"What materials?" Ye Lanshan grabbed Tao Yao's hand from her chest and pinned her against the wall beside them.
Tao Yao tilted her head slightly, gazing at Ye Lanshan's face, as ethereal as a celestial being, a trace of infatuation flickering in her eyes.
"Since you can't say, don't blame me for not preparing it for you." The gentle voice instantly snapped her back to reality.
"Oh, oh, it's cotton stone. If, if you can get me the cotton stone, I can make the incense you mentioned." Under Ye Lanshan's handsome appearance and sudden, forceful wall pin, Tao Yao began to stammer.
"Cotton stone?" Ye Lanshan pondered for a moment before recalling what it was.
"Fine, agreed. I'll get you the cotton stone, but I need you to make that incense as quickly as possible." Ye Lanshan released her hand and walked over to sit by a stool.
"Of course, but I have one condition." Though Ye Lanshan had moved away, the blush on Tao Yao's face hadn't faded yet.
"What condition?" Ye Lanshan asked.
Tao Yao giggled coquettishly. "I want you to never leave my sight, no matter what you do."
"Sorry, but I can't comply with that. Choose another condition." Ye Lanshan naturally couldn't agree to such an unreasonable request.
Seeing her expression darken, Tao Yao quickly changed her tune. "That was just teasing you! As long as you come drink with me every night, I'll be more than satisfied."
"Fine, but I want you to finish blending the incense as fast as possible." Ye Lanshan agreed readily.
"Naturally, don't worry, I'll put my heart into it." Tao Yao, hidden from Ye Lanshan's view, revealed a sly smile of triumph.
...
"The people from the Holy Land have arrived—this is our perfect chance to seize the throne." Xiao Lizi's face lit up with barely concealed joy.
"But why would the Holy Land help us?" The queen felt a nagging unease, as if something was about to happen.
"We don't need their help. Do you remember Ye Feng's disappearance six years ago?" Xiao Lizi wrapped his arm around the queen and asked casually.
"Huh? What does that have to do with Ye Feng?" The queen was utterly puzzled.
"Sigh! If the Ye family hadn't stopped the Lord from taking Ye Feng back then, they wouldn't have fallen to such a low state."
Xiao Lizi sighed, recalling how the once-glorious Ye family now clung to the nation's support just to survive.
Then he thought of himself, of his own family's former status—so similar to the Ye family's.
Only worse off, really. The Ye family, no matter what, had merely declined; at least they hadn't scattered.
But his family had ended up broken and destroyed. Sometimes Xiao Lizi wondered if they had truly done something wrong to deserve such a bitter fate.
Alas, there were no answers. Now, all he could do was wear a mask, infiltrate the Yue family, and avenge his ancestors.
"But even if the Holy Land is powerful, what does that have to do with us?" The queen racked her brain but still couldn't grasp Xiao Lizi's meaning.
"I'm saying they're likely here to capture Ye Lanshan. You know how the Ye family ended up after opposing the Lord back then."
"If they refuse to hand over Ye Lanshan this time, their destruction might be near."
"You mean the emperor will protect her?" The queen shook her head, finding it impossible.
"What? You don't think so?" Xiao Lizi hadn't expected the queen to disagree.
"I know Yue Jinghong. He seems easy to push around, but it's all an act. He's known all along that I've been poisoning his food, but he never calls me out—just secretly dumps it."
"If not for that day when the maid who dumped it bumped into me, I'd still be in the dark. Someone as cunning as him—how could he sacrifice his own power for anyone else?" The queen felt not a shred of marital bond with Yue Jinghong.
Xiao Lizi smiled mysteriously and changed the subject. "I hear Fengqi Mountain is beautiful. After I've avenged us, how about we go live there for a while?"
The queen set aside her worries and replied sweetly, "Anywhere you are is the most beautiful place."
"Mm, we'll build a house on Fengqi Mountain, plant some herbs by the door. In the mornings, we'll watch the sunrise; in the evenings, the sunset."
"When we're hungry, we'll eat wild game from the mountains; when we're thirsty, we'll drink sweet spring water. If we can't sleep at night, we'll admire the moon and drink wine in the courtyard. When we're tired during the day, we'll enjoy a good nap indoors."
Xiao Lizi slowly painted a beautiful picture—a life truly worth longing for.
Listening to his description, a glimmer of yearning appeared in the queen's eyes. "Alright, but you must be careful."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Xiao Lizi reluctantly let go of the queen and left the bedchamber.
...
"I need cotton stone now. Does the Ye residence still have any?" Ye Lanshan rushed straight to Ye Jinlin's alchemy room as soon as she returned to Yefu.
"Yes, we do. How much do you need?" Ye Jinlin had just finished inventorying the Ye family's herbs, so he answered without hesitation.
"Mm, bring me all the cotton stone. I have a use for it." Ye Lanshan nodded and ordered.
"Well... we should keep some as a reserve." Ye Jinlin hesitated.
"Then leave a little aside and bring me the rest." Ye Lanshan revised her command after hearing him.
"Alright, I'll get it for you now." Ye Jinlin went to the pharmacy, took out some cotton stone, and handed it to Ye Lanshan.
She stored it in her space and, without another word, prepared to leave.
But Ye Jinlin called out to her. "Wait. Remember, when you encounter people from the Holy Land, try to act as ordinary as possible."
Ye Lanshan lowered her eyes and replied indifferently, "I understand. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
She seemed impatient, but she had taken his words to heart—whether she'd follow them was another matter.
After Ye Lanshan had gone far, Ye Jinlin let out a melancholy sigh and gazed into the distance.
...
At the Ye residence in the Night Kingdom, Ye Yutian was cultivating when Luo Rui burst past the guards'阻拦, shouting, "Ye Yutian! The Holy Land's people have gone to the Moon Kingdom's capital, and you're still here cultivating?"
"What does it matter to me where the Holy Land goes?" Ye Yutian's tone was flat, utterly unconcerned.
"Don't forget how Ye Feng disappeared back then." Luo Rui gritted his teeth, a note of frustration in his voice.
"That's the Ye family's business. What's it to me?" Ye Yutian didn't catch Luo Rui's hint at all.
"Ye Feng is Ye Lanshan's father." Luo Rui thought he'd made it obvious enough—surely Ye Yutian would get it now.