The Red-robed Fairy Maiden knelt and pleaded for mercy.
"Empress, please calm your anger... Ziyi has matters to attend to and cannot return..."
"You six are utterly foolish! Do you really think you are helping that girl Ziyi? You can hide it today, but how long can you keep it hidden? Since you are in the Heavenly Court, you must obey the Heavenly Laws and Jade Rules. She descended to the mortal world and married without permission—do you know how the Heavenly Laws punish such a crime?"
The sisters all knelt one after another, desperately pleading on Ziyi's behalf.
"Ziyi has found the happiness that belongs to her. They truly love each other. Please spare Ziyi, Empress..."
"Please spare Ziyi, Empress..."
The other fairy maidens in the great hall lowered their heads, not daring to speak. After pleading for a while, the six maidens sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere and fell silent, lowering their heads. In their hearts, they felt indignant for Ziyi. The Heavenly Court was dull and harsh. Though it seemed lofty and exalted, every step was fraught with peril; one misstep, and the consequences would be beyond imagining. The sacred realm of the Heavenly Court's Jade Pool was an immortal paradise, but it was also a cage.
Each day and every year repeated the same fixed life—one hundred years, one thousand years.
The Heavenly Laws were so strict that they governed every detail of life: how one stood, sat, walked, dressed...
Ziyi had found happiness of her own. She would spend her life with her beloved, loving each other dearly. Though such a life might be plain, it would no longer be dull, and she would not have to suppress herself under harsh rules every day.
The Queen Mother, however, felt fortunate that there