"Madam, to reach Star-picking Hall, we need to cross that iron bridge. We can go directly from the Political Hall, please follow me!"
Han Yue led Li Xuanling into the main building, up to the top floor, entering directly into the Political Hall.
Having been stunned by Star-picking Hall earlier, Li Xuanling felt little reaction upon seeing the Political Hall, quickly following Han Yue and others through the hall, across the iron bridge behind, heading towards Star-picking Hall.
Walking to the corridor of the hall, Li Xuanling realized that Xiao Ning and Xiao Yu were no longer behind her, and immediately asked curiously.
"Madam, apart from us fifteen maids in the camp, only you and the Minister have the privilege to enter Star-picking Hall. Others cannot enter unless summoned by the lord."
Li Xuanling nodded, continuing to follow Han Yue along the corridor, walking into a room at the rear of Star-picking Hall. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on n0velfire.net
Entering the room, Li Xuanling’s face immediately showed a hint of complexity.
It wasn’t that the room was particularly luxurious. Of course, the dazzling accessories and summer clothes inside were indeed eye-opening, but it wasn’t enough to elicit such a reaction from her.
The crux was that the arrangement of this room was exactly the same as her boudoir in Long Mountain, and even the belongings brought along were placed in the exact same way.
"These... were arranged by him?"
Han Yue first nodded, then covered her mouth and laughed, "It was all personally ordered by the lord. It’s the first time I’ve seen the lord being so attentive; Madam truly is blessed in the future."
Hearing this, Li Xuanling remained silent for a moment, glancing around the room, her gaze eventually stopping at the weapons rack by the west window, becoming stunned once more.
A silver sword was placed at the top of the rack, unmistakably her Heavenly Transformation Sword.
On the day she led an ambush against Xia Hong and failed, the weapon was naturally confiscated.
During this period on Long Mountain, she had several times considered asking Xia Hong for it, but each time she couldn’t bring herself to do it, not expecting Xia Hong would return it directly to her.
"Oh, madam, please take a look, the lord specifically instructed me to give this to you."
Han Yue suddenly remembered something, opened the wardrobe in the room, took out a white palace gown, and unfolded it, handing it to Li Xuanling.
The gown felt weightless in her hand, and upon unfolding, the white fine down appeared to glow as if illuminated, giving it an incredible texture. Even more magically, under the firelight in the room, the original white gradually transformed into a transparent blood jade color.
"Such a magical gown."
"This gown is so beautiful."
"This gown is too pretty!"
"No wonder the lord named it ’Red Silk Reflecting Snow’; so this is why."
"It’s stunning; this gown must be very precious."
The maids including Han Yue, evidently unaware of the gown’s properties, immediately gasped in admiration upon seeing its transformation, eyes full of envy.
Though Han Yue and the others were unsure, Li Xuanling recognized it at a glance; the material for the palace gown was the fur of a Blood Jade Fox. Crucially, one Blood Jade Fox could only yield over twenty centimeters of fur at most; it would take at least ten Blood Jade Foxes to make this palace gown.
She looked down at the magnificent palace gown in her hand, a surge of unprecedented emotions rushed within her, the complexity deep in her eyes gradually evolved into an internal struggle.
"Red Silk Reflecting Snow, a name he personally gave... "
"Madam just came from Long Mountain, surely hasn’t had a chance to eat yet. We’ve prepared everything; please have the evening meal!"
Standing behind Li Xuanling, Han Yue naturally couldn’t see her expression, remembering she hadn’t eaten yet, hurried to instruct the other maids to arrange the evening meal.
Li Xuanling gathered her thoughts, quickly restoring her expression, noting that Han Yue mentioned ’evening meal,’ recalling upon entering the city seeing households along the streets also preparing food, she curiously asked, "What does evening meal mean?"
Han Yue smiled and explained, "Evening meal is the last meal of the day; Great Xia now has three meals a day: morning meal, mid meal, and evening meal."
Li Xuanling turned to look at the moonlit night outside, roughly deducing it was about the third hour past midnight, quickly figuring out the meal times.
"Is mid meal in the fourth hour of the night?"
Han Yue nodded, just as the maids carried in trays.
Before the trays were uncovered, a tantalizing aroma had already wafted out, prompting Li Xuanling to turn her head and look.
She sat down at the table, watching as Han Yue opened the first tray.
"This dish is Snow Bamboo Shoots with Mane Meat. These snow bamboo shoots are the most prized young shoots of the snow bamboo from Arrow Bamboo Forest, and the mane meat is the best cut from the neck of an Intermediate Snow Mane. Madam, please try them and see if you like them."
Li Xuanling had tasted good food before, she’d even eaten High-level Beast Meat, not to mention these before her. The two ingredients Han Yue mentioned were known and she had eaten them, but why hadn’t she smelled such a rich aroma before?
She picked up the iron chopsticks Han Yue handed over, grabbed a piece and put it in her mouth, her expression instantly changed.
"How... how can this taste so good?"
Suddenly remembering something, she asked, "Is it salt? It’s salt, right?"
Han Yue was first puzzled, then realizing Li Xuanling had just arrived at Great Xia, nodded promptly to explain, "Yes, madam, refined salt is added to the food you and the lord eat."
For the past two months on Long Mountain, she’d heard rumors of salt, but having neither seen it nor tasted it, she hadn’t taken it seriously.