Shrouding the Heavens: The Years as the Female Emperor's Strictest Master

But it had also pushed both her and him into a more conspicuous, more dangerous position.

Part of the fury over the Chi Family's rejected marriage proposal today would likely be redirected toward her.

If she had known she would suffer such an undeserved disaster, she never would have come to Heavenly Lake Hall. Wouldn't it have been better to stay in Phoenix Perch Pavilion?

This guy... how could he leave no room for retreat when doing things...

Thoughts racing like lightning, Shao Hanyun felt both annoyed and exasperated.

Yet for some reason, when she had heard that guy publicly utter the words "deeply admire,"

the lake of her heart, sealed away layer upon layer, had rippled ever so faintly amid her helplessness and frustration—a ripple so slight that even she herself had not noticed it.

But that ripple was immediately replaced by deeper vigilance and calculation.

What exactly was he trying to do...

The dead silence in the hall did not last long.

"Hmph!"

Suddenly, at that moment.

A cold snort containing immense saintly might erupted from the rear hall like a clap of thunder, exploding through the grand hall and making everyone's eardrums buzz as their blood and qi churned.

Whoosh!

Immediately afterward.

A powerful, aged figure emerged from the rear hall.

He was one of the Chi Family's hidden ancestors, a figure who had broken free of his seal more than a decade ago after the current great era began. He was the clan ancestor of Chi Yao and her sister.

With a single step, he appeared in the middle of the hall in an instant.

Because of his great age, he was not particularly burly. He was even somewhat gaunt.

Yet the moment he appeared, it was as though a Primordial Divine Mountain had suddenly risen