Red Demon Lord Xuyang had once genuinely thought very highly of Yan Chiwu, simply because he cherished his sister and never intended to use her for a political marriage with another clan. Furthermore, the Red Demon Lord was the head of the Ten Demon Lords of the Demon Tribe, meaning he could take good care of his sister no matter where she married within the realm. As a princess, she deserved to marry a demon lord to match her status. Xuyang had seen for himself how Yan Chiwu had loved Ji Heng since childhood, and he believed that if his sister married Yan Chiwu, she would gain both status and affection. This should have been an excellent choice, but unfortunately, he had not anticipated the anomalies in the seal of the Forbidden Land. For the sake of the Demon Tribe, he had to make new plans. Besides, marrying Emperor Donghua was also a fine choice. He felt he was doing right by his sister, even if he had to fail his brother in arms.
In the Nine Heavens, at Taichen Palace:
Because of the incident involving the Mufeng Butterfly, Xiao Jiu was being punished by Zhihe and forced to sweep the courtyard—without being allowed to use any spells. Sweeping away, Feng Jiu muttered in complaint, "Without spells, when on earth am I ever going to finish sweeping this?"
"Welcome, Your Majesty, to Taichen Palace."
While Xiao Jiu was busy sweeping, Donghua returned. Xiao Jiu was overjoyed; she even felt that enduring this punishment was worth it, since it brought her here to wait for the Emperor's return and catch a glimpse of him. Drawn by an irresistible urge, she walked toward him to get a closer look, but in doing so, she happened to block Zhihe's path. Having heard a celestial maiden report that Emperor Donghua was back, Zhihe had rushed out eagerly to greet him, only to find Xiao Jiu standing right between her and her adoptive brother, preventing him from seeing her welcoming face first. Displeased, Zhihe called out to her personal attendant, "Yuru." That attendant immediately made things difficult for Xiao Jiu.
"Xiao Jiu, aren't you lacking in manners? How dare you stand in front of the Princess!"
With that, she shoved Feng Jiu straight into the lotus pond.
With a startled cry of "Ah!", Feng Jiu plunged into the lotus pond, struggling and splashing quite a bit before managing to surface.
Hearing the loud commotion, Emperor Donghua, who had just stepped through the gates of Taichen Palace, glanced over.
Zhihe wore a smug smile, but upon seeing Donghua walk toward Xiao Jiu, she grew uneasy. Although she did not know the two had met before, she could not ignore Xiao Jiu's striking beauty, and she feared that if Donghua laid eyes on such a face, he might take a fancy to her—something she would never allow to happen. Hurrying over to Donghua, she blocked his line of sight toward Xiao Jiu and chimed in, "Adoptive brother, you're back!" She then quickly found an excuse to lead him away.
In the end, Donghua never got a clear look at what the girl in the lotus pond looked like. Had he seen her, he would have recognized Feng Jiu and been astonished as to why the Princess of Qingqiu was working as a celestial maiden in Taichen Palace. After that initial surprise, however, he simply would have had Zhonglin send Feng Jiu back to Qingqiu. Yet, thanks to Zhihe's obstruction, he never caught sight of her at all.
Before leaving, Zhihe threw parting words at Feng Jiu: "If you can finish sweeping the bodhi leaves in this courtyard today, I'll let you stay in the palace. If not, get out of Taichen Palace!" Without looking back, she hurried after Donghua, calling, "Adoptive brother, wait for me!"
Climbing out of the lotus pond, Xiao Jiu found it impossible to finish sweeping the courtyard's bodhi leaves, especially since Yuru, Zhihe's attendant, kept coming to cause trouble. While forbidding Xiao Jiu from using spells to sweep, they used spells themselves to blow away the leaves Xiao Jiu had just gathered. After this happened twice, Xiao Jiu realized something was amiss. Catching Yuru hiding behind a door and snickering, she knew she was being deliberately harassed. The temper of the Princess of Qingqiu finally flared up. Even if she could not reveal her true identity, couldn't she vent her frustration just a little bit? And so... our Little Princess's way of venting was... to fling her broom fiercely down onto the ground!
Feng Jiu sat disconsolately on the stone steps. At that moment, the Mufeng Butterfly she had once saved flew up before her.
Looking at the butterfly, Feng Jiu asked, "What? Do you have a way?"
As soon as she spoke, the Mufeng Butterfly grew larger and summoned its powerful wind magic, sweeping all the bodhi leaves on the ground into a neat pile in an instant. Watching this, Feng Jiu beamed with delight. Once its task was complete, the Mufeng Butterfly shrank back down and gently landed on Feng Jiu's hand.
"I knew you'd have a way," Feng Jiu said happily. She gently blew a breath at the butterfly, scattering the colorful sparkling scales from its wings. Naturally mischievous and fond of play—and with her chores finally done—Feng Jiu began playing around the courtyard with the Mufeng Butterfly.
In the side hall of Taichen Palace:
A celestial maiden reported to Zhihe, "Reporting to the Princess, the courtyard has been swept clean. Should we let Xiao Jiu go back?"
"So fast?" Zhihe rose and walked out toward the courtyard, only to find Feng Jiu playing happily with the Mufeng Butterfly. Driven by a twisted spite, Zhihe decided to torment Feng Jiu once more.
Zhihe declared, "Xiao Jiu, I kindly gave you a chance, yet here you are slacking off. You even used a Mufeng Butterfly—so the two of you are in cahoots! Someone, give Xiao Jiu twenty strokes of the staff and drive her out of the palace!"
"Yes, Princess," Yuru replied, pulling out a heavy staff to administer the punishment.
Pinioned by two celestial maidens and struggling frantically, Feng Jiu cried out indignantly, "Let me go! I have already swept the entire courtyard clean just as the Princess commanded! Why are you still trying to banish me from the palace?"
Zhihe retorted, "Sudden gales have been blowing everywhere; how could you possibly have swept it clean?"
Xiao Jiu countered, "Her Highness the Princess has remained inside the palace the entire time—how could she possibly know about any sudden gales?"
Zhihe snapped, "How dare you talk back! For the added crime of insolence, your punishment is doubled to forty strokes of the staff! And as for this Mufeng Butterfly, it's no better than some unholy pest!" With that, she produced a box and forcefully trapped the Mufeng Butterfly inside it.
Xiao Jiu pleaded, "The Mufeng Butterfly is innocent! I beg Your Highness to show mercy."
"I am casting it down to the mortal realm to start its cultivation anew!" Zhihe threw the box straight into the lotus pond, sending it plunging into the mortal world.