Chapter 109

Edited By: Mim

The people claiming to be from Shengzi Palace led out a carriage from the forest.

The horse pulling the carriage was a Ferghana steed, its sleek coat gleaming with a faint golden sheen. The carriage was spacious, with golden tassels adorning its four corners and glazed ornaments on the roof, making it appear like a celestial palace amidst the swirling snow.

Xie Lanxu stood in front of the carriage, allowing an attendant to hold the curtain open for him. He then turned and extended his hand to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi stepped forward and placed her hand in his. With his assistance, she ascended the carriage.

Noticing the special care Xie Lanxu showed toward her, the members of Shengzi Palace exchanged thoughtful glances.

As the curtains fell, the coachman cracked the reins, and the carriage began to move out of the forest.

The turmoil in the pit still lingered in her heart. Leaning against the carriage window, Li Zhi stared blankly at the snow-covered landscape outside.

A large group of Shengzi Palace members surrounded the carriage, walking in formation as if accompanying a monarch on a grand imperial procession.

Suddenly, a hand pulled her away from the window.

She fell into Xie Lanxu’s arms. He lowered his head, inhaling the faint fragrance of her hair.

“I’m so glad,” Xie Lanxu whispered in her ear.

She turned her dazed gaze toward his face, falling into those deep, unfathomable eyes, as still and serene as a bottomless pond.

“I’m so glad,” he repeated, “that there’s no one else. From beginning to end, it’s just you and me.”

He brushed his cheek against hers lovingly, trailing gentle kisses on her forehead, the bridge of her nose, and her lips.

There was a tenderness in him she had never seen before.

“It’s alright, don’t be sad,” he said softly. “Anyone you wish to kill, I’ll kill for you. Anything you want to do, I’ll do for you. Whatever you desire, I’ll take for you. In the past, we were alone. But from now on, we’ll never be lonely again.”

Tears she couldn’t control welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks, and he kissed each one away.

Was this sadness she felt?

Yes, but not entirely.

She was still a nameless, wandering soul, drifting aimlessly through the heavens and earth. But now, it seemed she had encountered another lost soul, one without a place to belong. And somehow, that made her feel a little less alone.

The carriage rolled over the thick snow, the members of Shengzi Palace trudging alongside it. The sound of their footsteps rose and fell in the wind like a rhythmic chorus.

It was unclear how much time had passed when the carriage finally came to a slow stop.

Xie Lanxu helped Li Zhi down from the carriage, and before them stood an imposing and majestic palace covered in snow.

The words Shengzi Palace were written in bold, flowing characters across a golden plaque hanging above the gates, gleaming brightly even amidst the cold.

Once inside the Shengzi Palace, the leader of the group removed his veiled hat, followed by the other members.

“Miss, this is our first meeting, so let me introduce myself,” said the middle-aged man at the forefront, his demeanor refined and his tone warm. “My name is Mao Cheng, and I am the current master of Shengzi Palace.”

Li Zhi bowed politely in response.

It became clear to her that Xie Lanxu had already established a connection with Shengzi Palace back when they were at Mingyue Tower.

Perhaps from the very beginning, he had set his sights on taking control of Mingyue Tower.

It made sense now. That was why, even when there were chances for him to escape during their exile, he had stubbornly refused to leave.

In hindsight, all the clues had been there.

Mao Cheng led the two of them into the grand hall of the palace and hosted a banquet in their honor. Qin Ne, silent and subdued, sat with them.

“That underground palace was truly perilous,” Mao Cheng remarked with a sigh. “Not a single one of those ten seasoned outlaws survived. For Your Highness to return unscathed must surely be thanks to the protection of the countless heroic spirits of the Cui Dynasty!”

“It was nothing more than the result of Qin Ne’s loyal protection,” Xie Lanxu replied casually.

Qin Ne forced a smile, but there was bitterness behind it, words he dared not speak.

Sitting in the same room, Li Zhi listened quietly and began to piece together the full picture.

It turned out that Qin Ne had been a member of Shengzi Palace all along. From the very beginning, he had been sent to connect with Xie Lanxu. However, Shengzi Palace appeared to have its own ulterior motives, and Qin Ne’s loyalty to Xie Lanxu was far from absolute.

That was why the chaos in the underground palace had unfolded as it did.

“Your Highness and Miss must be exhausted from your journey,” Mao Cheng said cheerfully, pouring wine for the two of them. “Here in the Shengzi Palace, we have fine wine and exquisite dishes. Please, make yourselves at home!”

Maidens dressed as celestial attendants carried trays of food into the room in a single file.

Before long, the table in front of Li Zhi and Xie Lanxu was laden with an array of exquisite dishes and fine wine that seemed almost otherworldly.

“But fine wine and food alone are not enough,” Mao Cheng clapped his hands and laughed. “Let us present a performance for our esteemed guests!”

A youth entered the hall, carrying a guzheng.

He sat down in the center of the room, removed his veiled hat, and revealed a face so androgynous that it was impossible to tell whether he was male or female. Then, he began to pluck the strings of the guzheng, producing crisp, resonant melodies that echoed through the hall.

“This is the Shengzi (Holy Child) of Shengzi Palace,” Mao Cheng said, his tone light but layered with meaning. “He was an orphan with no parents, whom I took under my wing. The common folk in the villages below only know him as a being of ambiguous gender, likened to the Bodhisattva Guanyin. But they do not know that his guzheng playing is so captivating that its melodies linger for days.”

Li Zhi detected a subtle undertone in Mao Cheng’s words.

This was a veiled show of power aimed at Xie Lanxu.

With a single word from Mao Cheng, a beggar could become the Shengzi. And with another, the Shengzi could be made to perform like a courtesan.

It was as if Mao Cheng were saying, “The Shengzi may seem exalted, but he is ultimately just a pawn in my hands.”

The banquet concluded without Mao Cheng mentioning the topic of restoring the Cui dynasty even once.

It had been decades since the fall of the Cui dynasty, and people’s loyalties inevitably shifted with time.

Whatever Mao Cheng’s original intentions were in establishing Shengzi Palace, after holding absolute power for so long, it was only natural that his ambitions had grown.

However—

He clearly underestimated what kind of person Xie Lanxu was. Trying to control Xie Lanxu and use him as a puppet was hopelessly naive.

Although Mao Cheng had provided two separate chambers for them, it wasn’t long before Xie Lanxu casually sauntered into Li Zhi’s room.

“What do you think of him?” Xie Lanxu asked.

“He has ulterior motives,” Li Zhi replied bluntly.

“At least you’re perceptive,” Xie Lanxu said. “Just in case, I’ll sleep here tonight.”

Without hesitation, Xie Lanxu removed his outer robe and climbed onto the bed. Li Zhi extinguished the lantern.

Once in bed, Xie Lanxu wrapped his arms around her, rubbing against her and stealing several kisses. Eventually, he rested his head on her shoulder and stopped moving. When Li Zhi turned her head to look, she realized he had fallen asleep.

Xie Lanxu’s sleeping face was pure and childlike, a stark contrast to his usual demeanor. Yet, the hardness of the “short rod” beneath the covers pressed firmly against her, keeping her wide awake.

She turned her back to him, trying to gain some space to breathe, only for his arm to tighten around her once more.

The warmth and the closeness of the narrow bed made sleep come more easily than she expected.

Unconsciously, she drifted off in his embrace.

—-

The next day, Li Zhi didn’t see much of Xie Lanxu.

Early in the morning, Mao Cheng sent someone to summon him, claiming they needed to discuss important matters. The manner in which Mao Cheng invited him—like a subordinate summoning a superior—made it clear to everyone what Mao Cheng was trying to do. Armed with the influence of Shengzi Palace, he hoped to carve out a bigger share of benefits from Xie Lanxu.

Li Zhi herself was also effectively placed under house arrest. Though no one explicitly said so, her movements were subtly restricted, and she was not allowed near the palace gates.

However, knowing Xie Lanxu’s capabilities, Li Zhi wasn’t the least bit worried.

With Xie Lanxu away, she took her time strolling around Shengzi Palace, inspecting her surroundings and behaving as though she weren’t under any sort of confinement.

By evening, when Li Zhi asked about Xie Lanxu’s whereabouts, she was told that the meeting was still ongoing.

She tried to see him but was met with endless excuses and delays.

At this point, it no longer felt like a private discussion but more like an attempt to detain Xie Lanxu as leverage in a failed negotiation.

Instead of pressing the matter, Li Zhi returned to her chamber, burned incense, and quietly meditated over tea.

She already had a good sense of how things would end.

As she had predicted, just as the sun set and the stars had yet to rise, a troop of well-armed Yan Dynasty cavalry led by Hei Huo surrounded the gates of Shengzi Palace.

Hei Huo defeated the twelve palace guards at the gate and demanded to see the Prince Langya.

Li Zhi appeared with freshly brewed tea in hand.

“General, there’s no need for urgency. His Highness is still having a pleasant conversation with the palace master,” she said calmly.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Li Zhi poured a cup of hot tea for Hei Huo in the snow.

This foreign brute, who had rendered Shengzi Palace’s forces helpless, behaved like a meek lamb in front of Li Zhi, obediently following her arrangements.

Li Zhi and Hei Huo sipped tea together in the moonlight.

As the moon rose and stars lit up the night sky, the members of Shengzi Palace stood on high alert, locked in a standoff with the Yan army outside the gates.

Finally, Xie Lanxu appeared at the gates, with Mao Cheng following behind him, wearing a strained smile.

“Put away your weapons. This was all just a misunderstanding,” Xie Lanxu said.

Only then did Hei Huo order his men to sheath their swords.

Judging by Xie Lanxu’s composed demeanor, Li Zhi knew that he and Mao Cheng had reached a reluctant agreement.

For all of Mao Cheng’s clever scheming, had he faced a lesser opponent, he might indeed have succeeded in becoming a kingmaker, a regent ruling from behind the scenes.

But unfortunately for him, his adversary was Xie Lanxu.

“Palace Master,” Xie Lanxu said, “please honor your promise in the presence of all these witnesses.”

With no other choice, Mao Cheng called out his only daughter, Mao Yuan.

Mao Yuan had long known her father intended to marry her off to the last royal bloodline of the former dynasty. Supporting this person to ascend the throne would make her the empress.

When Mao Yuan stepped out, her powdered face was tinged with shyness. She assumed her father had already dealt with the man’s fiancée—the son of a princess of the previous dynasty who shared a blood feud with Yan—making it impossible for him to accept his marriage decree sincerely.

“Yuan’er…” Mao Cheng said with a bitter smile.

The moment Mao Yuan stepped outside, she saw the large gathering of Yan soldiers surrounding the palace, the royal heir of the previous dynasty standing among them. She froze, utterly confused.

“Father?” she asked in bewilderment.

Mao Cheng glanced at Xie Lanxu, his face full of resignation, and said:

“Call him godfather.”