Prime Minister Yun looked up and saw his daughter’s face deathly pale, on the verge of fainting.
“Si Si? Si Si!”
“What’s wrong with you?”
Yun Si was dazed and could hardly hear what her father was saying. It felt as if water had flooded her ears, and a layer of white mist clouded her vision.
Only when Prime Minister Yun took hold of Yun Si’s arm and helped her sit down in a chair did she manage a smile uglier than crying: “Father, your daughter is fine…”
Prime Minister Yun stared at Yun Si with concern: “Si Si, what exactly is wrong with you?”
Yun Si’s mind was in chaos. Her father must have noticed her unusual state, right? She should quickly come up with an excuse to cover it up, but at this moment, she couldn’t think of any.
Two words echoed repeatedly in her mind: Emperor… Emperor… How could it be the Emperor?!
Fortunately, Prime Minister Yun found an excuse for Yun Si himself.
“Si Si, were you frightened by the Emperor’s decree?”
“Don’t be afraid, Father will do his best to persuade the Emperor to withdraw the decree.”
“Even if the Emperor insists on issuing the decree, it has nothing to do with you. You were betrothed by the Empress Dowager’s decree. The Emperor will have to show some respect for the Empress Dowager…” Prime Minister Yun’s voice grew weaker and weaker.
Yun Si trembled as she interrupted her father’s words: “Really?”
Could the Empress Dowager’s betrothal truly block the Emperor’s decree?
Did the current Emperor truly hold the Empress Dowager in any regard?
Prime Minister Yun also fell silent.
“In any case, Father will not let you enter the palace!” After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Yun declared resolutely.
Yun Si looked at her father, knowing that he had already made up his mind. Even if it meant deceiving the Emperor, even if it meant defying the decree… her father would not let her enter such a den of tigers and dragons.
Yun Si’s eyes reddened, nearly bringing her to tears.
In some small matters, her father was not a perfect parent, but his heart to protect her was genuine.
But Father… did not know everything.
From her father’s perspective, he believed the Emperor’s decree to select consorts was just another senseless and absurd act!
Yun Si merely happened to meet the Emperor’s criteria for selecting consorts. Among the countless young women summoned, the Emperor might not necessarily choose Yun Si.
But Yun Si herself knew… if, if the man in her dream was truly the Emperor, then the Emperor’s decree to select consorts was issued specifically for her!
The person the Emperor was searching for was her!
The risks her father would bear in these two scenarios were entirely different!
If it were the former, her father, as the Prime Minister, concealing the fact that his daughter had a red mole on her waist, the Emperor would likely forgive him.
But now, the person the Emperor was searching for was her. If her father concealed this matter and one day the Emperor discovered it, she would implicate her father—no… she would implicate the entire family!
Yun Si parted her lips lightly, wanting to tell her father everything. But she couldn’t even bring herself to speak of it to her mother, let alone utter a single word to her father!
She and the Emperor were supposed to be complete strangers. How could she explain that the Emperor knew about the red mole on her waist?
In the end, Yun Si opened her mouth several times but couldn’t utter a single word.
Amid her father’s comforting words, she left his study in a daze. Only after returning to Drifting Cloud Garden and a long while later did her mind gradually clear a little.
The Emperor… if the man in her dream was the Emperor, it indeed made sense.
Cloud Brocade was a tribute item. Apart from the households that received it as a reward, the Emperor naturally had it himself.
The same went for the hot spring bath—there was a hot spring bath in the palace.
And the Emperor’s age, stature, calligraphy…
The Emperor is twenty-four this year, with an extraordinary physique from years of martial arts training, and his calligraphy has been practiced under masters since childhood…
Every clue Yun Si obtained in her dream matched the Emperor.
That the man in her dream was the Emperor was almost certain.
But Yun Si preferred absolute certainty in everything she did.
Perhaps she was unwilling to believe that the man in her dream was the Emperor. In any case, she needed to see the Emperor with her own eyes to be sure!
“Sigh…”
Yun Si let out a long sigh, leaning back on the chaise longue as if all her bones had been drained.
If the man in her dream was the Emperor… that would be too difficult to handle…
Yun Si had never considered this possibility. As the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor, her status was noble. Although she had guessed in her dream that the man was of high status, Yun Si thought his position was at most equal to her own.
Once she found that man, there would always be a way to end those dreams.
But if it was the Emperor… if it was the Emperor, what could she do even if she found him?
“Miss, are you worried about the Chancellor?” Jin Ming asked, seeing Yun Si sigh.
Yun Si waved her hand, not wanting to discuss it with her maid. The worries in her heart were something she could share with no one.
Jin Ming went to the kitchen and brought back a plate of almond tofu, placing it beside Yun Si.
Seeing it, Yun Si exclaimed in surprise, “Why did the kitchen make this today?”
Almond tofu wasn’t actually tofu; it was made from ground sweet almonds, shaped like tofu but far more delicious. However, this dessert was quite labor-intensive to prepare.
Yun Si took a few bites—sweet, cool, tender, and smooth—and her mood improved considerably, feeling more energetic.
Gripping the small silver spoon tightly in her hand, she made up her mind—
She would see the Emperor in person!
Although she couldn’t see his face clearly, she could recognize the man in her dream by his stature and presence. She needed to see for herself whether the man in her dream was truly the Emperor!
But how could she see the Emperor in person?
Although Yun Si was the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor, she had never had the opportunity to meet the Emperor.
Nor could she meet the Emperor through an official audience—she couldn’t let the Emperor see her!
She could only sneak a look at the Emperor!
Yun Si waited patiently, and soon, an opportunity arose.
The Emperor was going on an autumn hunt.
With the Emperor leaving the palace, it would be much easier for her to sneak a glimpse of him. Moreover, the Emperor would be taking many officials on this autumn hunt, including Yun Si’s father.
Since her father would be accompanying the Emperor on the hunt, Yun Si decided to have her father secretly take her along!
Of course, no women were allowed on the autumn hunt, so she couldn’t go as the Chancellor’s daughter.
After some thought, Yun Si decided to disguise herself as a man, pretending to be her father’s guard or servant.
But given her father’s conservative nature, if she asked him directly, he would certainly refuse.
Yun Si knew her idea was indeed unconventional and not something a proper young lady from a noble family should do.
But Yun Si also knew that every time she felt wronged, her father became exceptionally lenient with her. Whatever compensation she asked for, he would agree.
Yun Si rested her chin on her hand, pondering. What kind of grievance could she suffer?
In this Chancellor’s Mansion, who would dare to wrong her?
Frowning, Yun Si thought for the first time that her mother having complete control over the Chancellor’s Mansion wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Concubine Qiao, Yun Ying, and Yun Cheng—who used to dare cause trouble for Yun Si—had long been subdued and tamed…
However, Yun Si had a sudden inspiration—the hearts of those three were crooked. They didn’t dare take the initiative to act, but if she were to go fishing, those three fish would surely take the bait.
“Yun Ying… it’ll be you!”
Yun Si chose the half-sister who had loved competing with her for things since childhood.
Despite the clear distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, whatever Yun Si, the legitimate daughter, had, Yun Ying, the illegitimate daughter, also wanted.
Her mother doted on Yun Si and had always loved buying her various accessories to dress her up. Whenever Yun Ying saw this, she would beg their father to give her the same.
Recently, Yun Si had received so many betrothal gifts, all filled with rare treasures—Yun Ying must be envious, right?
Yun Si quietly called Jin Ming over: “In a couple of days, when Yun Ying goes to pay respects to Mother, take the betrothal gifts to Mother’s courtyard and ask her to keep them for me…”
A few days later, when Yun Ying went to the main courtyard to pay her respects, she happened to run into Yun Si’s maids carrying boxes of betrothal gifts into the courtyard: “Madam, the young lady asks you to keep these for her for now.”
Madam Zheng asked curiously, “Why?”
Jin Ming deliberately spoke loud enough for Yun Ying to hear: “The young lady said that with so many gifts received recently, she truly can’t keep track of them all.”
“She’s afraid that if she keeps them herself, she might lose one or misplace one without even noticing.”
“It’s better to let Madam keep them for peace of mind.”
Madam Zheng shook her head with a smile: “If she can’t even manage such a small amount of things, how will she manage after marriage?”
“Never mind, since they’ve already been brought over, I’ll help her sort them out first.”
The dazzling, glittering betrothal gifts each caught Yun Ying’s eye, making it impossible for her to look away… every piece was a treasure Yun Ying had never seen before. She truly wanted to reach out and touch them.
After paying her respects, Yun Ying hurriedly left the main courtyard, not daring to let her legitimate mother see her longing.
On her way back from the main courtyard, passing through a small path with no one around, Yun Ying saw one of Yun Si’s maids carrying a small box of betrothal gifts toward the main courtyard when she was suddenly called away by another maid.
That small box of betrothal gifts was left unattended by the roadside.
Yun Ying walked over to look. At first, she truly only wanted to take a glance, but once she approached, her eyes were dazzled, and a phrase she had just heard suddenly popped into her mind—
“Lose one or misplace one, without even noticing.”
By the time Yun Ying regained her senses, she had already reached out and hidden the less conspicuous string of tourmaline bracelets from the box in her sleeve.