Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

After being inspected, the carriage entered the territory of Yue.

The woman who came to greet Shen Yu was a head maid who looked to be nearly fifty years old, with fine lines around her mouth and eyes. Upon seeing Shen Yu, she handed him the clothes and cosmetics that she had prepared beforehand.

“His Majesty will replace the maids serving the Empress every month. You will be at the very back.” The head maid whispered to Shen Yu, “There will be ten in total, but only one or two will be kept in the end. The Empress will come to choose them personally. Remember to dress neatly and elegantly, as the ladies of the palace prefer obedient and sensible maids.”

Shen Yu understood. He went to the side room to change into a maid's uniform and put on a wig. Shen Yu had already received training in walking etiquette at the photography studio, so he could walk indistinguishably from an ordinary palace maid.

As for his face… Shen Yu turned to look at the bronze mirror in front of him. The face in the mirror was unfamiliar: a small square face, thin eyebrows and dark eyes, a delicate nose, and light red lips. He looked young, like a young palace maid who had just entered the palace.

Shen Yu rubbed his fingertips against the skin on his face.

The skin on his face had already been replaced at the photo studio, using the studio's finest materials—thin, fleshy, and not easily recognizable.

...But how can we get Wen Yu to keep him here?

Shen Yu pondered for a few seconds, then took off the sachet from his waist. He replaced the sachet inside with the pollen he had ground in the cold mountains and poured it into it.

Around noon, Shen Yu followed the newly selected palace maids toward Kunning Palace.

Kunning Palace is not far from Yangxin Hall, making it the closest palace to the emperor.

On his way here, Shen Yu secretly observed his surroundings. There were no guards, not even maids or eunuchs sweeping the road leading to Kunning Palace. It was empty and deserted, like a deserted alley.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! This servant knows she was wrong, this servant truly knows she was wrong! Please forgive me..."

The maid's cries were piercing, and as soon as Shen Yu stepped into the gate of Kunning Palace, he smelled the blood permeating the air.

He looked to the side in the direction of the sound and saw a palace maid tied to a tree trunk with a thick rope. Her face and body were bruised and bleeding from being whipped with a long whip. The eunuch dipped the whip in salt water, paused for a moment, and then continued to whip her.

The palace maids walking in front of Shen Yu couldn't help but change their expressions slightly upon seeing this. They lowered their heads and continued walking forward, when they heard the head maid in front of them say, "Your Highness, the new palace maids have arrived."

The doors to the inner chambers were tightly shut, and apart from the sounds of whipping and wailing, there was no other noise in the air.

After a while, a palace maid came out and said, "Her Majesty the Empress is taking a nap. Please wait outside for now. She will come to see you when she wakes up."

The head maid dared not ask any more questions and bowed her head, saying, "We dare not disturb Your Highness's rest. We will wait."

Shen Yu could only kneel outside the door with the other palace maids and wait. The midday sun was scorching, and the occasional wails from the side made the smell of blood even stronger.

The palace maid kneeling beside Shen Yu was already trembling uncontrollably. She clutched the hem of her dress tightly, her eyes flickering uncertainly.

Shen Yu glanced at the palace maid's right hand unintentionally. The nail on her right thumb was broken, with a black line running down the middle, the cause of which was unknown.

She knelt for nearly ten minutes. Midway through, the palace maid who was being whipped fainted because she couldn't bear it and was dragged away by the eunuchs and thrown into the laundry department.

Shen Yu knelt in the far corner, closest to the trees. He listened to the sounds around him, and glanced at the eunuch dragging the palace maid past him.

The palace maid was covered in blood and gore. The eunuch dragged her out by one arm, while her other arm fell limply to the ground.

With her palm facing up, Shen Yu saw a blurry black line on the nail of her thumb.

Shen Yu frowned slightly upon seeing this. He looked away, wanting to check if there was any black thread on the eunuch's hand. However, the eunuch in front was walking too fast and had already passed by Shen Yu by the time he looked away.

Shen Yu subconsciously pressed his thumb under his palm.

The people at the photo studio never told him about this code. What does this black line mean?

Shen Yu was still confused about the situation. He looked away and heard the sound of the palace door opening above.

"Slave, please see the Queen."

Shen Yu changed his tone and spoke along with the palace maid beside him.

A few seconds later, the person inside came out of the hall. Shen Yu knelt with his head down, his vision limited, and could only see a pair of pure white phoenix clogs.

"Raise your heads, everyone."

Wen Yu spoke in a flat voice, neither soft nor hard, with a subtle magnetism that was different from that of a woman.

Shen Yu frowned inwardly. He looked up and saw the Queen of Yue sitting directly above him.

His pupils trembled slightly.

The photo studio owner was right; Wen Yu and Shen Yu did indeed look 99% alike.

Wen Yu wore a golden mask on the right half of her face, leaving only the other half exposed, which was fair and clean. Her phoenix eyes were lowered wearily, with reddish corners and upturned corners, and her pupils were pitch black.

Shen Yu often looked like this when he looked in the mirror. His eyes would easily turn red when he woke up, but there was absolutely no other meaning behind it.

Wen Yu was the same. However, Shen Yu usually had a stiff and expressionless face, while Wen Yu's facial expressions were much richer than his.

For example, at this moment, he would sit leisurely in his armchair, the corners of his lips turned up, and his eyes would close up comfortably to enjoy the moment.

Her long, dark hair, reaching her waist, cascaded down her back. Despite being the Empress, Wen Yu displayed no decorum. Her hair was unkempt, her makeup incomplete, and she simply wore two pairs of red earrings and a white robe before stepping out.

"Lift your little faces up so I can see them." Wen Yu sat on the cushion, propped his chin up, and looked down. When he saw the trembling faces, he chuckled. "What? You all look like dead bodies. Are you here to mourn for me?"

The stench of blood in the air had not yet dissipated. Most of the newly arrived palace maids were quite young, and they were all terrified and turned pale after witnessing what had just happened.

The smile on Wen Yu's lips vanished without a trace after a moment, and her eyes lowered in annoyance, revealing a hint of gloom.

“Smile.” Wen Yu casually pointed to the first palace maid, “One by one, smile for me in order.”

The palace maid who was called paused, looked up, and laughed twice in a trembling voice.

Wen Yu didn't speak. He shifted his gaze to the back, where the palace maids all laughed in turn.

His laughter sounded worse than his crying.

Shen Yu was at the end of the line. He clenched his thumb and soon felt Wen Yu's gaze on him.

Shen Yu and Wen Yu's eyes met. Without hesitation, he smiled and gave Wen Yu a standard ladylike smile.

Wen Yu stared at him. The smile on his face, whether genuine or not, had long since vanished. Now, as he stared at Shen Yu, his pupils were filled with an unknown chill.