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

When Wen Yuening turned around and sat down, her expression remained unchanged from before.

Shen Sangwan clicked her tongue in amazement, and even wanted to discuss with the other person how to control their facial expressions.

Sitting there bored, he kept his body still, but his eyes kept darting around, carefully observing the entire inner hall within sight.

When the painting was halfway finished, Qingque knocked on the palace door.

"Your Highness, Miss Shuyi from Weiyang Palace has sent word that Princess Yuan'an has woken up and is urgently looking for Her Highness the Eldest Princess."

Upon hearing that Shuyan had woken up, Shen Sangwan jumped off the chaise lounge and almost instinctively tried to leave, but Wen Yuening got up and stopped her.

"Does Your Highness intend to leave directly from my Phoenix Palace?"

Looking at her hands in front of her, Shen Sangwan remembered that she had climbed over the wall to get in. The reason why Shuyi came to Fengluan Palace to deliver the message was because she had explained her whereabouts after leaving Chonghua Palace.

"I...I was just a little excited when I heard that Ayan had woken up, I didn't think that much, please don't be angry."

"I will take Your Highness out."

Wen Yuening didn't say much, and pulled Shen Sangwan's hand as they climbed out of the back window one after the other.

They darted across rooftops and walls to avoid the imperial guards' patrols, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the inner wall of a side hall of the Fuyu Pavilion in Weiyang Palace.

The route felt so familiar, like strolling through her own backyard, which made Shen Sangwan wonder if Wen Yuening often sneaked out to this place.

"Yuening won't go in. Your Highness, please go and check on the Princess."

As he was about to leap over the wall, Shen Sangwan stopped him, saying, "Ayan is a very good friend of mine in the real world. Now that you're here, I'll introduce you to her."

Before Wen Yuening could even refuse, Shen Sangwan had already dragged her towards the main hall.

Still immersed in joy, Shen Sangwan's expression stiffened when she stepped into the palace and heard Shuyan call out "Your Highness." She even stopped and scrutinized the person in the distance with a critical attitude.

Wen Yuening followed behind, somewhat unsure of the situation, and stood quietly to the side, observing the unfolding events.

"Your Highness!"

Shuyan called out to Shen Sangwan again, and with Shuyi's help, she came toward Shen Sangwan, wanting to get closer to her.

Upon seeing this, Shen Sangwan took two steps back, almost tripping over the threshold, but fortunately Wen Yuening caught her quickly.

"If you are not Cen Yan, then who are you?"

As soon as the question was asked, Shuyi and Wen Yuening looked at Shen Sangwan with strange eyes.

Only Shuyan's hand movements became stiff, and her face began to look somewhat unnatural.

"Your Highness, what's wrong? I just—"

“Cen Yan never calls me Your Highness in private. Tell me, who exactly are you?”

After hearing Shi Shen Sangwan's words, Shuyi also began to recall the situation when Shuyan had just woken up.

His speech was somewhat strange, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was wrong.

Looking back now, it seems that this was how she addressed herself. In the past, Shuyan always called her "Sister Shuyi," and even after she was granted the title of Princess, she still called her "Sister." But when she first woke up, she called her by her name directly, and the tone and attitude with which she assigned her tasks were somewhat problematic.

This has never happened before.

The fake Shuyan didn't expect to be exposed so soon after waking up, but her body was badly damaged and she couldn't escape.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue pretending, trying to buy time. "Why doesn't Your Highness acknowledge Ayan?"

It's really off-putting that she's saying such cute things while wearing that cute little face.

She took a step forward, grabbed the other person by the neck, her face full of anger, "Speak! Who are you, and where did you take my Ayan?"

As Yan Ben's face, already pale and weak from suffocation, began to flush, her breathing became rapid. If she wanted to live, she had no choice but to deny everything, so she kept quiet and stopped talking.

Fearing that Shen Sangwan would actually strangle the person to death, Wen Yuening stepped forward and saved him.

"Your Highness, do not act impulsively. She is now a princess personally appointed by His Majesty. If you accidentally kill her, it will be difficult to explain."

"Cough cough...cough cough!"

After catching her breath, the fake Shuyan coughed for a while. Shuyi, who was supporting her, was a little at a loss, unsure whether to continue supporting her or let go.

"Shuyi, go out and keep watch. No one is allowed to come in."

"The slaves retire."

Shuyi, who was struggling with whether to help or not, felt like a dried-up fish finding water upon hearing these words. She was extremely grateful and quickly bowed and withdrew.

They also closed the palace gates and sent away all the palace servants who were sweeping the outer hall, ensuring that the main hall was completely empty to prevent any leaks.

"If you don't speak, even if I bear the crime of indiscriminately killing innocent people, I will still make you leave this place lying sideways."

Fake Shuyan slumped onto a stool beside her, clutching her chest and breathing rapidly.

"Why is Your Highness so certain that I am not Cen Yan? Are you going to sentence me to death just because of the word 'Your Highness'?"

Shen Sangwan was filled with resentment at the thought of her little Yan Yan's disappearance and wanted to kill the imposter again, but Wen Yuening stopped her.

"Your Highness, please don't be impatient. If you really kill her, then you will have no idea where Cen Yan is."

She knew the reasoning perfectly well, but she couldn't accept that the person she had gone to such lengths to save wasn't her Xiao Yan Yan.

Besides anger, she felt even more fear—fear that Xiao Yan Yan had already been killed by the people in front of her and behind her.

[Master, there are so many medicines in the system, try them all on her, don't worry about her not confessing.]

Shen Sangwan had considered using the system's tools to interrogate her, but she worried that if the drugs damaged this body, her little Yan Yan might not be able to come back, or if she did, she would suffer from the side effects of the drugs. She dared not take the risk.

Seeing that Shen Sangwan didn't dare to really do anything to him, the other party began to lose his fear.

She was still cursing herself for being too stupid. Since her master dared to risk using the secret technique to switch souls, he must know that the original owner of this body was extremely important to the princess. As long as she used the original body to threaten the other party, why should she be afraid?

Wen Yue Ning listened carefully to Jia Shu Yan's inner thoughts from behind.

They grasped the two key words: "secret technique" and "soul swapping".

He pulled Shen Sangwan aside and whispered a few words in her ear.

Upon hearing this, Shen Sangwan's expression softened slightly, and she went to the window to summon Ruoying.

"What are your orders, Your Highness?"

Pointing at the fake Shuyan on the stool, she said, "Keep a close watch on her for me. Don't let her escape, and don't let her see anyone."

"I obey my orders."

"Also, she's not some princess, so there's no need to treat her with special courtesy. You don't need to listen to anything she says, and you certainly can't believe it."

"I've noted it down."

After giving her instructions, Shen Sangwan pulled Wen Yuening out of the main hall and headed to Fuyu Pavilion.

There are many books there. When Shuyan lived in Weiyang Palace, she would often go there to read them. Shen Sangwan wanted to try her luck and see if she could find some records about soul swapping.