My new wife discovered my past

After making the decision, Hidaka Mari announced while the iron was hot:

"Tomorrow morning, I will gather you and Jiugongying together for a small meeting.

“This is also the first formal collective meeting between us in Kyoto and Tokyo since the paradise party a few nights ago.

“The topic of the meeting is to discuss how to deal with the uninvited guest, Princess Sakuraba.

"The specific implementation will be handed over to Jiugongying at the meeting."

Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki both bowed and responded, "Yes, we all know."

"Okay, it's getting late, and you two have been tired all day. Go back and rest first." Hidaka Mari waved her hand, indicating that they could leave.

Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki bowed again and respectfully left the shrine's bedroom.

However, just as Hoshimi Haruka walked out of the door of the bedroom and before she could breathe a sigh of relief, a personal priestess of Hidaka Mari, who had been waiting outside the door, walked up to her quietly and whispered something in her ear.

When Xing Jianyao heard this, a hint of understanding flashed in his eyes, but then he regained his composure.

She nodded slightly to the priestess to show that she understood.

Her aunt, the current priestess of Hidaka Shrine, Mari Hidaka, would once again have a routine "small duet" with her, the nominal shrine maiden, at this late hour, in which only the two of them could participate.

Xing Jianyao was no longer surprised by this.

So, at 10:30 in the middle of the night, she followed the returning Ikeguchi Gon-miyaji and once again stepped into Hidaka Mari's private study room, which was full of repression and calculation...

After Hoshimi Haruka and Saotome Hazuki respectfully left the shrine's bedroom, only Hidaka Mari and Tsukimi Satoki were left in the bedroom.

Tsukimi Ryosaki picked up the still cold cup of coffee at hand but did not drink it. She just shook the cup gently and watched the dark brown liquid ripple in the cup.

The woman's lips curled up into a meaningful smile, which showed a bit of understanding, breaking the brief silence:

"Truth, why do you have to do this?
"Every time he found some high-sounding excuses to send away irrelevant people, and then left Xiaoyao alone...

"Haha, you and I are so close, what else do we need to hide?"

Tsukimi Rizaki paused, looked up at Hidaka Mari's face which was somewhat dim under the light, and said with a hint of unceremonious ridicule in her tone which only the two of them could understand:

“After all, in the eyes of you, Lord Hidaka, we are just outsiders after all.

"If you think so, it's normal to be more on guard against me."

"It's just..." Tsukimi Rizaki suddenly changed the subject, and her eyes became sharp, like the sharpest blade, piercing people's hearts:

“These superficial precautions are harmless.

"But if... it involves things like that god, divine power, and divine tools, I still hope that the truth won't be too defensive against me. Cooperation can lead to a win-win situation~"

Mari Hidaka listened to Saki Tsukimi's words, which were full of sarcasm, temptation and threats, but there was no sign of anger on her face.

She just glanced at the other person indifferently and then looked away, as if she didn't take Yue Jianli's words to heart at all, and just thought that Yue Jianli was talking about some irrelevant and self-righteous nonsense.

Hidaka Mari ignored Tsukimi Rin Saki and stood up and walked gracefully towards the private study connected to the bedroom.

The heavy wooden door closed silently behind her, completely isolating Tsukimi Rin Saki and her unfinished words from outside.

There was only one lamp on in the study, which was exceptionally bright.

However, the air was filled with a depressing and dull smell that was unique to the absence of sunlight for many years.

In the dead of night, it seemed as if even time had stopped in this enclosed space.

Hidaka Mari walked expressionlessly to the large desk in the middle of the room and slowly knelt down on the tatami mat covered with thick brocade. She did not speak immediately, but just waited quietly.

A few minutes later, the door of the study was gently pushed open from the outside, and Ikeguchi Gonmiyaji appeared at the door with her back bent. After bowing respectfully, she turned sideways and led the girl behind her, who was wearing a gorgeous dark purple yukata and had a cold and calm expression, into the study room filled with a depressing atmosphere.

It was Xing Jianyao.

"Sir the Sixth Generation of Gods."

When working, one has to refer to one's position. The Hoshimi Miko calmly bowed to the Hidaka Shinto priest who was sitting behind the desk, and no emotion could be heard in her voice.

Hidaka Shinto didn't look at her. He just stretched out his well-maintained finger and casually pointed at the tatami mat opposite him, which was also covered with cushions. He said in a flat tone, "Sit down."

The Hoshimi Miko followed her instructions and knelt down gracefully in front of the Hidaka Shrine Lord.

Looking at the familiar scene in front of her and smelling the familiar smell in the air that made her feel instinctively uncomfortable, Xing Jianyao's thoughts involuntarily drifted back to more than ten years ago.

At that time, she was brought by her aunt Hidaka Mari to the gloomy and solemn main hall of the Hidaka Shrine, where she was told for the first time those shocking secrets about the shrine's bloodline, the inheritance of gods, and the fate of the shrine maidens, which were enough to subvert her entire cognitive world.

From then on, almost every late night, her aunt Hidaka Mari would bring the young girl alone to this airtight study room filled with a depressing atmosphere, like she was doing now, and use a method that was almost like cramming and brainwashing to instill those obscure ancient books into her and teach her the so-called practice of communicating with gods.

Later, Hoshimi Haruka "understood" that her aunt Hidaka Mari herself was not able to achieve any results through her practice because she lacked talent.

That's why she is stricter and more demanding towards her niece and herself than anyone else.

Those days were one of the rare, dark memories in Xing Jianyao's life that could be described as nightmarish. The journey of cultivation was filled with endless pain, depression, and deep despair about his own fate.

It was not until later, under the arrangement of her aunt Mari Hidaka, that she "plundered" the Asahina sisters through some forbidden means, that she truly connected with the gods and possessed divine power of her own.

Hoshimi Haruka gradually understood that... her seemingly powerful and mysterious aunt did not have the true and pure blood of the Hidaka family flowing in her body.

It was no wonder that she had cultivated for so many years but still gained nothing. She could only rely on the status of those gods to barely maintain her face and authority...

Xing Jianyao quickly dispelled these chaotic thoughts from her mind and refocused her attention on the present.

She knelt opposite Hidaka Mari, with a low table between them, and they sat in silence.

At this moment, Ikeguchi Gon-joji, who had been bowing and serving beside her, suddenly fell to his knees at Hoshimi Haruka's feet with a plop. He performed an extremely standard and heavy kneeling before her, his voice trembling with an uncontrollable plea:
"Lady Hoshimi Miko! Your subordinates... your subordinates are guilty!"

Xing Jianyao looked at Ikeguchi Gonmiyaji who was kneeling at her feet, almost lying on the ground with his entire body. Her face still had that cold and calm expression, but she already knew everything in her heart.

Hoshimi Miko knew that the old man Ikeguchi suddenly came out to give her such a great gift because he must have caught his useless cousin Kana Ikeguchi in public for exploiting workers at the hotel construction site during the day, and ordered her to be dismissed and investigated, and sent to the confinement room under Takamagahara behind the shrine. She did not speak immediately, nor did she help Ikeguchi up, but waited patiently, and at the same time, she observed the reaction of Hidaka Mari who remained silent behind the desk with the corner of her eyes.

Hoshimi Haruka wanted to see what choice her aunt Hidaka Mari would make in the face of the desperate pleas of her trusted subordinates.

In order to protect the face and loyalty of Ikeguchi, an important subordinate, would he scold or even suppress her, the nominal shrine maiden and heir to the shrine?

Or will she choose to sacrifice the interests of the Ikeguchi family and thoroughly punish those subordinates who dare to disobey and tarnish the reputation of the shrine in order to maintain the authority and status of her "blood relative" niece?

This is undoubtedly a subtle power game.

It seemed that Mari Hidaka didn't keep Haruka Hoshimi waiting too long.

She slowly raised her eyelids and her gaze fell on Xing Jianyao's face, which was about 70% similar to hers when she was young, but more cold and beautiful. She spoke in a calm voice:

"Xiaoyao, I've heard about what happened at the hotel construction site today."

She paused, without any emotion in her tone, and continued, "You did... a little too much.

"You should know this principle better than me.

"For just a few hired workers, they went to such lengths that they even put the direct descendants of the Ikeguchi family into solitary confinement...

“This is a bit of an exaggeration, and it also damages your image as a benevolent witch.

"What's more, your action is not to protect your own interests or dignity, but just to stand up for those ordinary residents who have nothing to do with you...

"This is not like your usual style."

Xing Jianyao heard this, her face still without any expression, she just replied calmly: "Reporting to the Lord, as a priestess of the shrine, I personally think that some priestesses in the shrine have long been accustomed to being intimidated by power but not moral, deceiving their superiors and hiding the truth from their subordinates, and pretending to obey but actually disobeying.

“If we do not punish them severely to serve as a warning to others, this will continue and will inevitably damage our [Hidaka Shrine] and even shake the foundation of the shrine’s rule.

"Today's incident is just the right thing to do to scare the monkeys."

When Ikeguchi Gonmiyaji, who was kneeling on the ground, heard this, his body trembled even more violently and he almost collapsed to the ground.

After listening to Hoshimi Haruka's high-sounding speech, there was still no obvious change in expression on Hidaka Mari's face.

She did not refute anything, but changed the subject and asked casually:
"Xiaoyao, let me ask you a question.

"If one day, you really take my position and become the new chief priest of Hidaka Shrine, how will you... implement your shrine strategy?"

Xing Jianyao sneered in his heart when he heard this.

She knew that the Sixth-generation Lord in front of her was testing her again.

The Hoshimi Miko still maintained the right amount of respect and humility on her face, lowered her eyes slightly, and replied softly: "Your Excellency is joking.

"I am still young and inexperienced, and you, the Lord, are in your prime. It is a blessing for everyone at Hidaka Shrine to have you in charge.

“I don’t dare to have the slightest intention of overstepping my authority. I only hope to continue to practice under the guidance of the Lord God, and to improve my divine power so that I can better serve the shrine in the future.

"This way... I can spend more time with Brother Toru."

As Hidaka Mari listened to her flawless answer, which expressed her loyalty and hinted that she had no intention of fighting for power, a barely perceptible glimmer of satisfaction flashed in her eyes.

But she soon put on an expression of fatigue and boredom, and sighed quietly:

“Alas… I am old after all, and my energy is not as good as before.

"Recently, I've been worrying about the various mundane affairs of the shrine, and... the things between me and Watanabe-kun. I feel... really tired."

Hidaka Mari said this, and looked at Hoshimi Haruka again, with a hint of meaning in her tone that only the two of them could understand:

"To be honest, I also want to... spend more time with Watanabe.

"Even... I want to have two or three more children with Watanabe while my body is still good and my age is not too dangerous..."

As Hidaka Mari spoke, she carefully observed the reaction on Hoshimi Haruka's face.

Sure enough, after hearing what Hidaka Mari said, a hint of incredible shock flashed across the depths of Hoshimi Haruka's originally calm eyes, and then there was a raging rage that was almost unsuppressible!

But that emotion came and went quickly, almost in the blink of an eye, it was forcibly suppressed by Xing Jianyao, and he returned to his cold and indifferent appearance, and even tried hard to force out an extremely ugly smile.

Mari Hidaka watched her niece's wonderful changes in expression. The pleasure in her heart that came from being in control of everything made her feel extremely comfortable and relieved.

But in fact, all of this was naturally performed deliberately by Xing Jianyao for her to see.

The purpose is to further confuse Mari Hidaka, make her let down her guard, and make her think that she is still the good niece who can be manipulated and controlled by her at will.

Xing Jianyao opened her mouth slightly, looking as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, wanting to refute but not knowing what to say. In the end, she said nothing and just lowered her head silently.

Seeing this, Hidaka Mari's smile deepened. She shook her head helplessly and continued to explain, "Xiaoyao, don't feel weird.

"The reason why I wanted to have a child with Watanabe-kun so quickly was because I had my own considerations.

“After all, I am indeed not young anymore, and unlike you, I am not blessed with powerful divine power that can delay aging.

"In a few years, I'm afraid I'll be old and ugly and completely lose my appeal.

"It would be better... while I still have some looks and good health, I can retire early and have a child. That way I can have something to look forward to."

As if she had made up her mind, Hidaka Mari announced to Hoshimi Haruka in an unquestionable tone:

“So Xiaoyao, auntie has made up her mind.

"Next month, I will officially announce that the position of Hidaka Shrine's chief priest will be passed to you.

"From now on, all matters inside and outside of Hidaka Shrine will be decided by you, Haruka Hoshimi..." (End of this chapter)