Chapter 57

In the grand hall, a man wearing a dragon robe embroidered with five-clawed dragons sat hunched over his desk, perusing memorial after memorial. His majestic face carried a hint of exhaustion.

Pei Xiuyu reached out to massage the bridge of his nose, his gaze fixed on a memorial reporting that an earthquake had struck Anling Prefecture, leaving countless victims displaced and in urgent need of disaster relief.

His hand holding the writing brush paused. The mere thought of the meager grain reserves in the imperial treasury sent a sharp, throbbing pain through his mind.

"Your Majesty, the Empress has arrived," a eunuch murmured from the side.

Just as he finished speaking, a gentle-looking woman walked in, accompanied by a personal maid. At first glance, the garments she wore appeared quite luxurious.

Yet, only they themselves knew that these clothes were actually old garments that had been worn numerous times.

"Your Majesty," the Empress walked up to his side, "state affairs are pressing, but you must still take time to rest. I have brewed a bowl of chicken soup for you; do have a taste."

The personal maid by her side presented the chicken soup. The Empress held the bowl, gently blew on the surface to cool it, and said, "Your Majesty, please drink a little."

Pei Xiuyu sighed, took the chicken soup, and said, "You have worked hard, Shu-niang."

Qi Shu glanced at the memorial. "The earthquake is a matter of grave importance, and the imperial treasury is stretched thin. I was thinking, how about releasing a batch of palace maids so that we might at least reduce some expenditures?"

The Xuan Dynasty was already grappling with tight military engagements—the Xiongnu to the north, the barbarians to the south, and now the disaster in Anling Prefecture.

A batch of palace maids had already been dismissed from the inner court previously; if another batch were to be let go now, the inner palace would truly become desolate.

Pei Xiuyu set the bowl down on the desk. "Shu-niang, I often wonder if I am failing as an emperor."

At these words, the eunuchs and maids in the hall quietly withdrew one by one, leaving only the two of them.

"Why must Your Majesty think that way?" Shu-niang sat beside him, letting Pei Xiuyu rest his head against her shoulder. "Natural disasters are not Your Majesty's fault. We have all witnessed Your Majesty's daily toil and labor, and the people of the Xuan Dynasty constantly praise Your Majesty's benevolence and wisdom."

Pei Xiuyu lowered his gaze. He recalled that ever since he ascended the throne, one calamity had followed another. He often wondered if he simply hadn't done well enough.

Was that why Heaven was sending punishments down upon the Xuan Dynasty?

Yet, if it were truly his failing, why not punish him directly?

"Shu-niang, you have suffered alongside me," Pei Xiuyu said, looking at Shu-niang, who wore almost no powder on her face.

He remembered how they had been childhood sweethearts, walking hand in hand all the way to the present day. Yet while other empresses lived in silks and brocades, Shu-niang could only wear these faded, old clothes.

They scarcely had the money even to renovate the palace halls.

Shu-niang smiled and shook her head. "You and I are husband and wife, cut from the same cloth. I have never felt that being with you is a hardship. My only wish is for you to be safe and sound, and for the country and people of the Xuan Dynasty to enjoy peace and prosperity."

Pei Xiuyu clasped Shu-niang's hand. His eyes grew slightly red, and he was just about to speak when he saw Sun Wensheng, the eunuch who had just stepped outside, hurrying back in.

His expression carried a trace of panic, though he concealed it remarkably well, knowing that one must never lose their composure before the Emperor.

"Your Majesty! A strange portent has appeared in the heavens—a small, square pavilion has suddenly descended outside the hall!"

Pei Xiuyu and Qi Shu stood up simultaneously. "A small, square pavilion?"

"Come, let us go out and see."

Sun Wensheng recounted the scene he had just witnessed as they walked. "Just now, a sudden flash of light broke through the sky, and before this old slave's very eyes, a small, square pavilion materialized out of nowhere."

"Dong Yi, the commander of the Imperial Guard, has already dispatched men to seal the palace gates and surround the pavilion."

Stepping out onto the palace steps, Pei Xiuyu saw that indeed, a small, square pavilion stood outside the hall. The structure was exceedingly bizarre: not only were the walls entirely white, but right in the center, a massive piece of dark, glossy glass was embedded.

A group of soldiers clad in armor and holding sharp swords formed a wide perimeter around the pavilion.

Seeing the Emperor emerge, Dong Yi cupped his fists and bowed. "Your Majesty, it remains unknown what manner of object this small pavilion is."

"I beg Your Majesty to issue an order permitting me to investigate the truth of it."

Pei Xiuyu frowned as he gazed at the pavilion. "Since it has descended from the heavens, it is only fitting that I go and inspect it myself."

"You shall accompany me."

Dong Yi replied, "Understood!"

Just as his voice fell, and the two men prepared to move forward, one of the guards patrolling the perimeter of the pavilion suddenly cried out in alarm, "Someone is coming out!"

Instantly, everyone tightened their grips on their swords, eyeing the figure with acute vigilance.

Pei Xiuyu saw a person emerge from the side. The individual wore bizarre, brightly colored garments, and her tied-up hair was remarkably short.

Yet her skin was as white as jade, and she showed not the slightest trace of panic despite facing a multitude of guards.

"Hello there!" Xia Zui waved, greeting them one by one.

When the cabin informed her earlier that day that the second plane had been unlocked, she had excitedly prepared to come over.

Unlocking the second plane meant that she now had access to three worlds: the modern world, the apocalyptic world, and this new plane.

The apocalyptic death match would take a few days to conclude, and tourism there was already running smoothly.

Since she had nothing much to do over there, she decided to drop by here first to check out the situation.

The moment Xia Zui landed, she caught sight of the imperial palace. She happily walked toward the two people standing at the palace entrance.

The one in the dragon robe was undoubtedly the emperor, and the pretty young lady beside him must be the empress.

Pei Xiuyu watched as the woman walked toward him as if no one else was there, cheerfully waving at the guards on the side. He furrowed his brows slightly.

Had he reviewed too many memorials and made his head dizzy?

Not only had a small, square pavilion dropped from the sky right outside his hall, but now a woman in eccentric attire was walking out of it.

Could she be a legendary immortal?

Only, the clothes the immortal wore bore not the slightest resemblance to anything ethereal.

Dong Yi, watching the woman draw closer and closer, hurriedly drew his sword to block her path. "Audacious! Who goes there? You are not permitted to approach His Majesty!"

Xia Zui looked at the sword in his hand, reached out and poked it lightly, and then said excitedly, "Ooh, an ancient sword!"

Dong Yi: "???"

What was she happy about? What on earth was she so happy about?!

His sword could slice through iron like mud; why wasn't this woman afraid?!

Xia Zui smiled and looked toward the Emperor. "Let me introduce myself first. I am Lü Yun, the person in charge of the Inter-Plane Tourism Company. You can also call me Director Lü."

"You might not quite understand what that means," Xia Zui mused for a moment. "Basically, I am not from your world. I've come here to discuss a tourism partnership with you."

Pei Xiuyu looked at her. "Not from our world?"

Indeed, she was an otherworldly visitor, yet she looked nothing like an immortal, nor did she resemble a fiend or demon.

"May I ask if the maiden is an immortal from the heavens?"

Xia Zui shook her head. "I am not."

"Then is the maiden a fiend?" He frowned slightly as he asked this, harboring a measure of uncertainty in his heart.

Yet, with Shu-niang right beside him, and as the Son of Heaven of the Xuan Dynasty, how could he panic and completely lose the dignity of a monarch?

Even if this person were a fiend, he had to remain calm so that others in the palace wouldn't fall into chaos.

Xia Zui shook her head again. "I am not that either. I am a human being, just not from your world."

"Since the maiden is human, how did you manage to descend from the heavens?" Qi Shu spoke up.

Observing the smiling woman before her, whose eyes were filled with curiosity and delight, she felt that the visitor truly did seem as though she had arrived from another world.

Yet, if Lü Yun was also human, how had she managed to descend from the skies?

And what on earth was this small, square pavilion?

Xia Zui smiled. "Shall we go inside and talk?"

Just as her voice trailed off, Dong Yi flashed his sword once more. "Your Majesty, this woman's origins are unknown. Your Majesty must never share a room with her!"

Xia Zui: "...... If you're worried, you can come in too. It's so boring just standing outside chatting."

Pei Xiuyu smiled. "In that case, maiden, please enter."

Although there were many mysteries surrounding this woman, her speech and actions were frank and open, not resembling those of a villain harboring sinister plots.

Furthermore, he was the Son of Heaven; how could he forfeit his imperial dignity and appear less magnanimous than this woman?

If she dared to step into his imperial study, what did he have to fear?

Following Pei Xiuyu into the imperial study, Xia Zui continued to look around with undisguised curiosity.

At that moment, her mind was entirely occupied by the thought: *Every single thing in here must be an antique, right?*

*Hooray! The ancient imperial palace is vastly more pleasing to the eye than the zombies in the apocalypse.*

A palace maid brought her a cup of tea. Xia Zui took it, took a sip, and exclaimed, "Fragrant!"

As for why it was fragrant, she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Seeing this, Pei Xiuyu burst into hearty laughter. "The maiden is truly interesting. I wonder what you meant by the tourism partnership you mentioned earlier?"

Realizing they were finally getting down to business, Xia Zui said, "Let me first explain where I come from. The place I come from is many, many years after your time—perhaps one or two thousand years later?"

"Of course, your world is a fictional alternate history anyway, but the point is, I come from a future world."

"The future?" Pei Xiuyu felt it sounded like sheer fantasy, yet the small, square pavilion outside the palace was undeniable.

This woman's posture as she walked and the way she spoke were entirely unlike Shu-niang and the others.

Xia Zui nibbled on a pastry. "As for what tourism means, it means going to a place to wander around, see the sights, eat delicious food, and experience the local customs and traditions."

With this explanation, everyone in the hall understood.

They, too, were people who had traveled, but most of their journeys were for official business, leaving no time for leisure.

"The partnership I want to discuss with you is this: I will gather a group of tourists to come here for a vacation, and we can split the profits fifty-fifty. How does that sound?"

The moment Pei Xiuyu heard the word 'money', his cup of tea suddenly smelled a bit more fragrant. However, having tourists come to their realm for vacation...

"Can the maiden explain in greater detail?"

Xia Zui continued, "The tourists are also people from the future, just like me. Everyone has plenty of free time and loves to travel around. If we partner up, we can offer a three-day, two-night tour package. Each person will pay around four thousand yuan. You take two thousand, and I take two thousand."

"As for this money, you can use it to exchange with me for whatever goods you need. Of course, if you prefer, I can also convert it into gold for you."

"Though converting it to gold might not be as cost-effective as exchanging it for supplies."

Qi Shu listened quietly without interjecting, while Pei Xiuyu asked, "What kind of things can be exchanged?"