Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“No. I can’t run away in the middle of the night.”

Halfway there, realization hit me, and I stopped in my tracks.

“The palace gates are locked, the whole city is under curfew, and I won’t get far before Fu Zhaoting’s people catch me.”

The System froze, its tone turning remorseful.

“Oh, right. Sorry, Host, I didn’t think of that… What do we do now?”

“I’ll stay for now and keep him steady. In a few days, once I’ve arranged a way out, I’ll find an excuse to leave the palace openly.”

That was what I said, but I was still afraid Fu Zhaoting might make a move against me in the next few days.

The farther I was from him, the safer I would be. So the emperor’s bedchamber was out of the question.

I made a snap decision to move back to the side hall where I’d lived when I first entered the palace.

That tiny, tucked-away courtyard had been bestowed on me back when I was only a Beauty.

After I latched onto Fu Zhaoting and wheedled a consort title out of him, I’d planted myself in his bedchamber and never gone back.

So much so that halfway there, I actually got lost.

It was dark, and the moonlight was faint, most of it hidden behind clouds.

The flowerbeds lining the path were all shifting shadows. When the wind blew past, I vaguely heard a voice that sounded not quite human.

“…someone… is coming.”

Not far ahead, a black shadow vaulted onto the palace wall and vanished with a whoosh.

I jerked my head up in terror, only to see another black shadow flailing wildly by the corner of the wall, just about to crawl out of the flowers.

“Ah! A ghost!”

Scared out of my wits, I grabbed the bundle in my arms and hurled it over without thinking.

“Ah!”

The dark figure collapsed with a soft, delicate cry.

A bad feeling instantly rose in me. By the miserable moonlight, I edged closer for a look.

It was a face so lovely it stirred pity at a glance. Her eyes were red, and a cut had been knocked into her temple by the heavy blow.

Shen Jingshu.

Fu Zhaoting’s unforgettable first love.

According to the rumors, Fu Zhaoting had grown up alone in the cold palace as a child, suffering every kind of bullying and mistreatment from the palace servants.

Only Shen Jingshu, whenever she occasionally entered the palace, would secretly help him.

That was why, even though the Shen family had backed the wrong side in the fight for the throne, Fu Zhaoting did not punish them after he ascended.

He merely took Shen Jingshu into the palace and granted her the most honored position of Noble Consort.

For her sake, he had even left the imperial harem empty, keeping only three or five Beauties in name.

What was she doing here in the middle of the night?

Our eyes met, and we both looked equally shaken.

“You…”

“You…”

We spoke at the same time, only to be interrupted together by a deep voice from behind us.

“What are you two doing?”