TSFLIP Chapter 269

Late at night, Mu Liang stood at the tent’s entrance, hesitating whether to go in. Four palace maids, who didn’t seem very approachable, were stationed outside, but his hesitation wasn’t because of them—it was whether or not he should go find Xia Fengguang.

He paced back and forth, thinking maybe he could find Xia Fengguang tomorrow. Just as he was about to leave, he saw the gentle-looking Prince Xian walk out from inside the tent, and his step faltered.

Gu Yan also noticed Mu Liang and, after instructing the four attendants to properly serve Fengguang, walked over. “Young Master Mu, what brings you here so late, standing in front of His Majesty’s tent?”

His words implied that Mu Liang shouldn’t be there so late, but he had just come out of the Empress’s tent at this hour!

Mu Liang, being straightforward, didn’t like dealing with court officials. He took out the foot chain. “This is the token the Empress gave me when I went to Winter Sun City last year. Now that the matter is resolved, I should return this to her.”

“Her Majesty is already resting. If Young Master Mu would like, you can give it to me, and I’ll pass it on to her,” Gu Yan replied.

Mu Liang felt something was off. The Empress was resting, but this man had just come out of her tent. It was said he was her teacher, and they spent a lot of time together. So… was it that the Empress couldn’t sleep and had asked her teacher to tell her a story?

Seeing Mu Liang lost in thought, Gu Yan called out to him, “Young Master Mu?”

Mu Liang snapped out of it, handing the chain over. “Then I’ll leave this with you.”

“Rest assured, Young Master Mu.”

Mu Liang had delivered the item and had no reason to stay any longer. He bid farewell and turned to leave.

He wouldn’t know that this small action had just saved his life.

Gu Yan lifted the chain. The pearls on the chain sparkled in the moonlight, the pure white gleaming. It was so bright that it almost reminded one of her skin—equally pure and flawless.

However, she was different from this pearl, because he would never let any other man touch her.

He stepped into the shadows and coldly said, “Thirteen.”

In the dark, a man in black with his face covered appeared. He knelt respectfully next to his master, holding a rectangular box. He opened it, and by the faint moonlight, one could see that the box contained several small compartments, each holding a different ornament.

A discerning eye would notice that each ornament was one that the Empress loved to wear.

Gu Yan tossed the chain, as if it were trash, to the man named Thirteen. “This one’s dirty. Dispose of it.”

Thirteen lowered his head. “Understood.”

He then took out another chain with a mermaid pearl, closed the box, and disappeared with the sound of a breeze.

The only mermaid pearl in the world?

Not the only one. All the mermaid pearls were in his hands, though there weren’t many—maybe seven or eight. In this world, no one else could use one like hers.

Gu Yan gently stroked the flawless pearl, smiling slightly, and then returned to Fengguang’s tent. The attendants saw him and didn’t dare stop him.

The person on the bed was curled up under the covers, sound asleep. He knew she always slept like that, with her two soft, white feet sticking out from the blanket.

He sat on the edge of the bed, fastening the foot chain onto her ankle. Taking the opportunity, he also stroked her smooth little legs. She was exhausted, so deeply asleep that she didn’t even notice someone sitting right there, coveting her.

Gu Yan had planned to just take a quick look and leave, but he suddenly changed his mind. He pulled back the blanket and lay down beside her.

He held her in his arms, sighing softly.

It was good—she had finally grown up.