487: I've fallen in love

Li Xuan did not notice anything unusual about her; perhaps he had never truly cared about her emotions.

He held her hand and walked toward the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace with a composed pace and intimate posture, appearing every bit the image of an Emperor and Empress of one heart.

On the palace path, the sunlight was just right, spilling over the two of them and reflecting the image of a perfect couple.

Along the way, the palace maids and eunuchs bowed in succession, calling out in unison, "Peace to Your Majesty, peace to the Empress," their voices orderly and echoing through the palace path in a scene of total harmony.

Yet no one knew that this seemingly gentle and virtuous Empress, so favored by the Emperor, had just spent a scandalous night with the City Lord of the Northern Frontier in this very Kunning Palace.

No one knew that beneath her seemingly calm heart, stormy waves had already surged, hiding a secret known to no one.

At this moment, Situ Jun had already returned to his temporary residence in the Tianqi Royal Capital—a secluded courtyard.

He stood under the corridor, gazing at the morning glow on the horizon. The clouds were like fire, dyeing half the sky red, looking exactly like the red candles of Kunning Palace last night, and exactly like the crimson on Liu Airu's cheeks.

He raised his hand, his fingertips lightly brushing over the small rouge mark on his collar. That speck of crimson was exceptionally clear beneath his fingers, and a flash of complex emotion crossed his eyes—tenderness, determination, and a trace of indiscernible doting.

The drunkenness of last night had long since dissipated, but that smear of rouge red was like a brand, engraved on his clothing and carved into his heart, never to be erased.

He raised his hand and channeled his spiritual power. A faint golden streamer flashed across his fingertips and swept over the collar; the rouge mark vanished instantly without a trace, as if it had never existed.

But the mark engraved in the depths of his heart could not be wiped away no matter what.

Mysterious Clarity Master's voice came from behind him, carrying a hint of worry and a touch of caution:

"Master, you returned drunk last night. Are you feeling alright now?"

Situ Jun turned around. The complexity in his eyes had already faded, and he had returned to being that cold, aloof, and naturally authoritative City Lord of the Northern Frontier. His aura was icy, keeping people at a distance, as he said calmly:

"It is nothing. I was merely overindulgent and had a bout of drunkenness."

Mysterious Clarity Master looked at him, hesitating to speak. His brow furrowed slightly, but he eventually couldn't help but say:

"City Lord, Elder Cang Wu is a powerhouse at the Late Stage of Soul Transformation. His sudden visit yesterday and his insistence on drinking with you was definitely no accident. Your Subordinate is worried that his passing through the Tianqi Royal Capital this time might have another purpose—perhaps for Tianqi's imperial power, or perhaps he noticed the traces of Cultivation on Master's body. You must be on your guard."

Situ Jun nodded, his gaze turning toward the direction of the Heavenly Dragon Dynasty. A flash of solemnity crossed his eyes; he naturally knew that Elder Cang Wu's visit was definitely not a simple case of passing through.

"I know. I will instruct Li Zhong shortly to carefully investigate Elder Cang Wu's movements and his purpose for coming to Tianqi this time. By the way..."

Situ Jun paused and looked up at Mysterious Clarity Master, his expression serious and his tone carrying an order that brooked no refusal:

"I spent last night in Kunning Palace. After I leave the Royal Capital, you... keep an eye on Li Xuan for me. Don't let him touch Liu Airu."

Hearing this, Mysterious Clarity Master was instantly shocked. His pupils constricted, and his face was full of dumbfounded amazement, as if he almost couldn't believe his ears.

"Kunning Palace?"

That was the residence of the Empress of Tianqi. Master actually spent the night in the Empress's bedchamber last night?

If this were to get out, wouldn't it cause stormy waves?

After a long while, Mysterious Clarity Master nodded woodenly. Coming back to his senses, his voice still trembled slightly:

"Rest assured, Master. Regarding Li Xuan, your Subordinate will personally go and warn him. With so many concubines in the harem, he didn't value Empress Liu much to begin with. He certainly won't touch Liu... Madam Liu again."

He subconsciously changed his form of address. In his heart, the person his master had chosen should be his master's wife, rather than the Empress of Tianqi.

Situ Jun nodded, a flash of satisfaction in his eyes, and said calmly:

"I will stay in the Royal Capital for one more day today and return to the Northern Frontier tomorrow."

With that, he waved his hand for Mysterious Clarity Master to leave.

Under the corridor, facing the morning glow, he looked toward Kunning Palace with an inseparable tenderness and determination in his eyes.

This mistaken fate began with absurdity, but in the end, he had truly moved his heart.

The corridors were long and deep. The vermilion pillars reflected the rising morning glow, and the golden light spilled down like crushed gold, covering Situ Jun's black robes and making the hidden embroidered cloud patterns shine brilliantly, yet it could not melt even half of the coldness in his eyes.

He stood in the center of the corridor with his hands behind his back, his knuckles unconsciously rubbing against his fingertips.

It was as if the warmth from touching Liu Airu's skin last night still lingered on his finger pads, soft like the first melting snow of a Jiangnan spring, carrying the unique delicate fragrance of a young woman.

And when they parted this morning, her panicked, reddened earlobes—a tender pink hidden among her falling black hair—and her timid appearance were actually more potent than a hundred-year-old Spiritual Wine, lingering around his heart and refusing to dissipate.

His fingertips paused slightly. A very faint heat surged within the coldness of his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed, leaving only a deeper gloom.

In the tens of thousands of miles of Northern Frontier territory, he held the power of life and death and was accustomed to iron, blood, and frost. He had never had such feelings. Yet this woman trapped in the deep palace, with just a few wisps of her aura and a few moments of her appearance, had disturbed his Cultivation Dao Heart.

A moment later, his thoughts stirred.

The System's notification sounded in his mind:

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for adding a new Dao Companion, Liu Airu. The Host has obtained 1,500 points of heavenly luck value.]

[Ding! Congratulations to Dao Companion Liu Airu for stepping into the threshold of immortal Cultivation at the sixth level of the Body Refining Realm. The Host has obtained three years of Cultivation experience. The Host's Realm is now Soul Transformation Early Stage Peak.]

[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the Luck recognition of the Tianqi Dynasty. The Host's deterrent power within the Tianqi Dynasty has increased.]

...Meanwhile, in the side hall of Cining Palace, the protocol for the Emperor and Empress to pay their respects had just finished. Lily incense burned in the gilded bronze furnace, its smoke curling around the painted beams.

The Empress Dowager sat on the Phoenix couch covered in bright yellow soft satin, one hand tightly holding Liu Airu's hand while her fingertips rubbed her delicate back. She was busily instructing her on the ways of managing the harem and the etiquette of serving the Sovereign. Her tone carried a bit of expectation for the New Empress, but also hid the imperial family's pressure on a daughter of a prominent clan.

Liu Airu lowered her eyes, her long lashes trembling like butterfly wings. She listened seriously and responded submissively from time to time. Her gentle features were filled with the dignity and propriety an Empress should have, but the tips of her fingers gripping her handkerchief were slightly white.

Just now, when she bowed down, she clearly felt a gaze land on her—scrutinizing and probing. It wasn't heavy, yet it made her back stiffen.

That gaze came from Li Xuan.

Li Xuan stood to the side, dressed in bright yellow everyday clothes. His face was handsome, and his lips held his usual gentle smile, making him look like a benevolent monarch.

But those seemingly warm eyes would occasionally land on Liu Airu, sweeping over her lowered neck and the hands tucked in her sleeves with a trace of indiscernible scrutiny, like a needle hidden in cotton, ready to prick at any moment.

Just now, during the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, Liu Airu rose a bit too quickly, and her sleeve slipped down an inch. He had inadvertently caught sight of a faint pink mark on her wrist.

That red mark was mostly covered by the sleeve of her moon-white palace dress, showing only a shallow trace. The edges were slightly swollen; it didn't look like the swelling of an insect bite, but rather like a mark left after being gripped forcefully by someone. The outline of finger marks was faintly discernible.

Establishing Liu Airu as the Empress was originally a matter of expediency.

The Liu Clan held the position of Minister of Revenue, controlling Tianqi's granary. As Tianqi's Luck was not yet stable, the power of the great clans was needed to stabilize the court. This position of Empress was merely a bargaining chip to appease the Liu family.

He had not yet truly accepted this New Empress, but that red mark just now, combined with the anomaly she couldn't hide in her expression this morning—the fatigue in her eyes and the tension at the corners of her mouth—made clouds of suspicion arise in his heart.

Liu Airu stayed alone in Kunning Palace last night. The mark on her wrist was truly suspicious.

When the Empress Dowager grew tired, she dismissed the Emperor and Empress and rose to return to her bedchamber with her personal maid.