed his sorrowful emotions and replied:

“Entrusting it to Your Highness, I am naturally at ease!”

PS: Tomorrow is the release day, please support us a lot. The author is rushing to prepare something exciting for everyone, which will probably be released on the weekend rest day. Please support us a lot, thank you very much!!!

Release Announcement

This book has been published for nearly a month, and it’s finally time for the release. The author is very excited.

First of all, thank you for your support and encouragement, it’s you who have kept the author going until today.

Tomorrow is the release day, and the author still has some words to say.

On the platform Ciweimao, it’s already difficult for original works to stand out, and my original cultivation novel with a wish-fulfillment style is even more challenging. If it weren’t for a generous tip from a big shot, I probably would have flopped so hard that I wouldn’t even know which way is up.

Here, I deeply thank the big shot, Yuanhuan!

We often chat in the group, and she’s a very gentle and lovely big sister!

Let me say a few words about the reasons and the journey behind writing this novel, which goes back to my previous book.

In the first half of last year, I suddenly fell seriously ill, was hospitalized for several months, lost my job, and my family spent a lot of money. After being discharged, my health was so poor that I would get out of breath after just a few steps, but the family finances were in dire straits, and we had to eat.

In desperation, I remembered that I had written novels before, so I decided to give it a try and wrote a book.

《From Cold Palace Princess to Immortality》

Due to my immature writing ideas, I was often criticized, and as I wrote, I kept revising, turning the already not-so-smooth plot into something unrecognizable.

This also made the already poor performance even worse.

At that time, I went to consult with the big shots, and they all told me to cut it off, as such performance wouldn’t earn any money.

But I persisted, not missing a single day of updates, because I knew that if I didn’t write, I might not even have that little bit of manuscript fee.

Due to some contract issues, I published the book in August, but didn’t receive my first manuscript fee until November. Those days were truly bitter!

I only ate two meals a day, a steamed bun at noon and noodles at night. I didn’t dare to finish the dishes I made at noon, reheating the leftovers at night to mix with the noodles.

This situation finally changed when I received my first manuscript fee!

With the manuscript fee, I went to eat at Wallace.

Although everyone says Wallace is a diarrhea combo, every time I went to buy steamed buns at the shop next door, the smell of fried chicken was so enticing it made my bones melt.

After reminiscing about the past, let’s talk about the current book.

This book is different from the previous one.

This book has an outline, a complete worldview structure, and I prepared tens of thousands of words of outline in advance, so there shouldn’t be any major loopholes.

But some details may inevitably have errors, so I still ask for your guidance, as what the author sees and what the readers see can feel different.

The upcoming plot direction will basically include both wish-fulfillment and intimate moments, and neither will be lacking!

That’s about it for now.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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