Two Dajis

As night fell, the lights in Shouxian Palace gradually went out.

Su Daji sent away the palace maids attending her, then quietly lay down on the couch. The moonlight was hazy, but no matter what, she couldn't fall asleep.

At midnight, a faint, shadowy figure suddenly appeared before her bed.

"Sister, I'm here!" the shadow called softly.

If anyone had witnessed this scene and seen the shadow's face, they would surely have been astonished.

For the shadow looked exactly like Daji on the couch. Even if Su Hu had been there, he probably wouldn't have been able to tell which one was his daughter.

"The Great King has gone to bed. A lot has happened today, so he may be exhausted." Su Daji leaned close to the other woman's ear and whispered a few words. "Hurry and go over there!"

The shadow nodded lightly, left Daji's chambers, and quietly made her way toward Di Xin's bedroom.

At the same time, Daji rose from the couch and disappeared behind a succession of overlapping curtains.

The shadow, who looked exactly like Daji, quietly opened the door and entered Di Xin's room.

A single lamp glimmered in the room, its light veiled by gauze.

The shadow glanced toward the couch and saw that it was empty. King Zhou was nowhere to be seen.

She searched the room carefully, but it was indeed empty. King Zhou wasn't there.

The shadow stayed in the room for a moment, then turned and left, sneaking back to Daji's chambers.

"Sister, you're back so soon?" Daji emerged from behind the curtains and asked in surprise.

"Sister, the Great King isn't in his chambers. I don't know where he's gone." The shadow shook her head gently.

"Hide here for now, little sister. I'll go out and ask. The Great King doesn't usually leave his chambers at night." After speaking softly, Daji left the bedroom.

She crossed the main hall and several corridors, then arrived outside Shouxian Palace.

More than a hundred Imperial Guards stood watch there day and night.

Su Daji questioned a junior officer among the Imperial Guards and learned from him that the Great King had gone to the Ancestral Temple.

The Ancestral Temple was where the ancestral kings were worshipped. For the Great King to go there in the middle of the night instead of sleeping was simply unbelievable. Could the drug she'd put in his wine have failed?

After asking, Daji retraced her steps. She didn't dare linger at the palace gate, lest Di Xin find out and become suspicious.

Back in the bedroom, she told the shadow where the Great King had gone, then said, "Little sister, wait here for now. The Great King will return sooner or later. If he goes somewhere else, Xi Mei can take care of it."

The shadow nodded, then vanished from the room in a flash.

At the Ancestral Temple.

Di Xin sat before the ancestral tablets, his face flushed and his breathing somewhat heavy.

He knew exactly what was happening to him. Daji had definitely drugged him with an aphrodisiac. He could feel himself losing control, but he didn't dare suppress its effects with Magic Power.

He was deeply afraid that if he used Magic Power, someone would notice.

It seemed Goddess Nuwa really was in a hurry to find out whether he had Magic Power.

What she didn't know was that another demon was trying to test him. Daji had drugged him only because she had no other choice.

She didn't want to be exposed, so she wanted to make this happen. Otherwise, deceiving Goddess Nuwa would be a serious crime!

Di Xin couldn't touch Daji, but he also couldn't act as if he were forcing himself not to. After all, he was no longer in the "incapable" state he'd claimed to be in before.

So his only option was to hide!

In other words, to lie low.

He'd been lying low for days.

There was no other way. His strength was insufficient, and to stay alive and reach his ultimate goal, he could only keep doing this.

To that end, Di Xin even found quotations from the classics to comfort himself.

Even Zhuge Liang had said, "To preserve one's life in a time of chaos."

Clearly, there were great benefits to lying low.

The ancients had also said, "If you can endure, you can thwart oppression..." and "If you become rich, you can..."

Lying low... It really was useful for everything!

If he had to hide and lie low, the Ancestral Temple was undoubtedly the best place.

It was a solemn place. He could simply let the drug work its way out of his system.

"Ancestors, I, your unworthy descendant Di Xin, am here to beg your forgiveness!"

"Di Xin has lost his virtue and come under the criticism of the world. I wrote a poem on the wall of Goddess Nuwa's palace, and a giant stone fell from the sky and exploded... Today, my son may have been caught by villains as well..."

Sitting on the prayer mat, Di Xin thought about the traps Daji might have set as he mechanically began to mutter.

He didn't mean any of it. He was only saying it for others to hear.

"Di Xin is determined to mend his ways from now on. Ancestors, please bless Di Xin, protect Yin Shang's legacy for ten thousand years, and keep my son safe until he returns..."

He rambled on until daybreak. Only then did the drug's effects gradually wear off, and he finally returned to normal.

Only then did he light three sticks of incense before the many ancestral tablets, bow, and leave.

He returned to Shouxian Palace with a solemn expression and ran straight into Daji, who had come to greet him.

"Great King, why did you go to the Ancestral Temple in the middle of the night? If the women of the harem had been allowed inside, I would have gone there to keep you company!"

Di Xin had intended to go straight to his own bedroom, but since he'd run into Daji, he couldn't simply ignore her.

He put an arm around Daji's waist and sighed softly. "Beloved Consort, come inside. I'll explain everything to you."

Breakfast had already been laid out in the main hall, but Daji hadn't touched a bite. Clearly, she'd been waiting for Di Xin.

Di Xin sat down. "Beloved Consort, I went to bed early last night, but while I was sleeping, I had a dream. My ancestors scolded me for losing the Crown Prince and said they would punish me. I was so frightened that I woke up, and then I felt terribly uncomfortable. My whole body was burning, and I could hardly breathe. I knew the dream was an omen."

"So I didn't dare neglect it. I hurried to the Ancestral Temple to beg my ancestors for forgiveness and ask them to protect our dynasty and pardon my mistakes."

Hearing Di Xin's explanation, Daji let out a long breath. Thankfully, the Great King hadn't suspected an aphrodisiac. Otherwise, she really wouldn't have known how to explain it.

"I don't think the Great King did anything wrong. Even if you truly did, there's no need to spend the whole night begging forgiveness at the Ancestral Temple. Your health matters most!"

Daji's words covered up the look of relief she'd just shown.

Di Xin glanced at Daji. "There's nothing wrong with my health. My son's life is what matters. I made a promise at the Ancestral Temple: if the Crown Prince returns safely this time, I'll spend eighty-one days there repenting."

"Ah..."

Daji was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Let's eat." Di Xin said no more and began eating.

After a quick breakfast and a little washing up, Di Xin got ready and left Shouxian Palace.

"Where is the Great King going?"

Daji followed him all the way.

Only when they reached the palace entrance did she see that many Imperial Guards had already armed themselves and formed up, their helmets and armor gleaming. There were more than three thousand of them.

This was completely different from how they had been positioned to guard the Royal Palace before.

"I'm leaving the palace!" Di Xin offered a brief explanation, then said to Fang Bi and Fang Xiang, who were leading the troops, "You don't need to come with me. I'll go alone!"