Attending the Banquet

Eventually, she just stopped going.

Honestly, she hadn’t seen her aunt in three or four years. Now her aunt had personally sent word inviting her—if Lily Bai refused again, it wouldn’t just be about avoiding Snow Yuan, it would break her aunt’s heart.

So, she returned to Eastern Luo and, together with her mother and brother, set out for Drake Abyss to celebrate her aunt’s birthday.

When she got back to the Eastern Luo Royal Palace, she opened her Heaven’s Eye to check the black clouds overhead—they were still thick and heavy, making her heart sink.

She remembered her master’s divination and stayed silent the whole way.

After reuniting with the rest of the Summers clan, the three of them entered Drake Abyss together.

The Summers clan has deep roots.

But not many are qualified to attend the birthday celebration for Lord River Drake’s Secondary Consort.

Lily Bai’s maternal grandparents have already passed away; they only had these two daughters.

So, apart from Lily Bai’s family, Serena Summers has no other close kin.

The Summers Clan Chief’s family also worked hard to maintain good relations with them, so they attended too.

There was another branch—a rather unique one in the Summers clan.

He was a man, half-divine, said to have lived for over a thousand years, yet still looked young.

He’s direct Summers blood; ten generations up, most of the main line are his descendants.

So everyone calls him “Old Ancestor.”

He’s a true resident of the Divine Realm.

Unless you’re born divine, there’s really only one way to join the Divine Realm—like her aunt, you have to marry in.

Lily Bai’s Old Ancestor also “married” into the Divine Realm.

But he didn’t go to Drake Abyss—he went to the Southern Realm.

The Southern Realm is the divine territory where the Phoenix Clan lives.

It’s a place where women rule.

The Phoenix Clan’s High Goddess is a woman.

And at home, it’s the women who make the decisions.

Plus, a Phoenix Goddess can have one husband and several “male consorts” at the same time.

A “male consort” is basically a man who’s a wife’s concubine.

It really is a paradise for women.

But for men, it’s a little awkward.

This Old Ancestor is one of the male consorts of the Phoenix Goddess’s elder sister.

Every time Lily Bai sees him, she can’t help imagining what it would feel like to share one wife with other men.

And the more she thinks about it, the more awkward she feels.

But he didn’t seem awkward at all—always calm and courteous, never arrogant or humble.

According to her mother, his position in the Southern Realm is actually pretty secure.

He and that High Goddess had a child—a noble Phoenix Maiden named Mia Quinn.

This time, he brought Mia Quinn with him.

Mia Quinn is a true divine maiden with real phoenix blood.

Everyone who sees her must pay their respects.

She gently tells everyone not to stand on ceremony.

Lily Bai stands up and looks at her.

After all these years, she hasn’t changed at all—still looks like a sweet seven- or eight-year-old girl.