The dust has settled

The wind in Chang'an carried a chill, and Sui Zhixu stood under the corridor, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. Ruolan stood beside her, whispering.

"It's unusually cold this year, my wife, you should wear more clothes."

Sui Zhixu stretched out her arms and waved her sleeves, "No, I'm going to be wrapped up like a ball by you. You can stay by An Niang's side and push everything onto me."

"My lady..." Ruolan began, but then didn't know what else to say, so she could only say, "Take care."

Xu smiled knowingly; she couldn't be with An Niang, lest it hurt her.

"Stay close to her, I'm leaving now."

As soon as Xu left, Sima An came out of the house a moment later, looking around.

"Where's my sister? Didn't you say you'd wait for me?"

"When the people outside the palace urged her again, the eldest princess took her leave first."

Sima An lowered his head, and his elaborate headdress fell from his ears, the hairpins and earrings colliding and making a crisp sound.

"How annoying."

Seeing that her lips were practically dripping with oil, Ruolan said softly, "Why don't we hurry? Maybe we can catch up with them. What does the princess think?"

"Um!"

Inside the carriage, Sui Zhixu leaned against Xi Yushao, resting his chin on his hand and staring blankly at the bustling traffic outside the window.

Noticing that Xi Yushao was making a move, Xu Zhixu became alert and snapped back to reality.

What are you doing?

"Isn't it tiring to carry an umbrella?"

Sui Zhixu placed the umbrella beside him and said coldly, "Don't talk to me, and stay away from me."

Xi Yushao said in an unfriendly tone, "We're going to get married eventually."

"Marriage?" Sui Zhixu sneered. "You know how the marriage contract came about. Do you think I'll marry you just because I got my uncle's imperial decree? Impossible. Dream on."

"parking!"

She lifted the car curtain and got out, and Xi Yushao followed her out and grabbed her wrist.

"You are pregnant, you should be careful."

He's all lovey-dovey again, acting like he's the father of her child!

"If you say another word, I'll beat you up in the street."

"If my wife wants to become the talk of the town in Chang'an tomorrow?" Xi Yushao teased, "then everyone will know that I was beaten up in the street by the Princess or my betrothed. Everyone will think I'm weak, helpless, and easy to bully."

"I never expected that you had such a terrible reputation among the former subordinates of the Yu Dynasty. My wife is truly straightforward and honest."

Sui Zhixu withdrew her hand, not because she cared about her reputation, but because she was afraid that Xi Yushao, that madman, would suffer the consequences of being beaten by her and then enjoy it alone. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a chill.

"You know better than anyone whose reputation is tarnished, don't you? Ah Yan's evidence is now completely blank, do you think you can escape this and go unpunished forever?"

“My lady, you must provide evidence for your words and actions. I do not have the ability to erase writing. Perhaps it was because you used inappropriate paper or ink. Today is the Lantern Festival, and you insist on discussing such frivolous matters with me. I am quite saddened.”

Xi Yushao's eyes were smiling, and the beauty mark under his eye added a touch of indescribable charm. When his eyes curved, the beauty mark swayed with the movement of his eyes, making it extremely deceptive.

Only upon close inspection can one notice that there is no smile in his eyes.

The hot pearl by Xu's ear caught her attention as it landed on her neck.

"We're not here to visit a lantern festival, so why are you talking nonsense?" Sui Zhixu hugged his umbrella tightly and walked forward.

Xi Yushao raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and followed.

As dusk settles, Chang'an City is ablaze with lights, ablaze with the sounds of fine carriages and the constant hawking of vendors on the streets.

Sui Zhixu wore a light green brocade dress, the hem adorned with delicate silver patterns. Her black hair was simply tied up, with only a jade hairpin inserted diagonally.

Her expression was calm, her gaze sweeping lightly across the bustling street, silently exchanging glances with people in the distance.

Xi Yushao walked up to the vendor, picked up the lotus lantern, and showed it to Sui Zhixu, "Does my wife like this?"

"Not bad." Sui Zhixu took the lantern and examined it carefully. The lotus petals were layered upon each other. "It is indeed exquisite."

I wonder what Zirong is doing?

Xu Weiwei was lost in thought when the vendor's voice brought her back to reality.

"Since you like it, why not buy one for your wife?"

"No need, I'll pay for it myself." Sui Zhixu placed a piece of silver in the stall owner's palm.

"No need to look anymore, go back early to celebrate the festival with your wife and children."

"Thank you, my lady, thank you, my lady."

Xu nodded, turned around with the lantern, and completely ignored Xi Yushao.

Xi Yushao awkwardly put the money back into his purse, his mind filled with the incessant chatter of the system.

[So useless, what exactly do you lack compared to Fan Lingzhang?]

【Shut up! 】

Xi Yushao's eyes were filled with darkness as he stepped forward and took Sui Zhixu's hand.

What are you doing?

As the lantern in Xu Zhixu's hand swayed, her light green sleeves piled up on it, distorting its shape. The umbrella in her hand almost opened, and the surrounding crowd was filled with people. The umbrella contained countless silver needles that could easily take their lives if she wasn't careful.

She angrily flung Xi Yushao's hand away.

"Stop acting crazy outside."

"Who do you think of when you see the lanterns? You think of him, don't you? He's the one you miss so much, but what's so good about him? He's old and useless, how can he compare to me! Look at me!"

Xu Zhixu, not one to tolerate his madness, turned and threw the lantern at his face. Xi Yushao's already bloodshot eyes blended into the marks on his face.

"let go!"

Xi Yushao lowered his hands, but their fingers remained intertwined. Sui Zhixu held an umbrella under her arm and a lotus lantern in her hand. No matter how much she kicked him, Xi Yushao refused to let go.

She should have used her strength!

"Sui Zhixu! Calm down... Wait a little longer, in half an hour the moonlight will be at its fullest."

Sui Zhixu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

Xi Yushao looked at her with gentle eyes and smiled. Although he didn't know why Sui Zhixu's attitude had suddenly changed and she hadn't kicked him hard this time, it was still a good thing. His gaze swept over the people on the street who seemed to be watching the lanterns, their eyes met briefly, and he left with Sui Zhixu.

Of course, he wouldn't let Sui Zhixu escape.

The one in the palace turned a blind eye and pretended to be deaf and dumb. Perhaps out of consideration for family ties, he would never know that his niece had a special past life, a past life known only to them.

They are the only special ones in the world.

How could he let those restless insects from Chang'an bother her? The Chu family members were just like insects, noisy and annoying, never staying still.

For the sake of his future with his wife, he had no choice but to eliminate them all.

The most important person should be Fan Lingzhang, while Xi Yushao's gaze was fixed on the lotus lantern in Sui Zhixu's other hand.

It's disgusting that they're bothering a family of three even though they're not in Chang'an.

"Why don't you rest for a while? You're pregnant now, are you feeling unwell?"

"fine."

Knowing that Xu was indifferent, I silently told myself to wait a little longer.

He was the person she hated most in her life. Not only did he harass her repeatedly, but he was also incredibly lucky.

Upon thinking of this, Sui Zhixu couldn't help but laugh, his laughter chilling, and he disdainfully looked away from his hand.

“I have an estate outside the city. In the summer, we can go see the lotus flowers together without having to go to Luoyang.”

"He has quite a bit of private property."

"It's not as good as the Sui family's, but it's just enough. Being close by is also an advantage. If you like it, I can buy a few more places to please you."

"No need."

Xi Yushao smiled faintly, "It's alright, we can talk about it another day when my wife is in the mood."

Seeing some riddles in the distance, he asked, "Wife, would you like to go?"

"I'm not going."

"Then you can go see stilt walkers."

Sui Zhixu: "..."

"Whatever you want."

Having estimated the time, Sui Zhixu gave a look to the person in the shadows, who nodded.

Since the Chu family members were ultimately in Chang'an, she couldn't directly use them. She might as well use the people who had contacted the Imperial Tutor.

"Get out of the way!" A terrified shout, piercingly loud, shattered the hustle and bustle from the street corner on the west side, and the shouts and fear instantly filled the air.

As the people in the shadows dispersed and Xu Zhouzhao became aware of her surroundings, she immediately took off the mermaid pearl from her ear and threw it at Xi Yushao's head.

The mermaid pearl floated on Xi Yushao's head, its radiance enveloping him and reflecting the moonlight above.

"The profound origin of heaven and earth, the root of all Qi!"

Xi Yushao: "What are you doing?"

Sui Zhixu ignored him and continued chanting the incantation.

[She's targeting me! Kill her! Kill her now!]

【impossible. 】

[You think you'll live if I'm dead? Foolish! Once my program is destroyed, everything will return to normal. Tomorrow, you, Xi Yushao, will be the undisputed murderer.]

[You're not some high-tech product of the future, so why can't you cope?]

Enough talk, if you won't come, I will!

Those who had been lying in ambush under Xi Yushao saw him in trouble and rushed forward, engaging in a fight with Sui Zhixu's men. Xi Yushao, with malicious intent, disguised his men as ordinary civilians and secretly stabbed them to death.

Xu glanced at it casually, then fixed his gaze on the mermaid pearl above. He continued chanting the incantation, and the mermaid pearl shattered instantly. Tiny glitter mixed with moonlight fell on Xi Yushao.

As soon as Xu took half a step back, the spell was complete!

The system attempted to forcibly take over Xi Yushao's body, but layers of array inscriptions fell on the small area beneath his feet, illuminating the pale blue array with dazzling light.

Su Zhixu was so startled that he closed his eyes for a moment, the distant sound faster than the scene before him.

It's a phantom of age.

She moved swiftly, suddenly opening the red umbrella, and countless silver needles were fired like a volley of arrows, splattering blood wherever they went.

After dealing with a group of people and retracting the mechanism, Xu suddenly threw out the red umbrella and started fighting with the people on the scene.

"Don't linger, let's go!"

The umbrella, as if guided by a master dagger, splattered blood wherever it touched.

The twin swords weren't her initial weapons; the umbrella was. As the red umbrella flew back into her hand, she exerted her strength again, slamming it heavily onto the ground. Instantly, centered on Sui Zhixu, the fluctuations of her internal energy affected those outside the arena, sending them flying far away.

Yue Ling, Yue Lian, and Yue Shu activated their illusionary formations, causing strange phenomena to occur. The people in the distance also saw this and stood not far from them, gazing into the sky.

"That's the Imperial Advisor?!"

"What happened?"

Sui Zhixu tore off his former mask and shouted, "I am Sui Zhixu, the head of the Sui family and a disciple of the Imperial Preceptor. Xi Yushao secretly practiced evil arts and sacrificed children from Chang'an. Moreover, he is Sima Xian's confidant. Last year's strange illness in Jingzhou was caused by them. They murdered innocent people for their own benefit! Such a scourge must be punished by the Imperial Preceptor and Yueshan!"

"Sacrifice! Doesn't everyone in the palace want immortality? All the emperors throughout history have done the same!"

"Impossible! He granted amnesty upon ascending the throne and reduced taxes. He did all the good things for us common people. How could it be as she said?"

"The facts are clear!"

Sima An pushed through the crowd and heard Sui Zhixu speak. He gripped Ruolan's hand tightly, incredulous: "What is Sister saying? She said Father..."

Ruolan reacted quickly, knocking Sima An unconscious and quietly leading her away from the crowd. Today's matter cannot afford to go wrong in the slightest. I'm sorry, Princess.

Xi Yushao's gaze fell on Sui Zhixu. "Kill her! We must kill her. As long as we kill her, no one can stop him!"

Xi Yushao: "No!"

"Damn it!" the system cursed Xi Yushao under its breath. It had originally been interested in Xi Yushao's unique body, a body from another parallel universe. How could someone in this world be able to do that? Such a body being contained by this world must be extraordinary.

As it desires, it can gain more power through the sacrifice of young, pure children, something it never had before.

Unexpectedly, his mental strength was able to suppress it.

The Lady of Destiny must be killed immediately so that it can gain power!

The people from Yueshan are surprisingly capable!

The system was manipulated by human agents to launch an attack, and the three men, who were only a few months old, broke out in a cold sweat.

Moon Age: "Add more power! It sacrificed young children, and its power is now far greater than before. We must not let it succeed!"

Yue Shu cut her fingertip and used her blood to consecrate the formation. Yue Lian then ordered countless Yue Shan disciples behind her to step forward.

Yue Lian: "I'm done for! All the millions of disciples of Yue Mountain can't defeat a single outsider! Yue Mountain disciples, listen to my command! If we pull off this, I'll take you down the mountain and let you live the high life!"

"yes!"

Yue Shu was busy with the formation and didn't have time to say anything to him, so he could only glare at him. Besides, he had no mind to scold his junior brother in this critical moment.

As Xu opened the umbrella, she realized that, in a sense, she was also the legendary Pear Blossom Rain Needle in the martial arts world.

But as the fight went on, Xu realized something was wrong; their fighting was completely disorganized.

"No! They are real civilians! Stop! Do not attack, only defend!"

As Xu Zhixu's gaze shifted to Xi Yushao, he realized how horrific the sacrifice of those young children was.

Fu Mingguang's men also sensed something was wrong. "Sisters and brothers, be careful of the people!"

Xu shouted, "Quick! All irrelevant people, evacuate immediately!"

The people were thrown into chaos as they fled for their lives, and many fell down in the process.

Sui Zhixu used his internal energy to support them, preventing them from actually falling.

"My wife, what do we do now?"

Xu swept through the crowd and said, "Let's huddle together first to avoid them attacking from behind."

"yes."

The soft moonlight spilled across the earth; the moon, though far away in the sky, was the key to this event.

On the Lantern Festival, the sun and moon shine brightly. The first full moon of the year is the birthday of the Ziwei Emperor, who governs the fortunes and misfortunes of all living beings. This is the time when he bestows blessings upon the mortal world, allowing one to avoid the strange phenomena brought about by the system.

Waves of controlled civilians attacked them. Although they could only defend themselves and drive the people away, the civilians were too numerous for them to handle.

"My lady, we can't just sit here and wait for them to come forward. We'd better tie them up."

"Bundle?" Sui Zhixu's gaze shifted and landed on the cloth stall not far away.

"Over there! Tie them up with a cloth."

Sui Zhixu gritted her teeth, used her inner strength to protect the child in her womb, and together with them, spread out the cloth to tie up the groups of people in twos and threes.

They did not rest; the sounds of armor and weapons echoed across the land.

"My lady, you must leave immediately!"

Sui Zhixu looked up at Yueling, who nodded slightly, "Let's go!"

Yuechi: "Nephew, don't worry! We can handle this with ease!"

Sui Zhixu opened the umbrella and said, "Let's go now!"

Xi Yushao regained his senses in a moment, his voice shrill, "Ah Ling!"

"Oh no, it's the Imperial Guard! Sima Xian has already subdued the Imperial Guard so quickly?"

"Enough with the chit-chat, let's go!"

Sui Zhixu saw someone she didn't want to see in the crowd: Gu Qingyi!

There was a kind of otherworldly coldness in the luster of his dark eyes.

The past is like a grape; the first bite is sweet, but afterwards the back of the tongue and cheeks feel dry and astringent, with an indescribable pain, like being pricked by needles, a continuous ache.

What was once an intimate bond, intertwined like winding grapevines, has now become a double-edged sword.

Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, Sui Zhixu turned the mechanism and stood up in the air.

At first, she didn't regain her memories and fight against them. After regaining her memories, she never showed any coldness towards Jiang Li. The real Xin Yi was dead, and she could be ruthless towards a mere shell of a person.

But Gu Qingyi is different.

"My lady, they outnumber us. We'll protect you and fight our way out."

Sui Zhixu nodded, "In critical moments, saving lives is the most important thing."

Xi Yushao and the system's tone kept intersecting, but Xu Zhixu ignored her completely. Whether she called her Aling or the Destiny Master, she pretended not to hear.

She ignored all the resentment and other feelings; all she wanted now was to leave Chang'an as soon as possible.

The silver needle pierced through the soldier's armor and into his neck. It happened to be the person in front of Gu Qingyi. The soldier fell down, revealing Gu Qingyi completely.

As Xu and the others used their lightness skills to leap across the roof beams, archers appeared one after another below.

With a turn of her head, she encountered someone she never expected.

"Wen Ke?"

"What are you standing there for? Open the umbrella, I'll take you away."

As Xu opened his umbrella to block the arrows below, he swung the umbrella to shoot out the remaining silver needles. The thousands of silver needles dodged the thick arrows and shot down at them, and a series of thuds were heard as they fell to the ground.

At the corner where the umbrella met the sky, Sui Zhixu watched as two projectiles pierced through the soldier's forehead, and the other shot into Gu Qingyi's right shoulder below him.

That spot was close to the heart. Su Zhixu panicked for a moment, but Wen Ke hugged him and left without looking back.

In terms of lightness skill, Wen Ke had perfected it and was even better than Sui Zhixu. With the help of others, he carried Sui Zhixu away.

Gu Qingyi didn't say a word, just watched quietly as she left. Her eyes seemed to hold many things she wanted to say, but she didn't utter a word.

She was even carrying a walnut pastry from a store that Sui Zhixu often ate.

The King of Wei rushed over with more troops, only to find Gu Qingyi lying on the ground after being hit by a needle.

"Qingyi! Gu Qingyi!" Prince Wei picked up Gu Qingyi and ran back. "Where is the clinic! Take me to the clinic quickly!"

Deputy General Lin hurriedly pointed out the way and ordered the men at the city gate to be on guard. He glanced at Xi Yushao, who was screaming in agony, and then quickly followed the figure of the Prince of Wei.

As he left the city gate, Sui Zhixu watched the phantoms of Yue Ling and the others gradually fade away. Before leaving, Yue Chi waved goodbye.

"On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the birthday of the Great Emperor Ziwei, the Heavenly Official bestows blessings upon you, granting you good fortune and eternal peace and health..."

Her vision blurred, and she vaguely heard half of what was being said before she fainted.

"Ah Ling?" Wen Ke hugged her even tighter and ran all the way to Shan Hai Academy, far ahead of the others, leaving Fu Mingguang's men behind.

"Who is that person?"

"Anyway, they're people my wife knows. I won't say any more. Let's hurry up and leave, or our people will be exposed and we won't be able to leave."

"yes!"