"Jun Mohan, you spoke too harshly to His Majesty just now! I can tell the Emperor really loves you, and he truly feels guilty towards your mother. "Leng Ruoli said helplessly.
"Heh! Li'er, you don't need to pay attention to him. This kind of person isn't worth your pity." Jun Mohan's tone was still harsh.
"Alas, this is a matter between you father and son. It's not convenient for me to interfere." Leng Ruoli sighed.
Then, the Cold King and his consort returned to the palace hall.
Meanwhile, after returning from Yiran Hall, the Emperor confined himself to the imperial study. His tiger-like eyes were fixed on the portrait of the purple-eyed woman on the wall.
"Yiyun, did you hate me for deceiving you back then?"
"Actually, I truly loved you. The moment I opened my eyes and saw you for the first time, I fell in love with you. Although my love was selfish for you, I still wanted to keep you by my side."
"But this method, even though it could control your person, couldn't control your heart. Alas..."
"Yiyun, I don't blame Han'er for what he said to me today, but my heart is very sad."
"Yiyun, are you doing well down there? Wait for me a little longer, and I'll be joining you in the afterlife soon."
"..."
Thus, the Emperor remained in the imperial study, talking to himself in front of the portrait of Jun Mohan's mother for over an hour.
On the other hand, Jun Mohan and his consort entered the system space to enjoy their lives.
Leng Ruoli's space now had double the grassland. In the distance, a sea of flowers had appeared on the grassland, filled with small flowers she couldn't name. They were crimson, sky blue, deep purple, pale yellow... waves of floral fragrance filled the air, refreshing the mind. The snow on the distant mountain range at the edge of the space had also stopped.
"Li'er, this system space of yours is truly magical. It's as miraculous as the magic shown on television." Jun Mohan exclaimed exaggeratedly.
"I didn't expect it either. I accidentally obtained a wondrous stone in my previous life, which led me to a strange dream. So, I followed the instructions in the dream to craft the stone into a chip and place it in my mind. To my surprise, I gained such a great reward." Leng Ruoli said, also with surprise.
As they were speaking, a white pebble flew out of her space villa and hovered over the grassland, emitting a dazzling light.
"Holy cow! What's going on?"
Leng Ruoli immediately covered her eyes with her palm. Then, she tilted her small face up, gradually opened a sliver of her finger, and looked at the stone floating in mid-air with an expression of disbelief or exaggeration.
"This is that pebble you picked up in the hot spring when you went to Tianyun Mountain."
Jun Mohan quickly covered his eyes with his hand and took a large step back.
However, the light emitted by the pebble soon receded, and the stone remained suspended in mid-air, silent and motionless.
"This stone is truly strange."
"Could a Monkey King pop out of this stone?"
Jun Mohan: "..."
Jun Mohan had heard Leng Ruoli tell him about Journey to the West, so he naturally knew who Sun Wukong was.
But that was just a fairy tale. In reality, things weren't that magical, except for the things that happened to his consort.
"Li'er, it probably won't be that exaggerated, right?" Jun Mohan said with a smile.
"Alas, let's not worry about it for now. Come, let's go to the vegetable garden and pick more greens and fruits to have hot pot in the house."
Leng Ruoli beckoned Jun Mohan with her little finger, her demeanor a bit rogue, which made Jun Mohan find it rather amusing.
...
In Prince Ji's mansion.
Yan Yu and Lu Nioluo ate breakfast prepared by the servants in Prince Ji's mansion and then left for the streets.
They had expected that the people in Prince Ji's mansion would not let them leave, but they exited the mansion quite smoothly, causing both of them to have a false alarm.
In reality, the reason the two were able to leave Prince Ji's mansion was that the housekeeper of Prince Ji's mansion was unsure of the position of these two benefactors in his prince's heart, and his prince had not given clear instructions not to let these two young ladies go out. Therefore, he dared not stop them from leaving, nor did he dare to keep them.
As a result, after Prince Ji returned to his mansion from the palace, he was furious when he learned that Yan Yu and Lu Nioluo had left.
"Housekeeper, I instructed you to serve Miss Yanyu and Miss Luoluo properly. How did you serve them? If they wanted to leave Prince Ji's mansion, they should have at least notified this king, but you just turned a blind eye and let them leave. This king and Fifth Brother haven't properly thanked those two young ladies yet."
Prince Ji, Jun Moyun, was roaring with anger at the mansion's housekeeper and servants, his voice rumbling like thunder, carrying far and wide.
The housekeeper of Prince Ji's mansion was a young eunuch in his early twenties who had accompanied Prince Ji since childhood.
He had been by Prince Ji's side for so many years and had never seen Prince Ji fly into such a rage, which showed the importance of those two young ladies in the prince's heart. Alas, this was all his fault for being so unobservant.
"Housekeeper, take more men and go chase back those two young ladies."
"Remember, when you invite those young ladies back to Prince Ji's mansion, your tone must be polite. Don't scare them away, or when you return, let's see how this king punishes you." Prince Ji pointed at the housekeeper and a group of servants and sternly instructed them.
"Yes, Your Highness, this servant obeys!" The housekeeper replied in a sharp, high-pitched voice.
Then, he led a group of mansion guards and attendants to search the streets of the capital.
At this moment, the very people they were searching for had scoured all the wine shops in every alley and street of the capital, but they still hadn't found Old Man Lu.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, where on earth have you gone? I'm so worried! Sigh..."
Lu Nioluo furrowed her brows, a hint of mist filling her eyes.
"Nioluo, don't worry yet. Grandpa Lu will be fine. Let's keep looking for him slowly." Yan Yu comforted her.
Hearing Yan Yu's words, Lu Nioluo nodded vigorously.
Therefore, the two discussed and decided to search for Old Man Lu in the major restaurants in the capital.
As a result, they still didn't find Old Man Lu.
However, the housekeeper of Prince Ji's mansion spotted Yan Yu and Lu Nioluo, and the housekeeper hurried to catch up with them.
"Two young ladies, I've finally found you," the housekeeper said, panting from exhaustion.
Yan Yu and Lu Nioluo frowned immediately upon seeing the housekeeper of Prince Ji's mansion.
"Housekeeper, what do you need us for?" Yan Yu asked, her face full of confusion.
"Two young ladies, our prince has returned to the mansion from the palace and has sent us to invite you back to the mansion," the housekeeper stated his purpose directly.
"Oh, are they all right then? But we need to return to Qingyun County, and we're busy preparing to leave the city for our journey now?" Yan Yu said with some nervousness.
"Two young ladies, I beg you, please come back to Prince Ji's mansion with me, or my prince will punish us."
The housekeeper looked at Yan Yu and Lu Nioluo with a pitiable expression.
"Sister Yanyu, why don't we go back with him? Look, it's not easy for them to be servants in the mansion." Lu Nioluo's compassion was stirred again.
"Alright, since Nioluo has said so, we'll go back to Prince Ji's mansion with him." Yan Yu said helplessly.
Immediately, the housekeeper led the way for the two.