Gu Han looked up and saw a blue figure standing at the palace gate at some point.
It was Empress Ling Shuang.
She was still dressed in ice-blue palace robes, her expression cold and aloof, but if one looked closely, they could detect a hint of... nervousness in her eyes?
In her hand, she also held a palm-sized jade box.
The box was translucent throughout, emitting a faint cold air, its surface carved with exquisite ice lotus patterns.
"Fellow Daoist Ling Shuang?"
Gu Han was somewhat surprised.
Qingxuan had just left, and Ling Shuang had arrived.
Had these two agreed to take turns "visiting" her?
"Fellow Daoist Gu."
Empress Ling Shuang walked into the hall, her voice sounding a bit lower than usual.
She stopped three feet away from Gu Han, her gaze falling on Gu Han's face before quickly shifting away to look at the jade box in her hand.
"This Empress... made some pastries."
She handed the jade box to Gu Han, her movements appearing slightly stiff.
"I heard Fellow Daoist Gu likes them, perhaps... they will be to Fellow Daoist's taste."
Pastries?
Gu Han was even more surprised.
This Empress of the Northern Region, who ruled over millions of miles of territory and decided the rise and fall of countless Sects with a wave of her hand... had actually made pastries herself?
She looked at Empress Ling Shuang's seemingly calm but actually slightly flushed ears, and those eyes staring intently at her.
An indescribable feeling welled up in her heart.
She reached out and took the jade box.
It was cold to the touch, the chill restrained, and the carving on the box was fine; she had clearly put heart into it.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist."
Gu Han gently opened the lid.
Inside the box, six small and exquisite pastries were neatly arranged.
The pastries were light blue, like condensed ice crystals, their surfaces adorned with delicate snow lotus petals, emitting a crisp fragrance.
The appearance wasn't perfect, and one could even see some traces of being handmade.
But the sentiment behind it was clearly felt.
"Do you want to try some?"
There was a hint of expectation in Empress Ling Shuang's voice.
Gu Han picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
The pastry melted instantly, the taste sweet but not cloying, as the fragrance of snow lotus and a perfectly balanced coolness spread across her tongue.
The taste... was unexpectedly good.
"It's delicious."
Gu Han looked up at Ling Shuang, a sincere smile in her eyes:
"Fellow Daoist has gone to much trouble."
The moment she heard these words, Empress Ling Shuang's tense expression softened at a visible rate.
A glimmer of relief flashed in her ice-blue eyes.
"As long as you like it."
She whispered, but her gaze didn't dare to meet Gu Han's, turning instead toward the outside of the hall.
The hall fell into a brief silence.
Only the faint fragrance of snow lotus and the sweet scent of pastries quietly permeated the air.
Gu Han set the remaining pastries aside and looked at her:
"Did Fellow Daoist come here for anything else?"
Empress Ling Shuang was silent for a moment.
She seemed to be weighing her words, or perhaps gathering her courage.
After a long while, she finally spoke slowly, her voice still cold, but with more... hesitation than usual?
"Will Fellow Daoist Gu be going to the Central Continent?"
Gu Han looked into Empress Ling Shuang's eyes, which clearly reflected her own figure at this moment.
Her heart stirred slightly, and she nodded:
"Naturally, I will go."
"Since the Dragon Soaring Emperor has sent an invitation, I should go and see no matter what."
Empress Ling Shuang nodded slightly, her gaze never leaving Gu Han's face.
The hall was quiet for a moment, with only the faint sound of water from the distant Jade Pool audible.
"Fellow Daoist Gu..."
Ling Shuang suddenly spoke, her voice even lower than before, carrying a trace of imperceptible hesitation.
"Can this Empress... call you by your name?"
Gu Han was slightly stunned.
She saw a hint of almost clumsy earnestness in the Empress of the Northern Region's eyes, and even... a faint trace of nervousness.
Gu Han suddenly remembered what Qingxuan had said that day—
"Your personality is too blunt, and you don't know how to speak."
But now, such a direct inquiry was more touching than any roundabout probing.
A very faint curve rose almost imperceptibly at the corner of her lips, and her voice was gentle:
"Of course you can."
A flash of light instantly crossed Empress Ling Shuang's eyes; it was faint, but it softened her entire face.
She pursed her lips, seemingly making some sort of decision, and her voice rang out clearly:
"Then in the future... you can also call me by my name."
"Ling Shuang..."
Gu Han softly uttered the name.
Empress Ling Shuang's body trembled almost imperceptibly.
This was the first time she had heard her name from Gu Han's mouth.
Not "Fellow Daoist Ling Shuang," not "Empress of the Northern Region," just "Ling Shuang."
Two simple words, yet they caused unprecedented ripples in the lake of her heart.
"Mhm."
She responded, her voice carrying a slight tremor she hadn't even noticed.
Outside the window, the sky had darkened at some point.
Moonlight poured in from outside the palace gate, spreading a hazy band of light between the two.
The sweet aroma of the pastries still lingered in the air, mixed with the unique, snow-like crisp scent on Ling Shuang's person.
Gu Han looked at the Empress before her, who always kept a cold face and acted directly yet clumsily, and found it somewhat amusing.
But at least Ling Shuang's "sincerity" was laid out clearly before her.
"Ling Shuang,"
Gu Han spoke again, her tone more natural than before.
"The trip to the Central Continent, you..."
"I will go too."
Ling Shuang interrupted her, her voice regaining its usual coldness, but her gaze toward Gu Han was softer than in the past.
"No matter what happens, I will be by your side."
Gu Han's heart warmed slightly.
Qingxuan informing her of the truth was out of concern and honesty.
Ling Shuang choosing to travel with her was a more direct form of protection.
These two Empresses expressed their feelings in completely different ways, yet both were standing by her side in their own respective manners.
"Alright."
Gu Han did not refuse and nodded gently.
Ling Shuang seemed to want to say something more, but when the words reached her lips, she didn't know how to continue.
She watched Gu Han quietly for a moment and said slowly:
"Then... I'll head back first."
Having said that, she turned and left.
"Ling Shuang."
Gu Han suddenly called out to her.
Empress Ling Shuang's footsteps paused, and she turned back to look.
Gu Han raised her hand, her fingertip gently tapping the jade box she had placed on the Cloud Table, a smile on her face:
"The pastries, I like them very much."
The corner of Ling Shuang's lips curved upward ever so slightly.
It was a smile with an almost invisible curve, like a snow lotus suddenly blooming on the ice plains, possessing a breathtaking beauty amidst its coldness.
"If you like them, I will make them for you again in the future."
She left those words behind and stayed no longer, her figure quickly disappearing into the moonlight outside the palace gate.
Gu Han sat alone on the Cloud Bed, looking at the box of exquisite pastries by her side.
She thought of Qingxuan's kiss from afar when she left, and Ling Shuang's clumsy yet earnest expression just now... She picked up a piece of pastry and put it in her mouth again.
The sweet and cool texture melted on her tongue, carrying the unique pure fragrance of snow lotus.
"This woman, her craftsmanship is truly quite good!"
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