Inside a beautiful and romantic pink and purple gradient gauze curtain, behind a wooden screen adorned with vibrant peach blossoms, a portrait of a beautiful woman, fresh from a bath, is illuminated by the dim candlelight.
The bathtub was still steaming, and fragrant red petals floated on the surface of the clear water.
Amidst the swirling steam, a beautiful woman stood by the bathtub, her jade-like feet resting on a soft, thick mat. She exuded a faint floral and bath bean fragrance, her waist slender, her limbs long and graceful, revealing her elegant neck and beautiful collarbones. She possessed an ethereal and otherworldly aura, like a fairy.
Perhaps due to the temperature of the hot water, her smooth and delicate skin had a slight pinkish hue, making her stand gracefully like a delicate pink lotus emerging from the water.
Her fair body, completely naked, revealed a curvaceous and alluring figure, resembling a budding flower. Having been well-nourished in the palace these past few days, she had even gained some weight, no longer as thin as she had been in the palace, making her even more captivating.
Her skin was like solidified cream, snow-white with a hint of pink, so tender it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it. Her slender fingers were playing with her long, cascading hair, which partially obscured her petite, lovely, and fair body.
At this moment, the pure white veil was removed, revealing a flushed face, fine beads of sweat on her forehead, and beneath her thick, curved eyebrows, a pair of long, delicate eyelashes like those of a rag doll, closely framing her captivating phoenix eyes. Below her small nose, her white teeth and red lips were so luscious that one could not bear to look away once they saw her.
"Miss is so beautiful!" The maid Yan'er nimbly took a soft cloth and helped wipe the water droplets off her body while whispering. Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun blushed.
Then, she picked up a soft, lotus-pink silk undergarment embroidered with colorful butterflies and flying flowers, and wrapped it tightly around her snow-white breasts. Finally, she put on a plain nightgown before slowly saying, "Miss, be careful not to catch a cold. Let's go inside."
As he spoke, he quickly helped her to the bedside and helped her into the warm and comfortable quilt that had already been laid out.
Next, Yan'er brought her a cup of warm water at just the right temperature and had her drink it before helping her tuck in the blankets and gently lowering the purple bed curtains to secure them.
Finally, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Miss, sleep peacefully!" Then he slowly got up, left, and gently closed the door behind him.
The swallows have gone, leaving only silence in the room. How could Yi Shangyun possibly sleep peacefully? Tonight is sure to be a sleepless night.
She lay quietly on the couch, her arms wrapped around her head from behind, her beautiful phoenix eyes wide open, staring straight up. Images of the old Taoist priest flashed before her eyes, especially his seemingly cautionary yet incomprehensible words:
Those born at the moment of the nine-planet alignment have been chosen by a special responsibility and mission.
"Her responsibilities and mission are forever sealed within this body. Any soul that enters this body must fulfill her responsibilities and mission in order to be freed."
"What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not, you cannot force. Cause and effect are a cycle, a covenant for a hundred lifetimes. Flowers bloom and wither, so accept what comes."
......
After pondering for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out. So she muttered to herself, "What kind of responsibility or mission is this? And what is it? Who is the wrong person I should have met? Is it really too late? Am I really going to be trapped in this unknown time and space forever and never be able to go back?"
After a moment of silence, she blinked slightly and suddenly said, "Wei Mingxuan, am I really going to lose you like this?!"
Meanwhile, in the Wanjiao Pavilion, a brothel district in the south of Xiqin City, a lively and bustling place filled with singing and dancing, beautiful women, and debauchery.
"Master, the item has arrived!" A guard dressed in black entered and reported to Tuoba Ze, carrying in his hands an unidentified object covered by a black cloth.
"Oh?! Quickly, let me see it!" At this moment, Tuoba Ze, who was standing by the window staring blankly at the opposite window, immediately turned around and exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this.
"Yes," the guard replied, gently placing the object in his hand on the table beside him, and then removing the black cloth covering it.
It was already very late at night, and the faint light from the candle on the table was far from enough for him to see what was in front of him. He couldn't help but frown. Seeing this, the guard immediately brought over a brighter candle.
What was being concealed was a transparent glass bottle, inside which seemed to be something alive. It was unclear whether the extremely faint sound was from the creature itself or from the creature hitting the glass bottle.
Under the bright candlelight, one could only vaguely see something resembling dust floating and dancing in the bottle, as if being fanned by something, but no color or outline could be seen.
Tuoba Ze's brows furrowed even more. He reached out and took the candle from the guard, holding it himself close to the glass bottle. The guard then brought more candles to illuminate the area around the glass bottle, allowing him to see it clearly.
In the crystal-clear glass bottle, illuminated by candlelight, the faint outline of what appeared to be a butterfly was visible, fluttering its wings in a graceful dance. If it weren't for the black veins defining its shape, no one would have guessed it was a completely transparent butterfly.
The guard exclaimed in amazement, "So this is the legendary Ice Beauty butterfly from the far-off Arctic icy sea region outside the Lingkong Continent. It truly lives up to its name."
Tuoba Ze also opened his eyes wide with surprise and said, "I have long heard that the Ice Beauty is the coldest creature in the world. It is more than a foot long and emerges from its cocoon with the falling snow in winter. It feeds on ice flowers and has a crystal-clear body and thin wings. When it flies, it will scatter ice flowers when it flaps its wings. When the ice flowers land, they can emit a seven-colored glow. Now that I see it, it is exactly the same as the legend."
"Go and fetch the madam immediately!" The guard obeyed and left.
"Your Highness, why have you summoned me so late?" The madam was quickly summoned to meet her.
"Do you recognize this?" Tuoba Ze placed one hand on the glass bottle and extended the other hand to hand the bright candle to the madam.
The madam stepped forward and took it. Tuoba Ze then withdrew his hand from the glass bottle and put it behind his back. Only then did the madam approach the glass bottle to examine it carefully.
Suddenly, the madam looked up in surprise and exclaimed, "It's the Ice Beauty! There really is such a divine butterfly in the world. This butterfly... I wonder where Your Highness obtained it?"
"Hahaha... You don't need to ask that. This prince wants you to refine the Ice Beauty Gu poison as soon as possible." Tuoba Ze's unrestrained laughter filled the entire room, as if even the air itself was evil.
The madam hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ice Beauty Gu Poison? Those afflicted with this poison must never fall in love, otherwise it will activate the Ice Beauty Gu Poison's most extreme cold poison in the world. Unless the warmth of a beloved's body can suppress it, they will die instantly from the cold... But to refine the Ice Beauty Gu Poison, besides needing the most beautiful and cold Ice Beauty Divine Butterfly in the world, it also requires the most beautiful, sincere, and also most poisonous beauty's blood as a catalyst. Only in this way can its toxicity be maximized... Beauty's blood... Could it be..."
The madam then understood why Tuoba Ze kept a beautiful woman as a pet and regularly fed her various poisons. It turned out that he was cultivating her blood to concoct even more evil poisons.
As if waking from a dream, the madam, still harboring a trace of doubt, asked, "So Your Highness kept Yu Niang in your care to refine the Ice Beauty Gu poison? But what is Your Highness's purpose in using this Ice Beauty Gu poison?"
As soon as the madam spoke, Tuoba Ze gave her a chilling look. The madam immediately lowered her head and admitted her mistake, "It was my fault for speaking out of turn. I shouldn't have said that."
"Then hurry up and make the arrangements. I advise you to remember our agreement well, so there won't be a next time," Tuoba Ze warned with a serious expression.
"Yes, I will remember." After saying that, the madam put down the candle in her hand, then covered the glass bottle completely with a black cloth, and then carefully carried it with both hands and slowly retreated.
"Keep an eye on her for me," Tuoba Ze instructed the black-clad guard beside him after the madam left.
"Yes, Your Highness... So, who are we going to give this poison to?" the guard asked cautiously.
Tuoba Ze put his hands behind his back, raised his head and sneered, saying leisurely, "Such a precious and hard-won rare poison can only be enjoyed by our esteemed War God of the Sky, His Highness the King of Qin of the Western Qin Kingdom."
"But I don't understand," the guard asked, puzzled. "Didn't the King of Qin just get married recently, with a princess from Dongning Kingdom as his concubine? Didn't that madam just say that the Ice Beauty Gu poison is the coldest poison in the world, but it can suppress the burning heat of a loved one's body? What's the point of us doing this?"
Tuoba Ze snorted coldly, took a deep breath, and slowly said, "Hmph... what do you know... this Princess Dongning is nothing more than a pawn that old man, the King of Dongning, planted in Western Qin. How could Xuanyuan Han, who is so clever, not see that? How could that Princess Dongning possibly become his true love? Besides, we recently witnessed with our own eyes that he didn't even put his childhood sweetheart, his junior sister, Lu Tianjiao, the renowned young lady of Western Qin Academy, who is famous throughout the entire Lingkong Continent, in his eyes. So it seems that Xuanyuan Han is indeed as cold-blooded and ruthless as the rumors say, indifferent to women. Tell me, where does he find true love?"
"So that Miss Lu was crying her eyes out because of her senior brother, Prince Qin, Xuan Yuanhan. This Lu Tianjiao is truly admirable; to fall for such an aloof person. Doesn't this foreshadow a tragic love story where the flower falls but the water remains unmoved? What a pity," the guard exclaimed in sudden realization.
"It seems that the King of Qin is truly virtuous and untainted by worldly affairs. I believe our plan will succeed this time. We are just waiting for the King of Qin to succumb to the poison and die. Once the King of Qin is dead, Western Qin will have nothing to fear, and our Northern Lie army can march straight in and raze the Western Qin palace to the ground. With Emperor Jing of Western Qin's meager schemes, he is nothing to be afraid of. Your Highness is truly wise," the guard flattered.
Then she bit her lip lightly and asked, "But... what will happen to Yu Niang?"
Tuoba Ze sighed softly, his eyes gazing longingly at the window opposite. His voice softened considerably as he spoke, “Yu Niang, I initially only admired her beauty and kindness, but I never imagined she would be so sincere and loyal to her husband. She was truly the perfect candidate for nurturing a beautiful woman’s blood. It’s a pity that she ultimately succumbed to the poison.”
As he spoke, he seemed to remember something, his expression changed, and he raised his eyebrows to ask the guard, "How is the search going for the person Yu Niang mentioned, her husband Zhao Ping'an? Are there any clues?"
"I have already sent people to search the country. I will send a message by carrier pigeon as soon as I have any news," the guard replied hurriedly.
"Hmm... She's a devoted woman, willing to stay in this place of pleasure for her husband, sacrificing her most important virtue as a woman, asking around for news of him. If possible, help her send Zhao Ping'an back so they can be reunited. Even if it's only for a short time, it would be my life for her." Tuoba Ze spoke with such tenderness.
"Why has Your Highness become as indecisive as the Second Prince? Does he seem reluctant to part with his child?" the guard asked in surprise.
Tuoba Ze remained silent, simply waving his hand, and the guards withdrew. His gaze then shifted to the window opposite...
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