Tantai Jin quietly hid his frostbitten fingers.
"I don't understand what Third Young Lady means," he said softly. "These are the only clothes I have."
Su Su thought about his current situation and let out an awkward hum.
Indeed, the Ye residence only cared that he didn't embarrass them, not whether he was cold or not.
The young man sat quietly in the corner of the carriage, watching the incense burner with a pale face.
Su Su thought to herself, if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that the brutal man on the throne of the Demon Palace five hundred years later was the same person as this gloomy youth before her.
After all, she had personally witnessed the Demon King killing people as effortlessly as crushing ants! Yet the current Tantai Jin looked like he would struggle to kill a fish, let alone a person.
As an evil creature, how could he be so useless as to let his hands get frostbitten!
What was wrong with him?
Su Su had always been someone who responded better to kindness than coercion. The righteous path dictated that Cultivators should understand the vastness of the universe, yet still show compassion for the smallest living things.
If he kept appearing like this, Su Su feared she might soften when the time came to extract his Evil Bone and scatter his Soul.
Though it seemed like a small matter, for a Cultivator, once compassion took root, killing him later would affect her Dao Heart, halting her progress on the great path.
Su Su's dream was to become a God, to exist like the ancient true deities.
Therefore, she must firmly maintain her Dao Heart, constantly remembering his true nature.
Su Su made up her mind and said, "Tantai Jin, lift your head, look at me with cold, sinister eyes, and then pinch my chin."
"Third Young Lady?"
"Do as I say, don't ask why!"
The young man seemed hesitant. He lifted his head but couldn't proceed to the next step.
Su Su puffed her cheeks in frustration and urged, "Are you a man or not? Be more domineering!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the young man's previously timid gaze instantly turned ice-cold. His dark pupils stared at her chillingly.
His pale fingers naturally moved to grip the young girl's chin.
Though thin and weak, he was still considerably taller than her. Now looking down at her coldly, his eyes held a bleak coldness with a faint hint of cruelty.
With her small chin resting against his icy fingertips, Su Su felt momentarily dazed, almost frightened enough to draw her sword and strike him.
Where's my sword? Where's my sword?
Tantai Jin stared at Su Su like this for several seconds. Just as her eyes widened in shock, he hastily withdrew his hand and said uneasily, "Third Young Lady, was that right?"
The violent and terrifying feeling instantly faded.
Su Su: "..."
Yes, you did perfectly. Now, regardless of whether he had no food, no clothes, or frostbitten hands—even if this young man died in the carriage, jumped out and got trampled to pieces by horses—Su Su would no longer feel any pity.
An evil creature would always be an evil creature. One day, he would become that monster who knew only killing.
That scene just now was practically him showing his true colors.
She decided: whenever she showed any signs of sympathizing with this demonic being, she would have Tantai Jin perform that act of the brutal Demon King possessing him.
This way, her Dao Heart would become truly unshakable.
So solid it couldn't be chopped apart.
Seeing the young girl's expression shift from tension to relaxation, Tantai Jin moved the hand hidden in his sleeve—the one that had pinched her chin—then fiercely pressed down on his own reddened fingers.
The frostbitten areas were both painful and itchy.
He used considerable force.
Only when he felt a crack split open on his hand, blood nearly welling up, did his eyes darken and he finally stopped.After all the commotion between the two of them, they had unknowingly arrived at Prince Xuan's residence.
Su Su didn't notice his unusual behavior. Having just frightened herself earlier, she was now filled with the desire to avoid staying with him and quickly jumped off the carriage.
Chun Tao, who had been waiting by the carriage to assist Su Su, was startled: "Miss!"
"I'm fine."
"Third Miss Ye has recovered so quickly?"
A voice tinged with mocking laughter sounded. Su Su looked up and saw a man wearing a jade crown gazing at her with a faint, ambiguous smile.
His features were regular, and he carried an air of scholarly refinement, yet it was immediately apparent that he differed from the pedantic literati.
The man's eyes brimmed with unruliness, as if given a whip, he wouldn't hesitate to lash Su Su until she rolled on the ground.
A name suddenly surfaced in Su Su's mind: Pang Yi Zhi.
The Vice Minister of Rites with extraordinary character and a prickly disposition.
Although he was extremely unfriendly toward her, Su Su recalled the vividly expressive painting created with just a few strokes. She couldn't help but admit that this man was quite remarkable.
When she was a child, biting her fingers while learning to write with other children, she had often been criticized.
Her sect leader father had tapped her forehead in exasperation, saying, "You're so clever, why do you learn things so slowly?"
Therefore, Su Su held great respect for top scholars in the mortal world.
She nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Lord Pang. I have recovered."
Pang Yi Zhi sneered: "Third Miss is as strong as an ox, naturally you recover quickly. It's others who have suffered, still not recovered from the chill."
Su Su: ...
She had extended an olive branch to the talented scholar, but he had taken it and started whipping her with it.
Did he just say she was as strong as an ox?
She wanted to retract the olive branch. Ye Xi Wu was a cute and pretty young girl, after all! Pang Yi Zhi's sarcasm seemed completely devoid of conscience.
Su Su withdrew her smile and glanced at him: "Lord Pang says my elder sister hasn't recovered from her chill?"
"Third Miss Ye is feigning ignorance," Pang Yi Zhi didn't conceal his disgust.
Su Su tilted her head: "My elder sister is Prince Xuan's concubine. As her younger sister, I don't even know about her health condition. How does Lord Pang, an unrelated man, know so clearly about her affairs? Those who don't know might mistakenly think Lord Pang is a libertine."
Pang Yi Zhi withdrew the mockery from his eyes and coldly commented: "Sharp-tongued."
The young girl blinked at him.
Did he think only he could bully others? For the wrongs the original host had committed, Su Su would make amends and apologize one by one, but neither the original host nor herself had ever harmed Pang Yi Zhi.
She had no need to swallow her pride when facing someone who thoroughly despised her.
What business did he, a completely unrelated man with blatant bias, have interfering in the conflicts between two girls?
At this moment, General Ye also noticed his daughter speaking with Pang Yi Zhi.
Ye Xiao approached and said: "Lord Pang, what are you discussing with my daughter?"
Pang Yi Zhi averted his gaze and smiled lightly: "General Ye, this official isn't familiar with Third Miss. We were merely exchanging greetings."Pang Yi Zhi then glanced at Tantai Jin, who had just descended from the carriage, and said ambiguously: 'But Prince Hostage, it's been a long time.' You appear much thinner than before."
Tantai Jin's gaze fixed steadily on Pang Yi Zhi's face as he said: "Lord Pang is mistaken."
Pang Yi Zhi smiled, then raised his hand toward General Ye: "After you, General Ye."
Ye Xiao, who already held significant military power, didn't decline and entered the residence first, with Pang Yi Zhi following closely behind.
Su Su looked at Tantai Jin: "Do you know Pang Yi Zhi?"Tantai Jin shook his head and said, "I don't know her."
Su Su thought to herself, who are you trying to fool? If nothing else, rivals in love would at least know of each other's existence. Even if they didn't, they had seen each other in the water that day when everyone jumped in together.
Since he didn't want to talk about it, Su Su wouldn't press him further on such an occasion.
Prince Xuan's residence was bustling with activity today.
The Sixth Prince, Xiao Lin, had always been a legendary figure in Great Xia.
First, his family background: his birth mother was the Empress, who was a distant niece of the Empress Dowager.
After the Emperor and Empress married, the Empress had been unable to conceive for years.
The Emperor waited several years, seeing the imperial harem remain sparse, and eventually had to discontinue the contraceptive decoctions given to the consorts. The imperial concubines gradually became pregnant one after another.
The Empress grew extremely anxious, but her belly showed no signs of movement until she was twenty-eight, when she finally gave birth to the legitimate crown prince, Xiao Lin.
Not only was the legitimate crown prince's status illustrious and his arrival precious, but the former Grand Astrologer had also sighed while reading his fate at the time: "The Sixth Prince's future is boundless! The fate of Great Xia is intertwined with the Sixth Prince."
With such words spoken, not only did the Empress treat this son as her life, but the Emperor and Empress Dowager also couldn't help but pay special attention to this child.
Even setting aside his status, in terms of temperament and ability alone, Xiao Lin was accomplished in both literary and martial arts, a gentleman of upright character, with features as ethereal as an immortal's.
When he was seventeen, the Emperor intentionally tested him by having him compete with that year's top martial scholar. In the end, the top martial scholar couldn't defeat him.
Some speculated that now that the Sixth Prince had reached adulthood, his skills might be on par with General Ye's.
Of course, Ye Xiao would definitely not fight Xiao Lin, but this didn't diminish the Sixth Prince's image of being omnipotent and godlike.
If you asked the unmarried young women in the capital who they most wanted to marry, ninety-nine percent would shyly name the Sixth Prince.
Thus, when Ye Bingshang married Xiao Lin, almost every young woman in the capital had their dreams shattered that night.
Among them, the original host Ye Xi Wu's dreams were shattered most completely—she nearly went mad with anger.
The Emperor had delayed appointing a crown prince, but this time instead conferred the title of Prince Xuan upon Xiao Lin. Everyone understood clearly that this didn't mean the Emperor didn't value the Sixth Prince. On the contrary, since ancient times, few prematurely appointed crown princes had actually ascended the throne.
This was nothing but setting someone up for a fall.
The most ferocious wolves fighting among themselves—only the strongest would eventually sit on the throne. The Emperor didn't want Xiao Lin to become the target of everyone's attacks too early.
The ministers were all intelligent people; they had their calculations in mind. For Prince Xuan Xiao Lin's birthday banquet, everyone showed great respect.
As Su Su entered, many guests were already seated at the banquet.
As family members of General Ye, Su Su and Tantai Jin sat behind General Ye.
On such occasions, Ye Lanyin, the illegitimate daughter of the Ye family, couldn't attend.
Su Su couldn't help but glance toward the man in the host's seat—Xiao Lin was speaking with a minister.
Su Su propped her chin on her hand.
As a mortal, Prince Xuan still had some differences from her senior brother. Her senior brother Gongye Jiewu had more transcendent features between his brows and eyes—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was breathtakingly divine.
Tantai Jin followed Su Su's gaze and saw Prince Xuan.
He calmly withdrew his gaze, looking at the wine cup before him, lost in thought.
After a while, just before the music began, a maid from Prince Xuan's residence helped a young woman out.
Xiao Lin's originally cool expression suddenly softened considerably: "Bingshang, come here."
The woman placed her slightly cool hand into Xiao Lin's palm.
The two smiled at each other.
Without anyone telling her, Su Su recognized who the woman not far away was.The painting from a few days ago seemed to have come to life in an instant.
Clad in a snow-white fox fur cloak, her fair skin glowing, she lowered her gaze with a gentle and bashful demeanor.
A simple cyan silk ribbon tied in her hair made her appear exquisitely delicate and elegant.
Ye Bingshang’s beauty was just right—a touch more would have been too flamboyant, a touch less too plain—perfectly embodying a face that could outshine the moon and put flowers to shame.
From the moment she appeared, even the sharp-tongued Pang Yi Zhi lost all traces of sarcasm, his eyes fixed on her with only a trace of melancholy and longing.
The female family members of the officials present unconsciously bit their lips and twisted their handkerchiefs as they watched Ye Bingshang.
This half-sister truly had devastating charm, Su Su thought to herself.
Chun Tao was extremely nervous, fearing that the third young miss would fly into a rage again. Compared to the eldest young miss, who exuded mature feminine charm, the third young miss still had a hint of baby fat on her face—more adorable than alluring.
But when Chun Tao glanced at her young mistress, she saw the third young miss biting into a strawberry, her clear black-and-white eyes fixed on the eldest young miss with nothing but pure curiosity.
Chun Tao: ...Huh? The third young miss is actually so calm?
Little did Chun Tao know—
Five hundred years later, in the Three Realms, there would be a female cultivator so beautiful that even Gods and demons would be struck speechless at the sight of her, and even the fox clan would yearn for her.
That little female cultivator, born as a Spiritual Embryo, was a peerless beauty unseen in the mortal world for millennia.
Even in that world, already in turmoil, across the Eight Desolations, even newborn demons knew that in terms of beauty, not even the ancient fallen Goddess could compare to that rarely seen young female cultivator from Hengyang Sect.
Her name was Li Susu.
They had even crudely speculated—
Could it be that the Demon King spared Su Su because he saw the potential in the young girl, planning to claim her as his cauldron once she grew up?
Having faced her own true form—that seductive face imbued with a holy aura—for a hundred years, Su Su could hardly be stunned by Ye Bingshang’s appearance.
The level of beauty in the cultivation world was generally absurdly high, and there were plenty of female cultivators more beautiful than Ye Bingshang.
Su Su glanced at the dazed and despondent Pang Yi Zhi and, remembering something, instinctively turned to look at Tantai Jin beside her.
The young man lowered his gaze, sensing someone watching him, and met Su Su’s eyes with a questioning look.
Su Su turned away, bored.
Well, she had thought the sinister youth beside her would also be staring fixedly at Ye Bingshang.
But he was so restrained.
Was he afraid she would hit him?
Ye Bingshang, now the only woman in Xiao Lin’s inner court, sat down behind him and nodded gently at General Ye. "Father."
Ye Xiao nodded, then glared fiercely at his younger daughter, who was still eating strawberries behind him.
"Xi Wu!"
Su Su, with half a strawberry in her mouth, quickly swallowed it.
She knew, she knew! Taking the blame and apologizing—she was already quite practiced at it!
Su Su stood up, curtsied to Ye Bingshang, and said apologetically, "I’m sorry, eldest sister. At the palace banquet a while ago, I shouldn’t have pushed you. Xi Wu apologizes here and asks for your forgiveness."
Ye Bingshang was taken aback for a moment, then smiled. "It’s nothing. It was just sisterly roughhousing. I know third sister didn’t mean it."
Her gentle, watery eyes examined Su Su with approval. "Third sister has grown up."
Her magnanimity took Su Su by surprise.
Could it be that this eldest sister, whom the original host deeply despised, was actually a decent person?
With that thought, Su Su’s suspicions faded somewhat, and her guilt grew more sincere. Ye Bingshang did indeed look unwell; beneath her makeup, it was faintly visible that she was not in good health.Sure enough, throughout the banquet, she occasionally covered her lips with a handkerchief and coughed softly.
The maid Xiaohui supported Ye Bingshang and said, "Your Highness, how could you forgive Third Miss Ye so easily? That day, she was clearly deliberate..."
Ye Bingshang frowned and whispered, "Xiaohui, do not speak out of turn."
Xiaohui awkwardly closed her mouth.
Even before she was married, Third Miss often bullied the eldest miss. Now that the eldest miss had someone to rely on, she still yielded step by step to Third Miss.
Ye Bingshang sighed softly and looked at the young girl in the peach-colored padded dress behind General Ye, hoping that Third Sister had truly grown up.
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