The servants were as silent as cicadas. Ling Qianhe still held her palm, his fingers white and slender, playing with them as they moved back and forth in his grasp.
Lin Muci silently retracted her fingers, only to hear Ling Qianhe ask her.
"I haven't looked for you these past few days. Are you angry?"
He seemed to be eagerly awaiting her answer.
Indeed, much had happened during this time... He had returned from being an abandoned prince, ascended the throne with iron-fisted methods, and suppressed those who were unwilling to submit to him.
He had also found his white moonlight from his memories.
A blind girl named Xue Zhizhi.
It was only normal that he hadn't paid attention to her.
She didn't need to feel sad about it.
Thinking this, Lin Muci spoke the truth.
"I wasn't angry... Weren't you very busy?"
She was merely speaking the truth, but the next moment, she seemed to hear Ling Qianhe let out a cold laugh.
His voice was extremely cold, lacking any of the gentleness and warmth from before. Yet, the tips of his fingers still tightened their grip on Lin Muci's hand.
After a moment.
He then said softly.
"You aren't very angry... Is it because you feel more at ease when I don't look for you?"
Lin Muci didn't know how to explain.
She didn't understand the logic of the yandere.
Her intuition told her that saying more at this moment would lead to more mistakes—so she pursed her lips and remained silent.
But her silence didn't deter Ling Qianhe. He seemed to be talking to himself.
"I did find a girl."
"She said she saved me, that she had shown me kindness when I was at my most humble and most painful. When I was young, I was sent to a detached palace. Those servile lackeys, relying on their power, constantly bullied me. She said she saved me."
"When I was young, I really liked this young lady, who wore white and had a beautiful face."
"I have found her now. She is not doing well; she is blind, her family has also passed away unexpectedly, and she has nowhere to go... So I brought her back to the palace..."
His voice grew lower and lower as he spoke.
And when Lin Muci heard Ling Qianhe say this.
She blinked, but couldn't understand why Ling Qianhe seemed to be angry.
"Isn't this good?"
She also knew that the green sparrow Zhizhi was highly skilled.
Using the method of entering dreams, she had fabricated an illusion—in the illusion, she had saved Ling Qianhe's life. It was easy to imagine that, given his background, he would surely pursue and repay those who had shown him kindness in his childhood.
Her choice of entry point was excellent.
Even Lin Muci couldn't find any flaws.
But even knowing that all of this was a fabrication by Qing Que, Lin Muci found it difficult to step forward and expose her publicly. She had no evidence.
Moreover, Lin Muci felt that Ling Qianhe was not someone who could be easily swayed.
He was different from Helian Lanyuan.
Helian Lanyuan might be deceived by Qing Que, falling for Qing Que's lies.
But Ling Qianhe absolutely would not. On this point, she absolutely trusted Ling Qianhe. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Do you like her very much? Do you believe what she says?"
The young man merely sneered. For some reason, he seemed less happy now. He pursed his lips, and after a moment, Lin Muci heard him say.
"What she says is very true. Moreover, she is so beautiful, far better than you, a mere maid."
"Her skin is like condensed fat, her face is beautiful, like that of a celestial being. You are plain-looking, and compared to her, there is a world of difference."
Lin Muci said, "Oh." She said.
"I am the cloud, and she is the mud."
She would never let that hateful green sparrow take advantage of her. Ling Qianhe continued to gaze at her frank demeanor. The depths of his pupils held a strange gleam, and she didn't know what he was thinking. After a moment, he finally spoke first, and then Lin Muci heard him call the green sparrow's name.
"Zhizhi—come out."
The girl, dressed in resplendent brocade, moved with light steps and then walked to Ling Qianhe's side.
Xue Zhizhi was guided by a maid, as she could not see.
She was indeed beautiful, her skin as white as snow. Especially her slightly vacant eyes, which gave the impression of a subtle flaw in fine jade, making one wonder how beautiful she would be if her eyes were perfect.
Lin Muci glanced at her once, and a sneer touched her lips.
This face...
Speaking of which.
It looked a bit familiar.
The little system, like a fawning attendant, explained the plot to her in her ear.
"Host, she was shaped to resemble you! However, you are a phoenix maiden from the nine heavens, possessing immense radiance. She has only obtained one ten-thousandth of your beauty, which is enough to make her arrogant in the eyes of others. Moreover, she always appears weak and helpless, as if she has been bullied..."
"Her eyes turn red and teary often... It's very annoying."
"She is the best at pretense, putting on a show!"
Upon hearing the little system's words, Lin Muci nodded as expected, and then communicated with the little system.
"Precisely because of this, didn't I gouge out her eyes?"
She only glanced at her once and found Xue Zhizhi's appearance vexing.
She simply stopped looking and instead turned to ask the little system.
"Why—why did Helian Lanyuan let her out, and even to the mortal realm? Isn't Helian Lanyuan the one who cares most about this little green sparrow? He went to great lengths to heal her injuries, so why is he now so eager to release her?"
"How could he bear to?"
She asked how Helian Lanyuan could bear it, but the hint of sarcasm in her words was truly obvious and distinct.
The little system hesitated, then explained hesitantly.
"This—she seems to have lied to Helian Lanyuan. She said she hadn't returned to her clan for a long time, so she wanted to go back. Helian Lanyuan then sent her back to the Qing Que clan, and she immediately came to the mortal realm."
"There is also a reason why Helian Lanyuan did not return to the Qing Que clan with her... When Helian Lanyuan had not yet inherited the position of Demon Emperor, although they were childhood sweethearts, the five-clawed golden dragon would also encounter crises during its cultivation. She stole a sacred artifact of the Qing Que clan to heal him, and was then disdained by her own people."
"The entire Qing Que clan dislikes Helian Lanyuan."
"Because of this entanglement, Helian Lanyuan feels very sorry for her. He would not go to her clan, as it would make things difficult for her."
"That is why she was able to sneak down to the mortal realm without anyone noticing."
The little system felt it had explained clearly. The more Lin Muci listened, the more she felt this weak green sparrow was quite cunning. And according to the little system's previous explanation, all of this was fake, meaning that the green sparrow's claim of stealing a sacred artifact to heal him was also fake.
But was Helian Lanyuan so foolish as to believe her?
The little system sighed.
"Because he was genuinely injured. And someone did save him."
Lin Muci's heart stirred slightly, and she had some speculation.
"That person was...?"
The little system sighed again.
"Of course, it was you."
"It's just that for some reason, you couldn't tell him. That's why Helian Lanyuan mistakenly thought that Qing Que had saved him."
Good heavens—this was truly a melodramatic plot that fit her desires perfectly.
However, the more this was the case, the more satisfied Lin Muci became.
Although this was a secret, all secrets would eventually be revealed.
Lin Muci eagerly wanted to know what would happen if Helian Lanyuan discovered that Si Muci, the daughter of the Demon Emperor, had saved him all along, and that he, due to Qing Que's lies, had dug out the spiritual veins of his childhood sweetheart.
The person he longed for was the one he had hurt the most.
Lin Muci wished she could immediately rush to Helian Lanyuan with a megaphone and tell him the truth, tell him how despicable and shameless his white lotus was, and then watch him collapse and go mad—yes, such a melodramatic plot was indeed the most exhilarating.
The little system, however, reminded her unromantically.
"Host, don't think about Helian Lanyuan. You should think about how to deal with Ling Qianhe."
"He is the one you need to pay the most attention to, isn't he?"
Lin Muci thought, "That's right, that's the truth of the matter." So she raised her head again, her gaze falling on Ling Qianhe's face. As it slowly swept past, he suddenly grabbed her wrist.
He said.
"Zhizhi said her eyes were harmed by someone."
Lin Muci said, "Oh."
"Good that they were harmed."
"Marvelous that they were harmed."
"Spectacular that they were harmed."
"Stand up and applaud, it's good that her eyes are blind."
Ling Qianhe looked at her with dark, deep eyes. The surrounding maids were silent with fear, none daring to speak.
One was the maid Mu Ci, who had risen alongside the Emperor.
The other was the orphan Zhizhi, whom the Emperor had finally found.
It was rumored that this orphan had saved the Emperor during his most desperate times.
How would the Emperor make his choice?