The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Yun Boyan sat atop the glazed tile roof, his long, silvery-white hair as white as frost, his moon-white robes spotless.

He reached out and gently covered his chest, where his elder brother Xie Jinlian's heart was beating at an unprecedented frequency, fast and powerful, like a drumbeat, like thunder.

"Brother."

He said something in a low voice, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness, amusement, and a softness that even he couldn't quite explain.

"It's all because you like your sister-in-law too much, otherwise my heart wouldn't be beating so fast."

He took the snow-white Buddhist rosary from his waist and gently twirled it between his fingers.

The prayer beads were slightly cool, but they couldn't suppress the increasingly burning heart in my chest.

Hua Rongshi finally managed to squeeze to the front.

His pink robes fluttered in the wind, and the peach blossom hairpin in his hair was askew, but he didn't care.

Peach Blossom's eyes were filled with light, sparkling like dewdrops on a flower.

"My wife—Xue'er!"

His voice was urgent and crisp, echoing across the empty square, and he almost bit his tongue.

He quickly changed his words, but his handsome face was already slightly flushed, like a peach blossom just beginning to bloom on a branch in March.

"You are truly amazing! From this day forward, you are the God of Medicine of the Nine Provinces! Your name will be known for eternity!"

His voice grew more and more excited as he spoke, as if he wanted to shower her with all the praise he could think of.

"Yes. Thank you."

Tang Xixue curved her lips into a smile, a gentle smile that instantly caused Hua Rongshi's heart to race.

"Then—can you consider marrying me now?"

He gazed at her expectantly, his peach blossom eyes brimming with anticipation, like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

"This young master can do everything! Cooking, laundry, warming the bed, coaxing people, taking care of children—I'm proficient in everything! Don't be fooled by those shady wildflowers outside!"

Before he could finish speaking, a hand reached out from behind and precisely grabbed the back of his collar.

Beichen Ji.

He had somehow reached the front of the crowd, his purple eyes lowered, his face as cold and stern as ever.

But the hand that gripped Hua Rongshi's collar had white knuckles and visible blue veins.

That wasn't an overexaggerated white, but a suppressed force that was about to burst forth.

"Shut up."

His voice was hoarse, low as if it were being squeezed out from the depths of his throat.

Hua Rongshi was stunned.

He turned to look at Bei Chenji and saw the dark glint in his eyes.

"cousin--"

"I said, shut up."

Bei Chenji released his grip and didn't look at him again.

His gaze passed over Hua Rongshi's shoulder and landed in a certain direction on the horizon.

In just a moment.

Then he looked away, as quickly as if he'd been burned.

Hua Rong opened her mouth, but ultimately did not utter another word.

He just stood there silently, the light in his peach blossom eyes dimming slightly, but he still stubbornly looked at Tang Xixue, as if to say, "Whether you agree or not, I'll be here."

Kong Sangyu stood on the outskirts of the crowd, holding Bai Tang in his arms. His long, silver-blue hair was blown by the wind, and a few strands brushed against his eyelashes.

He gazed at the figure standing in the sunlight, his blue eyes like a sea bathed in moonlight.

Bai Tang peeked her head out from his arms.

He lowered his head and said, "Sister Zhi, you will always be so dazzling."

The voice was very soft; only Bai Tang could hear it.

Bai Tang meowed again, as if to say, "I heard it, and she'll hear it too."

He didn't look up.

He simply hugged Bai Tang even tighter, as if embracing the only warmth in the world.

Just as everyone was celebrating, a woman's cold voice suddenly fell from the sky, silencing all the noise.

"Congratulations on the coronation of the new Medicine God."

The sound was like a cold spring dripping into a deep pool, stirring up thousands of ripples.

Everyone's eyes turned to the source of the sound at the same instant.

A figure slowly descended from the sky.

The black cloak is long gone.

At this moment, she made no attempt to conceal herself.

Her long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, silvery white like moonlight frosty, gently swaying in the night breeze.

Her peach blossom eyes were as cold as a frozen pool, with slightly upturned corners, naturally exuding a charm, yet at this moment they only carried a chilling aura.

The sunlight fell on that stunningly beautiful face, making her appear as if a deity had descended.

However, it was a being like a demon god.

Flowers bloom lightly in the evening.

Fengxiao Pavilion Master.

She stood there in the void, surrounded by fine, silvery-white dust.

Those specks of light were as fine as tiny wisps of light, yet they exuded a chilling aura.

She simply stood there, cold as ice, breathtakingly beautiful, like a being from mythology, not of this world.

"Cousin—look! That's it!!!"

Hua Rongshi's voice suddenly rose, her peach blossom eyes widened, and her finger trembled as she pointed at the figure in the void.

He had seen that portrait.

That was his aunt.

She was once the eldest princess of Qimeng Huadu, and the younger sister whom her father described as "the smartest, the most stubborn, and the most heartbreaking."

She was the woman who was married off to Beichen for a political marriage and never returned to her homeland.

It was Hua Qingwan, who was said to have frozen to death in the snowstorm of the North, and whose remains were never recovered.

She did not die.

She is alive.

But she...

Hua Rongshi gazed at those peach blossom eyes, cold as an icy pool, and at that exquisitely beautiful face devoid of any warmth, and suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

She is no longer the gentle woman with smiling eyes in the portrait.

She became a different person.

"Mother Consort—"

Bei Chenji felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

His pupils were trembling violently, and for the first time, cracks appeared on his usually cold and aloof face.

It's unbelievable.

It felt like a lifetime ago.

His mother, whom he thought was dead, suddenly stood alive and well in front of him.

He was overjoyed.

That ecstasy, like a flood bursting its banks, instantly destroyed all the defenses he had built over the past twenty years.

His fingers trembled violently inside his sleeve, as he wanted to reach out, take a step, and utter the name that had been sealed on his tongue for twenty years.

However, her next words were like ice water poured over his head, freezing his ecstasy into ice shards.

"I have come here only to ask for one thing."

Her voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Hand over the elixir, and I will spare no one here."

Her gaze fell directly on the tender green leaf in Tang Xixue's hand.

The leaves of the Three-Life Tree.

"A magic elixir?"

An elderly pharmacist with white hair blurted out, his voice trembling with disbelief, his cloudy eyes fixed on the leaf.

"A legendary elixir capable of bringing the dead back to life and transforming the body! I've spent my entire life searching for it, only to have glimpsed it in fragments of ancient texts. I never imagined... I never imagined it actually existed..."

These words caused an uproar in the room.

Countless gazes fell upon that leaf, some with shock, some with greed, some with realization, and some with apprehension.

Hua Qingwan's lips curled up slightly, the curve was very faint, but it carried a kind of unwavering determination and a condescending look.

"Young lady, I really have to thank you for bringing out the elixir. Otherwise, I would have made a wasted trip."

Her voice was like snowflakes, sending a chill down the spines of everyone present.