The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

The War King's Mansion, Luochuan Courtyard.

"Your Highness, this is your senior brother's reply."

Chao Han had been waiting for a long time.

"And this communication talisman. Your senior brother said that next time you need to find him, there's no need to write a letter; it's too slow."

He dared not touch the Ghost Doctor's things rashly, after all, that person was both righteous and evil, and was most skilled in using poison.

He placed it on a tray, waiting for Tang Xixue to inspect it.

Originally, this was something they should have done, but she never delegated it to others. After all, she was the most professional, so why put her trusted confidants in danger?

"Yes, Senior Brother is indeed very thoughtful."

Tang Xixue stepped forward, her gaze first falling on the communication jade talisman.

The jade talisman was pure white, with a flowing light seemingly moving inside, and it felt warm to the touch.

She picked it up and examined it for a moment, then put it in her sleeve and took the letter.

The handwriting on the envelope was unrestrained and free, the strokes sharp as knives, penetrating the paper with force.

It was the work of the Ghost Doctor Jiu Fangzhi; no one else could imitate it.

She opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

The ink smells faintly, and the handwriting reflects the person—unrestrained and free-spirited.

"Junior Sister, I hope this letter finds you well."

"Knowing you are safe and sound, I am finally at ease as your brother."

Tang Xixue's features softened a bit.

She continued reading the letter, in which the Ghost Doctor had written:

"Crimson Snow is indeed the Crimson Dust Gu. This Gu was personally cultivated by the Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion, and it is a Gu that will destroy the world."

"Those afflicted by the Gu will fall into an eternal dream. Unless the Gu mother is eliminated, there is no cure for this Gu."

"Also, there is something you should know... If you have other Gu on your body, the Crimson Dust Gu will not approach you."

"It cannot coexist with other Gu, and will avoid them if it encounters them."

"Therefore, the Gu Master is not subject to this calamity."

At the end of the letter, the handwriting became a little lighter.

"Junior Sister, if you need to find me in the future, just use that communication jade talisman. If you need anything, I will do my best to help you."

The signature contained only a few simple words.

"Sentenced to death. Written by hand."

Tang Xixue carefully folded the letter and put it into an envelope. Then she took out a communication talisman.

It wasn't the one her senior brother gave her, but another communication talisman given to her by Empress Dowager Bai Yining.

A pair of talismans are paired up during the forging process.

The two talismans share the same spiritual guide, like a perfectly matched jade pendant, recognizing only each other.

One sends out a message, the other receives it; their spiritual patterns resonate.

She lowered her eyes, her fingertips gently tracing the surface of the talisman, engraving the information about the Crimson Dust Gu word by word into the spiritual runes.

The moon-white light flashed briefly before fading away.

The message has been sent.

Baiyujing.

Qianqiu Palace.

The candlelight illuminated the hall.

Tang Xiye stood before the Empress Dowager, holding the communication talisman that had just been handed to her, her eyebrows slightly raised, her tone tinged with bitterness.

He turned the talisman over and examined it carefully.

"Mother, why do you and Zhizhi have a communication talisman...?"

"Am I the only one without it?"

He looked up at Bai Yining, his eyes filled with accusation.

"Have you forgotten to bring me along?"

Before he finished speaking, he had already scanned the contents of the message talisman, and then summoned a palace attendant, ordering him to immediately send the message to Yan Ci so that he could verify its authenticity.

The movements were fluid and seamless, without the slightest delay.

Bai Yining sat by the window, flipping through an ancient book passed down from her ancestors, without even lifting her eyelids.

"Hmm, I forgot."

She turned a page, her tone flat and indifferent.

"Since you're always around me, I don't need any communication talismans."

Tangxi Qingyuan sat quietly to the side, holding a secret file of the royal family in her hands.

The two of them openly shared a room, one flipping through files and the other reading ancient books, the candlelight flickering, peaceful and serene.

As long as Tang Xiye had no objections, no one in the palace dared to utter a single word.

What they were reading were all secrets passed down through generations of the Tangxi clan.

Those records unknown to outsiders, major events of past dynasties, and secrets buried by time.

Each page bears the marks of time; the paper is yellowed, but the ink remains clear.

Tang Xiye looked at the communication talisman and chuckled.

"Oh."

He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the Empress Dowager, his smile carrying a hint of the cunning he possessed in his youth.

"I just happen to need the communication jade talisman... Thank you, Mother."

Before Bai Yining could react, he took the communication jade talisman that matched Tang Xixue's and turned to leave.

The hem of a black robe with gold patterns flashed at the palace gate, and the person had vanished without a trace.

He knew his mother wouldn't give him the communication talisman, so he just blatantly stole it!

Bai Yining was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened.

"What are you thanking me for?! He actually stole my communication talisman?!"

She stood up abruptly, almost dropping the ancient book in her hands.

"That little brat... he's infuriating! Doesn't he even have the demeanor of an emperor anymore?"

Did she agree?

He took it and ran?

Not even a proper request?

How could the ruler of a nation do such a trivial act of theft!

Tang Xi Qingyuan put down the dossier in her hand, her lips slightly curved, and her voice, gentle as a spring breeze in March, calmly dispelled her anger.

"Shh, it's gone."

He reached out and gently placed his hand on the back of her hand.

"How about I prepare another pair for you and Zhizhi?"

His voice was like a warm spring, gentle and unhurried, softly enveloping Bai Yining's anger layer by layer.

The anger, when met with such gentle words, melted away like snow falling into a hot spring.

"Yin'er... misses Zhizhi too much."

Tangxi Qingyuan gazed towards the palace gate, her eyes warm and clear.

"He is a wise ruler. The fact that he did not abandon the current predicament to search for Zhizhi is enough to prove it. You know, it is easy to indulge oneself... but self-control is the most difficult."

Bai Yining looked at his gentle and refined face for a long time before shaking her head.

"Your personality is really..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the anger in her voice had largely dissipated.

Bai Yining reached out and picked up the ancient book again, reciting a sentence in a neither loud nor soft tone.

"You just keep spoiling Yin'er. If he had grown up by your side, who knows what kind of soft-hearted person he would be now."

Tangxi Qingyuan paused slightly as she turned the pages of the book.

He looked up at her, and a hint of grievance appeared in his eyes.

"Does Susu dislike my personality?"

Bai Yining stopped reading.

She looked up and met his warm eyes. The candlelight flickered in his pupils like shimmering moonlight on a mirror-like lake.

She paused for a moment, then lowered her head and continued flipping through the book, her tone calm and composed.

"Alright, get back to your reading. Find a solution soon."

As the pages turned, her voice lowered slightly, as if it had fallen unintentionally into the wind.

"Once this matter is settled, I'll let you know... just how much people adore you."

Tangxi Qingyuan's fingertips froze on the pages of the book.

He didn't say a word.

But it also seems like I've said everything.

In the candlelight, his ears turned red at a visible speed.

He hurriedly lowered his head, buried his face in the scroll, and pretended to be reading intently.

He had been staring at that page for a long time, but hadn't been able to read a single word.

The hall remained quiet for a long time, with only the soft rustling of pages turning.

Many of the secrets of the Tangxi clan are unknown to outsiders and are passed down only through the direct lineage.

Those ancient symbols and cryptic texts flow like a hidden river in the blood of royalty.

Suddenly, Tang Xi Qingyuan's finger stopped on a line of text.

"Shushu, I found it."

His voice rose slightly, his gaze fixed on the yellowed page.