After lunch, Yu Shiyan didn’t linger and tactfully took his leave, just as the Empress Dowager was feeling drowsy.
Which meant—she! was! free!
However, since the original book only described how the original host bullied and tormented the male lead without detailing her usual daily activities, Yuan Siyin found herself momentarily at a loss.
Her gaze drifted and suddenly fell upon the ginseng that Feicui had retrieved from the storeroom, now placed on the table.
Her aunt had gone for a nap, and Feicui naturally attended to her, leaving no time to deliver the ginseng to Changbai Hall.
Wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to gain favor?
Yuan Siyin picked up the wooden tray and dashed straight toward Chonghua Palace.
Changbai Hall was located in the northwest corner of Chonghua Palace. This remote hall was almost entirely barren, save for a tall red bean tree that was somewhat presentable.
Moreover, because the place was so desolate, no one was usually willing to set foot there.
Yuan Siyin knocked on the door for a long time but received no response. She simply pushed the door open and was met with a scene of bleak desolation.
With no one to stop her, Yuan Siyin strode straight in. But the moment she stepped into Changbai Hall, a wave of cold air assaulted her, making her shiver uncontrollably.
What’s the air conditioning set to? It’s so cold on a hot day like this.
Complaints aside, she scanned the surroundings and found no one in sight. A flicker of doubt rose in Yuan Siyin’s heart—had Yu Shiyan not returned yet?
But then she reconsidered—no.
If he hadn’t returned, where else could he be?
Her first instinct was that Yu Yuanchao had caused trouble and taken him away midway.
A vague sense of foreboding crept over Yuan Siyin. She casually set down the ginseng, turned around, and ran out again.
Thankfully, she was in decent physical condition—otherwise, whether she’d collapse on the way was anyone’s guess.
The Eastern Palace was just beyond the Imperial Garden. To save herself some steps, Yuan Siyin decided—to take a shortcut.
Although her last experience here hadn’t been pleasant, one shouldn’t avoid the well forever just because of a snake bite, right?
But just as she stealthily prepared to slip into the rockery, she heard a commotion in the distance.
“Well, well! What’s this treasure? Seventh Prince, you’re being too secretive, hiding it from us.”
A group of people shoved and jostled each other, erupting in continuous bursts of mocking laughter.
Yu Shiyan was pushed to the ground, a bruise visible at the corner of his mouth.
Pressing his lips together, his gaze dark and profound, he was clearly suppressing his anger. “Give it back to me.”
“What did you say? Give it back?”
As if hearing the joke of the century, the young eunuch raised the red bean hairpin in his hand and sneered.
“This worthless trinket isn’t even worth much. I wouldn’t take it if you gave it to me for free. It’s not even enough to cover a drinking debt.”
With that, he casually tossed it. The clear, crimson red bean hairpin landed with a “plop” in the lotus pond, sending ripples across the water’s surface.
Yuan Siyin’s eyes widened in shock.
Heavens!!!
Wasn’t that the keepsake left by the male lead’s mother?!
In the original book, that red bean hairpin was known as the rapid passage to receiving a boxed lunch!
If you’re going to bully him, why not do anything else?
Wouldn’t a good beating suffice?
Or, if nothing else, set dogs on him!
The original host had relied on her status to repeatedly provoke the male lead’s triggers, but a cannon fodder character who gets ambushed while minding their own business can’t afford such recklessness.
Why must someone so young insist on dancing on the edge of disaster?
Yuan Siyin was already looking at them as if they were dead men.
Better eat whatever you want now, brothers. If you wait any longer, you’ll only get cold leftovers.