Yao South Hidden Manor · The Main Path Before the Estate
The forest was deep green, and the mountain wind carried a cool, cleansing chill.
Rune lanterns lined both sides of the stone stairway, winding upward like a gentle river of light through the mountains, silently guiding Youqing and her companions toward the depths of the manor.
Yao South Hidden Manor—
it was neither palace nor ancestral hall, yet within its stillness lingered a solemnity both serene and untouchable.
The moment Youqing stepped down from the Yao carriage, she heard a measured series of footsteps, steady as metal striking stone.
Knock—knock—knock.
The heavy manor gates swung open in answer.
Yan Yi led dozens of disciples, standing in orderly rows along both sides of the stone steps like ranks of ancient pines. Their robes were white as frost, their waist plaques catching the light, their expressions solemn and pure. There was a force in them—
neither military nor courtly, yet possessed of a dignity entirely their own.
Luo Ye narrowed his eyes and murmured,
"This hidden manor… feels even more imposing than before."
Sang Qi sighed softly.
"…It feels more like a true Yao Palace than the Yao Palace itself."
Cangyuan curved his lips in a faintly amused smile.
"At the very least, it's cleaner than the palace."
"Welcome, Imperial Daughter and honored Five Yao! Welcome, Three Generals and Third Prince—!"
The disciples bowed as one, their voices sweeping through the mountain air like wind through cedar, clear and resonant, echoing across the valley.
Yan Yi stepped forward slowly.
Though nearing forty, he was graceful as bamboo and gentle as water, his bearing naturally refined and calm. The token at his waist swayed lightly with each step, etched with the Hidden Manor's insignia—modest, yet carrying the weight and responsibility reserved for its master. Though born of a collateral line of the Yan clan, he shared blood and ancestry with the former Empress Yan Ling; by lineage, he was bound to call her his elder cousin-aunt.
He bowed deeply to Youqing, his voice steady and sincerely respectful.
"Imperial Daughter, please forgive us for not welcoming you from farther out."
Youqing was about to return the courtesy when Si Moheng moved first, one hand already steadying her wrist with quiet, natural ease, sparing her needless formalities.
Yan Yi's gaze flickered briefly to Si Moheng's hand, then withdrew at once. A knowing, gentle smile passed through his eyes.
"I see."
Then he turned to the Five Yao and the Three Generals, offering each of them a respectful clasp of hands.
"The fame of the Five Yao has long reached distant lands. To meet you all today is truly my honor."
Then, stepping aside, he gestured inward.
"Young Lord Ling Shuo and Miss Wanluo have both awakened. Their minds are clear, and they are presently waiting in the rear hall."
Lingdang could no longer hold herself back. She stumbled forward two steps, her voice trembling.
"My brother… my brother has truly awakened?"
Yan Yi answered warmly,
"He has awakened. His pulse is even, and there is no serious danger."
Then his expression shifted, turning solemn as he looked back to Youqing.
"Imperial Daughter, please come inside. Hidden Manor has prepared clean chambers and warm food. However… there is one matter that I must first report to you."
His tone became grave.
"Miss Wanluo has expressed the wish to remain here in Hidden Manor and care for Young Master Fengmian for the rest of his life. Since she is not a citizen of Yao Capital, I dared not make this decision alone. I ask the Imperial Daughter to determine the matter."
The air froze.
Fengmian—
once the trusted Imperial Preceptor of Si Chengjing, highest strategist of the Yao Palace, one of the former four generals of the Rifted Yao Nether Domain… and now a man whose body had been stolen by Yeyi and whose mind had been shattered.
Jialuo's brows drew together sharply.
"Why would Wanluo want to stay?"
Lianyu said in a low voice,
"For Fengmian?"
Yan Yi nodded.
"After Miss Wanluo awakened, her body was weak, yet her mind remained entirely clear."
"She said that Young Master Fengmian was not the true culprit—that he was the one whose body had been stolen, the one used, and therefore… perhaps more innocent than anyone."
At those words, Youqing's fingertips paused, as though a hidden pain had been drawn up from deep within the dark.
After a moment of silence, she said softly,
"Take me to her."
Yan Yi bowed deeply once more, then turned to lead the way.
Rear Hall · Quiet Chamber
The door opened with the softest of sounds, releasing the warm fragrance of calming herbs.
Wanluo was already waiting by the low table.
She wore plain robes, her face still pale from recent weakness, and though she looked fragile, she stood with striking composure.
The moment Youqing stepped inside, Wanluo did not hesitate even for a breath.
Thud—
She dropped heavily to her knees.
Her forehead struck the floor with a dull sound that made every heart in the room tighten.
"Imperial Daughter," she said, her voice hoarse yet clear.
"I was wrong."
Youqing started slightly, about to speak, but Wanluo pressed on first.
"Please allow me to remain here and care for Fengmian for the rest of his life."
The air seemed to sink underwater with the weight of her words.
Wanluo lifted her head, eyes already red.
"Now that he is witless and his soul lines are damaged, all of it… was caused by Yeyi stealing his body."
"The evil that was done was not by his will, nor by his own hand."
Luo Ye's brow tightened at once.
"And what of it? Harm is harm."
Wanluo lowered her gaze, yet her voice did not tremble.
"I know."
Her hands pressed against her knees, fingers shaking faintly.
"In the Nether Domain, Fengmian and I had long lived as husband and wife in all but name—"
A ripple of shock went through the room.
Jialuo's brows furrowed sharply.
"You two…?"
Wanluo looked up and met every gaze without hiding.
"Yes. Fengmian and I were once a pair."
Cangyuan murmured under his breath,
"No wonder."
Wanluo turned back to Youqing and bowed down again, pressing her forehead to the floor. Her voice trembled, but it was heavy with sincerity.
"Imperial Daughter, I do not beg forgiveness. I beg only to atone."
"When I was younger… jealousy blinded me."
"It was because of that jealousy that I committed the vile act of casting you, still an infant in swaddling clothes, into the Gate of Yao Source."
A sharp ripple passed through the chamber.
Ding Yuxuan sucked in a breath.
Li Furong covered her mouth.
Xie Wenyun's expression darkened.
And Youqing—
stood still, revealing nothing.
Though she could not see, the darkness around her gave away no emotion.
Wanluo continued, almost like a confession to herself.
"I know I have no face with which to see the Nether Emperor or Nether Empress."
"I have no face with which to return to the Nether Domain."
"I am willing to remain here… to care for Fengmian, to guard his soul and his body… until the end of his life."
She bowed again, her forehead striking the floor with even greater force.
"If the Imperial Daughter forgives me, Wanluo will carry gratitude in her heart forever."
"If the Imperial Daughter does not forgive me, then I will draw my blade across my own throat here and now… and consider that my repayment for the life I owe you."
"Enough!" Jialuo snapped.
Lianyu murmured quietly,
"She is sincere."
At that moment, Jialuo stepped forward, his voice weighed down like a mountain.
"Little sister."
Wanluo looked up at him. For an instant, something bright flared in her eyes, only to dim again.
"Are you truly determined to remain here?" he asked.
Wanluo nodded gently, her voice unexpectedly calm.
"Brother… by the time I reached this day, I had already let everything go."
"What did you let go of?" Tutan muttered, brows knitting together.
Wanluo smiled faintly, though her eyes brimmed with tears.
"I let go of my love for Nether Emperor You Nian."
"I let go of my jealousy toward Nether Empress Qingfei."
"I let go of the place I once wanted to steal, the name I once wanted to claim, the life I once wanted to seize."
Jialuo's eyes grew hot.
Wanluo went on.
"I am no longer the woman I once was, nor do I need to become anyone else."
"I wish only to be Fengmian's wife—even if only as the shadow that remains at his side to care for him."
She raised her eyes toward Youqing—
filled with both shame and fearlessness.
"Imperial Daughter… please grant this."
No one in the chamber spoke.
All sound, all emotion, all heartbeat seemed to sink into the darkness surrounding Youqing.
Only Wanluo's kneeling figure remained—
like a flower bent low in dust, yet unbroken.
She stayed prostrated on the ground, her forehead pressed against the cold jade floor, her voice trembling like a shattered zither string.
No one dared to speak first.
Tutan held his breath.
Jialuo clenched his fists.
Si Moheng's expression darkened.
Even Lianyu unconsciously pressed a hand to his chest.
Youqing stood still.
In the darkness, she could see no one.
But she could hear the fracture in Wanluo's voice—
and she could feel the ache that rose belatedly in her own heart.
At last—
Youqing lifted one hand.
Jialuo and Tutan tensed at once, thinking she might issue punishment.
But Youqing merely let her fingers touch Wanluo's trembling shoulder.
"Rise."
Wanluo froze, but did not move. She understood too well that she had no right to stand.
Youqing repeated, her voice as calm as before.
"Wanluo. Lift your head."
Slowly, trembling, Wanluo obeyed.
Though Youqing could not see her, she turned exactly toward her, as though able to pierce the darkness and look directly into another's heart.
Her voice was not loud, yet it struck everyone in the room like a blow.
"You wish to repay the life you owe me… with death?"
Wanluo's breath caught.
Youqing said quietly,
"That would be too easy."
The room fell utterly still.
Wanluo's throat trembled.
Youqing lowered her head slightly, as if listening to the wind—or perhaps to her own heart.
"Yeyi stole your heart and led you astray. Yeyi stole Fengmian's body and plunged him into ruin. You bear guilt—and Fengmian bears guilt too—but neither of you is the true source of the crime."
Tutan flinched slightly.
Lianyu's eyes dimmed with emotion.
Jialuo lowered his gaze, pain rising quietly inside him.
Youqing let her hand fall from Wanluo's shoulder, and her voice deepened with gravity.
"Heaven has cause and consequence. Human hearts know right and wrong."
"The life you owe me should not be repaid with death."
Wanluo drew in a sharp breath.
"Then… how should I repay it?"
Youqing smiled.
The smile was faint as light—
falling into darkness, yet somehow able to illuminate the world.
"If you truly wish to remain and care for Fengmian…"
"Then care for him for the rest of his life."
Wanluo froze.
Youqing continued.
"If you truly repent, then let him live."
"Let him wake. Let him smile. Let him find peace."
"And in every small measure of his recovery… redeem your own sin."
Wanluo's tears broke loose at last.
Youqing added softly, her words landing in the deepest place of the heart,
"To die is to escape. To live… is to atone."
At that instant, Wanluo collapsed forward, weeping uncontrollably.
Jialuo's eyes reddened.
Tutan lowered his head and drew a long, trembling breath.
Even Si Moheng could not help but lower his lashes, his heart deeply moved.
At last Youqing said, in a voice no louder than a breeze,
"Wanluo—I do not hate you."
Wanluo jerked her head up, disbelief flooding her face.
"Im-Imperial Daughter…"
Youqing extended her hand, as though brushing across darkness and over old wounds alike.
"I only ask… that you never go astray again."
Silence stretched for several breaths.
Then—
Wanluo bowed heavily to the floor.
"I, Wanluo, swear to spend the rest of my life guarding Fengmian's soul and protecting his breath—
never to betray this vow!"
The entire chamber held its breath.
Because at that moment, what they witnessed was not merely Youqing's compassion—
but the true heart of an empress.