The man turned to look at Yu Wensang but did not answer, simply waving his sleeve decisively to signal everyone to withdraw. The woman who had been buying tea earlier had her veil lifted by the wind, and when Yu Wensang saw the face beneath that corner of the veil, she couldn’t help but gape in shock.

“Your Highness, news has come from the palace that His Majesty has passed away. The imperial edict has been issued transferring the throne to you…” Another minister-like figure entered carrying a scroll, leaving Yu Wensang stunned.

“Come with me quickly.” Zi Feng entered at this inappropriate moment, grabbed Yu Wensang’s arm, and hastily led her away from the chaos.

“Thank you both for intervening earlier. This consort expresses her gratitude.” The woman bowed to the two of them, referring to herself as a consort. Yu Wensang saw that beneath the corner of the veil, blown by the wind, was a face identical to her own.

“Detain that woman.” The man who had earlier been called Your Highness and was now the human emperor suddenly commanded, pointing toward Yu Wensang and Zi Feng who were heading for the exit.

“Hmph, a mere mortal dares to have such presumptuous thoughts.” Zi Feng snorted coldly, pulling Yu Wensang onto the horse behind him. With a kick to the horse’s belly, they galloped away. In moments, they had already taken flight above the mortal streets, leaving all the people standing on the streets below gaping up in amazement before kneeling in worship.

Returning to the outside Dajing Royal Palace, before the horse had fully stopped, Zi Feng turned to embrace Yu Wensang, lightly borrowing her momentum to leap over the wall and land within the palace. With a wave of his sleeve, the white divine horse disappeared, leaving only Zi Feng standing nearby.

“Alright, I must leave now. You’re not allowed to mention today’s events to anyone, or else our affairs in the human world will surely bring great disaster.” Zi Feng looked at the still-dazed Yu Wensang and spoke.

Yu Wensang came back to her senses, “It’s not like I asked you to.” As she finished speaking and was about to turn back to her room, she caught a glimpse of a light azure fragrance pouch at Zi Feng’s waist. Her heart suddenly flared with anger, and without thinking deeply, she grabbed it, “You thief! You stole my fragrance pouch!”

Zi Feng hadn’t expected Yu Wensang to suddenly reach out. With the fragrance pouch snatched away, he turned his head to argue but then hesitated, instead showing a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, “You want to take it?”

…

…

“Of course, it’s mine!” Yu Wensang held up the fragrance pouch in her hand with righteous indignation.

Zi Feng wasn’t angry or annoyed. He put his hands behind his back and carefully examined Yu Wensang, then nodded with apparent satisfaction, raising his eyebrows with a smile, “You’re not yet betrothed to anyone, are you?”

“Nonsense!” Yu Wensang rolled her eyes at him and turned to leave.

The smile on Zi Feng’s face grew even brighter. Looking at Yu Wensang’s departing figure, he said, “Since you’ve taken it, you must take good care of it. Don’t think about returning it either. Haha…” Zi Feng laughed as he leaped out of the courtyard wall. Yu Wensang just thought he was looking for trouble and waved her hand dismissively as she ran back to her room.

Ten peaceful days passed, and it was Yu Wensang’s hundredth birthday. The palace was bustling with celebratory banquets, inviting several immortal lords from houses close to the Fengjian royal family. Though they deliberately kept it low-key, it was still filled with joy. By the time the sun began to set in the west, Queen Yuwen personally brought a bowl of longevity noodles and watched Yu Wensang eat them.

Queen Yuwen was a very special woman. Unlike other queen consorts in immortal palaces who demanded Yu Wensang learn many things and confined her to high towers, she said they should follow Yu Wensang’s interests and let Yu Wensang be happy. She said she hoped Yu Wensang’s entire life would be joyful and blissful. From childhood, Yu Wensang felt that heaven favored her by giving her such a wonderful Queen Mother. Perhaps because of this, Father King had always been so good to Queen Mother. All the servants in the household envied them, saying Father King and Queen Mother were a divine, immortal couple. Yu Wensang thought so too. Whenever she saw Father King’s gentle smile toward Queen Mother, Yu Wensang was certain that in the future, she would find a man as gentle as Father King to accompany her for life, holding hands and growing old together. Even when Yu Wensang was no longer young, he would still hold her hand and still think she was beautiful.

“Linlang! What are you thinking about?” The Third Prince’s sudden appearance interrupted Yu Wensang’s reverie.

Yu Wensang turned her head to give him a brilliant smile, “Third Brother, didn’t you say you’d give me a gift? But the sun is already setting in the west, yet I still don’t see you bringing it. Could it be you were deceiving me?”

The Third Prince tapped Yu Wensang’s nose, “I knew you’d be thinking about it. Haven’t I come now?”

“Where? Where is it?” Yu Wensang looked all around the Third Prince but didn’t see him carrying any gift box.

The Third Prince stood up and pulled Yu Wensang toward the door, saying as they walked, “It’s in the stable in the back courtyard.”

“The stable?” Just as Yu Wensang was still confused, the Third Prince had already pulled her to the stable, where she saw a completely black horse standing in the stable drinking water.

The Third Prince pointed at the horse and smiled at Yu Wensang, “This one was brought back from the heavenly realm—it’s a rare thousand-li fine steed that’s hard to find.”

Yu Wensang stared with her mouth open for a long time before daring to confirm it was really for her. She jumped and ran over to touch the horse’s body, then excitedly ran to the Third Prince’s side and hugged his arm. Seeing Yu Wensang’s delighted expression, the Third Prince also smiled, patting Yu Wensang’s arm that held onto him, “It doesn’t have a name yet. You can choose one yourself.”

“Hmm…” Yu Wensang pursed her lips thoughtfully, then said, “Father King once had a horse called Ruofeng. I’ll call mine Zhuifeng—faster than Ruofeng!”

“Good, as long as you like it.” The Third Prince led Yu Wensang out of the stable. Yu Wensang’s eyes rolled as she said, “Since you’ve given me a horse, Brother, could you take me out for a ride?”

The Third Prince knew Yu Wensang was under house arrest and hadn’t been out for a long time, so she wanted to use him as a way out. While he was hesitating, Yu Wensang quickly pulled on him and acted coquettishly, “Third Prince Brother, my good brother, today is my birthday—please indulge me.”

The Third Prince looked down at Yu Wensang. Though he knew she was deliberately acting cute, he didn’t refuse her. Even though the sun was already setting in the west, he smiled and nodded. Yu Wensang immediately reached out to untie the horse’s reins and led Zhuifeng toward the door.

The Third Prince smiled slightly and followed Yu Wensang out. At the main gate, he helped Yu Wensang mount the horse and then climbed up behind her.

“Brother, during your trip to the mortal realm, did you encounter any special people or events?” Yu Wensang sat on horseback as the horse slowly walked through the streets.

The Third Prince thought for a moment, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, “I suppose there was something.”

Yu Wensang couldn’t help but become curious, turning her head to ask, “Who was it?”

The Third Prince said, “It was a young lady. Initially, we were traveling on the main road in the Five Elements Realm when we discovered a woman in red clothing galloping urgently toward our cavalry. I thought she was a demon realm bandit from that area, so I fought with her.”