Joining the Imperial Family

Morning sunlight streamed through the window and fell across the bed.

"Mm! Where am I? Yuhao?"

A gentle woman's voice sounded in the room, waking Huo Yuhao, who had been keeping watch beside the bed.

He looked up and found his mother gazing at him with concern.

"Mom, you're finally awake! Thank goodness."

"Yuhao! Why aren't you resting? You're still growing."

Perhaps because she had been unconscious for so long, Huo Yun'er's voice was a little hoarse. But Huo Yuhao heard the worry beneath her scolding.

Huo Yuhao hurriedly helped his mother sit up, then took a cup of water from the bedside cabinet and helped her drink.

"I'm fine, Mom. Besides, I got some rest yesterday."

After drinking, Huo Yun'er set down the cup and looked around in confusion. "Where are we, Yuhao?"

Huo Yuhao sat beside her and held her hand as he explained, "Mom, someone kind saved us yesterday. She arranged this place for us to stay."

"Is that so? Then we must thank our benefactor properly."

Just then, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate. Knock, knock, knock.

Hearing it, Huo Yun'er urged Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, go see if our benefactor has come."

Huo Yuhao opened the gate and found Xu Jiujiu standing there with a bright smile.

"Little brother Yuhao, did you sleep well last night?"

"Sister Jiujiu, you're here. I slept well. Thank you for asking."

Huo Yuhao stepped aside to let her in and led her toward the house.

"Whatever it is, Sister Jiujiu, come in and have a seat!"

When Huo Yuhao brought Xu Jiujiu to the bedroom door, he saw that Huo Yun'er, who had been lying down moments earlier, had struggled into a sitting position.

He rushed over to support her. "Mom, you're still hurt. You need to rest."

"Our benefactor is here! How could I stay in bed when the person who saved our lives has come to visit?"

Xu Jiujiu stepped forward as well and gently pressed Huo Yun'er's shoulders, signaling that she need not get up.

"Aunt Huo, there's no need for such ceremony. You're still injured. Your health comes first, so please lie down."

Huo Yun'er stared at the visitor and cried out in surprise.

"You're... Your Highness the Princess."

The room fell silent.

Huo Yuhao's expression did not change. He had guessed Xu Jiujiu's identity the day before. What surprised him was that his mother knew who she was.

Xu Jiujiu's elegant brows drew together slightly.

"You know me, Aunt Huo?"

"I do. When Your Highness visited the Duke's Estate three years ago, I saw you from a distance."

Xu Jiujiu had intended to reveal her identity to Huo Yuhao later, but Huo Yun'er had done it for her. And Huo Yuhao did not seem surprised.

Unable to resist their urging, Huo Yun'er lay back down.

Even so, she kept both hands wrapped around Xu Jiujiu's and thanked her again and again.

"Thank you so much, Your Highness. If you hadn't helped us, I don't know what Yuhao and I would have done."

Xu Jiujiu patted Huo Yun'er's hands with her free hand. "Aunt Huo, it was no great trouble. Besides, Yuhao is such a talented child. If anything happened to him, it would be a tremendous loss for the Empire!"

Xu Jiujiu spoke with complete sincerity. In this era, Innate Full Soul Power was still a mark of genius, though it was no longer as rare as it had been ten thousand years ago. But Huo Yuhao possessed something else no one had: an identity that might help the Empire resolve the Four-Thousand-Year Old-New Conflict.

Standing nearby, Huo Yuhao felt warmth rise in his chest as he listened to his mother and Sister Jiujiu. Since he and his mother had been driven into the woodshed, it had been a long time since anyone had treated them with such genuine kindness. Xu Jiujiu's eyes were clear and sincere when she spoke, and there was not a trace of condescension in her manner.

After comforting Huo Yun'er, Xu Jiujiu turned to Huo Yuhao. "Little brother Yuhao, come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you."

With that, she turned and walked toward the pavilion in the courtyard.

"Go on, silly child. What are you standing there for?" Huo Yun'er urged Huo Yuhao when he remained in the room after Xu Jiujiu left.

"Oh!"

The two of them sat facing each other in the courtyard pavilion.

They sat in silence for a long while before Xu Jiujiu spoke. "Little brother Yuhao, you didn't seem surprised by my identity just now."

"No. I had my suspicions. From your carriage yesterday and the doctor you summoned, I could tell you had considerable influence. Combined with your surname, it wasn't hard to guess who you were."

"Oh? Then you can probably guess why I asked you to come out here, too."

Huo Yuhao raised his large blue eyes and stared straight into Xu Jiujiu's violet ones.

"You want to use my identity against the White Tiger Duke. Am I right?"

A smile curved Xu Jiujiu's lips.

"You really are clever, little brother Yuhao. I am interested in your identity, and you hate the Duke's Estate. Why don't we work together? The Empire will support you. What do you say, little brother Yuhao? Will you join us?"

As she spoke, Xu Jiujiu extended her slender, fair hand. Huo Yuhao did not hesitate. He placed his own callused hand in hers.

"I'll join you. As long as Dai Huabin and that vicious woman pay for what they've done, I'll do anything."

The boy and girl clasped hands tightly, sealing an alliance neither intended to break.

Seeing how readily Huo Yuhao had agreed, Xu Jiujiu's smile grew brighter.

"Sister Jiujiu, when can you take me to hunt for a Spirit Ring? I have Innate Full Soul Power. I want to absorb a Spirit Ring and keep getting stronger."

Huo Yuhao clenched his fist. "I need to grow strong as soon as possible. I'm going to make those people pay..."

Before he could finish, Xu Jiujiu pressed a slender finger to his lips. He swallowed the rest of his words.

"Little brother Yuhao, it isn't time yet. You heard Aunt Ye last night: you're malnourished. To be frank, before Spirit Rings reach the ten-thousand-year level, the age of the ring a soul master can absorb depends on their physical condition. Given yours, I doubt you could even absorb a Hundred-Year Spirit Ring right now."

Xu Jiujiu withdrew her finger, and Huo Yuhao could finally speak again. His cheeks flushed as his blue eyes darted about, unable to meet hers.

"Then, Sister Jiujiu, how can I get my health back?"

Just then, another knock sounded at the gate. Knock, knock, knock.

Huo Yuhao opened it to find two people outside, one older and one younger: Xu Jiujiu's guard Man Yi and a woman dressed like a maid. Man Yi held something resembling a bracelet, while the maid behind her carried a large food box.