"What's this?"
Looking at the jade box on the table, Liu Qingqing hesitated slightly.
The jade box alone didn't appear to be ordinary; it was certain that whatever was housed inside it was a genuine piece of heavenly material or earthly treasure!
"Grandfather returned to the manor yesterday; this is the wedding gift he sent us."
"I'm just at the Sky-controlling Realm now, so I can't make use of it. Why not refine it yourself instead?"
Gu Changge stroked his chin and made up an excuse offhandedly.
Upon hearing his words, Liu Qingqing gently opened the jade box. The moment she cracked it open slightly, a chill seeped out, and frost started spreading across the stone table.
With just one glance at the item inside, she decisively closed the lid again.
"This object is far too precious, I can't accept it," Liu Qingqing said firmly, shaking her head.
With just that one brief look, she discerned that the snow lotus inside had an herbal age of at least five thousand years, and it was clearly top grade among its kind!
Its value even surpassed the Soul-Shaping Pill!
Although the snow lotus was exceptionally suitable for her—even capable of advancing her Divine Skill, the Heavenly Cold Finger, further to Small Success—she absolutely couldn't accept it!
*She already owed too much and couldn't see a way to repay it. How could she possibly accept such an invaluable treasure?*
"Didn't I say? This item was given as a wedding gift from Grandfather."
"A marriage isn't just about me."
"This stuff belongs to you just as much as me, doesn't it?"
"Refining it should help you break through to the Ruins Realm faster. The higher your realm, the better you'll be at protecting me, your Sky-controlling Realm husband, wouldn't you agree?"
Gu Changge spoke with indisputable conviction, his reasoning seeming unassailable.
For a moment, Liu Qingqing was caught in another dilemma.
Seeing her poised to refuse yet again, Gu Changge abruptly stood up, stretched lazily, and yawned. "I ate my fill and now I'm feeling a bit sleepy. Whether you refine the item here or take it back to refine, that's up to you."
As he said this, he was already heading into the house, leaving no room for Liu Qingqing to object.
"But..."
Liu Qingqing wanted to say something to him as he walked inside, but she heard the faint sound of clothing being loosened and dropped casually to the floor.
"Wife, if you don't want it, then give me the box. Leaving it out might tempt thieves," Gu Changge's voice floated from within the room.
At once, images of the scene inside the house popped into her mind.
*The scoundrel was surely reclining on the bed with an impish smirk, half-dressed, waiting for her to walk in...*
"..."
Realizing his actions had reached this point, Liu Qingqing finally stopped resisting.
She picked up the jade box single-handedly, glanced at the door, and her eyes softened like rippling water.
"I'll be going back then..."
She murmured softly, but no response came from within. She left the courtyard and gently closed the gate behind her.
After walking a short distance away, she felt dazed.
When she arrived earlier, she was tense and somber.
Yet now, after conversing with him, as she departed, none of the scenarios she had imagined had occurred. Instead, she left with an invaluable snow lotus gifted to her.
"Turns out... I'm the one benefiting here."
Liu Qingqing suddenly stopped in her tracks. *She had originally come to the Gu Family to spare Gu Changge further humiliation, but now she had genuinely provided him with nothing—rather, she had gained so much herself...*
*It left her feeling absurdly conflicted and somewhat amused.*
However, following their conversation today, his figure had deeply rooted itself in her heart.
*The title of "Daoist Couple" being merely nominal no longer mattered.*
"Having a husband like this... seems rather nice," she mused.
As Liu Qingqing headed back, even her footsteps grew lighter, her lips curving unconsciously into a faintly perceptible, sweet smile.
She returned to her room in the courtyard allotted to her within the Heavenly Cold Sect.
A sect disciple scratched his head somewhat uncertainly and mumbled, "Doesn't Senior Sister Liu seem different today somehow...?"
"Different how? I think you're just lovesick!"
"But Senior Sister Liu was holding that jade box earlier, which hardly looked ordinary. I wonder where it came from."
"Wherever it's from, it certainly couldn't have come from that Gu Family guy."
Listening to the hushed gossip of the Heavenly Cold Sect disciples in the courtyard, Liu Qingqing sighed with resignation.
*He was no longer the man they imagined him to be. He had reached the mid-stage of the Sky-controlling Realm, a level already beyond the majority of disciples outside.*
"Before the wedding day, I should be able to finish refining this snow lotus."
As a cultivation enthusiast, Liu Qingqing wasted no time upon returning. She informed those outside that she would be entering closed-door cultivation for three to five days and proceeded to lay down an isolation array. Only then did she ceremoniously open the jade box completely.
"A top-grade snow lotus with ten thousand years of herbal age..."
This time, she could perceive the snow lotus's extraordinary value even more clearly—it surpassed her imagination!
Since she had accepted it now, she shifted her focus entirely to refining it.
Meanwhile, about an hour into her closed-door cultivation, her mother Zhao Ling returned to the courtyard with a deeply troubled expression.
Earlier that morning, Zhao Ling had gone to visit Gu Kuang, waiting a long time before finally meeting him.
She had intended to plea for him to keep the secrets of years past from Longge. However, she discovered that... last night, the secret had already been revealed to him.
"Why is Qingqing in seclusion?"
Adjusting her demeanor, Zhao Ling asked a nearby Heavenly Cold Sect disciple.
"Senior Sister left earlier this morning and went into seclusion upon returning," the disciple answered politely. "But it's no problem; I'll prepare a room for you right away."
The disciple, delighted to converse with Senior Sister Liu's mother, responded energetically and respectfully.
"It's over... It's completely over now!"
Zhao Ling felt her strength drain away as she heard the news, allowing the disciple to lead her to the room.
The disciple noticed Zhao Ling's unsteady state and offered a few words of concern before quickly shutting the door and leaving.
Sitting alone on the bed, Zhao Ling sighed repeatedly.
*She already knew that Qingqing must have visited Gu Changge this morning. Given Qingqing's character, she was almost certain her daughter had gone to confess.*
*But could confession really earn understanding?*
*The outcome of Qingqing's visit was clearly not promising; upon returning, her daughter had gone into seclusion and seemed unwilling to see anyone.*
*Oh...*
*What should be done now?*
*If only Brother Gu were still around.*
...
At the Back Mountain Courtyard, Gu Changge lay on his bed, legs crossed, deep in thought.
"After today's persuasion, she probably won't feel too burdened anymore."
"It's a shame the Enlightenment Pill isn't something others can know about. Best to save it for the wedding night."
"Given her personality, she'll likely spend the next few days refining the snow lotus. This is the perfect opportunity to deal with that prince!"
There were less than ten days left until the wedding. Once the ceremony concluded, the Heavenly Cold Sect crowd would depart, leaving no window to act. The move had to happen before the wedding!
As for the man who wanted him dead, Gu Changge had no intention of holding back.
After mentally arranging the plan, he resolved to draw the prince out tomorrow and send him to his demise.
"But will the prince take the bait..."
"Then again, the guy seems pretty dimwitted—frankly, somewhere around the intelligence level of a watermelon perched on shoulders. Unless things go wildly unpredictable, tomorrow will likely mark his death."