Ever since Emperor Donghua left that day, Feng Jiu had been punished. Though her bandaged hands had swollen up as round as steamed buns, her fourth uncle, Bai Zhen, took pity on her and had Zheyan send her medicine, so she healed within a few days. Once the Little Princess's injuries healed, she promptly forgot the pain...
Feng Jiu muttered, "I haven't seen the Emperor in several days. I wonder what he's up to right now?"
At this thought, the urge to sneak up to the Nine Heavens to find Emperor Donghua stirred within her once more. However, having learned her lesson from last time, God Bai Yi kept a very tight watch on Feng Jiu lately. For one thing, he was afraid her magical power was too weak and she would encounter danger outside—after all, it wasn't every day that a powerful expert happened to pass by and save her. For another, Feng Jiu had previously stumbled into the Demon Tribe Forbidden Land, arousing the Emperor's suspicion, which meant Qingqiu absolutely could not afford any more mistakes in the short term.
Thus, because of her punishment and injuries, Feng Jiu's heart yearning for the Emperor stayed quiet for a few days. Then, because her father was watching her closely, it stayed quiet for a few more days. But the more she suppressed that yearning heart, the more restless it became. So she began putting on a well-behaved act in front of her father. After a few more days, seeing that Feng Jiu had been on her best behavior recently, God Bai Yi assumed she had truly seen the error of her ways and gradually lowered his guard. Sure enough, on a bright and sunny afternoon, shortly after God Bai Yi fell into his afternoon nap, Feng Jiu seized the opportunity to slip out of the Fox Den.
When God Bai Yi woke up later and discovered that Feng Jiu had vanished again, he flew into a rage and set off everywhere to look for her. But he never in his wildest dreams imagined that his daughter would be so bold as to hide herself away in Taichen Palace! Poor God Bai Yi—clearly one of the five lords of Qingqiu, he now had no time to manage his subjects because he was once again searching the entire world for his daughter.
By this time, Feng Jiu had already snuck up to the Heavenly Palace, intending to find Emperor Donghua at Taichen Palace under the lofty pretext of "repaying a debt!" First, she went to the Siming Palace to find her old friend Siming, hoping to enlist his help to smuggle her into Taichen Palace.
Siming saw right through her intentions. Throughout the Nine Heavens, who didn't adore Emperor Donghua? Yet when had the Emperor ever favored any of them? As a friend, Siming still wanted to advise Feng Jiu against it. Or perhaps, he harbored a private longing of his own: from the moment he first laid eyes on Feng Jiu years ago, he had instantly fallen in love with this Little Princess of Qingqiu. Yet he felt his status was too humble to be worthy of her. When he learned she was willing to be friends with him, he was overjoyed beyond words, and he truly only wanted to remain Feng Jiu's friend, never daring to harbor even a shred of extra desire, because he felt that would be a desecration of this goddess.
Siming earnestly tried to persuade Feng Jiu, but she was dead-set on entering Taichen Palace. She even dragged out the so-called laws of Qingqiu, declaring that the people of Qingqiu must know gratitude and repay kindness, and that as the Princess of Qingqiu, she had to set an example for her subjects. If she failed to repay kindness, she would have no face to face her people, would lose their support, and would ultimately be driven out of Qingqiu to end up homeless. Her words left Siming completely speechless, and he had no choice but to agree to help her.
As it happened, Taichen Palace was currently recruiting celestial maidens, so Siming pulled some strings and smuggled Feng Jiu in. There was no help for it—who could blame Siming for having such good connections? Besides, though his official rank was humble, he held the crucial responsibility of managing the destiny ledgers of mortals. While this duty might not carry much weight among the deities of the heavens, it was utterly vital to the mortal realm, one of the three realms. Therefore, from the high deities of the Nine Heavens down to the various celestial maidens and attendants, who wouldn't show him some respect? After all, no one could say for sure when they might need to descend to the mortal realm to undergo a heavenly tribulation, and a mortal lifetime was determined by just a few strokes of Siming's brush.
From that moment on, Feng Jiu officially became a celestial maiden of Taichen Palace, beginning her new life of "repaying a kindness."