Ning Yao casually picked out a relatively large space spirit stone, estimating how much space it could hold after being refined.

"Last time, when we used Zhilan as a test subject, a spirit stone the size of an egg was refined into a piece that only had an area of ​​five square meters, which was barely usable."

Ning Yao tossed the head-sized spirit stone in her hand and said to herself, "This spirit stone is too big. If it were fifty or sixty square meters, it would be perfect for Father."

After selecting the spirit stones, he picked out a jade bead from the spoils of war.

After doing all this, Ning Yao closed her eyes and silently recited the scriptures from the ancient book.

Soon, two things around her began to change.

The dust on the surface of the spirit stone peeled away, revealing its bright white luster.

As Ning Yao recited the words, the spirit stone slowly transformed into a shimmering white light that seeped into the jade bead.

At the same time, the secret realm rippled briefly, as if a gentle breeze had passed by.

He gently brushed over the spiritual spring, the spiritual lotus, the spiritual land, and Ning Yao's spoils piled up in the corner.

Linghe trembled slightly, as if she were feeling the comfort.

Finally, it gradually faded into silence.

After an unknown amount of time, the luster on the surface of the jade bead disappeared, and it became an ordinary jade bead again.

Ning Yao opened her eyes and rubbed her sore neck: "Tsk, this time it took too long, a full two hours! But the effect should be good."

She took the jade bead in her hand and then probed it with her consciousness.

It was a space of seventy square meters, which delighted Ning Yao; it was even better than she had expected.

"Take it to Father tomorrow and let him figure out what to put in it."

Refining a spirit stone didn't tire Ning Yao at all; on the contrary, she felt incredibly energetic, and she even felt that her skills had improved.

Let's go all out and refine a few more storage spaces, then hand them over to Father tomorrow.

"Father's is finished, now it's just Mother's, Eldest Sister's, and Second Brother's left. Second Brother is getting married soon, what will happen to his new sister-in-law?"

Ning Yao was somewhat resistant, as she didn't know much about this future sister-in-law who wasn't yet married into the family.

"Forget it, let's make a big one for Second Brother too. If he's willing to tell Sister-in-law, they can share one!"

"Mother and eldest sister will use the same size space, about 20 or 30 square meters is enough. Let Mother prepare some cooked food. As for eldest sister's place, let's see what Father decides to do!"

After calculating everything, Ning Yao picked out three spirit stones, one large and two small, and then each chose three kinds of ornaments.

The accessories are simple, understated, and not flashy.

Ning Yao spent the entire night in the secret realm.

As dawn approached, she finally finished making several storage space decorations.

After having breakfast, he led Zhilan out of the palace in a grand manner.

Empress Zhang no longer has time to care about her.

The number of refugees outside the city continued to increase, and the city was already in a state of siege.

Troops from all sides in the capital were mobilized to the city gates and outside the city, in case of a disaster-stricken people uprising.

Empress Zhang even missed the days when Emperor Shen Ce was alive.

If Shen Ce were here, why would she need to worry about these things?

For over a year, the palace had been scrimping and saving, and the various concubines were already struggling to make ends meet.

The thief who stole from the concubines' private treasury has never been found, and everyone is so angry they want to tear him apart alive.

And this "thief" was sitting upright in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion at that moment.

"Girl, are you serious?" Ning Wenyi's eyes widened, her face full of disbelief.

The next second, he changed to another expression, exactly the same as when he first entered the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm.

"Good girl, quickly teach your father how to use this thing."

Ning Wenyi rubbed his hands together, looking ready to make a big splash.

Ning Yao said, "Just cut your finger and let a drop of blood drip onto it."

Ning Wenyi bit his finger and eagerly did as instructed.

"Then hold your breath and focus on what you are going to put in or take out."

Ning Wenyi closed his eyes and silently recited a prayer. The next second, the teacup beside him disappeared and he appeared in an unfamiliar space.

He excitedly took the teacup out and brought it in, but after a while he stopped playing with the teacup, closed his eyes and sat there for a long time. Finally, he opened his eyes and asked Ning Yao, "Why can't I go in?"

Ning Yao was taken aback at first, then laughed: "Father, this is just a simple space for storing items. It's different from the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm. It can store inanimate objects, but it's impossible for living things to come in and out."

Ning Wenyi's face showed visible disappointment.

"Never mind, having this is not bad. What can I do? I'm just not destined to have the jade Buddha! Sigh, in the end, my daughter, you are the lucky one!"

Ning Yao remained silent.

She took out the remaining few ornaments and said, "I've prepared them for everyone in the family, and I've taught you how to do it. The rest is up to you, Father!"

Ning Wenyi took the jewelry and said, "Don't worry, my dear!"

"Also, you've given us all this, doesn't that mean the time is almost up?"

Ning Wenyi isn't stupid.

When Ning Yao took out this thing, he immediately understood his daughter's purpose.

Emperor Shen Ce has not returned yet, and his fate is unknown. The Zhang family has stirred up chaos in the court, and all the major aristocratic families have ulterior motives, which is an internal problem.

The drought has arrived, and not a drop of rain has fallen for three months. The fields are barren, and the disaster victims are displaced and have all gathered outside the capital, posing a threat from outside the city.

With such a pincer attack from both inside and outside, it's only a matter of time before the city falls.

Even the marriage alliance between Prince Duan and the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion had been privately agreed upon by Ning Wenyi and Shen Wei.

In this time of national crisis, they must set an example.

Therefore, Ning Jin and Shen Cile's wedding was kept simple.

The wedding banquet will be held in a smaller capacity, and all the officials who were originally invited have received this news.

The officials breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that they didn't have to attend the wedding banquet, as it saved them money!

The actions of Prince Duan's Mansion and the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion were widely praised by the officials.

They were openly and covertly condemning the Empress's birthday celebration held in the Empress's palace half a month ago.

When the nation is in peril, as the mother of the nation, it would be unacceptable for her to fail to set a good example and thus fail to shoulder such a great responsibility.

The Prince Duan's mansion truly lives up to its reputation as a legitimate member of the royal family; its grandeur far surpasses that of those women who marry into the family from outside!

When such words reached Empress Zhang's ears, they made her so angry that she vomited blood.

Empress Zhang's face contorted with rage: "No matter how bad I am, I am still the Empress, His Majesty's principal wife. What are you all to me!"

When Ning Yao heard the news, she was explaining things to Zhi Lan.

"Let her be, she doesn't have many more days to cause trouble anyway."

"After more than a year, I've had enough fun."

Zhilan is now a grown woman. Under Ning Yao's tutelage, she is no less than others in terms of appearance, temperament, or martial arts skills.

"Miss, when shall we make our move?"

It started snowing from the sky sometime during the day.

Ning Yao reached out and caught a snowflake, feeling its coolness.

"You will leave the palace tonight with your father and the others. I have other matters to attend to."