"Zhu Xu, how far have you and Zhao Xue gotten?"
After leading Zhu Xu out of the peach forest, the Jade Emperor went straight to the point.
Zhu Xu's face instantly turned red. Although she was almost an adult now, she was not yet fully grown. Speaking of such matters in front of an elder was a first for her.
"We are naturally decided," Zhu Xu replied, her face flushed but her tone still firm.
"Decided?"
The Jade Emperor's normally unreadable face seemed to grow colder, and his tone was sharper than usual.
Zhu Xu nodded silently.
"Did he decide on you, or did you decide on him?" The Jade Emperor asked, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Does it make a difference?" Zhu Xu, not understanding the Jade Emperor's meaning, felt the redness on her face gradually recede.
"There naturally is," almost without any pause, as soon as Zhu Xu finished her sentence, the Jade Emperor retorted.
Sensing the displeasure and danger hidden in the Jade Emperor's words, Zhu Xu paused for a few breaths before finally speaking, "I decided on him."
"You decided on him? You actually decided on him? What do you see in him? What could possibly make you, the dignified Imperial Daughter, take a liking to him?"
As soon as Zhu Xu spoke, the Jade Emperor's questions bombarded her, unreservedly expressing his dissatisfaction with the situation.
"Father, he is very good," Zhu Xu insisted, looking at the Jade Emperor.
The Jade Emperor sighed, realizing at this moment that he could not dissuade Zhu Xu.
"Zhu Xu, you can have any consort you wish, but Zhao Xue is simply not an option."
Zhu Xu lost control, her spiritual energy surging around her. "Why?"
The Jade Emperor had watched Zhu Xu grow up. Since childhood, she had never been so persistent about anything.
Even the spiritual artifacts that the Jade Emperor personally gifted her were only played with for a few days before she quickly tossed them aside.
In the Jade Emperor's memory, Zhu Xu had stopped throwing tantrums long ago.
Now, because of Zhao Xue, she was reacting so strongly.
"Zhu Xu, do you still remember privately using your spiritual power in the mortal realm to transform into your true form?" The Jade Emperor did not answer Zhu Xu's question but instead began to inquire about her transgressions.
"Zhu Xu remembers." Thinking of the mistake she had made in a moment of impulse, Zhu Xu quieted down.
"If that is the case, then forbidding you from being with Zhao Xue is one of the punishments."
The Jade Emperor's voice was low and expressionless as he stated this.
Zhu Xu's gaze sharpened, completely taken aback by the Jade Emperor's words.
"Zhu Xu knows she was wrong. She requests Father to impose a different punishment," Zhu Xu knelt respectfully.
"If a punishment could be chosen, would it still be called a punishment?"
The Jade Emperor finished speaking, turned his cold face, and left.
Zhu Xu, unprepared for this, quickly chased after him.
However, as Zhu Xu reached in front of the Jade Emperor, he cast a spell to silence her and fix her in place.
Zhu Xu watched helplessly as the Jade Emperor walked further and further away. Her sadness was accompanied by a deep sense of powerlessness.
Her father was the Jade Emperor, the deity who governed heaven and earth. If the Jade Emperor stood as a barrier between her and Zhao Xue, then she and Zhao Xue would face immense hardship.
Time trickled by, and as the sun began to set, Zhao Xue, who had been lying by the stone table, suddenly regained consciousness.
"Xu Xu..."
Zhao Xue's eyes immediately darted to where Zhu Xu had been sitting.
Seeing Zhu Xu nowhere in sight, Zhao Xue panicked.
"Xu Xu..."
Zhao Xue got up, calling Zhu Xu's name repeatedly. Only when his steps became disordered as he left the peach forest did he finally catch sight of Zhu Xu.
"Xu Xu." The moment Zhao Xue saw Zhu Xu, he paused for a moment before quickly rushing forward and pulling her into his arms.
"Why aren't you speaking?" Zhao Xue held Zhu Xu tightly, leaning down to press his lips against the side of her neck.
The hot breath brushed against the fine hairs on Zhu Xu's ear, making her dizzy.
"Hmm? Xu Xu, are you angry? Why?"
Zhu Xu's silence only made Zhao Xue more anxious. He pressed his body against her, forcing her to lean back slightly.
"Zhu Xu, what have I done wrong!"
Zhao Xue's voice grew more frantic. He dared not look at Zhu Xu's expression, not wanting to see the same resistance and disgust in her eyes as he imagined.
Soon, mere embraces could no longer pacify Zhao Xue's emotions. He clasped Zhu Xu's waist with one hand and directly lifted her up.
Zhu Xu's vision spun for a moment, and she blinked with a hint of panic. Before long, Zhao Xue carried her to his bed.
Zhao Xue quickly followed and pressed down.
Zhu Xu looked at Zhao Xue looming larger before her, a trace of fear mixed with a greater sense of shyness.
This was the first time she had ever seen Zhao Xue act so recklessly.
Perhaps this was good. In the past, Zhao Xue's face had always been expressionless, and she had worried that he was not truly sincere about being with her out of respect for her status as an Imperial Daughter.
Now, Zhao Xue's anxious demeanor dispelled her hidden worries.
"Alright, Zhao Xue, my father just immobilized me. I wasn't intentionally ignoring you."
Just as Zhao Xue was using his magic to cut open Zhu Xu's clothes, the spell the Jade Emperor had cast on Zhu Xu finally lost its effect.
Zhu Xu wrapped her arms around Zhao Xue's waist, her breath already unsteady.
Zhao Xue froze, clearly surprised that this was the reason.
"Are you still drunk?"
Seeing Zhao Xue cease his actions and remain silent, Zhu Xu strained to look up, only seeing his chin.
"How were you immobilized?" Zhao Xue asked dazedly, as if still not quite comprehending.
"It's nothing, I just made Father angry," Zhu Xu lowered her gaze, instinctively not wanting to tell the truth and upset Zhao Xue.
As Zhu Xu spoke, the desire and ferocity that had been in his phoenix eyes instantly receded. Zhao Xue, his hands still on Zhu Xu's soft waist, lifted her up slightly.
"Really?"
Their eyes met, their breaths intertwined. Zhu Xu, blushing, buried her head into Zhao Xue's chest.
"Mhmm, really."
Feeling Zhu Xu's small head nod against his chest, Zhao Xue finally relaxed completely.
The next second, Zhao Xue realized their current situation, and a blush spread from his ears down his neck into his chest.
"Xu Xu, don't leave me, don't dislike me, okay?"
Zhao Xue's large hand brushed across Zhu Xu's back.
At this moment, Zhu Xu had only one thought.