Yao Capital · Palace Corridor
A festive warmth had begun to seep into the wind over Yao Capital. Red silk and golden ornaments draped the palace walls, and yet, beneath all that splendor, the Five Yao did not lose themselves in celebration. At the far end of the corridor, they stood gathered around the final reconstruction plan for Xiling City, confirming every last detail.
Lin Lie rolled up the surveying scroll in his hand, his gaze cool and resolute.
"The supply routes and resource allocations have all been checked. Once the wedding is over, we leave immediately."
"Xiling lies in ruins," Li Yan said, one hand resting on the shield at his waist, voice deep and steady. "This is not only for the Ling family. It is for the displaced people—to let them know that after an eternal night, there truly is light."
Luo Ye grinned and slapped the grain pouch hanging at his side.
"I've got seeds and rations ready. When we get there, I'm going to make that scorched earth green again."
At that moment, Si Moheng walked slowly down the corridor, his hand clasped around Youqing's. Though a thin veil still covered her eyes, she could feel the rising spirit that bound them all together.
"You've all worked hard," she said, stopping in place. Her voice was gentle, but full of strength. "The future of Xiling… I leave it in your hands."
The Five Yao turned together and bowed to the couple who were soon to enter the wedding hall.
Si Moheng tightened his hold on Youqing's hand and looked at the brothers who had fought life and death beside him.
"When our wedding is over, I will personally see you out of the capital. The rebuilding of Xiling is not only your mission. It is also my promise."
Leaning lazily against a vermilion pillar, Cangyuan spun his short blade between his fingers, the usual playfulness in his smile softened by sincerity.
"Your Highness, rest assured. Once your wedding with Xingyu is complete, we'll rebuild Xiling into a city as beautiful as Yao Capital itself. Let that be our wedding gift to you."
Hearing the voices around her, Youqing felt the last thread of unease inside her dissolve into the wind.
On the eve of the land's rebirth, this wedding—destined to shake the realm—was about to begin.
It was not merely the union of two souls.
It was the final gift of hope, poured into a scarred and broken world.
Yao Capital · Shengyu Residence
On the eve of the wedding, red silk swayed within Shengyu Residence, while warm sunlight spilled softly through the windows. Inside, the young women sat together in a bright, cheerful circle. Gone were the blades and bloodshed of the battlefield; in their place remained only laughter and the easy intimacy of companionship.
"If only I could go flower-viewing in the mountains with you all again…" Youqing touched the gauze over her eyes, a trace of regret in her voice. "But after the wedding, I'll be returning to the Underrealm with Moheng. The trip we talked about will probably have to wait."
"What's there to regret?" Li Furong waved a hand generously. "Life's long. As long as everyone's safe, there'll be plenty of chances. Besides, we can always go to the Underrealm and make you treat us to drinks."
Xie Wenyun nodded gently.
"Exactly. Everyone has their own duties now. You'll go to the Underrealm, and we'll head to Xiling. Once both places settle down, we sisters can gather there. Wouldn't that be even livelier?"
"Exactly!" Ding Yuxuan's eyes lit up. "By then I'll have upgraded the Yaobo again—better shock absorption, more cabin space. We could even camp outside!"
Youqing paused, then laughed softly.
"Wouldn't that make it… a camping car?"
"A camping car?" Ding Yuxuan repeated, as if she had discovered an entirely new world. "That name is perfect! Once we reach Xiling, I'm making Ah Lie help me design the best camping car in all the Yao Realm!"
At that moment, Lingdang was clinging to Youqing's arm, her cheek pressed against her shoulder, voice soft and sticky with affection.
"Sister Qing, we only just reunited, and now we're going to be apart again. I really don't want to let you go…"
Youqing's heart softened. She stroked Lingdang's hair.
"Silly girl. Once Mother's pregnancy is stable, I can come back often. With the Yaobo now, the journey only takes a few days."
"Speaking of the Yaobo…" Ding Yuxuan suddenly burst into laughter. "Sister Qing, you have no idea—those three generals have practically been living in the workshop lately. Every day they pester Prince Chengyao to teach them how to drive one, and they even shamelessly begged him to gift each of them a Yaobo."
"What do they want them for?" Youqing asked, amused.
"They said it's a 'chick-magnet machine!'" Ding Yuxuan laughed so hard she nearly bent double. "I don't even know where they picked up that phrase. They were saying driving one around makes them look imposing. I nearly died laughing."
Youqing coughed lightly, inwardly pressing a hand to her forehead. Those three legendary generals who could shake battlefields with a gesture… and in private, they were hopelessly ridiculous. No doubt they had stolen the phrase from some random modern term she had once mentioned.
Just as the laughter in the room was reaching its peak, Youqing suddenly stiffened.
"Ah—"
Her hand flew to her eyes. Her fingertips trembled.
"Sister Qing?!"
"Youqing, what's wrong?"
The girls rushed toward her at once.
"It's nothing… just a sudden sharp pain in my eyes. Like being burned from the inside." She bit her lip. In the endless darkness that had bound her vision, a current of heat suddenly surged violently through.
Slowly, she lifted the gauze from her eyes. Her lashes trembled.
"Youqing—your eyes…!" Li Furong gasped.
Lingdang's voice shook.
"Sister Qing… your eyes—they've turned blood-red!"
Under the girls' startled cries, Youqing blinked slowly. The deep crimson in her pupils receded like a withdrawing tide, fading from rich scarlet to pale red—until, at last, the strange color vanished altogether, leaving behind nothing but pure, deep black.
The dead stillness of darkness cracked.
First came a line of light. Then shapes emerged—blurry at first, and then sharpened into clarity:
Li Furong's anxious face. Lingdang's tear-bright eyes. Xie Wenyun's worried gaze. The outlines of every flower, every table, every beam of wood in Shengyu Residence.
"I can see…"
She stared at her reflection in the basin of water. Those eyes were no longer empty. They were alive again.
"I can see! I really can see all of you!"
For one instant, the room went completely still—then burst into shrieks of joy even louder than before.
Youqing turned toward the window. In the distance, she saw the man in dark robes overseeing the wedding preparations.
A smile slowly curved her lips.
Tomorrow, at their wedding, she would finally be able to see him clearly—
and walk toward him with her own eyes open.
Yao Capital · Before Shengyu Residence
On the day of the wedding, the entire city was dressed in red.
Si Moheng wore a dark crimson wedding robe embroidered with golden patterns, making his already striking features look even sharper and more brilliant. He sat astride a snow-white horse, with an entire procession of red-decorated Yaobo wedding carriages lined up behind him. The spectacle was so grand that the whole city could do nothing but stare.
But when the wedding procession arrived in full splendor before Shengyu Residence, it was stopped cold—
by a "human wall" woven from red silk.
"Hold it right there!" Ding Yuxuan stood at the top of the steps, wielding a specially crafted Yao-powered speaking tube like a commander on a battlefield. "If you want to take our Sister Qing away, it won't be that easy! You have to pass our three trials first!"
The three generals—Garo, Lianyu, and Tutan—instinctively moved as if to clear the path, but Si Moheng halted them with a single glance.
He swung down from his horse, the corner of his lips curving into a faint, indulgent smile.
"Please begin."
Trial One: The Test of Understanding
Examiner: Li Furong
Li Furong folded her arms, smiling in a way that promised trouble.
"Your Highness, this first test is called A Thousand Miles of Fate Tied by a Single Thread. Ten red ribbons have been threaded through the door. Only one is tied to Youqing's finger. The others—" she coughed delicately, "—are tied to the hands of the Five Yao and the three generals. If you choose the wrong one, you'll have to carry whichever brother you picked all the way down the street."
Si Moheng narrowed his eyes.
Then he closed them.
He stilled his breathing and listened—not with his ears, but with that thread of resonance that had long since bound his soul to hers.
Without hesitation, he reached for the ribbon in the center.
He gave it a gentle tug.
From behind the doors came a soft, startled cry—followed by a string of bell-like laughter.
It was Youqing.
"First trial—passed!" Li Furong declared, utterly convinced.
Trial Two: Endurance and Self-Control
Examiners: Lingdang and Xie Wenyun
Blushing furiously, Lingdang stepped forward with a tray. On it sat several cups of suspiciously colored liquid.
"This is Brother Sang Qi's special Bittersweet-Spicy-Sour Soup of Life. Your Highness has to drink it all in one go—and not show even the slightest change of expression. It means that no matter how sweet or bitter life becomes, you can still hold up the sky for Sister Qing."
Inside were sour plums, Xiling peppers, and Sang Qi's most dreadful bitter medicinal herbs.
Si Moheng did not even frown.
With complete elegance, he drank every last drop.
Then, in a low, magnetic voice, he said,
"It's sweet. Because it came from her."
Behind him, the Five Yao immediately erupted into hoots and groans.
"Your Highness! Who taught you lines like that?!"
"Seriously, where are you getting these bride-stealing scripts from?!"
Trial Three: A Modern "Blocking the Bridal Sedan" Game
Examiner: Ding Yuxuan
Ding Yuxuan grinned wickedly and pointed at a bizarrely modified little Yaobo parked in the open space before the doors.
"The final trial! Sister Qing said we should keep up with the times. Your Highness—you have to put on a blindfold, follow the Five Yao's instructions, and drive this 'auto-navigation car' perfectly into that narrow red square over there without knocking over the red ribbons on either side!"
This, finally, was a genuine challenge.
Si Moheng had slaughtered enemies on battlefields, but handling something this… toy-like? That was new.
Chaos immediately broke out.
"Left! More left!" Luo Ye roared.
"Don't listen to him—that's right!" Cangyuan called out maliciously.
Lin Lie, far more practical, said coolly,
"Reduce output to five percent. Angle deviation, thirty degrees…"
Amid the total confusion, Si Moheng somehow relied on sheer instinct—and parked the little vehicle perfectly within the red square.
"Open the doors! Open the doors!" the Five Yao shouted in unison.
"Where are the red packets? Not enough red packets, no opening the door!" Ding Yuxuan shouted from behind the doors.
Without a word, Si Moheng lifted one hand.
The three generals immediately brought up several large chests, filled with the finest pastries in Yao Capital, rare spirit stones, and carefully chosen ornaments for the girls.
"Is that enough?" Si Moheng asked, facing the tightly shut doors. His voice softened to the point of tenderness.
"Qing'er—I can see you. Open the door, hm?"
Inside, Youqing's heart trembled.
He knew she had regained her sight.
With that one sentence, he was telling her—
that in his eyes, there was only her.
The doors slowly creaked open.
Youqing stood there in a blazing red wedding robe, crowned and veiled, phoenix embroidery shining in the light. Behind the hanging beads, her eyes—deep, black, and utterly clear—met Si Moheng's.
In that instant, the noisy world outside Shengyu Residence fell silent.
Si Moheng looked at those eyes—the ones that had once gone dark and now shone again—and a faint redness gathered in his own.
He stepped forward.
Disregarding all decorum, he reached out and took her hand.
"I've come for you," he said softly.
"My empress."