Volume 1, Chapter 21: The White Moonlight

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“Traveler from afar, have a cup first and warm yourself up.” The man was around thirty, and his Mandarin was quite fluent, making him easy to understand.

After taking his seat in the western guest section, Carefree Master did not stand on ceremony. He lifted the teacup and took a sip.

For a moment, no one dared laugh openly, but the looks of contempt and ridicule they cast upon her felt to the Empress like sharp arrows striking her. The pain and humiliation flushed her face crimson.

With Mike Jalen joining the fray, the situation became even more unfavorable for the Chinese Gang. Yet its brothers were fearless in the face of death. They surrounded Ouyang Zilong and Uncle Da, and whenever one fell, another immediately stepped forward to take his place. The sight was enough to make one’s nose sting and heart ache.

“Eat some fish.” The man opposite her spoke with elegant composure, as though those suggestive words had not come from his mouth at all.

Crouching against the courtyard wall, she indeed saw flames soaring into the sky within the Crown Prince’s residence. More than a hundred men were searching the estate with torches in hand. Beitang Ye stood face-to-face with a man of delicate, almost feminine features, who lacked the imposing, muscular build typical of the Northern Rong people.

When Chi Wan saw them looking at her with puzzled expressions, she asked somewhat coldly, “What is it?”

He walked ahead of me, and I followed him into the house. The rag I had thrown down before leaving was still on the table.

Even Jun Qiluo, who was ordinarily so calm by nature, widened her eyes at this moment, looking utterly stunned.

After much thought, I decided that I would have to return to the house once more that night. This put Fan Xiaoxuan in a difficult position. She explained that Teacher He had many works of art there, so the key was kept by a designated person, and coming at night would probably be inconvenient. Senior Brother and I shook our heads almost simultaneously, wondering whether the girl had been frightened senseless.

“I order the two of you to follow Du Yuesheng’s advice and give this your absolute best! You are permitted only to succeed, never to fail!” After he finished speaking, Jiang Zhiqing let out a long breath, excitement shining in his eyes.

After pacing around the room twice, Shen Yunyou opened the wardrobe. Seeing the few shabby cloth garments inside, she curled her lip, selected one, and put it on. She walked to the dressing table, casually dabbed a little color onto her face, and then quietly waited for the storm to arrive.

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The subordinates reported the matter to Du Yuesheng at once, and he treated it with the utmost importance. The convoy had come not only from the Central Government but had also secretly made contact with them in Shanghai. Providing them with protection and escort was the Shanghai Army.

Five months later, the eldest son of Prince Liang—the first male child of this generation of the Beiping imperial family—came noisily and joyfully into the world, announcing his arrival with loud wails.

Intermingled among them were countless invisible entities, and everyone seemed able to hear, within their minds, wave after wave of miserable, shrill screams.

Ye Zixuan had his back to Situ Nan, so Situ Nan had not witnessed what happened earlier. Seeing Shen Yunyou’s discomfort, Ye Zixuan remained silent for a moment. Instead of setting her down, he turned and walked toward the door.

At this thought, Chen Hao could not help taking a deep breath. His eyes remained fixed on the road ahead, yet he saw nothing before him. Was he lost? No. He was filled with anticipation for the future—from being an ordinary professional gamer, to joining a gaming studio, and eventually making his mark in the game world.

“Thank you for talking with me for so long. See you again!” Shi Hao waved to Su Momo with a smile.

Shuitong followed the two prison matrons upstairs and knelt with her head bowed on the right side of the hall. The slender and pitiful Lady Shen knelt on the left, her shoulders rising and falling now and then as though she could not stop sobbing.

“Yes.” The newcomer answered timidly in a low voice. The hall was already deathly silent, and no matter how softly he spoke, his voice could not escape Feng Yihan’s ears.

“All right, I agree. But will you forgive me in your heart?” Feng Qianxun asked with a trace of hope. Deep down, he wished she would forgive him for fighting to the very end this time.

Only yesterday, she had still been unwilling to think about those things or speak of them. But if she could not face them herself, she had no right to urge others to be strong. Since one day she would have to look directly at the past, she might as well begin today.

Feng Qian offered eleven million top-grade spirit stones. After a moment of silence, Box Ten once again bid fifteen million top-grade spirit stones. This time, the voice held none of its former disdain, though it remained somewhat cold.

The mother who had lost her child was more than Jin Shunying could bear to face. Trapped awkwardly between them, she looked pleadingly toward He Man and pointed at the door. “I’ll go first—”

He Man gave a slight nod. Jin Shunying hurried away, but just before leaving, she glanced once more at Xie Yujiao and sighed.

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The only worry was that even if Qin Yue had managed to escape, she might not be able to get away safely. In any case, there was still cause for concern.

When the bandage was tightened, Xie Yujiao cried out in pain. The agony shot through her entire body in an instant, making even her tongue tremble. She parted her lips slightly and drew breath with effort, clearly wanting to say something.

Jin Shunying hurriedly leaned closer. A faint breath stirred beside her ear.

“Where is the child?”

Jin Shunying opened her mouth several times, but she simply could not answer. She went into the outer room and called for He Man.

Of the eight young women who had entered the courtesan queen competition, only six now remained. They were Mei Ruyan, Luo Pinmei, Wu Mei, Su Xuer, Chen Yuanyuan, and Song Yan.

Of course, they were not thinking about how well the actor had performed. It was Yi Shuihan’s utterly flawless portrayal that made them instantly immerse themselves in the role of Chen Yongren.

After storing the beast-headed cane inside the space within his body, Xia Xun revealed a faint smile. This would become yet another trump card of his.

Tang Dali leaned halfway out of the kitchen, still holding the spatula he had been using to stir-fry the food.

The buildings there had all been constructed from coral taken from the sea and various rare mineral ores. Though they were not true buildings in the human sense, they were nevertheless imbued with distinctive oceanic features.

The original owner’s classroom was just as it had been in her memories, with beautiful furnishings. University classrooms were, after all, far more spacious than those in high school.

Li Chengda dismounted as well. He had brought no attendants and approached the two men alone. Both sides immediately became alert, and countless gazes settled upon the three of them.

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