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

Mo Yun skillfully took down the newly prepared clothes from the clothes rack and dressed Shen Sangwan.

They were extremely meticulous in every detail.

If it weren't for the fact that the clothes were so complicated that Shen Sangwan wouldn't know how to wear them herself, she really wouldn't want to be served by others, since she always had the illusion of being seen naked.

"Has the Empress Dowager returned from Xingde Palace?"

"My lord, the Empress has not yet returned."

"Take Miss Cen to Weiyang Palace first and settle her in Xuyang Hall. I will go to Xingde Hall."

"I humble my position and take orders."

Cen Yan lowered her head, did not ask any further questions, and obediently followed behind Mo Yun.

The Empress left at the end of the Wei hour (15:00 PM), and it should be the You hour (17:00 PM) now. She has not returned yet. When asked, the palace servants said that even Shen Yuchen had been summoned to Xingde Hall.

It seemed that even the life-saving pill had failed to save the emperor. Shen Sangwan was somewhat worried and decided to go there herself to check on the situation.

Upon arriving at Xingde Hall, Eunuch Hai, who served the emperor closely, was waiting at the hall entrance, while the Left Chancellor, Right Chancellor, and Minister of Revenue stood below the steps.

Upon seeing Shen Sang arrive late, they all bowed to greet her.

"Gentlemen, you are all pillars of the court, what brings you here?"

"His Majesty summoned us urgently. General Liang is inside, so we are waiting here."

Shen Sangwan nodded and stepped into the hall, but was stopped by Eunuch Hai at the door.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has decreed that no one may enter today without a summons, including Your Highness."

Shen Sangwan, who had already stepped halfway across the threshold, paused and pulled her leg back.

She stood obediently at the palace gate, smiling slightly, "Please trouble you to go in and inform the Emperor. If he refuses to see me, I will immediately turn back to Weiyang Palace and will not cause you any trouble."

Hai Gonggong naturally understood that the other party was giving him a way out, so he nodded in agreement, bowed, and entered the inner hall. A moment later, he was greeted with a smile.

"Your Highness, please."

Shen Sangwan's phoenix eyes flickered slightly as she subtly glanced at the expressions of the people behind her. They certainly didn't disappoint her.

They're all old foxes, as expected.

His handsome, arched eyebrows twitched slightly as he looked down at the three of them with a half-smile, then turned and entered the inner hall.

Beyond the screen, the emperor lay half-reclined on his dragon bed, while Shen Yuchen knelt beside him, his small face filled with gloom. He was no longer the child who would hug her and call her "elder sister" during the day, crying like a three or four-year-old.

The Empress sat upright in a chair on the right, while Liang Huaiting knelt three feet in front of the dragon bed, head held high and chest out.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty and Your Majesty, and wishes Your Majesty good health."

"Awan, get up quickly and come to your father."

The emperor, who was always majestic and awe-inspiring, now had slightly bloodshot eyes, his deep pupils shimmering with a faint light, and his expression was full of helplessness.

Is the emperor worried that after his death, no one will be able to protect his wife and children?

Shen Sangwan obediently bent down and knelt beside the dragon bed with Shen Yuchen.

"My son, dressed in plain clothes, guarding the land and enjoying peace, I am very pleased, but it also hurts my heart. If it weren't for the circumstances, I would never have let you go to that desolate and cold place."

"Having gone through this palace coup, I am severely poisoned. The imperial physicians say there is no cure. Ah Wan, from now on, I will entrust your mother and Yu Chen to your protection. I know this is unfair to you, but you are the only one I can entrust to you."

"Your subject will heed Your Majesty's command."

Shen Sangwan bowed deeply with her hands clasped behind her back, her composure belying that of a twenty-year-old woman.

"General Liang can be considered your mentor. In the future, the two of you must work together to assist the Crown Prince."

"Your humble servant will obey Your Majesty's command, devoting myself wholeheartedly to the cause until my dying breath."

Shen Sangwan felt sorry for the former princess. No matter how outstanding the princess was, she was still a woman. No matter how much His Majesty valued her, she was just an accomplice to pave the way for his son. How tragic.

"Azhi, take Chen'er and Awan back. I still need to give some instructions to the Left Prime Minister and the others."

When the emperor met the empress's phoenix eyes, the tenderness in his eyes seemed to overflow from the corners of his eyes; he truly loved his wife to the core.

The Empress's lips trembled slightly, her eyelashes fluttered, and in the end, she only sighed softly before bowing and leaving Xingde Palace with Shen Yucheng and Shen Sangwan.

Just as they stepped out of the palace gates, they heard Shen Changxu summoning the three Left Prime Ministers.

The three greeted Shen Sangwan and the others, then stepped aside to bypass the Empress and entered the inner palace.

"Ah Wan, the capital is about to change."

"Mother, I will always stay by your side."

"Mother, elder sister, and Achen are here too. From now on, I will protect you."

The Empress gently raised her head, her gaze soft. She smoothed her long black hair, a slight smile playing on her lips. She patted Shen Yuchen's shoulder but remained silent.

"As evening approaches and the dew grows heavier, Your Majesty should return to the palace early to avoid catching a cold."

The Empress nodded and walked along the west side path back to the Phoenix Palace. Shen Yuchen accompanied her for a while before turning back to the East Palace.

Shen Sangwan watched the two leave, then turned around and looked back. Behind her, she saw the lights of the tall buildings and the Milky Way flowing in the sky.

A huge, bright moon hangs in the sky, its clear light covering the vast land and rivers, magnificent and sacred.

The court is rife with intrigue and treachery. Xiao Tong, can I truly protect Crown Prince Wu Yu and escape unscathed?

With your intelligence and wisdom, I believe it is certainly possible.

"Ha—I have a pretty clear understanding of myself. Eating, drinking, and having fun are no problem for me, but as for stirring up trouble and manipulating the court, I probably don't have the cunning. Just look at those old foxes; none of them are someone I could possibly outmaneuver."

【Master, I strongly suspect you're trying to shirk your mission, deliberately boosting others' morale while diminishing your own, and I have evidence.】

Shen Sangwan coughed lightly a few times to cover up her embarrassment.

"Xiaotong, don't be so blunt. At least give me some face."

[Master, we can't go back. Instead of racking our brains for excuses, we should think carefully about how to move forward.]

[Ahem—Why haven't I seen the system's task panel yet?]

[Hmm... This can only be viewed by this system, and then assigned to the master.]

Shen Sangwan felt something was off. She remembered that other people's systems involved completing tasks to earn points, which could then be exchanged for items. The tasks were also completed by reading them one by one.

Why is it different for her?

"Then why haven't you assigned me any tasks, Xiaotong? You wouldn't be deliberately preventing me from doing tasks so you can get revenge for my DIY project and then punish me, would you?!"

The system, having its thoughts exposed, tried to brush off the topic and change the subject, but Shen Sangwan wouldn't let go once she got her hands on it.

"Xiaotong, tell me the truth right now, or I'll strip you naked and leave you naked every day. I'm a pervert anyway, I just love looking at beautiful women."

【...】

Master, I'm not human, you're a real dog!

I've inexplicably ended up in this godforsaken place. I'm on the verge of going crazy sooner or later. So, while I'm in a good mood and haven't started giving up yet, you'd better not provoke me.

[My original plan was to stall for time. Once the deadline arrived, my master would be punished, and I would say I had just arrived in this world and forgot. Anyway, the main system would give my master a chance to make amends, and then I would help my master complete the mission. That way, I could get revenge without delaying the process.]

"Good grief, you called me a dog? You're the dog, a truly awful dog!"

[Ahem, Master, I just checked, and there's a mission that's due in five hours.]

Shen Sangwan really wanted to twist Xiao Tong out and beat her to a pulp to vent her anger.

"Tell me quickly, what's the mission?"

[He personally delivered the jade butterfly fan from the Princess's residence to the eldest daughter of the Wen family as a token of his gratitude.]

〖 ？ ？ 〗

I said the Princess's residence would send a thank-you gift to the Prime Minister's residence, but I didn't say I would go personally.

[Besides, Wen Yuening is still at her villa in the suburbs of Beijing. It's only been five hours, and the palace gates are already locked. You expect me, an injured person, to travel to the outskirts of Beijing to deliver a thank-you gift overnight?]

The eldest princess of the dynasty, in gratitude for the life-saving grace of the eldest daughter of the Left Prime Minister, went to deliver a thank-you gift in the dead of night. If word got out, people would think that I had taken a fancy to Miss Wen and was rushing to see her.

【Um, Master, how about we obediently accept the punishment? Although I don't know what the punishment is, considering it's our first offense, I think the main system shouldn't go too far!】

Xiao Tong had a smug look on her face, and the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed as they turned upwards.

Why does it smell like green tea?

Shen Sangwan's face was extremely ugly. The palace servants she encountered along the way all held their breath and bowed in greeting.

How long is the time limit after the penalty is imposed?

Three days.

Shen Sangwan planned to endure tonight's punishment first, and then find another opportunity to leave the palace to deliver the gift tomorrow.

Besides, she's lost the ability to feel pain now, so she might not feel the system's punishment.

Back at Weiyang Palace, Mo Yun was waiting in the front hall. When Shen Sangwan returned, he bowed and greeted her.

"Lord."

"Come with me."

The two passed through the palace gate and entered the inner hall.

Shen Sangwan dismissed the palace servants, casually found a chair to sit down, and then pointed to the empty seat next to her and glanced at Mo Yun.

"sit."

"I don't dare to do this in a humble position."

“Your lord has never liked people who are coy or evasive, and naturally, neither do I.”

His grip on his sword tightened.

As for why Mo Yun was allowed to carry a sword, it was simply because the emperor doted on the former princess and granted special permission for those around her to freely enter and leave the palace with weapons.

Shen Sangwan was still somewhat apprehensive. After all, she didn't actually know martial arts. Her military skills relied on the muscle memory of the former princess. She wasn't confident that she could fight this battle-hardened leader Mo Zuo in front of her in a real fight.

He kept a muscle-softening powder he had taken from the system tightly in his sleeve, ready to throw it out the moment the other party made a move.