Li Wan Suxun
But the wardrobe in front of her looked particularly familiar. It looked very much like the wardrobe that Qi Heng had taken her to pick out men's clothes before she disguised herself as a man and followed Qi Heng and Chu Xiao into the brothel to handle a case.
And she still clearly remembered that Qi Heng's wardrobe was also locked with such an exquisite little silver lock. Inside, clothes such as robes for different age groups were hung neatly. The materials and craftsmanship were extremely exquisite, not inferior to those in the palace.
At that time, she saw that those clothes were not of the style and color that Qi Heng usually wore, but rather like those worn by a rich young master from a powerful family in Kyoto.
"Mother? Why are you staring at my closet?" the younger brother asked in confusion.
"Nothing. Mother just returned to your side and wanted to make some clothes and shoes for you. But... I haven't been with you for many years, so I don't even know your body measurements. I thought I would refer to the patterns and sizes of the clothes you used to wear."
"Mother, don't be sad or blame yourself. It's not your fault. There are always times when you don't know your measurements the first time. As you'll be with us more often, you'll definitely remember them. You love us very much, and we know that. My brother and I actually hope that you live a long life, enjoy your old age, and come here soon." My sister held up a swallow kite and said, "Mother, I like this."
"Okay, then you can take your brother out to play for me first. I'm just looking through the styles in your brother's wardrobe."
Hearing this, for some reason, the elder sister, who had just been so delighted with the swallow kite, slowly calmed down. "Those are my brother's old clothes, clothes he no longer wears. Why is mother looking at them now?"
"Sister, why are you talking to Mother like that? You clearly know Mother is new here, and you didn't realize these are my old clothes. Mother was just being kind and wanted to make me something I'd like. Even though it's a little small, you can still see the style and color I like. If you keep talking to Mother like that, I'm going to dislike you."
After saying that, the younger brother put down the kite, threw himself into Yuanli's arms, beckoned her to squat, and then put his arms around her neck and whispered to her ear, not forgetting to cover his mouth to protect his sister, "Mother, what you are looking for is in the back of the closet you've been eyeing."
After saying that, the younger brother made a mysterious hushing gesture and said in a voice so low that it could be heard by his sister behind him, "Mother, did you take note of my preferences? My clothes must be made more beautiful than yours."
"I've got it, but your sister will be sad if I say that."
"Who told my sister to talk to mother like that?" After saying that, he held Yuanli in his arms again, kissing her cheek softly. "It's so nice to have mother holding me. I just want to be your child for the rest of my life."
Coming out of Yuanli's arms, he tugged at his sister's sleeve and said, "Sister, I can't wait to go out and play with kites, but I don't want to wear the clothes mother made for me too early. Can you take me out to play first and wait for mother to come?"
"Okay, mother, hurry up."
"Well, mother will come when she sees it."
Before leaving, he reminded his sister, "Sister, don't forget to kiss mother. We agreed to do the same as father did."
Only after seeing his elder sister hug his mother and kiss her cheek like he had done did he feel at ease and leave with the kite. He also stopped to remind his followers: "Close the door tightly. Don't go in and disturb mother. It will delay the time."
Only after the footsteps outside the door faded away did Yuanli approach the wardrobe. However, the silver lock hanging on it made Yuanli feel troubled. She searched the room but could not find the so-called key.
She figured the key wasn't in the room anymore, and this was her only chance. Standing in front of the cabinet door, Yuanli remembered how Qi Heng had previously retrieved the key from a mechanism behind the cabinet, so she tiptoed and began to grope around.
After a moment, a cold key fell into my hand.
After unlocking the wardrobe, the clothes underneath were piled high up to the top, stuffed tightly and full. There was nothing suspicious about it until a corner of the wardrobe was opened and some golden light leaked out.
Only then did she understand that everything her son had said was to help her leave. And just now, he had said goodbye to her reluctantly, not forgetting to let her be hugged and kissed before leaving.
After thoroughly raking apart the piles of clothes in the closet, the last ray of golden light shone brightly, symbolizing the door to life.
She looked back at the closed door with reluctance. Outside the door were her two children and A Ci, the days she had always dreamed of.
Faced with a dilemma, after a little thought, she finally stepped resolutely into the golden light.
The moment she entered the dazzling golden light, Yuanli closed her eyes tightly to avoid the light, and felt herself floating lightly, as if her soul had left her body.
When the white light in front of her eyes disappeared, Yuanli slowly opened her eyes, only to see a sea of red spider lilies blooming at her feet, and countless returning pearls floating beside her, illuminating the darkness. Unlike the returning pearls on Wangxiangtai, the returning pearls here reflected the dreams of their owners.
The sea of flowers was so vast that it seemed endless. Yuanli did not dare to leave rashly to look for the others, so she had to sit there and wait.
After waiting for a long time, there was no sign of the pearl, until among the countless pearls, only one suddenly emitted a dazzling light.
At the same time, red spots of light emerged from the flowers on the other shore and gathered under her. When there were enough of them, they gently lifted her up and floated her towards the returning pearl.
Other red dots of light converged from all directions, converging in the center of the sea of flowers to form a graceful and slender woman. She was draped in a red veil, her hair as black as ink, and had no hair ornaments except for a few red spider lilies in her hairpin.
Her skin was as white as porcelain and her lips were rosy, but her peach blossom eyes were slightly lowered, and the look she gave her was cold and deep.
Her beauty was breathtaking, on par with even the fairies and angels of heaven. But her beauty was different from that of mortals in heaven, just like the enchanting beauty of the red spider lily, yet it remained unsullied.
The woman's eyes were weary as she spoke faintly, "Touch it."
Her voice was so lonely and captivating that people could not help but obey and subconsciously reached out to touch Huanzhu.
The pearl she was referring to was the young man in her dream when she lost her consciousness.
As the woman raised her eyes to look at those returning pearls, in an instant, except for the one the young man had, the images displayed by all the returning pearls stopped, along with the floating red spots of light.
The woman spoke again, "Touch it."
This time, before Yuanli could react, her hand had already touched Huanzhu. As she entered Huanzhu, the woman's voice rang out, "Don't worry about the time. Huanzhu is under my control. Even if you spend tens of thousands of years in there, it will only be a moment. There's no need to look for the golden light he taught you to escape. Watch carefully. When the time comes, you'll naturally be able to escape. This is your only chance."
As the woman's voice disappeared, Yuanli began to hear the ethereal calls of birds and beasts, and a breeze blew on her face. Before her eyes, she saw a paradise, which was no different from the view overlooking the red palace in her dream, but this time it was clearer.
As for the rare and exotic beasts circling and resting around, they had only been heard of in legends and seen in the dusty "Book of Exotic Beasts" in the library of heaven.
Looking down at her own appearance and age, she had clearly become the little girl in the dream again. Now appearing in someone else's dream, this past could only be true.
"Ari!"
Following the familiar yet unfamiliar voice, she saw the little boy who always liked to stick behind her.
When the maidservant behind him saw him, she immediately bowed respectfully and said, "King of Hell."
Upon hearing this, Yuanli widened her eyes in shock, her eyes full of disbelief.
Tea Tracing?
"I brought A-Li some thousand-year-old ice dew from Penglai Fairy Island today. It's perfect for making ice phoenix eggs."
Judging from the impression of her last dream, everyone here has great skills and magic, and the girl she has transformed into now is of even more noble status. She has no choice but to continue playing the role and not reveal her true identity to avoid putting her life in danger.
"Thank you, Pluto."
The person in front of him was visibly stunned, "Ari, are you still angry with me?"
"No."
"Whenever you're angry, you call me by my first name, or simply call me Hades. And you're so polite. Are you trying to alienate me?"
He waved his right hand and conjured up six giant eggs with patterns on them. "Here, last time I caused you to lose two Jade Elk eggs, I'll give you six today as compensation. Don't be mad at me anymore."
Upon hearing this, Yuanli immediately became interested and squatted down to take a look.
According to the Book of Exotic Beasts, the Jade Elk resembles a deer, its body as translucent as jade, its horns large and slender, and its body glows at night, its surroundings dotted with stars, creating a beautiful sight like scattered starlight. Its eggs take at least 50,000 years to hatch, making them exceptionally rare.
The book only briefly mentions the egg's appearance, without even a picture. Despite its ordinary appearance, it's actually a Jade Elk egg.
"Look at you, you can't even walk when you see these rare and exotic animals. You're so absorbed in them that you don't even care about eating. When we get back, take a look. I'll use the thousand-year-old ice dew to cook you some ice phoenix eggs."
Having said that, Hades put away the Jade Elk's egg and used the power of the underworld to instantly reach another place.
When Yuanli stood up and looked up again, she had returned to the red palace, and the six jade elk eggs reappeared on her desk.
"Ari, please sit for a while. I'll go boil eggs." As he said that, Hades started to work skillfully in the house.
After carefully putting the egg away, Yuanli searched the house for any clues that might prove her current identity. She arrived at the study, where the glazed desk was neatly stacked with books, arm-high in height. Most of them dealt with strange stories and beasts, mountains, rivers, and seas, as well as various arts and strategies.
Beneath the half-read copy of "Strange Stories" in the corner of the desk was an unfolded letter. The opened envelope was addressed to A-Li personally, and the contents were mostly about asking if she had eaten, whether she was happy, telling her some interesting stories and new things she had collected.
But the signature at the end of the book is, Cha Suxun.
The A'li he called was actually Li Wan.
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