Morning, sunshine seeped through the cracks in the curtains and sprinkled onto the clean white bed, casting a warm hue.

Iris had already dressed and finished grooming herself, ready to begin today's training.

Baixi, on the other hand, was still sound asleep with no sign of waking up. Iris looked at Baixi's peaceful sleeping face, a faint smile curling at the corners of her mouth as she considered whether or not to continue punishing Baixi.

After a minute of contemplation, she decided to extend Baixi's solitary confinement for another three months. On one hand, it was to establish herself as a strict mother figure, and on the other hand, it was to allow Baixi to focus on cultivation. The room only contained a hard bed, and there were only two ways to pass the time: either sitting cross-legged on the bed for cultivation or lying on the hard bed in a daze.

She believed Baixi would choose the former. If Baixi chose the latter, she would never leave the confinement room for the rest of her life.

Then, holding the sleeping Baixi, she walked out of the bedroom and headed towards the direction of the confinement room.

Pushing open the door to the confinement room, Iris placed Baixi on the hard bed and set up the restrictions before turning to leave.

With her hands behind her back, Iris walked towards the room opposite to where Baixi was being confined.

This room was a replica of Auntie's small dark room. It was pitch black inside, with a dim candle hanging on the wall, swaying gracefully in the breeze.

Standing at the entrance of the room, Iris looked up at the candle flickering in the darkness. In its dim light, she could faintly see a pale and powerless face, the eyes devoid of life, empty and unfocused.

As Iris approached, the pale face in the candlelight gradually became clearer, revealing a stunning yet incredibly haggard appearance with no trace of radiance.

When the woman in the dark room heard the footsteps, she slowly turned her head in Iris's direction.

The clang of the shackles sounded as the woman inched towards Iris, her thin and frail figure wrapped in a white dress. She knelt before Iris, using a hoarse voice and a humble tone, "Slave pays respects to the master."

Iris raised an eyebrow and looked down at the prostrating Leng. She calmly said, "I appreciate what you said, but I don't want to hear it."

"Please forgive this servant, Master," Leng trembled and quickly bowed, confessing her guilt.

"Tell me about your experience in the dark room for over a year. You can also share any suggestions for improvement. If it satisfies me, we might release you to move around the palace," Iris said nonchalantly.

"Thank you for your grace, Master!" Leng exclaimed, quickly kowtowing. Her eyes turned red with excitement.

"It's very lonely, and my spirit is extremely fragile. I often wake up in the middle of the night, trembling uncontrollably, on the verge of going insane. I've contemplated suicide multiple times, but I couldn't do it because of the shackles," Leng controlled her emotions as she poured out her feelings, leaving nothing unspoken.

"Do you have any suggestions for improvement?" Iris asked.

"I suggest extinguishing the candles over there and introducing some insects and mice to make the environment worse," Leng proposed.

"I'll send someone to take care of it tomorrow," Iris nodded, her tone carrying a faint authority.

Leng's expression changed, seemingly caught in a dilemma.

"Of course, I can let you wander around the palace, but you must not cause any trouble." Iris grabbed Leng by the collar and yanked it hard, warning, "If you dare to cause any trouble, I won't show mercy and will either turn you into a mental disabled person or execute you directly."

"I dare not, my Lady!" Leng lowered his head, trembling, his voice filled with fear.

"Good." Iris left the small dark room and began her morning practice.

At this moment, Lilia sat on a bench in one corner of the palace. She looked at the pocket watch in her hand and muttered to herself, "Why hasn't Iri arrived yet? She should be practicing her marksmanship at this time. Could it be that she's forgotten because she was too tired yesterday?"

Should I sneak into Iri's room to take a look? But what if I get caught? Will Iri blame me for it?

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to wait in place, hoping for Iri to arrive soon.

Not long after, Iris appeared in Lilia's field of vision. Lilia saw Iris swinging a silver spear, leaping and galloping in the courtyard, every move precise and swift, executed flawlessly.

"Iri's marksmanship is really good, the swinging movements are so impressive," she couldn't help but exclaim.

Iris' figure was agile, nimble, and quick. The silver spear in her hand danced as if it could move mountains and rivers.

Lilia's position was in a blind spot, allowing her to peek at Iris' martial arts practice perfectly, but Iris couldn't see Lilia.

"Hmm..." Suddenly, Lilia called out in confusion.

She saw a white lion cat with yellow eyes hiding in the grass. It was silently watching her, its amber pupils emitting a peculiar light, like a mischievous little mouse, looking quite comical. (The cat Iris gave to her sister.)

"Meow~" a sudden sound startled Lilia, and she quickly covered the cat's mouth, staring at the lion cat with wide eyes.

"No need to meow!" She glared fiercely at the lion cat, lowering her voice to warn it.

The little snowball looked innocent, not understanding why its owner suddenly became angry. Normally, its owner doted on it the most. Did it do something to make its owner unhappy? It nervously licked its paw and stopped meowing, squatting quietly by Lilia's leg.

"If you meow one more time, I will... I will lock you in a cage." Lilia carefully considered that if this was Iri's cat, she would annoy her if she hurt it.

The little snowball shrank into a ball, feeling wronged. It couldn't understand why its owner's behavior had changed so drastically, nor did it know what it had done wrong.

Lilia released her hold on the cat's mouth, staring at it with a scrutinizing gaze to confirm that it would no longer meow before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She continued to watch her daughter, but when she turned her head, Iris was nowhere to be seen.

"Huh, where is Iri? It's impossible for her to practice for only a while," Lilia's nerves instantly tightened, searching for Iris' whereabouts.

"Put down the little kitty." Iris' voice came from behind Lilia.

Lilia turned around to look at Iris, first putting down the little snowball, then explaining, "I didn't bully the little kitty."

Iris' gaze landed on the curled-up snowball. She reached out and held it in her arms, "Snowball, the one in front of you is not your owner. Your owner is probably training somewhere in the palace. You can go to Ling's bedroom and wait for her." "Meow~" Snowball raised its head and looked at Iris, its amber eyes shimmering.

"Go on then." Iris patted Snowball's fluffy head and smiled.

Snowball nodded and walked out of the courtyard with cat-like steps.

"Iri..." Lilia was about to speak, but Iris interrupted her.

"Don't put your heart on me, it's meaningless. Ling is still young, so it's better for you to give her this love. At least let her life never lack a mother's love. As for me, I don't need such a thing. You don't need to feel indebted to me. As for taking care of me when I was unconscious, I will repay you for that favor." Iris's expression was indifferent as she spoke calmly to Lilia.

"I..." Lilia opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. She remained silent for a while, then said, "I understand."

"That's good then." Iris nodded lightly and turned to leave.

Lilia stood still, staring blankly at Iris's departing figure. After a while, she shook her head bitterly and walked away in another direction.

...

"Mmm..." Baixi opened her eyes and rubbed her sleepy eyes. She stretched lazily and made a sluggish sound, "I slept so comfortably. Why is the bed so hard?"

She looked around, "Where am I? How did the big white bed turn into a hard bed?"

When she tried to leave, she found that the door was locked. Baixi shrugged, "Just a door, it can't stop me, right?" She snorted lightly and punched the door.

"Ah~" She cried out in pain, a red mark appearing on her right fist.

At this moment, Baixi understood what had happened. Her mother locked her in the confinement room while she was sleeping and set up a restriction.

"Mother, you're so bad! Doesn't your conscience hurt?" Baixi shouted angrily.

Crying and shouting were of no use, after all, her mother couldn't hear her, and Consciousness Space probably blocked her too.

...

Three days had passed. During these three days, Baixi ate and slept, bored to the extreme.

Now, Baixi sat cross-legged on the hard bed and started to practice. She had to rely on cultivation to pass the time.

Seeing this scene, Iris couldn't help but show a look of approval. "The little one is finally on the right track."