Zhao Douan received the Empress's affirmative reply and left satisfied with the lantern in hand.
After sending off the "Future Emperor's Consort," Xu Zhenguan did not return to the bedchamber but instead went back to the fourth floor of the old building.
She planned to visualize once again, to confirm whether she would undergo any new changes upon entering the "Human World" now.
The night was tranquil. The White-clothed Empress placed the fiery red lantern on the floor, sat cross-legged on a cushion, and entered meditation.
A steady stream of air exhaled through her delicate nose. Official source is novęlfire.net
In a daze, Xu Zhenguan also felt a familiar sense of weightlessness, as if falling from a high altitude into another world.
Meanwhile, in the modern metropolis where Zhao Douan had lived in his past life, at the same time in the early hours.
In a bustling city, a suddenly appeared young woman in her twenties, curled up asleep on a bench in a civic park.
Xu Zhenguan opened her eyes, sat up slowly, her messy long hair covering half of her face, revealing a visage identical to her "external world" appearance.
However, her clothing had changed; the upper body was a woman's blouse, her long legs donned in trousers, feet adorned with light-colored sandals, revealing ten exquisite toes.
"Every time I come in, it's the same time, same place, and the same identity, as if time is frozen at this point."
Xu Zhenguan retrieved her phone from her pocket, turned it on, and glanced at the Arabic numerals on it.
During her first visualization, she was here, and aside from a phone and a bunch of keys, she had nothing else on her.
Unfortunately, she didn't know the phone's unlock code at all and has been unable to open it; nor did she know which house in this city the keys would open.
"It seems there's no difference, let's see if the time spent here will extend."
Xu Zhenguan pondered, as a car passed by outside the park, its dazzling headlights swept over her, causing her to instinctively raise her hand to shield her eyes.
Once the vehicle left, her beautiful eyes flickered with deep curiosity and vigilance.
Even though she's entered here many times, because each visit's duration is short, the city remains full of novelty for her.
As an Emperor, she even wondered if this truly was another world recorded by the Grand Ancestor Emperor, then how mighty must its champions be?
To have constructed such grandiose buildings, "carriages" faster than the warhorses in the army.
Shaking her head, Xu Zhenguan tucked away her phone and walked out of the park, heading skillfully in a certain direction.
Before long, she appeared outside a Taoist temple with a sign reading "Taiqing Palace."
This was the only place she found in this strange city that felt familiar and comforting to her.
And even though the temple rules of this world are peculiar, her attempts showed that at this time, the Taiqing Palace wasn't closed, and inside was a female Taoist priest who called herself an "administrative staff" and was quite kind-hearted, allowing her to stay temporarily as long as she requested shelter.
This time was no exception.
When Xu Zhenguan knocked on the door, and in somewhat clumsy Chinese, requested lodging from the middle-aged female temple priest dressed in a blue Taoist robe.
With gentle brows and a benevolent nature, the middle-aged female temple priest said busily: "Come inside first. I'll help you report it, but it will take some time for someone from the precinct to come."
Xu Zhenguan knew that the female Taoist priest had reported to the government, but she never managed to wait until the officer arrived, as she would wake up.
Not long after, the Empress was brought into a room, and while the middle-aged female temple priest was tidying the divination slips on the table, she engaged in conversation with her.
The Empress had no mood for chit-chat, her gaze fixed in a daze on the "marriage tree" in the courtyard, festooned with colorful ribbons.
According to the female temple priest, in recent years, for some reason, it had become popular among young people to seek marriage at temples, making this business quite thriving.
"How about seeking a marriage? It's on the house." The female temple priest, seeing her expression, laughed: "I can divine, it's very accurate."
Xu Zhenguan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "I trouble you."
Providing her birthdate and other information as required by the female temple priest, who then fiddled for a while, handed her a jar filled with beads, each inscribed with a surname.
Xu Zhenguan reached in, randomly drew a bead, the surname on it being quite rare, it read "Zhang."
The female temple priest chuckled: "Your future true destiny prince will have this surname, and as per the divination, you will surely be married before thirty, and his career... he's even employed by the government, you know."
Holding the bead with the "Zhang" character, Xu Zhenguan stared dumbfounded, suddenly chuckled and tossed the bead back into the jar.
She thought to herself: indeed, a charlatan of the Martial World.
The husband she chose clearly had the surname Zhao.
A ship sailed northward under the moonlight on Linfeng Road.
With slightly graying hair and wearing a scarlet Python Robe, Eunuch Hai stood on the deck, bathing in the moonlight, gently exhaling and inhaling.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the cabin, Mo Chou emerged and walked to the edge of the ship.
"Why isn't Miss Mo asleep?" Eunuch Hai opened his eyes, gazing at her: "You've been hurrying for days, ultimately you're an ordinary person. If you don't rest well, you're likely to fall ill."
Looking haggard and wrapped in an official's robe, Mo Chou remained silent, staring at the shattered moon in the river, the direction of the Capital dark and dim: "Unable to sleep, the cabin is stuffy, came out for some air. Who knows where Your Majesty is now."
Eunuch Hai bowed and said: "Your Majesty is immensely blessed, surely they've entered Linfeng by now, escaped the rebels' pursuit, and will soon return to the Capital."
The news of the battle at Baihua Village hadn't spread, because nearly all those who participated died, leading to even Eunuch Hai being unaware of the details, except for a handful.