Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

The day after tomorrow, just as dawn was breaking, there was a knock on the gate of the Wei residence.

Zhou Da ran to open the door, wearing his coat, and froze there as soon as he opened it.

A group of people were standing outside the door.

Leading the group were Princess Feng Jin and a somewhat embarrassed Feng Lie.

Feng Jin was dressed in a deep purple palace gown, her hair styled in a high bun and adorned with a gold hairpin with nine phoenixes holding pearls, exuding an air of elegance and nobility. Behind her followed the young emperor, then several older princes and dukes, as well as a few young princes and princesses.

Behind them was a long, winding queue.

Eunuchs and palace maids carrying chests and boxes, imperial guards carrying various gift boxes, and eunuchs carrying loads lined up in a dense, dark mass across half the street.

Zhou opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Feng Jin smiled slightly at him: "Please inform them that the Feng family royal family has come to pay their respects to the immortal masters."

Zhou Da snapped out of his daze, nodded repeatedly, and turned to run inside.

Inside Qinghui Pavilion, everyone had just gotten up and was gathered together, sitting in the hall drinking porridge and eating snacks.

Master Tianbao was shoveling millet porridge into his mouth when he heard Zhou Da's report and almost choked.

"The Princess and the Emperor have arrived? So early?"

Feng Wenzheng, on the other hand, remained calm as he ate his porridge and chatted quietly with Chen Anran.

Master Tianbao finished his porridge in a few bites, wiped his mouth, and said, "I've lived for decades and have never seen what a real emperor looks like. I'll have to take a good look today."

Qi Lan leaned back in her chair, slowly munching on a steamed bun. "Sect Leader, the way you're talking makes it sound like we've never seen a leader in modern society."

"How can that be the same?" Master Tianbao twitched his beard.

"What's the difference? Aren't we all the same – one nose, two eyes, one mouth, and two ears?"

Master Tianbao was so speechless at Qi Lan's retort that his beard stood on end. Just as he was about to retort, Jiang Yan had already put down his chopsticks, his small eyes gleaming with gossip.

"Feng Lie is back too. Ask him later what it's like living in the palace, whether he gets beautiful women to serve him when he takes a bath."

Feng Changyuan burst out laughing, "They've probably been pampered so much they're practically floating on air."

Feng Wenzheng put down his bowl and glanced at him.

Feng Changyuan quickly stopped smiling and said seriously, "Uncle, shall we go out to greet him?"

Feng Wenzheng did not answer immediately, but looked at Chen Anran.

Chen Anran put down her bowl and stood up.

"Let's go," he said.

The group followed him out of Qinghui Pavilion, through the hanging flower gate, and walked towards the front courtyard.

Before I even reached the front yard, I heard a commotion outside.

The commotion was lively, yet not noisy, as if many people were carefully and diligently working. Occasionally, there would be a few low commands, followed by soft replies, hurried footsteps, and boxes falling to the ground—everything exuded a deliberate respect.

Chen Anran stepped out the outer door, stood on the steps, and looked outside.

The gates of the Wei residence were wide open, and the street outside, which was usually quite spacious, was now completely blocked.

Crates. Countless crates.

Crimson, jet black, gilded, inlaid with jade—gifts of all sizes piled up across half the street. Eunuchs stood beside the chests, holding gift lists and quietly checking them. Imperial guards carried even larger chests inside, their steps steady, sweat beading on their foreheads. Palace maids followed carefully behind, carrying various brocade boxes, as if afraid of bumping or damaging them.

Chen Anran didn't know what was inside the box.

Judging by the quantity and the scale of the operation, it seems that nearly half of the entire Daqian Imperial Palace's storerooms have been emptied.

Feng Jin stood in the center of the gate, with the young emperor beside her, and behind her were Feng Lie and a group of princes, dukes, and princesses. When she saw Chen Anran come out, she quickly stepped forward to greet her, stopping three zhang away from the steps and bowing respectfully.

"Feng Jin, along with members of the Great Qian imperial family, paid their respects to True Man Chen and the other immortal masters."

Behind him, a sea of ​​people knelt down.

The emperor knelt, the princes knelt, the dukes knelt, and the young princes and princesses followed suit. Behind them, the eunuchs, palace maids, and imperial guards also knelt down in droves.

Not a single person on the street was standing.

Feng Lie stood in the crowd, unsure whether to kneel or stand, feeling as if he were being roasted over a fire.

He saw Feng Wenzheng's gaze, shrank back, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Feng Wenzheng withdrew his gaze and ignored him.

"Get up," Chen Anran said.

Feng Jin raised his head, but did not get up immediately. Instead, he waved to the person behind him.

A eunuch hurriedly ran over with the gift list, knelt in front of Chen Anran, and held the gift list above his head with both hands.

"This is a small token of the Feng family's respect," Feng Jin said with a gentle smile. "It's a humble gift, nothing special, but I hope Master Chen and the other immortal masters will accept it."

Chen Anran stood on the steps, looking at the gift list respectfully held above his head, then at the crowd kneeling in the street, his gaze sweeping over each of their bowed heads.

He didn't reach out to take it.

"Kneeling for too long," he said, "makes your knees go weak."

After speaking, Chen Anran turned her back and walked towards the door.

The figure stretched long in the morning light and quickly disappeared behind the door.

Feng Jin knelt on the spot, as if frozen in place.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that her throat felt blocked by something, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.

"Kneeling for too long will make your knees go weak"...

These words were like a knife, piercing straight into her heart.

How many years has she been kneeling?

She began kneeling during the reign of the late emperor. She knelt to the elders of the Immortal Alliance, to the deacons of the Immortal Alliance, and to those immortals who descended from the heavens and looked down upon her. She knelt until her knees were calloused, until her back could no longer straighten, until she reduced the most noble royal family in the world to a dog at the feet of the Immortal Alliance.

She thought this was fate.

But at this moment, the immortal's words were telling her that mortals do not need to kneel before immortals.

Feng Jin's eyes suddenly stung.

But she held back her tears. She simply prostrated herself on the ground and kowtowed heavily to the long-disappeared figure.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Chen."

Behind her, the emperor and the princes and dukes exchanged bewildered glances, wondering what the princess was thanking them for. Seeing her kowtow, they quickly followed suit.

In an instant, the streets were once again filled with people lying on the ground.

Wei Shanyue stood inside the door, watching this scene, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He took a deep breath, quickly walked down the steps, and came to Feng Jin.

"Your Highness, Master Chen has already returned. Please get up. The ground is cold; kneeling for too long will harm your health."

Feng Jin raised her head and looked at him.

There was no embarrassment or awkwardness in his gaze, only a light that Wei Shanyue had never seen before.

"Commander Wei," she said, "Master Chen is right. Kneeling for too long will indeed make your knees weak."

Wei Shanyue was slightly taken aback.

Feng Jin, however, had already stood up with the help of the eunuch, dusted off his knees, and his elegant and noble smile reappeared on his face.

"These gifts," she said, pointing to the chests and boxes scattered all over the street, "are just ordinary items, nothing compared to the rare treasures of immortal abodes. They are merely a small token of the Feng family's goodwill, and we hope that you immortal masters will not find them offensive."

Wei Shanyue nodded repeatedly: "Your Highness, rest assured, this old minister will have someone carry it in immediately."

He turned around and waved to Zhou Da inside the door.

Zhou Da understood and led several elite soldiers from the Western Army to greet them, instructing the eunuch guards to carry the chests inside. In an instant, the entrance became lively again, filled with the sounds of chests hitting the ground, footsteps, and hushed commands.

Feng Jin stood there, watching the boxes and trunks being carried into the Wei residence, his smile never wavering.

But what she was thinking was—

What exactly does that Master Chen want?

He refused to kneel, refused to flatter, and even refused the mountains of gifts. So what was his purpose in coming to Tianjing?

Feng Jin didn't know.

But she knew one thing—

The person who can make the elders of the Immortal Alliance dance will not come to Tianjing for no reason.