The consorts were chatting idly when suddenly Caixia, the head palace maid of Yonghe Palace, hurried in with an anxious expression.
She strode quickly to Rong Qingyue’s side, bent down, and whispered a few words in her ear.
Rong Qingyue’s expression shifted slightly, but she quickly composed herself. “All of you sisters have just entered the palace. If there is anything unfamiliar, feel free to come and ask me at any time. Once you enter the harem, we are all sisters. I hope you will get along harmoniously and serve the Emperor with all your hearts.”
The assembled women replied respectfully, “Yes.”
Rong Qingyue said no more. She waved her hand, dismissing them to go rest.
Before the consorts had even dispersed, Rong Qingyue led Caixia and a retinue of palace maids out of Yonghe Palace in a hurry.
Xue Youli didn’t care about Rong Qingyue’s movements. She remembered from the original novel’s plot that after Xue Qingyao left Yonghe Palace, she would have her first encounter with the Emperor in the Imperial Garden.
What she needed to do now was to get ahead of Xue Qingyao and meet the Emperor first!
To ensure absolute certainty, she used the tracking function of the Book of Heavenly Secrets to pinpoint the Emperor’s exact location.
It was the third month of spring, brimming with vitality, and many flowers in the Imperial Garden were already in bloom.
A nearby peach grove grew lush and full. A gentle breeze swept through, sending countless petals drifting down like pink butterflies dancing in midair—a breathtaking sight.
Meeting a man in such a beautiful place would set the perfect atmosphere.
After entering the palace, Xue Youli had unexpectedly discovered that the Book of Heavenly Secrets also had a navigation function.
So she activated navigation mode and prepared to go find the Emperor.
Just then, from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a small figure on a rockery not far away—a little girl with short little legs climbing up with great effort, huffing and puffing.
The little girl wore a pink ruqun dress, with two adorable little buns on top of her head. Her round, delicate face was soft and chubby, her small features exquisitely pretty.
[Name: Murong Xi, 4 and a half years old, Consort Rong’s “daughter,” titled Princess Changle.]
So this was the short-lived Emperor’s daughter. She was so soft and adorable.
Xue Youli stared at the little girl on the rockery, not noticing that the word “daughter” on Murong Xi’s Identity Card was enclosed in quotation marks.
By now, Murong Xi had already climbed to the highest point of the rockery. She stretched out her little arms, trying hard to reach the kite hanging from a peach tree branch.
Unfortunately, she was too short. Even standing on her tiptoes, she was still a long way from the kite.
Xue Youli watched the little girl’s wobbling figure. Before she could even warn her to be careful, Murong Xi’s foot slipped, and she tumbled headfirst off the rockery.
Xue Youli’s pupils contracted. Instinctively, she spread her arms wide.
She reacted with lightning speed, catching the little girl securely in midair.
She looked down at the unharmed Murong Xi in her arms and couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness. The child was fine.
“Pretty sister, you’re so beautiful! Thank you for saving me!”
Murong Xi lifted her head from her arms, her big, clear black-and-white eyes blinking as she looked up at her with anticipation. “Could you do me one more favor? Can you rescue my kite too?”
Xue Youli met her sparkling little gaze and couldn’t bear to refuse. “Of course.”
Getting the kite wouldn’t take much time. It shouldn’t affect her plans to find the Emperor.
Seeing that she agreed, Murong Xi cheered in her arms before she was even set down. “Pretty sister, you’re so nice! Xier likes you!”
As she spoke, she reached out her little arms to hug Xue Youli around the waist.
Who would have thought that the little girl would accidentally touch Xue Youli’s ticklish spot. “Ah! That tickles!”
She twisted her waist, dodging to the side, her body involuntarily stepping backward.
But who could have guessed that after just two steps back, her foot would catch on a stone on the ground.
Xue Youli was still holding the child in her arms, and her center of gravity was already unstable to begin with.
With that stumble, she completely lost her balance and uncontrollably fell backward.
“Ah!”
Xue Youli let out a startled cry, wailing inwardly.
This is bad!
If she hit the back of her head on the ground, even if she didn’t die, she’d end up brain-damaged—the kind where even after being cured, she’d still drool.
Her palace intrigue career hadn’t even begun, and it was already about to end?
No~ way~
Xue Youli didn’t want to accept her fate, but she could only close her eyes and pray inwardly—either let her fall cleanly and go straight to the King of Hell for reincarnation, and if she was lucky, she might even be reborn as a single daughter from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, or Shanghai.
However, just as she was about to fall—
A strong, resilient arm reached out in time to grab her arm, and then a warm, large hand wrapped around her waist, steadying her in one motion.
Xue Youli’s heart was still pounding from the scare. The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself face to face with a pair of unfathomably deep peach-blossom eyes.
The man’s pupils were on the lighter side, and his thick eyelashes were even longer than a woman’s. Just those peach-blossom eyes, like a pool of spring water, were enough to make anyone drown in them.
Paired with his superior brow bone, thick eyebrows, and high nose bridge, he was so handsome it was almost a crime against both gods and men.
[Name: Murong Che, 21 years old, Emperor of Jiuzhou Guo, frail and sickly, suffers from gynophobia, allergic to women.]
Pfft!
When she saw the last five characters on the Identity Card, Xue Youli almost couldn’t hold back her laughter.
This was the first time she’d seen the “allergic to women” setting outside of a CEO romance novel. As expected of the novel written by her dear best friend—so melodramatic!
[Ding!]
The Book of Heavenly Secrets appeared: [Plot triggered. Detected a shocking secret about the Emperor—Murong Che is still a virgin!]
Xue Youli looked at the little child in her arms and immediately realized a very serious problem: [Wait, if Murong Che is still an innocent young man, then did his daughter pop out of a stone or something?]
Murong Che lowered his gaze, glancing at the two figures—one big, one small—in his arms. Their eyes were wide round, their lingering fear written identically on their faces.
He parted his thin lips, about to speak, when at that very moment!
A clear, sweet female voice tinged with shock rang out beside his ear.
[What? Princess Changle isn’t the Emperor’s biological daughter? Consort Rong is that bold? She actually dared to cuckold the Emperor?]
[Whoa! Consort Rong was already pregnant before she married the Emperor? So, Consort Rong and her daughter are actually just a shield the Emperor keeps in the palace?]
Who?
Who was speaking?
When Murong Che heard this voice casually reveal the secret he had hidden for years, a storm of shock surged through his heart.
He stood there stiffly, maintaining his posture of holding Xue Youli, while his peripheral vision discreetly swept the surroundings.
There was only him and the two figures—one big, one small—in his arms. Could the voice be coming from the woman holding Xi’er?
Not sure. Let’s listen again!
Xue Youli remained reclined in the man’s arm, gazing at Murong Che’s stunningly handsome face, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: [Tsk tsk tsk… What a pity! The Emperor may be good-looking, but he’s a short-lived man who won’t live past twenty-five!]
This time, Murong Che was finally certain—the voice was coming from the woman in his arms!
But this woman clearly hadn’t opened her mouth—how could he hear her voice?
Moreover, no third person knew that he couldn’t touch women, nor that Consort Rong had been pregnant when she married him. How could she possibly know?
Murong Che’s hands, clasped behind his back, tightened bit by bit, murderous intent surging in his eyes.