When Xiao Mingyue ran out, she was fully certain that she had been targeted by Feng Buji’s Shadow Guards. She had originally wanted to call for Xiaowei to teleport her away, but when she turned around, there was unexpectedly no one behind her.
Could she have shaken them off?
Xiao Mingyue dared not be the least bit careless. She knew the capabilities of the Shadow Guards better than anyone; it was absolutely impossible for her to throw them off so easily.
Xiao Mingyue ran until she was out of breath. Seeing that there truly was no one behind her, she felt bewildered, yet she did not forget to look around her surroundings. Just as she turned her head back, she nearly bumped right into someone.
“Xiao Mingyue, I’ve finally caught you.”
Feng Buji had somehow appeared right in front of her. Beneath the night sky, his dark robe made him look like a phantom. His handsome face was submerged in the darkness, and his voice was low, raspy, and laced with a trace of helplessness and fondness.
He knew it—Xiao Mingyue wouldn’t just die like that.
Xiao Mingyue was still wearing a bamboo hat, but she hadn’t disguised her face at all because her available disguise uses had long been exhausted. Unless her favorability score with a target increased, she had no experience points to purchase those items.
“You must have mistaken me for someone else, Prince Regent. Who is Xiao Mingyue?” As long as she refused to admit it to her death, what could Feng Buji possibly do to her?
Unexpectedly, Feng Buji stepped closer step by step, a dangerous aura spreading outward like ten-thousand-year-old ice.
Xiao Mingyue was no match for him, but she had the System—escaping would still be a simple matter.
It seemed she had been too careless. Investigating was one thing, but why had she suddenly tried to assassinate Feng Buji on a whim?
If not for the bamboo hat, one would surely be able to see the regret written all over Xiao Mingyue’s face.
“I haven’t annulled our marriage. Our wedding will proceed as scheduled. Come back with me obediently now, and I can overlook everything that happened in the past. We can start anew,” Feng Buji said. Saying these words, his voice choked up slightly, his heart immensely relieved that Xiao Mingyue was not dead.
He could overlook her faking her death to deceive him, and he could overlook her causing Hua Heng’s miscarriage. After all, they would have plenty of children in the future. He could look past anything, as long as she came back.
Listening to him made Xiao Mingyue want to vomit. Who wanted to start anew with him? Start anew, and then let that woman Hua Heng scheme until her family was ruined and dead?
Xiao Mingyue let out a cold sneer: “Your Highness truly has the wrong person. Though, if you wish to marry me as your princess consort, I could consider it. Hahaha.”
“Of course you are my princess consort. You are my wife.”
“But what if I’m not Xiao Mingyue~?” Xiao Mingyue’s voice turned enchanting and seductive.
Upon hearing this, the hopeful expression on Feng Buji’s face turned icy cold. This voice indeed did not belong to Xiao Mingyue.
Feeling as though he had been played, Feng Buji instantly drew the flexible sword at his waist and slashed at Xiao Mingyue. To his surprise, Xiao Mingyue vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.
Feng Buji’s expression turned solemn; he even flew up to the roof to look around, but there was indeed no one there. Only then did he return to his estate, crestfallen and disoriented.
Xiao Mingyue was extremely unwilling to return empty-handed. She had indeed been too impulsive; it seemed she would have to enter the imperial palace after all and use the Emperor’s power to investigate.
When the day to enter the palace arrived, Xiao Mingyue was dressed in a lake-blue silk-embroidered lined garment with magnolia and butterfly patterns. The fabric was specially supplied soft satin, subtly shimmering with hidden water-ripple patterns under the light.
The neckline and sleeve cuffs were bordered with snowy-white fox fur three fingers wide. On the gown, intertwined magnolia branches were meticulously embroidered in gold thread, with butterflies dancing among the flowers. Their wings utilized an extremely fine gradient technique, shifting seamlessly from deep to light shades, as if coming alive.
Her necklet was not the usual gilded silver, but lace gold inlaid with Eastern pearls; the central pearl was round, full, and glowed with a warm, gentle luster. Across her bodice hung an eighteen-bead tourmaline and jade rosary, each bead translucent. As she walked, it swayed gently without making a sound, emitting only a serene, fragrant breeze.
The lustrous glow of the Eastern pearls, the rarity of the fox fur, and the richness of the gold embroidery were all silent declarations of her family background and imperial favor. Amidst the sea of gorgeous women, her face appeared as noble and refined as jade, strikingly regal.
Pei Yanli was the current Prime Minister, holding the highest ministerial rank. As his “sister,” Xiao Mingyue entered the palace with the rank of High Consort, and she even picked up the honorific title “Imperial Consort Chen.”
The character “Chen” was extraordinary; derived as a title for the sovereign monarch, using it risked overstepping propriety, and it would never be bestowed without extreme favor.
Uncertain whether she was given such a title because of Prime Minister Pei Yanli, Xiao Mingyue felt somewhat uneasy instead.
The current Emperor, Xie Changsu, ascended the throne at twenty-one and was now only twenty-four. Handsome in appearance yet frail in health, he was six years older than Xiao Mingyue.
As soon as Xiao Mingyue entered the palace, she resided in the Hall of Zhongcui, the closest location to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The hall itself was an independent courtyard structure with radiant glazed tiles and pristine, dustless Hanbaliyu marble steps.
The furnishings inside far exceeded the specifications for a High Consort. Xiao Mingyue was stunned when she saw it.
Warm jade lined the floor beneath; once the underfloor heating was lit in winter, it would be as warm and gentle as spring. On the multi-treasure display rack near the window stood not ordinary official kiln pieces, but sky-blue glazed washers from the Ru kiln of the previous dynasty, as well as glass painting screens imported from the West.
Inside the bedchamber, shark-skin silk drapes hung like haze and mist, while the red sandalwood canopy bed was inlaid with mother-of-pearl, depicting a vivid scene of a hundred sons and a thousand descendants. The air was perpetually infused with rare overseas Chenxiang incense bestowed by the Emperor. Even in the embroidery basket casually placed on a small table, Jiangning cloud brocade used for sewing the Emperor’s undergarments was piled high.
Xiao Mingyue sat by the edge of the large bed, waiting for the arrival of her conquest target…