With Ye Jingtang's departure, the playing field inside Jade Pool Manor suddenly grew a little quieter.
Dongfang Liren, who had been brimming with fighting spirit, immediately lost interest in this childish game of make-believe once the young man she fancied was no longer there to watch.
The Empress Dowager, nimble as a butterfly, also stopped exerting herself as she had earlier. She began strolling lazily around the field and slacking off, or pondering life when she had a clear shot at goal, leaving Hongyu watching in helpless anxiety.
Perfected Person Xuanji's only hobby was drinking heavily. She had little interest in this sort of exercise, and after returning to the manor, she went to the Dragon-Washing Pool.
There were no outsiders in the enormous hot spring pool. A small table stood at its edge, holding snacks, wine, and several books.
Stark naked, the Empress sat half-submerged in the pool, reading a book intently. Her bearing was graceful and regal, making her look like a diligent Son of Heaven who still remembered to worry over affairs of state while ill.
However, once Perfected Person Xuanji entered, the Empress naturally put the book away, slipping it beneath the respectable books, and asked:
"Master, what brings you here?"
Perfected Person Xuanji sat sideways at the edge of the pool and picked up the wine pot to pour herself a cup.
"I went out for a stroll just now and ran into an acquaintance-the current ruler of the Dongming Tribe among the Western Sea Tribes. You know of her, don't you?"
The Dongming Tribe was one of the Western Sea's Four Great Tribes. Although it was extremely far away, as the Son of Heaven, the Empress could hardly be ignorant even of the major powers there.
The Western Sea Tribes all had very long