The sky after being cleansed by torrential rain is always exceptionally clear and bright, blue as the finest satin from Songjiang Prefecture in Meng Kingdom, evenly smooth and luminous, with gentle hues. Even the sunlight seems tender, enveloping heaven and earth like transparent gauze.

Such fine weather is suitable for sacrificial ceremonies, sweeping, beam-raising, moving houses, and weddings.

So at this moment, Shanshi Street in Meng City was bustling with crowds, completely unaffected by the altar lightning incident from days past. Many people gathered on the street sides, watching the wedding procession with its music and fanfare heading toward the Zheng residence in the northern part of the city.

Meng Hu sat on the tall horse at the front, draped in colorful silks and red decorations, radiant with joy. The servants behind him continuously scattered celebratory fruits to both sides of the street, letting all the city’s people share in the happiness.

Today was his good day.

Today he could finally marry Miss Seven of the Zheng family.

Meng Hu smiled very happily. This marriage, while these joyful common people by the roadside didn’t know the inside story, he himself understood that this union had come through many twists and turns and extraordinary hardship.

The incident at Puyang Cheng had caused Miss Seven of the Zheng family to attempt suicide several times. The Zheng family broke off the engagement, and Meng Hu himself was nearly killed when Prince Ping set a trap for him. The Meng family, vaguely knowing what had happened to the Zheng family, also intended to dissolve the marriage contract and arrange a new match with a pure and noble daughter for Meng Hu. However, Meng Hu stubbornly refused, insisting on marrying Miss Seven of the Zheng family, causing a serious rift with Old Duke Meng.

Fortunately, after Prince Ping’s death, the Great King regained political power and publicly welcomed the Queen into Meng City with respectful ceremony. After the Queen revealed her identity, she first visited the Meng residence. Learning that Meng Hu’s heart remained unchanged and he truly cared for Miss Zheng, she immediately offered to act as matchmaker and personally visited the Zheng residence.

When Miss Seven of the Zheng family saw her, she finally understood what that “Liren Hall steward” had been about. Some of her resentment dissipated, and when Jing Hengbo told her how Meng Hu had traveled thousands of li to hunt down Prince Li’s subordinates to avenge her, falling into Prince Ping’s trap and nearly committing suicide, even her heart, still as an ancient well, couldn’t help but be moved.

In this world, it’s rare to find a gentleman who is both tolerant and devoted. Meeting such a person and missing the opportunity would be a sin.

Jing Hengbo deployed her silver tongue, persuading Miss Seven to finally change her mind. With the Zheng family’s mental barriers removed, they naturally gave their wholehearted consent. Though the Meng family felt somewhat aggrieved, they couldn’t withstand Meng Hu’s stubbornness and dared not displease the Queen. Thus, this marriage of many twists and turns finally succeeded under Jing Hengbo’s vigorous matchmaking.

Matchmaker Jing breathed a sigh of relief. Her own romantic path had been bumpy, so she was more willing to see lovers finally become spouses, especially since Miss Seven’s ordeal was somewhat related to her—now it could be considered compensation.

At this moment, she sat in the Meng residence’s main hall drinking tea, waiting for Meng Hu to bring back the bridal sedan. Er Gouzi served as a companion, accompanying Meng Hu to fetch the bride. Since the Zheng family came from a scholarly tradition while the Meng family were military men, it was said that the Zheng family’s womenfolk intended to make things difficult for the groom, vowing to make him recite twenty of the finest urging-to-dress poems before allowing him through the door. This news had frightened Meng Hu pale, but Jing Hengbo had laughed heartily and waved her hand, sending Er Gouzi along—besides the former “Poetry Bird” Lord Dog who had once “startled wind and rain with long poems, made ghosts and spirits weep with short verses” at Daimo Qu River, who else could handle such a glorious task?

The Meng residence’s female relatives gathered together, whispering about recent major events, inevitably discussing the lightning strike on the altar during that rainy day. They talked about how the lightning destroyed the altar, how the old king came back from the dead, how Prince Ping put on his act, how Heaven was angered by Prince Ping and also blasted him to pieces. As they talked, they revealed expressions of awe, unable to understand how the old king and little prince had escaped that first lightning strike, and how they had mysteriously appeared—it felt like they had suddenly materialized there. Could someone have used supernatural transportation techniques at that time…

Jing Hengbo watched the wisps of steam rising from her teacup and smiled. There was no supernatural transportation, but there had been queen transportation.

Speaking simply, Prince Ping’s insistence on choosing that potentially stormy day indicated he had probably tampered with the altar. The ghostly fires the night before the sacrifice were something Jing Hengbo had learned from Prince Ping—using ghost fires to divert the guards’ attention while letting Feifei investigate the altar. They indeed discovered that Prince Ping had buried gunpowder beneath the entire altar.

Prince Ping must have colluded with ritual officials responsible for altar maintenance to secretly make alterations. Feifei also found cracks in certain parts of the altar, with black substances faintly visible inside the fissures.

The next day, when Jing Hengbo saw that the location of those cracks had been fitted with bronze tripods for burning the confession edict, and noticed figures on the temple eaves using the rain curtain to conceal their forms, she immediately understood Prince Ping’s plan.

When burning the confession edict, the bronze tripod had been rigged with a downward passage. The flames followed the tripod downward into the cracks, and when the fissures split open, the gunpowder was immediately ignited.

Jing Hengbo had already positioned herself at the front of the canopy, using telekinesis to move the old king and little prince into the crowd, while simultaneously controlling earth and stone to extinguish the open flames, leaving half the gunpowder unexploded.

At that time, with heavy rain and thunder, everyone’s eyes were forced shut—who could see clearly what happened at the moment of explosion? Who could tell if an extra person had appeared beside them?

When Prince Ping performed his act on the earthen mound, cursing heaven in the thunderstorm, deliberately having Hei San’s skilled subordinates use iron wires to draw down lightning to show heaven’s favor (proving lightning wouldn’t strike him), especially after he courted death by shouting “If I am unworthy, let lightning strike me,” Jing Hengbo had Feifei, who had already burrowed into the earthen pile, ignite the remaining half of the gunpowder.

Thinking of that scene, Jing Hengbo smiled as she sipped her tea, softly making a “boom” sound.

Don’t show off—showing off gets you struck by lightning, dear!

After blasting Prince Ping to death and moving the old king and little prince back onto the platform, Jing Hengbo’s great deed was accomplished. You deceive people with supernatural methods, so I’ll respond with supernatural methods—effortless, efficient, and a clean death.

Jing Hengbo felt that being a facilitator was quite pleasant. The territory of Dahuang was gradually consolidating through such methods.

After attending Meng Hu’s wedding banquet, the journey to the Dragon family’s ancestral lands could finally commence.

Jing Hengbo was in good spirits. Setting down her teacup, she was about to chat with Meng Potian Yong Xue beside her when suddenly she glimpsed a flash of light from the corner of her eye, quite dazzling. She instinctively turned around but saw nothing unusual.

It was noon with bright sunlight—many things could reflect light. However, this room had windows on four sides, all half-covered with fine silk bamboo curtains that blocked most of the light. Some noble ladies sitting by the windows wore pearl and jade hairpins of various colors that inevitably sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight, but those lights were linear, not the large sheet of flashing light that Jing Hengbo had just sensed.

Looking at Meng Potian Yong Xue beside her, whose expression showed nothing unusual, Jing Hengbo thought perhaps she had seen things and didn’t dwell on it.

The entertainment for male and female guests was separate—female guests in the rear courtyard, male guests in the front courtyard. At this moment, Gong Yin, Yelu Qi, Pei Shu and the others weren’t beside her. She suddenly felt uneasy and told the accompanying Old Madam Meng that she would go out for a walk alone.

The feast in the rear garden was already prepared. According to Meng Kingdom custom, tonight’s wedding wine was the main event, so the Meng residence had specially designated a courtyard precisely located in the garden between the front and rear courtyards. The wedding feast could appropriately relax gender segregation, so the Meng family had ingeniously chosen a connecting pavilion between the two courtyards. The spacious pavilion had a narrow walkway in the middle—men on the left, women on the right. Just the female guests alone filled over twenty tables. Everything was cleaned spotlessly, with the narrow walkway lined with decorated flower trees adorned with colored silk flowers, hanging deep red glazed palace lanterns at half-human height. These glazed lanterns were crystal clear and luminous, each worth a considerable sum.

Jing Hengbo looked at the garden scenery for a while when she suddenly saw Old Madam Meng approaching with an anxious expression. Seeing her face, Jing Hengbo was startled. After Old Madam Meng performed her courtesies and whispered a few words in her ear, Jing Hengbo had already raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“The Ji family was massacred?”

This was completely unexpected news.

Jing Hengbo knew that Miss Ji had already left the Meng residence on that stormy day. In her thinking, the Ji family had naturally taken advantage of the Meng residence being unguarded that day to snatch their daughter back. She had Meng Hu abduct Miss Ji precisely to control the Ji family—since even the Meng family didn’t pursue the matter, she naturally wouldn’t interfere further.

But how could the Ji family be massacred out of nowhere?

“News just came in. Last night the Ji residence was completely quiet. This morning, vegetable farmers from the western market went to deliver vegetables to the Ji residence as usual, but the small door that was normally open remained closed. The Ji family has strict rules, so these farmers waited at the door. But they waited until nearly noon without anyone coming out. Someone bold enough opened the door and went in, then saw the corpses.” Old Madam Meng’s expression was quite complex. “They called the prefectural office, and upon investigation, the entire household was dead, except…”

“Hmm?”

“Miss Ji has disappeared again.”

Jing Hengbo frowned, feeling something strange. She had always found that Miss Ji very peculiar—what had happened now?

“Did anyone go in to examine them? What manner of death?”

For a great family like the Ji’s, the entire residence would have at least several hundred people. To kill them all in one night without anyone noticing—what kind of methods would that require? Moreover, it didn’t seem like something one person could accomplish.

“The Meng City Prefecture sealed off the entire residence. Others can’t investigate now. Our household people questioned the farmers who entered, and some said the Ji family died strangely—no wounds on their bodies, but very stiff corpses. Some were pale, others bluish, but none had blood.”

“What about those farmers?” Jing Hengbo found this increasingly strange and wanted to question them personally.

Old Madam Meng turned and had a maid go inquire. Soon the maid returned with an ashen face, trembling as she said, “Those farmers are said to have died too… right when the prefectural officials were questioning them… suddenly collapsed, also bloodless, bodies bluish and stiff…”

Jing Hengbo was stunned. This seemed like poison, but those people shouldn’t have dared touch the corpses. What kind of poison could pervade such a large residence, killing anyone who entered?

Old Madam Meng behind her looked very unwell. Hearing such news on a joyous day inevitably made one queasy.

Jing Hengbo understood her feelings. Her grandson’s marriage had gone through many twists and turns—if something else happened at the wedding banquet, it would truly disturb one’s peace for life.

She consolingly patted Old Madam Meng’s hand, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

…

In the northern Shande District, the Ji residence where the incident occurred was completely surrounded by Meng City prefectural offices. Large numbers of officials, constables, and militia guards stood at the front and rear gates, with government personnel constantly bustling in and out.

Onlooking citizens were kept ten zhang away, watching corpses being carried out of the Ji residence’s rear gate. All were covered with white cloth, the bodies so rigid and straight they could be carried without stretchers.

The number of corpses being carried out made the watching citizens gasp, constantly whispering and discussing what kind of person could be so heartless, and what kind of person possessed such supernatural abilities. The Ji residence had made no sound last night—even the neighboring Deputy Prime Minister’s residence heard nothing.

Such handiwork seemed impossible even if the royal army mobilized. Moreover, the Ji family controlled Meng City’s security, so surveillance around their residence was strictest. In a crisis, they didn’t even have a chance to send out distress signals—just thinking about it sent chills down one’s spine.

This inevitably led to conspiracy theories—perhaps the Ji family was close to Prince Ping and this was the old king’s retaliation, or perhaps the Deputy Prime Minister had opportunistically betrayed the Ji family…

At this moment, the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence, center of everyone’s attention, was as silent as the Ji residence.

Everyone remained at their posts, but no one dared move or speak. Except for the Deputy Prime Minister leaving to cooperate with the Meng City Prefecture’s investigation, everyone else kept their mouths tightly shut, watching a small building in the residence’s northwest corner.

The building was unremarkable, surrounded by flowers and trees. But in such weather, those flowers and grasses somehow always had unmelted frost and snow at their tips.

Someone in the small building was drinking tea.

The hand holding the tea was snow-white and slender, with rounded nails and exquisite joints, delicate as reeds. Just seeing this hand, one knew it belonged to a beauty. If there was any regret, it was the nail half-moons’ color—deep purple at the innermost layer, the rest pale blue, creating a rather eerie contrast against the snow-white fingers.

That hand held the tea. The tea water initially steamed, but soon the steam vanished and frost formed on the blue porcelain cup.

Frost covered the cup in a layer, melted instantly, covered again, melted again… After the cup was held and frost formed and melted dozens of times, with a “crack,” the thin porcelain cup, unable to withstand such torment, seemed to fracture.

The cup cracked, but no water came out. The hand turned the cup over and shook it—pat—out fell a complete block of ice with tea leaves frozen inside, also a ghastly blue color.

All the white-robed people in the room silently lowered their heads.

Madam’s martial arts… seemed increasingly difficult to control…

“Still haven’t found that girl?” The seated person’s voice was flat, emotionless, yet made one feel every word was a cold wind rushing down from snowy mountains, carrying away human souls.

Everyone bowed their heads deeper.

They had killed everyone in the neighboring residence but still couldn’t find that ice-snow anomalous body. They knew Madam was very angry.

Madam practiced forbidden martial arts, but due to interference from sect master’s people and that damned Yelu Xun’s disruption, she nearly suffered qi deviation. To avoid being consumed by backlash, Madam had no choice but to leave the snowy mountain range and enter the interior to seek medicine. While searching for medicinal materials, Madam suddenly remembered a nominal disciple she had taken when passing through Meng Kingdom long ago.

That nominal disciple actually had unremarkable talent and wasn’t worth Madam’s attention. Madam had accepted her as a disciple only because she valued her innate ice-snow constitution.

A naturally extreme yin and cold constitution with naturally frozen blood was invaluable to their sect, especially for Madam who currently showed signs of qi deviation—the rarest kind of spiritual medicine.

They remembered this nominal disciple was named Ji Xiang, daughter of a Meng Kingdom general.

But unfortunately, after traveling thousands of li to get here, they couldn’t find her at the Ji residence. Madam, in her fury and with her injuries flaring up beyond her control, directly killed everyone in the Ji residence.

The snowy mountain disciples were very nervous, serving respectfully below the steps without daring to make the slightest sound. Killing everyone in the Ji residence wasn’t significant, but when Madam had episodes, she was difficult to control—it wouldn’t be good if she killed herself.

So the urgent priority was finding Miss Ji. Bringing her back meant death.

Xu Pingran sat above, hand supporting her cheek, gazing vacantly ahead with empty eyes.

Even her pupils now had a layer of pale blue, like cold jade soaked in emerald water—unclear in daylight, but emanating eerie qi at night.

She thought about that nominal disciple, currently not in the city. She had originally planted a mark on that girl for future convenience. The scent of snowy mountain soul leaves in that residence had grown faint, but had appeared nearby. She believed she would wait until that girl returned.

She was also thinking about those two persistent ghosts—Ziwei and Yelu Xun—wondering if they had reached Meng City. Thinking of these two, of the setbacks they had brought her, of that cockroach-like tenacious and unkillable, cockroach-like detestable Yelu Xun, her fingers trembled.

During this period, all the frustrations and annoyances since reuniting with these two had caused her heart, calm as an icy lake, to instantly crack with many discordant sounds like sharp sword cries—all killing intent.

She hoped they would be sensible and not interfere this time.

She was at a life-or-death juncture. Whoever obstructed her self-rescue, despite past affections of countless kinds, she would definitely strike.

…

A hundred li outside Meng City, in a black mountain cave stood black-cloaked figures. A black-cloaked figure carried white-clothed Miss Ji on his shoulder.

He gazed toward Meng City’s direction, a faint smile at his lips.

He had two groups of greatest enemies, both now in this Meng City. He had prepared for this day for a long time—hidden assassins from the past could finally be unleashed painfully after achieving today’s goal.

He shouldered Miss Ji and emerged, looking toward Meng City’s direction, asking, “All contacts made?”

“Yes.” Someone behind respectfully answered. A group of people all wore black cloaks, standing in the dark cave—obviously and darkly a mass of black undulations.

The cloaked figure nodded satisfactorily. The person most skilled at concealment in this world was now in Meng City, in some most lively residence, surely able to help him arrange the finest performance.

“Let’s go,” he said. “We must arrive before the evening banquet, but first make a circuit around the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence to give that person a sniff. We need to hurry.”

A line of black shadows descended sinuously from the grey mountains, merging into Meng City’s dusk like a swarm of low-flying vampire bats in the wind.

…

Jing Hengbo sat in the main hall waiting for Meng Hu to return with the bride for the ceremony. Old Madam Meng hurried in from outside. Jing Hengbo glanced at her, and Old Madam Meng nodded.

Jing Hengbo also nodded, feeling slightly relieved.

She had just instructed Old Madam Meng to notify Gong Yin and others of this matter, and also had Old Madam Meng notify the old duke to secretly dispatch people for a thorough search of the entire residence, ensuring careful investigation and immediate reporting of any suspicious findings.

She was somewhat worried about that missing Miss Ji.

Somehow, she felt that missing Miss Ji was very likely to suddenly appear at the Meng residence, very likely bringing great trouble.

Though she couldn’t yet understand what this trouble might be—even if Miss Ji appeared at the Meng residence accusing them of murder, it would be useless. Last night, the old king had personally led the little prince to congratulate the Meng residence to show gratitude to Duke Meng. After drinking warming wine and becoming somewhat intoxicated, they had stayed overnight at the Meng residence before leaving. The entire Meng household had carefully attended them. With the Meng Kingdom’s Great King personally providing an alibi, and the Ji family having already lost power, even if Miss Ji made accusations, they would be useless.

But she still felt uneasy.

The front courtyard suddenly erupted with firecrackers, elegant music, mixed with extensive congratulations—the newlyweds had entered. The Meng family’s womenfolk came together, respectfully inviting Jing Hengbo to the garden banquet. Jing Hengbo suppressed her uneasiness and smiled as she stood.

…

The bridal sedan was carried through the gates with music and fanfare. Many citizens watched the excitement, while Meng residence servants smilingly distributed red envelopes and candy packets to surrounding citizens and neighbors. Even beggars received one each, especially when the kind old steward saw a tall fellow whose clothes were nearly torn to rags—he gave him an extra portion.

The tall man wore a purple robe of neither masculine nor feminine style. Looking closely, the purple robe was of fine material but had long since been torn beyond recognition, hanging in pieces and strips, revealing jade-white skin underneath—more beggar-like than beggars. After receiving the red envelope, he wasn’t satisfied and reached into the servant’s basket, rummaging until he found a bag of malt candy. Beaming, he said, “This is good,” and smoothly took another packet for the similarly ragged short fellow beside him.

The servant just laughed it off—today was the young master’s joyous occasion; no point arguing with such people.

The short fellow squinted, seeming to have poor eyesight, staring at the red envelope and candy in his hands for a long time before sighing and murmuring, “When will I be able to eat little Qi’s wedding candy?”

Thinking again, he smiled, “Better to let little Qi eat our wedding candy first—don’t you think so, old undying one?”

The tall fellow lowered his head, wolfing down candy, pretending not to hear.

The servant showed a thunderstruck expression, clutching his basket and silently walking away. From the corner of his eye, he watched the two men, feeling these beggar lovers seemed mentally disturbed—hopefully they wouldn’t cause trouble later and disturb the young master’s wedding.

Fearing what might come, the beggar lovers finished their candy. Wiping his mouth, the tall fellow looked at the sky, sniffed the air, then suddenly stepped toward the residence. The short fellow followed step by step.

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing?” The steward hurried with servants to block them. “You can’t go in!”

“What’s to fear? Going in to see the bride won’t cost you flesh.” The short fellow strode forward boldly. “Just observing, observing. Hey, I say, old undying one,” the short fellow craned his neck to look at the interior arrangements, then suddenly turned back, sweetly taking the tall fellow’s hand, “if this family hosts a good wedding banquet with everyone gathered, why don’t we borrow a table and take care of our business too?”

The tall fellow instantly stopped dead.

Simultaneously, the steward shouted, “Close the gates! Release the dogs!” A crowd thundered forward to close the gates, several servants leading robust hunting dogs charging out from the courtyard.

“Oh, so scary!” The tall fellow immediately flung off the short fellow’s hand and ran.

“Don’t run!” The short fellow gave chase. “There’s serious business today, old undying one…”

“I’m afraid of dogs! I’m afraid of dogs!” The tall fellow fled with his head covered, disappearing into the crowd in a blink…

…

At this moment, the cloaked figure’s black shadows carried Ji Xiang’er, using night’s cover to leap over Meng City’s walls, deliberately taking a circuitous route past the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence before heading toward the Meng residence.

In the Deputy Prime Minister’s residence’s small building, Xu Pingran had been resting with closed eyes, ignoring the neighboring commotion of searching for murderers. Suddenly her nostrils flared, and she snapped open her eyes with blazing gaze, looking toward the night sky before rising abruptly.

At this moment, Meng Hu joyfully welcomed his bride through the gates, about to go to the connecting pavilion to toast. At a glance, he saw his master standing alone in the corridor, gazing toward the rear courtyard. Night wind came gently, stirring his robes. He stood beneath stars, moon, and glazed lanterns, yet seemed to emanate his own luminous radiance—transparent as jade, pure as water.

But such transparency and purity was too aloof and solitary. People around him, consciously or unconsciously, perhaps feeling ashamed of themselves, all kept their distance. This made that figure beneath the lone bamboo appear even more brilliantly lonely as cold moonlight.

Among the sea of distinguished guests, this one person stood alone.

Both Meng Hu and Tian Qi felt moved, unable to suppress a sigh.

Master and the Queen clearly loved each other deeply, yet always faced countless obstacles. When would they achieve their perfect union?

Meng Hu suddenly felt moved, looking toward the rear courtyard direction. “Tian Qi, help me with something tonight.”

“What?”

“The Queen and Master expended great effort to bring my wife and me together.” Meng Hu’s eyes flashed with passionate light. “To repay their kindness, tonight I also want to bring them together.”