It Turns Out, They Are the Protagonists
Chapter 518: On the Value of “The Art of Managing Your Husband”p2

“Okay, I understand.” She raised her beautiful eyes, gazing intently at the young man. “Brother Mu, you should also take care of yourself.”

Her pointed emphasis on “take care of yourself” clearly showed her displeasure at Mu Zhian’s recent intimacy with other women.

I get it, I get it. Be careful when getting intimate with other women, but no need to worry when it’s with Sister Lingxuan… Mu Zhian squeezed the young woman’s soft, small hand and said with a smile, “Do I also need to be careful when I’m with you?”

Seemingly catching the hidden meaning in Mu Zhian’s words, a blush flickered across the young woman’s face. She pouted and said, “I wouldn’t treat Brother Mu like those other women.”

Then, she added, “I have some matters to attend to later. Brother Mu, you can meditate and cultivate in my room.”

“After all, I just brought you out of prison. If I let you go so soon, the clan members would think I’m deliberately protecting you. So, just stay here with me for the next few days, I’ll ensure your safety.”

“It sounds like you’re keeping me as your boy toy,” Mu Zhian chuckled.

Ye Lingxuan covered her mouth and giggled, glancing at Mu Zhian, “That’s not impossible. If Brother Mu stays in the Forbidden Zone, I can give you a million spirit stones every month.”

“Let’s forget about that. If I really let you keep me, everyone would look down on me,” Mu Zhian shrugged.

Ye Lingxuan frowned slightly, “Who would dare look down on Brother Mu? Even ignoring your talent, with your intelligence, you can offer me plenty of advice… And you can also keep Lingxuan company, so a million spirit stones is nothing.”

“Be your personal attendant, is it?” Mu Zhian said jokingly.

Ye Lingxuan’s brows relaxed, “That’s not impossible either. I won’t let Brother Mu do anything dangerous, just stay with Lingxuan.”

“After all, I only have Brother Mu now.”

The young woman’s tone suddenly became much lower, “I never thought there would be a day I would rely on Brother Mu.”

Mu Zhian sensed the worry in her words, “What’s wrong? Is someone else competing with you for the position of Forbidden Zone Lord?”

Ye Lingxuan hummed softly in agreement. “Of course. After all, I’m not the only young genius in the Forbidden Zone, and my father can’t openly support me just because I’m his daughter, right? The other factions in the Forbidden Zone have been developing quite well these years, and they all support their own descendants. I’m all alone.”

As the young woman spoke, the light in her usually bright eyes dimmed slightly.

With her beautiful and innocent face and her slightly bitten lip, the Forbidden Zone imperial daughter looked helpless and fragile at this moment.

It was the first time Mu Zhian had seen this proud imperial daughter show such an expression. His heart softened, and he reached out, pulling her into his embrace, and said gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll help you.”

Hope flickered in Ye Lingxuan’s eyes, and she looked up, “Really? So Brother Mu won’t leave Lingxuan?”

Mu Zhian hesitated slightly, then hummed softly in agreement, “I’ll stay here with you until you inherit the position of Forbidden Zone Lord.”

The reserved and elegant young woman’s eyes were filled with affection as she gently rested her forehead against Mu Zhian’s chest and whispered, “Brother Mu is the best~”

A cunning glint flashed through her eyes as she spoke.

Even the Forbidden Zone imperial daughter, who used to disdain palace intrigue, after being ‘beaten up’ by reality recently, realized she could no longer be a pure and innocent little white rabbit.

Gentleness was useless!

After cuddling in Mu Zhian’s embrace for a while, a thought seemed to occur to her, and she suddenly asked suspiciously, “Speaking of which, what’s the relationship between that Holy Maiden from Xuanyin Temple and Brother Mu? I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned her before… But she seemed very worried when you were imprisoned today.”

A hint of danger laced her words.

“I saved her once at the Sword Palace before. Miss Lin probably values kindness and was worried about my safety,” Mu Zhian said with a smile.

Lin Keyu just didn’t expect the Forbidden Zone to be Mu Zhian’s second home…

“I see,” Ye Lingxuan hummed softly and didn’t ask any more questions.

But she discreetly glanced at Mu Zhian a few more times, suspicion in her eyes.

She possessed the Innate Spiritual Body. Although the Spirit Dragon’s shielding technique was on Mu Zhian’s Innate Celestial Furnace, she still sensed that his Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy had been greatly depleted.

Logically, they only fooled around three times tonight… It shouldn’t have caused such a significant loss of Heavenly Court Spiritual Energy.

Mu Zhian said calmly, “Since you have something to do, you can go ahead. I’ll meditate and cultivate for a while, to consolidate my current cauldron.”

I can’t continue this conversation. This girl’s ability to catch someone cheating seems to be getting stronger and stronger. If I continue, I’ll be exposed…

Mu Zhian suddenly felt immense pressure.

Originally, Ye Lingxuan and Ye Qian were easy to appease, but now, the older sister was gradually becoming a great white shark…

Ye Lingxuan hummed softly in agreement and turned to leave the room.

She didn’t leave immediately. After closing the door, she went to the central courtyard outside the bedchamber. Her previously gentle and innocent expression turned slightly cold, “What is it?”

Not far from Ye Lingxuan, the cool and aloof beauty with long, flowing hair stood quietly, her voice calm and composed, “Nothing, just guarding the door so no one notices anything happening here.”

Ye Lingxuan looked at her doubtfully, “It doesn’t matter if someone finds out I slept with Brother Mu, right?”

After all, the Forbidden Zone clan members knew about their relationship.

“Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but did you forget what you said when you returned to the Forbidden Zone, Miss?”

The Reincarnated Empress said, “After seeing Mu Zhian’s intimacy with other women through the Desolate Time Lock, you were so upset that you said you didn’t like Mu Zhian anymore and wouldn’t bother with him even if he came to the Forbidden Zone… If someone sees you with him now, especially being so intimate, I’m worried you’ll lose face before the clan members.”

Ye Lingxuan was stunned.

She just realized she had actually said such a thing.

The young woman’s face turned slightly uncomfortable. She coughed lightly and said, trying to maintain her composure, “What do you know? This is just to make Brother Mu… Mu Zhian lower his guard. After he’s captivated by my charm, I’ll lock him in the little black room and vent all my frustrations from this period.”

The Reincarnated Empress tilted her head, looking at her, “Is that so? But why do I feel like you’re the one captivated by Mu Zhian’s charm?”

“That’s your illusion,” Ye Lingxuan said calmly.

“But you clearly cried out ‘Brother Mu, please love me’ tonight… or something like that.”

Ye Lingxuan: “…”

She shot an annoyed glance at the cool beauty who completely didn’t understand how to ‘give her a way out’, “That was also part of the plan. How could you, an emotionless puppet, understand my thoughts?”

“What do you mean by venting your frustrations on him later? Torture? Or having him remove your shoes submissively and then (censored) – you know, those little couple games? I’m inclined to think you’ll choose the second option, because the Art of Managing Your Husband you were reading mentioned that some men have foot fetishes, and you even made a note on that page…”

Silence fell upon the courtyard.

Under the night sky, a captivating blush colored Ye Lingxuan’s pure and pretty face as she glared at the cool beauty.

“Am I the master, or are you? Some things should be kept in your heart and never spoken, lest you anger someone.”

She knew that although the Reincarnated Empress always followed her like a shadow, with her three-no’s (emotionless, voiceless, tearless) demeanor, she actually had emotions, just didn’t usually express them.

The Reincarnated Empress opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something, but held back.

Ye Lingxuan nodded with satisfaction, then continued, “Brother Mu will at least stay until I inherit the position of Forbidden Zone Empress. During this time, find a way to create some trouble for me, so I can discuss solutions with him and deepen our relationship.”

“…”

The Reincarnated Empress looked at her master silently, speechless.

This request was a bit too much, wasn’t it?

There were three major factions in the Forbidden Zone, and there were indeed people from all three factions competing with Ye Lingxuan for the position of Forbidden Zone Lord. However, two of the factions had already pledged their allegiance not long ago… The situation was completely one-sided.

And now, Miss wanted her to create some difficulties…?

Ye Lingxuan raised her proud, snow-white chin and said faintly, “Men have their pride. If I directly asked Brother Mu to stay and accompany me, he might not agree. Even if he did agree because of my request, his heart wouldn’t be here, so I have to give him something to do, to satisfy his sense of accomplishment.”

“The Art of Managing Your Husband says that men are strange creatures. Sometimes they like strong women, and sometimes they like damsels in distress… I used to think this was much more difficult than cultivation, but now that I think about it, it all depends on improvisation.”

“Although your strength is greater than mine, you still have much to learn about human relationships.”

A rare flicker of emotion appeared in the Reincarnated Empress’s usually cold and indifferent eyes. She murmured thoughtfully, “Mmm, so the Jade Empress has already mastered Mu Zhian’s psychology, that’s why she could control him so easily last night.”

“?”

Ye Lingxuan’s calm expression faltered, and she looked up, “…Last night?”

The Reincarnated Empress silently glanced at the young girl, “No wonder, you didn’t know about this? I was wondering why you were smiling so happily when you came out.”

“But I clearly froze time just now…” Ye Lingxuan murmured.

The Reincarnated Empress explained, “The Jade Empress used the Principles of Time to freeze the time you froze, then in your bed, with your Brother Mu…”

Seeing Ye Lingxuan’s disbelieving expression, the Reincarnated Empress said faintly, “Instead of competing with me, Master, it would be more practical to think about how to keep your Brother Mu in the Forbidden Zone.”

It took Ye Lingxuan a while to recover, the light in her eyes gradually dimming.

“What do you plan to do next? Do you need me to keep Mu Zhian in the Forbidden Zone for you?” the Reincarnated Empress asked.

Ye Lingxuan glanced at the woman indifferently, “I know you’re retaliating against me for saying you don’t understand human relationships, but even if you understand emotions, you don’t understand the relationship between men and women. On what grounds should I keep Brother Mu here? Or do you plan to keep both his body and mind in the Forbidden Zone?”

“Even I haven’t thought of a good solution in such a short time, let alone you.”

The Reincarnated Empress raised a delicate eyebrow, her long legs crossed, her cold and beautiful face still expressionless, “I was also watching every night when you were reading The Art of Managing Your Husband in your room. I know all the theories you know. Keeping both his body and mind in the Forbidden Zone, I don’t think it’s that difficult.”

“But I’m worried that if he becomes captivated by my charm, you’ll blame me.”

Ye Lingxuan raised her magnificent purple eyes, gazed at the woman before her, and said calmly, “If you really have the ability to captivate Brother Mu, then go ahead and try. I won’t interfere, and I won’t blame you afterward, I’ll only acknowledge your ability.”

The Reincarnated Empress said faintly, “Then just watch carefully through the Desolate Time Lock. I will keep both his body and mind in the Forbidden Zone.”

Ye Lingxuan chuckled softly.

She knew very well how difficult Brother Mu was to control. Even someone as proud as her felt frustrated when facing him, let alone the Reincarnated Empress, who didn’t understand the relationship between men and women at all?

“If you can do it, then by all means, try,” she said faintly.