After the system set its sights on the dragon throne, the princess started courting death every day.

Xiang An's brain exploded with a buzz, and he subconsciously thought, "They don't even leave dignity for the corpse when they kill someone."

It was a life, after all. How could you just kill it like that?

After thinking it over, he cursed inwardly, "This guy is so ruthless, did he even consider his sister's life or death?"

In ancient times, people loved to hold collective punishment. Look, even though Empress Liu, the emperor's biological mother, had been dead for over ten years, the emperor still blamed her for his own son's mistakes! Wasn't that just taking advantage of the fact that the dead can't speak?

What if the emperor is in a bad mood one day and beheads her too?

Forgive Xiang An for being forced to travel through time; she simply cannot feel any affection for this brother she has never met.

Her only concern was her own interests; this world and this place owed her something, and she had no desire to come to this godforsaken place.

She pondered for a moment: The emperor is furious right now. If this were a typical scene from a TV drama, at this moment, she would either be a princess who would kill her own family for the greater good, or a good sister who would risk her life to plead for her brother.

If she were the former, the world would condemn her as cold-blooded and ruthless, and the emperor would doubt whether her personality was the same as Xiang Xin's.

The latter would be condemned by the world for being foolish and unable to distinguish between what is important and what is not, and the emperor would have to completely bind her and Xiang Xin together.

Neither side is good.

No, she can't be sandwiched in the middle like a sandwich filling.

Trying to compose her expression, she secretly pinched her thigh hard, forcing out a few tears: "Brother... Brother... Brother..."

He called out "brother" several times, but no one gave a clear answer; he only emphasized that the emotion was right.

The emperor was too soft-hearted. Changfu, who was waiting in the corner, quickly presented her with a bright yellow brocade handkerchief. He gently lifted her face with one hand and used the handkerchief to tenderly wipe away a few crocodile tears from her face.

"Scared?"

Xiang An nodded silently. Whatever you say, she's just acting, playing along with you.

"Don't be afraid, that brat... If he dares to bully you, I will personally break his legs!" the emperor said emphatically.

Xiang An asked, seemingly worried, "My brother..."

"Fine him a year's salary and imprison him for a year." The emperor's tone was anything but kind.

Xiang An nodded without speaking.

The punishment was neither too lenient nor too severe; at least the person wouldn't die.

The emperor looked at his daughter, whose eyes were red from crying, and sighed regretfully, "If that rascal were as well-behaved as you, the position of crown prince would have been decided long ago." His words were full of expectation.

Xiang An pretended not to understand what he meant, lowered her head, pinched her thigh hard, and tried to hold back crocodile tears while secretly disliking herself: "I'm not a professional actor, even crying is difficult."

Xiang An put on a dramatic show of crying in front of the emperor. During the meal, adhering to the principle of playing the part to the end and not wasting the reward, he tried to ask the emperor for Chengde. However, the emperor refused, saying that it would be against the rules to have more eunuchs in the princess's residence.

In the end, she went to the palace on an empty stomach and returned to the princess's residence with a full belly.

The following morning at court, the imperial censors who had heard the news of Xiang An's disturbance at the palace gate submitted numerous memorials impeaching her, and the emperor ended the matter by fining her salary for three months.

As for whether or not a real punishment was imposed, to outsiders it appeared to be, but in private the emperor made up for it under various pretexts.

Xiang An was well aware of the emperor's doting fatherly nature, but the aphrodisiac still had to be administered. Xiang An had already planned that once the mission was completed, she would wash her neck clean, offer it up, and have the emperor cut her neck as an apology.

At first, the emperor patiently wiped away her tears and comforted her.

After this happened several times, the emperor would read intently amidst Xiang An's weeping, instructing Changfu as he read: "Serve a plate of plum blossom cakes and a pot of Biluochun tea."

Changfu understood immediately and smiled, "Yes. Please wait a moment, Princess, have some tea and snacks before you cry."

Xiang An, who was vigorously wiping her eyes with a handkerchief soaked in ginger juice, paused, and then... she cried even louder, this time for real.

However, since the emperor was willing to spend time playing with her, the obedient daughter Xiang An was not going to be polite.

The frequency of sending pastries increased, and the number of times he entered the palace increased. Under Xiang An's relentless bombardment, the guards at the palace gates collapsed, several eunuchs who tested the poison collapsed, and Xiang An also collapsed.

But she firmly believed that if it happened too often, the eunuch would eventually relax.

Braving the scorching summer sun, Xiang An entered the palace several times in a row. Finally, on a sweltering midday, he managed to seize an opportunity in the Imperial Study.

At that time, the emperor was talking with his ministers in the imperial study. Xiang An was waiting outside with a food box. When she saw Chang Fu change the tea on the outer table and then take a new cup of tea into the inner room, her heart began to stir.

If not now, when?

He casually made an excuse to send away the palace maids and eunuchs guarding the gate, looked around to make sure no one was there, took out the Spring Breeze Smile tea from his sleeve, ran to open the teacup lid, and swiftly sprinkled the medicine.

Just as she was about to put the lid on the cup, a pebble suddenly flew at an angle and hit her wrist precisely. In pain, the lid slipped from her hand and shattered into pieces on the ground with a loud crash.

Xiang An thought to himself, "Oh no, we've been exposed!"

Hearing footsteps coming from inside the room, Xiang An lifted her skirt and ran outside.

She had just taken a step when someone kicked her knee again. Caught off guard and losing her balance, she had no time to react. Both knees hit the ground hard, and her whole body fell uncontrollably to the ground. Her forehead slammed against the ground, and her vision went white. She lay on the ground, dizzy, unable to get up for a long time.

At that moment, a tall figure pressed heavily on her back. The person easily tied her wrists together with one hand, pinning them behind her back, rendering her unable to move.

"How dare you! What did you put in that teacup!?"

The newcomer's voice was sharp, carrying an indescribable air of righteous indignation.

His voice was clear, cool, and deep, which was quite pleasant to listen to.

Even with his head pinned to the ground, Xiang An had the leisure to rate the voice: if ten points is the maximum, this voice deserves eight.

The voice was so alluring that Xiang An couldn't think of any fresh words to describe it. Her mind was filled with fantasies: she would die happy if she fell for this voice, but she wondered what the person looked like.

If he's good-looking, she'll have to take a second look at him when things start over.

It's not that he really wanted to die, or that he was blinded by lust; he had simply done something wrong, been caught, and out of guilt, wanted to see who this righteous person was.

With a sense of desperation and a surge of courage, Xiang An struggled to lift his head from the ground, turning to look back, wanting to see if his face and voice matched.

He twisted left and right, but his vision remained limited; he could only see the person in black clothes and boots with a slender waist, but not the person's face.

The more she struggled, the tighter the man gripped her wrist, and a burning pain shot through her: Did this man even know what it meant to cherish a beautiful woman?

When the emperor and his entourage came out, they saw a man and a woman, one above and one below, pressing down on each other. One of them struggled and thrashed like a fish out of water, while the other held on tightly and wouldn't let go, giving the impression of a fisherman catching a big fish.

Witnessing this farce, the emperor's face darkened: "What are you doing?"