Changes After Twenty Years

Twenty years was not a long time for Su Qing.

It passed in the blink of an eye.

During these twenty years, everything had been relatively peaceful.

The world's development continued as before, gradually worsening. The pace wasn't fast, but after twenty years, the changes were visible to the naked eye.

However, Su Qing had already grown accustomed to this; there was nothing left to be amazed or surprised by. No matter how chaotic or terrible the world became, the things she needed to do remained the same.

Collecting Incense Power, settling disputes, handling official business, and so on...

She was busy, but life was relatively simple. There were moments of frustration, but they were few and far between. After all, she had many friends by her side to help, making her journey a smooth one.

On the Northern Continent, Su Qing finally had a rare moment of rest.

At this moment, she was sitting on a mountaintop playing a game of chess with her daughter, while Immortal Lin Jiu watched from the side.

Lin Jiu was a bit of a ditz and naturally couldn't understand the game. She just thought it was fun to watch, though she had no idea how well they were playing. Moreover, the game Su Qing and her daughter were playing wasn't ordinary chess, making it even harder for her to grasp.

Even so, she watched with great interest.

While Su Qing and Su Tingtong played seriously, Lin Jiu watched just as intently.

However, while everyone was focused, someone came to disturb them.

"Sovereign, there is... an urgent report!" An immortal arrived on a cloud, quickly landing on the peak where Su Qing was. He performed a sliding kneel and presented a document before her.

This scene left Su Qing momentarily speechless.

She didn't even know where to begin complaining.

'I finally get a day off, and I still run into an emergency?' Su Qing couldn't help but curl her lip, feeling quite dejected.

However, despite her internal desire to roast the situation, she held a high position and naturally had to hear what had happened. If it truly was an emergency and wasn't handled properly, it would surely evolve into something troublesome later. So, no matter how annoyed she was, she had to listen and deal with it.

"Speak. What is this urgent matter?"

Su Qing looked at the messenger and spoke with a hint of exasperation.

Part of her hoped it was a real emergency, while another part hoped it wasn't. In short, she was quite conflicted.

Upon hearing her, the messenger hurriedly explained the situation.

"Palace Mistress Chang'e has arrived. She told me to come and notify you immediately," the messenger said, taking a deep breath and giving a brief explanation.

Hearing this answer, Su Qing froze for a moment before a helpless expression crossed her face. She sighed and said, "That truly is an urgent matter..."

To be honest, Su Qing had thought some major disaster had occurred in the mortal world, which was why the messenger had been so panicked. She hadn't expected him to be in such a rush just to tell her that Chang'e had arrived.

Of course, this did technically count as an urgent matter. Given Chang'e's status, she was a very high-ranking figure to Su Qing's subordinates. Hearing that she wanted to see Su Qing, they naturally didn't dare to delay for a second.

It was just that, compared to a disaster in the mortal world, it wasn't truly that pressing. Or rather, the gap between the two possibilities created a significant psychological letdown for Su Qing.

That was why the situation felt somewhat ridiculous.

Ridiculous as it was, she still had to go see Chang'e. It was rare for Chang'e to seek her out, so she must have a reason.

Su Qing shook her head helplessly and asked, "Why has Palace Mistress Chang'e come to see me? And where is she now?"

The messenger quickly replied, "The Palace Mistress didn't tell me the reason. She only said she had important matters to discuss with you, Sovereign, and told me to report quickly. She said she is waiting for you at your residence."

The messenger was just a messenger; if she asked for details, he clearly wouldn't know anything.

Seeing this, Su Qing was slightly amused. It seemed that to maintain her public image, Chang'e was still keeping up her aloof persona, showing no intention of revealing her business to subordinates. While it was a bit silly, Su Qing understood; after all, she did the same thing.

Su Qing was silent for a moment before nodding. "I understand. You may return. I will head back to see Palace Mistress Chang'e immediately."

The messenger breathed a sigh of relief. As long as his job was done, whatever happened next had nothing to do with him.

"Then this humble one shall take his leave."

Su Qing nodded, and the messenger hurriedly departed, showing no desire to linger. Clearly, being in the presence of someone like Su Qing was quite stressful for him. Su Qing understood this well.

She shook her head and stretched. "Let's stop here for today. I'm going back to see what Sister Chang'e wants."

Lin Jiu made a face of disappointment. "What a shame. I was thinking of challenging you myself!"

"Don't be disappointed. Have you even figured out how the game works yet?" Su Qing asked with a helpless smile.

Lin Jiu nodded. "Naturally, I've mostly, probably, likely, maybe understood it. Oh, stop asking me! I haven't even tried playing, so how would I know if I understand or not?"

Lin Jiu wasn't stupid—in fact, she was very bright—but her intelligence was entirely focused on forging. Outside of that, she was... well, she wasn't too dim-witted. In short, she was a specialist. Aside from her specialty, she wasn't particularly good at anything else.

Therefore, Su Qing didn't believe for a second that she had actually figured it out.

Su Qing shook her head and said, "Fine, fine. I'll take your word for it. It's not that I don't want to play with you, but I have more important things to do. We'll play together next time we have the chance!"

Even though Su Qing didn't believe her, she had to play along. On one hand, she didn't want to discourage her friend; on the other, she couldn't be bothered to argue about something so trivial with Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu, unaware of Su Qing's thoughts, immediately threw an arm around her. "Hehe, as expected of my best friend! No one else believes me, but you do! Hey, next time you need me to forge something, I'll give you a twenty percent discount!"

Su Qing nodded with a smile. In reality, she almost never paid when she asked Lin Jiu to forge things; she usually just gave her gifts, and even then, Lin Jiu wouldn't always accept them. So, she didn't take the offer too seriously.

"Yes, yes. We'll be heading back now. You should get back to your own work too." Su Qing smiled, not intending to waste any more time chatting. It was more important to see why Chang'e was looking for her.

Lin Jiu nodded and bid farewell to the mother and daughter. "Safe travels. I'm going back to my forging."

Su Qing nodded and flew off on a cloud.

On the way, Su Tingtong wore a mischievous grin. She looked at her mother's profile and asked playfully, "Mother... why do you think Auntie Chang'e is looking for you?"

Su Qing naturally didn't know, so she shook her head. "How should I know? It's definitely not for nothing, though. She probably has something she needs to tell me in person. Also, it's likely not what you're thinking! Honestly, you're quite the handful. Why aren't you looking out for your own mother instead of worrying about whether I'll find another woman?"

Su Qing knew her daughter all too well, so she was fully aware of what the girl was implying.

Su Tingtong laughed and shook her head. "Because I know that asking you not to find other women is basically impossible, Mother! So, I figured I might as well help you find them! That way, I can vet them for you. As long as they pass my test, how could my other mother ever mistreat you? Hehe, she might even help her take you down a peg!"

Su Tingtong was the type of person who, if she knew one road was blocked, wouldn't keep banging her head against the wall. Turning a corner and finding a new path was the right way to go. She wasn't stubborn; she didn't have to stick to just one way of doing things. Stubborn people never achieved great things.

Su Qing was somewhat helpless. 'Isn't this girl a bit too much?'

She sighed. "You... I really don't know what to say to you."

"Mother can praise me all she wants! I'm very worthy of praise! And no matter how much you praise me, I won't be embarrassed!" Su Tingtong said with a beam.

Su Qing was speechless. This girl was getting older, and her skin was getting thicker. She really didn't know who she had learned this from.

"You brat, you really have a thick skin!" Su Qing roasted her. "Honestly, where did that cute little girl from before go?"

"Hehe, I'm only this thick-skinned in front of you, Mother. After all, I know you'll never scold me, hit me, or get truly angry with me. At most, you'll just complain a bit," Su Tingtong replied with a grin.

Su Tingtong and Su Qing had been together for eighty or ninety years now; their understanding of each other was profound. Thus, Su Tingtong was well aware of how much her mother doted on her, which was why she acted so shamelessly in front of her.

Su Qing was slightly exasperated. She tapped the girl on the head and said, "It seems I've been too good to you? Maybe I should be a bit harsher from now on?"

Su Qing didn't know if she could ever actually be harsh with her daughter. In all likelihood, she couldn't. Even with the mischievous Su Ying, she had never had the heart to discipline her too much. Most of the time, it was just verbal education. Physical discipline was rare, and when it did happen, it was usually Ao Ying who did it. Ao Ying was the one who could actually follow through.

In any case, while Su Qing's words were meant as a threat, how much weight they actually carried was debatable.

Upon hearing this, Su Tingtong hurriedly shook her head. Although she knew Su Qing's attitude wouldn't change much, she was happy to play along and act scared. This way, her mother wouldn't get too annoyed and start roasting her relentlessly.

"Oh, don't do that~ Mother is so good, how could you ever be harsh with me? I know I was wrong~ so please forgive me. How about you keep being just as good to me as you are now?" Su Tingtong said with a smile, though it was hard to tell if she was actually afraid.

Su Qing glanced at her but didn't say anything more. Did she not know exactly what this girl was like? She shook her head. "Fine, fine. I can't be bothered to talk to you..."

Seeing this, Su Tingtong chuckled and stopped being a brat. Instead, she leaned close to Su Qing, putting on a steady and mature expression as if her previous playfulness had been entirely fake.

Su Qing glanced at her and shook her head inwardly. Then, she accelerated her flight, and before long, they arrived back at the palace.

In the courtyard of the inner chambers, Chang'e was sitting in a chair drinking tea. Her expression was calm and her aura cold and aloof, making it impossible to see how unreliable she could be when alone with Su Qing. Yuer stood beside her with a cold, detached look, silently performing her duties like a perfect maidservant.

Both were acting their parts so seriously that even Su Qing was a bit surprised. Their acting was so superb she couldn't find a single flaw; they were truly veteran performers.

Seeing Su Qing arrive, Chang'e set down her tea and said, "You've finally arrived. I thought I'd be waiting for a long time."

Su Qing shook her head and walked forward. "I came the moment I received the message... I wonder what business you have with me, Sister?"

As she spoke, Su Qing turned to the dragon girl servants nearby. "Alright, you all go about your business. We don't need your help here anymore."

The dragon girls nodded and said, "Yes!" before turning to leave.

Once the servants were gone, Chang'e immediately dropped her serious act and slumped in her seat.