You Still Haven't Left?

Mo Yunxuan seemed not to notice the little exchange between the two women and responded as usual.

"It's fine. Not a single person from the Wei State Duke Mansion was injured this time."

Meng Zhirou seemed to have only just noticed Qiu Ziqin. "Xuan Gege, who's this?"

Mo Yunxuan drew Qiu Ziqin over and introduced her.

"Zhirou should know her. This is the Vice Dean of Taihua Academy, a cultivator in the Early Void Refinement Realm. From now on, she'll be my personal slave."

"Of course, that's only how she is with me. You still need to show proper respect to the strong."

"Don't worry, Yunxuan," Meng Qianxue and Meng Zhirou replied.

The two women weren't particularly surprised.

In their eyes, the fact that Mo Yunxuan could openly say that Qiu Ziqin, a powerful cultivator in the Void Refinement Realm, was his slave—

and that Qiu Ziqin showed not the slightest resentment—

meant either that Mo Yunxuan had completely subdued her,

or that he held Qiu Ziqin's lifeline in his hands, leaving her unable to resist.

Either way, there was no need for them to worry about it.

Seeing that the two women had accepted it, Mo Yunxuan didn't dwell on the matter of bringing another woman home.

He'd been transported into the body of a duke, not a eunuch or some spineless man.

How could he possibly not like beautiful women?

And then there was the thrill of stealing the Female Lead. He wasn't a born saint—so what if he couldn't resist?

At most, he'd punish himself with three cups of wine and be more careful next time.

Still, Meng Qianxue and Meng Zhirou held the greatest place in his heart, and they always would.

No so-called Female Lead chosen by fate could ever take their place.

"The woman in the Imperial Palace will probably summon me in a little while. I'll change first."

As he spoke, Mo Yunxuan headed toward the bedroom.

The Meng sisters naturally followed.

Qiu Ziqin showed no awareness of being left out. She simply followed along of her own accord.

Meng Qianxue paid her no mind. She was too worried about Mo Yunxuan going to the palace to meet His Majesty.

"Yunxuan, you went a little too far this time. You've already damaged the Empress's dignity."

"Do you think the Empress might..."

Though she didn't finish the sentence, her meaning was clear: she was afraid the Empress might lay a Hongmen banquet for him and seize the chance to strike.

Meng Zhirou hadn't been worried about it before, but now she too grew anxious.

"Xuan Gege, why don't you just stay here? If the Empress really intends to do something to you, what will happen to all of us?"

Seeing the two women as though the sky were about to fall, Mo Yunxuan hurried to reassure them.

"Don't worry. My cultivation is at the early stage of the Body Integration Realm now, the same as the Empress's."

"Even if she can use the National Destiny to defeat me, if I want to escape, she won't be able to catch me."

"Besides, Li Tieniu and Chen Yuanshan, the Left and Right Wei Guard Commanders, are both in the early stage of the Body Integration Realm."

"If anything happens, they can come to my aid right away. With the three of us against her, even with the National Destiny bolstering her, the Empress won't be able to do a thing."

Seeing that the Meng sisters seemed to have known nothing about Mo Yunxuan's strength until now, Qiu Ziqin couldn't help letting a mocking smile creep across her lips.

"You two didn't know your master's strength until now?"

"No way! No way!"

That smug smile, dripping with contempt, was enough to make even Mo Yunxuan, who had nothing to do with it, want to beat her up.

As for Meng Qianxue and Meng Zhirou, if they weren't so hopelessly outmatched, they would've dragged her to the dueling arena.

Noticing the shift in the sisters' moods, Mo Yunxuan promptly cut off Qiu Ziqin before she could keep provoking them.

"Enough. I only advanced recently."

"Even Commander Hong Yu, the Xuan Niao Guard Commander, didn't expect it. It's perfectly normal that the two of them didn't know."

Meng Qianxue knit her brows and fixed her eyes on Mo Yunxuan.

"Recently? Were there any side effects? Will it affect your cultivation in the future?"

"Exactly!" Meng Zhirou chimed in.

At first, she'd been envious that he could improve so quickly and had wanted to ask him how.

But the moment she heard Meng Qianxue's question, she realized it too.

Things that brought about rapid, permanent advancement usually came with terrible side effects.

Even Qiu Ziqin, who had only just joined them, watched him with worry on her face.

Facing the three women's anxious expressions, Mo Yunxuan remained calm and collected.

"Don't worry. There are no side effects. I'll use the same method to help you improve in the future."

In truth, Mo Yunxuan had already planned to do just that. After all, they were the people who would walk beside him for the rest of his life.

What was the point of having such low cultivation?

And it wasn't just them. He also planned to select a group from the Imperial Guard and enhance their abilities.

Otherwise, relying on just two hundred soldiers a year would be far too little.

Seeing that there really didn't seem to be any problem, the three women breathed a deep sigh of relief.

But when they realized they could improve quickly too, all three lit up with delight.

They'd let Mo Yunxuan see them in every possible state, so there was no need to pretend in front of him.

Everyone knew that aside from sudden enlightenment and breakthroughs, the process of cultivation was usually painfully dull.

Now they could improve rapidly without having to endure that tedium, and without any side effects.

Who wouldn't love that?

Besides, stronger cultivation meant a longer lifespan—and a longer youth.

There couldn't be a female cultivator alive who would stay calm about that.

"Really?" the three women asked in unison.

"Of course."

With that, Mo Yunxuan entered the room and shut the door behind him.

He left all three women outside. If he let them in, he was afraid he wouldn't have time to go out today.

He had just finished changing when Wang Yuan came over and greeted everyone except Qiu Ziqin.

Then he said, "My lord, Commander Hong Yu is here. She says His Majesty has invited you to the palace."

"I expected as much. Come on, let's go see Hong Yu."

Mo Yunxuan straightened his sleeve, then vanished from sight in a flash.

When he appeared again, he was in the main hall, where he spotted Hong Yu leisurely sipping tea.

He teased her, "Right on time, Commander Hong Yu! I'd just finished changing when you arrived."

"You really haven't cast some kind of surveillance spell on me?"

Hong Yu gently set down her teacup and shot him a dazzling, flirtatious look.

"Oh? Could little old me, a mere Void Refinement cultivator, really show off in front of a great expert like you in the Body Integration Realm?"

"You flatter me!"

Mo Yunxuan gave an awkward laugh and promptly changed the subject.

"Come on. Let's not keep the Empress waiting. She might take it out on you."

"That's hardly your concern. You should worry about your Little Qing Li instead."

"What happened to Qing Li?" Mo Yunxuan thought something had happened to Qing Li. His brows furrowed, and his voice turned serious.

Hong Yu could tell his tone had changed. Feigning annoyance, she said, "Nothing happened to her. It's just that the poor girl seems lovesick. She's been in a daze ever since she went back."

"If you ask me, someone had better bring her home soon, or she'll turn into a stone statue pining for her husband!"

Hearing Hong Yu's words, Mo Yunxuan stood and prepared to leave.

But Hong Yu was still seated, taking leisurely sips of tea.

He looked at her in surprise. "Hm? Weren't you in a hurry? Why haven't you left yet?"

"Some people really have no conscience. I came all this way to deliver a message, and you couldn't even offer me a decent meal or drink. You won't even let me finish my tea in peace. Sigh..."

Hong Yu slammed her teacup onto the table and gave him an irritated look, but she still rose and led the way.