“Of course.” Yu Haizhen was a learned State Preceptor, how could he pass up such an interesting subject? “Is Your Majesty very interested in it? Feel free to take it.”

“That wouldn’t be proper. This is a priceless treasure—I’m afraid I couldn’t compensate for it if it were lost.”

Yu Haizhen smiled and said, “This is indeed a family heirloom, and despite our utmost care, it has been lost twice during times of war and chaos, both times stolen. But no matter who took it, this emblem would return to the family head by the next day. If you borrow it now, it will find its way back to me before noon tomorrow.”

It even had an automatic return-to-owner function. Feng Miaojun wasn’t particularly surprised. Considering the mark in her dantian that could forcibly share life, returning to find its master didn’t seem that impressive. But not all of Yu Haizhen’s ancestors had divine cultivation levels—some were ordinary people. Since the Celestial Gods had decreed that only Yang family descendants could control it, they couldn’t allow others the opportunity to misuse it.

Feng Miaojun said earnestly, “To be honest, I also have a mark that seems to share the same origin as the patterns on this emblem. I’ve searched for years without success, and can only hope that you might find useful clues.”

Yu Haizhen was startled: “You also have a Celestial God’s mark? Where is it? Please show it to me.”

“The lines and composition are too similar to your pendant, but I can’t say for certain if it’s related to the Celestial Gods.” Feng Miaojun smiled bitterly, “I can’t take it out, it’s in here.” She pointed to her lower abdomen.

Yu Haizhen’s expression turned strange: “That mark is… in your dantian?”

“Exactly.” Feng Miaojun said quietly, “Several years ago when I was still an ordinary person, I consumed a dragon pearl from an ao-dragon. Its dying soul told me it had planted a curse in my body. When my cultivation advanced enough to observe my internal state, I discovered the mark in my dantian. But later I sensed that its effect seemed completely unrelated to a curse.”

“Perhaps it truly isn’t related,” Yu Haizhen said with a wry smile. “If your mark shares the same origin as my emblem, then it’s not a curse at all, but a blessing.”

What? Feng Miaojun sat up straight, exclaiming, “What, a blessing?! How can this devilish effect possibly be a blessing?!” Binding her life with Yun Ya’s—what kind of damned blessing was that? Whoever wanted this fortune could take it; she certainly didn’t cherish it! “That ao-fish hated Yun… hated me to the bone, and couldn’t wait for me to die quickly. How could it possibly bless me?”

Had that ao-fish already lost its mind before dying?

“Without seeing it personally, I cannot judge,” Yu Haizhen was also curious. “Please draw it out so I can examine it carefully.”

“I…” Feng Miaojun’s face reddened. “I’m not skilled in painting. The lines are too curved and complex for me to draw.” When she returned to New Xia, she would need to study painting properly!

She had always been confident, with infinite grace in every gesture, even now when wearing a thin gauze robe soaking in the hot spring. Suddenly showing such an embarrassed expression, she truly looked like a flustered eighteen-year-old girl. Yu Haizhen found her more approachable this way.

Feng Miaojun asked from a different angle: “Can you decipher the meaning embedded in these patterns?” All talismans, incantations, and even array patterns represented principles of heaven, earth, or humanity—when drawn, they naturally carried power. The patterns on this pendant were the same, but those who could understand them were nowhere to be found.

At least, she had never seen them in the ancient texts at Yanhai Tower, not even in the Celestial Demon Secret Scrolls.

Yu Haizhen extended her delicate fingertip, tracing the patterns on the round pendant: “Too profound—one would need to exhaust all worldly principles to glimpse even a bit. Most importantly, there’s too little material available for research and contemplation. After all these years, we haven’t seen a third emblem pattern for comparison. Regrettably, I don’t believe anyone in the present world can decipher it…”

Feng Miaojun’s heart immediately sank. This emblem had been in the Yang family’s possession for over a thousand years. They were a rare family of cultivators, yet countless generations of effort had yielded no results. Now it was her turn—where should she even begin?

But at this moment, her dark eyebrows suddenly furrowed. Yu Haizhen hadn’t seen the one in her dantian, so it couldn’t be counted. That meant: “A third one? Are you saying the Yang family has seen two of these!”

This queen’s insight was truly remarkable. Yu Haizhen nodded appreciatively: “Exactly. A Yang ancestor who served in the Haoli Empire as a Privy Councillor once saw this kind of pattern on a document. You’re right—although the patterns weren’t identical, one could tell at a glance that they shared the same origin.”

Feng Miaojun asked intently: “What document?”

“The founding edict of Emperor Haoli.”

As soon as these words were spoken, even the continuous chirping of insects around them seemed to pause for a moment, only resuming their natural rhythm after several breaths.

The information was overwhelming. Feng Miaojun’s thoughts raced, generating countless associations in an instant.

Of course—the birth of the Haoli Empire seemed to be related to the legendary Celestial Gods as well.

“It was the founding edict that proclaimed ‘establishing eternal peace for all generations.’ From then on, Emperor Haoli established the first human kingdom, and common people would no longer be at the mercy of demons and human cultivators.” Yu Haizhen spoke slowly, “Emperor Haoli was the pioneer who established the mandate for the common people, and therefore received heaven’s blessing, allowing him to ascend directly to the upper realm after a hundred years. How does that sound? Familiar?”

Feng Miaojun’s eyes flickered: “So the blessing that the Celestial Gods bestowed upon Emperor Haoli was dispensed in this form?”

“It was precisely because of this unique point of reference in the world that the Yang family finally confirmed that this blessing was fixed on the emblem in the form of a contract, allowing it to be repeatedly effective. You know, inherited items always come with many exaggerated legends. Many people have doubted whether it was truly bestowed by the Celestial Gods, or whether our family ancestor obtained it from some ancient deity or powerful being, which evolved into the current legend over generations. However, after learning this history, the Yang descendants finally believed that our ancestors might not have been exaggerating.”

Anyone who could stamp this emblem on Emperor Haoli’s founding edict must have been, if not a Celestial God, then something very close to one.

Yu Haizhen laughed softly: “Worthy of being New Xia’s legendary queen—it seems that after Emperor Haoli, there is another favorite of heaven.”

But Feng Miaojun’s face showed not a trace of joy. The more profound the background of whoever had secretly marked her and Yun Ya, the smaller her chances of removing this bond.

Would she have to spend the rest of her life bound to that guy, sharing life and death? She sighed: “It’s still far from certain. Perhaps it has nothing to do with your emblem at all. Perhaps someone is plotting against me, just borrowing this kind of symbol. Day and night, all I think about is how to remove it.”

Plotting? Yu Haizhen didn’t hide her curiosity: “Is the mark’s effect that terrible?”

Feng Miaojun covered her face and nodded, letting the hot water slide down her cheeks.