Zhu Zhuyun made the last quilt before turning around and looking at her younger sister with a complicated expression.
" Zhu Zhuqing, you..." She hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
"What's wrong with me?" Zhu Zhuqing tilted her head, looking puzzled.
Zhu Zhuyun sighed, walked over and sat down opposite her sister, lowering her voice to say, "Didn't you notice? Sister Xiaoxiao and Sister Wanwan... probably won't be coming back tonight."
"Not coming back?"
Zhu Zhuqing blinked. "Why? Did His Majesty arrange other accommodations for them?"
Looking into her younger sister's innocent eyes, Zhu Zhuyun was speechless for a moment.
" Zhu Zhuqing," Zhu Zhuyun carefully chose her words, "Sister Xiaoxiao and Sister Wanwan have served His Majesty for hundreds of years. They... they are more than just maids."
Zhu Zhuqing still didn't understand. "What is that?"
"She... she is His Majesty's woman," Zhu Zhuyun finally said, her cheeks slightly flushed.
Zhu Zhuqing was stunned, and it took her a while to react. Her eyes widened instantly. "You mean... they and His Majesty... that..."
The words were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't finish them; she only felt her cheeks burning.
The scene I witnessed at Heavenly Pool that afternoon involuntarily flashed through my mind— Lin Hao's bare upper body, that Perfect World, godlike physique...
She quickly shook her head, trying to clear her mind of those thoughts.
"Then, then from now on..." Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled slightly.
Zhu Zhuyun held her sister's hand and whispered, "Don't worry, we just arrived, His Majesty shouldn't be here so soon..."
Even so, Zhu Zhuyun knew in her heart that since she had entered the Heavenly Court and become the Heavenly Emperor's maid, that day would come sooner or later.
It's just a matter of time.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Ladies, dinner has been served." A gentle female voice rang out.
Zhu Zhuyun got up and opened the door, only to see two female cultivators dressed in white maid outfits standing outside the door carrying food trays.
"Thank you for your trouble." Zhu Zhuyun stepped aside to let them in.
Two maids placed the food tray on the table, bowed, and then withdrew.
Zhu Zhuqing leaned closer to the table and her eyes lit up immediately.
There were eight dishes on the table, two meat and six vegetable, each one exquisitely prepared:
A plate of steamed cod, its flesh as white as snow, exudes an enticing aroma;
A plate of braised red-scaled pork, the meat tender and the broth rich and flavorful;
There are also jade-green mushrooms, chalcedony bamboo shoots, crystal lotus root slices, dragon-patterned shredded melon, phoenix-shaped bok choy, and seven-colored tofu...
Each dish is not only visually appealing, delicious, and fragrant, but also exudes a rich spiritual energy.
Zhu Zhuqing only needed to smell it to feel her blood and qi surging, and her cultivation level showed signs of improvement.
What's even more surprising is that there's a pot of steaming spirit rice next to it.
The rice grains were crystal clear, like white jade, each one containing the pure essence of heaven and earth.
"These... these are all for us to eat?" Zhu Zhuqing couldn't believe it.
In the Douluo Continent, even a royal banquet pales in comparison to this meal.
The spiritual energy in these dishes was so rich that she even suspected that just one bite was equivalent to half a month of her own cultivation.
"It should be."
Zhu Zhuyun was also surprised, but she quickly calmed down, " The Heavenly Court has a profound foundation; these are probably just ordinary foods for them."
"And," she pointed to a small note on the table, "It says here that if you're still hungry, you can get more from the kitchen; it's all you can eat."
"Enough to fill you up..."
Zhu Zhuqing swallowed hard.
Without further hesitation, the two sisters picked up their bowls and chopsticks and began to eat.
As soon as Zhu Zhuqing took the first bite of the spiritual rice, she felt a warm current flow from her throat straight into her dantian, and her whole body felt refreshed.
The dishes were incredibly delicious; every bite was a delight, nourishing their bodies and spiritual cultivation.
"Sister, I feel... I'm about to break through."
Zhu Zhuqing stopped eating halfway through her meal, a look of surprise and delight on her face.
Since arriving in the Shrouding the Heavens World, she has been adapting to the cultivation system of this world and has been stuck at the Life Spring Realm for several days.
Unexpectedly, a meal today led her to the threshold of the Dao Palace Secret Realm.
Zhu Zhuyun felt the same way. Although her cultivation level was lower than her sister's, she had already entered the Life Spring and her body was being nourished by the spiritual energy in the food, showing faint signs of a breakthrough.
"This Heavenly Court... it's unbelievable," Zhu Zhuyun murmured.
Such an effect could be achieved from just an ordinary dinner served to a full-fledged maid.
Douluo Continent, Under the Heavenly Screen.
Inside the main hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi and the others watched the Zhu Zhuqing sisters enjoy their dinner, their expressions complex.
"These dishes..."
Bone Douluo Gu Rong stared at the plate of braised red-scaled meat, a look of surprise and doubt flashing in his eyes. "The energy fluctuations contained in this meat are probably no less than the core essence of a ten- Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, aren't they?"
"And that spirit rice..."
"This is actually ordinary rice that I eat regularly? I can't believe it. If I ate this every day, my physical condition and cultivation level would probably improve far faster than ordinary people."
Ning Fengzhi a wry smile, "The Heavenly Court's foundation, sigh!"
An elder murmured, "Such good stuff, and they're giving it to maids, and even feeding them their fill... Does that mean the Heavenly Emperor himself would be eating top-grade spirit rice like a snack?"
Silence fell over the main hall.
They felt the gap between the two worlds more and more acutely.
In the Douluo Continent, Soul Master need to hunt Soul Beast to obtain Soul Ring and search for various rare and precious materials to cultivate their skills; every step is extremely difficult.
In the Heavenly Court, it seems that even the lowest-ranking maids can enjoy cultivation resources that would cause bloodshed in the Douluo Continent.
This disparity is despair-inducing.
The Imperial Palace of the Star Luo Empire.
Dai Tianfeng's face turned ashen as he watched the scene of Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun enjoying a meal in the Heavenly Screen.
Beside him, Dai Weisi wore a complex expression, a mixture of relief and resentment.
Fortunately, judging from the footage, Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun were not "defiled" by Lin Hao during the day; they were still virgins.
For the Star Luo Imperial Family, this was a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.
Despite his resentment, seeing the two women living so comfortably in the Heavenly Court, with their cultivation levels visibly improving, Dai Weisi felt a mix of emotions.
That was his former fiancée!
Now, however, she lives in another world, as someone else's maid, eating better food than he, a prince, has ever had.
"Father..." Dai Weisi hesitated, then stopped.
Dai Tianfeng waved his hand wearily and said, "That's enough, that's enough. It's no use thinking about it now."
At least they are still alive and have a chance to become stronger.
Perhaps... this isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Star Luo Empire.
He looked at the snow-white figure in the Heavenly Screen, a hint of apprehension flashing in his eyes.
This Lin Hao, he can casually give you a cultivation technique that drives the Snow Empress mad, and casually bestow food that allows a maid to break through her cultivation level, this is simply...
despair.
He truly couldn't fathom how the Star Luo Empire could possibly contend with this Heavenly Emperor!
While Zhu Zhuqing and her sister were enjoying their meal, deep within the Heavenly Prison of the Heavenly Court...