They finally arrived at the underwater palace, truly a pearl palace with shell chambers as Chi Mei had said. Sunlight couldn’t reach the deep sea, so it was dark year-round, but the gathering place of the merfolk was illuminated by natural night pearls. The roof tiles were made of finely polished sea moon shells, with the light of the night pearls shining through. The palace floor was paved with a layer of white material. Jiang Yang crouched down to look carefully and found it was jade that emitted a moonlight-like glow.

A group of luminous plankton floated freely in the palace, emitting a deep blue phosphorescence. Jiang Yang curiously poked at a lone plankton. It was only as big as one segment of Jiang Yang’s little finger, with a transparent body that clearly showed its beating heart. Like a small fairy, it curiously wrapped around Jiang Yang’s finger, as if sensing her aura.

“Ahem—” The Left and Right Elders coughed heavily behind Jiang Yang.

Startled, the little fairy swam away quickly.

Jiang Yang came to her senses, with the two elders staring at her with displeased expressions. Then a group of merfolk swam out from somewhere, surrounding Jiang Yang. Some merfolk were angry, some were rejecting, and some were curiously staring at her.

But without exception, none of them spoke ill of Jiang Yang, nor were they surprised by the return of the missing prince. It was clear that the two elders had already prepared them in advance.

Jiang Yang thought this was just as well, as she wouldn’t have to spend time explaining everything, which would be troublesome.

Due to their prejudice, the Left and Right Elders didn’t introduce her to everyone, but directly stuffed her into Chi Mei’s boudoir, firmly establishing her status as a married-in wife.

But befitting a prince, the boudoir was large and bright. Light blue mermaid silk curtains dragged to the ground, their edges decorated with pearl-sized small pearls, swaying slightly with the surge of seawater, exquisite and luxurious. Parting the pearl curtains revealed Chi Mei’s embroidered bed, the bed frame carved from a single piece of white jade. Finding such a large piece of white jade would be treated like an ancestral treasure for others, but here in the sea, it was merely the bed Chi Mei rested on.

“Such extravagance,” Jiang Yang sighed, touching the white jade bed.

Chi Mei leaned against the bed, tentatively holding her hand: “This is the bed my mother specially ordered the tribe to find for me in the sea when I was born. A’Yang, lie down and try it. I’ve laid a thick layer of mermaid silk on top, it’s very comfortable.”

Jiang Yang didn’t stand on ceremony and directly lay down to try it. The mermaid silk was soft yet exceptionally resilient. Lying on it was as comfortable as lying on cotton. She closed her eyes in comfort.

This fish truly lived a life of luxury before. Who knows how he endured the time in the tree hollow compared to his previous life, like a billionaire suddenly falling into a slum.

“Prince! Prince!” A sudden anxious call came from outside the door, followed by a fish bursting in.

“Dou Zhu?!” Chi Mei swam over joyfully.

“Prince, you really came back.” Dou Zhu’s features were not stunning, just proper. He spoke gently, hugging Chi Mei and crying softly, with pearls falling one after another. Jiang Yang, looking at the pearls rolling on the ground, her hand itching to pick them up.

Chi Mei had his back to Jiang Yang and didn’t see her movement at all. Seeing his long-separated friend, he was very excited: “You don’t need to worry about me. During the time I was captured, I was treated very well. A’Yang, she… cherished me very much.” Chi Mei comforted his crying friend, casting an affectionate glance at Jiang Yang.

Jiang Yang’s eager hand stopped.

Chi Mei looked at her, then at the pearls on the ground, emotions surging in his eyes.

“Really? That’s good. During the time you were captured, I worried about you day and night, fearing those beasts would take you to extract oil. Fortunately, you’ve returned safely, and even brought back such a caring consort. From now on, you’ll have someone to rely on.” Dou Zhu looked at Jiang Yang, without the strong hostility like others.

Chi Mei was also a bit surprised: “You don’t blame me for being with a human woman?”

Dou Zhu smiled and said: “We men have no control over our lives. Those who can firmly choose their loved ones like the prince are few and far between. I don’t understand all that talk about race and the big picture that women speak of. I only know that as long as the consort treats you well in the future and you’re happy for life, what does it matter whether you marry a merfolk or not?”

Chi Mei smiled happily upon hearing this, looking at Jiang Yang with a face full of expectation. But Jiang Yang was lowering her head, seriously looking at the pearls rolling on the ground. Chi Mei’s eyes instantly dimmed.

“I heard you’re pregnant. How long has it been?” Dou Zhu sat down with Chi Mei, looking at his belly and asking.

Chi Mei covered his belly, concealing: “Not… not long, the belly hasn’t even shown yet.”

Dou Zhu smiled: “I’ve just gotten pregnant recently too. In the future, our children can be companions.”

“You’re pregnant?” Chi Mei’s eyes widened: “Wait, when did you get married?”

Dou Zhu covered his belly with a faint smile: “It was shortly after the prince was captured. Someone suddenly came to propose, and mother thought she was good in all aspects, so she agreed.”

“Who is it?” Chi Mei asked.

The merfolk tribe wasn’t too big or too small, and he basically knew all the female merfolk of note in the tribe.

“Qing Mo.”

“Qing Mo!” Chi Mei stood up abruptly from his seat: “How could it be her? She’s famous in our tribe for being fickle. She has at least seven or eight men at home, and three or four children already. How is this good in all aspects? What was your mother thinking! How could she marry you to such a person!”

A trace of bitter smile appeared at the corner of Dou Zhu’s brow: “I’m ranked ninth after marrying in.”

“Ninth?! That fickle and uneducated woman, how dare she marry you!” Chi Mei’s hands trembled with anger.

“Before marrying, I was also confused about why Qing Mo wanted to marry me. She’s known for only loving beautiful men.” Dou Zhu pursed his lips faintly: “After marrying, I found out that the reason Qing Mo married me was because although she already had multiple husbands at home, none had given birth to a daughter for her, so she married me.”

“Has she bullied you since you married? Have her other men bullied you?” Chi Mei held his hand and asked nervously.

Dou Zhu remained silent for a long time, his words full of sighs: “It’s all in the past. Now that I’m pregnant, she treats me much better than before. The husbands from other chambers are wary of the child in my belly and don’t dare to do anything to me anymore.”