Three Days for You

Grace was now at the fourth level of cultivation, her senses sharper than ever before.

She stood up alertly and glanced out the window.

To her surprise, Evan Xiao was standing there.

Grace stared at him for a few seconds, then walked over and slammed the window shut with a loud bang.

She used so much force that the paper on the window tore apart.

There was a moment of silence outside, then he said, "I'll make the Empress Dowager take back her decree."

"Hope, Claire!" Grace called out.

"Yes!" The two maids rushed over together.

"The window paper is all torn. Find someone to fix it!" Grace said.

"Huh? That's weird! How did the window paper get ripped? It was perfectly fine before!"

"Maybe a thief did it. Get someone to guard the doors and windows properly, and don't let any thieves in!" Grace said angrily.

"Miss, did you lose something?" Claire asked nervously.

"No, I didn't. Just reminding you." Grace stared out the window. "Some thieves are especially sneaky. They look normal on the outside, but behind your back they're up to all sorts of shady tricks. If you catch one, just have them beaten to death for me!"

"Oh, okay." Claire went over and opened the window to look outside. Seeing nothing unusual, she said, "Miss, I'll have someone keep watch out back, don't worry!"

Grace glanced out the window—no sign of any thief.

It was as if she’d just imagined the whole thing.

She gritted her teeth and plopped down in a huff.

......

General's Manor.

After Evan Xiao returned, he immediately called for Louis Lin and Steward Qin to ask about the marriage decree.

"...General, the Empress Dowager's decree has already arrived," Steward Qin said sadly. "What should we do?"

Evan Xiao didn’t say a word. He slowly turned to look at Louis Lin.

Louis Lin felt a sudden panic. "G-General, do you have any orders?" he stammered.

"Did I escort Princess Xinyao back first?" Evan Xiao's voice was completely flat.

But Louis Lin knew all too well—when he was like this, it was terrifying!

He had a very bad feeling and hurried to explain, "General, I didn’t mean to! Princess Xinyao was indeed slightly injured in the forest and escorted back. I just made up an excuse for why you hadn’t shown up yet, so—"

"You have three days," Evan Xiao said, still calm as ever.

"Three days... Three days for what?" Louis Lin asked, looking horrified.

"Make the Empress Dowager take back her decree."

"Me? Make the Empress Dowager take back her decree?" Louis Lin pointed at his own nose.

"If you can't do it, bring me your head."

"But... but Your Highness, I'm just a first-level Spirit Practitioner, a nobody! How am I supposed to make her take back the decree?"

"That's your problem," Evan Xiao said, then walked out.

Louis Lin stood there dumbfounded for a long time, then turned to Steward Qin. "Old Qin, what did I do wrong? Why is the General treating me like this?"

"How should I know what you did?" Steward Qin retorted. "What's this about 'escorting Princess Xinyao back'?"

Louis Lin explained what happened: "...At the time, the General couldn't turn back into human form, so I had to come up with a reason for him not showing up. I told Miss that he escorted Princess Xinyao back first..."

Steward Qin immediately understood, giving him a 'serves you right' look. "You idiot, out of all the excuses, you picked that one?"

Louis Lin blushed and protested, "But Princess Xinyao really was there at the time!"

"I think you’ve lost your mind!" Steward Qin shook his head. "Don’t you know what kind of relationship the General has with her? How could you say he sent another woman home but didn’t care about her life or death? How do you expect her to feel?"