Squeak!

  A flock of birds flew through the thousand-year-old forest like a stormy rain, and a string of cold wind blew between the dark skies. After opening up this layer upon layer of dense forest, a grand fire-red sacrificial ceremony was being held.

  A huge bonfire, with flames blazing high, sparks flying everywhere, crackling and popping sounds. In front of the fire was a sea of people, while behind it stood a platform tens of meters high. On the platform, rows of powerful warriors stood majestically, each with a solemn expression, not daring to relax.

  Suddenly, a figure in red appeared on the steps below the high platform, dense and enchanting. Her appearance quickly silenced the crowd at the bottom, who quietly gazed up as the woman in red ascended step by step.

  With her appearance, the flames seemed to have gained a spiritual quality, burning even higher and illuminating the entire sky.

  "High Priest! High Priest!"

  The crowd began to stir again, with waves of heat igniting the atmosphere to its peak. The new high priestess of the witch tribe had finally returned, bringing with her the "divine power" that came with her, bestowing blessings upon the tribe that had lived in the dense forest for thousands of years, representing the heavenly god's benevolence towards humanity.

  Countless people knelt down in front of the flames, a magnificent sight to behold. Yet on that distant altar, no one paid attention to Yiyue's expression as she stood as the High Priestess at this moment.

  Through the flames, under such a passionate atmosphere, Yui's heart was icy cold.

  After dawdling for so many days, it ultimately ended like this. Powerlessly pulling down the corners of his mouth, he raised both hands and that red robe fluttered up in the wind, just like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Immediately turning around without looking back, he walked step by step into the depths of the high platform.

  But what she didn't know was that in an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, a scorching gaze was piercing through the raging flames, looking up at the high platform. Unfortunately, there were too many people, and it was too far away, so even the most intense gaze was worn out and couldn't enter anyone's eyes.

  In Qin Lang's eyes, Yiyue at this moment was just like the one he knew, with a wild and beautiful aura. But that fleeting glance made people's hearts skip a beat.

  These days, his heart has been torn into two pieces. On one side is the unforgettable childhood sweetheart, even if the feelings can't be reciprocated. On the other side is the deep and ardent love from Huo Lian, constantly stirring up his already precarious heart.

  In a daze, he didn't know where to go, the vastness of the world made him temporarily unaware of how to take care of himself. But in the midst of it all, he still followed her trail and found her.

  At that moment, his heart seemed to shine with a ray of light, and the pain in his heart also faded a lot, but instead gained some expectation.

  "The High Priest, there is someone outside the temple who wishes to see you. They say it's an old acquaintance." A little maid with a small braid came in from outside to report.

  Yi Yue heard the words of his old friend, and his heart couldn't help but move. The next moment he sighed again in self-mockery, put down the medicinal herbs he was identifying, and asked faintly: "Is it a boy or girl? Did they say where they came from?"

  The little girl thought for a moment: "It's a man, tall and handsome, quite elegant. However, it seems he didn't say where he came from."

  "Then just go back, from now on, people who are not important to me don't need to come ask me, just going back is fine."

  Qin Lang dressed neatly today, thinking that he could see her and give himself a chance to clear up the mess. However, the guards of the Wu clan were very responsible and no matter how hard he tried to persuade them, they wouldn't let him in without reporting first.

  Just as he was pacing back and forth in hesitation, a very young girl appeared from the front. She spoke with the guard in Miao language for a while before leaving directly.

  "Our high priest said that irrelevant people are not allowed to enter, please go back!" The guard finished speaking and silently returned to his post, standing very seriously and no longer paying attention to Qin Lang.

  Qin Lang had been expecting it for a long time, but was suddenly shut out, and his heart felt a sense of loss.

  He was about to go forward and let the guard report again, only to see those guards directly raise their silver guns, all pointing outward. He could only shake his head and walk away, still looking back at the door with a glimmer of hope.

  She must have known it was him who came, but she just didn't want to see him. Well, he comes every day, and one day, she will soften her heart and listen to what he has to say.

  Qin Lang was locked in a fierce battle with Yu Niang, while in the new imperial palace of Yu Zhang, a father-daughter duel was also unfolding.

  "I won't marry! I won't marry!"

  In the tranquil Yian Hall of the imperial palace, the lights were shining brightly and it was bustling with noise. A row of eunuchs and palace maids knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe loudly.

  In the hall above, a figure in bright yellow was pacing back and forth restlessly, getting faster with each step.

  "It's all right, stop making a fuss. The Emperor and the Empress have chosen so many suitable young men for you, but you don't think any of them are good enough! And yet you still behave like this!" The speaker was Guangwu Emperor, who had come to see his daughter after dinner.

  At this moment, Princess Yi'an sat on the white jade warming couch with a sulky face, pouting her small mouth, looking completely uninterested and not wanting to talk to her father at all.

  Emperor Guangwu sighed helplessly, shook his head, and sat down beside the warm bed, waving his hand to let all the slaves who had been kneeling in the hall go down, leaving only the father-daughter pair.

  Talking about Princess Yi'an, it is inevitable to mention Emperor Guangwu's harem.

  Emperor Guangwu was the only legitimate son of the previous emperor, and was appointed as the crown prince at a young age. He was handsome, talented in literature, and had great ambitions to govern the country. Many noble ladies in the capital wanted to get close to him, even being willing to serve as a maid in the Eastern Palace just to be near him, which shows Emperor Guangwu's personal charm.

  But this romantic figure, unlike his father, was not cold-blooded, but rather like his mother, who was extremely devoted to love. He and Pei Yanran, the daughter of the old Minister of Rites at that time, were a famous pair of childhood sweethearts in the capital.

  This lady of the Pei family was a distant niece from a branch of relatives. Not only was she beautiful, but also skilled in poetry and literature, making her a rare talent. Therefore, both emperors liked this distant niece very much and often invited her into the palace to converse.

  When Emperor Guangwu chose the crown prince's consort, the previous emperor, in order to balance the power within the court, smoothly designated Pei Yanran, bringing about a beautiful marriage.

  After Pei Yan became the crown prince's consort, she was deeply in love with him and soon gave birth to Princess Yi'an. However, from then on until she became the empress of the new dynasty, she only had this one daughter and no other children were born.

  Emperor Guangwu's favoritism lasted for over a decade, and until now, there is only one empress in the palace, Empress Pei, with no intention of selecting another. Therefore, Princess Yian became the only one among the two, the treasure among treasures.

  "It's not that your father emperor won't agree to you. But your request is really... too..." Guangwu Emperor patiently reasoned with his daughter.

  In his daughter's eyes, at this moment, all reason is unreasonable.

  "What's wrong?! Too much?!"

  Yi An listened and got angry, turned her face away and said in a low voice: "Father Emperor only knows how to find some useless people with empty titles to deceive me. Am I not your and Mother Empress's daughter? Don't you care about my lifelong happiness?"

  Emperor Guangwu was shocked and anxious upon hearing this. What is going on here!

  "It's precisely because We and your mother care about your happiness for the rest of your life that We cannot agree to this. You're a princess, after all, and at the perfect age - what kind of gentleman wouldn't be suitable? Yet you've set your sights on someone who already has a family and is about to have children."

  "Moreover, how can a dignified princess become someone's concubine? If this gets out, what a joke it will be!"

  Yi An covered her ears and shouted loudly: "I don't want to listen! I don't want to be a concubine, if I'm going to do it, I'll be a dignified legitimate wife!"

  "Anyway, I don't care. You and mother think of a solution for me. No matter what, I will only marry the one I want to marry, I won't accept anyone else!"

  In the end, Emperor Guangwu was again disheveled and tormented by his own daughter for a whole night, and had to comfort her repeatedly before leaving Yi'an Hall. But how can this be good? It seems that he still needs to discuss it with his beloved wife.

  The left hand is one's own humerus minister, the right hand is one's own flesh and blood, just thinking about this relationship, Guangwu Emperor has two big heads.

  At this time, Qin Miao had finished washing up and was reading a book under the lamp when she suddenly let out a big sneeze, giving Zixuan, who was sewing beside her, a real fright.