Beauties in Simulation Cross over into Reality

Chapter 432: Chapter 362: Why Bother with Such Pretense

After returning to the Imperial Palace, Xiao Mo bathed and once again sat cross-legged on his bed.

With a thought, Xiao Mo entered the Hundred Generations Book once more.

The first thing Xiao Mo did upon returning to the Hundred Generations Book was to try and recall events from the real world.

He could recall many things, but certain matters eluded him completely, as if they had been sealed away.

This situation was indeed different from his previous three lifetimes.

In his previous three lifetimes, whenever he left the Hundred Generations Book, details like the Cultivation Techniques he had practiced would grow hazy due to the book’s Divine Sense protection. Even so, he could still recall the people and events in broad strokes.

But in this lifetime, whenever he left the Hundred Generations Book, he remembered nothing at all.

Even upon his return to the Hundred Generations Book, some of his memories from reality were stripped away by the book itself.

Xiao Mo suspected this was another of the Hundred Generations Book’s protection mechanisms for his Divine Soul.

’Forget it. I won’t dwell on it. I’ll deal with this later.’

Xiao Mo shook his head.

Even if he pondered it for weeks, he wouldn’t find an answer. For now, he could only take things one step at a time.

...

Day after day passed within the Hundred Generations Book, and Xiao Mo remained in the Imperial City.

These were the most comfortable and pleasant days Xiao Mo had experienced since his childhood.

Every day, Xiao Mo would either read in the courtyard or practice his Spear Technique. He also frequently returned to the Xiao Mansion with Siyao to have meals with his mother.

Qin Siyao came to Xiao Mo’s residence every day.

The Sovereign of Qin’s marriage edict had been issued. Although Qin Siyao hadn’t officially married into his family yet, she was no different from a typical wife and was already the rightful mistress of Prince Shuang’s Mansion.

When Xiao Mo was reading or writing, Qin Siyao would be by his side pouring tea, grinding ink, or sitting a short distance away with a scroll, painting his portrait.

Qin Siyao had been forced to learn the classical arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—back in the day, all for the sake of being able to leave the Imperial Palace to find Xiao Mo. On a normal day, she wouldn’t touch any of them.

But Qin Siyao discovered that when she slowly sketched the likeness of the man she loved onto the scroll, she never seemed to tire of it.

In fact, the more she painted, the happier she became. She felt she could paint Xiao Mo for a lifetime.

Still, Qin Siyao found that no matter how hard she tried, her paintings never seemed as handsome as the real Xiao Mo.

Sometimes, Qin Siyao would also pull Xiao Mo into playing chess with her.

Naturally, Qin Siyao’s chess skills were no match for Xiao Mo’s.

He often defeated her soundly.

But then Qin Siyao realized she could just take her moves back.

Whenever she made a poor move, Qin Siyao would puff out her cheeks and simply take her piece back.

Watching the woman before him repeatedly take back her moves, Xiao Mo said nothing, only offering a faint smile as he continued to play.

But even so, Qin Siyao found she still couldn’t beat Xiao Mo, losing many games.

After losing so many times, Qin Siyao would look as wronged as a pufferfish, her big eyes welling up with tears.

At times like this, Xiao Mo would usually let her win a game.

Even though she might have lost all day and won only a single game, she would still be as happy as a child.

It was also during this period that Qin Siyao decided traveling back and forth from the Princess’s Mansion to Prince Shuang’s Mansion every day was too far, so she simply moved into Prince Shuang’s Mansion.

At first, Qin Siyao wanted to move into Xiao Mo’s courtyard.

But upon further reflection, she felt it would be improper, seeing as she hadn’t officially married him yet.

So, Qin Siyao took up residence in the courtyard next to Xiao Mo’s.

Qin Siyao also knew how to cook.

But she never let Xiao Mo eat any of the food she cooked.

Xiao Mo asked her why.

Qin Siyao blushed and said, "I’m still learning, so these dishes don’t taste very good. Once I’ve truly mastered cooking, I’ll make them for you."

With that said, Qin Siyao ran out of the courtyard to give the food to her two older brothers.

But Xiao Mo thought Siyao was just being too hard on herself.

After all, from his perspective, the dishes Qin Siyao made looked very presentable and smelled fragrant.

To encourage Siyao, Xiao Mo secretly tried a bite of one of her dishes one day.

As a result, that single bite left his stomach feeling awful for the rest of the day, despite his Golden Core Body.

Xiao Mo couldn’t for the life of him figure it out. How could she use ordinary Spirit Beast Flesh and Blood, with no strange ingredients, and still manage to create a dish like that?

For a moment, Xiao Mo felt quite sorry for the Eldest Prince and the Second Prince.

Prince Shuang’s Mansion had originally been sparsely decorated, but after the Sovereign of Qin’s marriage edict, Qin Siyao frequently had people bring over rockeries made from Spirit Stones and various Spirit Flowers and Herbs.

She also had Spirit Fish added to the mansion’s pond, joyfully arranging every single thing in the residence.

The wedding was still a long way off; otherwise, Xiao Mo felt that Siyao would have definitely started meticulously decorating their bridal chamber by now.

As for matters in the Imperial Court...

There was no news. It was as if the Sovereign of Qin had never heard the reforms Xiao Mo proposed; there wasn’t even a whisper about them among the officials.

The Sovereign of Qin was, however, still seeking a path to reform. But he was dissatisfied with all the proposals his ministers submitted.

In truth, most of the court officials knew exactly what kind of proposal the Sovereign of Qin wanted to see. After all, there were no fools in the Imperial Court.

But how could they possibly be the ones to say it?

Xiao Mo, for his part, understood.

The reforms he had proposed involved factions far too powerful.