My Self-Control Is Not That Strong

"Wow! So it was actually the real thing!" Grace had bought it, thinking it was probably a rip-off, and just tossed it aside without a second thought.

"Verdant Order? Terry the Tortoise?" Evan Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly.

Young Master Drake was always saying that the people from the Verdant Order were keeping an eye on Grace, and it looks like he wasn’t wrong at all.

Rona Yin, Master Dao, and Terry the Tortoise—who else is watching her?

"And this painting—he sold me that at the same time." Grace pulled the painting out of the box and showed it to Evan Xiao.

Back then, in order to upgrade to a gold customer, Grace bought three things from Terry the Tortoise.

One was Evan Xiao’s Jade Pendant, one was a Divining Compass, and the last was this painting.

The painting showed an incredibly beautiful woman, with a name inscribed: Divine Lady Miyin.

Evan Xiao glanced at the painting, then at Grace. "How much did he charge you for this painting?"

"The Jade Pendant, the painting, and the compass—ten pounds of Celestial Spirit Jade each," Grace replied.

"Ten pounds of Celestial Spirit Jade..." Evan Xiao chuckled.

In the mortal world, ten pounds of Celestial Spirit Jade is an astronomical price.

But in the Divine Realm or the Celestial Realm, it’s basically like giving it away for free.

It looks like the Verdant Order really does have a profound connection to Grace.

...

"Yeah! Every single thing cost ten pounds of Celestial Spirit Jade! So expensive! Luckily, Emperor Tuoba Hong had conquered the Azure Dragon Nation and handed me dozens of pounds of Celestial Spirit Jade, so I could afford them."

Evan Xiao looked at her. "Tuoba Hong?"

"Huh? Uh, he... he just lent it to me!" Grace wanted to smack herself—why did she blurt out the truth?

Evan Xiao kept staring at her; his expression was unreadable, but it still made Grace's heart race.

She quickly changed the subject: "So, um, do you think the woman in this painting is beautiful?"

Evan Xiao finally managed to hold back his reaction and said, "This painting was made by Lady Jincy for Divine Lady Miyin."

"And who’s Lady Jincy?"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t know her."

Drake Abyss Divine Realm is used for 龙渊. Updating to the glossary-approved location name.

Evan Xiao: "Aren’t you going to ask who Divine Lady Miyin is?"

"I already know! Terry the Tortoise told me she’s the number one beauty of the Divine Realm! Actually, I think I heard that name in Drake Abyss, too... Who was talking about her?" Grace tried to remember.

"My mother mentioned her," Evan Xiao said.

"The Celestial Empress? When did she bring it up...?"

"Divine Lady Miyin was the previous Phoenix Lord—in other words, your grandmother."

Grace nearly choked: "...My grandmother?"

Evan Xiao nodded.

"You knew her?"

"Yeah," Evan Xiao said. "I met her many times."

"So... was she even more beautiful in person than in the painting? Terry the Tortoise swore she was."

"Definitely. Divine Lady Miyin is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen."

"No wonder..." Grace mused, a little awestruck.

"No wonder what?"

"No wonder the Celestial Empress was so wary of her! Anyone would feel threatened by a love rival like that."

The Celestial Empress was already stunning, but compared to the woman in the painting, she still came up short.

"Really?" Evan Xiao looked at Grace’s features—she actually resembled Divine Lady Miyin a bit.

And she had a unique charm all her own.

Once she regained her divine bloodline, her "love rivals" would definitely feel the pressure too.

Grace looked nosy and asked, "So, what’s the story between the Celestial Emperor and my grandmother? What happened between them?"

"They were in love when they were young, but later, for various reasons, they drifted apart," Evan Xiao said.

"The Celestial Emperor and my grandmother must have been the perfect couple when they were young! Both so gorgeous..."