Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

The mask was heavy and oppressive; when Wen Yu lay in bed wearing it, it made her feel suffocated.

Even so, Wen Yu showed no intention of removing the mask. He covered the hard surface of the mask with his palm facing inward.

At least the surface is smooth, unlike the rough, ugly skin underneath, which is like a ghost painting.

"Miss?"

Shen Yu's voice rang out in the inner hall, not loud, but with a hint of probing.

Wen Yu remained motionless, her eyes closed as if she hadn't heard anything.

"Miss?"

Shen Yu called out again.

Wen Yu opened her eyes again in silence, staring quietly into the darkness before her.

"Miss?"

"..." Wen Yu frowned, lowered his hand from the mask, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, I thought you were asleep, but it seems you're not." Shen Yu chuckled, then continued, "When will you give me the antidote you mentioned before?"

Wen Yu turned over: "Tomorrow."

Shen Yu was somewhat surprised: "So fast?"

"What I'm giving you is only a temporary antidote. The cold poison in the photo studio cannot be eradicated in one go; it can only be slowed down by repeated medication. All I can do now is ensure that you don't suffer when the poison takes effect," Wen Yu said.

"Multiple doses of medication, specifically how many times?" Shen Yu was good at grasping the key points.

The photography studio would regularly send Shen Yu an antidote pill, which only delayed the onset of the poison. The studio owner clearly had no intention of letting Shen Yu go; there was no pill that could completely cure the cold poison in one go, and he was merely feigning concern for Shen Yu.

Shen Yu frowned slightly. Looking at it this way, Wen Yu's method seemed more effective.

Wen Yu did not directly answer Shen Yu's question. Instead, he said, "I will help you cure yourself the moment you take me out of Kunning Palace. I am confident in the number of times you can do this. It mainly depends on you."

“Okay.” Shen Yu didn’t delve any further. Wen Yu was cunning, and it was unlikely that he could solve the problem for Shen Yu in one go.

Shen Yu tapped his fingertip on the bedding, seemingly curious. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Your Majesty, those palace maids and eunuchs outside... were they all sent by His Majesty?"

"Otherwise what?" Wen Yu sneered. "He thought he had done it perfectly, but you still managed to sneak in."

Shen Yu recalled what Wen Yu had said before, and connecting it with everything that had happened, he immediately understood the cause and effect.

Rumors circulated that the Yue emperor favored the wicked empress Wen Yu, whose beauty and flattery led to widespread suffering among the people of Yue. They placed most of the blame on the so-called "wicked empress," unaware that the actual situation was entirely the opposite.

Wen Yu is a man. His appearance has been disfigured, and he is confined to the Kunning Palace and forbidden from leaving.

These eunuchs and palace maids sent to serve Wen Yu were actually spies used by the Yue Emperor to monitor Wen Yu. They had a black line on their fingernails as a means of communication and... proof of each other's identities.

They all knew that Wen Yu was a male empress and that he was imprisoned here, yet they still delivered intelligence to him every month as required.

They made no attempt to conceal their actions, and all of their actions took place right under Wen Yu's nose.

How could Wen Yu not know his situation? He knew everything.

It was precisely for this reason that he harbored such deep hatred for the palace maids and eunuchs in Kunning Palace. They imprisoned him there, forced him to dress as a woman, eat poison, and live a life neither male nor female in the inner palace.

Shen Yu lowered her eyelashes: "Your Majesty, why is His Majesty treating you like this?"

Silence filled the air, and after nearly ten minutes, no other words were uttered.

Shen Yu could sense the uneven breathing behind the beaded curtain; Wen Yu was still awake, but he didn't speak again.

Seeing this, Shen Yu also closed his eyes. He was a person who came to ancient times from the apocalypse, and these intrigues and conflicts in the royal palace were still too unfamiliar and distant to him.

As far as Shen Yu was concerned, he was just an outsider in this world.

*

The next day at noon, Wen Yu placed a small medicine bottle in Shen Yu's hand. Shen Yu lowered his eyes and saw that there was only one small, pure white pill inside the bottle.

"Take it once every seven days." Wen Yu sat in the armchair, took a sip of warm water, and continued, "I will check your pulse once every two weeks, and after confirming the situation, I will decide whether to change the frequency of taking it."

Shen Yu withdrew his wrist, asking casually, "Your Majesty, you can also take pulses?"

Wen Yu paused in his drinking, then said without changing his expression, "I learned a little bit before, and I can barely remember some of the techniques."

Shen Yu raised an eyebrow: "Okay."

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the ancient books beside Wen Yu's bed. Previously, Wen Yu hadn't allowed anyone into the inner palace, and Shen Yu hadn't been able to see the contents of the books clearly. Now, as he tidied the bed and looked at them more closely, he realized they were all ancient medical texts.

Wen Yu still looked haggard after what happened last night. He went outside to bask in the sun for a while, then took the ancient book and lay back down in the inner hall.

Shen Yu had other chores to do, so he used the excuse of going out to fetch water to exchange information with a passing old woman.

Shen Yu only briefly described Wen Yu's daily life. Wen Yu was very wary, and he hadn't found an opportunity to make a move yet.

The old woman didn't make things difficult for Shen Yu after hearing this. She said, "The master told you to be careful in everything you do. This matter can't be rushed. Find the right opportunity to make your move. Someone will come to pick you up soon. Remember the secret code of the photo studio."

Shen Yu hummed in response, his expression unchanged, and walked through the corridor.

After entering Kunning Palace, the number of palace maids and eunuchs increased significantly.

Shen Yu found a corner and emptied the dirty water from the bucket. As he looked down, his gaze swept over the black line on his fingernail. The black line had faded a bit from being washed away by the water last night. Shen Yu stared at it for a few seconds before looking away.

"Cuihua, how did things go last night?" Shen Yu was walking back with a bucket of water when he saw the maid next to him approach.

These spies were required to record information daily, compile the data, and submit it to the emperor. Now that Shen Yu was in charge of matters within the inner palace, the focus of obtaining information had shifted to him.

Shen Yu briefly recounted what had happened the previous night: "After taking a bath last night, Her Majesty the Empress went back to bed to rest. She hasn't been feeling well lately, and she's gone to sleep now."

Upon hearing this, Qingyu sighed and said, "Eunuch Li is coming too frequently. Her Majesty the Empress's health may not be able to take it anymore."

Shen Yu raised his eyes: "What do you mean?"

Qingyu knew that Shen Yu was new here and didn't know the situation yet. She pursed her lips and whispered to Shen Yu, "This matter shouldn't be discussed, but now that you are Her Majesty's personal maid, you must be especially careful in your actions."

Shen Yu turned to look at her, and Qingyu continued.

“Eunuch Li used to come once a month, but now he comes every two weeks. Remember the date, and don’t appear in Her Majesty’s inner palace on that night.”

Shen Yu asked, "What's he doing here?"

Qingyu lowered her voice: "Take blood for His Majesty to drink."