On the other end of the Communication Mirror, Lu Yao could hardly believe it. "Dad got promoted?"
Meng Anli looked troubled, nowhere near as delighted as she was.
Lu Yao asked, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
"Given Meng Mingde's temperament, he will certainly pin all the blame on Uncle Lu and me.
The Heavenly Emperor protected me openly today, so Meng Mingde will not dare trouble me for the time being. He will definitely go after Uncle Lu, even Niuyang Mountain as a whole.
He has been idling at home for three years now. Who knows how many filthy tricks he has come up with."
Lu Yao patted her shoulder. "Don't worry. Dad may look careless and rough around the edges, but he has won battle after battle on the battlefield. He has some wisdom in him.
And Niuyang Mountain is not full of pushovers either. When soldiers come, generals block them; when water comes, earth dams it."
"It is easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark," Meng Anli said. "We still need to find something for him to do."
She could not always remain on the defensive.
It was time to take the initiative and find something for him to do.
After pondering for a moment, she said to Lu Yao, "A Yao, just say I have not recovered yet and ask for leave for me."
"Where are you going? I'm coming too."
Thinking of how Meng Anli had been covered in blood and collapsed before her yesterday still filled Lu Yao with lingering fear.
Meng Anli took her hand. "Don't worry. It is a very safe place."
"I would still feel better following you."
Meng Anli's eyes shimmered as she curled her lips into a faint smile. "A Yao, I am in the Nascent Soul Realm now."
"What?"
Lu Yao, who had only just broken through to the Golden Core Realm, was stunned.
"No wonder I couldn't see your cultivation. You've risen even higher than I have."
Meng Anli asked with a smile, "So, are you at ease with me going out now?"
After thinking about it, Lu Yao realized that if Meng Anli had not been trying to take her along while fleeing yesterday, Anli probably would not have been so badly injured.
She said, "I'll stay and cultivate properly. How many days will you be gone?"
"I'm not sure yet." Meng Anli shook the Communication Mirror in her hand. "We'll keep in touch through the Communication Mirror."
"Alright."
Meng Anli waited until all the disciples in the dormitory had gone to cultivate, then jumped out the window and left.
Afterward, she headed straight for the mortal realm.
In the space of three breaths, she landed in the Cold Palace of the mortal realm.
This Cold Palace was unlike those in the storybooks she had read before. It was not desolate or dilapidated in the slightest. The open ground was planted with fruits and vegetables, medicinal herbs, and beautiful flowers.
A woman whose beauty did not lose to that of an immortal maiden wore a headscarf and coarse cloth garments as she weeded the vegetable garden.
Beside her, a round-faced girl held a watermelon, eating it while calling out with little sincerity.
"Mother, let me do it."
Empress Chu glanced up at her, gentleness and amusement in her eyes. "Just eat in peace."
The little girl did not put on airs either. "Alright~"
Meng Anli thought, It's her.
Meng Shiwan's mother.
The last time she had passed through the mortal realm, she had not come looking for her. Since she had already confirmed that Meng Shiwan's mother was a mortal, there had been no need to waste time searching for her.
In any case, once she exposed Meng Shiwan's identity, Meng Shiwan would feel guilty and would not come to verify it.
She knew Empress Chu was Meng Shiwan's mother because, in her previous life, she had overheard the residence guards assigned to watch her chatting in the dark prison.
They said the young lady was about to marry and had brought her mother back.
The young lady's mother had been an imperial consort of the mortal emperor.
They said she was several degrees more beautiful than a fairy, with a gentle and obedient temperament.
They said she was chaste. After following Meng Mingde, she had never again let the emperor touch her.
Even after the emperor had thrown her into the Cold Palace and exterminated her entire family.
Now, Meng Mingde treasured her like a pearl and cherished her like jade.
This had caused the three young masters some dissatisfaction.
Meng Anli found it absurd.
Unless she bore a blood feud against her family, would she rather have her whole family exterminated than submit to her former husband?
What kind of chastity was that?
She had died too early and never met this empress.
Originally, she had thought that since Meng Mingde loved her so deeply, she would send this empress to his side earlier and see, in passing, whether she could be of use to her.
But judging by Empress Chu's bearing, she did not seem like someone unable to tell right from wrong.
Meng Anli descended from the clouds and transformed into a set of mortal clothes.
Seeing her descend from the sky, Empress Chu's face turned deathly pale. She raised her hoe and shouted.
"Where did you monster come from?"
The girl stopped eating her watermelon and rose to stand in front of Empress Chu. "Monster! Don't even think about harming my mother!"
Meng Anli raised her hand, and the girl immediately froze in place, unable to move.
Empress Chu dropped her hoe, trembling so badly that she could barely stand.
"You..." She swallowed hard and moved in front of the girl. "What do you want? Come at me!"
Meng Anli felt that her reaction was truly a little excessive.
There were many mortals who cultivated immortality. Seeing someone who could fly and wield spells should not frighten them this much.
Especially an imperial consort in the palace—she should have seen even more such things.
Such a reaction could only mean that someone who could fly had once gravely harmed her.
Meng Anli tested her. "I am Meng Mingde's daughter from Chongwu Mountain."
Empress Chu immediately broke down. Covering her ears, she screamed with hatred filling her voice.
"Get out! Get out of here! Everyone from Chongwu Mountain should die!"
Pity appeared in Meng Anli's eyes. As expected, Meng Mingde had hurt her.
Meng Anli continued, "But I hate Meng Mingde. He ruined me, and I want to kill him."
Her voice was not loud, and she deliberately slowed it, making it soothing.
Empress Chu gradually calmed down.
Panting, she asked uncertainly, "You hate Meng Mingde too?"
Meng Anli knew she had guessed correctly. "Yes. Speaking of it, everything began because of your daughter. She came to the Heavenly Realm and schemed against me at every turn, making me lose the hearts of my father and brothers. They dug out my inner core, utterly disregarding whether I lived or died."
As Meng Anli spoke, hatred inevitably entered her gaze.
"I'm sorry." Empress Chu covered her face and apologized, her body going limp.
Meng Anli supported her.
Empress Chu still could not help trembling in fear.
Meng Anli helped her beneath the grape arbor and asked, "Did you instruct your daughter to seek revenge?"
"How would I dare?" Empress Chu gave a bitter smile. "You immortals need only lift a finger, and we cannot move. I only wanted to take my daughter and live out our lives in peace, but..."
Empress Chu paused, her face filled with grief.
Meng Anli could not quite bear it. "Never mind. If you do not wish to speak of it, then don't."
Empress Chu bit her lip. "Can you defeat Meng Mingde?"
"Not yet, but my master once told me that one can kill with a borrowed blade. I will absolutely not let him go."
Meng Anli said sincerely, "I came to find you because I also intend to use you."
Empress Chu clenched her fists. "Then I will tell you everything."
Before you continue