Just as she entered the palace doors, she heard someone’s cold voice.

Turning around, she saw Dugu Chen sitting in a chair by the Eight Immortals Table inside the room, his eyes displeased as he looked at her.

"Dear husband, you’re back," she said with an embarrassed smile, moving forward to wrap her arms around his neck and sitting on his lap, her voice sickly sweet.

Dugu Chen was at a loss whether to be angry or amused by the coquettish woman before him. With no other option, he embraced the woman in his arms.

"If I hadn’t come back, I wouldn’t have known you sneaked out."

"I just wanted to take a walk," she said, pulling at his collar and pouting as if she had been greatly wronged.

He sighed, stretched out his palm, and gently stroked her black hair, "Wife, take the guards from the house with you when you go out next time. It would make me feel much more at ease."

Hearing Dugu Chen’s words, Feng Xuxu couldn’t help but nod vigorously in silent agreement.

"Returning to find your little mouth pouting enough to hang a wine bottle from it, who has upset you?"

"Hmph, it was that Demon Lord, I really wish I could flay his skin," she said, still simmering with anger at the thought of the recent incident.

Dugu Chen furrowed his brows, "What happened?"

Looking at her displeased husband, she realized that her hasty words had left her no room for regret.

"Hmm?" Seeing the evasive looks in the eyes of the woman in his arms, his heart scratched like a cat’s, and with only her pouting mouth and no forthcoming words, he let out a grunt through his nose to signal the woman to confess quickly.

"It’s... it’s really nothing, I just said a few unpleasant things," she said, hanging her head and playing with her fingers.

He raised an eyebrow and narrowed his eyes, "Is it that simple?"

"Of course, what else could it be?" she threw him a look, stood up, and as she walked toward the bedroom, instructed Lenglei at the door, "Heat some water, the princess wishes to bathe."

"Yes, princess," Lenglei bowed and retreated after paying his respects.

Watching his wife go to bathe in the bedroom, he lifted his gaze towards a certain spot outside the window, then headed to the study.

Looking at the Hidden Guard kneeling in Anhu, a sharp and chilling voice came forth, "Speak, what exactly happened?"

Anhu, swallowing hard, began to recount the events of the day. With each detail Anhu relayed, Dugu Chen’s face grew colder, and by the end, the veins on his forehead bulged, as if ink could drip from his darkened face.

"Go back, ensure the princess’s safety."

He spent half an hour alone in the study before calling Huang Yi in.

"Master."

"Send a message to Feng Qing and Snow Traceless, lead the people of the Demon Forest to eradicate the Demon Palace and capture the Demon Lord alive!" He said the last part through gritted teeth.

Huang Yi bowed his head, too shocked to speak. The Demon Forest was the prince’s trump card; deploying its people just to eradicate the Demon Palace seemed like overkill.

"Master, could it be...," Huang Yi began to try to persuade his master, but before he could finish, he was interrupted.

Seeing his master’s resolve, Huang Yi finally accepted the order and left.

Returning to the bedroom, he saw his wife sitting in front of the Bronze Mirror, combing her jet-black hair. He stepped forward, took the comb from Lengqing’s hand, and began combing his wife’s hair.

"Wife, today I submitted a leave request to the Emperor, and he has approved it. Moreover, your pregnancy looks very stable. We could ride in the carriage, enjoy the scenery along the way, and go back to the Feng Family Village to rest. How does that sound?"

"Really? That’s wonderful, I’ll start preparing right away," she said, thrilled at the thought of seeing her eldest brother, her heart growing wild with anticipation.

Dugu Chen put down the comb and restrained his wife, who was about to rise, "It’s too late today. Let’s pack simply tomorrow with just the essentials we carry with us, and the day after tomorrow we can set off first. When the others have finished packing, they can catch up with us. We’ll be traveling slowly, anyway."