The Lunar Star Lord, also known as the Moon Goddess, presides over Guanghan Palace and serves as the supreme overseer of all the Chang'e moon maidens—immortal dancers and handmaids—in Heaven.
In mortal legends, she is said to be a peerless beauty. This is not far from the truth—there are no women in Heaven who are not beautiful. Even those who were plain before ascending have ample opportunity to transform their appearance and become stunning.
Women love beauty, and given the chance to become even more beautiful, no woman would refuse—even immortals are no exception.
Yet, for all her beauty, if one were to compare the Lunar Star Lord’s looks to the diverse charms of the many moon maidens, it would be a difficult contest indeed.
The real Lunar Star Lord is a regal and graceful matron, appearing to be in her thirties. More than her appearance, it is her noble bearing and accomplished talents that truly set her apart from the other moon maidens.
This is precisely why she commands Guanghan Palace, which gathers the greatest number of beauties—both immortal and mortal—from Heaven and Earth.
At this moment, she was holding Lord Lao’s memorial—a formal petition—her brows slightly furrowed.
“Belle? Do we have a moon maiden by that name in our palace?” She turned to ask the female official beside her.
“To answer, Star Lord: Belle is not a Chang’e, but a celestial handmaid—an attendant of lower rank than the moon maidens. She’s the one the Jade Emperor just appointed, and is to be sent to the Imperial Horse Bureau. She only arrived yesterday to begin etiquette training here. Grandmaster White—the Elder of Venus—gave specific instructions to have her taught the essentials within three to five days.”
The Lunar Star Lord nodded silently, her brows knitting even tighter.
It was not a major affair for the Jade Emperor to appoint a new celestial handmaid. Although this one ascended together with the notorious Handsome Monkey King, it hardly warranted the Lunar Star Lord’s personal attention. For Guanghan Palace, Belle’s arrival was little more than a formality. If not for Lord Lao’s memorial, the Lunar Star Lord might never have known her name.
But now that Lord Lao himself had requested her, the situation was different. In Heaven, Lord Lao’s memorials often carry more weight than even the Jade Emperor’s edicts. No matter how unusual the request, none among the stars would dare defy it.
“Bring her here to see me.” With that, the Lunar Star Lord handed the memorial to the female official at her side.
Meanwhile, Belle was carefully balancing a tray as she walked through a corner of Guanghan Palace.
"Lengthen your stride!"
Belle immediately lengthened her stride.
“Your hands! Where are your hands supposed to be?”
Belle hurriedly pulled her hands back into the correct position.
“Your waist!” Fairy Hanwei couldn’t help but tap Belle’s back with her teaching rod.
Startled, Belle lost her balance—the tray on her head slipped, crashed to the floor, and shattered before she could react.
The young girl looked pitifully at Fairy Hanwei, who could only sigh and cover her forehead in resignation. "This is the most basic part. If you can't even manage this... They want you trained in three to five days, but I doubt you'd master it all in two months."
Belle pouted helplessly, head bowed, saying nothing.
All these lessons were court etiquette. Having grown up in a Daoist temple, Belle was used to being carefree and rough—how could she possibly learn all this so easily?
No wonder new celestial handmaids are often chosen from mortal palace attendants—they already have the basics, which makes teaching much easier.
"First, sweep up the broken pieces on the floor." Seated in her chair, Fairy Hanwei pointed to Fairy Tishin nearby. "Go, fetch her a new tray."
"Alright!" Fairy Tishin dashed out, grabbed a new tray, and zipped back in an instant. "Here you go."
Belle widened her eyes and watched quietly.
Fairy Hanwei took the tray, glanced at Belle, then shot Fairy Tishin a look. "And what kind of walk is that?"
"Does it really matter how you walk most of the time? The real skill is making sure no one can find fault when you step outside." Fairy Tishin lifted her chin, spun in place, and in an instant, all childishness vanished—save for her youthful face, she now looked perfectly elegant.
She took a few casual steps, so graceful that even Belle was stunned.
With hands at her waist, Fairy Tishin bowed slightly and performed a formal greeting to Fairy Hanwei. "Star Lord Hanwei, how do you think I've done with my etiquette training?"
With that, Fairy Tishin burst into giggles, unable to contain her joy.
Fairy Tishin looked only thirteen or fourteen, yet her seamless switch between elegant Chang’e maiden and childlike innocence combined all the charm and cuteness one could imagine—Belle could only stare in amazement.
Sister Anna Yang didn’t ascend to Heaven...
If... if I could be like them, would things be different...?
As she thought this, her heart began to pound, her cheeks growing faintly warm.
Fairy Hanwei shot Fairy Tishin a stern look. "Don’t be so improper—the Star Lord’s title is not to be used lightly."
"There’s no outsiders here anyway."
"Isn’t she an outsider?" Fairy Hanwei pointed at Belle.
"She doesn’t count as an outsider." Fairy Tishin zipped over to Belle, hooked her arm through Belle’s, and said, "We get along just fine. By the way, you’re going to the Imperial Horse Bureau, right? Can I come visit you there?"
"Of... of course you can."
Belle was still not quite used to Fairy Tishin’s easy familiarity.
"Then, will you give me a Pegasus to ride? I’ve always wanted to try riding one!"
"Um... is that really allowed?"
"Of course! Aren’t you close with the new Chief of the Imperial Horse Bureau? As long as he agrees, it’s fine."
Wait—going to the Imperial Horse Bureau, and close with the Chief?
"Heaven’s Pegasus aren’t for casual riding! You’re being ridiculous!" Fairy Hanwei scolded, though her mind was already elsewhere.
Though Guanghan Palace was isolated from news, after Fairy Nisha left, Fairy Hanwei still kept an ear out for any word about Marshal Silver.
This time, Marshal Silver had fallen from grace—rumor had it he was framed by a mortal demon king named Simon Sun, the very one now appointed Chief of the Imperial Horse Bureau. Belle was close to that Chief... could it be...?
Ah, forget it—Heaven’s politics are far beyond what a mere Chang’e maiden could ever manage.
Seeing Fairy Tishin’s excitement, Fairy Hanwei swallowed her words.
Maybe that’s for the best, she thought.
Unaware of the deeper story, Fairy Tishin kept chattering away, pulling Belle along. "If Hanwei says you can’t ride, then don’t let her! But if I say you can, you’d better remember to give me a turn. We’ll ride together to the Moon Tree and see the blossoms—I’ve always wanted to go, but my cultivation isn’t strong enough to reach the Seventh Heaven. But with a Pegasus, it’d be different!"
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Belle nodded helplessly, while Fairy Hanwei could only sigh.
With a personality like Tishin’s, how did she ever get chosen to ascend to Heaven?
Just as Tishin was about to say something else to Belle, Fairy Hanwei quickly handed the tray over, prompting Belle to reach out and take it, interrupting Tishin’s daydreams.
"Alright, let’s continue," Fairy Hanwei said calmly.
Before she finished speaking, a female official from Guanghan Palace approached from afar.
"Sister." Both Fairy Hanwei and Fairy Tishin, as Chang’e maidens, quickly bowed in greeting, and Belle followed suit.
"You may rise." The female official glanced coolly at Belle. "So this is Belle?"
"Yes, Sister, this is Belle."
Belle shrank back slightly.
"How is her progress?"
"Um... I’m afraid she’ll need more time to..."
The official took a deep breath. "Forget it, we can’t wait any longer. And her attire isn’t right either. You two, dress her properly and bring her to meet the Lunar Star Lord."
"Meet the Star Lord?" Fairy Tishin looked up in surprise.
The official gave her only a brief look, and Fairy Tishin quickly lowered her head, not daring to ask more.
......
In the white hall, the Lunar Star Lord paced slowly around Belle.
The young girl stood with her head bowed, hands clasped before her, trembling with nerves.
Turning aside, the Lunar Star Lord asked the official, "How is her etiquette, her knowledge of Heavenly law, and all the rules?"
"She only arrived yesterday and has just begun learning etiquette—she’s not ready yet. If we send her out like this, she might cause embarrassment..."
"There’s nothing we can do. Lord Lao’s attendant will arrive soon; let’s hand her over first. Later, once we know which palace she’s assigned to, we’ll send a Chang’e maiden to continue her training."
"Understood."
By noon, Belle was standing at the Guanghan Palace gates with two officials and three Chang’e maidens, including Fairy Hanwei and Fairy Tishin. Their legs were aching from standing so long before someone finally arrived.
Belle grew increasingly nervous.
But the visitor wasn’t Lord Lao’s attendant—it was Lord Lao himself.
"We respectfully welcome Lord Lao to Guanghan Palace."
The officials and Chang’e maidens were all startled and quickly bowed, but Belle did not bow—she just pouted suspiciously and glanced at Lord Lao.
Belle had meant to bow, but when she saw Lord Lao’s mischievous smile, all her awe vanished—she was suddenly indignant.
The lead official considered tugging Belle’s sleeve, but seeing Lord Lao’s smiling gaze, she realized there was more to the situation and let it go.
Once on the ground, Lord Lao waved his hand. "You may rise."
"Thank you, Lord Lao."
"You lied to me!" Belle huffed at Lord Lao.
"Little one, how did I lie to you? I’ve always been forthright. I even told you my name was Li Boyang the first time we met. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not knowing the Dao-ancestor’s name."
"Belle even complained about Lord Lao right in front of you—why didn’t you tell her you were him?"
Lord Lao stroked his long beard and laughed. "It’s been ages since anyone scolded me to my face. It’s actually rather refreshing."
Belle pouted even more.
Who talks to Lord Lao like that?
Everyone nearby was stunned.
"By the way, where’s the Violet Mist Fairy Dress I gave you?"
"The sisters said it was ugly, so I threw it away," Belle replied coldly.
"Ugly? Who said that? Outrageous!" Lord Lao flung his sleeve angrily. "Did the Lunar Star Lord really call my gift ugly?"
The Lunar Star Lord, rushing out from the palace to greet Lord Lao, froze at the sound of his outburst, waiting to see what was going on before appearing.
As for Tishin, who had called the dress "tasteless," her face went pale with fright.
Belle shot Lord Lao a look. "Why do you care who said it? Can’t people have opinions?"
"Fine, fine, I won’t ask anymore," Lord Lao said, shaking his head and waving his hand.
Only then did Tishin finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The two started chatting idly again.
Once the Lunar Star Lord understood the situation, she appeared, her gaze toward Belle shifting from cold to warm.
It was rare for Lord Lao to visit. After greeting him, the Lunar Star Lord invited him into the palace, but he politely declined, saying he had urgent business.
Unable to win Lord Lao’s favor, the Lunar Star Lord quickly tried to win Belle’s instead. Though Belle had only been in Guanghan Palace for a day, the Star Lord spoke as if she’d grown up there. She even promoted Hanwei to Belle’s mentor, gifting each a jade tablet so they could consult her anytime if they had questions in Heaven. If Lord Lao hadn’t stopped her, who knows what else she would’ve offered.
After bidding farewell to the Lunar Star Lord, Lord Lao left Guanghan Palace with Belle.
About half an hour later, the old and the young appeared at the Imperial Horse Bureau in the Eighth Heaven.