When Lin Zaozao regained her senses, Han Ye had already pulled her to the front of the main hall in front of the sacrificial platform.
"Zhuzhu, have you gotten tired from traveling all day today?"
"Ah! I'm not tired at all."
Lin Zaozao let out a long breath and looked around at the decorations in the main hall.
They were really simple yet grand.
Apart from the necessities, there was basically no extra decorative items in the main hall. When Lin Zaozao's gaze fell upon the floor tiles laid on the ground, she involuntarily bent down and stroked them with her hand.
The texture of these tiles was actually the same as the stone bed that Ruoqiu had gifted her!
"Brother Han Ye, what are these floor tiles made of? Why do I feel like the material of these tiles is the same as that stone bed I have back in Luoshui Village?"
"Zhuzhu, they're made of black jade. Black jade has the effect of stabilizing one's spirit and calming one's mind. Long term contact also strengthens the body and soothes the soul."
"Is black jade very expensive?"
Lin Zaozao stroked the smooth floor tiles and asked puzzledly.
"A single piece of black jade is priceless!"
"What? A single piece is priceless!"
Lin Zaozao stood up straight and stared wide-eyed at the black jade tiles that covered the entire hall.
If there ever came a day when she ran out of money to spend, perhaps she could just pry some tiles out and sell them for cash. After all, a single piece of black jade here would be enough to sustain an ordinary family for generations.
Using such expensive black jade simply to pave the floor, wasn't that a bit too wasteful? If she had so much black jade, she would have definitely locked it all up in her treasury.
Ah! No, she would have sold them off for money instead.
"Brother Han Ye, what about this table then! It gives off a fragrant woody aroma, what is it made of?"
"Thousand-year old agarwood. A slab of agarwood this size is hard to come by even in a thousand years. I obtained this piece by a fortunate coincidence and made a table out of it for you."
"Good gracious! Is there a need to be so extravagant? Black jade tiles on the floor, thousand-year old agarwood table, the Han Country really is flowing with oil!"
As she spoke, Lin Zaozao casually grabbed a pen holder on the table, wanting to see what material it was made of.
But no matter how hard she tugged, she couldn't lift it up. Upon closer look, this pen holder was clearly just made of wood!
With her powerful strength, how could she possibly fail to lift it?
"Zhuzhu, this pen holder is made from Cold Iron Wood found at the foot of the Nine Sky Mountains. It can calm one's spirit and soothe one's soul. You've just finished the ritual sacrifice, so it's normal that your soul isn't steady enough to lift it."
Han Ye nudged the pen holder to the side, with a hint of obscurity passing through his eyes. This pen holder was not suitable to be placed here anymore.
"Is that so?"
Lin Zaozao glanced at the pen holder that Han Ye had easily picked up and shifted her attention to something else.
Looking at the black bracelet placed on the table, made of wood. Although she didn't know what material it was, something that could be put on the table must not be cheap goods.
As Lin Zaozao examined everything in the main hall, she couldn't help but retort.
Extravagance, such utter extravagance!
"Alright, Zhuzhu, stop looking at these things. You've traveled all day, let's go eat!" Han Ye urged.
"Sure, let's go now."
But Lin Zaozao had barely taken a few steps when she abruptly grabbed Han Ye's hand, asking solemnly,
"Brother Han Ye, during today's sacrificial ritual, I clearly felt my soul floating mid-air. I also saw you kneeling to my soul. Brother Han Ye, can you tell me what was going on?"
As soon as Lin Zaozao finished speaking, Han Ye's eyebrows subtly creased.
What's going on?
Didn't he already erase her memories from earlier? How could she still recall that?
Swiftly concealing the obscurity in his eyes, when Han Ye looked at Lin Zaozao again, only gentleness remained.
"Zhuzhu, the earlier ritual was simply to stabilize your soul. Your soul essence was unstable and blood sacrifice was a must.
And the twenty-eight ritual offerings in the Sacrificial Hall are handpicked elites. They live only to serve you, so using their blood for the sacrifice is most fitting."
Han Ye held Lin Zaozao's hand and spoke earnestly.
"Uncle Zhang and Dashan also cut their hands, I saw it. Are they ritual priests too?"
"That's right, Uncle Zhang and Dashan are Bright Sacrifices."
"What are Bright Sacrifices? Are those twenty-eight ritual priests further divided into Bright and Dark Sacrifices?"
"Indeed, Zaozao. The ritual offerings have other roles in the Han Country apart from being priests.
But for safety reasons, they can only don uniform attire and masks during rituals.
Zaozao, among the priests in the Sacrificial Hall, only Uncle Zhang and Dashan are Bright Sacrifices, the rest are Dark Sacrifices. As for their true identities..."
Han Ye held Lin Zaozao's hand and spoke earnestly,
"Zaozao, it's not yet time for you to know the identities of those Dark Sacrifices. When the right time comes, I will definitely tell you.
Zaozao, regardless if they are Bright or Dark Sacrifices, they are absolutely loyal to you. So in the future if you encounter any issues, you can place your full trust in them.
Zhuzhu, believe me, I will not harm you."
"No, Brother Han Ye. I have never thought that you would hurt me. Just that, ever since I entered the gates of the Han Country, I've felt this inexplicable sense of familiarity towards everything I saw.
Yet I also can't say for sure why it feels familiar. Brother Han Ye, can you tell me why is that so?"
"Zhuzhu, this matter... I have no way of explaining it to you. Perhaps one day, you'll slowly come to realize it yourself."
Seeing the forced smile on Han Ye's face, Lin Zaozao tactfully kept quiet.
Since Brother Han Ye doesn't wish to talk about it, she won't ask anymore.
Oh well, strange things like transmigration have already happened to her anyway. The earlier events wouldn't faze her anymore.
Following Han Ye to the dining room, Xiao Taohua, Ji Fantian, Xiao Liuli and the rest were already waiting there.
Seeing them instantly lifted the invisible weight pressing on her. The current her only wanted to cast aside that stern image as the Han Country's Empress and properly throw herself into Xiao Taohua for some pampering.
"Xiao Taohua, you said we haven't seen each other for two hours, twenty-eight minutes and seventeen seconds. It's been that long, don't you miss me?"
Xiao Taohua looked at Lin Zaozao hugging his neck and puckering her lips to kiss him, barely holding back his laughter.
What two hours, twenty-eight minutes and seventeen seconds of not seeing each other!
He and Ji Fantian were with her the entire ritual earlier!
The Lin Zaozao then only had the dignified and reverent bearing befitting the Han Country's Empress on her face. How could she behave like now, hugging him acting coquettishly!
Xiao Taohua gazed at Lin Zaozao's adorable doll-like face, his eyes swiftly brimming with mirth. He embraced Lin Zaozao and planted a loud smooch on her cheek.
"Xiao Taohua, why kiss my face! I'm your wive, we're supposed to kiss lips.
Come, Xiao Taohua, let's have a kiss... Hmmf..."
Xiao Taohua looked at Lin Zaozao's pursed lips, just about to go in for a kiss. But in the next second, his expression froze stiff.
Because this naughty girl was blowing saliva bubbles while pursed her lips!
Staring at the nonstop saliva bubbles from Lin Zaozao's mouth, Xiao Taohua couldn't bring himself to kiss her anymore.
Meeting Lin Zaozao's mischievous gaze, the light in Xiao Taohua's eyes glimmered. Hooking the corners of his lips up slightly, he promptly covered Lin Zaozao's mouth with his palm and evenly smeared her spat out saliva bubbles all over her face.
"Holy crap! Xiao Taohua, wanna get yourself killed?! Why did you wipe my face with spit?!"
Lin Zaozao scolded as she wiped her face.
"Zaozao, that's your saliva, not mine. How can you reject your own saliva?"
"Even if it's my saliva, you can't just wipe it on my face!"
Seeing the barely contained mirth in Xiao Taohua's eyes as she frantically wiped her face, Lin Zaozao instantly hugged Xiao Taohua's head to evenly coat saliva whilst smooching his flowery face.
Feeling that she had coated enough saliva, Lin Zaozao finally released Xiao Taohua's head in satisfaction.
"Heehee! Coating applied evenly, mission complete."
Xiao Taohua looked at Lin Zaozao's smug expression, the laughter in his eyes practically congealing.
What he liked even more was this wife who could laugh and joke around. Not the Mingzhu Princess from earlier, who was surrounded by an aura of imperial power.
Looking at that Mingzhu Princess made him feel that there was now a great distance between them that hadn't existed earlier.
It was a distance that no matter how hard he tried, he could never catch up to.
His wife was just too outstanding, which put quite a bit of pressure on him as her husband!
"Zhuzhu, after you finish eating, make sure to rest well. We still have important things to do tomorrow!"
"What things, Han Ye brother?"
"Tomorrow is your first early court session as the Empress of Han Country, where the civil and military officials will come to greet you. But Zhuzhu, don't be nervous. Tomorrow is just a formality."
"Meet with the civil and military officials! Han Ye brother, I'm not nervous about that at all. You know, I'm best at interacting with others. "
"Good then."
After speaking, Han Ye used a silver bowl to scoop up a bowl of congee. He took a sip first and after a moment, brought it to Lin Zaozao.
"Zhuzhu, have some congee!"
Looking at the congee Han Ye had placed in front of her, Lin Zaozao asked in puzzlement,
"Han Ye brother, what's this about?"
"Zhuzhu, from today onward, all the food and drink you have must be personally prepared by Dashan. And before every meal, there must be a food taster to test for poison before you can eat.
Also, no matter where you go, Divine Doctor Ji and Young Poison Master must accompany you. If anything happens, have Matchless and Invincible protect you immediately.
And I've also placed hidden guards around you. They'll protect you all day. But don't worry Zhuzhu, those guards know their boundaries.
They'll naturally appear when they should and you definitely won't be able to detect them when they shouldn't."
