To prove she truly hadn’t taken the wrong medicine, Meng Qianqian retracted today’s debt repayment.
She rolled over, turning her back to Lu Yuan, and angrily kneaded her pillow.
Before three breaths passed, the sound of even breathing reached the tip of her nose.
Lu Yuan chuckled, unsurprised: "This Governor knew it."
After rushing for two months without stop, even being taken care of was exhausting. Let alone being the one caring for others—how could she possibly have the energy for any wild escapades?
Lu Yuan pulled her into his embrace.
Though clearly asleep, her body seemed to remember him. It instinctively turned over, nestled itself into a comfortable position in his arms, and drifted deeply into dreamland.
Liu Muye didn’t need the younger generation to follow rules she laid down—except Liu Qingyun, whom she called up to help clean the Temple.
Liu Qingyun yawned repeatedly as she trailed behind.
Among all people under heaven, the only one who could drag her out of bed this early to work was her mother.
Liu Muye lived her days the same way for decades on end. Liu Qingyun could never understand how she endured such a monotonous life year after year.
If this was the fate of the Miaojiang Goddess, she would rather spend her life never inheriting her mother’s mantle.
Miaojiang worships the Witch God and the Gu God.
Today, her mother had knelt before the statues of the two gods for an unbearably long time. So long that Liu Qingyun began to suspect that during the months of her absence, Witch Mountain had changed its rules again.
Several times, she wanted to speak and ask, but she forced herself to hold back.
Don’t ask. Asking means rules.
Having been beaten before, the lesson was etched in her memory.
Liu Muye finally completed the summoning ritual for the two gods and stood up, walking out of the inner temple.
Liu Qingyun let out a long breath: "Mother, you stayed in there for quite a while today."
Liu Muye replied, "Something significant is about to happen in Miaojiang."
Liu Qingyun was stunned, suddenly remembering the last time her mother spent so long inside. When she emerged, she had said the exact same words.
Shortly afterward, the Bai Family father and son united the factions of Miaojiang that had been divided for years, and they brought Miaojiang under the court’s rule.
At the time, her parents hadn’t yet met, and she hadn’t been born. She only knew about it from tales her grandmother told her after she grew up.
Miaojiang, despite appearances, hadn’t truly been peaceful in recent years. There was always a handful of restless tribes attempting to rebel, yet her mother had never mentioned them.
In simple terms, these matters weren’t significant enough in her mother’s eyes.
Dynastic shifts, territorial upheaval—those were what qualified as major events.
"Mother, does this mean something is going to happen to the Bai Family?"
Liu Muye said, "I cannot decipher the guidance of the Gu God and the Witch God. Every great calamity brings forth those destined to face it. The last person destined for calamity was the old Miao King."
The old Miao King had put an end to years of tribal warfare, granting Miaojiang decades of protection and peace.
But he also paid for it with his life.
A life given by heaven, returned to heaven.
Liu Qingyun thought of the traitor within the clan, seemingly targeting the Governor Mansion. Could it be that the person destined for calamity was tied to the Governor Mansion?
"Could the one destined for calamity be Ayuan?"
Liu Muye shook her head: "I don’t know."
Liu Qingyun mulled over it: "Wait, could it also be my father?"
After all, Prime Minister Xun’s goal was to go after Lu Yuan. Miaojiang’s traitor had conspired with Prime Minister Xun, but his true purpose might have been to destroy her father by killing Lu Yuan.
Liu Qingyun murmured, "The one destined for calamity... will definitely die, won’t they?"
Either during the calamity, or after it.
Liu Muye didn’t respond.
Liu Qingyun’s heart was gripped by an uncontrollable panic.
Whether it was her father or her son, she didn’t want anything to happen to either of them.
She grabbed her mother’s sleeve.
Even when beaten to the point of fleeing like a rat, she had never begged for mercy. Yet now, she gazed at her mother with pleading eyes: "Mother, you are the Goddess of Witch Mountain. You must have a way, don’t you?"
Liu Muye paused for a moment and said, "Fate cannot be defied."