She had long known that her actions in Lanxiu Garden wouldn’t escape Fu Lingchuan’s watchful eyes. If not for this, why would she have helped change Yun’s medicine?
With Yun present, she could exert more pressure on Fu Lingchuan.
Her red lips were delicate yet full, glistening with enticing luster moistened by the wine. Fu Lingchuan stared for a moment before saying in a low voice: “Unless he stops being Wei’s State Preceptor, the gulf between you two will be difficult to bridge; and if he truly gives up his position, how could a powerless commoner be worthy of the Queen of New Xia!”
Feng Miaojun gently drank the last sip of rose wine in her cup, then let out a soft sigh: “We’ll see.”
That night, she had no heart for cultivation and leaned against the soft couch, gazing at the moon outside the window.
White Board transformed into a small white weasel, obediently nestling under her hand to let her stroke it for stress relief. Seeing the moon gradually rising in the east, it couldn’t help but ask: “Mistress, the moonlight is so beautiful. Won’t you get some sleep tonight?” It had heard the master emphasize this more than once, surely with intention.
Feng Miaojun made a noncommittal sound, looking toward the soft bed. After a long while, she said: “I won’t sleep. I need to check some information.”
Being a queen wasn’t all hardship. If nothing else, the cost of materials she used daily for cultivation was now more than ten times what she had when following Yun. Only now did she understand why the Yan King, though obsessed with cultivation, didn’t toss the throne to Zhao Yun and become a retired sovereign; only now did she understand why Yun, despite his free-spirited nature, insisted on becoming a kingdom’s State Preceptor.
With power in hand, cultivation became so much easier. In today’s world of diminishing spiritual energy, the most precious resources were monopolized by nations. No matter how powerful a cultivator was, to advance further, they had to be bound to a nation’s chariot.
Even the Yan King, even herself.
The more deeply she understood this point, the more Feng Miaojun appreciated New Xia. After all, the entire nation was supporting her cultivation, and she must give back in return—this was the endless cycle of cause and effect.
Whatever she wanted, New Xia would do its utmost to find for her. For instance, the Tianmo Secret Scroll that Fu Lingchuan had brought her this time contained unprecedentedly detailed records about curses, more systematic and authoritative than the fragmentary knowledge she had seen in Yanhai Tower.
It recorded that course craft originated in the era when the Divine City had just appeared and was later developed to its full potential in the hands of foreign races. After the world’s rebirth, Emperor Haoli was irritated by its viciousness and searched out and destroyed these practices. Thus, few curses remain in the world today, and they were even less visible in orthodox sect lineages.
The forms and effects of curses could be bizarre and incredible, but at their core, there were three essential points. A curse could only be successfully cast if all three were satisfied.
First was the self-explanatory content;
Second was the price—the caster must bear and pay for the curse. Cursecraft was an art that harmed the enemy at great cost to oneself. If you wanted to kill or harm others, you couldn’t escape unscathed. Either the sacrificial materials must be extremely precious, or the caster had to pay with their limbs, lifespan, or even their children.
For example, the turtle from the Abyss had to use all of its soul power as the stake to successfully cast the curse. Because it burned all its soul power, it vanished into thin air, without even the chance to be reborn in the six realms.
Third was the method to break the curse, also known as the “back door.” This was ordained by the heavenly way—curses were not dead ends. No matter how cruel and vicious, a glimmer of hope must be left for the victim, otherwise, the curse couldn’t take effect. However, later generations were too clever, often hiding this last point through various means, keeping it from the victims, thus depriving them of the direction to break the curse.
Feng Miaojun had studied the curse on her body for many years and had indirectly probed Yun countless times. After seeing this theory about curses, her first thought was that the method to break the curse had been hidden by the turtle.
But the Golden Branch and Jade Dew she had gone to great lengths to obtain from the Yan King had not been effective. This gave rise to a strange thought in her mind:
Was what the turtle had cast on her and Yun truly a curse?
If not, with Yun’s vast knowledge, why couldn’t he still distinguish it?
Not long after New Xia’s national celebration, two pieces of news spread throughout the world with unusual speed:
First, Wei sought an alliance and was willing to compensate with fifty million taels, while also promising to send troops to help New Xia repel invaders from the southwest.
Second, the ruler of New Xia was furious, expelled the Wei envoy from the country, and quickly closed the commercial routes and trading posts on the border between Wei and New Xia. At the same time, New Xia citizens were strictly forbidden from trading with Wei, and smugglers would be immediately imprisoned upon capture.
The nineteenth prince of Yan, Zhao Yun, who was a guest in New Xia at the time, was very satisfied. He firmly requested to see the Queen under the pretext of bidding farewell.
Feng Miaojun received him with formal protocol, accompanied by more than twenty officials throughout. She sat high above, making it difficult for Zhao Yun to get close to her fragrance. Even if he were obtuse, he could now see Feng Miaojun’s coldness and distance toward him.
Such a beauty—let alone a commoner, even if she were a daughter of a wealthy family, he would have ways to obtain her. But she was a sovereign, and no tricks would work on her; he could only pursue her properly. Seeing her attitude now, he understood that this path was circuitous and difficult, and the task of winning the Queen’s heart could not be accomplished.
However, he still had urgent matters, and since the top priority of preventing the Wei-Xia alliance had been accomplished, he exchanged pleasantries with Feng Miaojun and then took his leave.
After the Yan prince left, both Feng Miaojun and Fu Lingchuan felt relieved.
When the news spread to the public, the citizens felt vindicated, and discussions were heated in the streets and alleys. By the time rumors reached their final form, they had transformed into tales of the Wei envoy desperately begging with thick skin, offering tens of millions of taels with both hands, but the Queen discarded it like worn-out shoes, standing firm without disappointing the people. A few regretted missing out on the huge compensation—after all, it was fifty million taels of silver.
However, once such opinions were voiced, they were immediately condemned by other New Xia citizens, who cursed them as “traitors to the country.”
What concept was fifty million? Most people couldn’t see five thousand taels in their lifetime. To them, fifty thousand, five hundred thousand, or fifty million made little difference—it was all beyond imagination. Besides, the money wouldn’t go directly to them anyway.
At this time, a third piece of news arrived: the situation at the southwestern border was deadlocked and continuously deteriorating.
Simultaneously, local officials began visiting households, checking population and family assets door to door. When curious villagers asked, the officials only said it was in preparation for corvée and tax reforms. If asked further, they kept their mouths tightly shut.
This was a matter of life and property. Many concerned individuals used their connections to inquire, but the news they received was quite ominous:
To cope with the war, New Xia was about to promulgate new decrees. On one hand, they would conscript labor services, sending a large number of able-bodied men to join the army; on the other hand, they would increase taxes from the original rate of one-thirtieth to one-fifth, raising the tax rate by a full five times!