Six More Days, and You'll See the Light Again!

Chu Ruoyan's home was in the eastern part of the city, so she was the first to return to her residence.

The moment she reached the main hall, her mother hurried over anxiously.

"Daughter, you bought far too much! What did I always teach you? You should do your best to show His Majesty your virtuous, gentle side. That's how you win his affection."

"Mother, I didn't even say anything. His Majesty bought all of it for me. Do you think I dared refuse?"

Chu Ruoyan sighed, but as she looked at the room full of treasures, her heart brimmed with delight.

In all her years, this was the first time anyone had spoiled her so extravagantly.

Women might say they didn't want something, but their hearts were far more honest.

Hearing her daughter's explanation, her mother sighed in relief, then broke into a radiant smile.

It seemed His Majesty really had taken a fancy to Chu Ruoyan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bought her so much.

And as her mother, she had basked in a little of Chu Ruoyan's reflected glory today, too.

These clothes and jewels were the finest in the Imperial Capital.

If I wear a few of these outfits out, won't those gossiping hags from the other lineages turn green with envy?

With that, mother and daughter began trying on the clothes and precious jewelry.

After all that bustle, Chu Ruoyan felt a little tired and returned to her room.

But just as she was about to close the door, that mysterious dark figure appeared outside it again.

"Xiao Ming, you're finally here."

Chu Ruoyan thought that since she hadn't explained things clearly last time, she needed to do it properly now.

But Xiao Ming heard something entirely different.

He believed his goddess had been waiting for him to take her away, unwilling to spend even another moment in the Imperial Capital. That was why she sounded so impatient.

Xiao Ming's heart ached again, and he hated himself for being powerless.

He swept his gaze over the room full of treasures and clothes, then said through gritted teeth, "That damned emperor actually used worldly trinkets to insult you. What kind of woman does he take you for? Just looking at this makes me furious!"

After spending so many years as her devoted lapdog, Xiao Ming knew Chu Ruoyan disliked such vulgar things.

Even her clothes and adornments were plain.

She had firmly rejected even the gifts Liu Hao and Wu Qi had once offered Chu Ruoyan.

She had also made it clear that she only wanted to focus on cultivation and, through her own efforts, raise the Chu Lineage to new heights and make it one of the Imperial Capital's foremost lineages.

What a woman-unmoved by material wealth, independent and strong!

That was what Xiao Ming loved most about Chu Ruoyan.

Had Chu Ruoyan known what he was thinking, she would surely have said, Actually, I dressed plainly before because I couldn't afford anything else!

If giving her these treasures and clothes counted as an insult, Chu Ruoyan hoped the insults would rain down even harder!

As for why Chu Ruoyan had refused Liu Hao's and Wu Qi's gifts, that had been a matter of feminine reserve.

Besides, once she accepted them, the other party could take things a step further.

Until she had decided whether she wanted things to go further, she couldn't possibly accept those gifts.

But with Li Chen, she had no chance to refuse. She couldn't even find a reason to.

Women who remained unmoved by material wealth fell into two categories.

The first: she lacked nothing herself.

The second: what you offered wasn't enough.

No, Xiao Ming must have misunderstood something. Chu Ruoyan felt she had to clear things up.

Before Chu Ruoyan could speak, Xiao Ming vanished again, leaving her with a glimpse of his inscrutable retreating figure.

One sentence still echoed in the air.

"Six more days, and you'll see the light again!"

Chu Ruoyan's beautiful eyes widened. This guy won't give me even one chance to speak?

Does he think he looks cool doing this?

Indeed he did. Now hidden in the shadows, Xiao Ming couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from curling upward.

He had spent the entire afternoon preparing for this little display.

From his entrance to the way he turned his back and departed, right down to his lines, he had carefully planned everything.

He wanted Chu Ruoyan to know that he was the most devoted man in the Imperial Capital!

After the battle in the bustling market district ended, Liu Hao also returned to his residence.

Compared with the joyous atmosphere at the Chu Lineage, things were rather tense at the Liu residence.

The moment Liu Hao got home, he plopped down in the seat beside his father, picked up the teapot, and drank straight from it. He was the very picture of arrogance.

The Liu Family enforced strict discipline at home, and the nearby servants' eyelids twitched at the sight.

Has the young master gone mad today? How dare he sit beside the master?

One perceptive servant had already shut the main gates, keeping outsiders from witnessing the impending display of "fatherly kindness and filial devotion."

Liu Hao's father had a fiery temper, too. Seeing his son sit right beside him without so much as a greeting, he wondered whether the brat was itching for a beating.

Liu Hao's father rose, bristling with fury, and pulled the belt from his waist, ready to teach his son a lesson.

Liu Hao set down the teapot, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "I treated His Majesty to a meal today."

With those words, not a soul in the Liu residence dared move-not even his father, whose belt-wielding hand froze in midair.

Having forged a connection with Li Chen was precisely what gave Liu Hao the confidence to come home and show off today.

He didn't believe his father would dare hit him now.

Today, Liu Hao was determined to show off!

Just as Liu Hao expected, his father's menacing air instantly vanished, and he began eagerly asking what had happened.

Liu Hao had wanted to say he was thirsty and ask his father to pour him some tea.

But considering that he might actually get beaten to death, he didn't dare say it.

I'll settle for showing off a little.

"Didn't I go to the shopping street today? I happened to run into Chu Ruoyan."

He explained how he had deduced Li Chen's identity through Chu Ruoyan, secretly observed him, and finally found an opportunity to stage a chance encounter. He had pretended not to recognize Li Chen, then used his connection with Chu Ruoyan to curry favor with him.

As his story went on, his father grew excited.

"Good, good, good! That's my boy! To think you could come up with a plan like that. Our Liu Lineage finally has a worthy successor!"

Seeing his father grinning from ear to ear, Liu Hao felt immensely pleased with himself.

He became increasingly convinced that he had been brilliantly quick-witted and had made the best decision of his life.

Naturally, Liu Hao began bragging. When he reached the part about introducing his Clan Cousin to Li Chen, his father gave him a thumbs-up.

"Brilliant! His Majesty has no consorts yet. If you arrange this properly, our Liu Lineage will surely return to the Imperial Court!"

Li Chen might not have bothered going to a place like the Imperial Court, but countless noble lineages and titled aristocrats of the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty spent their entire lives trying to squeeze their way in, even if they could only stand at the very back.

The Liu Clan had once produced a Grand General on Guo Poyun's level, but no worthy talent had followed him, leaving them unqualified to enter the Imperial Court today.

In Liu Hao's father's eyes, his son's two-pronged approach meant that as long as either he or his Clan Cousin could get close to Li Chen, the day they brought glory to their ancestors would be just around the corner!

Liu Hao's father even immediately ordered the Clan Cousin Liu Hao had mentioned to remain on standby twenty-four hours a day, ready to enter the palace the moment His Majesty summoned her.

Ideally, while His Majesty still had no children, she would hurry and bear him one, securing her position.

"And then? What did His Majesty say?"

Liu Hao's father urged him on.