The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Tang Xixue slept very soundly.

When I woke up, it was already dusk outside the window, and the evening light dyed the gauze curtains a pale orange, like silk soaked with aged Shaoxing wine.

She shifted her body and couldn't help but take a soft breath.

My whole body aches and feels weak.

Especially below the waist, they can't even muster the strength to lift their legs.

After all, she barely slept a wink last night.

It's not just the eyes.

Her face flushed again at the thought.

When they finally went to the bathhouse, Mu Liang carried them there herself.

The young man, dressed in dark robes, stood with arms as steady as a mountain. Nestled in his embrace, she could feel his taut muscles and his deliberately soft breathing.

"Your Highness, I will stand guard here."

Mu Liang's voice was low, yet every word was clear. He gently placed her into the warm pool, then sat down on the edge with his back to him, his spine straight as a pine tree.

"This time, something like last time will definitely not happen again."

Tang Xixue leaned against the pool wall, the warm water flowing over her shoulders and neck, melting away her fatigue inch by inch.

"Okay, thank you, Liang."

Her voice was lazy, with the characteristic languid tone of someone taking a bath.

Hearing the soft sound of water behind him, Mu Liang felt restless and uneasy.

"Your Highness, there's no need to thank me. I did this willingly. Without you, my brother and I would not be alive."

Amidst the rising steam, his voice drifted through the gauze curtains, tinged with a barely perceptible sob.

"What are you two doing at the Asura Platform?"

Tang Xixue asked curiously.

Mu Liang remained silent for a moment.

"Back then, my brother and I were ordered to come to the mainland to find you. At that time, we didn't know how unfathomable people's hearts were. Someone said they had seen you, and we believed them. As a result, we were sold to the arena."

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking about a long-ago story, but every word was filled with the bloodshed of that time.

"A stranger in a strange land, with no one to rely on. He survived time and time again in the arena, only to be left to die on a mountain of corpses in the end."

"At that time, we thought we might never find you again."

Mu Liang's voice trembled slightly.

"But I never expected... that it would be you who found us."

Tang Xixue didn't turn around, but she could imagine what he looked like at that moment.

The boy who always silently stood behind her must have had red eyes at this moment, like the twilight sky soaked in the evening light.

"This proves—we are destined to be together."

She chuckled softly and slowly waded out of the water.

"The moon is cold in the morning, high in the sky, and cool at dusk."

Water droplets slid down her skin, glistening in the twilight.

"The entire scene of the day is captured at the Moon Gate."

Tang Xixue wiped away the water droplets, put on a flowing pink gauze dress, and raised her hand to lift the hanging gauze curtain.

Amidst the rising steam, she walked towards him, her steps light and graceful, like drifting clouds.

"It's a little chilly in the morning, warm at midday, and cool at dusk."

The three of them took the moon as their surname, but their given names perfectly captured the rising and setting of the sun—morning, noon, and evening.

Poetic and picturesque, perfectly natural.

The son of the Yuezhi has no moon in his name, but the sun is seen everywhere.

"The moon rises bright and clear, the sun shines brilliantly. Day after day, yin and yang give birth to each other."

Tang Xixue stopped behind him, her voice as soft as a crabapple blossom falling into his heart.

"You were born to me, and your names are inscribed with my surname."

Mu Liang's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

He didn't turn around, but simply responded softly:

"Your Highness, this is your subordinate."

He finally turned around and looked up at her.

"It was true before, it is true now, and it will be true in the future."

"Always."

That usually stern face was now flushed with a thin blush, like the sunset quietly blooming in the twilight.

He reached out and gently lifted her up in his arms.

"Why are you still calling me Your Highness?"

Tang Xixue leaned against him, her eyes crinkling with laughter.

Mu Liang was slightly taken aback.

"Should I address you as Your Majesty? I'm not used to it yet, please excuse me."

His voice carried a hint of embarrassment.

"It's not His Majesty."

Tang Xixue tilted her head slightly, leaned close to his ear, and spoke in a voice as soft as a cloud.

"I heard from my father that you were chosen as my childhood sweethearts. Shouldn't you call me 'Mistress' now?"

Her warm breath brushed against my ear, like a feather gently tickling me.

Mu Liang froze instantly.

His arms trembled so much he could barely hold her.

He rushed out, almost staggering, and shoved Tang Xixue into his brother's arms.

"Brother, please escort His Highness to the flower hall for his meal."

Before he finished speaking, he had already disappeared around the corner.

Chao Han reached out and took Tang Xixue, still completely dazed.

He had always been her cold-blooded chief bodyguard, a man of few words since childhood.

He simply stayed by her side, driving her carriage and handling the security of the Hall of Longevity, forever like a silent shadow.

"Our Liang can't even lift me up, and we need to ask our brother for help?"

Tang Xixue smiled, but did not resist.

She was truly exhausted.

If you can stay, then don't; that way you won't mistreat yourself.

What's more, both of them are her people.

She is very deserving.

She deserves to eat so well.

"Your Highness, my apologies."

For a moment, Chao Han was still used to the way she used to address him. Her voice was as deep as ever, but the tips of her ears revealed a corner of light pink, like the tips of a small lotus.

He carried Tang Xixue steadily through the corridor, his steps as steady as if he were carrying a rare treasure.

As the Sea Emperor of Star Encounters said, Your Highness is in poor health.

Although he was so shy that his ears burned, he didn't refuse at all and carried her all the way to the outside of the flower hall.

"My Chaochao can lift me up with just one arm."

Tang Xixue leaned against him, her tone slightly mischievous.

"Shuang'er is right, you brothers are indeed very strong."

Chao Han paused in his steps.

His usually stern face instantly flushed red.

He suddenly understood why his brother had run away.

Turns out she was flirted with and ran away!

"Your Highness, I'll escort you this far. It wouldn't be good if they saw us."

His voice was deep, yet he steadily laid her down.

It wasn't that he didn't want to hide in a corner and feel shy with his younger brother.

No, it's not possible.

He was her chief bodyguard, and he was to guard wherever she could see him.

"them?"

Tang Xixue blinked in confusion and stepped into the flower hall.

The candlelight was dim, and the room was filled with fragrance.

Several people were sitting at the dining table.

Xie Jinlian, He Lichen, Pei Yanchuan, Xingyu.

Four pairs of eyes fell on her at the same time.

"It's really lively!"

Tang Xixue smiled and walked in gracefully, her eyes filled with a satisfied languor.

"Are you all waiting for me? Then—serve the meal."

She sat down with an air of frailty, the peach blossoms on her snow-white neck clearly visible to everyone.

Most importantly, she's a completely different person.

Her eyebrows and eyes revealed a delicate charm that suggested she had been deeply loved.

That's the unique charm that comes from being nourished by rain and dew—lazy, satiated, and so soft you could squeeze water out of it.

For a moment, the room fell silent.

He Lichen and Xie Jinlian exchanged a glance.

Their eyes were sharp and piercing.

"you?"

"you?"

They were both stunned when they realized that the other person's eyes were filled with hatred, as if they wanted to kill them.

Immediately, both pairs of eyes turned to Xingyu.

Xingyu innocently shrugged.

"Why are you all looking at me? Little Pearl stayed at the Purple Palace last night."

He picked up a cup of maple dew red tea and handed it to Tang Xixue. The tea was clear, but the surface was covered with a thick layer of bright red goji berries, so thick it looked like it could be eaten as a meal.

"Thank you, brother."

Tang Xixue took the teacup, her lips twitching imperceptibly.

What a good older brother!

"You're welcome. I've also prepared some tonic pills for you. I'll bring them to your room in a bit."

Xingyu personally went to the Seven Worlds Pavilion and spent a lot of money to buy it back for her to nourish her properly.

"Heh, Tangxi Xuanyin, he just gave us a direct, close-range attack without saying a word."

He Lichen's voice rang out softly.

"Who says otherwise? Some people have tried to maintain a facade for so many years, but they still couldn't keep it up."

Xie Jinlian sneered, her frosty eyes now filled with bitterness.

Both of them were consumed by jealousy.

"You used to say something about a little sister... In my opinion, it's more like a younger sister."

He Lichen picked up the teacup, took a slow sip, and spoke in a more tea-like tone.

"Of course! Good brother, very good."

Xie Jinlian glanced at Xingyu.

"Some older brothers may call each other affectionately, but they are cunning and calculating in their hearts."

"Men's words are truly deceitful."

"Some people, they act like brothers and sisters on the surface, but behind the scenes—who knows?"

He Lichen finished speaking.

Xingyu's hand holding the teacup stiffened slightly.

The smile on his face completely vanished.