I am Guhuoniao, not an umbrella demon, please do not disturb me.

Sure enough, four days passed without him moving an inch. He used to know to go out and try to get some food, but now he doesn't even go out anymore. The only time he does go out is when he's harassing young girls on the street, and then he gets warned by passing demons.

On the last visit, Bai Qingyu entered his courtyard. The man's excuse changed to the house being too simple and he couldn't sleep well. He then bluntly asked Bai Qingyu to help him repair the house and give him a bigger environment and a better courtyard. At the same time, he didn't forget to complain that Bai Qingyu hadn't come for four days and that he had eaten all the meat.

In just a few days, he went from being someone who begged Bai Qingyu to acting like Bai Qingyu's second uncle, as if Bai Qingyu owed him everything.

They are never satisfied, never grateful, only know how to take, and always want more.

"If I fix your house, are you going to say you're not feeling well and just ask me for money?"

"Oh, that works too, that works too! Immortal, why don't you just give me two hundred taels of silver? It's just a matter of breathing for you anyway. That way you won't have to help me repair the house, I can just buy one myself, and you won't have to urge me to go out to work every day. Wouldn't that be great?"

The man smiled broadly, "You're a deity, surely you can't even do this? Don't let my sleeping here fool you, I pray for you every day. I'm your most loyal believer, giving me two hundred taels of silver isn't excessive at all."

"Look, I'm quite well-known in this city. When people see me taking so much money, they'll definitely be curious. I'll promote you, and then you won't have to worry about not having followers."

Bai Qingyu laughed. This guy really thinks he's someone important.

"I have two hundred taels of silver."

The man's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

"But..." Bai Qingyu deliberately dragged out her words, looking at the man's greedy expression, "Why should I give it to you?"

"There are plenty of people in Tongzhou more capable than you, why would I choose to give it to a lazy bum like you?"

"What?" The man's expression changed instantly, and he became furious.

Bai Qingyu ignored him and disappeared from the spot.

What the man didn't notice was that the soil beneath his feet had turned dark red. He still wanted to chase after it, but his feet had already begun to slowly sink into the earth, gradually becoming nourishment for the spider lilies.

At this point, the two children finally understood the implications.

This event had a profound impact on both of them.

"This person is inherently lazy and gluttonous. I only chose him to save time. If I had replaced him with a hardworking and capable person, the outcome would have been the same. Your indulgence will change everything about him. Do you understand, Miketsu, Xiaoyao?"

"I wasn't wrong before. Helping those in need is certainly a good intention, but it can't go too far. Everything must be within a certain range, and you must act within your means."

“If I were one of you two today, and that man were the people of the entire city, by this point, even if you knew and repented, it would be too late. The people of the entire city would eventually drag you down.”

At this point, Bai Qingyu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With the example of Nishi Province right before her eyes, she didn't want to see history repeat itself, letting the Inari goddess Miketsu be dragged to her death.

Miketsu's talent is very strong, no less than that of Ara and Shuten-dōji, it's just that her direction is a little different.

Given her personality, it's impossible for her to be a ruthless demon.

Therefore, there is nothing wrong with helping others, and it is good to have a kind heart.

Just don't let your kindness get you hurt all over.

"I understand, Aunt." Yu Zhuanjin turned her head and looked in the direction of that courtyard, her eyes no longer confused.

·

Two months have passed in the blink of an eye.

The life lessons between Miketsu and Xiaoyao have finally come to an end.

After practice comes theory. For the next month, Bai Qingyu kept lecturing on grand principles, which annoyed Bi'an Hua so much that she went to find Qing Ji.

Kiyohime has been quite busy lately, spending her time at home learning to weave wooden umbrellas and learn some musical instruments with Bai Qingyu.

Bai Qingyu hadn't originally planned to learn a musical instrument; she felt she didn't have that much talent. But then she thought, since she was just idling at home anyway, she might as well give it a try.

Therefore, her target shifted from Xiaoyao and Miketsu to Kiyohime.

"Kiyohime, are you still waiting for Anjin to come back?"

Kiyohime paused in her strumming motion. "Why did you suddenly ask that, sister?"

"I'm just saying that I see you're completely familiar with this place now, and you've adjusted your mindset, so I'm going to tell you some things about Anzhen."

The night Kiyohime arrived, Shinten had already given her a heads-up, so Kiyohime wasn't too surprised when Bai Qingyu suddenly brought up Anzhen's secret.

"Thanks to my sister, I don't think about him much anymore. When I was still in Shannan Village, I often dreamed about him, but not anymore now."

"It's good that he's gone. That monk wasn't worth waiting for."

Bai Qingyu sat down next to Qingyu, cleaned her snake tail with her demonic power, and then held her in her arms, completely ignoring Qingji's blushing cheeks. She continued, "I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I didn't know where to start. You weren't in a very good state at the time either."

"Actually, the secret is quite simple: Anzhen lied to you."

"Do you remember that day? I brought Anzhen to visit you. Did you try to hug Anzhen and then find that your body passed right through him? That's normal. He's already dead, so of course you can't touch him."

"He's dead?" Kiyohime looked up, and a string under her hand snapped in response.

"Yes, he is dead, so I said he lied to you. How could a dead man, a dead soul, possibly go to worship Buddha? In other words, he will never come back. Marrying you was a lie he told; he was acting out of selfishness."

“When I went there, I told him clearly that he should just tell me the truth and not say anything else. I wanted to say goodbye and put an end to his obsession and yours as well. But this guy is still not giving up. Even though he's already dead, he still wants to drag you down with him.”

Bai Qing stroked Qing Ji's snake tail. She didn't have any perverted thoughts; she simply felt that the girl's tail felt very comfortable to touch.

"How can a man like that be worthy of your lifelong commitment?"

"Admittedly, he has feelings for you, but you are a person, not an object. Since he has these feelings, he should understand that he must respect your choice and not let you accept his promise without knowing anything about it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Kiyohime's reaction wasn't particularly strong; she wasn't heartbroken. Bai Qingyu observed that she only seemed sentimental and slightly saddened.

Although the plan was to gradually make her understand scumbags and to tell her more stories about scumbag scholars, it ultimately failed to work out, but the result was still acceptable.

"Thank you, Auntie, for telling me all this, and thank you for bringing him to see me back then."

"No need to thank me, I didn't really do anything. But you, do you hate him now?"

"Hate." Kiyohime changed the strings of her koto, her face revealing little of her resentment.

“He deceived me, and that’s why I want to thank my aunt. If my aunt hadn’t told me the truth, I don’t know what I would have done.”

His wry smile carried a hint of relief.

Bai Qingyu couldn't answer whether Kiyohime could still be considered the Kiyohime in the Demon Book.

The Book of Demons says that Kiyohime lived in a complex world born from the intertwining of hatred and love.

Now her hatred has clearly faded a lot.

But it doesn't matter anymore, who cares if she's Kiyohime from the Demon Book.

"I don't want to tell you these things, but I'm afraid that if you don't see him, you'll overthink things and end up doing something foolish."

"Will not."

Immersed in Kiyohime's zither music, Bai Qingyu chatted with her casually.

For some reason, I suddenly wanted to find two other similar demons in the demon register.

One is called Jorogumo, and the other is called Hone-onna.

Please vote for me, I'm begging you!

Volume 1: Chapter 175 Xu Yuanqing's Wedding and Team Up for the Hot Spring

Life was uneventful with no major ups and downs. If Bai Qingyu had a hundred points of energy, she would dedicate half of it to the little one, Ya, and the other half to the other babies. It wasn't that she was biased, but rather that the baby needed more care.

Bai Qingyu hoped that she could grow up strong and become a powerful empress who would be remembered in history.

Knowing about her future is what makes Bai Qingyu feel so much pressure.

The courtyard of the house had been extensively renovated, and the neighboring courtyard had been opened up and merged into one. Bai Qingyu was thinking about how to renovate the newly merged courtyard when the Imperial Advisor Xu Yuanqing came again. Compared to the last time, this time Imperial Advisor Xu made a much smaller fuss.

"Your Majesty, it's been so long! I've missed you dearly. How have you been these past few days?"

Xu Yuanqing walked into the courtyard with a smile, followed by his two young apprentices.

Bai Qingyu shrugged. "I'm doing fine, but things aren't so good for you."

Xu Yuanqing is not yet thirty years old, which is still very young at this age, but he looks like a middle-aged man in his forties, with a full head of white hair, the ratio of black hair to white hair is about half and half.

The more spirited they once were, the more weathered they are now.

"It's alright, it's alright. Things in the capital have basically stabilized, thanks to Your Majesty."

Xu Yuanqing looked at the baby girl, less than a year old, in Bai Qingyu's arms and tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, could this child be the Ninth Princess?"

"What is the Ninth Princess? I don't know her. I only know that she is my daughter."

"Well... alright, I apologize that I was not well prepared this time and did not prepare any decent gift for you, my daughter."

"It's nothing, no need for formalities. I really liked the gift you gave me last time."

It's worth mentioning that Bai Qingyu didn't give the two jade pendants that Xu Yuanqing gave her to Xiao Yao and Yu Zhuan Jin last time. Instead, she gave half to Zhen Tian and kept the other half for herself. Zhen Tian was overjoyed when she received the jade pendants and didn't refuse when asked for a kiss.

"I'm glad you like it, I'm glad Your Majesty likes it." Xu Yuanqing stroked the small mustache he had grown over the years.

"Tell me, what brings you here this time? You're the type who never comes without a reason. You can't possibly be here to catch up, can you?"

"As expected, I couldn't escape Your Majesty's eyes. To be honest, I came here today because Your Majesty will be attending a banquet in three months. If nothing unexpected happens, I will be getting married in the capital in three months."

He took out a gold-embossed invitation from his sleeve and respectfully handed it to Bai Qingyu.

Looking at the invitation in her hand, and then at the sincere smile on Xu Yuanqing's face, Bai Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "And your fox demon sister, what's her name again, Xiao Lan, right?"

"Your Majesty saw through me again. Your Majesty has such discerning eyes." Xu Yuanqing said, a little embarrassed, scratching his head. It was just that his appearance and age, combined with this expression, made him somewhat irritating.

Beside her, Bi'anhua glanced at Xu Yuanqing with an arrogant look in her eyes, then poured a cup of tea for Bai Qingyu and another for Xu Yuanqing before turning and leaving.

"Your Majesty, who is this young lady?"

"My eldest daughter is a bit timid and shy."

Bai Qingyu picked up her teacup without even lifting her eyelids. "Marriage is a major life event. Even if you don't care, the girl will. Don't end up hurting her feelings because of some plan."

Given Xu Yuanqing's personality, Bai Qingyu wouldn't believe he wasn't scheming against people.

Even if he were to get married, it would be after the affairs in the capital were over. Getting married before the affairs in the capital were over is not something he would do.

The normal course of events should have been that the capital returned to normal, Xu Yuanqing resigned from his official post, and went into seclusion in the mountains with the fox spirit Xiaolan, where they lived a life of farming and weaving.

Xu Yuanqing remained silent for a long time without saying a word.

He took a deep breath. "Although these factors are indeed involved, I can assure Your Majesty that my marriage is my sincere wish."

"Whatever. Whether you're sincere or not has nothing to do with me. I'll be there, don't worry."