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After traveling for countless days, they finally reached the Sealed Grounds of Changhan. In order to ensure the comfort of Empress Dowager, the group travelled very slowly, but Meng Fuyao wasn't in a hurry either; Empress Dowager had been imprisoned within the palace for most of her life, and now, she finally had the chance to tour around Dahan with her son. Who had the heart to deny her this chance, looking at how happy and contented she was? Moreover, time was aplenty, and there was no need to rush anyway.

When Meng Fuyao raised her head and saw the four words ”King of Dahan Manor” in black against a gold tablet, then looked around at the manor itself that seemed to stretch on for an eternity, she couldn't help but blurt out, ”Those who do not know the extent of my contribution might think that I am trying to usurp the throne, building a scaled-down version of the imperial palace.”

Under the glaring sun, Zhan Beiye looked at her and smiled, his smile even brighter than the sun. ”If you want the imperial palace, I'll give it to you,” he said.

Meng Fuyao pretended not to have heard him and remained silent. She had just crossed the threshold when the inner doors suddenly swung open and Ji Yu and Yao Xun, along with a group of guards, poured out. Ji Yu dutifully led the guards and knelt down in greeting, while Yao Xun rushed forward and launched himself at the ground in front of Meng Fuyao. He grabbed her robes and bawled, ”Heavens, my master, you've finally returned, I've recently earned a huge sum of money, yet I had nobody to praise me, how torturous…”

Meng Fuyao kicked him aside, unceremoniously and scolded, ”Dirty money!” Turning to Ji Yu, she personally supported him up and smiled. ”General Ji, I have yet to thank you for killing that rabbit,” she said.

Ji Yu's mouth curved upwards slightly as he responded, ”That is due to Your Highness' effective method of rearing rabbits.”

Meng Fuyao laughed loudly and patted his shoulder forcefully. ”I didn't expect for you to be this good at cracking jokes,” she remarked. She turned around and bowed, smiling at Zhangsun Wuji and Zhan Beiye as she cupped her hands in front of her and said, ”I can finally host you two in my own home.”

When Zhan Beiye heard her words, his eyes lit up happily, and he glanced slightly at Zhangsun Wuji. Zhangsun Wuji was smiling, his expression unchanged as he let Zhan Beiye enter before him.

As for Meng Fuyao, who had been smiling throughout the journey without speaking a word, she had already revealed her tail a long time ago…

That evening as they were having dinner, Emperor Zhan's expression was extremely dark. Empress Dowager glanced at him anxiously, unsure why he was acting as such. However, Zhan Beiye realized that he had ignored his mother and quickly softened his expression.

Meng Fuyao snorted inwardly, thinking that Zhangsun Wuji was too much and could only offer wine in return as the owner of the manor, fully intending to get the two drunk so as to make things easier to handle. Much to her chagrin, she soon realized that the two had insane alcohol tolerance and despite her hand getting tired from constantly pouring wine, the two men remained unchanged. In the end, they bypassed her pouring and simply drank straight from the jar.

Meng Fuyao sat by the side watching them, afraid that they might start fighting once they'd gotten drunk. Hence, she stayed and watched the two of them drinking…

Standing guard as she lifted her eyelids with her fingers and watched them drink…

Standing guard as she peeled her eyelids open and watched them drink…

Finally, Meng Fuyao stood up, outraged, and stormed out of the room. 'I'm not going to accompany you two anymore, you can drink until you die!'

She had every intention to go back and sleep, and after asking Ji Yu where the sleeping quarters were, she headed in. However, the damned manor was too big, and after half a period of walking around, she soon realized that she'd gotten lost in her own manor.

All of the rooms looked similar, and she couldn't identify which one was her own, and thinking that since the entire manor belonged to her, it didn't matter which room she slept in.

Hence, she randomly selected a meticulously prepared room and undressed, ready to sleep.

The day's journey had been tiring, and she was finally able to relax and sleep peacefully in her own manor, so she fell asleep very quickly.

At that moment…

In the middle of the night…

Under the cold moonlight…

The streets were long, dark, and silent.