After a moment, Lili Lanzu walked in with a pot of tea and placed it on the table. She respectfully bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please have some tea."
Iris glanced at Lili Lanzu and took a sip of tea, then said, "Go and fetch Lessi and Xue Youyue, I want to see them."
Lili Lanzu nodded and left. Shortly after, she returned with Lessi and Xue Youyue, leading them to Iris.
Iris looked at Lessi and Xue Youyue and said calmly, "Did you two attack Elena?"
Lessi and Xue Youyue were surprised by Iris's sudden question, but quickly reacted. Lessi knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it was me who attacked Elena in order to seek revenge. It has nothing to do with Xue Youyue."
Xue Youyue also knelt down and whispered, "It was my own decision."
Iris didn't get angry at their response, instead, she said calmly, "Since revenge has been taken, let's put this matter to rest. Do not trouble Elena anymore. Attacking the daughter of a minister in the imperial city is a serious crime, and I can find a scapegoat for you. If you ever do something like this again, there will be no leniency."
Lessi and Xue Youyue immediately kowtowed three times and earnestly said, "We will heed Your Majesty's teachings!"
Iris gestured for them to rise and continued, "Lessi, stay. You and Xue Youyue can leave." Then, Iris looked at Lili Lanzu who was standing nearby.
Lili Lanzu nodded and led Xue Youyue out. After they left, Iris spoke slowly, "We both learned swordsmanship from the same person. Considering our age difference, you should address me as senior sister."
This title made Lessi feel a bit uncomfortable. She scratched her head and smiled, saying, "You are the emperor, while I am a subject, how can it be?"
Iris shook her head and said, "Emperor and subject is one thing, senior sister is another. Privately, you can call me junior sister, but in public, you should still be mindful of boundaries."
"Well... then I will address you as Her Majesty," Lessi said with a smile.
"Suit yourself," Iris said lightly.
"Your Majesty, do you have any other business with me?" Lessi raised her head and asked softly.
"I want to know what our master looks like. Can you draw a portrait of her?" Iris asked eagerly.
"Your Majesty, you haven't seen our master?" Lessi exclaimed in surprise.
Iris shook her head, indicating that she hadn't. "After waking up, this sword technique was already in my mind."
"Alright, I will go and draw a portrait of our master and present it to you," Lessi said.
"Thank you, senior sister!" Iris smiled gratefully.
Iris watched as Lessi's figure disappeared from her sight, and a smile appeared on her lips.
"Master, make sure you don't get caught by me. I will prepare a clean prison for you, let you live there for three thousand years, and then let you out, provided you can survive for three thousand years." Iris laughed happily, her expression completely different from before, radiating joy.
Iris would not admit that the person who taught her the "Hardening" sword technique was her master. To Iris, the sword technique was something the other party forced upon her.
When she was Night White, her "master" took away three thousand Bella from her, leaving the sword technique in Night White's mind.
At that time, the money was an enormous sum for Night White, and this act by her "master" caused great psychological trauma to Iris, so she has always harbored a grudge against this matter.
Now, Iris finally has the opportunity to find her "master," and she will make him pay.
...
The next day, in the morning.
Lessi approached Iris with two scrolls and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, this is our master."
With that, Lessi unrolled the scrolls and presented her sketches to Iris.
Although Lessi's sketching skills were not top-notch, her strokes were lively and the sketches were lifelike.
Iris glanced at the woman in the sketch, dressed plainly but with a noble temperament, exuding a heroic aura between her eyebrows. Iris furrowed her brows slightly and stared at the woman in the sketch for a long time before slowly speaking, "The drawing is really good."
"It's good that Your Majesty likes it," Lessi slightly bowed and modestly replied.
"Sister, what is this scroll..." Iris looked at the scroll in Lessi's hand and asked with confusion.
Lessi chuckled lightly and explained, "Our master has a silver giant wolf by his side, just like Baixi, which can speak human language."
With that, Lessi handed the scroll to Iris. Iris unfolded it and saw a giant silver wolf, emitting a layer of cold light all over its body, with sharp and fierce eyes.
"The master's summoned beast? Can Baixi defeat it?" Iris asked herself briefly and then dismissed the idea.
Since advancing once, this guy has been going wild, thinking all day about whether he can obtain items to enhance his strength from her.
After advancing for the second time, this guy went even further, lying in the dormitory all day, and she didn't know what he was doing.
Iris rubbed her temples helplessly, put the scroll in Lessi's hand into the drawer, and said to Lessi, "Breakfast is ready, let's have our meal."
"Yes!" Lessi nodded and agreed.
If Lessi knew Iris's thoughts, she would never have handed the portrait to Iris, no, she wouldn't have drawn something like that in the first place.
At the dining table, as the senior sister, Lessi shared her experience of practicing "Hardening" with Iris and also shared her insights into sword techniques and skills, hoping that her junior sister's sword skills would improve.
After listening, Iris nodded. Little did Lessi know, she had already stopped practicing swordsmanship and instead focused her attention on studying the gun technique Ling Guang had taught her.
As breakfast came to an end, the two went on to attend to their own tasks.
...
Meanwhile, Baixi was touring the mountains, rivers, and plants of the Shuowang Empire with his aunt and sister.
Along the way, Ling had seen majestic peaks, rippling lakes, towering ancient trees, vast deserts, and boundless primeval forests.
After several days of exploring, Ling realized just how vast the territory of the Shuowang Empire truly was.
Only by becoming stronger can one protect the country's territory, the safety of its citizens, and the esteemed older sister.
This time, Ling fully understood her pursuit of the future, her ideals for the future.
Baixi looked at the determination on Ling's face and casually said, "Only by becoming stronger can you protect the ones you love."
"The ones I love?" Ling was slightly taken aback, then looked at the black handkerchief in her pocket. Her eyes flickered as she murmured, "My older sister is the one I love."
This black handkerchief was given to her by her older sister to wipe away her tears, containing her older sister's gentle care.
Ling gently stroked the black handkerchief in her hand and said firmly, "Sister, I will definitely become stronger, I will protect you!"
"Auntie, come on, let's go to the seaside for the next stop." Baiying called out, then shouted at Ling who was lost in thought beside her.
"Coming." Ling laughed softly and then followed Baiying to sit on Baixi's back, as they galloped towards the ocean.
...
