Male charm is truly beguiling; how wonderful it would be to have a handsome man to keep one company on a lonely night!
One would have to fight tooth and nail for it, wouldn’t one? Especially when this man belonged to everyone—if you saw him, you had a share.
But this man was only one person, and they didn’t have the custom of sharing here…
There are thirty days in a month, yet quite a few concubines; one could only fight. Whichever one won, the Emperor would spend more time with her.
For the sake of getting a taste of the meat, everyone was willing to risk it all!
The system listened to her mental explanation throughout; if it had a physical form, it would probably be dying of embarrassment…
“Host, please correct your thinking and clear your mind of unhealthy thoughts! The Emperor is looking at you!”
Looking at me?
Why look at me? Her bowing motion should be quite standard, right? Yanwan was a bit surprised, and only when she heard the Emperor tell her to rise did she lift her eyes to look.
Who would have thought she would happen to crash right into the Emperor’s gaze? Yanwan pretended to lower her head in panic, but she wasn’t nervous in the slightest inside, continuing to chat with the system.
“The Emperor noticed me. See? If we’re talking about unhealthy thoughts, no one can top this Emperor. Some people are merely gold-plated on the outside, understand?”
The system was speechless…
She really had the nerve to talk about others. The Emperor was attracted by her beauty, yet Yanwan was out there flirting with anyone, not even sparing the eunuchs!
Yanwan kept her head down, failing to notice the Emperor’s probing gaze.
The Emperor had not expected that the beauty he had glimpsed once outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation would have arrived at Ruyi’s palace.
Looking at her palace maid’s uniform, was she actually Ruyi’s chief maid?
That was strange. With such outstanding looks, Ruyi actually dared to keep her by her side.
Could it be that the incident with A’ruo hadn’t taught Ruyi a lesson?
No, that wasn’t it. Ruyi’s resentment toward A’ruo was obvious. Perhaps Ruyi felt hurt by him and, knowing she was isolated and weak in this palace, now wanted to recommend someone to him.
Thinking of this, a dark shade flashed in the Emperor’s eyes, and his gaze toward Yanwan grew meaningful.
After the Emperor left with his entourage, Suixin and Yanwan walked into the hall together.
They saw Ruyi with a hollow expression, leaning crookedly against the backrest of the daybed. Yanwan couldn’t help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
The posture was far too “beautiful.” Could she please straighten that back up? Anyone who didn’t know better would think Ruyi had suffered some kind of torment. If it weren’t for her clothing being fastened so neatly, this blame would once again have been pinned on the Emperor.
Seeing Ruyi in such a state after meeting the Emperor, Suixin couldn’t help but walk to her side, saying with heartache:
“My Lady, let this servant go and fetch your meal. The poison you were subjected to last time hasn’t fully healed; you must be careful and nourish your health.”
She had assumed that the Emperor and Ruyi would finally be reconciled as they once were, but she hadn’t expected the Emperor to leave the Yi Kun Palace without even staying for dinner.
Ruyi felt gloomy inside, yet she didn’t want to show any unbecoming appearance before the servants, so she forced a smile and nodded in agreement.
The next day, Noble Lady Hai, despite being pregnant, was the first concubine to come and visit Ruyi.
Ruyi and Hailan sat at the rosewood table talking. The two shared a deep affection, and having finally met again, they truly had endless things to say.
Yanwan followed Suixin to serve tea and snacks to the two of them. Upon learning that she was Ling Yunche’s cousin, Noble Lady Hai’s attitude was quite gentle.
“What a refined-looking girl. Older Sister, with such a pretty girl by your side, you’ll surely be able to eat a few more bowls of rice.”
A familiar, composed smile remained on Ruyi’s face as she nodded in agreement, turning her head to whisper intimate words to Hailan.
Hailan’s elegant face was filled with gentleness. Yanwan pretended to respond innocently, while inside, she was already thinking of ways to get rid of her!
This woman was Ruyi’s most loyal “lickspittle.” She could go crazy for Ruyi at any moment; even her own flesh and blood weren’t as important as Ruyi.
The original body’s misfortune had also been initiated by this Noble Lady Hai.
Didn’t these harem women always talk about “an eye for an eye”? Since she had taken on the identity of Wei Yanwan, she had to get revenge for her!
Glancing at Hailan’s bulging belly, a hint of a smile emerged in the depths of Yanwan’s eyes. Childbirth was a good opportunity. Dying from exhaustion during labor was a common tactic in the harem.
Hailan was merely a Noble Lady; dead was dead. Besides Ruyi, who would bother to investigate further?
The system listened silently to Yanwan’s malicious plan and reminded her:
“You could use Hailan’s death to frame Noble Lady Jia. In any case, we know that Noble Lady Jia is the true culprit behind the cinnabar case. Use this information gap to expose the evil deeds done by Noble Lady Jia. Even if the Emperor, out of consideration for the Yushi clan, doesn’t punish her too severely, he would likely never favor such a ruthless woman ever again.”
In this way, the two biggest obstacles would disappear together, satisfying the revenge for the original body while avoiding a future confrontation with these two crazy women.
If Noble Lady Jia lost favor, there were plenty of ways to torment someone in this palace.
Yanwan curled her lips upward, swept a glance at Hailan’s gentle face, and praised the system in her heart.
“That’s the logic. I still need to get to know the Emperor better. I always feel that as the ruler of a nation, he won’t be that simple. If the Emperor maintains strict control over the harem, acting rashly will surely get me caught. My goal is still to win the Emperor’s heart. As for these women, I’ll take action whenever there’s an opportunity.”
In this palace, besides having methods, one must also be ruthless. Anyway, these women were all potential rivals.
If you don’t harm others, they will come to harm you. Rather than being passive, it’s better to strike first.
Yanwan was a modern person, having been raised from childhood under her parents’ high-pressure “chicken-baby” education; the concepts of striving for the best and being number one were already etched into her bones.
Such concepts weren’t just reflected in her professional career; she had to be the winner in the game of love as well!
Glancing at the teacup on the table, Yanwan walked over to refill tea for Ruyi and Hailan. Carrying the teapot, she exchanged a word with Suixin and headed toward the small kitchen in the courtyard.
Seeing Yanwan leave, a worry emerged in Hailan’s eyes. She took Ruyi’s hand and asked in a low voice:
“This girl’s appearance is extraordinary. Is it convenient for Older Sister to keep her in the Yi Kun Palace? If Older Sister wants to repay a kindness, you could also send this girl to my place; I can help Older Sister take care of her.”
Faced with Hailan’s concerned gaze, Ruyi frowned instead, her slender eyebrows arching with visible displeasure.
“Since you know I am repaying a kindness, sending her to your side would make me fail to keep my word to others. Moreover, Yanwan is just a young girl. Hailan, you don’t need to overthink it.”
This Hailan really worried for nothing. Yanwan had only been by her side for a single day, and she really had a way of saying anything.
Furthermore, she had confidence in the Emperor, and Yanwan was still young. With a brother like Ling Yunche, how bad could her character be?
Seeing Ruyi’s displeasure, Hailan said no more. She had merely been worried that the A’ruo incident might happen again. Since her older sister knew what she was doing, she wouldn’t annoy her anymore.
The two chatted, asking each other about the poisoning incident. After their confession, knowing that Hailan had ingested cinnabar to save her, Ruyi was moved to tears, and the two tightly clasped each other’s hands.
Their sisterhood was deep, yet neither of them noticed the furious glare in Suixin’s eyes or the coldness gradually appearing on her face.
Jiang Yubin had only worked for Consort Xian for her sake, yet they had actually kept it from her and had Jiang Yubin procure cinnabar for the two of them.
Noble Lady Hai had dared to ingest poison while still pregnant! If the Emperor were to investigate and track it back to Jiang Yubin, how could he possibly survive!
“You hid away; won’t this Noble Lady Hai take the opportunity to speak ill of you? You shouldn’t have given her the chance.”
Yanwan smiled slightly, walked into the small kitchen with the teapot, and waited for the menial maid to boil the water.
She casually grabbed a handful of red dates from beside the stove, leaned against the red-wood cabinet to the side, and bit into a date while explaining to the system:
“I’ve only been by Ruyi’s side for less than two days; saying anything would only make her look petty. Why bother bickering with a dead woman? I’ll go find Jinzhong later and plot it out; I’ll take her life when Noble Lady Hai goes into labor!”
Yanwan’s delicate and beautiful face bore a sweet smile. She was truly a flower-like girl, yet her heart was calculating how to take a life.
She wasn’t a delicate flower at all; she was clearly a carnivorous plant.
The system appreciated her ruthlessness.
They had come to the palace to complete their mission and live the good life of being above all others.
They hadn’t come here because they had nothing better to do, only to find themselves some sisters from different mothers in this palace!
For people like Hailan, she truly didn’t know what they were living for—they were simply anti-human.