Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

The elders rose one after another and walked out in twos and threes. The Fifth Elder was at the very back. Before leaving, he looked back at the empty main seat and muttered something under his breath, but no one could hear him.

Soon, a letter was sent from the Haotian Sect and delivered to Tiandou City at top speed.

Tang Yuehua received the letter several days later.

She had just watched Tang Hao finish drinking his medicine.

Back in the study, there was a letter sealed with sealing wax on the table, with the seal of the Haotian Sect affixed to the seal.

Tang Yuehua opened the letter and read it word by word. As she read, the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, but she quickly suppressed it again.

The letter was written by Tang Xiao himself, with restrained and cautious wording. The gist of it was that the sect had received her message, and the elders' council was discussing it, asking her to continue to pay attention to the movements of Tiandou City.

At the end of the letter, Tang Xiao asked her, "Based on your assessment of the current situation, when would be the most appropriate time for the Haotian Sect to emerge from seclusion?"

Tang Yuehua stared at the line of words and remained silent for a long time.

Tang Xiao's decision to pose this question to her signifies that the internal divisions within the Elders' Council have reached an irreconcilable point, requiring her, as an outsider, to provide a more objective assessment.

This is trust, but also pressure.

She looked up, her gaze passing through the window and landing in the direction of the distant palace.

The place was brightly lit.

Tang Yuehua stared at the light for a long time, so long that the candle on the candlestick shrunk a little, so long that the night breeze blew in through the cracks in the window and made the letter in her hand sway gently.

She knew what those lights meant.

This means Xue Qinghe is still reviewing memorials. This means the lights are still on in Hu Liena's palace. This means that although this ancient imperial city appears to be operating normally on the surface after changing masters, something is slowly rotting away inside.

Tang Yuehua folded the letter and put it back on the table.

She picked up her pen and began writing a reply.

The pen tip scratched across the paper, making a soft, rustling sound. Her handwriting was steady, a stark contrast to her current mood.

In her letter, she wrote: The Spirit Hall's infiltration of the Heaven Dou Empire has penetrated to the bone marrow. Xue Qinghe's doting on Hu Liena is not feigned, at least not on the surface. The court officials' bottom line has been repeatedly trampled upon, from making Eva empress to now favoring the imperial concubine, the voices of opposition have grown weaker with each passing day. If the Spirit Hall truly harbors ambitions to annex Heaven Dou, now is the perfect opportunity.

She paused here.

Then he continued writing: As for the timing of his return to the mountains...

She looked up and glanced again at the lights outside the window.

Then he lowered his head and wrote the last line on the letter: "When the situation has changed and all forces are forced to choose sides, the best course of action will be for the Haotian Sect to emerge as a savior. Until then, please make sure the sect is well prepared."

After writing the last word, Tang Yuehua picked up the letter, gently blew the ink dry, folded it, put it in an envelope, and sealed it with sealing wax.

Her movements were slow, as if she were carefully considering every detail. But in reality, she didn't need to consider it; these words had already run through her mind countless times, and today they were finally put on paper.

Tang Yuehua summoned her trusted maid and handed her the letter.

"Send it back to the sect as quickly as possible."

"Yes."

The maid took the letter, turned and disappeared out the door.

……

Meanwhile, deep within the palace.

The lights in Huliena's bedroom were dimmer than elsewhere.

It wasn't that she couldn't afford to light the lamp; it was that Hu Liena disliked bright light. She was like that back in the Spirit Hall; the soul-guiding lamp in her bedchamber was always set to the dimmest setting, so dim that you could barely make out the outlines of the furniture. In her own words, bright light kept her awake.

But she's not going to sleep tonight.

Hu Liena was dressed in a dark purple casual outfit. Her long hair was not styled into an elaborate bun as it was during the day, but was casually draped over her shoulders, which made her already charming face look even more languid.

She sat on a soft couch by the window, one leg curled up and resting on the edge of the couch, the other leg dangling casually, the toes lightly touching the ground. In her hand, she held a cup of warm fruit tea, from which wisps of white steam rose.

If the ministers in the court saw the Imperial Concubine in this state, they would probably accuse her of "improper manners" again.

But Hu Liena didn't care.

Anyway, her "favored concubine" persona is inherently one of bringing disaster to the country and its people, so being too proper in demeanor would only make her seem unprofessional.

Qian Renxue sat opposite her, dressed in a moon-white casual outfit, her back ramrod straight, holding a cup of tea in her hand as well.

A low table separated the two women, on which were several plates of delicate pastries. These pastries were specially prepared by the imperial kitchen for the imperial concubine, but neither of them touched them.

They had been sitting facing each other like this for quite a while.

It's not that we have nothing to say, but rather that we've already said everything that needed to be said.

"I received a letter from my teacher a few days ago."

Hu Liena spoke first, her voice languid, as if she were talking about something trivial.

"Elder Ju and Elder Gui are already on their way."

Qian Renxue paused slightly in the teacup she was holding.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo?"

"Hmm." Hu Liena took a sip of her fruit tea. "The teacher sent them over too. He said it was to... stabilize the situation."

To stabilize the situation.

When Hu Liena uttered those four words, they sounded light and airy, as if she were simply saying that the weather was nice today.

But Qian Renxue knew the weight of those four words.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei. Two titled Douluos from the Spirit Hall's Elder Council, the two sharpest blades under Bibi Dong's command. The meaning of these two appearing simultaneously in Heaven Dou City is self-evident.

"She's certainly willing to invest heavily."

Qian Renxue's voice was devoid of emotion.

Hu Liena glanced at her. There was no hostility, no probing, only an indescribable complexity in that glance.

This complexity existed even before she came to Tiandou City.

That day, at the Papal Palace.

The teacher told her the details of the mission: to go to the Tiandou Empire for a political marriage and become Xue Qinghe's favorite concubine.

Hu Liena listened quietly without responding immediately.

She knew she would be sent out on an important mission sooner or later, but she never expected it to be a marriage alliance.

What she didn't expect was that the teacher's next words would completely shatter part of her understanding of the world.

Someone will help you with this task.

Bibi Dong's purple eyes fell on Hu Liena's face, her tone as calm as if she were asking what to have for dinner.

"The person who helped you is someone from the Spirit Hall who has been infiltrated into the Heaven Dou Empire for many years."

Hu Liena frowned slightly.

Undercover?

She quickly went through all the known spies the Spirit Hall had planted in the Heaven Dou Empire in her mind, and none of them matched the idea of ​​"helping her complete the marriage alliance".

She was about to ask when Bibi Dong spoke for her.

"This person is the one who is currently sitting on the dragon throne of the Heaven Dou Empire."

Hu Liena was stunned.

Xue Qinghe?

A new emperor for the Heaven Dou Empire?

The young emperor who made the absurd decision to make his mother empress right after ascending the throne was a member of the Spirit Hall.

Before she could even process the news, Bibi Dong delivered another blow.

The strike was delivered with a seemingly casual touch, yet it left Hu Liena frozen in place.

"Her true identity is Qian Renxue, my daughter, Bibi Dong."

The hall remained quiet for a while.

Hu Liena felt as if she had been hit hard on the head.

Xue Qinghe is Qian Renxue, the crown prince of the Tiandou Empire, the young emperor who now sits on the dragon throne, is a woman?

Or is she the teacher's daughter?

Her first reaction was that this was impossible. But these words came from Bibi Dong, who would never joke about such a thing.

Her second reaction was, if this were true, just how much patience could Qian Renxue have?

More than a decade of lurking, more than a decade of disguise, from crown prince to emperor, every step was fraught with danger.

Her third reaction was to look into Bibi Dong's eyes, trying to find something in those purple eyes.

They found it, but it wasn't with warmth or concern; it was just a cold, businesslike explanation, as if saying that a chess piece could finally cross the river.

It took Hu Liena a while to process the news and the task.

"You and her..." Hu Liena hesitated for a long time, but finally couldn't help asking, "Teacher, you and Qian Renxue..."

“She is my daughter,” Bibi Dong’s voice was as cold as ice. “And she has only this one identity.”

Hu Liena immediately shut her mouth. She sensed an untouchable boundary in her teacher's tone.

Qian Renxue is her daughter, but she is only her daughter. There is no warmth, no attachment, only the bond of blood and the tie of interests.

My thoughts returned to the present moment.

Hu Liena put down her teacup, the bottom of which made a slight sound as it hit the table. Looking at Qian Renxue's face, which remained impossibly aloof even in the dim light, she suddenly felt a pang of emotion.

"Actually, you and your mother are quite alike."

Qian Renxue raised her eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them: "How is it similar?"

“Rationality.” Hu Liena tilted her head and thought seriously for a moment. “You are all very rational people. You know what you want and how to get it. You won’t let emotions cloud your judgment or disrupt your plans because of a momentary impulse.”

Qian Renxue remained silent for a moment, then her lips twitched slightly.

"Are you praising me?"

“Yes.” Hu Liena smiled as well.