Li Jia drew the bond petition from Hera's sleeve and examined it by the starlight of her divine pressure.
Hera did not grow angry at Li Jia's unrestrained behavior. Doreen had gradually gone from astonishment to taking it for granted.
Her Majesty had extraordinary patience for Li Jia.
She had carried her back to Hot Spring Ravine in full view of everyone, endured divine punishment for her, let her move into Deep Hall, tacitly allowed her to develop a heap of things no one had ever seen in Hot Spring Ravine, eat breakfast in the main hall, and taken her to inspect the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage. Now she even let her read confidential bond petitions.
She had already made far too many exceptions for her.
It was simply because Li Jia was Her Majesty's attendant disciple.
That was the conclusion Doreen had reached.
Doreen recalled how Hera had once asked her what a qualified divine patron should be like.
Her Majesty seemed to have her own understanding: unconditional protection and indulgence.
But everyone from Hot Spring Ravine was like that, fiercely protective of their own.
Whatever happened, they would settle it at home. In front of outsiders, they defended their own.
Besides, Li Jia had not done anything wrong. Doreen thought there was nothing wrong with her carrying on like this.
The Temple of the Goddess of Marriage still had her and Her Majesty, after all. Supporting two salted fish was no big deal.
Hera did not know why she was not angry either. She simply thought it would be good if Li Jia could glean something from it, though she did not know whether she had the insight.
The little one seemed rather dim.
As Li Jia read the bond petition, she reached an understanding of her own.
Polar Night Fortress fell under the Bokape Dynasty's jurisdiction and was inherited by the Bokape royal line. Lorella Bokape was Bokape II's youngest daughter, born to an unfavored mistress who had died of illness.
The evil dragon Mofeiliya had appeared in the Eternal Rift of Polar Night Fortress ten years ago.
From the moment Lorella Pokape was born, her mission should have been to marry into a neighboring kingdom's royal family. A princess never controlled her own fate; she carried an entire nation on her shoulders.
Last month, while they were escorting the little princess to the neighboring kingdom in a wedding carriage for a marriage alliance, an evil dragon descended from the sky and blocked their path. It breathed scarlet flames, burned the prison carriage to nothing, and carried the beautiful bride back to its lair.
Li Jia finished reading the bond petition with a frown and asked, "Can different species marry too?"
"Yes, as long as both parties are willing. Fundamentally, the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage cannot interfere with the will of others, human or otherwise."
On reflection, Li Jia thought that made sense. Hadn't The Legend of the New White Snake broken through species diversity?
In modern society, countless people married two-dimensional characters or their own OCs. Li Jia could not help marveling, "Love really is a miraculous thing."
"Then if the evil dragon could form a marriage bond with the princess, surely both of them were willing. If they weren't, the marriage bond wouldn't have formed at all. So are they fighting over a divorce now?"
Hera smiled at Li Jia's words.
Good. She was not as stupid as she had imagined.
"Married couples often quarrel and make up in bed. Since the princess was willing to marry the evil dragon back then, she should have had at least some feelings for it. So who submitted the petition to dissolve the bond?"
Winslow said as though it were obvious, "The princess, of course. Who would want to spend her whole life with an evil dragon that abducted her?"
Hera said, "No. The petition was submitted by Bokape's king and queen."
For once, Li Jia and Winslow fell silent at the same time.
Only then did Li Jia notice that although the petition had been written in Luoleila's name, the applicants were the king and queen.
Doreen explained from beside them that either spouse's parents could submit a bond petition. After Her Majesty Hera met the parties in person, she would judge whether the bond needed to be dissolved. The decision rested with the parties themselves. If they firmly chose to remain together, the Goddess of Marriage had no authority to intervene.
Pokape II's stated reason for submitting the petition was that he believed the evil dragon had taken his daughter through threats and inducements, forcing Luoleila to marry it. Luoleila had not married the evil dragon of her own free will, and the gods should be responsible for resolving the matter.
Luoleila and Mofeiliya's names were registered in the marriage records, proving that a marriage already existed. Pokape II believed the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage should therefore resolve it.
Every legally married couple among all beings was registered with the Temple of the Goddess of Marriage when forming or dissolving a bond. Like a premarital examination, it showed how many times they had married and how many children they had had.
The Bokape royal family could not accept a princess who had been taken by an evil dragon, an unclean person.
He needed Hera's divine power to reclaim the princess and erase this marriage that had disgraced the entire royal family, restoring Luoleila's originally spotless marital history so she could marry into a slightly inferior royal family and preserve the glory of the Pokape Dynasty.
Because their mortal bodies could not enter the evil dragon's lair, they had written the petition to request the Goddess of Marriage's help.
Li Jia planted both hands on her hips and said through gritted teeth, "How could they do that? I thought they genuinely wanted their daughter home. Turns out they just think she's tarnished the royal family's reputation, and they want to marry her off to someone else for profit."
"A knife to the backside-what an eye-opener. A sow in a bra-they've got one trick after another. They've claimed every side of the argument for themselves. Maybe the princess married the evil dragon willingly. There are good dragons and bad dragons, after all. Either way, it's better than her black-hearted parents."
Li Jia seethed with indignation. White Dragon Horse was a good dragon, carrying Tang Sanzang and his disciples west to fetch the scriptures without complaint. Little Dragon Girl was a good dragon too, sacrificing herself for peace in the West Sea. You could not assume an evil dragon was evil just because it was called an evil dragon.
Watching this "little yellow chick" fly into a rage in the cold wind, Hera found her rather amusing. By way of comfort, she said, "That is why we came to see who is telling the truth."
Li Jia said, "Exactly. Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. It's not that retribution won't come; its time just hasn't arrived."
"Li Jia, that isn't how you use those sayings. You're hilarious."
Winslow clutched her stomach with laughter. She had no idea where Li Jia found so much to say. Lately, she had laughed so much she was about to develop a couple of crow's-feet.
"So are we going to the evil dragon's lair now?"
"No."
Shouldn't we go straight to the lair and ask the couple?
"Then where are we going?"
"Into Bokape's capital, to hear what others have to say."
Public opinion was a mirror; listen to the people.
Believe what you saw for yourself, not a few words from someone else.
Li Jia looked at Hera and instantly understood what she meant. Smiling, she added, "Great minds think alike."
Hera: "?"
What was all this nonsense? Still, the little one was always spouting outrageous remarks and words they could not understand.
Never mind. She was used to it.
The Pokape Dynasty lay at the center of Polar Night Fortress, the heart of the entire Land of Polar Night. Unlike the fortress, this place was prosperous and bustling with traffic, no different from any other capital.
Looking at the rose pastries sold at a stall in the city, Li Jia asked timidly, "Can they really not see us?"
Winslow saw her concern and gave her a look that said, "Watch this." Then she ran up to a three-year-old child and took his rattle.
Seeing the rattle fly from his hand and shake in midair, the child was frightened out of his wits. He called for his mother and burst into loud sobs.
Hurried footsteps came from the nearby shop. Winslow inwardly cursed and hastily stuffed the rattle back into the child's hand.
"Betty, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
The woman picked up the child and asked gently.
"Mom...my, the rattle...can fly...fly..." The three-year-old spoke in broken phrases. "Good boy, isn't the rattle right there in your hand? Are you sleepy? It's time for your nap." His mother cut him off, tucked the rattle into her bib, and carried him inside for his nap.
Sleep came quickly to the child, and before long he had forgotten the incident.
"Why would you pick on a child like that?" Doreen asked helplessly.
"What else could I do? He's the youngest one here and the least likely to remember. Of course I had to choose an easy target." Winslow retorted, "Would it be better if the adults really noticed and took it to the municipal officer?"
The municipal officer was an institution responsible for maintaining public order.
"So they really can't see us," Li Jia murmured, taking a bite of the rose pastry in her hand.
The crust crunched, followed by the rose filling spreading across her tongue. The filling at the center was a vivid dark red, soft, sweet, and fragrant. The fibrous petals mingled with sugar granules that had not fully melted, and every bite contained real petals, as though she were strolling through a rose garden.
Isn't this just a flower pastry?
Sure enough, delicious foods were all much the same, different in appearance but unchanged in substance.
"You must pay." Hera intended to correct her bad habit.
"I'd like to, but I don't have any money. When I left home, my uncle didn't give me any. I'm penniless." Li Jia sighed and took another bite of pastry.
Hera: "..."
She silently glanced at Winslow. Winslow felt cold air pouring down her neck and broke out in a heavy cold sweat.
She secretly placed two gold coins on the vendor's table, enough to buy his entire cart of rose pastries.
The vendor was ecstatic when he discovered the gold coins. He slipped them into his pocket, waiting to discuss what to do with them with his wife when he got home that evening.
Winslow, a human ATM that automatically dispensed money.
After that, whatever Li Jia took, Winslow followed behind and paid for it.
Hera discovered that the little one loved sweets. Girls her age usually wanted gemstone rings or fragrant creams and lip rouge, but Li Jia only loved delicious food.
If she had to add one more thing, it would probably be money, to buy delicious food with.
As a goddess, Hera had long since lost her appetite for food. Yet whenever she saw Li Jia eating, her cheeks bulging with food and crumbs around her mouth, it stirred her curiosity.
It made her want to taste it too, to see whether it really was so delicious.
Her mouth a little dry from eating, Li Jia sidled up to Hera and tugged on her sleeve. "Your Majesty, I'm tired. I want to rest and drink some water."
Women who acted spoiled had the best lives.
Once she started making a fuss, Hera was always helpless against her.
Li Jia was her first attendant disciple, and the first person willing to take the initiative to serve her. In all her countless years, she had never had an attendant disciple.
She did not know how to be a qualified divine patron to her, so she had privately asked Artemis how to get along with an attendant disciple.
Like her, Artemis was receiving an attendant disciple's service for the first time.
Artemis smiled faintly and said, "Your own wishes played a part when you chose her. A divine patron and an attendant disciple choose each other. Since you chose her, you should shoulder the responsibility of caring for and protecting her."
"My wishes?" Hera froze.
"Goddess of Marriage, you have developed a personal attachment to her, just as I have." After a pause, Artemis continued, "She came to your side with nothing. You must stand by her. If someone rejects her, you must affirm her twice as strongly. You must not help outsiders bully her."
Hera paused, a trace of amusement entering her eyes as she said coldly, "Who would dare bully her?"
It was a statement, not a question.