After the funeral, Lilianzu left the Imperial Tomb, leaving behind Baixi, Merice, and Ling, the three younger generations. Lilianzu's emotions were on the verge of losing control. It was Iris who indirectly caused the death of her sister. If Iris had listened to her and let the Shapeshifter go, her sister could still be alive. But Iris chose to act alone, leading her sister to choose suicide. In the end, she had to take responsibility.

"Why did you do this, sister?!" Lilianzu shouted at the air as if venting her emotions. "Why did you commit suicide?!"

With a fierce momentum, Lilianzu arrived at Iris's palace. After holding back her emotions all night, she exploded at this moment. She kicked the door open and looked at the sleeping Iris. She directly pulled her up and punched her in the face.

Just as the situation was critical, Iris blocked her attack with her right hand.

Opening her eyes, Iris revealed crimson pupils and spoke in a low, hoarse voice, "Martial Angel, what do you want?"

"Tell Iris to come out! I want to ask her how she is going to take responsibility for her sister's death!" Lilianzu shouted in anger.

Chaos pushed Lilianzu aside, indifferent to her words. "The vampire girl needs to rest. Lilia is not dead, she will come back in a new way. Are you satisfied with this explanation, Martial Angel?"

Dumbfounded, Lilianzu wondered what the "new way" the Demon Emperor mentioned meant.

"What do you mean, Demon Emperor?!" Lilianzu questioned. "My sister is already dead, that is an indisputable fact."

Chaos controlled Iris's body, then lied down on the bed and covered herself with a blanket. "The 'sister' you mentioned has just temporarily left — she will come back in a completely new form. You don't need to be sad, and don't blame the vampire girl with your elder stance. When she wakes up, she will naturally explain to you."

After speaking, Chaos no longer controlled Iris's body.

Lilianzu wanted to ask more questions, but as she looked at Iris's peaceful face, she couldn't find the words — the Demon Emperor's words left her with mixed feelings, unsure whether to believe them or not.

"Sister..." Lilianzu softly called out, but there was no response — she knew her sister had left her forever, it was an eternal parting... but the Demon Emperor's words gave her a glimmer of hope, causing her to feel conflicted and confused.

Lilianzu quietly kept watch by Iris's bedside, with too many doubts in her heart — Would her sister really come back? If she did, in what form would it be? But it seemed impossible... Why would the Demon Emperor say such things? What does he really know?

The next day, in the early morning.

The morning light shone through the window and onto Lilianzu's face — she sat on the edge of the bed, having not slept all night, with her thoughts unsettled.

Iris also woke up leisurely and was startled when she saw her aunt's haggard face.

"Auntie, you didn't stay here for a whole day and night, did you?!" Iris asked.

"Yes."

"From now on, you must truthfully answer the questions I ask, or else I will have to enforce family law." Lilianzu's gaze suddenly became serious, causing Iris to furrow her brows — it seemed her aunt had a purpose in coming here. She thought she was just weak and came to check on her.

Iris nodded, indicating that she would answer truthfully.

"Yesterday, the Demon Emperor used your body to say some things to me. Do you know about it?" Lilianzu asked. Iris shook her head, "I don't know... I fell into a deep sleep at that time, and my body felt weak. The Demon Emperor could naturally control me, but I don't know what he said."

Lanzu faithfully relayed the Demon Emperor's words to Iris, who feigned surprise. Of course, Iris knew what Chaos meant, but she could also sense Aunt Lili's urgency to know if Lilia was still alive.

The fact that Chaos was manipulating her body meant that Aunt Lili was in danger—great danger. Thinking back to the night before when she had disregarded Lilia's life and was determined to kill the Shapeshifter, Lanzu had actually wanted to spare the Shapeshifter in exchange for Lilia's life.

And then there was the fact that she didn't attend Lilia's funeral, and her promise to Aunt Lili that she would explain everything. Aunt Lili probably hated Iris to the core... She probably wished to hang her up and give her a good beating.

"I also don't understand why the Demon Emperor said that..." Iris sighed, pretending not to understand. "But his words must have a deeper meaning—we need to reason and find the truth..."

Reluctantly, Iris knelt down. She knew all too well how unpredictable Aunt Lili could be. If she found out the truth, she would probably make me stand up.

Although Iris could have defeated Lanzu at her peak, etiquette had been deeply ingrained in her. When an elder said to kneel, one should kneel.

In Iris's mind, she could already imagine that scene.

"If, and I mean if, Lilia is truly dead, what would you do?" Iris asked tentatively.

Upon hearing the words "truly dead" from her sister, Lanzu exploded on the spot, completely ignoring Iris's use of the word "if."

"Iris, this is your explanation!" Lanzu exclaimed, immediately slapping Iris across the face.

Just in time, Chaos took control of Iris's body again and blocked Lanzu's slap with one hand, sighing in resignation.

If it weren't for her granddaughter, Chaos would not have controlled Iris's body. Iris deserved to be hit. If Chaos had a physical form, the first thing he would do is hang Iris up and give her a good beating. It would have been better to address the issue earlier instead of going through all this.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to cause a commotion? Lives could be at stake," Iris's voice sounded low. It was clear that these words came from Chaos, who was annoyed that Iris was causing trouble despite being pregnant.

After speaking, Chaos no longer controlled Iris's body.

Iris, who regained control, sighed in relief. Thanks to Chaos, her face had taken a solid slap, which probably would have knocked out a few teeth if Chaos hadn't intervened.

"Lilia isn't dead, in fact, she's alive and well," Iris said, breaking the silence.

Lanzu, eager to know more, asked hurriedly, "Where is she now?"

"She's here!" Iris gently touched her abdomen. "In ten months, we'll meet again. According to the hierarchy, she should call me 'Mother' and refer to you as 'Grand Aunt.'"

"What?!" Lanzu's eyes widened in shock. She never expected that the "new approach" the Demon Emperor spoke of would actually mean becoming Iris's daughter. Her sister, who used to have the highest seniority, now had the lowest! This was beyond belief.

Regardless, as long as her sister was alive, the hierarchy didn't matter.

"Can you be sure that Lilia has her memories and isn't like a newborn, not understanding anything?" Lanzu continued to inquire.

"No worries, Lilia remembers everything after the memory loss. She might even be able to regain her previous memories," Iris assured confidently.

"Hope you're not lying to me, conspiring with the Demon Emperor, pretending to be pregnant," Lanzu said. "Starting from today, I'll take care of your daily life until you give birth to my sister. If during this time, there is no sign of your belly growing, be prepared to be punished. I have experience taking care of Ling when Aunt Lili gave birth. I am very experienced in this matter."

"Um..." Iris took a deep breath, expressing her speechlessness.

Lanzu hugged Iris and walked towards her own place.

"What are you doing, aunt?" Iris felt a bit uncomfortable being hugged by her aunt.

"Your bed is broken, so from today, you'll sleep with me for your convenience."

"Ah?"

"Aunt, I..." Iris stammered, "this... isn't it a bit inconvenient?"

"Are you trying to deceive me?" Lanzu's gaze was quite unfriendly.

"Of course not! How can I dare to deceive my elder? Besides, do I look like someone who would deceive others?"

"Indeed."

Iris: "..."