The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

Si Chen's gaze fell on the scar.

He remembered that day. It was the dead of winter, and the divination revealed, "Trouble in the Northeast, a star will fall." When he broke through the ice and plunged into the water to rescue her, she was already lifeless. He stayed by her side for three days and three nights. Her first words upon waking were, "Look closely, are you a fairy?"

"I am the Imperial Advisor."

"Is the Imperial Advisor a deity?"

He did not answer.

Later, he taught her to read, and she had a photographic memory; he taught her astrology, and she grasped it instantly; he taught her swordsmanship, and she mastered it in three days. She was too intelligent, too dazzling, like a pearl that shouldn't exist in this world.

He began to worry. He feared her fate was too fierce, that her aura was too malevolent, that she... would ruin herself.

So he taught her kindness, tolerance, and letting go. He thought he could change fate. Ultimately…

"Why did you come back?" Si Chen suddenly asked.

Chu Qingyue was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "The Imperial Advisor's question is strange. What's wrong with me destroying Beiming, returning in triumph, and bringing glory to my ancestors?"

"You know what I'm asking." Si Chen looked at her, her alluring reflection shimmering in his light gray pupils. "Bei Ming has been destroyed. You could have reigned there, living a carefree life. Why did you come back and get caught up in this cannibalistic vortex?"

Chu Qingyue's smile gradually faded. She stared into Si Chen's eyes, speaking each word clearly:

"Because there is someone here whom I have thought about for seven years, longed for for seven years, and... hated for seven years."

She took half a step forward, almost pressing herself against him.

Si Chen did not back down. This was a habit he had cultivated over four hundred years—never yielding, never being moved, and never letting anything linger in his mind.

"Today I have been granted the title of Princess Protector of the Nation," she said, her fingertips lightly tracing the embroidery on his purple robe. "Isn't the Imperial Preceptor happy for me?"

"The princess has obtained what she desired; there is no need to inquire whether others are pleased or not."

Chu Qingyue laughed, "The Imperial Advisor is still as boring as ever." She paused, then suddenly said, "I came today to ask the Imperial Advisor a few questions. First, was the divination for the marriage alliance really performed by the Imperial Advisor himself?"

Si Chen was silent for a moment, then said, "Yes."

"Secondly," she said, her eyes slightly reddening, but she used her inner strength to dry the tears that were about to well up, "Si Chen, did you ever, for even a moment, hope that the divination was wrong? Did you think I shouldn't have gone to the marriage alliance?"

"Third," her voice began to tremble, "have you ever considered... that I might die in the Northern Sea, never to return?"

Si Chen's body stiffened slightly. Of course he had thought about it. That night he cast sixteen divinations, and each one showed that if she went to Beiming, she would face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, but at least there was a glimmer of hope.

If I stay in the capital... I'm doomed.

But he couldn't speak. The secrets of heaven must not be revealed; this was the imperial advisor's ironclad rule. Those who revealed the secrets of heaven would suffer a backlash, their souls scattered and their spirits destroyed.

"There is no hope or hope, no right or wrong. I am simply acting according to the divination; the divination is as it is, and so is destiny," he said calmly.

"Destiny..." Chu Qingyue repeated the word, then suddenly burst into laughter, tears welling in her eyes.

"What a destiny! Does the Imperial Advisor know what I've been thinking about day and night for the past seven years in the Northern Underworld? I've been thinking that if I ever return, I will destroy this so-called destiny, tear up the divination paper, smash the star chart, and ruin the diviner. The Imperial Advisor cultivates the path of ruthlessness; do you even know what hatred is? What love is? What...desire is?"

Si Chen's eyelashes trembled slightly.

"It's okay if you don't know." She suddenly reached out, grabbed his wrist, and pulled hard.

"I will teach you slowly, little by little, word by word, to experience the most passionate and the most sordid emotions in this world."

The moment their skin touched, Si Chen shuddered.

It was hot. He could feel it again, so clearly: her body temperature, the calluses on her fingertips, the throbbing of her pulse. And... that alluring yet dangerous aura emanating from her.

How is that possible?

"You..." Si Chen was speechless, which was rare for him.

Chu Qingyue misunderstood his reaction, her smile deepening: "What's wrong, Imperial Advisor? Are you afraid I'll go mad and retaliate against you?"

She took his hand—his hand was as cold as jade, while hers was as warm as charcoal.

She pulled his hand to her lips and gently kissed it. The warm, soft touch felt like a brand, burning onto the cold back of his hand.

"Don't worry." She raised her eyes, her gaze surging with bloodshot light, yet also filled with an almost obsessive determination, "I...can't bear to."

She released her grip, took a step back, and resumed her languid and alluring demeanor: "Tonight, besides asking questions, I also want to tell the Imperial Advisor two things."

"What is it?" he asked indifferently.

"First, I want the Great Chu Empire."

Si Chen looked up at her.

A wildly beautiful smile curved her lips: "Secondly, I want you—Si Chen."

On the observatory, the wind suddenly stopped.

"You want the empire, I understand." For the first time, a flicker of shock crossed Si Chen's eyes, though it vanished in an instant. "But you want me...why?"

Chu Qingyue turned and walked towards the railing. When she looked back, the morning light outlined the contours of her profile, breathtakingly beautiful, yet chillingly cold.

"Because of hatred," she said with a smile, but there was no smile in her eyes. "Si Chen, I hate that you saved me and then abandoned me; I hate that you taught me to see the stars and the sea, and then pushed me into hell with your own hands; I hate that you let me know that there is still warmth in this world, and then let me taste the bitter cold."

She walked back to him step by step:

"This hatred runs too deep, deep into my bones, so deep that every drop of blood screams for revenge. But how can I take revenge on you? You cultivate the path of ruthlessness, immortal, indestructible, devoid of love, hate, and fear. So I've figured it out."

She leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of the desk, trapping him between her and the chair.

"Since I can't hurt you, I'll destroy what you care about most. What do you care about most? Is it the Great Chu Empire? Is it the order of Heaven? Or is it the ruthless path you've painstakingly cultivated for the past four hundred years?"

"I'll show you how I gradually overthrow this empire, how I trample on your so-called destiny, and so on..."

She whispered in his ear, her voice as soft as a lover's murmur:

"How can I make you, this high and mighty god, fall to the mortal realm for me, this evil spirit? You cannot escape. From the moment you saved me fifteen years ago, it was destined that... you would be entangled with me for the rest of your life."

After saying that, she walked straight to the room on the west side and pushed the door open to enter.

The room remained unchanged, with a simple wooden bed, plain curtains, and bookshelves filled with the classics she had read in her childhood. Even the withered pothos on the windowsill was still in its original place.

She lay down fully clothed and closed her eyes.

Si Chen stood at the doorway, silently watching her.

Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on her face, revealing a rare hint of weariness on her stunningly beautiful face—the weariness of seven years of fighting and countless killings, as well as the weariness of bearing a deep-seated hatred and proceeding cautiously step by step.

"For seven years in the Northern Underworld, I have never slept peacefully." She murmured softly with her eyes closed, her voice unusually free of madness, only tinged with a faint weariness.

"When I close my eyes at night, all I see are my mother's severed hands and feet, blood, fire, and the Grand Preceptor's face that showed no mercy... In short, I didn't sleep a wink last night and I'm exhausted now. I want to rest here for a while before attending the victory celebration."