Yun Xiu fell silent.
After reincarnating, she had wanted to pave the way for her disciple’s happiness and save the sect from its doomed fate in the previous life. Beyond that, she harbored a small selfish wish of her own. That was why she had asked Elder Huangfu to amend the marriage contract, hoping Yan Zhen would join Cloud Heaven Palace as a son-in-law.
Unfortunately, her plans could not keep pace with the twists of fate. First, Jiu Youyue had reincarnated and given Yan Zhen the chastity she had guarded all the way from her previous life. Then She Ji had reincarnated as well, forging an even deeper bond with him—one so Mystic that she now longed to bear his child. And now, even the disciple Yun Xiu had wanted most to protect had returned from death. All her former convictions had lost their meaning.
In her previous life, Yun Xiu’s refusal to marry Yan Zhen stemmed from layers of guilt.
The first was her guilt toward Cloud Heaven Palace. As its sect master, she had failed to rein in her disciples’ misdeeds in time. Those errors had harmed countless innocents and ultimately drawn down the sect’s destruction.
The second was her guilt toward Yan Zhen himself. After all, it had been people from Cloud Heaven Palace who killed his grandfather. As sect master, she could not claim to bear no responsibility.
Yan Zhen had never blamed her for it, but she could not see it that way.
The third was her guilt toward Huangfu Wenqing. In a moment of negligence, she had failed to stop her disciple from leading people to Martial Tang City to annul the engagement. That single act had turned a betrothal into bitter enmity, sparking a chain of disasters.
Fate had played a cruel trick on them besides: both she and her disciple had fallen for Yan Zhen. Though her disciple had urged her time and again to accept his proposal, Yun Xiu could not bear to claim happiness at her student’s expense.
The fourth was her guilt toward She Ji and Zi Ji. Yan Zhen had insisted they would not object to her marrying into the Yan Family, but how could Yun Xiu fail to understand? Love always craved exclusivity. Their magnanimity sprang from their devotion to him. She did not want to trample on that love or give them any reason to suspect she was scheming for position and favor.
At first, she had planned to bury her own feelings and remain mere friends with Yan Zhen. But that stubborn fool refused to settle for that.
Yun Xiu bit her lip, her mind drifting back to memories of her previous life.
A year after Yan Zhen’s grand wedding, the first time he came searching for her at Evergreen Holy Land, she had told him they must stop meeting like this. It would damage his family harmony and tarnish his reputation.
In response, Yan Zhen had flown directly above Evergreen Holy Land and bellowed for all to hear:
“Everyone in Evergreen—this Emperor intends to pursue your Holy Lord and make her my consort in the Radiant Heavenly Emperor Palace! Who approves? Who objects?”
Tens of thousands of disciples and elders alike—from men to women—had howled and cheered in uproar. Yun Xiu had been mortified, her authority nearly shattered. She had hurriedly dragged him back to her cave abode.
“Don’t do this… You’re the only emperor on the entire Mystic Heaven Continent. The whole world has its eyes on you… It’s not worth it for my sake.”
“If this isn’t worth it, then what is? After enduring a thousand hardships to reach the Emperor Realm, am I supposed to shrink back from pursuing the first love I’ve cherished since my youth?”
“I-I won’t marry you. You know why.”
“Because of Wenqing? Then I’ll marry her too.”
“You rogue!”
“You’re the one who forced my hand~”
Under his relentless blend of tenderness and persistence, Yun Xiu’s resolve had gradually softened.
From then on, she had viewed herself as nothing more than his secret paramour, kept away from the public eye. Her defenses crumbled bit by bit: from tentative hand-holding to warm embraces, to tender kisses and caresses, and eventually to the final intimacy.
She had feared pregnancy above all else. Once with child, Yan Zhen would surely force her into the Radiant Heavenly Emperor Palace. So she forbade him that risk, but she could not bear to see him suffer. Instead, she pored over books to learn techniques for easing his desires.
Yet she never consented to marriage.
She could claim no official status. She refused to allow herself true happiness.
That was her obsession—her self-imposed punishment for the sins of her past.
It had held true from her previous life to this one!
But She Ji’s earlier words had shaken her convictions.
She Ji had actually complained that Yun Xiu refused to wed Yan Zhen.
Did She Ji truly wish for her to join the Yan Family?
Yun Xiu found She Ji’s intentions hard to fathom.
Naturally proud, She Ji had bowed her head only for Yan Zhen and the child in her belly, willing to share him with Zi Ji.
Zi Ji was no different. As the goddess of the Heavenly God Clan, her pride ran bone-deep, yet for Yan Zhen’s sake, she humbled herself and even acknowledged Cai Lian as an elder sister.
The three of them had forged a rare harmony. Two women attending one man, yet no jealousy flared—no open quarrels or hidden rivalries. Their bond was enviable, even warm.
Yun Xiu did not want to intrude and shatter that peace. She felt she simply could not fit in.
But She Ji seemed to think otherwise.
What of Zi Ji?
Would they truly welcome yet another sister—or even more?
“…”
Yun Xiu pulled her wandering thoughts back and lifted her gaze to Yan Zhen’s face once more.
“What if it’s just Wenqing off-limits?”
Yan Zhen blinked, his expression one of pure innocence.
“I want Wenqing. I want you. I want it all!”
He gripped her hand.
Yun Xiu froze. Suddenly, she recalled Huangfu Wenqing’s earlier words: “I always planned to serve Yan Zhen alongside Master.” It took her a long moment to recover, her cheeks burning with shy indignation.
“You rogue!”
Yan Zhen adopted a shameless posture, utterly unrepentant.
“You’re the one who forced my hand.”
The familiar exchange left Yun Xiu in a daze.
“I-I…”
Yan Zhen huffed.
“You deliberately shoved Wenqing my way, scheming for us to tie the knot and forcing me to accept her. Did you ever stop to think about my feelings? Ever feel a twinge of guilt? Ever consider making it up to my wounded heart?”
Yun Xiu buried her face, reduced to a timid ball under his barrage of questions.
“Even before that, you still owe me seventy or eighty romps. Add it all up—how do you plan to make amends?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“That’s fine. I’ll spell it out for you.”
Yan Zhen leaned close to her ear and whispered those four words.
Yun Xiu’s delicate frame shuddered, her face flushing the color of a sunset glow. But the strictures of tradition made it impossible for her to accept.
“No… We can’t. P-Please, ask for something else?”
“No way! It’s exactly what I crave.”
“You’re lying.”
“It’s not just me—all men crave it. And I am a man.”
“…”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“Wenqing would never agree—”
The words slipped out on instinct, but Yun Xiu halted midway.
Of course Wenqing would agree. That was precisely her intention.
The Palace Lord suddenly found herself without a single argument to counter Yan Zhen.
“—If Wenqing disagrees, I won’t push her. But you’re not getting away.”
Yun Xiu hesitated, words dying on her lips. Then Yan Zhen rose from the soft couch, still cradling her in his arms, and said coolly:
“Come on. Take me to your room.”
Her heart clenched at the implications, a slow heat building in her body.
“W-What are you going to do?”
Yan Zhen glanced down, a sly curl to his lips, and answered plainly:
“You.”
With that, he scooped her up in a princess carry and strode from the room. They left the eastern wing and headed toward the main hall.
