Song Meiren found the food box utterly irritating. Though she tried to ignore it, she couldn’t hold back a cold sneer. “You don’t even have a proper title yet, and you’re already acting so precious! Having the Imperial Kitchen deliver a late-night snack in the dead of night—who are you putting on such a frivolous show for!”
The Emperor had never ordered anyone to send her a late-night snack!
Song Meiren was so consumed by jealousy and resentment that she felt like vomiting blood.
Xu Lanshan replied softly, “Meiren, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t request a late-night snack. I missed dinner, and the Emperor kindly granted me some food.”
Song Meiren froze, then shot a fierce glare at Su Ying.
Su Ying trembled, guiltily averting her gaze.
“If Meiren has no further instructions, I’ll take my leave,” Xu Lanshan added. In response, Song Meiren snorted disdainfully. Xu Lanshan curtsied, picked up the food box, and withdrew to her own room.
She was absolutely starving!
In the side hall, Song Meiren suddenly stood up and stormed over to Su Ying like a whirlwind. Raising her hand, she slapped Su Ying twice across the face—smack! smack!—causing Su Ying to cry out in pain and collapse to the floor, clutching her face and trembling.
Still unsatisfied, Song Meiren kicked her twice and scolded, “Useless thing!”
Su Ying’s face turned pale. Though Song Meiren’s words seemed abrupt, Su Ying understood perfectly.
All these days of tormenting Lanshan had been done with Song Meiren’s knowledge and tacit approval; otherwise, Su Ying would never have dared to go so far.
Song Meiren was blaming her for failing to finish Lanshan off, allowing her to seize an opportunity to curry favor with the Emperor…
But Su Ying felt deeply wronged.
While others hadn’t noticed Lanshan’s beauty, Su Ying had long been aware and secretly jealous. Lanshan was gentle-tempered, timid, and never dressed to impress, always avoiding the spotlight—which made her easy to overlook. Yet this never put Su Ying at ease.
She constantly feared that one day Lanshan’s beauty would be discovered, overshadowing her own.
Who could have imagined that day would come so suddenly, with the Emperor himself praising her!
Fortunately, this had also angered Song Meiren. Seizing the chance, Su Ying had been eager to destroy Lanshan completely. She truly hadn’t held back at all.
Su Ying didn’t think she had done anything wrong. The palace was precisely such a place—if you didn’t fight, you’d be trampled underfoot. Especially among the maids and eunuchs; if you died, you died. You’d be carried out silently, without even a ripple.
Yet despite all this, not only had Lanshan survived, she had even climbed to a higher branch!
“Meiren! It’s all my fault for being too soft-hearted. I never imagined that wretched maid would be so cunning…” Su Ying knelt on the floor, weeping and pleading, mixing confession with further provocation. “Meiren, that wretched maid was so defiant today—the moment she gains a little favor, she becomes arrogant and doesn’t even regard you anymore! If… if she gains the Emperor’s favor, she’s sure to seek revenge against you! You are kind and pure-hearted, while she is sinister and scheming. This… this—”
Song Meiren slumped onto the couch, disheartened and pale. Clutching her chest in anguish, she groaned softly and muttered curses, “Wretched maid… wretched maid…”
As she cursed, her eyes gradually reddened. Gritting her teeth, she whispered, “If the Emperor has taken a liking to her, what can I possibly do…”
A flicker of malice passed through Su Ying's eyes as she immediately said, "Meiren, that lowly maid is getting carried away with her success, wandering around Taiye Chi on her own. If she were to slip and fall into the water, it would be her own misfortune and no one else's fault. Once she's gone, even if the Emperor is angry, it will only be for a moment. After a while, how could he possibly remember her?"
Song Meiren's heart stirred.
Seeing this, Su Ying quickly added fuel to the fire, "Meiren, tonight might be our last chance. Who knows if tomorrow the Emperor will…"
But Song Meiren weakly waved her hand, "Forget it…"
Su Ying was taken aback and urged anxiously, "Meiren—"
"Shut up!" Song Meiren glared at her hatefully, "If it weren't for your incompetence, would there be so much trouble? How dare you suggest such reckless ideas! Get out! Get out of my sight, you useless thing!"
Su Ying was startled. Seeing that Song Meiren was truly furious, she dared not say another word and hurriedly replied, "Yes," before slinking away in disgrace.
Song Meiren wept silently, filled with pain and despair.
That little wretch Su Ying made it sound so easy, but how could it possibly be?
Eunuch Dong had personally escorted that lowly maid back, and his words, though seemingly an explanation, were actually a warning. If that maid were to die, it would be like slapping the Emperor in the face and deliberately opposing him. She would never be able to win the Emperor's favor again.
The Emperor certainly didn't lack for beauties!
Besides, Yongchun Palace was quite far from Taiye Chi. How could Su Ying and Xiao Songzi alone manage to dispose of a body in the lake? If they were discovered by the patrolling Imperial Forest Army, she would end up in the Cold Palace! And apart from them, she had no one else she could use.
Although she had a bad temper toward her subordinates, she wasn't foolish.
Eunuch Dong had made things so clear that, no matter how unwilling she was, she had to swallow her anger.
Perhaps, perhaps the Emperor would feel guilty and show her some pity because of this? Yes, he would, he definitely would. Wouldn't that be her opportunity then? She must seize it firmly…
Song Meiren sneered bitterly, "This palace has never lacked young, fresh beauties. You, a lowly palace maid, even if you fly up a branch, you'll never become a phoenix! I'll watch closely to see how long you can stay proud. When the time comes… hmph!"
When the time came, wouldn't she be able to deal with her however she pleased?
Yes, she had been bewitched earlier. Why hadn't she thought of this before?
Song Meiren sneered twice more, finally calming down somewhat.
In her room, Xu Lanshan had finally satisfied her hunger.
She still craved more.
The food prepared with such care by the Imperial Kitchen was truly delicious—small wontons filled with plump shrimp, fragrant and savory mushroom and shredded chicken congee, as well as several delicate pastries like lotus puff, peach crisp, yam cake, and almond paste. The portions were just right, allowing her to eat to her heart's content.
After dinner, she tidied up the food box and began calling for the System.
"System!"
"Darling!" the System's voice chimed in cheerfully and excitedly. Xu Lanshan could almost feel it smiling. "Darling, you're amazing! You completed the task perfectly!"
Who doesn't love praise? Xu Lanshan couldn't help but smile. "Well, it was alright. By the way, what about the reward?"
If it weren't for the reward, wouldn't it be much nicer to just go to sleep early on such a late night? Tonight, she had exhausted countless brain cells trying to win over the emperor, and later had to deal with Song Meiren and her maid, leaving her utterly worn out.
The System chuckled cheerfully, completely unfazed by any hint of disdain, and warmly replied, "Yes, yes! Just close your eyes, dear, and silently think about it, and you'll be able to see it."
"Ah, good, good!"
Xu Lanshan immediately grew excited, eager to see what treasures awaited her.
Following the System's guidance, she closed her eyes, and a large screen instantly appeared in her mind. The screen clearly displayed various metrics of her body, such as hair quality, skin texture, eyes, nose, stamina, flexibility, hearing, and more. Each metric was accompanied by a percentage value and a corresponding progress bar.