As Tang Wanzhuang entered the great hall, the previously noisy crowd fell silent instantly, with some even holding their breath. It was not her rank or authority that inspired such awe. It was her beauty. She was simply too beautiful. She embodied the ethereal charm of Wu and Yue’s[1] picturesque mountains and waters into one, and just her presence seemed to represent all of Jiangnan. In the past, her sickly fragility had added to her allure. Now that her health had returned, her elegance remained undiminished. Thirty years of wielding power over the empire only lent her an even more breathtaking majesty. She now beheld a presence so commanding it left people breathless. Her unaging face seemed as though it were heaven’s declaration that such beauty was not meant to fade. There was no need for envy, for even heaven itself refused to let her grow old. The silence was finally broken by a chorus of young men greeting her in unison, “Greetings, Grandaunt!” The mountains and rivers of Wu and Yue suddenly crumbled, turning into bamboo fences in the countryside where chickens clucked and dogs barked. Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes lingered briefly on Zhao Changhe before drifting toward Baoqin’s hairpin[2], then she replied softly, “No need for formalities. Baoqin, is this the husband you’ve chosen?” Baoqin grinned obsequiously and said nothing. “There’s still time before the banquet. We’ll speak more at dinner. Buqi, receive the guests. Baoqin, come with me to the old house. And bring your new husband.” Tang Wanzhuang had barely stepped in before turning to leave again. Baoqin and Zhao Changhe followed quietly. Ling Ruoyu instinctively reached out, longing to meet the esteemed Prime Minister Tang, but quickly lowered her hand. She did not know what grounds she had to do so. If Birdy isn’t lying, then that dignified and venerable Tang Wanzhuang might just be Master’s love rival. Tang Buqi coughed dryly and resumed his seat, his voice steady and authoritative, “Young lady, is that Dragon Bird you’re holding?” Ling Ruoyu snapped out of her daze and replied, “Yes. I, Ling Ruoyu, have escorted the sacred saber south to deliver it to you, Marquis of Wu. I ask that you gather trusted warriors to escort it back to the capital.” A murmur stirred through the hall. “So that’s Ling Ruoyu? She’s so young.” “The Tome of Troubled Times flashed multiple times in a single day, and she climbed straight to eighteenth on the Ranking of Man at just sixteen. No one in her generation can match her.” “Even if it were the Sunset Divine Sword from back then, she would pale in comparison.” Please stop. If my master hears this, I’m going to get smacked. Tang Buqi’s mouth twitched. Most of the guests did not know that Ling Ruoyu was Yue Hongling’s disciple. He did not either, but he did not need to. He only had to recognize who had been standing beside her just moments ago. The person who actually owns that saber was just here, and you’re handing the saber off to me of all people? I swear, Zhao Changhe’s really getting creative... What kind of twisted courting tactic is this? Tang Buqi straightened his expression, and his tone turned grave and solemn. “An aspiring swordswoman should not abandon her task halfway. You’ve guarded this saber all the way here, and so you shall continue to carry it to the capital. Leaving it to others is unbecoming of a true swordswoman.” Ling Ruoyu opened her mouth but faltered. Something felt off. She had come south to deliver the saber to him. What else was she supposed to do? If he had said this yesterday, she would have left it and walked away without a second thought. With that, her mission would have been complete. But today, she felt strangely relieved. She had been dreading letting Dragon Bird go. And now, as it turned out, the Marquis of Wu did not even want it. No wonder he’s such a respected elder. He’s so thoughtful. Weird though... This saber’s obnoxious and arrogant, so why am I so reluctant to part with it? Oh, it’s because I need it to bring me to see River of Stars... The young girl sat in a corner with Dragon Bird in her arms, her mind drifting as guest after guest came forward with gifts and congratulations. She stared into space, unsure where her thoughts were heading. Suddenly, her sword heart twitched. A hostile gaze swept across the hall. She jerked her head up and scanned the crowd, but she found nothing. “Birdy, did you feel that just now? That hostile intent?” “Of course! I’m extremely sensitive to that sort of thing. Let me tell you, back in the day—” “Enough! Stop bragging about this and that back in the day. Can you tell where it’s coming from? This is the Marquis of Wu’s birthday banquet! All the great powers are gathered here, and someone still dares to covet you—” “It’s not just someone. There’s a lot of them.” Ling Ruoyu stiffened, instinctively rising to her feet. “I must inform the Marquis of Wu at once.” “Has Tang Buqi even let you near him? If you charge over there now, you’ll probably taken for as an assassin and be arrested on the spot.” She glanced toward Tang Buqi, only to see a young man bending before him, saying, “That Miss Ling is as beautiful as she is formidable. Father, I was thinking—” Tang Buqi’s palm smacked his son so hard that the boy spun in place. “You damn fool. She’s either your grandaunt or your aunt!” Ling Ruoyu did not catch what was said, but watching the Marquis of Wu smack his own son made her shiver. So this is the legendary “man of strict morals.” He really is terrifying. Tang Buqi held his forehead, groaning. “Why do I get the feeling this birthday’s going to end in disaster... Have the guards patrol again. Sweep the grounds and see if anything feels off.” “Even with Grandaunt here? Who’d dare stir up trouble?” “It’s exactly because she’s here uninvited that something’s off.” Tang Buqi scolded his son. “Do you think she traveled all this way just for my birthday? She’s the prime minister of the empire, not some idle court lady. But then again, with her here, even if something does happen, nothing will come of it. The point of us being so thorough is so that we don’t make fools of ourselves. I’m too old to have my aunt clean up my messes. Do you want your father to jump into a river in shame?” What he wished to say but dared not say aloud was, “My aunt might have come for no grander reason than to see a man. But wherever that man shows up, trouble inevitably follows.” As thoughts of a youthful Zhao Changhe—wild years galloping through the jianghu, singing, and drinking—flickered through his mind, Tang Buqi sat dazedly amid the din of birthday well-wishers. Their voices blurred, distant and indistinct. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” Within the lakeside pavilion that had once been her residence, Tang Wanzhuang sat opposite Zhao Changhe, delicately brewing tea. Her tone was calm and measured. Beside them, Baoqin stood respectfully with her guqin in her arms, the very picture of quiet obedience. The years had blurred like a warped cassette tape, flicking back to an earlier time. The stream still flowed. The cicadas still chirped. What had changed was the girl with the guqin; she was no longer a youthful maid but a married woman with her hair bound up. Moss now carpeted the bamboo stilts beneath the loft, the marks of time worn into every step. “So you came for River of Stars?” “I did. And since it’s Buqi’s birthday, I thought I’d visit family as well. I just didn’t expect to run into you.” Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes swept over Baoqin, her smile faint and teasing. “You’ve grown bold. No letter, huh? Just sneaking him in?” Baoqin chuckled sheepishly. “I knew that you would be here today, so I felt that there was no need for a letter. I just stole a single day.” Tang Wanzhuang, of course, could not truly blame her. Her voice softened as she murmured almost to herself, “That’s fine...” “Young miss...” Baoqin’s nose twitched, her voice tight. “There, there. You’re now chief secretary to the prime minister, my most trusted aide.” “No way! Without me, who would look after you, young miss?” Baoqin placed it before her, and Tang Wanzhuang set it on the table, gently plucking the strings. A clear, resonant tone echoed through the room. She looked up at Zhao Changhe. “What would you like to hear?” Zhao Changhe smiled. “Anything you play, I’ll listen.” Music flowed from her fingers. It was still “High Mountains and Flowing Water,” a melody for kindred spirits. Zhao Changhe sipped his tea in silence, letting the music wash over him as he gazed at Tang Wanzhuang’s serene smile. He thought, This tea... is more intoxicating than wine. Meeting Wanzhuang had been a true turning point of his life. Outwardly, it tempered the wildness in him. Inwardly, it shifted his perspective from a wanderer of the jianghu to someone who could glimpse the whole empire and dream of the world. She, too, had changed, from the commanding force behind the Demon Suppression Bureau to the calm, unseen hand in political affairs. Even when Xia Chichi herself took to the battlefield, it was Wanzhuang who quietly held the realm together, pulling in her fangs and claws, content to remain behind the curtain. Even when her lifelong rival, Huangfu Qing, surged ahead in power, she no longer cared to catch up. None of that mattered anymore. He had given her life, and she would live that life for him. Perhaps brewing tea and playing the guqin in a quiet courtyard with her beloved was the future Tang Wanzhuang yearned for the most. A final note lingered as she lightly stilled the strings, the last echoes curling into the air along with the scent of tea. Tang Wanzhuang asked, “Thirty years have passed, and I never got to enjoy tea and music . Can I... in the days to come?” Zhao Changhe nodded and answered simply, “Soon.” Tang Wanzhuang smiled faintly and rose to her feet, moving toward the window of the waterside pavilion to gaze at the view. Zhao Changhe joined her, standing quietly at her side. No matter how loud or festive the great hall was in the distance, this place felt like a hidden garden beyond the world—just a flowing stream and a field of blooming flowers. Watching the bees flitting busily among the blossoms, Tang Wanzhuang said softly, “Walk with me?” The two strolled side by side through the garden in silence. Was it because simply walking together was already enough... or was it that, after so many years apart, they did not know how to begin again? Zhao Changhe made no effort to force conversation. Instead, he simply reached out and took Tang Wanzhuang’s hand. Her fingers were still soft like silk, but no longer carrying the chill of years past. As he held her hand gently, the warmth passed between them. After so long apart, their hearts found the same rhythm once more. “All these years, I poured everything into governing the land. I thought I’d nearly forgotten you,” she said after a long pause, voice low. “But the moment we met again, those memories all flooded back... and filled every corner of my heart.” Zhao Changhe said nothing. There was no need to repeat more apologies. He had said them often enough in recent times. What she wanted was not an apology but a future. “In the past, you could never keep your hands to yourself,” Tang Wanzhuang said with a sidelong glance and a smile. “You loved catching me off guard just to see my hairpin askew and my face flushed with embarrassment. Why so proper now, hm? Feeling guilty, King Zhao?” Zhao Changhe replied, “After all this time, how could I meet you just thinking of that? What kind of man do you take me for?” “But I want you to be that man,” she said plainly. Zhao Changhe stopped walking. Tang Wanzhuang turned and embraced him tightly around the waist, burying her face in his chest. She held him so fiercely that even his tempered body felt the pressure. Only then did he realize that beneath the calm lake that was her visage, a raging torrent had always been flowing. “I was afraid,” she murmured into his chest. “Even though I knew, for you, it was just one night’s sleep... I still feared that thirty years had passed, and you’d come back indifferent. Or worse—that you’d wake to find us all gray-haired old women, our voices cracked and our beauty gone, and the younger generation calling me grandaunt like some relic... Would you then start to draw away? Back in the hall, I wanted to slap every one of those little brats just to shut them up.” Before the words had fully left her lips, Zhao Changhe leaned in and kissed her, silencing her the way he knew best. Tang Wanzhuang swallowed the rest of her worries with that kiss. She gently parted her lips, welcoming him. When they finally drew apart, breathless, Zhao Changhe whispered, “That was your punishment for doubting me.” “Mm...” Tang Wanzhuang rested in his arms. “To be honest, when I saw Baoqin’s hairpin, I was genuinely happy. If you could still cherish Baoqin, then of course... you would never cast me aside.” Zhao Changhe said, “Even if time did take your beauty, which it has not, I would still stay by your side, brewing tea and playing music, growing old with you.” “Truly. It’s unfair, what Buqi said earlier. I think he’s got it just right. I want a house full of children. How many would you like to give me?” Tang Wanzhuang’s cheeks flushed with color. “One boy and one girl would be perfect.” “Then a boy and a girl it shall be.” That soft, girlish joy returned to her face. Hand in hand, she led him to sit by the riverbank, resting her head on his shoulder. They said nothing more, simply watching the current as it flowed gently past. In her heart, she was already planning. Please let the next crisis come quickly and end even faster, then I can sleep with my husband and start making babies. Though... Will others come tonight too? Hmm... it’s still early. Maybe we could steal a moment now? But... would that seem too eager? Undignified? Would Baoqin laugh at me? Tang Wanzhuang shot a murderous glare toward the waterside pavilion where Baoqin was hiding and peeking out. What did I do? Are you mad that I snuck a turn ahead of you! I’ve even been hiding out here not to disturb you two... What kind of maid is as well-behaved as I am? Tang Wanzhuang did a bit of mental math... then sighed. This was not the right moment to initiate anything. In truth, she was content to simply sit here quietly with him, leaning shoulder to shoulder. She let those thoughts slip away and turned instead to important matters. “No one’s had a chance to speak to you yet. We’ve all just been acting based on speculation. Tell me, what was the outcome of that arrow you loosed?” Zhao Changhe said casually, “Ye Wuming spent two entire eras wiping out every ancient demon god that the Heavenly Dao ever spawned. In doing so, she reduced the Heavenly Dao’s influence on this world to the bare minimum. Her final, desperate gambit was simple. If it succeeded, she and the Heavenly Dao would perish together. What remained would be fate, not will. The so-called heaven’s will would vanish, and from then on, the world would be free. Even the Tome of Troubled Times would no longer serve as an active instrument, but merely as a passive reflection of the world. But if she failed, the laws she embodied would fall back into the Heavenly Dao’s control. They’d disperse into the demonic qi scattered across the world and begin recreating the demon gods of the past. That’s always been within the Heavenly Dao’s power. He created them once, and He could easily do so again.” “When I loosed that arrow, Ye Wuming didn’t stick to her original plan. She’s not stupid. She shifted tactics and launched a joint assault with me instead. The Heavenly Dao was caught off guard. Being struck from both sides, He was left wounded and fled. Ye Wuming seized the moment to wield the Heavenly Tome and sealed off this world, locking it down so the Heavenly Dao couldn’t sneak back in. So really, the situation’s been pretty straightforward. Both sides have been recuperating—me, mending the flaws in my foundation, and Him, nursing His injuries. But now we’re both ready, and it’s time for the final battle.” “Just as we expected,” Tang Wanzhuang said. “Fortresses always fall from within. The Heavenly Dao’s current play is simple: rouse what little demonic qi still lies dormant in this world to breach the seal from the inside and seize River of Stars in the process. We, of course, want to take this opportunity to wipe out what remains of the demonic qi, to cleanse the interior threat once and for all. More than that, we plan to use those traces to locate the Heavenly Dao’s position and strike back directly. In other words, the battle isn’t complicated. And for now, the Heavenly Dao doesn’t even know you’ve awakened, which gives us a significant edge.” “But without Ye Wuming’s cooperation, we can’t launch a counterattack. Like her or not, she’s indispensable.” “We don’t particularly hate her. Most of us don’t even know her. It’s Jiuyou and Piaomiao who hold a grudge.” She added, voice light as mist, “But from a power perspective... Your Majesty may well have to conquer the Night Palace.” Zhao Changhe blinked, and then it dawned on him. She was referring to him as the emperor. In Wanzhuang’s eyes, he was the only one worthy of the throne. Xia Chichi was merely a placeholder. He shook his head and laughed. Seeing his smile, Tang Wanzhuang laughed too. “You’re the Night Emperor now. The Night Palace is rightfully yours. Even Ye Wuming once said you should take the seat of the Heavenly Emperor and dwell in the Night Palace. I say you go straight to her door and claim it. If she won’t leave, just keep her there as your concubine.” Zhao Changhe tilted his head and looked at her. A faint blush colored Tang Wanzhuang’s cheeks. “What? Is it so wrong to help my husband take a concubine and earn a reputation for being generous and unjealous?” Zhao Changhe chuckled. “Nothing. I was just thinking... if someone’s spying on us right now, she must be fuming.” “Oh, please. It’s one thing to tease Ruoyu, but does she really think she can throw her weight around with us?” Tang Wanzhuang had guessed, from the moment she saw him, that Ye Wuming was the one behind all the Tome of Troubled Times entries about Ling Ruoyu, deliberately stirring trouble for the girl. Zhao Changhe smiled then asked, “How much do you know about Ruoyu’s situation?” Tang Wanzhuang replied, “You know how Hongling is—wandering the world, always keeping to herself. Most of us never even knew when she took in a disciple. None of us had met the girl. She only let her out to train just last year, and Ruoyu never revealed her master’s identity. Everything she achieved, she earned on her own. It’s impressive. Yangyang and Baoqin both interacted with her during that time and praised her highly.” “That’s it?” Zhao Changhe asked. “Nothing unusual?” “There’s one thing, though I’m not sure if it’s relevant...” Wanzhuang tapped a finger against her sleeve. “Ever since she appeared in the jianghu, rumors of sightings of River of Stars started popping up across the land, but none of the sightings lined up with her movements. Based on what we’ve seen, it looked like a coincidence.” Zhao Changhe nodded slightly and was about to speak when one of Tang Wanzhuang’s guards arrived, his expression grave. “Prime Minister, there are reports of unrest at Tiger Hill. A sword spirit has appeared in the void. The Marquis of Wu has already taken men and gone to investigate.” 1. These are ancient Chinese states. ☜ 2. In ancient Chinese culture, hairpins played a significant role in marriage traditions, symbolizing a girl’s transition into adulthood and marriageable age, and then her transition into a married woman. ☜