In a quaint courtyard of the Wu Family Manor in the Imperial Capital stood a small crowd of people wearing luxurious robes. .𝘯𝘵

Among them, the most eye-catching was a breathtakingly beautiful young woman. Her long brown hair was tied up into a complicated hairstyle, and a few locks were freely falling on the sides, framing her delicate face that still had some last signs of adolescence in it, but already bearing the mesmerizing beauty and an enchanting air of budding maturity. Her piercing blue eyes were looking a little dazed, not entirely focused on what was happening around her. Her sensual but at the same time delicate figure would make people look back at her when she walked in public.

“Mengqi, are you sure about this?”

A middle-aged man stood not far from her, and a slightly worried expression was visible on his face.

“Sure? What can she be sure of at this age? She doesn’t even know what is good for her and you want to ask her if she is sure? Wu Tiandu, you better worry about your children than mine. Has your son found a good enough bride? Look at his age, he is old enough to father children of Mengqi’s age and still unmarried!”

Another middle-aged man, who stood right at her side looked at the first one, whom he called Tiandu, with irritation.

“Elder Brother, she is still acting strange, don’t you think? She was so opposed to the marriage before but now…”

“Ehem! What are you getting at?”

The man whom Wu Tiandu called elder brother said with a strict furrowing of his eyebrows, interrupting the former who tried to not mind the cold remark about his own son.

“Eldest Brother, don’t worry about Second Eldest Brother’s meddling, he is just worried about his own son’s marriage falling behind your Mengqi’s, thus losing not only half his business but also not even making decent marriage connections for the family. But then again, with his looks who would be interested in his son, hahaha”

“Wu Tianshui! You better shut that mouth of yours…”

“Or what? Your business has been doing even worse lately, and our father is not fond of mediocrity. He would rather support me than the one who fails when he was given everything to succeed, even if I am younger than you”

The middle-aged man called Wu Tianshui narrowed his eyes with a smile touching his thin lips.

“Third Brother… that is a little-…”

A fourth middle-aged man meekly said but was shut up by a quick cursory gaze from Wu Tianshui.

“You…! Haa~ forget it, it is your daughter after all”

Wu Tiandu shook his head in the end and looked at the eldest of the brothers with a defeated look, still briefly passing a concerned one to the emotionless Wu Mengqi.

“Tianhuo…”

A middle-aged man with some slight signs of aging and gray hair mixed into his brown, said as he stood in the middle of the small crowd and the eldest of the three brothers immediately stood at attention.

“Yes, father”

“Your daughter is indeed behaving a little strangely…”

As he said these words, unnoticeable to actually everyone a shiver went through Wu Tianshui, the third of the brothers.

“Ahem… with all respect, Patriarch, young ones at that age are prone to being melancholic, and behaving erratically”

On the opposite side of the Patriarch from the brothers that spoke before, stood a group of elderly people, visibly at almost the same status as the brothers if not higher.

“Elder Fen… you think she is just in a defiant phase?”

The Wu Family Patriarch raised his eyebrow, and when he saw the nod of the one he spoke to, caressed his chin with a pondering look.

“Perhaps you are right…”

He nodded and said, but it was noticeable to anyone who knew him intricately that his mind was currently not here, and not entirely on this conversation.

“By the way, I do not see Butler Bang for some reason, I would have thought on such an important occasion…”

One of the other elders spoke up and the Patriarch’s eyes flashed with focus.

“I sent him on an errand, nothing important. Should be done with soon enough…”

Just as he spoke a servant appeared in the gateway of the courtyard, and gave a respectful nod, which brought the attention of almost everyone in the courtyard to the entrance as they adjusted their poses.

“The seventy-fourth prince of the Wood Spirit Empire, His Imperial Highness Nie Changsheng is making his entrance”

The servant announced, and a handsome young man walked into the courtyard, surrounded by bodyguards and attendants. There was also an unremarkable middle-aged man in gray robes in his entourage, who for some reason caught the attention of the Wu Family Patriarch.

‘Hmm, they are playing with fire’

Wu Family Patriarch thought to himself as he shook his head slightly, but he then made an amicable face and welcomed the prince.

The Wu Family had an exalted status, so they did not need to bow in the presence of a mere prince, one of many in this empire, but Nie Changsheng was still rather warmly welcomed due to his recently skyrocketing influence among the imperial heirs.

After the ceremonious and rather pompous exchange of greetings and gifts, Nie Changsheng approached Wu Mengqi with an enchanted look in his eyes, flames of desire and obsession burning in his eyes.

“Fairy Mengqi. I am finally-…”

He reached for Wu Mengqi’s hand, but the silent and motionless until this moment young lady suddenly made a step back and yanked her hand out of the way as if she touched something hot before Nie Changsheng’s hand could even touch her fair skin.

A moment of awkward silence hung in the air as Wu Tianshui shot a look at a man standing not far behind him, who had an astonished look on his face. He then quickly nodded to Wu Tianshui and made a concentrated expression as he looked at Wu Mengqi. The light of focus that began to appear in her blue eyes dimmed.

“Ahahaha! My Mengqi seems to be shy, my apologies Your Highness”

Wu Mengqi’s father, Wu Tianhuo made an awkward laugh, which most of the people from the Wu family, and then the Imperial entourage to not be impolite, supported with a laugh of their own.

Nie Changsheng’s hand that was stretched out clenched as he smiled and took it back.

“Of course, my apologies, I was too happy and thus a little too rash…”

He said still smiling, but the people in his own entourage could see that there was a vein pulsing on the still-clenched hand that he placed behind his back. Just as he turned back to Wu Mengqi and opened his mouth to speak a loud noise resounded from the direction of the main gates of the manor and a cloud of dust appeared there, visible even from this courtyard despite the gateway being far away.

The noise was accompanied by intense Spiritual Qi fluctuations, and then a commotion rose from that direction that was becoming more chaotic and loud as it rapidly approached this courtyard. The Wu Family members looked in that direction with shock as no one dared to do something so presumptuous as breaking into their manor almost as long as the Empire stood, and the Imperial Guards took a defensive formation around Nie Changsheng, effectively separating him from Wu Mengqi further.

The Wu Family Patriarch first furrowed his eyebrows with fury, but then as he noticed a very familiar aura doing most of the destruction and covering the surroundings with Spiritual Qi fluctuations, first astonishment, and then disbelief appeared in his eyes.

‘Old Bang? What the hell…’

A thought flashed through his mind but he did not have time to finish it as the gateway to the courtyard they stood in blew up and rays of summer sunlight were reflecting with thin lines around the destructed spot amidst the rubble and dust that rose into the air.

Three figures emerged from the cloud of dust, and the one in the center was an exceptionally handsome young man, with a bright smile on his face.

“It’s good to be home, don’t you think? Oh! I see everyone is here to greet me, hey everyone! I’m back!”

Wu Long first spoke to Butler Bang at his side with a “nostalgic stroll through a childhood home” tone, and then, as if only then noticed the people in the courtyard and waved to the gobsmacked faces with a shiny smile. His tone was as if he just came home from leisure traveling, and was happy to see the people who were warmly welcoming him. But despite his bright smile and friendly tone, a cold shiver went through the people in the courtyard, and a strange mismatched emotion appeared eerie.

At that moment, the man behind Wu Tianshui’s eyes widened in disbelief as the light of focus appeared in Wu Mengqi’s eyes, and her figure slightly shook while her gaze shifted from right in front of her to Wu Long. When his figure reflected in her deep blue eyes, tears appeared on the corners of her eyes as her lips parted to speak out the name of the one she longed for.

“…Wu…Long….”