Chapter 151
Chapter 151
As everyone knew, staying up late was lethally harmful to a beautiful woman.
But Shengsheng Zhou, beautiful woman though she was, had no time to care about that now.
She was more curious about what could cause a newcomer to enter a world without being bound to any system.
Were newcomers all this fearless nowadays?
Shengsheng and Xiaosui sat cross-legged opposite each other, a candle flickering between them and faintly illuminating their solemn faces.
“Little brother, your situation is extremely dangerous.” Shengsheng spoke gravely while she and A-Pang stroked their chins in identical poses of contemplation.
A-Pang added, *Without a system, if you accidentally die, no one will guide your soul back. This world will assimilate you, turning you into a lonely wandering ghost.*
Xiaosui cried in alarm, “That’s terrifying!”
Shengsheng nodded. “And you can’t exchange System Points for skills or receive missions. Everyone else is fully armed. You’re practically buck naked.”
Xiaosui looked innocently at Shengsheng. “Then what should I do, Senior?”
A-Pang cut in. *I reported it to my superiors just now. Wait until we receive a response before you take action.*
Shengsheng was thinking of another problem. “Then you can only stay with me for now. But you’re so big that hiding you won’t be easy.”
A-Pang clapped his paws together. *Magical Animal Potion!! It can turn you into an animal. Then you can stay here without anyone noticing.*
And so, when the unconscious young palace maid awoke with an aching body, she found herself staring into the eyes of a cockatiel with adorable rosy cheeks.
Palace maid: “…”
The Eastern Palace.
“You are saying you saw a man in the princess’s bedchamber last night?”
The blushing palace maid nodded and boldly tugged on the hem of the man’s robe. “Guard Zhang, this servant definitely saw him. The princess said I confused a dream with reality, but I swear it was no dream!”
Jian Zhang stiffly allowed her to clutch his robe. His lips nearly compressed into a line, but despite the goosebumps covering him, he continued, “Was there anything else unusual?”
The maid stepped forward until she was almost nestled in his arms, gazing at him with tender affection. “The next morning, a parrot appeared in the princess’s room. From its coloring, this servant is certain it wasn’t wild.”
Jian could no longer tolerate the heavy scent of her cosmetics. He nodded coldly, turned without hesitation, and walked away, refusing to look back no matter how she called after him.
His nose was sensitive, and he truly could not tolerate cosmetics.
Were there no women in the world who did not wear such things?
His steps paused. A person had clearly surfaced in Jian’s thoughts.
That woman’s fighting skills were a match for any man’s.
Jian drove the thought from his head and cursed himself for being filthy.
Miss Rong Li was a close retainer of the Yong emperor. There could never be anything between them.
At that very moment, Rong Li, whom Jian was thinking about, suddenly sneezed.
A young eunuch kneeling beside her with red-rimmed eyes said, “Guard Li, someone is thinking about you.”
Rong Li rolled her eyes inwardly but remained unmoved. “Keep crying.”
The eunuch resumed weeping. “Your Majesty… Your Majesty…”
Shan Hai lifted the curtain and walked out, his aged face stern. “Why are you crying? His Majesty hasn’t breathed his last!”
Rong Li said, “Eunuch Hai, you really shouldn’t say such things…”
Shan Hai instantly changed to a smiling face. “Guard Li is right. His Majesty is awake and has summoned you for questions.”
Rong Li immediately went inside.
But when she saw Siran Ming, her eyes still reddened uncontrollably.
His upper body was wrapped tightly in bandages, and his cheeks had grown much thinner.
Even when he had forced his way into the palace as a prince, he had never looked this wretched.
“Your Majesty,” Rong Li said softly.
Siran Ming slowly opened his eyes and asked in a weak, hoarse voice, “Where is Shengsheng Zhou?”
Rong Li pressed her lips together. “Your Majesty, Miss Shengsheng’s body was taken by Fusheng Duan…”
As his confidante, she naturally knew the truth behind everything.
He closed his eyes, his exhaustion beyond description.
After waiting a while and seeing him remain silent, Rong Li thought she had not intended to trouble His Majesty with such a minor matter. But since he was grieving, she might as well use it to distract him.
“Your Majesty… Zhen Kingdom sent an invitation. The witless princess of the Zhen emperor has recovered, and they intend to hold a grand celebration.”
Siran gave no response.
Rong Li continued, “The recent rumors are running rampant, and the minor kingdoms once dependent upon us are growing restless. In this subordinate’s opinion, this is the perfect opportunity for you to appear personally and disprove the claims that you are… critically ill.”
Siran inclined his head slightly, then suddenly asked, “Will Fusheng Duan attend?”
Rong Li thought for a moment. “This subordinate has received no word from Zhu Kingdom, but the Zhu emperor replied that he would attend as promised.”
“Mm.”
After only a few sentences, Rong Li saw exhaustion deepen on his face and quietly withdrew.
Siran opened his eyes. On the day he decided to mobilize the army, the other Siran Ming who had inhabited his body suddenly disappeared.
With his mind peaceful again, Siran naturally had no interest in whether the other man lived or died.
But from the moment he saw Shengsheng and she called him Xiaoming, Siran admitted that jealousy had ruled him, and he had pretended to be the other man.
If Shengsheng had known he was not Xiaoming but Siran Ming, would she have refused to take that blade for him?
She had died because of him.
Shengsheng Zhou, I admit that I will never forget you for the rest of my life…
—Interlude: And what damned good does that do? She’s already dead.—
“Your Highness, where are you going?”
Suo Luo hurried out with a cloak and draped it over Shengsheng’s shoulders.
Shengsheng raised her chin obediently so the matron could tie the slender cords. The little parrot on her shoulder tilted its head at Suo Luo, its rosy cheeks adorable.
“I’m going to play with Imperial Brother,” Shengsheng answered.
Suo Luo had noticed Weiqing Song showing far more concern for his sister these past few days. So long as the Crown Prince no longer despised the princess as before, she was happy to see them grow close.
After all, anyone with eyes could tell that the current emperor… did not have much time left.
Of course, Shengsheng had no such intention. She meant to take the initiative and make Weiqing understand her personality thoroughly, distinguishing her from the former Shengsheng.
She could see that Weiqing’s attitude toward her had genuinely changed these past few days. If anything about her was suspicious, it had to be the red mole in the exact same position as on her palace-maid body!
Why else would Weiqing suddenly care about her?! Nothing else about her resembled the palace maid she had been!
That damned red mole had brought her endless trouble. Sooner or later, she would dig it out.
She had no intention of becoming the heroine of Weiqing’s *Stand-In Romance*.
Sigh. My troublesome charm~
Sure enough, what one could never possess would always stir restlessly.
With Cui’er behind her and Xiaosui perched on her shoulder, Shengsheng stepped through the palace gates. She flung out her cloak with heroic ambition and declared, “Let’s go peddle swords–swords that refuse to be defined!”