Grace Rolls Her Eyes Silently

Grace turned her head to look behind her, only to see Evan Xiao riding his Silver Dragon Stallion briskly for a few steps, coming up right outside her carriage window.

"Who's looking for you!" Grace snapped, yanking the curtain down with a huff.

Then, everything outside went quiet.

After a while, Grace lifted the curtain again and peeked outside.

And just as she looked, she met a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling—though not quite.

Embarrassed, she quickly shut the curtain again and grumbled, "The road's so wide, why do you have to ride right next to me? Go farther away!"

Evan Xiao shot her a sideways glance, then—sure enough—spurred his Silver Dragon Stallion forward with a rhythmic clop.

Grace lifted the curtain again, only to catch a glimpse of his back.

She told him to leave, and he actually did!

So obedient?

"Hmph!" She yanked the curtain down for the third time.

This time, she used a bit too much force—almost tearing the whole thing down...

The group moved quickly. By the time they reached the mountain, there was about an hour left before sunset.

The emperor's attendants had already set up temporary tents on the mountain, and the royal chefs who arrived early were busy preparing dinner.

The spirit practitioners couldn't sit still once they got to the mountain. Quite a few dashed into the woods to hunt spirit beasts for the royal chefs to cook.

As dinner started, the delicious aroma wafted everywhere, and Grace's mouth was practically watering.

When it was time to take their seats, Colin Gu spotted Grace following behind Minister Zhuo.

"Grace came too?" Colin Gu asked with a smile. "That's a first."

She wasn't a spirit practitioner, so she naturally never joined in the fun before.

If it weren't for looking for Evan Xiao, she wouldn't have come this time either.

"Yes!" Grace answered politely. "Why isn't the Empress here today?"

And none of the palace concubines came either.

"Today, Aunt Wan from your residence entered the palace. The Empress is accompanying her, so she didn't come," Colin Gu explained.

Grace nodded and fell silent.

The seating arrangement was also set by Colin Gu's attendants.

Evan Xiao sat to Colin Gu's left, Minister Zhuo to his right.

The other officials were seated according to their ranks.

The women formed another circle nearby, though the two groups sat quite close together.

Grace ate quietly, sneaking glances now and then at Colin Gu's side.

Colin Gu, with his gentle yet imperial air, was steady and talkative—his lively conversation with the officials drew everyone's attention.

Putting aside his cold nature and ruthless methods, if you looked at him objectively, he was handsome and refined, talented in cultivation, and—most importantly—ambitious and bold. He knew how to command people, making the concubines fight over him and the officials work themselves to the bone on his behalf.

Honestly, there was a reason she was obsessed with him her whole previous life.

Of course, Grace kept glancing over there—not at him, but at the person beside him.

It was the one sitting next to him.

That person, in stark contrast to Colin Gu, wore all black, looked like a god, and stayed silent the whole time—only occasionally eating a slice of spirit beast meat or sipping some wine. Yet, even in those casual moments, he radiated an air of noble detachment.

He seemed less like a person and more like a god, high above the mortal world.

Grace silently rolled her eyes and snuck another look at her father.

Her dad was still under forty, in the prime of his life, looking young and energetic. He answered Colin Gu and the other officials with wisdom and poise, coming off as both mature and shrewd.

In her previous life, Colin Gu had these two by his side when he conquered the Vermilion Kingdom and built his empire.

Too bad neither of them ended up with a happy ending...