The Empress glanced sideways at her pillow companion, whose eyes were practically glowing with undisguised lust, and felt a quiet wave of contempt. The Emperor was already past forty, and his eldest daughter was old enough to have children of her own. With three thousand beauties filling his inner court, he still couldn’t spare even a young girl of this age.
It truly proved the old saying: a man only behaves when he’s planted six feet under.
Baili Youran knitted her brows slightly, a flicker of disgust welling up within her toward this ruler of Daqing, who was older than her own father.
Though framed as an artistic display of song and dance, performances of this nature were invariably a silent contest of strength between two nations.
As the primary matriarch of the realm, the Empress might harbor her private grievances, but before foreign envoys, she maintained an impeccable air of grace and poise. Wearing a warm smile, she offered fulsome praise: “I have long heard that the women of Southern Frontier are gifted in dance. To witness such breathtaking grace today is truly humbling; it not only reflects the unique cultural charm of your esteemed nation, but also allows us to experience the elegance and beauty of Southern Frontier first-hand.”
The assembled ministers nodded in eager agreement. As expected of the Empress, with a single polished remark, she made the Emperor’s unseemly, lust-driven fixation look entirely trivial by comparison.
Hearing the chorus of flattery, Baili Youran swelled with pride.
A calculating glint flashed across her eyes as she cast a disdainful, challenging glance toward the opposite female seating section. Her clear, melodious voice carried a distinct edge of provocative coquetting: “I hear that the Prime Minister’s daughter, Miss Su Jinyao, is brilliantly accomplished in song, dance, chess, and calligraphy, widely celebrated as the foremost talented maiden of the capital. I intend to challenge her using the very same Dance of Surpassing Grace I just performed.” With that, she lifted her chin in an expression of haughty defiance.
Su Jinyao’s phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of annoyance flashing through her gaze, though she smoothed away the emotion almost instantly.
Stepping gracefully to the center of the hall, she offered a poised, formal curtsy to the Emperor and Empress before turning her profile toward Baili Youran across the lower seating tier. “Since the Princess is so graciously inclined, this subject’s daughter would be remiss to refuse. However, since this is a challenge, what shall be the penalty for defeat, and what the reward for victory?”
The declaration instantly drew the riveted attention of every guest in the hall.
Gu Ci’s hand froze mid-motion around his teacup. The plot was aligning with the original text once more. Over the past half-year spent alongside Jun Yichen, aside from the Empress’s banquet introducing Su Jinyao, virtually every other narrative arc had deviated from the novel. He had naively assumed that his deliberate interference had permanently altered the trajectory of the story.
Yet here it was, snapping right back into alignment. What on earth was going on?
“System, system.”
Clearing away all distractions from his mind, Gu Ci attempted to establish mental communication with the system.
“Host, you called?” Having spent months recuperating, the system had fully restored its functional capacity.
Without hesitation, Gu Ci blurted out the puzzle that had just unfolded before him.
After listening quietly, the system paused for a fraction of a second. “Host, the established timeline of this world cannot be fundamentally overwritten. In other words, so long as an event does not directly intersect with the villain or your own personal trajectory, the world line will naturally default to converging with the original plot.”
Gu Ci let out a soft sigh of relief. So that was how it worked; he had briefly feared his months of effort had been entirely in vain.
Turning his gaze back toward the center of the hall, he realized that, true to her role as the female lead, Su Jinyao was destined to captivate Baili Mingzong, the very man designated as a secondary male lead.
At that exact moment, Baili Mingzong gazed at the radiant, blooming young maiden standing in the hall, his eyes darkening with intense fascination. He had never imagined that the empire of Daqing would produce a woman possessing such resolute courage.
Baili Youran sprang to her feet, pointing an accusing finger at Su Jinyao in a surge of humiliation and rage. “You speak with far too much arrogance, Miss Su! If you lose, you shall kneel before me, offer an apology, and shout ‘Princess Youran is the most radiant of all’ three times aloud!” She shot a triumphant, gloating look across the floor.
“Very well. And if the Princess loses?”
Baili Mingzong stepped forward ahead of his sister, offering a warm smile. “Should Youran lose, she shall abide by every penalty she just stipulated. How does that sound to Miss Su?”
Su Jinyao raised her gaze, locking eyes directly with those deep, arresting black orbs. Averting her face quickly, she answered softly, “Since the Prince of Jin has spoken, this subject’s daughter complies.” With a formal curtsy, she withdrew to the inner chambers to change into appropriate attire.
Moments later, Su Jinyao re-emerged clad in a diaphanous pink gauze dance gown. The fabric drifted like gossamer clouds around her form, swaying fluidly with each step and lending her an ethereal, dreamlike aura.
As she moved into motion, her long skirts billowed like shifting strata of multicolored mist—a living, fluid tapestry.
Her performance transcended mere visual spectacle; it offered a profound soothing of the spirit. Within the fluid cadence of her motion, spectators felt as though they were being carried away into an untroubled realm of transcendent peace.
Unlike the bold, uninhibited exoticism of the Southern Frontier dance, Su Jinyao’s choreography radiated an inspiring, resilient grace that felt almost otherworldly.
As the final note echoed to a close, thunderous applause erupted across the hall. The Emperor, thoroughly delighted, bestowed a lavish array of precious treasures upon her.
Mortified by the outcome, Baili Youran slammed her palm against the table, preparing to launch into a tirade, only to be yanked abruptly back down by her uncle. The Prince of Jin cast a sharp, warning glare that instantly froze the princess in her tracks.
Startled by the severity in his eyes, Baili Youran shivered and meekly shrank back into her seat.
Baili Mingzong cupped his hands respectfully toward Su Jinyao, smiling warmly. “A bet is a bet. I shall ensure Youran honors her promise to Miss Su.”
With a mischievous sparkle in her eye, Su Jinyao demurred, “The Prince of Jin exaggerates. I was merely exchanging light banter with the Princess, so, let us waive the penalty.” Her parting smile carried a disarming, playful charm.
Clearly caught off guard by her magnanimity, Baili Mingzong stared for a heartbeat before his gaze softened into an amused, appreciative smile.
Gu Ci observed the exchange from afar, noting the unmistakable pull of attraction glowing in Baili Mingzong’s eyes, a testament to the irresistible, innate gravitational pull of the female protagonist’s halo over secondary male leads.
Yet, amidst the bustling merriment, two individuals remained distinctly detached from the festive atmosphere.
Crown Prince Jun Yixuan kept his eyes riveted exclusively upon Su Jinyao, an intense, possessive hunger burning quietly in his gaze, one that he took pains to conceal from the surrounding crowd.
Across the hall, another pair of eyes remained locked entirely upon a single figure.
Jun Yichen’s gaze followed Gu Ci without a flicker of distraction. He couldn’t shake the unsettling intuition that Gu Ci was behaving with unusual reservation today, maintaining a quiet distance entirely uncharacteristic of his typical, vibrant spontaneity. It left a faint, nagging unease gnawing at the edges of his mind.
It felt as though something vital was slowly slipping beyond his grasp.
Once the song and dance concluded, the Emperor, Empress, and imperial consorts retired from the hall, leaving the younger generation to mingle freely.
The atmosphere in the banquet chamber immediately grew relaxed as nobles rose from their seats to toast and converse with acquaintances.
Noticing Gu Ci sitting in solitary reflection, the Fourth Princess smoothed down her skirts and sauntered over with a triumphant, self-assured smirk. “Lord Gu, when I offered you a toast at the plum blossom banquet the other day, you were abruptly cut off by that insufferable seventh royal brother of mine. Allow this princess to make amends with a proper cup today.” With that, she reached unceremoniously for a wine flask and poured a full goblet before him.
Strictly speaking, the imperial daughter known in common parlance as the Fourth Princess was actually the eighth offspring of the Emperor, though holding the fourth rank among princesses.
Gu Ci’s gaze darkened slightly, his internal irritation reaching a boiling point. Nonetheless, keeping his tone carefully civil, he declined: “Your Highness, this subject is currently on official security duty and cannot partake in alcohol.”
Refusing to be brushed aside, the princess slammed her wine cup down onto his table with a sharp clatter and demanded with a sneer, “Is Lord Gu genuinely constrained by official duty, or are you simply unwilling to drink with me?”