"You!" The Yaoxi Empress was seething with anger, but she dared not say anything harsh, fearing she might provoke Xuanwei.
She was on the brink of reuniting with her husband after so long—she couldn't afford to take any risks now.
It had to be said, everyone else was also curious to see what kind of person the Yaoxi Empress's husband was. What kind of man could captivate the high and mighty Yaoxi Empress for thousands of years? A man she harbored such deep hatred for Xiaofan over, refusing to forgive him even now.
Everyone's eyes were now on Xuanwei.
Xuanwei carefully undid the seal that the Heavenly Emperor had placed on the peachwood hairpin. A small, emerald-green bottle appeared in her hand. This must be where the soul of the Yaoxi Empress's husband was kept.
Without much hesitation, Xuanwei slowly opened the bottle.
At this moment, the Yaoxi Empress's hands were trembling uncontrollably. She had waited far too long for this moment.
However, when the bottle was opened, what floated out wasn't a soul but a mist-like substance.
"What's going on?"
Everyone was confused. Where was the soul? And what was this mist?
"What trickery is this?" The Yaoxi Empress, enraged, rushed at Xuanwei.
"This has nothing to do with me," Xuanwei replied, raising her hands innocently. She was equally curious about what the mist was, so she reached out to sense it.
When Xuanwei realized what the mist was, her eyes widened in shock. She quickly gathered the mist with a sweep of her hand and pushed it into the Haotian Mirror.
"If you want to know what's going on, look for yourself," Xuanwei said, her expression complex as she looked at the Yaoxi Empress.
The Yaoxi Empress was still puzzled by Xuanwei's words, but soon, a new scene began to unfold within the Haotian Mirror.
Inside a dilapidated room, a woman was giving birth. She was alone. After struggling to deliver the child, she tried to fetch some hot water, but her weak body failed her, causing her to spill the water onto the bed. Most of the boiling water splashed onto the newborn's face and body.
In an instant, the infant's face and body became red and swollen.
The Yaoxi Empress stood frozen in shock.
No one could have imagined that her husband wasn't a handsome, refined gentleman, but a disfigured outcast whom ordinary people would recoil from.
It was evident that the baby in the scene was her husband.
Was this a playback of her husband's life? But regardless of whether it was, it wasn't what she wanted.
"Where is my husband's soul?" The Yaoxi Empress asked urgently, turning to Xuanwei.
"If you want to know where your husband's soul is, you'll have to see for yourself," Xuanwei sighed, pointing to the Haotian Mirror, her mood somber.
Perplexed, the Yaoxi Empress looked back at the Haotian Mirror. Could the playback of her husband's life contain clues about the location of his soul?
With this thought, the Yaoxi Empress focused all her attention on the scenes within the Haotian Mirror.
The onlookers were dying of curiosity, but Xuanwei had only allowed the Yaoxi Empress to view the scenes privately, indicating that it was something deeply personal between the Yaoxi Empress and her husband. No one dared to ask for a glimpse.
Within the Haotian Mirror, the disfigured infant grew up being bullied by the other children. Even his mother found him repulsive, calling him nothing but a "monster" instead of giving him a proper name. Everyone else simply followed suit, referring to him by the same cruel label, as if he had no real identity.
When he was about five or six, his mother sold him to a wealthy family in the city, the Lin family, where he became a stable boy. Because of his hideous appearance, he was shy and fearful, afraid to face others, and often stuttered when he spoke. He spent most of his time hiding in the stables, tending to the horses and talking to them as if they were his only friends.
Then came the day he turned twelve. The stable hand who usually led the horses for the Lin family's young master suddenly claimed to have an upset stomach and forced the boy to take his place.
He was terrified, knowing that the young master of the Lin family was a cruel and violent person. The slightest displeasure would lead to a whipping, and no one cared if a servant died from the beatings. He had just heard that the young master had been humiliated in a dispute over a courtesan with another young master the day before and had vented his anger on the stable hand, leaving him bedridden and close to death.
Today, the young master was going to seek revenge, and whoever led his horse would be in grave danger. It was clear that the stable hand wasn't really sick but was trying to send the boy to his doom. But if the boy refused, the stable hand would beat him instead, possibly to death. And no one would care if this "monster" died. It would just be another unremarked tragedy.
So, even knowing the extreme danger, the boy had no choice but to comply.
"Little Red, let's go," the boy murmured as he led a small red horse out of the stable. This horse was his best friend, but today, the young master had specifically requested this horse, which made him anxious. The young master was notorious for mistreating the horses, often whipping them for the slightest offense. He could only hope that nothing would upset the young master today.
When he led the horse to the front gate of the mansion, the young master was already impatient. When he saw that the person leading the horse was a hideous "monster," his face twisted in anger. "Where did this ugly freak come from? Where are the others? Are they all dead?"
The steward was in a difficult position. All the other stable hands had been sent on errands, and the one remaining was his distant relative. So, he had no choice but to send the boy in.
The steward barked at the boy, "If you know you're ugly, why don't you cover your face with a cloth?" Then he tore off a strip of cloth and wrapped it tightly around the boy's face, leaving only his eyes visible. He turned to the young master, speaking carefully, "Young master, all the other stable hands are out on errands today. If you would just..."
Seeing that the courtesan was expecting him soon, and glancing at the boy's tightly covered face, the young master waved his hand impatiently. "Fine, just come and lead my horse!"
Relieved, the steward quickly pushed the boy forward. "Hurry up! If you make the young master late, even ten of your worthless lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"
To read the manga version, please click the YouTube link https://youtu.be/GnU613H6xm8