Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Li Yongquan's vision went black, and he could barely stand by holding onto the wall next to him, when he heard Shen Yu's voice continue to ring out.

“I just gave you a heart-breaking pill, which will cause an attack every two days, the same day you come to have your blood drawn.” Shen Yu placed the porcelain bowl containing the blood on the table. “What you do is up to you.”

Li Yongquan clutched his wrist, his face pale. He had hastily bandaged the wound with a cloth. Upon hearing this, he looked at Shen Yu, standing there with a gloomy expression.

Shen Yu didn't care at all. He wiped the knife clean and pushed it in front of Li Yongquan.

Li Yongquan's eyes flickered uncertainly. Blood was still seeping from the wound on his wrist. After hesitating for a moment, he asked Shen Yu, "When will you give me the antidote?"

Shen Yu chuckled: "Then you'll have to ask His Majesty. I'll only let you go when he lets me go."

Li Yongquan clenched his fist, picked up the Qilin Imperial Sword from the table, and stuffed it back into his sleeve.

"I heard that you've been frequently seeing the Prime Minister lately. The Prime Minister must have given you quite a few gifts, right?" Shen Yu rested his chin on his hand and looked ahead casually. "Gold, beautiful women, jade ornaments... Even His Majesty doesn't receive such treatment, does he?"

Li Yongquan stopped turning around, his expression changing slightly: "How did you know?"

Shen Yu did not answer. The shadows of the photo studio were everywhere, and Li Yongquan and the Prime Minister's transactions were all being carried out right under their noses.

Now that Shen Yu is working in the photography studio, it would be easy for him to extract any useful information.

He just smiled and didn't say anything.

Li Yongquan's breathing was heavy. His Majesty was suspicious and, because of previous events, had an extreme aversion to the collusion between high-ranking officials and eunuchs. If he knew about Li Yongquan's secret dealings with the Prime Minister, he would certainly not let him off easily.

Shen Yu was indirectly threatening him.

Li Yongquan said no more. He picked up the porcelain bowl on the table and covered his wound with his sleeve: "Your Majesty, the blood is all red and scarlet. It will be the same as it was before."

Shen Yu understood the meaning behind his words. He waved his hand at Li Yongquan and said, "Step down."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Yongquan lowered his head and bowed as he withdrew.

*

Wen Yu was still waiting at the entrance of the inner hall. He was closest to the side with the beaded curtain and would occasionally glance at the scene inside out of the corner of his eye.

After Li Yongquan went inside, there was no sound, only a few dark shadows moving about. Wen Yu couldn't see what was happening inside, and unconsciously frowned.

About a minute or two later, a sudden, muffled thud came from inside. It was quickly cut off by the person inside.

Wen Yu's nerves tightened immediately upon hearing the sound. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw the guards behind the door stirring restlessly.

"Didn't you hear the order that your father-in-law just gave you permission not to go in?" Wen Yu lowered his voice and said, "If there are any problems, your father-in-law will summon you. Don't make any rash moves."

Upon hearing this, the guards stopped in their tracks. They looked ahead and saw the leader of the guards staring at Wen Yu for a long time. He then waved to them, signaling, "Go back."

After receiving the order, the guards returned to their original positions, their eyes fixed straight ahead, each expressionless as if they were mannequins.

This is the case with suicide squads who have undergone extreme training; they rarely have human consciousness and always act on orders.

Wen Yu had seen many such people before, and he knew that these secret guards were weak-willed. As long as the commander was controlled, all the remaining secret guards would automatically obey.

The leader of the secret guards displayed characteristics different from the others from the very beginning. He was thoughtful and conscious, capable of making his own judgments and quick decisions.

Most importantly... he kept watching Wen Yu.

Wen Yu was currently impersonating Shen Yu. Dressed as a palace maid, he stood behind the door. After being stared at by such intense gazes for so long, he began to suspect that there was a close relationship between Shen Yu and this bodyguard.

"You..." The commander of the secret guards seemed hesitant. After a long pause, he finally asked Wen Yu, "Are you Danqing?"

Wen Yu glanced at him and nodded almost imperceptibly.

The commander wore a completely black demon mask, and he looked at Wen Yu with a flickering gaze.

“You smell nice,” he said softly.

Wen Yu: "..."

“Commander, I haven’t applied any perfume, and this is just an ordinary maid’s uniform.” Wen Yu said expressionlessly, “You’re mistaken.”

The commander's expression, hidden beneath his mask, was unseen by others. His eyes were dark and intense. Suddenly, he whispered to Wen Yu, seemingly out of the blue, "That night... I'm sorry."

Wen Yu: "..."

He turned to look to the side and saw that the commander was staring straight at him. After making eye contact with Wen Yu for a short while, he quickly looked away as if trying to hide his gaze.

Wen Yu sensed something unusual about it: "Which night?"

The commander remained silent.

Wen Yu's fingers curled up, and he continued, "Sorry for what?"

The commander seemed embarrassed to speak. He lowered his head and, after a long while, raised his face again and said to Wen Yu, "I'm sorry, I hurt you."

Wen Yu's face stiffened.

"You left without saying anything, and I don't even know what you look like. Now that I've finally seen you again, please don't treat me like this anymore."

The commander's eyes churned with emotion as he spoke, "Please forgive me, okay?"

"..." Wen Yu stared coldly at the commander for a few seconds, his various emotions rising and falling back, swirling together in a jumble.

A mocking look appeared on his face as he turned his head and said, "Go to hell."

The commander stood frozen in place, looking at Wen Yu, who had already looked away. He remained standing at the entrance of the inner hall, his eyes fixed on the beaded curtain.

He eked out a living and continued to watch the show from the window.

Wen Yu was standing right where its mechanical bed was. At this moment, it put away its data board and hesitantly flew around Wen Yu and the commander once.

About five minutes later, Li Yongquan came out. He was carrying a cutting board in both hands, on which a porcelain bowl was half full of blood, and the white handkerchief from before was nowhere to be found.

Li Yongquan's lips were a little pale. He walked in the same way as before, passing through the inner hall's passageway and arriving at the door.

"The matter is settled, all of you may leave."

When the guards saw Li Yongquan come out, they all retreated to the sides. Li Yongquan looked straight ahead and gestured to Wen Yu, telling him to keep an eye on the Empress and not to make any rash moves.

Upon receiving the message, Wen Yu bowed to Li Yongquan and said, "See you off, Eunuch Li."

Li Yongquan left Kunning Palace with his guards. The commander of the secret guards also left, his movements lingering for a moment as he turned, his gaze sweeping over Wen Yu in an ambiguous way.

Wen Yu acted as if he hadn't seen anyone. He waited until everyone had left before he parted the beaded curtain and went inside.