Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Shen Yu was wiping the dust off a jade bottle in the outer hall. He couldn't tell what material the jade bottle was made of, but he took the opportunity to walk around the outer hall and get a clear understanding of the spatial layout.

A palace maid hurried out from the inner palace and found Shen Yu, urging him to quickly enter the inner palace to serve her.

"Her Majesty is in a bad mood, so please be careful." After saying this, the palace maid quickly walked past Shen Yu.

Shen Yu watched her figure disappear, then went outside to rinse his hands with water and wipe them clean before entering the inner hall.

Small bottles of rouge and face powder were scattered all over the floor of the inner palace. Although it was already daytime, the windows and doors of the entire inner palace remained tightly shut. A white candle was lit nearby, its flickering flame highlighting Wen Yu's increasingly uncertain expression.

Shen Yu lowered his head and bowed to Wen Yu, saying, "Your Majesty."

Wen Yu was still wearing that white robe, sitting motionless in front of the dressing table with his back to Shen Yu. The half-golden mask reflected in the bronze mirror seemed to split his face, creating an illusion of being half-human and half-beast.

"You can comb hair?" Wen Yu looked at Shen Yu through the mirror.

Shen Yu said, "Your Highness, this servant knows how."

"Okay, comb my hair." Wen Yu smiled slightly, his emotions fluctuating. His eyes curved slightly upward, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "If you don't comb it well, I'll chop off your hand."

Shen Yu: "..."

"Yes." Shen Yu picked up the wooden comb and stood behind Wen Yu, his hand slowly running through Wen Yu's long black hair that had already reached his waist.

Wen Yu's black hair was thick and smooth, as if it were naturally so, without any roughness. Shen Yu combed his hair down along the curve of his hair, occasionally touching a few knots that had formed while he was sleeping.

Shen Yu tried to comb his hair a couple of times but couldn't get it right. He glanced at Wen Yu's expression. Wen Yu sat on the wooden chair without moving. He would occasionally look at Shen Yu through the mirror, but there was no sign of him getting angry yet.

Shen Yu combed Wen Yu's hair twice as instructed, then grabbed the knotted section of her long hair. A razor blade slid from his wrist, and he quickly cut off a tuft of hair and stuffed it into his palm.

Wen Yu seemed to sense something. He frowned and glanced behind him, his gaze sweeping over Shen Yu's face.

Shen Yu remained expressionless: "Your Majesty, what is wrong?"

Wen Yu stared at him for a few seconds before turning back around. He asked, "What did you say your name was yesterday?"

"Your Majesty, my name is Danqing."

"Sixteen years old?"

Shen Yu nodded and said, "Yes."

Wen Yu scoffed, not understanding why: "Tall and strong."

Shen Yu: "..."

Not content with what he had just said, Wen Yu turned the bronze mirror around and pointed his slender white fingers at Shen Yu's figure in the center of the mirror.

"Given your build, you're probably even taller than me, aren't you? I didn't notice when you were kneeling before me yesterday, but standing behind me today, you certainly stand out from the crowd."

Shen Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is what I was born with. All my sisters are like this, and they are even taller than me."

Wen Yu hesitated for a moment, stared at the mirror, curled his lips slightly, and then remained silent.

The bronze mirror remained directly facing Shen Yu, reflecting his figure. Wen Yu's fingers occasionally adjusted the angle of the mirror, her gaze lingering on its reflection.

Shen Yu remained calm. The photo studio also had pills that could change body shape, but they could easily injure bones and muscles. He wouldn't risk his entire body for this mission.

No matter how much Wen Yu suspected, as long as he didn't strip Shen Yu naked, Shen Yu would always find an excuse to cover it up.

"Who gave you the name Danqing?" Shen Yu had already combed Wen Yu's long hair, which was still loose behind her. Wen Yu showed no intention of putting her black hair up.

Wen Yu looked at herself in the mirror for a long time but couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Shen Yu tucked the few strands of black hair from his palm into his sleeve. He lowered his head and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I entered the palace at a young age, and this name was given to me by the old nanny, Li."

“Danqing…” Wen Yu turned her body slightly to look at Shen Yu, whose hands were neatly clasped together at his abdomen.

Wen Yu lowered her gaze and easily saw the black line on Shen Yu's thumb.

A cloud of gloom settled in Wen Yu's eyes. He tossed the wooden comb aside and said with a half-smile, "Danqing is too plain. This name doesn't suit you."

Shen Yu looked up at Wen Yu, who then stood up. He said to himself, "You are young, with a dignified appearance, and you serve in my palace. You should be given a more grand name."

"Quiet as a delicate flower reflected in water, dazzling as floating algae emerging from green waves." Wen Yu pinched Shen Yu's chin, and he pondered, "I'll call you... Cuihua."

Shen Yu: "..."

Seeing that Shen Yu didn't react, Wen Yu's expression immediately darkened: "What, you don't like it?"

"..." Shen Yu forced himself to kneel down and express his gratitude, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing this name upon me. I like it very much."

"That's good." Wen Yu withdrew his hand, put on his coat, and said, "Pack your things inside, then come out with me for breakfast."

Without waiting for Shen Yu to make a move, he went to the bed room and put on his shoes and socks.

Shen Yu bent down to gather the scattered red porcelain containers of cosmetics. Some of these containers were broken, and the rouge inside had spilled all over the floor. Wen Yu didn't seem to care, and simply told Shen Yu to sweep them all up and throw them outside the palace.

Shen Yu tidied up the remaining intact jade bottles and put them in the drawer. When he returned after finishing all his business, he found that Wen Yu had only put on one shoe and sock.

Shen Yu: "..."

Wen Yu seemed paralyzed on one side. His hands trembled as he held the shoes and socks, and he sat down on the edge of the bed, frowning as he struggled for a long time to finally slip the socks onto half of his foot.

Shen Yu remained silent beside him, while Wen Yu's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He gripped the bed sheet tightly, and his anger rose again in his eyes: "...Get out."

Shen Yu stood by the door without moving. He seemed not to hear him, and stepped forward to say, "Your Highness, your socks are dirty. I can change them for you."

Wen Yu's face darkened: "I told you to get out."

Shen Yu remained silent. He knelt before Wen Yu, his gaze silently sweeping over the toes of Wen Yu's left foot as it slowly curled up.

Wen Yu hadn't expected this maid to be so audacious. His voice changed abruptly, becoming laced with a venomous ruthlessness: "Get out! I'm only saying this one last time, or I'll have you chopped to pieces..."

Before he could finish speaking, his whole body stiffened. All the words he was about to say were cut off by the unexpected touch, and Wen Yu swallowed them all back down.

Wen Yu's eyelashes trembled. He looked down and saw that Shen Yu had unknowingly grabbed his ankle.

Shen Yu didn't use much force; he just loosely gripped the edge of Wen Yu's ankle.

He lifted a corner of Wen Yu's trouser leg and looked up, only to see several red marks sunken on the inside of Wen Yu's calf, winding downwards all the way to his heel. The skin on the back of his foot was almost completely torn open, and even though the wound was stitched up afterward, the poor treatment resulted in red and purple scars in that area.

No wonder she couldn't put on her shoes and socks; with this level of ligament rupture, Wen Yu would probably have difficulty even walking for long periods of time.