“What is your name? Which family are you from?” County Commander Duanmin walked over and sat down, though her eyes remained fixed on Shen Ying.
She seemed intent on gleaning something from her face.
“She is my mother.”
Sensing County Commander Duanmin’s dislike toward Shen Ying, the little Crown Prince immediately stepped up to protect her.
The more the little Crown Prince acted this way, the less County Commander Duanmin liked Shen Ying. She motioned to the little Crown Prince, “Yun’er, come over to Aunt first.”
Duanmin only worried that this woman was intentionally relying on her face—which was identical to Empress Chunzhao’s—to cozy up to His Highness the Crown Prince.
“No.” The little Crown Prince wrapped his arms around Shen Ying’s arm, entirely unwilling to go over.
Seeing that Shen Ying could not be relied upon and County Commander Duanmin was visibly angered, Eunuch Liu hurriedly stepped forward.
“In reply to the County Commander, this is Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen from His Majesty’s palace, the eldest daughter of Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices Shen Lian, named Shen Ying.”
“What is her name?” County Commander Duanmin asked in astonishment.
“Replying to the County Commander, Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen’s given name is Shen Ying.”
County Commander Duanmin looked at Shen Ying, then turned her gaze to Eunuch Liu. “The Ying as in the cherry-blossom tree?”
“Shen Ying? You are actually named Shen Ying?” County Commander Duanmin said incredulously.
“She has already entered the palace?” Seeing that County Commander Duanmin’s expression looked off, Pei Xiu frowned and inquired.
“Indeed,” Eunuch Liu replied.
He felt County Commander Duanmin was acting a bit strange, though it was not his place as a servant to pry into noble affairs anyway.
Pei Xiu first looked at County Commander Duanmin. “Is there any issue with this name?”
County Commander Duanmin’s face turned even uglier. “Sister-in-law’s given name was precisely Shen Ying.”
Now Pei Xiu was genuinely shocked. A woman whose appearance and given name were both identical to the deceased Empress Chunzhao had actually appeared in His Majesty’s inner palace.
With so many coincidences, no one would believe this was a mere accident.
County Commander Duanmin regarded Pei Lin like a biological brother; at the thought of someone exploiting the deceased Empress Chunzhao, her heart sneered endlessly.
The person behind this was truly bold.
She only wondered whose handiwork this was—was it one of her royal uncles, or someone else entirely?
However, she feared they had miscalculated—the reputation of her Sister-in-law…
County Commander Duanmin rubbed her forehead, feeling somewhat irritated inside. Empress Chunzhao’s poor temperament was something known throughout the court and common populace, yet for some reason, County Commander Duanmin always felt as though something was not quite right.
Indefinably, she felt that Sister-in-law was actually not as terrible as rumors claimed.
Silence reigned in the room for a long while before Pei Xiu, observing the several shifts in County Commander Duanmin’s expression, finally spoke up: “Since she has entered the inner palace, His Majesty has presumably seen her.”
County Commander Duanmin calmed down, casting her eyes onto Shen Ying’s face to size her up carefully. Whenever she looked at Shen Ying, she always felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
She consoled herself that it was likely because she looked like Sister-in-law.
She only wondered—since Royal Brother had already seen this woman, why had there been no reaction whatsoever?
Recalling those noble ladies who had entered the palace previously, all of them were currently Seventh-Rank Maidservants, and she had not heard of Royal Brother summoning anyone to attend his couch. In other words, Royal Brother had actually discerned the intentions of the person behind the scenes as well.
As for the Crown Prince’s closeness to this Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen, it was likely because the Crown Prince was still young and naturally felt some reliance toward a woman who looked like his own mother.
Thinking up to this point, County Commander Duanmin felt reassured.
Royal Brother had always been exceptionally sharp; since even he had taken no action, it was naturally inappropriate for her to meddle. Perhaps he wanted to trace through this woman to catch the person behind the scenes—that was not out of the question either.
Shen Ying had remained silent all along while the little Crown Prince stood beside her, but her gaze was resting on the pastries on the table.
It was not that she did not want to speak, but rather that she did not know what she should say. At this very moment, she was persistently summoning Jin Dou in her mind.
“Jin Dou, Jin Dou?”
Shen Ying currently had only one question, and only Jin Dou could answer it.
When the little Crown Prince called her “Mother,” she had naturally assumed the child was young and had mistaken her identity.
However, County Commander Duanmin was an adult, so the possibility of her mistaking the person was slim. Judging by County Commander Duanmin’s tone, the “Sister-in-law” she spoke of should be the little Crown Prince’s birth mother, and that woman was unexpectedly named Shen Ying as well.
She shared the exact same appearance as her and had the same name and surname.
Shen Ying bit her lower lip. “Jin Dou, give me an explanation. Just what is going on here?”
It was not strange for her to share a name and surname with the little Crown Prince’s birth mother—having identical names was hardly a rare occurrence. But sharing her name and looking identical—Shen Ying certainly had something to say about that.
She had looked in the mirror; her current appearance was her very own face.
Yet how could her face be identical to the little Crown Prince’s birth mother?
“Jin Dou, don’t even think about playing dead.”
Jin Dou was currently playing dead, sprawling itself flat there without moving an inch, as if it were truly dead.
Shen Ying’s repeated calls fell into Jin Dou’s ears like a death warrant.
This… this… It genuinely did not know how it should explain this issue to its host.
Tracing it back to its origin would require starting from an incident that occurred a very long time ago.
Jin Dou glanced at the progress bar—it simply lacked the energy to tell a story starting from that far back.
After some thought, it decided to handle the situation by playing dead.
“Damned Jin Dou, you just wait for me!”
Over on the other side, County Commander Duanmin ultimately withdrew her gaze from Shen Ying. After sitting for a brief moment with Pei Xiu and coaxing the little Crown Prince into a bit of conversation, she took her leave first.
Upon leaving, County Commander Duanmin could not resist turning her head back to glance at Shen Ying once more.
Once they had departed, the little Crown Prince came over to look at Shen Ying. “Mother, do you dislike Aunt Duanmin and Uncle?”
Shen Ying snapped back to reality, looking at the little Crown Prince in some surprise. Only then did she realize that because Jin Dou was ignoring her, her expression had involuntarily turned somewhat angry, causing the little Crown Prince to misunderstand.
She hurriedly reached out to knead her cheeks. “No such thing, I don’t dislike them.”
She had only met County Commander Duanmin and the Heir Apparent of Prince Qi for the very first time and was not acquainted with them, so how could she hold any grievances against them?
The one she held the biggest grievance against was Jin Dou—she felt Jin Dou had a huge problem.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen, the hour is no longer early; we ought to return,” Eunuch Liu spoke up.
At this moment, the way he looked at Shen Ying was somewhat strange as well.
He was, after all, someone from the palace. Although there were no women in the inner harem after His Majesty ascended the throne, Eunuch Liu was by no means lacking in sharp wits.
He had overheard the words spoken by County Commander Duanmin and the Heir Apparent of Prince Qi just now; he had never expected this Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen to bear the exact same appearance as the deceased Empress Chunzhao.
He too had only just learned of this matter.
This forced him to overthink: could this Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen have some ulterior motive in approaching the Crown Prince?
In the event that she tried to harm His Highness the Crown Prince…
Eunuch Liu broke into a cold sweat from fright.
No, absolutely not—he had to hurry and inform his master about this matter.
A woman who looked identical to the deceased Empress appearing in the inner palace—no one would ever believe this was a coincidence.
He even suspected that Shen Ying might not be a daughter of the Shen family at all; who knew where that Vice Minister of Imperial Sacrifices Shen Lian had managed to dig up such a woman.
Eunuch Liu used a handkerchief to wipe his forehead, secretly taking a breath. Taking advantage of the moment Shen Ying stood up, he imperceptibly separated her from the little Crown Prince, terrified that Shen Ying might suddenly make a move against the boy.
The little Crown Prince could not comprehend his earnest intentions at all, continually leaning toward Shen Ying’s side. Likely tired, once he got onto the carriage, he lay across Shen Ying’s lap and fell asleep.
Seeing this, Eunuch Liu immediately said, “His Highness the Crown Prince has fallen asleep; let this old servant hold him.”
Saying so, he reached out to carry the little Crown Prince, only for the child to wake up the moment he was touched. Unwilling to let Eunuch Liu hold him at all, he insisted that Shen Ying carry him.
“Oh, my little ancestor!”
Who in their right mind keeps leaning toward someone while knowing they hold ill intent?
Eunuch Liu was anxious as a flame, staring at Shen Ying all through the journey. He instinctively felt that this Seventh-Rank Maidservant Shen’s expression was truly odd—she kept staring blankly at a certain spot in the carriage, looking as if she were extremely angry, biting her lower lip one moment and pouting the next.
This, this, this… was clearly plotting something!
Shen Ying was unaware that her expressions had aroused Eunuch Liu’s suspicions; she felt she was truly about to be driven to death by anger at Jin Dou.
“Jin Dou, answer my question. Hurry up—you must give me an explanation today.”
Jin Dou folded its ears back, clearly intending to play dead to the very end.
“Fine, you’re still playing dead, right? Then I’ll go kill the tyrant right now and let your mission fail!”
“Go ahead!” Jin Dou said in a completely indifferent tone.
Shen Ying had not expected that Jin Dou was actually not afraid.
Although her history was poor, she knew that assassinating an emperor was a crime punishable by exterminating nine generations of one’s family. If she went to kill the Emperor, whether she succeeded or not, she herself would die.
Recalling how Jin Dou had acted completely indifferent whenever she tried to seek death previously, Shen Ying pondered for a moment and suddenly burst into a smile.
Eunuch Liu instantly perked up his spirits, his eyes staring fixedly at Shen Ying, resolving that if she dared to lay a hand on the little Crown Prince, he would risk his life against her.
Shen Ying did not notice Eunuch Liu. She looked toward Jin Dou and said, “I get it now, Jin Dou. From now on, I will stay far, far away from the tyrant. I won’t see him, and I certainly won’t complete this task of yours. I’ll just stall with you and see who outlasts whom.”
She still remembered that when Jin Dou first spoke to her, it urged her to go find the tyrant.
Just now, when Shen Ying said she was going to kill the tyrant, Jin Dou did not care in the slightest. In that case, she would do the exact opposite—she would not perform the task, nor would she approach the tyrant.
Jin Dou, which had still been playing dead moments ago, finally stopped playing dead.
Its eyes darted around slyly as it suddenly spoke to Shen Ying in a coaxing tone, “Host, don’t be like this~ Everything is open to discussion.”
“Don’t disgust me.”
Jin Dou let out two dry chuckles. “Actually, it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, but this matter is really a bit complex to explain.”
Shen Ying leaned against the carriage frame, holding the little Crown Prince as she said, “Oh, then go ahead and explain it to me in all its complexity.”
Jin Dou: “…”
“This… that… well, actually…”
While offering perfunctory words, Jin Dou’s mind raced rapidly. It only regretted not speaking up earlier; telling her now felt somewhat passive.
It actually wanted to confess, but if the host refused to believe it and genuinely threw in the towel, would it not have worked in vain for nothing?
Jin Dou decided it was better to tell a white lie.
“Actually, it goes like this: in order for the host to complete this mission more smoothly, we modified some settings. Since the tyrant’s wife was, after all, the person closest to him, we modified the appearance of his wife in the memories of everyone who remembers her into your appearance, Host. That’s why, in the eyes of others, you look identical to the tyrant’s deceased wife.”
“Is that true?”
“It’s true, it’s true! It’s absolutely true!” Jin Dou nodded without a moment’s hesitation.