Heaven Dou City, imperial palace, rear garden.
Several years had passed, and Xue Ye looked considerably older, his temples now frosted with gray.
The moonlight was rich that night, while countless stars glittered brightly overhead.
Xue Ye stood quietly in the night, holding a bowl of fish feed in one hand and scattering pinches of it into the water with the other.
"Have the people from Spirit Academy arrived?"
Crown Princess Xue Qinghe stood calmly at his side.
"They have."
The scene remained silent for a long while.
Within the vast rear garden, only the faint sounds of feed hitting the water and fish scrambling for it could be heard.
Only after quite some time did conversation resume.
"Over the next while, make sure those noble brats behave themselves. Also, have the Imperial Fighting Team test the mettle of those people from Spirit Academy."
"This daughter understands."
The two stood together in the rear garden for nearly half an hour, yet exchanged no more than ten sentences. Finally, Xue Qinghe took her leave.
Only then did Xue Ye narrow his calm eyes slightly and toss the jar of feed in his hand into the water.
"Spirit Academy's Golden Generation Team... Hmph!"
Over here.
Xue Qinghe had just left the imperial palace and passed through a stretch of road shrouded in shadow.
A golden figure that had clearly been waiting for a long time slowly appeared before her. Xue Qinghe was not surprised in the slightest, as though she had expected it all along.
Morning.
When Xu Yuan emerged from his room, stretching lazily, Yue Guan was already waiting in the courtyard.
Xu Yuan glanced at him, greeted him, and began washing up.
Although he did not know when Yue Guan had gone out last night, he knew when Yue