Inside Divine King Ling Han's manor.
Ling Han looked at Han Shuang and chuckled. "Little lass, aren't you usually the brash type — the one who calls herself a fierce girl? Why are you acting all coy and demure now? Just tell me — do you want to be this prince's consort or not?"
A deep blush spread across Han Shuang's cheeks, but she refused to speak, merely giggling softly.
"So that's a no, then. In that case, I shall decline His Majesty's offer and let him find another virtuous and gentle daughter-in-law instead," Ling Han God King said deliberately.
"Wait — Lord God King, don't you think I'm virtuous and gentle enough?" Han Shuang blurted in alarm.
Ling Han God King laughed. "Where exactly is the virtue and gentleness? Can you do needlework and embroidery? Can you cook and prepare meals? As for being a supportive wife and raising children — I suspect you're even worse at that."
Han Shuang slumped into a gloomy silence. She truly couldn't do any of those things.
Her life had always been one of flashing blades and clashing steel, of bloody tempests and savage battle. Her life's creed was not to be some demure lady biding her time behind closed doors, but to rely on her own strength, carve out a reputation, win fame both in life and in death, accomplish great deeds, and become a woman admired by all under heaven — a heroine, not a... well, not quite a fierce girl.
So she hadn't cared about her reputation. Through a sham engagement, she had tied herself to the Evil Star Sect. She hadn't even minded earning the reputation of a jinx who brought ruin to her husbands, becoming a pitiful little widow that everyone looked down on. Han Shuang didn't care about any of it.
Only she herself knew what she was chasing.
But now, thinking of all she had done — though her body was still pure and her heart still untarnished — would His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor see her as worthy? Would His Highness the Prince? And that infuriating little Elder Zhen... did he truly still remember those days when they had shared hardships together?
She wasn't sure.
But Han Shuang had no regrets. On the contrary, she was proud, because she had accomplished what she'd set out to do — she had made outstanding contributions to the revival of the Profound Origin Grand World.
Idly turning the Heaven-Measuring Ruler over in her hands, Han Shuang found her thoughts in complete disarray. Everything Ling Han God King had mentioned — she couldn't do any of it.
But she genuinely, truly wanted to be with that insufferable little fellow.
For his sake, she was willing to learn all the things she didn't know.
When Ling Han God King saw her sitting there like a wooden statue, looking so dejected, he couldn't bring himself to keep teasing her. He smiled and said, "All right, little lass, I'll stop pulling your leg. His Majesty has already spoken to me before. He specifically named you — he's quite fond of you and considers you the most satisfactory daughter-in-law he could hope for."
"Really?" Han Shuang's phoenix eyes lit up with surprise and delight, barely able to contain her joy.
"Of course. A sovereign's word is his bond," Ling Han God King said with a smile.
"Then... what about His Highness the Prince?" Han Shuang asked, torn between hope and dread, the toes of her shoe pressing hard into the ground as though trying to stamp all her anxiety into the earth. "He... he's not little Elder Zhen of the Evil Star Sect anymore. His status is so lofty, and I..."
If it were little Elder Zhen, Han Shuang wouldn't have felt a shred of inferiority. She was a fierce girl who dared to love and dared to hate — she'd never felt pressured before.
But this was the exalted Prince — perhaps even the future Heavenly Emperor.
If she shamelessly threw herself at him, wouldn't that make her a social climber clinging to power? Han Shuang may have been bold in love and hate, but she was a fierce girl with her pride.
"His Highness the Prince? He will certainly follow His Majesty's wishes. His Majesty saved the Prince's life, granted him mercy across two lifetimes — how could the Prince refuse? Besides, you and the Prince went through hardship together. You share the bond of fellow sect members, spent decades in each other's company. Feelings naturally grow over time."
Han Shuang stared blankly into the distance. Feelings naturally grow over time?
...
Though Jiang Chen's feelings for Han Shuang were not as deeply engraved as those for Huang'er — not as bone-deep, not as inseparable even in the face of death — his impression of Han Shuang was actually quite favorable.
At first, he had thought her a wanton woman who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals. But after coming to know her better, he realized he had been completely wrong.