It was early in the morning on a relaxing day off at the Invincible Manor.

    The master of the house stood scowling in front of his residence, surrounded by an aura of irritation so intense that the servants around him scurried away, not daring to meet his gaze. Despite his age nearing thirty, he still looked enviably handsome.

    Usually, he would be eager for days off that didn't require him to attend the court, but today, not a hint of happiness could be seen on his face.

    And why was that?

    Because today, Zhao Furen, his wife, planned to take their dearly beloved daughter to visit the emperor, his sworn brother, at the palace.

    "Hmph! Even though it's my day off, when I should be spending time with my Hua'er, why must she be taken to see that damned Emperor?"

    He grumbled under his breath, careful not to speak too loudly for fear that if his wife heard him, he might end up inspecting the dirt on the floor up close.

    Zhang Feng, who was checking the readiness of the carriage, turned to respond to his master with a respectful tone upon hearing the muttering as if seeking an answer, "It's because... Furen wishes for the young miss to meet the emperor, master. Why aren't you pleased?"

    Zhao Minglong glared at him and then replied curtly, "And why should I be pleased?"

    "Oh, master, given how adorable the young miss is, if the emperor sees her, he might be charmed by her. If he adores her, he might show his favor, and with his favor, he might bestow upon her the title of a prince's fiancée. More importantly, if the prince becomes the Crown Prince, our young miss might inevitably become the Empress in the future."

    Having explained, the loyal but naive servant stood dreaming of the day when their young miss would wear the red robe of the Empress's mother.

    "Ah... What a blessing it would be for me, Zhang Feng, to have once served the future Empress.”

    Hearing this made Minglong exceedingly irate.

    "Nonsense... Empress, your mother! As long as I, Zhao Minglong, am here, Empress or Consort, I will not let her become any of them!”

    After venting his frustration, General Zhao executed a fierce leopard strike technique towards Zhang Feng, who stood daydreaming with a smile.

    Despite Zhang Feng's martial prowess, he was still far inferior to his master and, caught off guard in his reverie, he couldn't defend himself and ended up tumbling to the ground, sitting stunned and confused about the cause.

    "What happened?"

    After venting his anger, Zhao Minglong felt significantly better, his handsome face relaxing into a smile. He patted Zhang Feng's shoulder lightly and answered, "Bees.”

    With that, the imposing figure walked away with a chuckle, leaving the honest servant looking around in bewilderment before touching his face and wincing in pain.

    'Bees, damn it! After all, I've done for them, allowing them to build their hives and forbidding others from destroying them, they dare to bite the hand that feeds? If that's how it is, they don't deserve to share this world with us.'

    "Kids, anyone free to bring me a torch!"

    Hearing the sudden shout, the servants jumped, not used to hearing Zhang Feng speak so harshly. Normally, the servant  Zhang was compassionate and gentle with everyone.

    Never once raising his voice. Curious and eager to see what was happening, many hurriedly brought him a lit torch.

    The sincere servant Zhang Feng, upon receiving the torch, briskly moved towards the manor's garden, leaving the servants watching his disappearing figure with confusion. They shook their heads, puzzled, and then dispersed to resume their duties.

    Zhao Furen, in a light purple dress embroidered with butterflies that accentuated her elegant and stately figure with grace, slowly led her daughter toward the manor's carriage.

    Today, Zhao Meihua was dressed in a bright blue gown, adorned with pink peonies that complemented her well. Her long, lustrous black hair was parted into two, resembling cute buns, with small braids tied with sweet pink ribbons, adding to the charm of her lovely face. The girl walked hand in hand with her mother, followed by the imposing figure of her father, who had once again adopted a sullen expression. Jing Yian approached the young miss with a white cloth in hand to cover her beautiful face. Zhao Feixian, observing her daughter, now only visible by the sparkling black eyes through the white cloth, asked with concern.

    "Is it too uncomfortable, my child? If it is, we don't have to cover it."

    After posing the question to her daughter, the general, who had been silent up until now, was about to protest loudly but ceased immediately under the piercing gaze of his wife. Zhao Meihua, smiling slightly beneath her veil, amused by her father's actions, reassured her mother in a bright and cheerful tone.

    "No, Mother, I don't feel uncomfortable at all."

    Zhao Furen sighed, a mix of relief and agreement on her face, unlike her husband, who now seemed pleased that his daughter was adhering to their agreement. "Where has servant Zhang disappeared to?" Zhao Feixian inquired, noting the absence of the household's steward.

    "Furen, Zhang Feng has gone to attend to some matters in the garden behind the manor," one of the servants replied.

    Zhao Furen's delicate eyebrows knitted slightly upon hearing the response.

    'What kind of task in the garden requires servant Zhang's personal attention.’

    Unbeknownst to Zhao Feixian, at this very moment, their servant was battling bees in the manor's backyard.

    "Let's set off then, before it gets too hot if we delay any longer.”

    With that, the family of three boarded the carriage and headed towards the royal palace.

    The carriage brought them to their destination on schedule. Zhao Furen swiftly led her daughter through the royal gardens.

    She was the adoptive sister of the emperor himself, a status equivalent to that of a princess. The palace was practically her home. Zhao Meihua followed her mother, her gaze fixed on the brightly colored flower garden, thinking to herself.

    'This garden is truly beautiful. If Zhang Feng saw this, he would surely want to replicate it back at the manor.'

    The Invincible general trailed behind his daughter and wife, his face set in a scowl matching his mood.

    'Hmph! Just wait and see, if any of those bratty kids dare to mess with my Meihua, I swear I'll break their necks and use them as a garnish for my drink.'

    His towering presence emitted a menacing aura, causing the maids and servants they passed to weaken at the knees.

    The young wife turned back to glance, inwardly understanding her husband's thoughts. She slightly shook her head with a soft heart as she noticed the maids stumbling and falling before them, weakened by the aura around them.

    "If you don't retract your killing intent, I'll send you to wait by the carriage," she whispered softly into his ear, prompting him to immediately cease emitting his intimidating aura, albeit reluctantly.

    After following the path for a while, the family finally saw the emperor’s residence. Liu Gonggong, the Emperor's close attendant, hurried out to greet them upon spotting the general and his wife.

    "General Zhao, Zhao Furen."

    "Liu Gonggong, please inform my brother that I have brought my daughter to see him."

    Liu Gonggong nodded before disappearing inside the palace, returning quickly with a smile.

    "General, Zhao Furen, the Emperor..."

    "Not available, is he? See, I told you, my dear. The emperor is always swamped with duties. We shouldn't bother him. Let's go back."

    Liu Gonggong was left agape. He was about to inform them that the emperor had indeed permitted their visit, wondering why the general refused to listen and even suggested returning.

    Zhao Feixian was perplexed. Typically, her brother would always welcome her warmly, regardless of how busy he was. So why would he not allow them to visit this time, especially when she brought her daughter?

    Taking the chance, Zhao Minglong feigned innocence, swiftly grabbed his still-confused wife's fair hand and turned them around to leave immediately. Internally, he felt smug, pleased to have found an excuse to take his family back home.

    'If they met, it could have been trouble. He has so many sons, what if he decided to match one of them with my Hua'er?'

    Before anyone could speak, a deep, resonant voice echoed behind them, sarcastically mimicking the general's earlier remark about being too busy.

    "I was just made aware that I am apparently too busy."

    The slender figure of Zhao Furen turned towards the source of the deep voice, her face lighting up with joy upon seeing the regal figure in golden robes. She gracefully paid her respects.

    "Feixian pays respects to Your Majesty."

    The dignified figure stepped forward to clasp his sister's shoulder, helping her to rise with joy, and declared with a booming voice.

    "No need for such formality. Just having you here makes me happy, haha."

    Zhao Minglong, watching the affectionate sibling reunion, slightly pouted and rolled his eyes in a mild show of disdain.

    'Ha! So obsessed with his sister!'

    The Emperor, noticing the general's expression, guessed what he might be thinking.

    'Ha, as if you have any right to judge, oh doting father!'

    Zhao Furen, seeing the exchange of glares between her brother and her husband, quickly pushed her daughter forward to divert their attention.

    "Ah... Hua'er, greet your uncle."

    "Hua'er offers respects to uncle. May you live ten thousand years, ten thousand years," the girl said in a bright voice. She gracefully bowed in the refined manner her mother had taught her, without missing a beat.

    Yu Lang bent down to meet the sparkling, wide eyes of his niece, feeling a deep affection for her. His strong hand lifted her small shoulders, speaking fondly, "Come, let your uncle see your face, my dear niece."

    "Please forgive me, uncle. My face..." the niece said, slightly bowing her head.

    The uncle, seeing his niece's downturned face and feeling sorry for her, cursed himself for speaking without thinking, causing her distress.

    "Alright, alright, Uncle apologizes. Don't be sad. How about this? To make it up to you, I'll give you a welcome gift. What would you like? Anything you want, uncle will give you."

    Zhao Meihua hid her smile, her face brightening as she coyly asked, "What kind of gift, uncle?"

    Her lips, tinted red, posed the question with a clear voice that playfully challenged her uncle, making Yu Lang even more endeared to her.

    'No wonder that crazy friend of mine is so protective.'

    "What indeed should the gift be? Ah... How about this, I'll betroth you to my third son as a gift, how about that?"

    The deep voice spoke with a beaming face but was startled when he felt the killing intent radiating from the general beside him.

    ‘Yu Lang, I'm going to kill you, then take my child and wife to live in another region.’

    Zhao Minglong thought bitterly, his gaze hardening as he directed his suppressed anger toward the person in front of him.

    "Uncle, please don’t tease me. I'm still too young to think about such things," the girl quickly interjected, seeing her father's murderous glare. She didn't want her father to be branded a rebel.

    Yu Lang wanted to argue that he was serious, but seeing the lethal look in the general's eyes, he chose silence. It wasn't that he was afraid, he just didn't want to worry his beloved sister.

    "What does Hua'er want then?" the emperor asked, affectionately patting her head.

    "I'm not very well-behaved. Could I possibly be excused from performing the customary respects, uncle?"

    Her request might seem trivial to many, but for her, it was a defense against being bullied by those of higher status.

    "Of course, I'll make an exception for you. You don't have to pay respects to anyone, not even to me if you don't want to."

    "Thank you, uncle," she replied sweetly, making the emperor unable to resist hugging her, ignoring his friend's protective glare.

    ‘Hey! What right do you have to hug my daughter? Don't you have your own kids to hug?’

    Zhao Minglong thought angrily but only dared to think it, fearing his wife's reaction.

    "It's good you all came. I was just thinking of you. Let's go inside the palace and talk."

    Yu Lang then quickly carried his niece with Zhao Feixian following closely. The General then rushed past his wife to be closer to the emperor.

    "Yu Lang, who gave you permission to carry my daughter? Carry your own children."

    The complaint was followed by laughter, the emperor’s voice echoing cheerfully.

    "I just wanted to hold my future daughter-in-law, ha ha!"

    "Dream on. Who said I'd let my daughter marry your son?"

    "Would you dare to disobey? I am the Emperor."

    "Why wouldn't I dare? Just watch, you dare command, I dare disobey." The young general retorted loudly.

    "Would you dare disobey even orders from Xian’er?" Yu Lang smirked, challenging him with a cunning smile.

    "You're not a man, using Xian’er to threaten me."

    "Why not? When I was willing to give my sister to you, why can't you give your daughter to my son?"

    "Yu Lang, it's different, you scoundrel. How can you even compare the two? Xian’er, say something. Are you really okay with this?"

    As the argument seemed endless, Zhao Minglong turned to his wife for support.

    Zhao Feixian, having listened to their quarrel, felt helpless and shook her head, muttering, "You men never grow up, no matter how many years pass."