Shen Hanyue blinked her bright eyes: "But what if..."
"What if it doesn't work out? I'll return to Yujing and marry. You staying behind to become a Yaoyue Palace disciple is indeed quite risky," Xiao Ruoling nodded gently: "Then, how about we have a match? .... Shen-shimei, do you really want to be a Saintess?"
"Two people as Saintesses... that doesn't seem to have happened before, right?" Shen Hanyue blinked her bright eyes; she was hesitant and conflicted.
Actually, she had never dared to say it out loud; she didn't want to be a Saintess either. Being an ordinary Yaoyue Palace disciple was good enough.
Being a Saintess meant obtaining the Great Lunar Body Transformation, which could grant eternal youth. But with her high aptitude and the Yaoyue Palace's powerful cultivation methods, she would definitely become a Grandmaster in the future. Besides, eternal youth wasn't all that important.
It's not like she was going to show it to those stinky men anyway. What if she got older? Although mother is old, she is not ugly.
Moreover, a Saintess had so many troublesome matters to deal with, managing this and managing that. How could she be as carefree as she was now? She didn't want to be managed by others, let alone manage others.
But if she didn't become a Saintess, her mother would be disappointed, and she would feel sorry and uneasy.
If the two of them didn't compete and instead entered the Profound Yin Palace together to receive the inheritance, then there would be nothing to say.
If she really became a Saintess, she could just hold the title without managing affairs, fulfilling her mother's wish and avoiding trouble. If she didn't become a Saintess, she could say she did it for the sake of her fellow disciple, and her mother wouldn't be able to say anything.
Becoming a Grandmaster in the future would also make her mother happy. Numerous thoughts swirled in her mind.
Xiao Ruoling stared at her with bright eyes and smiled: "Shen-shimei can think about it first. There's still some time before midnight."
"...Shijie, then allow me to think about it," Shen Hanyue nodded.
Before the magnificent and vast White Jade Hall was a whole piece of white jade, which felt exceptionally soft and resilient underfoot. Xiao Ruoling flicked her sleeves, clearing a spot, and then sat down.
She opened the small Cold Jade Box again, examining the fifteen Heaven-Connecting Grasses inside, finding them more and more beautiful the more she looked at them. Shen Hanyue watched for a while, growing increasingly curious, and couldn't help but ask: "What are these?"
"Heaven-Connecting Grass."
"What are they for?"
"They can strengthen meridians."
"Aren't we not allowed to eat them?" Shen Hanyue asked, puzzled: "Are you taking them out to make medicine?" Xiao Ruoling shook her head and smiled: "The Heir likes these. I'll get some for him."
Shen Hanyue immediately pouted.
She thought Xiao Ruoling was very good. Having seen Xiao Ruoling's beauty, she knew she was beautiful and had an excellent temperament. It's just that she was too unambitious, always thinking about that stinky man, as if she couldn't live without him.
Xiao Ruoling smiled: "Shen-shimei, a Heir Consort isn't someone you can just divorce or change your mind about."
"Isn't it the same?" Shen Hanyue snorted: "Not leaving you, but still being able to marry other women."
"Well... concubines, yes, he will marry them," Xiao Ruoling nodded.
With his aptitude, even if he doesn't become the Emperor in the future, he will definitely be a Prince with real power, holding a position of great authority. The Qing Prince's lineage is already thin, and needs to expand.
At that time, countless powerful and influential families will try to attach themselves, and it will be difficult for the Heir to remain aloof. Marrying two concubines can also strengthen his position.
Shen Hanyue said: "Sharing a man with other women is too demeaning. It's completely unnecessary."
"Shen-shimei, I am the daughter of the Duke Anguo's Mansion, and I also have to think about the Duke's Mansion," Xiao Ruoling smiled.
Yaoyue Palace disciples think about love and loyalty for one person, thinking about perfect love, but she doesn't demand that much. There are not only love between men and women in the world, but many more important things.
Love between men and women is ultimately difficult to sustain, and must be transformed into family affection and maintained with benefits in order to grow old together. This is the fundamental difference in concept between her and other Yaoyue Palace disciples.
Having seen too many ways of how couples in the Duke's Mansion and royal families get along, she doesn't value love that much, feeling it's too fragile, like a blooming flower that's easily destroyed. There are no flowers in the world that never wither.
No matter how passionate the love between a man and a woman is, it will eventually fall into daily trivialities. The most typical example is Prince Qing and Bai Ning霜.
The two were childhood sweethearts and eventually married, but they still lived ordinary lives.
Splendor must eventually return to peace.
Living a plain and simple life together is already beautiful enough. "That's true..." Shen Hanyue nodded.
She also knew that the thoughts of the wealthy were different from ordinary people, after all, the environments were very different.
Xiao Ruoling said: "My Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Art won't dissipate with marriage, so it's most suitable for me to be a Saintess, and marrying into the royal family is originally the destiny of our Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden lineage. My master was like this."
Shen Hanyue lightly furrowed her delicate brows and slowly nodded. She cultivated the Mirror Lake Pointing Moon Technique.
Once she marries, her power will immediately dissipate, and her appearance will rapidly age, losing her youthful beauty. So it is not suitable for her to marry, especially into the royal family.
Yaoyue Palace had an agreement with the Great Jing's founding emperor that Yaoyue Palace disciples would enter the imperial palace or royal family.
But the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden Art can hardly find successors. Now that there is finally a successor, it is a joyous event for Yaoyue Palace.
"If I marry quickly, wouldn't they have to choose another Saintess? Instead of doing that, it's better to directly choose two Saintesses. If I leave, you, Shen-shimei, will still be here."
"This..."
She hesitated: "But what if neither of us can succeed?"
Xiao Ruoling smiled: "Maybe we can succeed?"
"I...I'll think about it again."
Time slowly passed, and midnight gradually arrived.
The forest became more lively, with various insects chirping endlessly, tirelessly. The danger was even greater than during the day.
Xiao Ruoling killed a few attacking demon beasts. When she returned to the front of the Profound Yin Palace, there were already thirty-five Heaven-Connecting Grasses in the box. Shen Hanyue bit her red lip and softly said: "Xiao-shijie, let's go in together."
Xiao Ruoling smiled: "Then I'll have to thank Shen-shimei."
Shen Hanyue shook her head: "Actually, I know that I can't beat you, Xiao-shijie."
Xiao Ruoling said: "That's not necessarily true. You are a prodigy."
"You are an even greater prodigy than me," Shen Hanyue said.
Xiao Ruoling smiled: "Then let's push the door together and see if we can enter. If not, we'll have a decisive battle."
"Okay."
The two walked to the jade door and each placed a hand on one side of the jade door, Xiao Ruoling on the left, Shen Hanyue on the right. As soon as their jade hands touched the jade door, the jade door suddenly lit up, and the moonlight in the sky suddenly converged towards the jade door. Strange patterns slowly emerged, radiating light.
The two women only felt a vast force suddenly pulling them forward, involuntarily flying up, flying towards the jade door.
The two just stretched out their other palms to try to block themselves from being hit, but found that the scene in front of them was empty, and they flew in without any hindrance. The jade door seemed to be just a shadow, but they had tried it before, and it was strong and immovable.
Before they could react to this magical scene, they were shocked by the vast and magnificent scenery before them. They had arrived at a vast sky, going up and up, passing through the clouds.
Above the clouds, there was actually a palace, suspended in the void, built of crystal-clear white jade, even more magnificent than the Profound Yin Palace. Involuntarily, they slowly floated down to the railing outside a white jade palace.
Outside the railing, white clouds floated, within reach.
Looking up, there was a huge bright moon, a moon even bigger than them, perfectly round, as bright as white jade. The silvery light was brilliant.
Not far in front of them, at the bottom of the thirty-six steps of the palace, a graceful figure was dancing alone under the moon. The woman was wearing a white dress, her face covered with a white veil, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes.
Her eyes were like lakes, reflecting the bright moon.
Under the huge bright moon, this graceful figure appeared petite and exquisite, her posture gentle and beautiful, her movements slow. Every move drew milky white light from the moon, merging into her body.
The two women immediately knew that this was the Great Lunar Body Transformation.
Her graceful and beautiful movements had a strange rhythm that made them immersed in it and slowly dazed. When they woke up, they found themselves standing in front of the white jade gate, one palm pressed against the jade gate. The strange patterns were slowly dimming, slowly shrinking back into the white jade.
The world suddenly became bright.
The bright moon was in the sky, and silver light was scattered everywhere. The originally dark sky now looked like broad daylight in their eyes.
