Gu Baiying let out a muffled grunt and didn’t get up for quite a while.

The room fell into complete silence.

Zanxing propped herself up from Gu Baiying’s chest, and as soon as she raised her head, she saw Princess Lizhu standing in front of them, staring dumbfounded at the two of them with an extremely complex expression.

Zanxing: “……” What an awful position.

The guards downstairs heard the commotion inside, and someone shouted: “Your Highness, what happened?”

“Nothing.” Princess Lizhu came to her senses and replied indifferently to those outside: “I accidentally knocked down some volumes. No need to come in.”

The guards outside finally quieted down.

Zanxing breathed a sigh of relief, then heard Gu Baiying beneath her say coldly: “Have you lain there long enough?”

Only then did she hurriedly climb off Gu Baiying. Gu Baiying straightened up, dusted off his clothes, and looked at her as if he wanted to devour her alive.

“How did you come to be here?” Princess Lizhu asked in a low voice.

“If I said we came in by accident, would Your Highness believe it?” Zanxing’s face was full of sincerity.

Princess Lizhu didn’t respond. Gu Baiying said with a stern face: “Let’s go out first before talking.”

After this, Gu Baiying cast an illusion spell, deceiving the two guards downstairs, and left Tianlu Pavilion together with Princess Lizhu and Zanxing. Princess Lizhu led the three of them to her side palace.

This side palace was very special. There were no gauze curtains visible everywhere, and the decorative colors in the hall were mostly vibrant crimson. The corners were piled with animal horns and long carpets embroidered with totems. Directly facing the high seat hung a leather carved painting, and on the walls hung an extremely beautiful horn bow, with a glossy horse whip properly placed beside it. Unlike Li’er Kingdom’s delicate refinement, this side palace was filled with rugged beauty everywhere.

“This is where I used to live. After my son ascended the throne, I no longer resided in the palace.” Princess Lizhu sat down on the high seat in the hall, instructing her maidservants to prepare tea and refreshments, while saying: “If it weren’t for the demon shark causing trouble again this time, I wouldn’t have returned.” She paused, then looked again at Zanxing and Gu Baiying, smiling slightly: “However, I truly didn’t expect that Immortal Gu and Fairy Yang would be dao companions.”

“Hey!” Gu Baiying’s expression changed dramatically, and he stood up abruptly, saying: “Don’t think you can speak nonsense just because you’re a princess. Who’s her dao companion?”

Zanxing: “…..” Gu Baiying’s reaction was a bit too extreme.

“Aren’t you?” Princess Lizhu looked at him in surprise, hesitating before speaking: “I thought you two deliberately avoided others to go to Tianlu Pavilion for romance.”

Seeing that Gu Baiying was about to lose his temper again, Zanxing smiled and took over the conversation: “Your Highness knows how to joke. Master Uncle Gu is my master uncle, practically half a master to me. A master for a day is a father for life—how could I be disrespectful to my master uncle?”

This was quite a bargain for Gu Baiying. He glanced at Zanxing and, this time, finally said nothing, sitting back down.

“Thank you, Your Highness, for not exposing us at Tianlu Pavilion just now,” Zanxing asked: “But why…?”

“You are cultivators,” Princess Lizhu shook her head. “In places of ordinary people, even royal palaces, you can come and go as if no one were there. Besides, even if I had exposed you, the ruler wouldn’t make things difficult for you. Ordinary royal families cannot afford to offend cultivation sects. Since there would be no result, why bother with unnecessary actions?”

“Your Highness is quite frank and straightforward.” Gu Baiying said.

Princess Lizhu smiled: “Tianlu Pavilion contains the records of all past rulers of Li’er Kingdom. Since you two weren’t there for romance, you must have come for the records. Feel free to tell me what you’re looking for—perhaps I can be of help.”

Since they were speaking so openly, there was no need to hide anything. Gu Baiying said, “We indeed wanted to ask Your Highness about someone.”

“Who?”

“Your Highness’s husband, Emperor Shengning.”

Princess Lizhu was stunned.

“Do you still remember him?” Zanxing said: “People say that Your Highness and the late ruler had deep marital affection. Since the affection was deep, you must understand him well. Could you tell us what kind of person the late ruler was?”

As if no one had asked this question for a very long time, the woman in red sat on the high seat, her gaze gradually becoming distant. She looked toward the window, as if seeing someone else through it. After a long while, Princess Lizhu finally said: “He was… a person with a very gentle temperament.”

The Linshi Kingdom was a small country.

Unlike Li’er Kingdom, Li’er Kingdom was located on an island nation in the Western Sea. Even though decades ago, Li’er Kingdom hadn’t become as prosperous as it was now due to the secret realm, it was still by the sea with abundant resources and many merchant ships coming and going. The Linshi Kingdom, however, was just a small country located on the eastern continent, with barren land and many mountains and forests. The people of the Linshi Kingdom had never seen the sea in their entire lives.

Later, during a year of great drought and disaster, the Linshi Kingdom was filled with starving people everywhere. Just when the country was in dire crisis, envoys from Li’er Kingdom came, proposing to marry the Linshi Kingdom princess and offering tens of thousands of jin of rice and grain as bride price, which could solve the Linshi Kingdom’s urgent crisis.

Although Princess Lizhu was unwilling in her heart to save the people of Linshi Kingdom, she traveled thousands of miles to marry into Li’er Kingdom for a political alliance.

“Before arriving at Li’er Kingdom, I was also anxious inside, not knowing what kind of person he was or why he wanted to form a marriage alliance with my Linshi Kingdom.” Princess Lizhu said: “I speculated he might be a pot-bellied lecher, or perhaps just an old man with white hair. However, after meeting him, I realized I had overthought.”

Li’er Kingdom’s Emperor Shengning was a handsome young man.

He wasn’t old at all, nor ugly, and his temperament was very gentle. When Princess Lizhu first arrived at Li’er Kingdom, afraid she wouldn’t be accustomed to it, he specifically arranged for all the palace meals to be prepared according to Princess Lizhu’s tastes. He was considerate and careful, graceful and refined. The people of Linshi Kingdom were mostly rough and forthright, having never seen such a gentle man as the wind. Princess Lizhu quickly fell into his tenderness.

They indeed spent a sweet period together, and she truly hoped from her heart that they could be together forever.

Zanxing asked: “But… the late ruler seemed to have a congenital illness.”

“That’s indeed true.” Princess Lizhu picked up the tea in front of her and took a sip before saying, “When I first married here, I heard the palace people mention it. However, they also said that since I married my husband, his health had improved greatly. Originally, I thought he could completely recover, but then the demon shark appeared…” She didn’t continue.

Gu Baiying asked: “What kind of person was he?”

“He was very gentle and considerate, very good to me. I never saw him lose his temper over anything. Although he didn’t look as strong as those warriors, when the demon shark tried to attack me that night, he also stood in front of me. He had never held a sword before, but facing the demon shark, he showed no retreat.” Princess Lizhu said wistfully, “He was a good ruler and a good husband.”