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

Chu Qingyue didn't want to watch any longer.

She feared that if she continued watching, she would lose control and kill Chu Xuanche, the Empress, and... him on the spot.

She bowed to the Emperor of Chu, her voice regaining its feigned respect: "Now that Father and Mother are safe, I shall take my leave."

The Emperor of Chu was completely focused on his son's legs at the moment, and didn't even look at her, only waving his hand.

Chu Qingyue smiled slightly, turned around, and walked into the rain while holding the tiger cub.

The woman in red walked further and further away in the rain, finally disappearing into the night, like a drop of blood merging into the endless darkness.

"alright."

A moment later, Si Chen withdrew his hand and slowly stood up.

The moment he stood up, his body swayed almost imperceptibly, so fast that it seemed like an illusion.

Chu Xuanche's leg has fully recovered, without even a scar.

He moved incredulously, took a few more steps, and exclaimed in surprise:

"It's healed! It's really healed! Thank you, Imperial Preceptor! Thank you, Imperial Preceptor! This prince will forever remember your great kindness!"

Si Chen said calmly, his voice tinged with barely perceptible weariness: "No need. Before the sacrificial ceremony, take good care of yourself and avoid making any further mistakes."

After saying that, he turned to leave.

"Grand Preceptor, please wait a moment. Let's go together later," the Chu Emperor called out to him.

The Emperor Chu's gaze swept over the chaotic Phoenix Palace and the disheveled Empress and her son, and he said in a deep voice:

"This place needs time to be repaired, Your Majesty. You should take Che'er and move to Yongxiang Palace temporarily."

"Che'er, your injuries have just healed, so you should stay in the East Palace to recuperate for the time being. Don't move around unnecessarily, and focus on preparing for the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven."

The Empress and Chu Xuanche quickly knelt down to express their gratitude, their voices filled with the joy of surviving a calamity.

The Chu Emperor and Si Chen walked side by side along the long corridor.

The rain gradually subsided, but the night grew darker.

After a long silence, the Chu Emperor suddenly spoke, his tone carrying the deep contemplation of an emperor:

"Imperial Preceptor, Yue'er is not young anymore... She may have a fiery temper, but she is still my daughter."

"She suffered a lot during her seven years in Beiming."

"Now that I've returned, it's time to find her a reliable husband and settle down."

Si Chen's fingers almost imperceptibly twirled his cuff. Blood welled up in his throat, but he swallowed it back down, leaving a strong, metallic taste in his throat.

He spoke calmly, his voice utterly unwavering: "What does Your Majesty wish me to do?"

"You watched her grow up, and you know the secrets of the universe."

"Please, Imperial Advisor, divine auspicious marriage prospects for Yue'er." The Chu Emperor looked at him, his gaze deep and unfathomable.

"Look at these talented young men in the capital, who is compatible with her in terms of destiny and birth chart?"

"I will also... bestow upon her a good marriage, so that she can settle down and live a peaceful life."

A peaceful and stable life?

Si Chen sneered inwardly.

He dared not imagine the consequences of forcibly arranging a marriage for this little madman.

He didn't understand emotions and desires, but his four hundred years of experience told him that a woman like Chu Qingyue would never be willing to be arranged for her.

But deep inside, a faint voice says:

"If she could find someone she truly loves, perhaps... perhaps she would return to how she was before, with light in her eyes and a sweet smile."

"Okay," Si Chen heard himself say, his voice calm.

He took out a tortoise shell and three copper coins from his sleeve and channeled his spiritual power into his hands.

The tortoise shell spun in my palm, emitting a faint hum, while the copper coin tumbled inside, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

A moment later, the copper coin fell into the wide sleeve.

The hexagram is complete.

He looked down for a long time, so long that even the Chu Emperor felt uneasy.

The divination result... was utter chaos.

No, it's not chaos; it's being interfered with by some powerful force.

Chu Qingyue's fate is like being shrouded in thick fog, or stained with blood, making it impossible to see her marriage line.

"How is it?" the Chu Emperor asked.

Si Chen raised his eyes, his deep gray pupils filled with a profound stillness: "Your subject... cannot divine the answer."

The Emperor of Chu frowned: "Why is this? The Imperial Advisor has never failed."

"I do not know either." Si Chen put away the tortoise shell and copper coins, his movements still elegant and composed.

"Perhaps... he just treated the Crown Prince, which depleted his spiritual energy, leaving him mentally exhausted. Or perhaps..."

He paused.

"The Princess's fate has become... obscure and difficult to understand since her return from Beiming. In short, I cannot see through her marriage prospects for the time being."

The Chu Emperor gazed thoughtfully at his pale yet still perfect profile:

"In that case... what does the Imperial Advisor think of Lu Ziling, the new top scholar?"

"He comes from a respectable family, is exceptionally talented in literature, has a handsome appearance, and a gentle temperament."

Si Chen remained silent for a moment.

In the silence, he recalled Chu Qingyue's phoenix eyes, brimming with hatred.

I remember the gleeful tears in her eyes when she bit him.

I remember her crazy words about chasing him all the way to the underworld.

How could she possibly be willing to marry a weak scholar?

What she always wanted was destruction, revenge, to drag him down from his pedestal and make him fall into hell with her.

But the Chu Emperor's gaze was sharp, and he did not refuse outright.

"Since Your Majesty has brought it up, I... shall perform the divination again," Si Chen said.

This time, however, the tortoise shell spun in his palm, before the divination result appeared—

"puff!"

Si Chen suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

Gold and red blood splattered on the purple robe, a shocking sight, gleaming eerily under the palace lanterns.

"Imperial Preceptor!" The Chu Emperor exclaimed in surprise, stepping forward. "Is something wrong?!"

Si Chen wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, his movements calm and elegant, but his face was frighteningly pale, even his lips were almost transparently pale, and his voice was somewhat hoarse:

"Your Majesty... Your subject... is fine."

"It's probably a backlash from treating the eldest prince..."

"It is my lack of cultivation that has made Your Majesty laugh at me."

The Chu Emperor gazed at his paper-white face and the bloodstains at the corner of his lips, his eyes filled with a complex and unfathomable expression—a mixture of worry, weighing of options, and imperial calculation, which ultimately culminated in a sigh:

"It was I who was too hasty."

"Thank you for your trouble, Imperial Preceptor. In that case, let's not discuss Yue'er's marriage for now. You should rest and recover properly."

"Yes." Si Chen lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow beneath them. "If Your Majesty has nothing else, I will take my leave."

The Chu Emperor watched his solitary figure disappear into the rain-soaked corridor, his brows furrowed, lost in thought.

After a long while, he murmured to himself, his voice so soft that only he could hear it:

"Yue'er... what exactly did you experience in Beiming?"

"And you, Grand Preceptor... what exactly are you hiding from me?"

————The Residence of the Princess Zhenguo———

Chu Qingyue carried the white tiger cub and stepped into the mansion. Her scarlet skirt was stained dark brown by the rain, and each step shattered a pool of reflected lights.

"Red Sky".

She tossed the white tiger cub seven steps away, her movements as casual as if she were discarding an old object.

Chi Xiao hurriedly caught the warm sensation, and when he looked up, he met his master's glance as he turned around.

—The bloodshot look in her eyes was even more crimson than the hem of her skirt.

Chi Xiao trembled all over.

He knew that look all too well.

The last time Your Highness showed such an expression was on the northern battlefield, when she tricked 30,000 Northern Darkness Black Armor Guards into a ravine and buried them alive.

That day, she turned around just as calmly, behind her deafening screams and rolling rocks, and she merely brushed off non-existent dust from her sleeves, saying:

"Bury it, it's too noisy."