Compared to Qing Tao’s casual dismissal, this decision was tantamount to losing half their lives for Qing Luo and Han Yan. If they were merely being transferred away from Song Chuyi’s side, they wouldn’t have minded so much—back in Yangquan, they had only submitted to staying by Song Chuyi’s side under the pressure of Zhou Weizhao’s authority and due to circumstances beyond their control.

But obsession was something that didn’t diminish with the passage of time. Though they had tried very hard, the resentment and jealousy in their hearts hadn’t lessened one bit—instead, they had grown day by day.

In their view, the Sixth Miss Song was simply too domineering. If nothing unexpected happened, His Highness would one day rule all under heaven. How could such a person have only one companion by his side? Though they were warrior-priests, they hadn’t been born to serve others. When the Celestial Master’s wife had originally given them to His Highness, the intention had been for them to serve His Highness… But the Sixth Miss Song had completely shattered their dream. They had originally thought that by following Song Chuyi, they could at least become secondary consorts, and there would be opportunities in the future. But from what the Sixth Miss and His Highness said, they had never thought this way at all.

This was simply absurd. In her heart, she felt the Sixth Miss Song was domineering and intolerant of others. At the same time, she found it both laughable and infuriating—laughable that the Sixth Miss Song would actually make such an unreasonable and illogical demand, and infuriating that the Sixth Miss Song couldn’t even tolerate the people by her own side. It was absolutely inevitable that Zhou Weizhao would have other women added to his side in the future. Since that was the case, why couldn’t it be them?!

Outside was a torrential downpour. They knelt in the covered corridor, not blinking an eye. Only when Old Kong came out of the room with a sigh did tears finally stream down their faces as they continuously kowtowed to him.

They had merely said a few words of complaint that night on Zhuque Street, and just for those words, His Highness was going to dismiss them and throw them back to Longhu Mountain.

But Old Kong’s usual good temper had completely changed. He sighed and frowned. “If you’d known it would come to this, why did you do it in the first place? His Highness has never gone back on his word. Since he told you to leave, how could you possibly stay? Pack up your things and go back.”

Qing Luo’s tears flowed even more urgently. She pressed her lips together, feeling extremely wronged. “Uncle Kong, we were only…”

Old Kong was in a hurry to go out and handle matters for Zhou Weizhao. He raised his hand to stop her from speaking. “It doesn’t matter whether you have those intentions or not. You only need to know that His Highness doesn’t have such intentions. That being the case, if you stay by the Sixth Miss’s side, wouldn’t you only be creating discord between His Highness and the Sixth Miss? If you truly care about His Highness and are loyal to him, you should understand his devotion to the Sixth Miss. Going back to Longhu Mountain is the same.”

How was it the same? Qing Luo and Han Yan exchanged glances, both turning pale with shock. They wanted to say more, but Old Kong had already strode away.

The two pursued him out, only managing to run into Han Feng and Qing Zhuo, who were entering while carrying a large pile of items.

Old Kong took advantage of this opportunity and had already exited through the moon gate. Qing Luo and Han Yan could only stop in the corridor, their embroidered shoes thoroughly soaked by the rain.

Han Feng frowned imperceptibly. Seeing that Qing Zhuo seemed about to speak, he pushed the items in his hands toward him. “You go in first.”

Qing Zhuo pressed his lips together and glanced at the two of them once more before finally going inside.

“Han Feng!” Qing Luo had always been familiar with him. She called out urgently, about to speak with great hope.

But Han Feng had already raised his hand. He brushed off the water droplets that had fallen on his clothes and stared at them with his usual flat, expressionless face. “If it’s about staying, there’s no need to say anything.”

Qing Luo and Han Yan immediately turned ashen.

“You’re both intelligent people. You should know His Highness’s feelings for the Sixth Miss Song. Since you know this, why persist? Returning to Longhu Mountain will have its benefits for you.” Han Feng had always been a man of few words, but today he said quite a bit in one breath. “The Celestial Master and his wife have already arrived at Tianjin Port. They’ll enter the capital tomorrow, and Feicui and Mingzhu are coming with them too.”

That one sentence shattered Qing Luo’s last shred of hope. Still somewhat unwilling, she was about to speak when Han Feng looked at her with piercing eyes. “Stop making a fuss. His Highness doesn’t have the same patience with you as he does with the Sixth Miss. Those words in Yangquan—you didn’t think His Highness was joking, did you?”

He was already showing signs of impatience, speaking more urgently and rapidly. “For the sake of our time as fellow disciples, Qing Zhuo and I are giving you this warning. Pack up your things and leave this evening. His Highness’s name talisman needs to be sent back to the mountain, and some lords from the Yulin Guards will be escorting it, so you’ll have an easier journey.”

After saying this, he didn’t care at all whether they had anything more to say. He simply strode away.

The courtyard was empty and desolate. A maple tree, already bare, stood there enduring the wind and rain, looking particularly bleak.

The rain pattered down for a while before stopping again. Han Yan wasn’t as decisive as Qing Luo and asked in a low voice, “What should we do?”

What should they do? Qing Luo felt somewhat lost, but still refused to give up hope.

Yet Zhou Weizhao was right now in the secret chamber inside, allowing them to cry and plead out here—his coldness and heartlessness were extreme. In his heart, it seemed that aside from the Sixth Miss Song, others weren’t even people.

They had given their whole hearts for him, yet his heart was stone.

Tears gradually welled up in Qing Luo’s eyes. She bit her teeth, her voice still choking. “Since His Highness wants us to leave, what else can we do?”

It was just that if it weren’t for the Sixth Miss Song—if the one engaged to His Highness weren’t the Sixth Miss Song but some Sixth Miss Chen or Sixth Miss Wang—His Highness might not have agreed to such laughable and unrealistic demands.

In the end, it was still that the Sixth Miss Song was too domineering and couldn’t tolerate others.

They had served loyally and devotedly by her side for so long, yet at this point, she wouldn’t even speak a single word on their behalf. She watched them being driven away with complete indifference. Zhou Weizhao listened to everything she said—as long as she said one word, they wouldn’t have to leave. But she hadn’t.

How utterly chilling.

Han Yan had already begun crying softly again. “Then I’ll go pack up our things…”

Qing Luo turned around expressionlessly and followed her to the rear courtyard. The belongings they had left at the Earl of Changning’s residence had already been brought over by someone Qing Zhuo had sent, as if they couldn’t wait to drive them away.

Their things were quickly packed. Han Yan sat in a daze for a while. “Are we just going to sit here and wait until evening?”

“What else can we do?” Qing Luo also had a bellyful of grievance and resentment. “Who told us that in their eyes, we’re nothing.” Probably even if they went to kowtow, Zhou Weizhao would find it superfluous.

They had known since childhood that they would serve him in the future and had been utterly loyal to him. But in his heart, they were merely dispensable. For the sake of making his future wife happy, dismissing them was just a matter of a single word.