Carriages entering the palace were in an endless stream, and with a slight lapse of attention, they would become stuck.
The Ling family, a minor official of the fifth rank, had just barely met the threshold for palace entry. After yielding to several carriages in succession, they now found themselves stuck at the back, unable to move forward—truly pitiful.
The eldest daughter, Ling Hua, dejectedly lowered the carriage curtain, her heart seething with anger. She wanted to find someone to vent her frustrations on and scanned the carriage.
The other young ladies in the carriage averted their gazes, not daring to provoke the biological daughter of the legitimate wife, each hoping misfortune would not befall them.
When Third Miss Ling Xin felt Ling Hua’s gaze fall upon her, she frowned slightly, knowing it was the jade hairpin their father had gifted her two days ago that had caught Ling Hua’s eye. It was time to face this.
In the past, she might have let it slide, perhaps even humbled herself to avoid trouble. But today was an important day, and she absolutely could not afford any mishaps!
She glanced apologetically at her sixth sister in the corner of the carriage.
Ling Xiao responded with a bright smile. The young girl’s skin was as fair as snow, her eyes like almond pits, and she looked obediently at her sister. Even at such a tender age, hints of future beauty were already visible.
Yet, Ling Xin felt as if she had encountered a large carnivorous animal—a sudden chill ran through her body, and she quickly averted her gaze, casually dragging another young lady into the conversation as a distraction.
“Tsk, at least she knows her place. Otherwise, if she provoked a monster like you, one day she might end up as nothing but a bloody pulp in her bed in the middle of the night.”
Ling Xiao remained completely unfazed by the System’s sarcastic remarks.
Yeah, right!
She tightened her grip on the jade ball in her hand, satisfied to hear a faint wail of agony, and only then did she feel at ease.
“A prisoner should learn to behave.”
If not for her miscalculation—the System, as it claimed, had some anti-theft measures that prevented assimilation—Ling Xiao wouldn’t have had to keep this eyesore around.
The System outwardly submitted but inwardly seethed with hatred.
Who would have thought that after hunting geese all day, one would eventually be pecked by a goose? It had capsized in a single day.
Seeing Ling Xiao begin to examine the System’s welcome gift package, it couldn’t resist being snide:
“This is a palace intrigue setting. The gifts are all related skills and props, and they won’t be of much use to you.”
Ling Xiao glanced at it and softly uttered a single sentence: “Who said this is a palace intrigue setting?”
As she spoke, her hands moved swiftly, quickly selecting two skills that satisfied her.
The System, about to retort, saw her actions and thought it had found a weakness, mocking:
“You actually chose ‘Silken Tresses Like a Waterfall’ and ‘Light as a Swallow’? What use does a little girl with two buns on her head have for these?”
Indeed, young girls in Great Jin generally did not grow their hair long. Although Ling Xiao’s current body was old enough to grow her hair, she had only just started, barely able to tie it into two small buns.
“What do you know?” Ling Xiao wore an expression of having found a treasure and eagerly used the skill orbs.
The System was so furious it felt as if it were about to explode—if it had such a thing.
“I’ll just watch you make a mess of things!” The System decided to remain silent.
It was waiting for the mission to be completed. Once this monster was teleported back to the God-Lord Space, it would definitely lodge a proper complaint!
Ling Xiao felt the changes in her body and understood that the skill orbs had taken effect.
She smiled happily—excellent. Her chances of completing that so-called mission had just increased.
That’s right, Ling Xiao had to complete the mission, and she had to do it perfectly.
“You eat whose rice, you hold whose bowl.” Now at her lowest point, Ling Xiao had no choice but to muster her spirits and tackle the mission.
She wasn’t particularly skilled at strategies like seduction, but that was fine.
As the saying goes, when you’re not good at something, you just need to bring it into your own area of expertise.
She reached out, opened the mission panel, and selected “Accept Mission.”
Li Yue, who was in the midst of ancestral worship, suddenly shuddered…
Third Miss Ling Xin, while comforting the sisters who had been vented upon by Ling Hua, inadvertently noticed that Sixth Sister’s bun had come slightly loose.
It seemed… her hair was too long and hadn’t been tucked in properly.
Pursing her lips, Ling Xin was about to remind her when, from the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a stray strand of hair visibly twitching!
Like a small snake, the hair twisted and writhed as if ready to devour someone.
Though it soon settled down, almost making one think it was an illusion.
But Ling Xin would never doubt her own eyes—she hadn’t been mistaken!
Her mother had once been an embroideress from Jiangnan, whose Su embroidery had once caused a sensation.
For an embroideress, the most important thing is their eyes. Aunt Su took great care in preserving her eyesight, and Ling Xin had been protected in the same way since childhood, leaving her with exceptionally sharp vision.
“Third Sister, what’s wrong?”
The young lady who had been humiliated by Ling Hua had been sobbing, only daring to cry after Ling Hua grew impatient and left for her mother’s carriage.
Now, sensing the sister beside her trembling as if in extreme fear, she turned and asked curiously.
“It’s… nothing, just a bit cold.”
No one knew how terrified Ling Xin was at that moment, her thoughts in disarray.
Had Sixth Sister been possessed by a demon, or had she long been killed?
If she had been killed, had a monster skinned Sixth Sister and draped itself in her skin, disguising itself as a daughter of the Ling family to board this carriage?
Ling Xin faintly suspected the latter possibility.
Sixth Sister was so beautiful… Her eyes darkened for a moment.
She had heard that outstanding and beautiful humans were particularly favored by demons. Presumably, demons preferred to feast on them more than ordinary people.
And with this palace visit, how many high-ranking officials and nobles would be present? Even the Emperor would attend. What did this demon intend to do?
Ling Xin dared not think further.
Regardless, Ling Xin wanted to survive. She lowered her head, not daring to look toward the corner of the carriage, and tried her best to conceal her presence.
Who would have thought that this fool beside her would ask such a question? She felt a gaze from the corner of the carriage fall upon her.
Mocking, probing, malicious—Ling Xin raised her head slightly and glanced quickly.
The next moment, as if stung by a wasp, she awkwardly fumbled for an excuse. The first word she uttered was painfully strained, but fortunately, she managed to speak the full sentence.
“Host, this person seems to have noticed something.”
System 18888, with its 360-degree, unobstructed field of vision, had naturally noticed Ling Xin’s unusual behavior. It reminded Ling Xiao with ill intent, not caring in the slightest what would happen to Ling Xin afterward.
Ling Xiao glanced with amusement at her cheap sister, watching her shrink in fear. A faint smile curled on her pink-white face. “So what if she noticed? It’s not like I’ll eat her.”
The barely perceptible regret in her words was caught by the System, which snorted with great force.
No matter how much she tried to conceal it, 18888 could still smell the aura of gloom, blood, and malice emanating from her!
Who knew how many people she had killed? As if anyone would believe her words.
Wait! The System thought bitterly, I used to be that kind of fool.
Blindly mistaking a great white shark for a little white rabbit.
Ling Xiao soothingly coaxed the System, “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely complete the mission properly.”
As dusk approached, the palace gates finally opened. The ancestral worship had concluded, and the empire’s most luxurious and grand palace banquet was about to begin!