Upon hearing this voice, Consort Li froze, her face turning deathly pale.

She turned her head stiffly, her eyes widening instantly, her face contorted with terror as if she had seen a ghost.

Everyone who heard this deep, resonant voice was startled and looked towards the outside of the main hall.

The heavy palace doors slowly opened, and an old man with a refined and scholarly air, dressed in an ink-wash robe, with white hair and a white beard, slowly walked in.

He seemed to be enveloped in a light, ethereal mist, making it impossible to see his face even when looking directly at him.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Emperor Chongjin rose slowly in astonishment and personally descended the steps to greet him. "National Preceptor Yeji, you... have returned from your travels?"

As night slowly fell, Qingfeng Ci'an nodded to Emperor Chongjin, "Your Majesty, it has been several years since we last met. You now possess the majesty of an emperor and the appearance of a wise and virtuous ruler. This is a great fortune for the Xiheng Kingdom."

Emperor Chongjin was still stunned and hadn't said anything when Xiao Chanian, who was hiding behind a stone pillar in the side hall, saw the white-bearded old man and immediately ran over with bright eyes, happily throwing herself into his arms.

"Master with the long beard~ Didn't you say you'd be coming to find Niannian soon? Why are you taking so long? Did Daddy get into another fight with Uncle Bird next door, and you went to break it up again?"

Ye Ji laughed heartily, picked up the little baby, and playfully pinched her nose. "Little Niannian, you've finally decided to call this old man 'Master'?"

Little Chinian then realized she had called him by the wrong name, and immediately pouted her little mouth, changing her soft, sweet voice to, "Uncle Beard~"

"You little rascal..." You're not cute at all.

Ye Ji smiled, shook his head, and sighed, but he still couldn't bear to put the baby down, and held his little apprentice affectionately.

This scene astonished everyone who witnessed it.

Princess Fuying is actually the little disciple that the Grand Preceptor of the Night Extremity Kingdom wanted to take in but hadn't yet!

Ye Ji's one sentence turned their argument of more than half a month into a joke.

Ye Ji also looked at the pale-faced Consort Li, stroking his long white beard. "I heard that Consort Li has... Oh? A letter from me? Consort Li, would you like to show it to me?"

He then gave a faint but authoritative demand.

Consort Li stood frozen in place, unable to move. The letter she had been holding, which she had used to intimidate others, had long since fallen to the ground.

Upon seeing this, Dejiang immediately ran over, picked it up, and presented it to Yeji.

Ye Ji took a look, and with a casual wave of his hand, the handwriting on the paper instantly turned into a cloud of black mist.

"This humble Taoist priest has never written this letter; it is a fabrication. Your Highness, do you know people from the Demon Realm?"

In a single sentence, all of Consort Li's efforts over the years were rendered futile.

She collapsed to the ground, horrified by the "wicked concubine" gazes cast upon her by all the officials. She shook her head in terror, scrambling to Emperor Chongjin's legs and weeping.

"Your Majesty, please be wise! Your Majesty, please be wise! I was deceived and used! Your Majesty, please forgive this foolish concubine this time, for the sake of the two healthy and adorable princesses I have given you!"

"Your Majesty! I am only doing this for the good of my princesses! I am only concerned about this matter because I am afraid they will be harmed!"

“Your Majesty, both the Fourth Princess and the Sixth Princess are capable of bringing good fortune to the Xiheng Kingdom! This is something that several imperial advisors have all said! You cannot punish me, for I am also a person who has rendered meritorious service by giving birth to two blessed princesses for you…”

Consort Li cried pitifully and innocently.