This Prospective Empress, Please Restrain Yourself

"If I'm not mistaken, the method you planned to use to verify whether Xun Er has a Diary Copy is this one too, right?" Yun Yun leaned against the nearby windowsill, her posture casual yet still elegant and noble.

Ya Fei could use this method herself to find other Diary Copy holders, yet she advised them to use it cautiously.

What was that supposed to mean?

"You guessed right, Sister Yun." Ya Fei sat down as well, her lazy posture carrying a unique charm. "As for Xun Er, I did intend to do the same, but our circumstances are special and cannot be treated as the norm."

Xiao Yi Xian said nothing. She merely pulled out a chair and sat down, quietly waiting for Ya Fei's explanation.

She sat very steadily, her hands folded over her lap. Her bearing was poised and graceful, like a white swan.

"Sister Yun, you had an ambiguous relationship with little brother Chu Xiao. You're his first love, when love first blossomed~" Ya Fei took out a tea set from her Storage Ring and began brewing tea with elegant movements.

Yun Yun: "."

Say that again, and I really will hit you.

"Little sister Xiao Yi Xian, you are the one little brother Chu Xiao called the proof that companionship is the longest confession. If there is a third Empress, it must be you." As she spoke, Ya Fei openly looked Xiao Yi Xian over.

This little sister's figure, looks, and temperament were all impeccable. She had also been willing to stay by Chu Xiao's side without a title, a promise, or any certainty. No wonder he had been so moved.

"Get to the point!" A flush spread across Xiao Yi Xian's delicate face.

She was thin-skinned and could not withstand Ya Fei's blatant "teasing."

"And then there's me!" Ya Fei pointed at herself. "A woman whom little brother Chu Xiao would take to the Great Thousand World and appoint as the commercial director of Heavenly Palace. I suppose I count as a confidante of his too."

"I think it's more than that." Yun Yun lowered her gaze and smiled faintly, striking back for the first time. "For a man to be willing to hand a woman financial authority, your relationship must be quite deep."

"Then I'll borrow your auspicious words, Sister. I hope little brother Chu Xiao and I will have the kind of relationship where we can get to know each other deeply." Ya Fei was thick-skinned. Yun Yun's words did not affect her in the slightest; she even took them as a blessing.

"I wouldn't have dared dream of becoming the woman of a Dou Wang expert. If I could become the confidante of a Saint-Rank Heaven Supreme..."

"My life would be worth it."

The two women: "."

This woman truly was different.

"Now, as for Xun Er." Ya Fei picked up the teapot and poured herself a cup.

"She is an Empress, little brother Chu Xiao's childhood sweetheart. Their relationship goes without saying."

"All of us have unusual ties with little brother Chu Xiao. Even if the Diary Copies had never appeared, we would all eventually gather around him. Over time, even if we did not become close friends, we would at least become acquaintances capable of living in peace."

"Even without the Diary Copies binding us, we would not do anything harmful to little brother Chu Xiao, and we could coexist peacefully."

"So, there is no problem with testing one another in this most direct manner."

"But other people are another matter!"

Hearing this, Yun Yun and Xiao Yi Xian considered it carefully, then nodded in agreement after a moment.

Ya Fei's meaning was not difficult to understand.

They did not know the rules governing Diary Copy holders, so they could not determine who counted as one of their "kind."

What if, in the future, Chu Xiao's enemies—or malicious scum like Han Feng—also possessed Diary Copies? If they exposed themselves without any precautions, they would only put themselves at a disadvantage and potentially affect Chu Xiao.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, they still had to pretend as much as possible that they had never read a Diary Copy.

"Xun Er, Sister Yun, and little sister Xiao Yi Xian are all trustworthy. It is fine to use a more rash and direct approach with them." Ya Fei smiled sweetly. "But when dealing with others, we still need to conceal ourselves properly."

"So, little sister Xiao Yi Xian, rest here briefly, then let Sister Yun arrange for someone to send you back to Green Mountain Town."

"Why!?" Xiao Yi Xian's lovely brows drew together slightly.

She had ridden in a carriage for three days and three nights from Green Mountain Town to Wutan City precisely because she wanted to meet Chu Xiao ahead of time.

Yet before she had even seen him, Ya Fei wanted her to return.

Was she trying to use her status to pressure her?

"She is afraid you will expose yourself." Recalling what Ya Fei had said earlier, Yun Yun guessed her intentions and explained, "I appeared here under the pretext of taking a disciple."

"Ya Fei is already the person in charge of the Mittel Auction House. After Chu Xiao displayed his talent, she approached him of her own initiative. That completely suits her character."

"But you are merely an ordinary Dou Zhe. You should have been a physician in Green Mountain Town, yet you have appeared in Wutan City. That is very suspicious."

"Chu Xiao is very intelligent. This suspicious detail might make him guess that you can see the contents of the Diary."

"Even if it is only a possibility, we do not want that."

Yun Yun looked seriously at Xiao Yi Xian, believing that she would understand the gravity of the matter.

But to both her and Ya Fei's surprise, Xiao Yi Xian asked again, "Why?"

The two women: "?"

They had already explained it very clearly!

"Why can't Chu Xiao know?" Xiao Yi Xian's expression became extremely serious.

"Uh..." Yun Yun and Ya Fei opened their mouths, but for a moment, neither knew how to answer.

Was this not instinctive?

The instinct to hide the truth, the instinct of living creatures to seek benefit and avoid harm.

If the copies did not restrain their holders, and if not for Chu Xiao's existence, would normal people not want to be the only ones holding a Diary Copy, gaining benefits from the future memories Chu Xiao wrote about?

"I want him to know." Xiao Yi Xian smiled sincerely, her bright eyes seeming to shine. "The moment I guessed that there might be other people with Diary Copies, I had this thought."

"By relying on himself, he could still become a Dou Emperor, ascend to the Great Thousand World, eventually become a Saint-Rank Peak Heavenly Sovereign, and confront beings like the Heavenly Evil God. Whether the Diary helps him or not is irrelevant."

"If I let him know that others can see the Diary's contents, that does not mean he cannot keep writing. It only means that he can choose what to write, while I only need to continue accompanying him."

Ya Fei and Yun Yun:!

Faced with Xiao Yi Xian at that moment, they felt somewhat ashamed of themselves.

From the bottom of their hearts, they had no intention of harming Chu Xiao. What they thought most about was how to befriend him and obtain useful information from the "future" he wrote.

Whatever their relationships with Chu Xiao had been in the original trajectory, they did not even know him yet.

Because of those relationships, as well as Chu Xiao's value, they could naturally feel goodwill and trust toward him.

But they absolutely could not do what Xiao Yi Xian had done—consider this matter from his perspective.

"No wonder he wrote in the Diary that if there were a third Empress, it could only be Xiao Yi Xian. Even Xun Er and Cai Lin would agree." Ya Fei and Yun Yun were filled with emotion.

At that moment, they no longer had even the slightest doubt about the Diary's contents.

Xiao Yi Xian, this genuine "third Empress," left them no choice but to believe.

"Little sister Xiao Yi Xian, if I were a man, I would not be able to refuse you either." Ya Fei smiled and took the initiative to pour Xiao Yi Xian some tea before continuing, "But as for me, although I am not as virtuous as you, I am not that bad either."

"From the perspective of benefits, after guessing that others might also possess Diary Copies, I had also wanted to indirectly reveal the truth to little brother Chu Xiao."

Yun Yun: "."

Right, only I was being self-righteous.

Xiao Yi Xian blinked her beautiful eyes, picked up her teacup, and asked, "There won't be a 'but' after this, will there?"