If she had never met Chen Qingling, perhaps her heart would have remained sealed in ice forever.
If she had never met Chen Qingling, perhaps she would have never been able to change her fate — only obey the family's will.
Without Qingling, she absolutely could not go on!
Therefore, Zhu Zhuqing treasured the relationship between her and Qingling more than anything else — it was a bond hard-won.
— One hour later —
The two arrived at their destination. When they looked up, a vast and imposing sight entered their vision — the majestic Star Luo Imperial City.
The scale of Star Luo Imperial City was almost identical to Heaven Dou Imperial City, only the architectural style differed completely.
Chen Qingling slowly descended from the air. Zhu Zhuqing, her face flushed red, stepped down from her arms with a slightly panicked and nervous expression.
Returning to her homeland, it was impossible not to be nervous.
"Zhuqing, don't be nervous. I'm here."
"Mm…"
Chen Qingling took Zhu Zhuqing's hand, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder, joining the long line of people waiting.
Every day, countless people entered and exited Star Luo Imperial City — it was easy to imagine the bustling scenes within.
Time passed in the blink of an eye. After waiting who knows how long, it was finally their turn.
"Anyone entering Star Luo Imperial City must pay ten gold soul coins per person."
Qingling nodded slightly — of all things, money was what she lacked least.
With a thought, she took twenty gold soul coins from her bracelet and handed them over.
"Twenty gold soul coins, that's right. You may enter. Wish you a pleasant stay in Star Luo Imperial City."
Chen Qingling grasped Zhu Zhuqing's hand and strode into the city with confident steps.
Inside the imperial city, the streets were bustling with endless traffic, and on both sides of the road stood peddlers pushing carts and calling out their wares.
Liveliness and noise filled the air.
"Make way! Make way! I'm a member of the Star Luo royal family, don't block my path!"
A discordant voice came from behind Qingling and Zhuqing.
Chen Qingling turned to look — a luxurious carriage was racing toward them.
Not good — it was headed straight for them!
Too lazy to argue, Chen Qingling pulled Zhu Zhuqing aside to avoid unnecessary trouble.
However, no matter how much one tries to avoid it, trouble always has a way of finding its way to you.
"Well now, the little lady looks quite pretty! Want to hop on and take a ride?"
"Didn't expect to run into someone so pleasing to the eye while out having fun today."
"Must be lonely being a beauty all by yourself — how about I give you a lift?"
Hearing the men's flirtatious tones, Chen Qingling frowned, displeasure flashing in her eyes.
Why did every man who saw her suddenly forget how to walk?
Was her charm really that overwhelming?
"No need," Chen Qingling replied coldly.
"Oh ho, a feisty one, huh? The kind I like best — the ones I can't have make me even more interested."
The man in the carriage had no idea who Chen Qingling was, nor did he imagine she would appear in Star Luo Imperial City.
"Scram," Chen Qingling said lazily, not even bothering to look at him. All she wanted was to visit Zhu Zhuqing's so-called secret base.
"What did you just say? Tell me to scram? Beauty, don't think that just because you've got a few good looks, you can act however you please. You think I won't rough you up?"
"Try it, if you've got the guts."
"Qingling, let me handle this."
Seeing that the situation was about to escalate, Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward and took out the Zhu Clan's insignia.
"You… you—!"
"You're from the Zhu Clan!"
"My lady, please forgive me for my disrespect earlier — I didn't recognize you!"
The man in the carriage broke into a cold sweat upon realizing Zhu Zhuqing's true identity.
Of all the people in Star Luo Imperial City, the Zhu Clan was not someone he could afford to offend.
As he spoke, he repeatedly slapped himself in the face to show his apology.
"Don't let me see you again."
"Yes, yes, of course! I'll leave right away!"
Soon, the carriage disappeared from sight.
With the nuisance gone, Zhu Zhuqing led Qingling to her residence within Star Luo Imperial City.
"Qingling, this is my little home here in Star Luo — it belongs only to me."
Zhu Zhuqing's house wasn't large; it was a courtyard roughly the size of two basketball courts.
"Zhuqing, you brought me here just to see your home? This doesn't seem like the 'secret base' you mentioned."
"Of course not — this is merely a façade to fool others."
"Come with me."
Zhu Zhuqing led Qingling through the courtyard into the study.
Qingling looked around — bookshelves lined every wall. There was no way a place like this could hide any secrets, right?
Wait… could it be there was a hidden passage?
The next moment—
Zhu Zhuqing reached toward the bookshelf on the left and twisted one of the books. With a click, the bookshelf behind them slowly moved aside, revealing a hidden door.
"Ah—?"
"There really is a hidden door!"
The two stepped inside, but after just a few steps, Zhu Zhuqing stopped.
"Zhuqing, why aren't you moving forward?"
"There's another secret door."
Chen Qingling's eyelids twitched. A secret door within a secret door, huh?
"Most people would think that stepping through the first one leads to the base, but I hid the real entrance a meter beyond. Only by activating the mechanism can the true secret base be revealed."
Hearing this, Chen Qingling couldn't help but give Zhu Zhuqing a thumbs-up in admiration.
Brilliant!
Using ordinary people's assumptions against them — completely unexpected.
Taking the path no one else would think to take — it would be almost impossible for anyone to discover it.
Zhu Zhuqing groped around the corner of the wall for a while, until she found a hidden switch and pressed it firmly. The wall behind them slid open, revealing the tip of a massive underground structure.
"Qingling, come on — I'll show you my secret base."
This time, Zhu Zhuqing took Qingling's small hand and led her inside.
As soon as they entered, the secret door automatically closed behind them.
Qingling looked around in astonishment — the chamber was enormous, fully furnished with everything one could imagine. It looked nothing like the gloomy, narrow kind of secret room she expected.
Wasn't a hidden chamber supposed to be dark and eerie?
"Qingling, stay close to me."
"O-okay…"
Following Zhu Zhuqing, they pushed open another heavy door — and before them appeared a massive underground cavern.
"Wow…"
"It's huge!" Qingling's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the vast cavern before her.
"So this is the surprise you prepared for me, Zhuqing?"
At that, a gentle smile appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face. "That's right. Well? Surprised? Unexpected?"
Chen Qingling nodded quickly, glancing around the cavern. "This cave… it wasn't man-made, was it?"
"No, it's a natural formation. I stumbled upon it purely by chance."
Qingling pointed to the bridge they were walking on. "And this bridge…?"
"It was already here when I found it, though it had fallen into disrepair. It took me a year and a half to fully restore all the bridges within the cavern."
Chen Qingling's pupils contracted slightly. "Then that means… this place was left behind by someone long ago, sealed off for reasons unknown."
"And later, by chance, you discovered it."
"That's right."
"Qingling, this is our shared secret…"
Chen Qingling nodded repeatedly, patting her flat chest in assurance.
"I understand, I understand — apart from you and me, no one else will ever know about your secret base, Zhuqing."
...
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