Chapter 673: Surpassing the World! Heavenly Gods and Earthly Yin Spirits

If Xue Baoqin had any flaw, it was her youth.

At this moment, Xue Baoqin resembled a flower bud just beginning to bloom, or one that had barely cracked open to reveal its true, exquisite beauty.

Amidst her elegance and splendor, there lingered a touch of purity; her beauty carried no aggressive or overwhelming intensity—her perfect refinement instinctively evoked a sense of innocent naivety.

Beyond her appearance, Xue Baoqin’s greatest weakness was that she had no powerful sect or clan to support her.

Rather than avoiding Luo Fu’s gaze as he studied her, Xue Baoqin met his eyes directly, deliberately showcasing herself.

For Luo Fu, a feudal emperor wielding absolute power, notions of pure, innocent love simply could not exist—even if they did, most of it would be an act.

Just like Xue Baoqin now: her gaze toward Luo Fu, innocent as a young fawn, overflowed with longing.

Had Luo Fu not known the true nature of the Xue sisters and shared so much of his own power, temperament, and more, he might have developed a mindset transcending the world itself.

In his past life, even just Xue Baoqin’s glance would have plunged him deep into infatuation.

Yes.

Though Xue Baoqin was young, in a certain sense, this very youth became her greatest advantage—her vivid acting, her perfectly timed display of admiration toward Luo Fu, was like a girl in her youthful innocence encountering a beauty that would haunt her for life.

Unfortunately, Xue Baoqin had met Luo Fu, who had crossed two lifetimes, endured the humiliation of Jia family servants in this world, nearly fallen into a fate worse than death, and gained power beyond the world through the shared space.

No matter how brilliant Xue Baoqin’s performance, it could at most stir Luo Fu’s possessiveness—it could never earn him even a shred of genuine feeling.

Luo Fu was quite satisfied with Xue Baoqin’s act.

Luo Fu had already seized Heaven and Earth; the mortal realm would fall to him in time.

Yet he had not yet fully abandoned his humanity.

How could Luo Fu remain unmoved when a girl like Xue Baoqin, who evoked a unique first-love feeling, gazed at him with longing and adoration?

Of course, what Xue Baoqin stirred was merely Luo Fu’s lust—let alone her, even if all twelve Golden Beauties—Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, and the rest—were gathered together, they could never move his heart.

Since Xue Baoqin had stirred him, Luo Fu would not remain unresponsive.

One hand still playing with the softness of Xiangling, Luo Fu lifted the other and beckoned to Xue Baoqin.

She first froze slightly, then understood his intent—immediately her face flushed crimson as she struggled to suppress her shyness. Carefully, Xue Baoqin approached and, following Luo Fu’s motion, sat upon his other thigh.

Seeing Luo Fu, like a lord of chaos, holding both Xiangling and his cousin Xue Baoqin in his arms, Xue Baochai hesitated for a moment, then chose to shut the door of Hengwu Palace and joined them.

Three girls, each with distinct styles, submitted entirely to Luo Fu’s desires.

In the days that followed, Luo Fu remained in Hengwu Palace for three nights straight, and his movements within the royal palace changed.

Previously, Luo Fu either stayed in the palace of his consort Lin Daiyu or visited Miaoyu and Xing Xiuyan; now, the Xue sisters and Xiangling had also been added to his list.

With the Xue sisters and Xiangling, Luo Fu nearly always shared a bed—Hengwu Palace had become a fixed trio, much like Miaoyu and Xing Xiuyan.

The only one in the royal palace permitted to sleep alone with Luo Fu was his principal consort, Lin Daiyu.

This was because Luo Fu had granted Lin Daiyu the title of principal consort—he could not treat her as equal to the other Golden Beauties.

As Luo Fu indulged for days in the soft embrace of his six Golden Beauties, savoring the finest beauties of the mortal realm,

The Jia family, using the excuse of searching for Jia Lian, finally entered Jinling City under the leadership of Jia Qiang, bringing with them the trembling Jia Yingchun and Jia Tanchun.

Within Luo Fu’s core circle, no one was unaware of his past experiences.

Jia Qiang and the others had come under the pretense of seeking Jia Lian.

The moment they entered Jinling City, Luo Fu’s agents detected them.

The news reached Luo Fu’s desk immediately.

Seeing that the Jia family had sent the two Chun sisters under the guise of searching for Jia Lian, Luo Fu recalled that Jia Lian himself had been captured in Yangzhou alongside Lin Ruhai and Lin Daiyu.

Though Luo Fu had indeed suffered humiliation from Jia family servants and nearly been destroyed by them,

It was impossible for Luo Fu to truly care about the Jia family.

In Luo Fu’s eyes, the Jia family were nothing more than ants he could crush at will.

In another world, he might have clung fiercely to vengeance—but in this world, reincarnation existed.

After conquering Heaven, someone had already voluntarily resolved this threat for him.

This was precisely why, though Luo Fu could have purged the heavenly gods and earthly yin spirits, he had not rushed to act.

These gods and spirits were too obsequious—on many matters, they acted on his behalf even before he gave a word.

For instance, his parents in this life had each been granted the titles of a heavenly god and an earthly yin spirit.

Of course, his parents in this world were merely ordinary human souls; though they held dual divine ranks, they possessed little actual power to wield.

If true divine authority were entrusted to them, the mere faith of ordinary mortals—even in a single county, let alone a town or village—would dilute their humanity until their consciousness became entirely dominated by divinity.

When the world possessed reincarnation, and Luo Fu held supreme authority over Heaven, Earth, and the Mortal Realm, clinging to old grudges would make him seem petty and lacking in grandeur.

With a casual wave, Luo Fu tossed the report on Jia Qiang aside and picked up another.

Coincidentally, this report also concerned the Jia family.

The emperor of Bei Qing, under the guise of a marriage alliance, had sent the Jia family’s only true legitimate daughter, Jia Yuanchun, to Jinling.

Originally, Luo Fu had thought he would need to capture Bei Qing’s capital and unify the entire realm before completing his collection of the Golden Beauties.

Yet now, with only half the realm under his control, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, Miaoyu, and the three Chun sisters of the Jia family had all come to him one after another.

Of the four Chun sisters of the Jia family, only Jia Xichun remained.

Though he still needed Jia Xichun to complete his collection,

Given the current situation, if Luo Fu wished, Jia Xichun would inevitably become his possession.

Aside from Jia Xichun, the Twelve Golden Beauties—Main, Secondary, and Tertiary Rolls—numbered thirty-six in total. Even if Luo Fu imprisoned them all after ascending the throne, they would still not fill the imperial harem according to orthodox imperial rites.

Moreover, Luo Fu had no intention of truly collecting all thirty-six Golden Beauties into his harem.

Collecting the Golden Beauties was merely a matter of obsession.

Casually setting aside the report from Bei Qing’s capital, Luo Fu called out loudly: “Someone!”

The moment his voice ended, a “boy” clad in the crimson robes of a chief eunuch hurried in, bowing prostrate before Luo Fu with obsequiousness: “Your servant awaits Your Majesty’s command.”

This boy was one of the very few eunuchs retained from the former Bei Qing regime in the Jinling royal palace.

For him, the conquest of Jiangnan by Luo Tian Army had been a tremendous stroke of fortune that turned his fate upside down.

After all, when he entered the palace, his family had been bankrupt small landowners who had lost their fields; with many siblings, they had become tenant farmers for landlords and gentry.

To ensure the family’s survival, he had been sold into the palace as a eunuch at a young age.

Yet for years, he had remained at the lowest rung of the eunuch hierarchy.

Jinling Palace, being a former secondary capital, had all six ministries intact, but without an emperor, its eunuchs were mostly exiles from the northern capital—men stripped of power and trust.

For boys like him, who entered Jinling Palace as lowly eunuchs, there was virtually no chance of advancement.

All positions were already filled by the northern exiles—how could there be room for these southern boys?

Only after Luo Fu and his Luo Tian Army conquered all of Jiangnan and purged every eunuch tied to Bei Qing did he finally gain power and wealth.

Luo Fu glanced at the young eunuch and asked: “Where has the so-called marriage princess sent by Bei Qing been assigned?”

“Your Majesty, the Rongguo County Princess from Bei Qing has been lodged in the Beizhili Guildhall.” The eunuch replied without hesitation.

The fact that Luo Fu had chosen him meant this young eunuch could read and write and possessed exceptional memory.

Had it not been for his family’s poverty, his talent would have easily earned him the rank of Licentiate—or even Provincial Graduate.

The reason Jia Yuanchun, the Rongguo County Princess, was placed in the Beizhili Guildhall was because Luo Fu, who now controlled Jiangnan, and Bei Qing, which held only half the realm, remained enemies.

Between them, it was a struggle for legitimacy; neither side acknowledged the other as a sovereign state.

Institutions like the Court of Tribal Affairs, designed to handle vassal states, could not receive foreign envoys—nor could even the Ministry of Rites.

Thus, the envoys from Bei Qing’s capital and the newly appointed Rongguo County Princess had no choice but to reside in a guildhall.

In feudal times, regional loyalty was deeply entrenched—even in Luo Fu’s previous life, the concept remained deeply rooted. Each province, even each prefecture, established guildhalls elsewhere.

Undoubtedly, during the Bei Qing era, the construction of guildhalls in the two capitals was a major priority.

The difference was: the Beizhili guildhall was located in Jinling, while the Nanzhili guildhall was in the northern capital.

Luo Fu nodded slightly and asked: “Where are the members of the Rongguo and Ningguo mansions now?”

“Also in the Beizhili Guildhall,” the chief eunuch replied immediately.

Luo Fu’s expression turned peculiar. “The Rongguo County Princess is from the Rongguo Mansion. If both the Rongguo and Ningguo families are staying in the Beizhili Guildhall, haven’t they met yet?”

“Your Majesty’s insight is piercing,” the chief eunuch flattered, then added: “After meeting the two younger sisters of the Jia family, the Rongguo County Princess conversed with them at length. If Your Majesty wishes, I shall immediately send Itachi a record of their conversation.”

Luo Fu waved his hand dismissively. “No need. By the way, how is Jia Lian doing now?”

“Jia Lian is somewhat older; his wounds have just healed, but… but using the privy is still difficult.” A flicker of barely perceptible satisfaction passed through the chief eunuch’s eyes.

Yes.

After Luo Fu secured his position in Jinling, Jia Lian—the heir of the Rongguo Mansion—was sent to the silk house and castrated.

Even Lin Ruhai and others had not pleaded for mercy.

After all, the feud between Luo Fu and the Jia family was already common knowledge.

Jia Lian was a master of the Jia family—undoubtedly one of Luo Fu’s true enemies.

That Luo Fu did not kill Jia Lian outright was already mercy; merely castrating him and forcing him into the palace as a eunuch was, in a sense, an act of virtue repaying injury.

As for Jia Lian’s own feelings, they were irrelevant.

Though Jia Lian was lustful, before the threat of death, he had abandoned his pride in his own flesh.

Otherwise, he would have killed himself before or after the castration to preserve his dignity.

Yet now, not only had he become a eunuch, he was even well-known among the eunuchs of Jinling Palace.

Luo Fu’s lips curled into a faint smile.

Though the true culprits behind his family’s ruin were the Jia family’s servants, the Jia family itself could not escape direct responsibility.

“Send Jia Lian to the Beizhili Guildhall to deliver my edict: summon the Rongguo County Princess and all the Jia family members to the palace for an audience.”

“Your servant obeys.”

Watching the chief eunuch depart to deliver his order, Luo Fu exhaled a long, satisfied breath.

Perhaps some would feel that Luo Fu’s castration of Jia Lian was an excessive humiliation to the Jia family.

But to Luo Fu, this was merely an eye for an eye.

Originally, he had been driven to desperation by the Jia family’s servants, his home destroyed and his family slain—and all this hatred ultimately traced back to the Jia family themselves.

As always: never advise someone to be kind unless Itachi’ve walked their path.

Even though Luo Fu only awakened his past-life memories after entering the shared space, the events of this life have left him with an unshakable grudge against the Jia family.

(End of Chapter)