Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

"Sang Wan, Sang Wan?"

Cen Yan waved her hand in front of the other person's eyes, stared at the pensive Shen Sangwan, hesitated for a moment, and then called out twice.

"Hmm—? What's wrong?"

"What are you spacing out for? I'm asking you a question."

"Huh? What did you just ask?"

"Tell me, what is your system? And how did you create something out of thin air from my arms?"

Shen Sangwan's head ached whenever she heard the word "system".

Holding her little face, looking utterly hopeless, she smacked her lips and muttered, "It came into my head by itself while I was unconscious, 'stealing my brain,' that sounds like an unreliable thing."

"Fortunately, there are many things inside that can be used for free, and that powder was taken from the system."

【Master, I'm perfectly reliable, okay?】

Shut up, reliable my foot.

After another long talk, Cen Yan had somewhat sorted out her thoughts.

“Sang Wan, if we really can’t return to the present world, we need to be more careful in this Nan Jing Kingdom, especially you. As the eldest princess, you have a lot of troops under your command, and many eyes are watching you. Be careful not to let anyone with ulterior motives discover the system on you, otherwise it could be a devastating disaster.”

Cen Yan sat on the edge of the bed, holding the other person's hand, her eyes calm, her face solemn, and her tone steady.

"I'm still considering telling the truth about the former princess's confidants. After all, no matter how well I pretend, there will be times when I'm not noticed and I'll eventually slip up."

"It's better to be upfront about things first. If they can accept my presence, everyone can live in peace. If they can't, then I'll have no choice but to send them on their way and find other trusted confidants to cultivate."

Her high, straight nose accentuated her handsome, aloof face, and her thin lips, opening and closing, revealed her coldness.

“Sang Wan, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but sometimes I feel like I don’t really know you. I feel like you really are the eldest princess of this fictional era. You are imposing and awe-inspiring.”

"Huh—? Is there?"

One second Cen Yan was somewhat afraid of the familiar "stranger" in front of her, but the next second she was speechless and had a black line on her face because Shen Sangwan broke her composure.

"No, I have cataracts, and I'm blind!"

"Waaaah—How could Xiao Yan Yan say that about herself? It breaks my heart."

"Stop, don't have an attack yet. Tell me in detail what happened at the Cen family residence. I can't stay in the palace forever. If I return to that Prime Minister's residence after leaving the palace and know nothing about it, I might not even know how I died."

Cen Yan was genuinely afraid that Shen Sangwan would die like this; she always felt that nothing good would come of it.

Shen Sangwan summoned Xiaotong and retrieved all the information about the Cen family. When it appeared on the panel, Shen Sangwan was somewhat troubled.

If only Cen Yan could see Xiao Tong too. There's so much information; she has to read it all herself first before relaying it to Cen Yan.

My head is huge, it's really huge.

“Cen Luoxing was a sickly child. Due to congenital deficiencies, the Cen family consulted many famous doctors, all of whom said she would not live past the age of eight. Later, she was guided by a wandering Taoist priest and went to Qianfo Temple to burn incense every year. She lived to the age of sixteen, but died on the way back to the family to fulfill her vow. As a result, you survived in her identity.”

"Her father is Cen Zhouyuan, the eldest son of the Cen family, who is now the Right Chancellor, a first-rank official. Her mother is the daughter of the Xie family, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, and is known for her virtue."

“There is another branch of the Cen family that was separated many years ago. The head of the family is Cen Zhounan, who serves as the prefectural judge of Qin’an County. The matriarch is Ye Yunyan, the youngest daughter of the Ye family in Qin’an. This year, Cen Zhounan was promoted to the fourth-rank position of deputy commissioner of the Ministry of Justice, and the whole family will move back to Zhongdu.”

“You have an older brother named Cen Qingyu, who is currently the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards. You also have a younger sister named Cen Luoyan, who is a famous talented woman in the capital. You also have a younger brother named Cen Qingheng, who is born to Concubine Wu. You need to be careful of Concubine Wu; she is a ruthless person who is single-mindedly paving the way for her son.”

“The second branch of the Cen family has only one legitimate son, who is gentle and mild-mannered. You could try to befriend him.”

“Cen Zhouyuan and the Left Prime Minister Wen Yunhe have many political disagreements and are mortal enemies in the court. If you encounter the Wen family in the future, you must be extra careful and not let them take advantage of you.”

“Although I am the eldest princess, the empress has no maternal family to support her. Once the emperor passes away, my younger brother will find it difficult to maintain his position in the court in a short period of time. If you go against the Wen family and something happens, I am afraid I will not be able to protect you.”

"I will be careful and try not to cause you any trouble."

"As for the situation of the various aristocratic families in Zhongdu, I will have Mo Ran and the others collect some books. You will stay in Weiyang Palace for the next few days, so take a look and familiarize yourself with them."

"it is good."

"I bet you haven't been sleeping well these past two days at Chiyuan. Come on up, let's get a good night's sleep together."

As she spoke, she pulled back a corner of the quilt and moved it inward to make room for Cen Yan.

"Shen Sangwan, this is the Empress's Phoenix Palace, not the Princess's Weiyang Palace. You want me, the daughter of a subject, to sleep on the Empress's bed? Do you think I have enough heads to chop off?"

Cen Yan rolled her eyes at Shen Sangwan, annoyed.

The person in front of her was sometimes so wise that she didn't know Shen Sangwan as she did, and sometimes she would do something so stupid that she didn't want to admit that she knew the other person.

"Oh—, I forgot, I've gotten into the habit of asking you to sleep in the same bed."

"Then why don't you take a nap on that chaise lounge? I'm so sleepy, my eyelids are drooping."

"I'm fine, you go to sleep. I'll stay here and watch over you. I'll catch up on my sleep when we get back to Weiyang Palace tonight."

Shen Sangwan stopped being polite with Cen Yan and fell into a deep sleep. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. With someone by her side to give her peace of mind, she could finally get a good night's sleep.

The sky gradually changed from azure to a lake green like a duck egg, and soon, the quiet twilight quietly enveloped everything.

Everything is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Liang Huaiting led his men to arrest or execute those who were rebelling in the palace.

The surviving palace servants began cleaning the blood-stained ground.

As evening fell, the frenzied chirping of swallows and sparrows pierced through the twilight, circling above the Phoenix Palace.

Shen Sangwan opened her sleepy eyes and glanced sideways at Cen Yan, who was lying on the edge of the bed.

She dreamt of her freshman year of college, when she was in the middle of the night with unbearable abdominal pain. Cen Yan immediately took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with acute appendicitis. It was a minor surgery and a few days in the hospital would make her fine.

When she called her parents, all she received were a few lukewarm words of concern.

She raised her grandmother single-handedly. Now that her grandmother is old, she didn't dare tell her. From beginning to end, Cen Yan was the one who took care of everything and did all the work.

The day after her surgery, when she woke up, Cen Yan was there watching over her, sleeping by her bedside all night.

He raised his hand to touch the other person's face, but the slight movement startled the sleeping person awake.

"Hmm—Sang Wan, you're awake."

Cen Yan covered her mouth and yawned, her tiredness still lingering on her face.

"Why don't you go to that chaise lounge and relax? Lying here like this, isn't it uncomfortable!"

Shen Sangwan got up and leaned against the headboard.

"It's okay, I'm used to it. I feel more at ease when I'm with you."

Cen Yan didn't take it seriously. She glanced around to make sure no one was around before stretching her limbs.

"I wonder if the Empress has returned from Xingde Palace yet."

"I guess not, otherwise your subordinate would have come in to report it."

Shen Sangwan nodded in agreement, "I see it's getting dark outside, why don't we go to Weiyang Palace first?"

"okay."

"Mo Yun!"

Mo Yun, who had been waiting outside, pushed open the palace door and stepped in after hearing Shen Sangwan's summons.

"Lord."

"Help me change my clothes. We'll return to Weiyang Palace later."