Chapter 23: How about I call you Bai Ruxue from now on?
"Hiss~ So painful."
"Hiss~ Am I going to die?"
"Hiss~~"
By the edge of a pond, a White Snake lay on the grass.
Her back had a gaping wound, and the entire snake looked on the verge of death.
Not long ago, she had only gone out to forage, wanting to eat a few mice to fill her stomach, but unexpectedly, she encountered an eagle.
Even though she escaped with her life, she was severely injured.
"When will Xiaoqing come? Can she find me?" The White Snake thought of her sister, but soon, a flicker of disappointment crossed the White Snake's vertical pupils.
Even if she finds me, what then?
She can't heal me.
And just as the White Snake was consumed by despair, she heard some movement from the nearby bushes.
The White Snake lifted her head to look, and a Human Race boy pushed aside the bushes and walked out.
The White Snake was startled and quickly curled up, burying her head in the grass: "Don't see me, don't see me."
"Found it!" Xiao Mo's eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the White Snake.
"Oh no!"
The White Snake felt the footsteps getting closer and knew that this boy was coming for her!
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!" The White Snake suddenly raised her head and opened her small mouth at him.
Xiao Mo was startled and took two steps back, feeling a little flustered.
Logically speaking, this type of White Snake should be non-venomous.
But in this Xuanhuan world, who could say for sure?
"You seem to be injured. I'll treat you. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." Xiao Mo held a shovel and approached step by step.
Seeing the Human Race holding a weapon, how could she possibly believe him?
"Stupid Human Race! Even if I die, I won't be made into soup by you!"
The White Snake steeled her heart and pounced forward like a spring to bite.
However, at that very moment, the White Snake's wound was pulled, and a sharp, numbing pain coursed through her body.
Xiao Mo was already prepared to dodge, but the White Snake lay motionless on the grass like a slack rope.
Her body was still twitching.
Seeing that she seemed to have fainted and blood was continuously flowing, Xiao Mo quickly placed her in a bamboo basket and carried her down the mountain.
The White Snake didn't know how long she had been unconscious. When her consciousness returned and she slowly woke up, she found herself lying in a nest of grass.
This seemed to be a Human Race house.
The White Snake looked at her body, a clean white cloth wrapped around her.
From the white cloth, she could also smell a faint scent of herbs.
Recalling everything that happened before she fainted.
Could it be that the boy saved me?
"Clang."
Just as the White Snake was wondering, the door opened.
A boy walked in, carrying a mouse in his hand.
"You're awake." The White Snake saw the boy walk forward happily, then carefully tossed the mouse in front of her.
"For you to eat." The boy smiled brightly, looking innocent and pure.
The White Snake looked at the boy, then at the dead mouse in front of her.
"It seems...
He really isn't a bad person."
Too hungry to bear it, the White Snake opened her mouth and slowly swallowed the mouse into her belly.
After eating the mouse, the White Snake lay quietly in the grass nest, no longer showing her previous aggression.
This was a spiritual snake.
Xiao Mo felt that she must have realized he wouldn't harm her.
"White Snake, do you have a name?" Xiao Mo asked.
The White Snake tilted her head in confusion.
"My name is Xiao Mo. This is my name." Xiao Mopointed to himself, "How about I give you a name too?"
The White Snake paused, then nodded her snake head, even with a hint of expectation in her eyes.
"You're so white, like snow."
Seeing her agree, Xiao Mo thought for a moment.
"How about I call you Bai Ruxue from now on?"
The Ministry of Rites Minister's Residence in Zhou.
In the inner courtyard, a woman who appeared to be in her late teens was bending over a flowerbed.
Her slender hands, holding a delicate silver pair of scissors, meticulously trimmed the excess branches and leaves.
The woman wore a plain white long dress, like freshly fallen snow, enveloping her graceful figure.
A morning breeze swept by, and her skirt hem gently fluttered like flowing clouds, rippling softly.
The woman's dress had no intricate embroidery, only at the collar and sleeve edges, where extremely fine silver threads outlined a few faint, entwined lotus leaves. A moonlight-white silk sash was loosely tied around her waist, outlining a slender waist that could be encompassed by a single hand, adding a touch of delicate willow-like grace.
She tilted her head slightly, revealing a section of her neck as white as jade. A few strands of black hair, like ebony, inadvertently slipped from her loosely styled cloud bun, falling beside her cheek, making her skin appear even more delicate and porcelain-like.
The woman's eyebrows were exquisitely shaped, long and slender like distant mountains with faint ink, with gentle peaks and slightly raised tails, possessing a naturally soft curve.
Beneath her brows were eyes as clear as autumn waters, currently cast downwards, long and dense eyelashes casting faint shadows beneath her eyelids, gently trembling with her trimming movements.
Her lips were a faint pink, like the petals of a freshly bloomed early cherry blossom. The corners of her lips naturally curved slightly upwards, giving her a serene and approachable charm even when she wasn't smiling.
"Daughter! My daughter! Good news!"
As the woman was diligently trimming the flowers, the voice of Yan Zhen, the Minister of Rites, carried from afar.
Hearing her father's voice, the woman looked up and saw her father rushing into the courtyard.
The woman put down her scissors, poured her father a cup of tea, and smiled: "Father is so happy, what good news is it?"
"Hahahaha, daughter, you don't know!" Yan Zhen took the tea his daughter offered, and said happily, "You are going to become the Empress!"
"Become the Empress?" The woman was puzzled.
"Yes."
Yan Zhen nodded.
"Now that His Majesty has been on the throne for a year and the imperial harem is empty, it is finally time to select consorts. Ru Xue, you have been chosen to enter the palace, and since you are a woman of our Yan clan, and we have the current Prime Minister outside and the Empress Dowager inside, you will undoubtedly become the Empress of our Zhou, and rule over the world! Your future child will be the Emperor of Zhou!"
The more he spoke, the more excited Yan Zhen became.
"However, your mother, on her side, is not very willing to let you enter the palace, after all, entering the palace is like entering a deep sea." Yan Zhen reined in his joy, "You know your mother's temperament. Father and she argued for a long time, and finally, we decided to see what you, our daughter, think. Ru Xue, do you want to enter the palace?"
Yan Ruxue smiled slightly, bowed gracefully, and said: "Your daughter will follow Father's arrangements completely."
"Hahahaha, good. Since that's the case, your mother has nothing more to say. I'll go tell the Clan Chiefright away. Daughter, just wait for the good news."
"Alright, Father."
Yan Zhen laughed heartily as he walked out of the courtyard.
Yan Ruxue watched her father's retreating back.
Her originally soft, dark eyes gradually transformed into golden, majestic vertical pupils.