At this point, Yun Ya sighed, “But now I can’t compare to your wealth, little rich lady.”

All of New Xia belonged to her. Those in this world wealthier than Feng Miaojun could be counted on one hand. At least he conceded defeat in this regard.

She grinned, “You’re getting a great deal.” She put the Fangcun Bottle back in his hand. “Keep it with you for now, it might be useful on the battlefield.” Yet she felt a wave of tenderness. The bottle’s value wasn’t important—that small courtyard meant far more to Yun Ya. Offering it as a token showed he held her at the very center of his heart.

He pinched her smooth cheeks twice before saying softly, “Our parents are no longer with us. We’ll need to find someone to preside over our wedding.”

Feng Miaojun thought for a moment. “I have my foster mother, but she’s pregnant and can’t reach Wusr anytime soon.”

“That’s fine.” Yun Ya said softly. “I also have a suitable candidate, but I don’t know his whereabouts.”

Feng Miaojun immediately understood. “Your master is still alive?”

“He won’t die, but I have no confidence in finding him.” He gave a low snort. “He’s more likely to find me first.”

Feng Miaojun smiled. “However, my foster mother cannot travel easily and wouldn’t withstand the journey’s hardships. She’ll come to New Xia after her child turns one year old, which is at least a year away.”

That single “however” nearly infuriated him. “A year?”

“More than a year,” she shrugged. “If we don’t need someone to officiate, I don’t mind bowing to heaven and earth right now.”

Yun Ya’s thin lips pressed tightly together, clearly displeased. But finally, he said, “Not being able to give the Queen a grand wedding ceremony already disappoints me. If we skip this step as well, we’d be worse than common villagers.” He stroked her hair at the temples and said softly, “Let’s wait a year, and then invite her to preside over our wedding.”

“Alright.” They skipped directly over the proposal and betrothal gifts since they were having a secret marriage that couldn’t be made public. She wouldn’t get to enjoy such festivities.

As far as Yun Ya was concerned, she was already his wife.

As the sun set and the moon rose, they had endless conversations and engaged in activities they both enjoyed. However, this night she firmly refused to strain that broken wooden bed again. Yun Ya, of course, wouldn’t give up, coming up with various unusual ideas.

They would part ways tomorrow, so he had to make the most of their time.

With the agreement settled, Xiao Yan and Yun Ya departed for their capital. The Wei King had snuck away for ten days during a major war—it would have been strange if the entire royal court hadn’t been in an uproar.

Feng Miaojun returned to the capital Wusr, only to learn that strange events had occurred during her brief absence of just a few days.

The Judicial Commissioner’s residence had been attacked.

Chen Dachang had been by Feng Miaojun’s side for ten years, with few political enemies. After she consolidated her royal power, even fewer people dared to provoke him. Who could have expected that someone would attack the Judicial Commissioner’s residence, terrifying its occupants?

Such an incident occurring under the Son of Heaven’s nose naturally displeased the monarch. When the State Preceptor came to report the case, Feng Miaojun learned that the assailant was no small figure—in fact, an old acquaintance of hers.

Rather than an acquaintance, it would be better described as an adversary—the female jiangshi who had made quite a name for herself in the final battle of Xi Kingdom.

This strange jiangshi had infiltrated Wusr city and found Chen Dachang’s residence. There weren’t many people in the Judicial Commissioner’s household, so she easily captured Chen Dachang’s great-aunt Chen Hongen, intending to transform her into a corpse puppet. Fortunately, State Preceptor Yu, who resided nearby, heard the commotion and rushed over to check. In the nick of time, she rescued the hostage and engaged in a fierce battle with the female jiangshi.

Chen Hongen was severely traumatized and had been unable to sleep for days. Upon hearing the news, Chen Dachang repeatedly bowed to Yu Haizhen in gratitude before rushing back home to comfort his family.

Feng Miaojun stroked her chin and asked, “Where is this female jiangshi now?” Yu Haizhen had come empty-handed, with no prisoner in sight.

These two had a grudge from the Xi Kingdom battlefield. Yu Haizhen had been ambushed and severely wounded by her, falling off a cliff and taking a long time to recover. From this perspective, she was also one of the culprits behind Xi Kingdom’s downfall, so Yu Haizhen would show her no mercy.

Yu Haizhen’s beautiful face was cold. “She escaped. She can move through earth.”

This kind of monster was favored by the earth and could travel underground, coming and going without a trace. The female jiangshi and Yu Haizhen had almost equal cultivation levels. If she truly wanted to escape, it would be difficult to detain her even on Yu Haizhen’s home turf.

“In your opinion, what was her intention?”

“Her target was Chen Dachang,” Yu Haizhen replied without hesitation. “But since Chen Dachang had gone with you to Tingyuan Town, she couldn’t find him, so she grabbed the old lady to question her. However, Chen Dachang has always been tight-lipped, and Chen Hongen didn’t know his whereabouts. The female jiangshi then planned to turn her into a corpse puppet, making it convenient to gather and transmit information in the future.”

“Chen Dachang never directly confronted her,” Feng Miaojun understood. “The person she wanted to find was me.”

She had taken Chen Dachang westward, using the random excuse of inspecting the border. The royal court officials were accustomed to her willfulness anyway. The female jiangshi’s mind wasn’t as dull as ordinary jiangshi, and she could certainly see through this half-hearted excuse. But no one could tell her Feng Miaojun’s whereabouts, so she naturally sought clues from the New Xia Queen’s most capable subordinate.

After encountering the female jiangshi on the Xi Kingdom battlefield, both Feng Miaojun and Yu Haizhen, with the mindset of knowing their enemy, searched for information about ancient jiangshi. They knew she could transform ordinary humans or cultivators into corpse puppets. People bitten by ordinary jiangshi, if left untreated, would develop stiff limbs, cooling body temperature, and sharp claws and fangs within hours or days, eventually turning into jiangshi. Ancient jiangshi, however, could suppress this transformation process. The unfortunate victims bitten by her not only maintained appearances indistinguishable from normal people but even retained normal human reactions. They were merely compelled to obey the ancient jiangshi, becoming puppets—hence the term “corpse puppets.”

Chen Dachang was the New Xia Queen’s most trusted minister. By transforming his relative, the female jiangshi would naturally find it easier to obtain intelligence.

Feng Miaojun said slowly, “Now that I’ve returned to Wusr, she certainly won’t leave.”

Beautiful killing intent filled Yu Haizhen’s eyes, clearly unsatisfied with the previous fight. “How do we plan to catch her?”

“I reside in the palace, making it difficult for her to see me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have approached Chen Dachang,” Feng Miaojun pondered. “Why not give her an opportunity directly?”

She casually summoned an attendant. “I wish to stay at White Horse Lake for a few days. Have people make preparations.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

White Horse Lake was scenically beautiful, with natural hot springs and artificial barriers, making it spring-like year-round—an excellent place for the wealthy and powerful to play in autumn and winter. However, if the Queen were to stay at the lakeside palace for relaxation and vacation, White Horse Lake would be closed, usually forbidding outsiders from entering.

This news would naturally be communicated to all the nobles in Wusr, to avoid disturbing the Queen’s tranquility.

The nobles would know, and so would their family members and servants. In other words, within a few days, at least over a hundred thousand people would know that the Queen was going to White Horse Lake.