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

"Cough-cough-!"

Cen Luoxing slowly woke up from the couch, her breath very weak, and she opened her eyes and looked around.

I still seem a little unaccustomed to my body; when I try to get up, I feel a bit stiff.

Shuyan, who was standing to the side, helped the person up when she saw this.

"Ah Wan?"

Her voice sounded low and hoarse, like that of an old woman.

"I'm here. How are you feeling? Are you alright—?"

Shen Sangwan felt a strange sensation in her heart. The person in front of her was the real Miss Cen, not her best friend Xiao Yan Yan. Why did she feel a sense of joy at reuniting with an old friend after many years?

"Ah Wan, I had a really long dream, I was so scared, can you hug me, please hug me?"

"What the heck? Xiaotong, what's going on? I have a feeling that the Princess and this Miss Cen... well, they're not exactly ordinary close friends!"

"She asked you to hug her, so why don't you just hug her? Such a beautiful woman is asking for a hug, Master, how can you bear to refuse?"

"Huh—? Is that what I meant?"

Shen Sangwan got up from the chair, walked to the bedside, and embraced Cen Luoxing.

“Ah Wan, I thought I would never see you again. I was trapped in a nightmare, surrounded by whiteness. I couldn’t see, hear, or touch anything. Ah Wan, I was scared.”

"Xiaotong, why do I have this illusion that I'm holding a beautiful wife in my arms?"

[Master, please dispel your misconception.]

Shu Yan stood silently to the side, her dark eyes making Shen Sangwan feel somewhat at a loss.

"It's all in the past. I'm here. Don't be afraid."

Shen Sangwan gently patted the other person's back, as if she were comforting a child who had a nightmare.

"Your Highness, Miss Cen is now awake, so it's time to let the Lady of the State and the others in."

Shu Yan glanced at Cen Luoxing and had a feeling that he wasn't a good person. In any case, her first impression of him wasn't good.

"Ah Wan, who is this—?"

“She makes delicious pastries and is also very clever, so I had her serve me.”

Cen Luoxing nestled in Shen Sangwan's arms, looked Shuyan up and down, and said coquettishly, "How come after half a year, Awan's taste in men has deteriorated so much?"

Shuyan clenched her fists, inwardly seething. "You damn face-obsessed jerk, am I really that bad-looking?"

"Haven't seen you for half a year—?"

Do you remember what happened before you fell into a coma?

Cen Luoxing was somewhat bewildered by the question, "My heart condition flared up on my way back from Qianfo Temple. It hurt more than ever before, and I fainted. Did something else happen?"

"Oh no, Xiaotong, Miss Cen was replaced by Xiaoyan back then, and she doesn't know what happened afterward. If this gets out..."

【Master, don't panic. It's time to show off your persuasive skills.】

"Hehehe—! You're really joking."

"Huh? Wait a minute, Xiao Yan Yan spent most of her time in Miss Cen's body in the palace and didn't do anything. Miss Cen doesn't have any memories of what happened afterward, so why should I worry about being exposed? I can just continue to play the role of someone who knows nothing."

Seeing that Shen Sangwan ignored her, Cen Luoxing gently rubbed against her chest, "Awan?"

"But Lady Xie told me that you fell into the lake while swimming with Luo Yan and have been unconscious for more than ten days."

"Ah Wan, what are you saying? Why can't I understand?"

Cen Luoxing was truly bewildered. She got up from Shen Sangwan's embrace and looked at her with confusion.

"It was only today, when the Lady of the State went to the Princess's residence to beg me to save you, that I learned about your coma. I'm afraid she'll have to explain the reasons to you in detail."

Upon hearing this, Shuyan immediately opened the door and let Xie Yushuang in.

"Ah Xing—!"

"Sister—!"

Cen Luoyan also came in.

"I still have matters to attend to at my residence. Now that Luo Xing has awakened, I will visit her another day."

Shen Sangwan just wanted to get away as soon as possible. The original owner's body was definitely not ordinary to Miss Cen, and she always wanted to get close to her.

She didn't want to be killed by Xiao Yan Yan's gaze.

"Ah Wan, you..."

"Get some rest."

Shen Sangwan gently patted the other person's shoulder, then stood up to say goodbye.

As you walk along the flower-lined path paved with gravel, you are greeted by Cen Qingyu, dressed in a snow-white robe with her hair tied up with a jade hairpin.

His gaze was fervent and sincere. "Your Highness, this humble subject greets you."

"Has Vice Commander Cen's injury healed?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I am now much better. I must thank the Princess for saving me that day; otherwise, I would probably be dead by now."

Shen Sangwan thought he had fallen into a coma that day, but she never expected that he would still remember that she had saved him.

"Commander Cen was injured because he was a member of the royal family. How could I stand by and watch him die? Now that he is well, he should take up his post soon."

A hint of confusion flashed in Cen Qingyu's eyes, but after carefully considering the other party's words, he knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude, "Your Highness, this humble subject thanks you for your kindness."

Shen Sangwan nodded, her index finger and thumb rubbing together incessantly as she quickened her pace to leave the mansion.

Cen Qingyu stood up and watched the departing figure, the scent of pears still lingering around her.

My heart is filled with tender emotions, like a gentle breeze stirring up ripples.

"Young Master?" Zhou Chuan, who was following beside him, saw Cen Qingyu staring blankly in the direction Shen Sangwan had left and called out to him.

Cen Qingyu clenched her fist, placed it under her nose, coughed lightly, and continued on her way to Cen Luoxing's courtyard.

Shuyan remained silent and quiet the entire way.

Only after getting into the carriage did Shen Sangwan snuggle up to her and become affectionate.

"Oh dear, Yan Yan, don't be angry, okay? Miss Cen didn't mean it."

"What she said is not wrong. How can I compare to her beauty? If you hadn't had such poor taste, how could you have chosen me?"

Shen Sangwan's face darkened. "What nonsense are you spouting?"

"Oh dear, it was my fault for being so talkative. I should have waited outside to avoid disturbing your tender moment."

What nonsense are you spouting?

"It was my fault; with such a beauty in my arms, I disturbed..."

"Little Yan Yan, what's gotten into you today?"

“I don’t know what her relationship with the princess was like before. The information Xiaotong gave me only said that the two were best friends. I can’t just push her away and treat her like a stranger, can I?”

Shuyan didn't know what was wrong with her. She just felt uncomfortable seeing the other person clinging to Shen Sangwan.

It's like having your treasured possession stolen by someone else.

I've never felt this way before, even when I was with Chu Meng and Ye Tong, no matter how much we got along.

"sorry!"

Shen Sangwan opened her mouth and closed it again, staring at Shu Yan in disbelief, as if she wanted to see something out of her face.

"Little Yan Yan, have you taken the wrong medicine?"

He touched her left and right, looked her up and down, and examined her from all angles. "Little Yan Yan, don't scare me."

“Miss Cen gives me a very uncomfortable feeling, and I’m a little scared… that she’ll take you away from me.”

"Hey—! Are you kidding me? We've been neighbors since we were born, attended the same kindergarten, and gone on to university for so many years. Don't you even have this much sense of security?"

"Waaaaah—, all these years of feelings have been wasted!"

Shu Yan felt flustered. Recalling Cen Luoxing's expression as she hid in Shen Sangwan's arms, she felt completely confused.

“Sang Wan, what that monk said terrified me. You know, the moment I saw Cen Luoxing wake up, I felt like my time had been stolen.”

“I don’t belong here, so I am just Cen Yan, not Cen Luoxing, while you—are the real Princess Shen Sangwan.”

"That's why I'm afraid and uneasy. Here, I'm just an insignificant palace maid. Anyone with power could trample me into the mud. I didn't mean to do this today. I was just too worried that you would be taken away."

Shen Sangwan then realized that the person in front of her had become cautious and timid, and that she was the only one he could rely on.

"It was my oversight that I didn't take good care of your feelings."

He pulled the person into his arms and held them tightly.

"Sang Wan, don't leave me."

"Don't talk nonsense. I would rather abandon myself than abandon you. Don't overthink it."

"Once we return to the Princess's residence, I will have Shuyun arrange two bodyguards to protect you closely. You should first learn from Qibo. When the time is right, I will go to the palace to cancel your indenture and make you the housekeeper of my Princess's residence. You can do whatever you want; I will protect you."

Shuyan was amused by Shen Sangwan's words, "Who wants to be a housekeeper? Go find your Miss Cen to be one!"

"..."

"Little Yan Yan, why are you acting so teasy and talkative today? It's not like you at all~"

Shuyan moved further inside, turned her head away, and ignored Shen Sangwan.