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

Shen Sangwan stared at Cen Yan with obvious disbelief.

"Alright, alright, stop thinking nonsense. It's all unfounded. What are you thinking about all day long?"

Cen Yan felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and pushed the person away again, as if she wanted to get rid of them.

"Little Yan Yan, this is not fair of you. You occupy my bed every day, and now you want to kick me out. Don't push your luck."

Cen Yan, who was halfway through pushing the door, realized that she seemed to have been living in Shen Sangwan's main hall all along, but she immediately retorted, "If I hadn't been occupying your doghouse, someone probably wouldn't even have had the chance to share a bed with the Empress."

"..."

Shen Sangwan was speechless for a moment. It wasn't that she couldn't not sleep with the Empress, but she would be the one suffering, not the Empress.

Sleeping comfortably alone in Weiyang Palace on ordinary days is an incredibly pleasant experience.

If you're with the Empress, you'll either be sleep-deprived or feel sore all over the next day.

"Little Yan Yan, why don't you... go back to your Fuyu Pavilion?"

Shen Sangwan tentatively lowered her head and asked.

"Oh my, Shen Sangwan, you really are the bottom one! I thought you were just teasing me!"

Cen Yan saw Shen Sangwan, who was acting a little awkward, and her eyes were shining with gossip.

Shh! Keep your voice down!

Shen Sangwan was so anxious that she reached out to cover the other person's mouth, but Cen Yan didn't give her the chance and jumped away to the side.

"Oh! You're getting impatient! You know what, the Empress looks so delicate, but I never expected—"

Seeing that Shen Sangwan was about to catch her, Cen Yan quickly turned around and ran away, but unexpectedly bumped into Ruoying who came in.

She fell straight into the other person's arms.

Ruoying was afraid that Cen Yan would fall, so she instinctively wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

Shen Sangwan, who was about to catch up, immediately stopped and stood there with a look of amusement on her face.

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!"

Seeing that the person was unharmed, Ruoying quickly released him and hurriedly knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.

"Why do you kneel down so easily these days? I've never seen you so obedient before. You didn't do anything wrong just now, so what kind of punishment are you asking for? Get up right now."

After Cen Yan steadied herself, she dragged Ruoying up from the ground and berated her until Ruoying didn't dare to breathe.

"What's the matter?"

"The Empress Dowager wishes to see the Princess."

Shen Sangwan turned and walked to the window, glancing at the sky outside.

"Why did Mother send Ayan to Chonghua Palace at this hour? Who came to deliver this message?"

"Your Highness, it is Shuchun, who serves the Empress Dowager."

Cen Yan was completely at ease in front of Shen Sangwan and Ruoying, but she was still somewhat afraid when facing the Empress Dowager.

He fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve, hesitated for a while, and finally managed to squeeze out a few words, "Can I... not go?"

Shen Sangwan noticed the other's fear, took her hand and gently patted it to comfort her, "Don't be afraid, I'll go with you."

Hearing this, Cen Yan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I'll change my clothes now. Ruoying, go and tell Shuchun to wait a little while."

After receiving instructions, Ruoying bowed and withdrew.

Since Shen Sangwan was now able to dress herself, she didn't let Shuyi in, but instead dressed Cen Yan herself.

"Why couldn't you have chosen someone with a better figure? You had to pick someone so plain and ordinary, not even half as beautiful as you used to be. It's such a shame."

As Shen Sangwan spoke, she prepared to raise her hand and touch Cen Yan's smiling face as she always did.

But then Wen Yue Ning's expression flashed into his mind, and his hand, which was suspended in mid-air, abruptly stopped.

"What's wrong? Did your hand cramp up?"

Knowing Shen Sangwan's wicked sense of humor, Cen Yan deliberately poked her hand in a teasing manner.

An embarrassed look appeared on his face. He awkwardly withdrew his hand, touched his nose, and smiled, "Let's go, let's go!"

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

Cen Yan pursed her lips and clicked her tongue twice before smiling slightly.

As October approached, it got dark early outside, and oil lamps were already being lit under the eaves. Shuyi and Ruoying carried silver lanterns and walked ahead to light the way for the two of them.

Cen Yan didn't know if it was because she hadn't walked at night for too long or because she wasn't used to the intensity of the silver lamplight; she was walking forward entirely by feeling.

I almost tripped over myself several times.

So he moved closer to Shen Sangwan and muttered, "I suddenly realized that a flashlight is a really good thing."

"you want?"

"Can you conjure it up for me?"

"If you beg me, maybe I can really conjure it up!"

Although there was a faint light around them, Cen Yan couldn't get a clear look at the other person's expression, but it wasn't hard to tell from the tone of voice that Shen Sangwan was indeed willing to offer what she wanted.

"Then I don't want it. I'll just stop going out at night from now on."

She, Cen Yan, would never ask for a favor, especially not from Shen Sangwan.

"Oh—that's a real shame."

Shen Sangwan feigned a regretful expression; although her face was obscured, her words were filled with pity.

"I was hoping that if you begged me, I might be able to conjure up something else, but alas, what a pity!"

Shen Sangwan shook her head and sighed repeatedly.

These words piqued Cen Yan's curiosity, but she didn't want to speak up or admit defeat, so she stubbornly ignored the other person.

Shuchun, who was walking at the front, had amazing hearing and heard everything the two said. After leading them to Chonghua Palace, she told Granny Gu everything she had heard and seen.

"Your Highness, the Empress Dowager only said she wanted to see Princess Yuan'an. Please return for now."

Shen Sangwan wanted to enter the inner hall with Cen Yan, but was stopped by Granny Gu at the door.

"Granny, I just wanted to come and pay my respects to the Empress Dowager."

Granny Gu maintained a smile throughout. "Your Highness, the Empress Dowager has instructed that no one will be seen tonight except the Princess. Please do not make things difficult for this old servant."

Cen Yan, who had already taken a step forward, pulled back her leg and glanced at Shen Sangwan with a hint of fear, her eyes darting around very quickly.

"Then I'll wait for the princess in the outer room. Surely the nanny won't kick me out!"

"This old servant will have someone prepare some snacks and tea for Your Highness."

Seeing that Shen Sangwan had given in, Granny Gu immediately went to have someone bring some tea, fruit, and vegetables.

“I’m right here, don’t be afraid. The Empress Dowager is a very easy person to get along with. Just call me anytime if you need anything.”

As soon as Granny Gu left, Shen Sangwan quickly leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words of advice.

"Okay!" Cen Yan nodded, but even with Shen Sangwan's reassurance, she was still extremely uneasy.

After taking a deep breath, I stepped inside.

The Empress Dowager did not believe in Buddhism before, and there was no small Buddhist hall in the inner palace. However, there are now several Buddha statues in a place further inside. When Cen Yan entered, the Empress Dowager was kneeling on a prayer mat and chanting scriptures.

Granny Gu, who went in with them, offered a reminder.

After reciting the last sentence, she was helped up by Granny Gu and slowly walked to the soft couch. When she sat down, she pointed to a chair not far away and gestured for Cen Yan to sit down as well.