Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Shen Yu didn't say anything more. He had already made plans and prepared countermeasures for all possible events that might happen next.

Eunuch Li rarely visited Kunning Palace. In fact, one could say that he would never step into Kunning Palace except on the days when he needed to have his blood drawn each month.

Unlike Wen Yu, Shen Yu was not restricted from going out. He would leave Kunning Palace to fetch water or deliver clothes, and during this time he learned a lot about the outside world.

Aside from visiting Kunning Palace on the day of his wedding to Wen Yu, Emperor Yue never entered the palace again after that.

Wen Yu's daily life was arranged according to the style of the concubines in the palace. However, the palace servants did not allow Wen Yu to go out, and the other concubines were not allowed to come to visit Wen Yu.

Firstly, they were worried that Wen Yu would take the opportunity to contact the outside world; secondly... they were also worried that Wen Yu would go crazy and accidentally harm the other concubines.

Shen Yu was initially unaware of the purpose behind Emperor Yue's decision to make Wen Yu empress. If he wanted to imprison Wen Yu, giving her a concubine rank or even lower would have achieved the same effect.

But he insisted on elevating Wen Yu to a high position, making his name known in various countries and making him a household name.

These more private matters were unknown even to the palace maids and eunuchs of Kunning Palace. Shen Yu turned around and asked the other palace maids who were responsible for odd jobs, seemingly unintentionally.

However, most of these palace maids were quite young and didn't know much.

"Consort Xiao in the palace is pregnant; this is her second child. Her first child, a princess, was greatly favored by the Emperor, and now he visits her palace every day. As for the Empress... I heard from the palace servants that she seems unable to conceive, which is why she is not favored by the Emperor."

Shen Yu: "..."

Shen Yu asked, "Since Your Majesty dislikes the Empress, why did you still make her Empress?"

Wen Yu came from an ordinary background and had no powerful officials in the court to rely on. It seems unlikely that he would be forced into this situation by external pressure.

The palace maid pondered for a few seconds after hearing this, and then said, "Her Majesty the Empress is so beautiful that she is almost demonic. No one in the entire Yue Kingdom can compare to her. In fact, I have seen Her Majesty once before, and her figure is something that no ordinary woman can have."

Shen Yu: "..."

He said speechlessly, "Okay, I understand. Thank you for telling me all this."

The palace maid nodded. She was busy delivering new silks to the other concubines. After exchanging a few words with Shen Yu, she left the laundry room.

Shen Yu had not yet returned to Kunning Palace. He walked along the palace wall and made a thorough understanding of the palaces where all the concubines lived.

These concubines lived far from Kunning Palace, and they knew in private that Kunning Palace was like a cold palace, so they almost never went there.

Shen Yu stood beside the high walls, which were painted red and stood for over ten meters. There was no one around. Shen Yu looked up and found that the shadows cast by the high walls made it difficult for him to even see the empty sky above.

Shen Yu looked up for a long time before looking away and continuing to walk forward along the wall.

"Cuihua, Cuihua! Oh dear...Cuihua, the head palace maid—"

Shen Yu was in a daze for a moment. After a few seconds of blankness, he realized that Cuihua was himself and immediately stopped and turned around.

The old eunuch who arrived was panting heavily, followed by several nimble young eunuchs. It took them a few minutes before they all stopped in front of Shen Yu.

Shen Yu glanced at the eunuchs in front of him, his expression unchanged, and asked, "Eunuch, what's wrong?"

"Cuihua, we've been calling you all the way here, but you haven't heard a word." The old eunuch carefully wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then flicked away the whisk in his hand, his aged face wrinkling up.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yu quickly apologized, "Father-in-law, I was in a hurry to get the silk for the Empress and I didn't notice you behind me."

"Alright, alright, stop talking to me about this now." The imperial eunuch was panting. He didn't have time to scold Shen Yu and said, "The Emperor wants to see you and ordered you to be there before Shenshi (3-5 PM). Look at what time it is now! I've been looking for you for more than half an hour!"

Shen Yu was taken aback: "The Emperor wants to see me?"

"Isn't that right?!" the eunuch urged. "Hurry up! If you're late and displease the Emperor, you'll be punished!"

"Yes, Your Excellency." Shen Yu paused for a moment, then quickly composed himself and followed the imperial eunuch back.

Although the Yue Emperor did not enter the Kunning Palace, his gaze lingered over every corner of it. Shen Yu had previously guessed that the Yue Emperor would go to see Wen Yu, but he did not expect that the Emperor would summon Shen Yu first.

Shen Yu has now become Wen Yu's personal maid and moved into the inner palace, which has indeed aroused the suspicion of the Yue Emperor.

Shen Yu followed the eunuch with his head down. His gaze flashed over his own hand, and he pressed his finger against the pure black line on his fingernail.

Emperor Yue was still resting in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the doors of which were tightly closed. The imperial eunuch spoke up at the door, "Your Majesty, the head palace maid Cuihua has arrived."

Shortly after, a steady male voice came from inside.

"Let her in."

As soon as the words were spoken, the palace doors were opened from the inside. The interior was simply furnished. Shen Yu glanced at it, then obeyed the order and went inside.

The Emperor of Yue was in an inner room of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Shen Yu stepped into the hall, and as soon as he entered, the two guards standing beside him reached out and slammed the door shut.

Shen Yu glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. The two guards at the door stood ramrod straight, their faces completely expressionless, like two motionless statues.

Shen Yu withdrew his gaze, walked to the innermost part of the room, and knelt down: "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Shen Yu heard the sound of books being thrown down from the table, and the corner of the Yue Emperor's robe with the gold dragon pattern flashed before his eyes, followed by that male voice.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Shen Yu stood up, maintaining the posture of a palace maid, and looked ahead.

Emperor Yue sat upright on the dragon throne in the palace. He looked much younger than Shen Yu had imagined. His face was like white jade, his features were distinct and angular, and his eyes were pure black. When he looked ahead, his gaze was sharp and revealed a hint of imperial authority.

His lips were somewhat pale as he stared intently at Shen Yu from above.

When Shen Yu met his gaze, he felt a chill rise from the inside of his heart for some reason, and within a few seconds, he was so cold that he lost all feeling in his limbs.

“Xuan Lin…”

"Xuan Lin, the third prince of Yue, once again requests that His Majesty descend the mountain! Just as Cheng Yi stood in the snow outside his master's door in ancient times, I today brave the blizzard to demonstrate my resolve..."

"The Yue Kingdom is currently at a critical juncture of survival. I hope that Lan Yu can lend me a helping hand. Please do not grieve..."

"...This is the worst possible course of action. Lanyu, when the time is right, after eliminating the treacherous officials, I will return your status as Grand Secretary to you. I'm sorry you've been humiliated..."

"Truly...absolutely stunning."

Shen Yu's eyelashes trembled as he stared motionlessly ahead, a layer of crimson rising to his eyes without him even realizing it.