The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Xie Jinlian remained silent for a moment.

He looked down at the little apprentice in his arms, his voice so calm it betrayed no emotion:

"I certainly won't stoop to their level."

Tang Xixue was about to nod—it was rare for him to be so understanding.

But then he continued:

"If anyone dares to come, just send them away."

Tang Xixue: "..."

Xingyu raised an eyebrow, revealing an expression that said, "I knew it."

"Brother, Lian, don't go too far."

Tang Xixue finally couldn't help but speak, looking at the two of them with a wry smile.

What seventy-two concubines?

What do you mean by just sending them away?

They actually started discussing it in a very serious manner?

"I'm still here," she reminded him. "The client. Could you perhaps offer my opinion?"

Xie Jinlian looked down at her, his gaze gentle and innocent:

"Okay. So what's your opinion?"

Tang Xixue opened her mouth.

Suddenly I realized this question was not easy to answer.

As the Empress of the Sea Kingdom, she simply believed in the equality of all beings and the principle of distributing her blessings equally.

"……you guess."

She concluded.

"Zhizhi, don't pick anything too ugly, it'll be an eyesore."

Xie Jinlian chuckled softly and pulled her closer.

"Okay, I'll listen to Master."

Tang Xixue's lips curled up slightly; one dared to speak, and the other dared to respond.

A sea breeze swept by, and the ship continued forward.

Xingyu sighed softly to the side:

"Sigh, my sister hasn't even ascended the throne yet, and she's already afraid of her husband."

Tang Xixue: "By the way... Little Star is also very pretty."

"..."

Xingyu wisely kept quiet.

How did this situation come to this?

Is his sister really that unconventional?

She even flirted with her own brother!

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at the Holy Temple."

The voice of Yue Zhongtian suddenly rang out, sounding somewhat tense and stammering.

He lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the deck, his handsome face flushed slightly.

He swore an oath.

I will dedicate my life to Her Majesty the Empress, remaining loyal and devoted until death.

But... is this the kind of body I'm offering?

He was a seven-foot-tall man from the Heavenly Palace, daring to climb mountains of knives and plunge into seas of fire. For twenty years, he guarded the temple without ever leaving its side, never fearing anything.

But the Sea Emperor's words just now made him realize a serious problem.

It seems he never imagined he would have to... go on that... phoenix bed.

My thoughts got stuck here, and I couldn't continue.

Tang Xixue glanced at him, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes.

How come he's so funny?

"Knitting, slow down."

Xie Jinlian took Tang Xixue's hand and helped her off the boat.

The temple slowly unfolded before my eyes.

The white stone pillars stand tall, with gilded cloud patterns winding across them, shimmering softly in the sunlight.

It is magnificent and grand, yet it exudes a certain ancient mystery, as if it has stood here since the beginning of time.

"Greetings, Commander Zhongtian!"

A unified shout rang out.

Guarding the front of the hall were a group of veteran soldiers clad in silver armor.

Their faces were weathered, their temples gray, but their eyes were sharp as eagles—this was the old Sea King's former personal guard.

For the past twenty years, no matter how the outside world has changed, they have never left this place.

Behind them was a frigid pool, where their sworn master was frozen solid.

Further away, another group of young Moon Guards stood solemnly.

Those were the elite troops that Yue Zhongtian's father had painstakingly trained for the young emperor, waiting only for her return.

"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"

Yue Zhongtian composed himself and spoke in a deep voice.

He suppressed his earlier embarrassment and was now the commander of the Moon Guard, who was guarding the Holy Temple.

"Soldiers, why haven't you saluted yet?"

The words fell.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress!"

The Moon Guards knelt down in unison, their shouts so loud they silenced the sea breeze for a moment.

The elderly guards knelt at the front, their white hair trembling slightly in the sea breeze, tears glistening in their cloudy eyes.

Twenty years have passed.

They had finally waited for this day.

We hope that Her Majesty the Empress can awaken their Sea Emperor, Yuehao.

No need for formalities.

Tang Xixue raised her hand, her voice clear and gentle.

She looked at the gray-haired veterans, her gaze calm yet filled with deep respect.

"You have all served the Emperor for many years and have made great contributions."

She paused, then said, word by word:

"With you guarding the temple, I feel very at ease."

Just a simple sentence.

But one of the veterans quietly turned his face away and wiped the corner of his eye.

"Please lead the way," Tang Xixue said. "I want to see my father."

"Yes! This way, Your Majesty!"

Several veterans hurriedly got up, their steps a little rushed, yet they carefully led the way.

The temple doors slowly opened.

A chill permeated the air silently, seeping into every inch of the atmosphere.

Tang Xixue took a step forward, but Xie Jinlian gently grasped her fingers.

She turned around and met his deep eyes.

Let's go together.

Tang Xixue curved her lips into a smile, turned around, and stepped into the cold light.

"Your Majesty the Sea Emperor."

Bai Duo spoke softly, her gaze sweeping over the backs of the eager Yue Lan Guards who were leading the way, her tone carrying a subtle hint of bitterness.

"They all gave us the cold shoulder when they saw us."

In the past, when they came to the temple on business, which of these Moon Guards didn't have a cold face and look like they were not to be approached?

Answering one out of three questions is already considered very polite.

Now that the Empress has arrived, everyone has become warm and hospitable.

"Blind loyalty is both their weakness and their strength."

Xingyu walked with his hands behind his back. Hearing this, he simply smiled and followed the group ahead.

He sees things very clearly.

In the eyes of Yuelan Guard, there is only one person—formerly the Old Sea Emperor, now the Little Empress.

Everyone else is just an outsider in their eyes.

This loyalty borders on obsessive stubbornness.

Even the seven elders of Zonglantai couldn't do anything about them.

But it was precisely this obsession that allowed the person in the icy pool to sleep peacefully for twenty years.

Xie Jinlian walked calmly beside Tang Xixue throughout.

His gaze swept calmly over the Moon Guards standing solemnly on both sides, finally settling on the profile of the person beside him.

Her face was calm, but her eyes held a subtle undercurrent of emotion.

It was the anticipation of seeing one's loved ones, mixed with a faint sense of trepidation.

Xie Jinlian didn't speak, but gently cupped her hand in his palm and stroked the back of her hand with his fingertips.

Meeting my father-in-law.

The thought lingered in his mind, and a glimmer of anticipation arose within him.

Tang Xixue looked up.

Within the icy pool, a figure was frozen solid.

The man had a handsome face and exquisite features. He lay quietly beneath the transparent ice, as if he were simply in a deep sleep.

Time seemed to stand still on him; twenty years had passed without leaving a trace—even the strands of hair at his temples still retained the same curve as before.

"That is the Moonlit Sea Emperor."

The veteran who led the way had a hoarse voice, as if it were being squeezed out from deep in his throat.

"Your father."

Tang Xixue remained silent.

She simply gazed quietly at that unfamiliar yet strangely familiar face.

That was her father.

She had never met him before, yet they were blood relatives.

She slowly raised her hand, her fingertips gently touching the sleeping figure through the ice.

The ice was bitterly cold, and her fingertips quickly turned white from the cold, but she didn't pull them back.

a long time.

She lowered her eyes, her fingertips moving towards the Heart of the Ocean ring on her neck.

A deep blue halo flowed in her palm, warm and smooth as jade, yet cool and serene as the moon.

That was a sacred object passed down through generations of the Yuezhi royal family, and it was also another purpose for her return.

"legend……"

Her voice was very soft, as soft as a sigh.

"It is said that Cangxue's heart can bring the dead back to life."

She paused, her gaze falling on the quietly swirling sacred object.

"But how exactly can we save people?"

The cold pool was silent, and all around was still.

No one could answer her.

Because—nobody knows.

Just then, she suddenly felt a weakness seeping from her very bones.

The feeling came without warning, yet surged like a tidal wave.

It felt like something was rapidly flowing out of her body.

She tried to stand up straight, but her legs suddenly gave way.

My vision began to blur.

The outline of the icy pool, the frozen figures, the astonished faces of the crowd…

Everything seemed to be seen through a layer of mist, growing farther and farther away, fainter and fainter.

She could hear her own heartbeat; it was slow and soft.

It's like something is slowly, gradually going out.

"Weaving—"

A voice came from behind, urgent, panicked, and filled with unprecedented fear.

It is Xie Jinlian.

She wanted to turn back, to tell him "it's okay," to force a smile to reassure him.

But she didn't have time to do anything.

The last glimmer of light before her eyes was that pale figure rushing towards her.

Those eyes, which were always calm and serene, were now filled with a fear she had never seen before.

Then, everything went dark.

She collapsed by the cold pond.