Reality, the Zhou royal palace.

Xiao Mo lay on the bed, seeming to sleep, but in truth he was living out a life inside the Book of a Hundred Lives.

“Your Majesty... Your Majesty...”

Before long, Wei Xun’s voice came from outside the door.

“Come in.”

Xiao Mo’s consciousness withdrew from the Book of a Hundred Lives. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up on the bed.

Wei Xun hurried up to Xiao Mo, then dropped to his knees in panic. “This old servant deserves death! I disturbed Your Majesty’s rest—please punish this old servant!”

“That’s enough. You old bastard, don’t put on a show in front of me.” Xiao Mo rubbed the corner of his eye, moved to a chair, and poured himself a cup of tea. “Say it. What is it this early in the morning?”

Xiao Mo’s tone really was a bit impatient.

Even though the Fifth Life’s experience inside the Book of a Hundred Lives was cut off from Reality—and once Xiao Mo came out, he forgot everything inside it—he still had a feeling.

This time, the experience life was going to end before long, and inside the Book of a Hundred Lives, there was something very important he still had to do.

“In reply to Your Majesty...”

Wei Xun organized his words and spoke.

“After the morning court session, the Minister of Rites wished to see Your Majesty to discuss the wedding rites coming soon, as well as the consort titles for the two consorts.

“And now morning court has ended. Minister Yan is already waiting for Your Majesty in the Imperial Study.

“Also, the palaces for the two honored ladies have been prepared. It may require Your Majesty to take a look and see whether anything needs adjusting, so no problems arise.

“Finally, it is almost time for the once-every-four-years selection of palace maids. The Empress Dowager invites Your Majesty to come—she wishes to speak of this matter.”

“I understand.” Xiao Mo nodded. “Dress me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wei Xun hurriedly rose and called for the maids waiting outside to come in and help His Majesty change.

After changing, washing, and setting himself in order, Xiao Mo stepped out the door and stretched lazily.

A blast of winter wind swept past. The bone-deep cold slipped into his collar, and Xiao Mo instantly woke up fully.

“Let’s go. Don’t let my dear father-in-law wait too long.”

Xiao Mo patted his robe flat and strode forward.

Wei Xun kept his head lowered, two steps behind Xiao Mo, following closely.

Wei Xun did not know whether it was his imagination.

He always felt that His Majesty had recently taken on the air of a martial commander. Sometimes, His Majesty needed only to glance at him, and Wei Xun would feel his heart tremble.

It was as if His Majesty were a general who had fought through a hundred battles—someone who had crawled out from a mountain of corpses.

Then again, ever since His Majesty began cultivating, the aura he gave off had changed again and again.

At first, he felt like a swordsman.

Later, like an elegant scholar.

After that, like a blade demon who killed without blinking.

And now he felt like a martial cultivator general.

In any case, he never really felt like a Daoist.

It was rather strange.

But Wei Xun dared not ask and dared not say a word.

About a quarter hour later, when Xiao Mo arrived at the door of the Imperial Study, he saw a man standing straight inside.

“I’ve kept Minister Yan waiting for too long. Minister Yan, don’t take offense.”

Xiao Mo walked in smiling, his tone carrying a teasing warmth and a hint of intimacy.

“Yan Zhen of the Ministry of Rites pays respect to Your Majesty.” Hearing Xiao Mo’s voice, Yan Zhen hurriedly turned and bowed. “Your Majesty must not say such words. It is this humble minister who disturbed Your Majesty’s rest—please forgive this humble minister!”

“Hahaha. We’re becoming one family—no need to speak like strangers. Your daughter will enter the palace before long. When the time comes, we’ll all be family.”

Xiao Mo sat on the soft couch, then scolded Wei Xun.

“You old thing—do you have no eyes at all? Why aren’t you bringing Minister Yan a chair?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Wei Xun nodded repeatedly and slapped himself twice. “This old servant truly has no eyes at all. This old servant will fetch a chair for the minister at once.”

Very soon, Wei Xun carried a chair out from behind the screen and set it behind Yan Zhen.

“Thank you for granting a seat, Your Majesty.”

Yan Zhen offered thanks with a bow, brushed his robe aside, and sat down.

Looking at Xiao Mo, Yan Zhen felt that His Majesty’s bearing seemed different from before.

“What matter brings Minister Yan to see me?” Xiao Mo went straight to the point.

“In reply to Your Majesty, two months from now, the Qin Eldest Imperial Princess, Qin Mujiu, and this humble minister’s daughter, Yan Ruxue, will enter the palace. Yet since the founding of Great Zhou, there has indeed been no precedent for bringing two women into the palace when an Empress has not yet been established. For a time, we did not know how to set the rites.

“This humble minister and my colleagues in the Ministry of Rites discussed it for a long time. With reference to the rites and laws of past and present across the various states, we have drawn up a wedding ceremony second only to the establishment of an Empress, yet above that of a Noble Consort.

“It also contains the matter of the consort titles for the two consorts.

“I ask Your Majesty to review it as well.”

With that, Yan Zhen drew out a memorial from his sleeve.

Wei Xun quickly took the memorial and passed it to Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo read through it carefully.

Since Xiao Mo was taking consorts without first establishing an Empress—and moreover taking two consorts at once—this truly was rare in the world.

So the Ministry of Rites had to establish new rites.

And these new rites had to have ancient precedents to follow and more recent examples to cite.

Yan Zhen had indeed spent no small amount of effort.

In the end, the new rite that was drafted was not bad.

As for the consort titles for the two of them—

Most dynasties of the Ten Thousand Laws world used a structure of Four Consorts and Nine Concubines, with the Noble Consort standing at the head of the Four Consorts, second only to the Empress.

Yet it was inappropriate for either Yan Ruxue or Qin Mujiu to be made the sole Noble Consort.

So the Ministry of Rites simply proposed that both be granted the rank of Noble Consort, and to distinguish them, according to Zhou rites, each would take one character: Yan Ruxue would be Noble Consort Snow, and Qin Mujiu would be Noble Consort Ablution.

“Do it according to this,” Xiao Mo said, setting the memorial aside after he finished reading. “When an Empress is established later, we will make up for it with a proper Empress-establishment grand ceremony.”

“Your Majesty flatters me. This is what the Ministry of Rites ought to do in the first place. And if we can earn Your Majesty’s approval, then no matter how tired we are, it is as it should be.”

Yan Zhen rose and bowed.

“If Your Majesty has no further instructions, then this humble minister will prepare the rites in accordance with what is written.”

“No problem.” Xiao Mo nodded. “Oh, right. This year happens to be the Year of the Snake. I have a spirit-snake jade token here. I’ll give it to your daughter.”

Xiao Mo took a jade token from his waist and personally handed it to Yan Zhen.

Yan Zhen hurried forward, overwhelmed by the favor, and accepted it. “This humble minister accepts it on Ruxue’s behalf and thanks Your Majesty.”

After exchanging a few more polite words, Yan Zhen withdrew from the Imperial Study.

When Yan Zhen had gone far enough, Xiao Mo watched his back and asked Wei Xun, “What do you think of this Minister Yan?”

“Huh?” Wei Xun froze, then hurried forward and answered with his head lowered. “The Minister of Rites conducts affairs with strict care, his talent is outstanding, and he is thoroughly versed in rites and law...”

“Hmm?” While Wei Xun was still praising Yan Zhen, Xiao Mo turned and glanced at him.

Wei Xun’s expression stiffened. He immediately shut the Imperial Study’s door, walked to Xiao Mo’s side, and lowered his voice.

“Although Minister Yan is of the Yan clan, he truly did pass the imperial examination in the proper way. He even placed first—his talent is not false.

“And I have heard that even early on, Minister Yan held the ambition to ‘order his household, govern the state, and bring peace under heaven.’ In the years he has served, although he often makes friends and attends banquets, most of the expense comes from his clan, or from selling his own calligraphy.

“Oh—Minister Yan’s calligraphy fees should not involve embezzlement. He was a famous calligrapher throughout the world long ago. Many have offered heavy sums for a piece and still could not obtain one.”

Xiao Mo smiled. “Then tell me—someone like that, would he have thoughts about the post of chancellor, and the position of Yan clan head?”

“This...” Cold sweat beaded on Wei Xun’s forehead.

How could he not understand what His Majesty meant?

His Majesty was thinking of—

“Why are you so tense? I was only speaking casually.” Xiao Mo smiled, as if it truly were idle talk. “Come. Go look at the palaces for the two future Noble Consorts.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Wei Xun did not dare say more and hurried after His Majesty.

Not long after, Xiao Mo arrived at the palaces where Yan Ruxue and Qin Mujiu would live in the future.

Only after arriving did Xiao Mo realize that Yan Ruxue’s sleeping quarters and Qin Mujiu’s sleeping quarters were both very close to him—no more than about half a quarter hour on foot.

The furnishings inside, as well as the daily necessities, had all been prepared properly, with essentially nothing missing.

As for palace maids, most assignments had already been arranged.

And within the inner palace of the Zhou royal palace, there were no eunuchs.

Eunuchs could only move about in the outer court.

The so-called outer court included the hall where court was held, the Imperial Study, the Imperial Guard Barracks, and other areas that ministers and envoys could enter.

Therefore, within the inner palace, everything was attended by maids.

As for a close eunuch like Wei Xun, he lived in the outer court. If he entered the inner palace, he had to remain at Xiao Mo’s side and could not move about on his own.

Previously, the reason Wei Xun could be summoned to Spiritual Heart Hall # Nоvеlight # was that the inner palace truly had no consorts living in it. Empress Dowager Yan wished to know Xiao Mo’s recent condition.

But once Yan Ruxue and Qin Mujiu moved in, Empress Dowager Yan would not even be able to summon Wei Xun.

However, Xiao Mo felt that Empress Dowager Yan would not be in any hurry.

Even if she could not summon Wei Xun, Yan Ruxue would be there—able to act as her eyes, and someone she trusted even more.

“Your Majesty, do these two palaces require any improvements?” Wei Xun asked.

“No. They’re fine.” Xiao Mo paused, then frowned. “But why are these two palaces set up symmetrically around my Hall of Nurturing the Heart?”

Xiao Mo’s Hall of Nurturing the Heart stood right between their palaces, as if separating them. And the distance from each palace to his hall was exactly the same.

Wei Xun smiled. “Isn’t it... so neither side is offended?”

“....”

For a moment, Xiao Mo had nothing to say. In his heart, he sighed.

From this layout, it really did look like someone was preparing to “split the inner palace in half.”

He only hoped he would be able to live more steadily in the future.

After finishing the inspection of Yan Ruxue’s and Qin Mujiu’s future palaces, it was nearing noon. Xiao Mo set out for Spiritual Heart Palace to see his Empress Dowager.

“This son pays respects to Mother.”

Entering Spiritual Heart Palace, Xiao Mo clasped his hands and bowed to Empress Dowager Yan. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“The Emperor has come.” Empress Dowager Yan, seeing Xiao Mo, stepped forward with a delighted expression and took his hand. “Since the Emperor began cultivating, your complexion has grown better and better—and you look even more handsome.”

“Thank you for the praise, Mother. This son cultivates every day and tends the heart. One could say I have gained a little.” Xiao Mo smiled. “But compared to this son, Mother looks younger and younger. If Mother went traveling with a young lady of sixteen, no one would be able to tell.”

“Hehehe... Since when did the Emperor become so good with words? I’m already over forty. I’m old...”

Empress Dowager Yan laughed behind her handkerchief. Though she said she was old, the way her brows lifted and her eyes crinkled made it clear that Xiao Mo’s words pleased her.

“Enough of that. Today I summoned the Emperor for the matter of palace maids. Once Ruxue and the others enter the palace, it will be time to select women of proper age to enter. In our Zhou, the selection of palace maids is handled by the Empress. Now that the Empress’s seat is vacant, I will decide it for the Emperor instead. What does the Emperor think?”

“Of course there is no problem. Everything is for Mother to decide. I must trouble Mother to take pains for this matter.”

What opinion could Xiao Mo have? Even if he did, it would have to be treated as no opinion.

Moreover, according to rites, when women enter the palace, it is indeed the Empress who leads the palace maids in examination and selection.

Now that he had not established an Empress, it was normal for Empress Dowager Yan to lead the maids under her and select women to enter the palace.

Yet Xiao Mo also knew that in order to increase Yan Ruxue’s advantage, Empress Dowager Yan certainly would not choose women who were too beautiful—lest something like “the consorts are not yet pregnant, yet a maid becomes pregnant first” should occur.

But Xiao Mo did not care.

He already had a headache dealing with two consorts. The last thing he wanted was to seek out palace maids.

And seeing how readily Xiao Mo agreed, Empress Dowager Yan blinked.

She had thought that once the Qin Eldest Imperial Princess entered the palace, Xiao Mo would have other thoughts and would resist her somewhat.

But now, seeing Xiao Mo still obedient as always, Empress Dowager Yan felt even more delighted—so much so that she even wondered whether she had been too harsh to this child.

After all, he had lost his birth parents when he was young. Then he was adopted into the palace, bound by restrictions at every turn. He really was pitiable...

But very quickly, Empress Dowager Yan pressed down the sympathy in her heart.

At present, the priority was to first set Ruxue upon the Empress’s seat. This was not the time for sympathy.

Empress Dowager Yan spoke with Xiao Mo a while longer, and they ate the midday meal together.

In the afternoon, Empress Dowager Yan issued an imperial proclamation across Zhou—selecting women of clean background to enter the palace.

And on the day after the proclamation was issued—

Before the notice board in the Zhou imperial capital, a woman wearing a thin veil looked it over again and again.

At last, she turned and returned to the courtyard.

“Wang Xin...”

The woman pushed the courtyard gate open, removed the thin veil, and said happily.

“Sister Si Li, what is it?”

Wang Xin turned around. Little Chaos, sprawled on the table, took one bite and swallowed the pastry the woman held.

“Before, through a formation array, didn’t we confirm that Xiao Mo’s reincarnation is very likely inside the palace?” Si Li said.

“That’s right, but the problem is that Sister Si Li doesn’t know how to get in, does she?” Wang Xin asked in confusion.

The formation array pointed to the Zhou royal palace, and the Zhou ruler was also called Xiao Mo. Wang Xin and Si Li both felt that perhaps there really could be such a coincidence in the world—the Zhou ruler might be Xiao Mo’s reincarnation.

But the Zhou royal palace had a formation array. If they infiltrated secretly, they would be discovered.

And Thunderclap Temple also had a rule: monastics were not permitted to enter the royal palaces of mortal dynasties, because a royal palace was a place where dragon fortune and karma gathered, and Buddhist disciples were the most easily affected.

Wang Xin, as a monastic of Thunderclap Temple, naturally had to obey the rules.

So she could not pay an audience to the Zhou ruler and could only wait for a day when he left the palace.

Not to mention, confirming the reincarnation of a person’s soul required time. Wang Xin could not possibly linger in the inner palace for long without leaving.

Thus, the two of them had been at a loss recently.

“I know now.” Si Li smiled. “Just now, I saw that the Empress Dowager of Zhou is selecting palace maids.”

“So Sister Si Li wants to...”

“That’s right. I’m going into the palace as a palace maid to take a look!”