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

Mo Yun accompanied Cen Yan into the palace.

If Shen Sangwan hadn't ordered her to protect Miss Cen, it would be Mo Yun serving her at her bedside instead of Granny Gu.

"Your humble servant greets the Empress. May Your Majesty live a thousand years!"

Cen Yan didn't know how to perform the proper etiquette, so she could only kneel down and bow her head, following the example she had seen in palace dramas.

If there was anything inappropriate, she could only use "excessive fright" as an excuse.

Fortunately, the Empress did not pursue these minor details and, after exchanging greetings, immediately sent someone to check on Shen Sangwan.

Cen Yan looked at Shen Sangwan lying on the bed and felt a pang of sadness. Just the day before yesterday, the other party was a spirited female general, but today, the other party was a porcelain doll that was half dead.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes.

Shen Sangwan's chest heaved, she breathed intermittently, and moved her lips with difficulty.

She had reason to suspect that this was the main system's doing, that it was just keeping her hanging on, not letting her die.

A faint gurgling sound came from his throat, along with a barely audible groan of pain.

"Luoxing, don't cry, I'm alright!"

Cen Yan was taken aback at first, but then she immediately realized that she was now the eldest daughter of the Cen family—Cen Luoxing.

He stepped forward and took Shen Sangwan's hand, which she extended from under the quilt. "I won't cry, I won't cry."

"Come closer, I have something to tell you."

Cen Yan leaned down and brought her ear close.

"A packet of powder will appear in your arms. Take it out and give it to me later. Remember, this medicine is a gift from me to you on your coming-of-age ceremony. It can cure all poisons, so you should keep it close to your body."

Cen Yan tried her best to hold back her tears and nodded vigorously.

Taking advantage of being blocked by Cen Yan's body, Shen Sangwan reached into the other's arms and took out the antidote powder from the system.

Sensing that a bag had suddenly appeared in her arms, Cen Yan's eyes flashed with surprise, but she quickly lowered her gaze.

"Your Highness, I always keep that medicine with me. Please dissolve it in water and drink it."

Granny Gu had already prepared a bowl of water, waiting for Cen Yan to take a tiny paper packet from her bosom, take it from the other woman, dissolve it in the water, and feed it to Shen Sangwan.

"Ah Wan, are you feeling any better?"

The Empress, who was sitting comfortably on the chaise longue, got up and sat down next to Shen Sangwan. Looking at her exhausted daughter, she felt both heartache and helplessness.

Cen Yan wisely took two steps back and stood obediently to one side.

"Your Majesty, I have caused you worry. It is my fault. Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I feel much better after taking the medicine."

The Empress wiped Shen Sangwan's sweat, then hugged her tightly, her eyes filled with tears.

He paused, the words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say them out loud. He just kept holding the other person.

"Mother, Luo Xing was terrified this time. I would like to ask her to stay in the palace with me for a few days, is that alright?"

The Empress did not find anything wrong with these words, but Mo Yun, who was in the distance, had a look of scrutiny in his eyes.

"You are on good terms with Miss Cen, so I feel at ease with her by my side. As for the Right Prime Minister's residence, I will have Shuchun inform Lady Xie."

"Your subject thanks Your Majesty."

"General Mo also entered the palace today. Should Awan keep her to serve you, or should Mother send someone else to your palace?"

Although the former princess had left the palace to establish her own residence, her sleeping quarters in the palace remained, and palace servants cleaned them every day.

"Mo Yun will naturally stay. After this palace coup, I'm afraid I'll be staying in the palace for a while. I'll trouble Mother to arrange more palace servants for Weiyang Palace."

Weiyang Palace was originally the residence of the Imperial Concubine, but there happened to be a Fuyu Pavilion in the palace, which the original Princess was very happy with. The current Emperor dotes on the Princess, and when the Princess was six years old, she moved from Chunhua Palace to Weiyang Palace.

"Shuyi, who served you before, has stayed at Weiyang Palace. Later, Mother will have Granny Gu send a few more capable people over."

"Thank you for your trouble, Mother."

"Master, Master, please don't be so polite. I sense that Mo Yun seems to have become suspicious of you."

"Huh? Doesn't the former Princess know her own mother well?"

[In any case, unlike you, Master, who is so kind and respectful, like a loving mother and daughter.]

Why does the Empress show no unusual behavior?

The Empress is more than happy for her daughter to be close to her; she's overjoyed by your gesture of goodwill, Your Majesty.

〖......〗

Sure enough, when Shen Sangwan looked up at Mo Yun, his eyes were full of inquiry. After meeting her gaze, he hurriedly looked away and lowered his head.

It seems I need to find a time to bring this up with the former princess, her trusted confidante.

Pretending to be the original eldest princess is probably not a long-term solution.

"Just now, Eunuch Hai, who was close to His Majesty, came to deliver a message: Mother, I am going to Xingde Palace. Awan has taken her medicine and should rest well first. She will return to Weiyang Palace in the evening."

"Your subject has remembered. Respectfully seeing off Your Majesty."

Shen Sangwan tried to get up, but the Empress pressed her back down, saying, "Awan is not feeling well, there's no need for formalities, just lie down."

Granny Gu went out with the Empress, while Shuchun took the token and left the palace to deliver a message to the Cen residence.

Shen Sangwan dismissed all the palace servants, claiming that she disliked large crowds.

Only Mo Yun and Cen Yan remained in the bedchamber.

"Mo Yun, go out and keep watch. Do not allow anyone to enter. I know you have questions in your heart. When we return to Weiyang Palace, I will answer them for you one by one."

"I humble my position and take orders."

Mo Yun bowed and left, closing the palace door behind him.

"Little Yan Yan~ Waaaaah—"

One second she had a cold face and an unapproachable expression, the next she turned into a whiny girl and snuggled into Cen Yan's arms for comfort.

"..."

"Sang Wan, what exactly is going on?"

"Well... to make a long story short, after our car accident, I was forced to bind myself to a system. The main system assigned me the task of supporting the current crown prince to ascend the throne and maintain his position in the court."

"If I don't do that damn task, I'll suffer all sorts of bizarre punishments."

"I have been here for less than five days and I have already been on the verge of death three times."

"I suspect this system is deliberately keeping me hanging on by a thread. I can't even die if I want to. Waaah, this is inhuman! Little Yan Yan, why am I so unlucky?"

Shen Sangwan was finally able to let her guard down in front of someone she knew well. The more she talked, the more aggrieved she became, and her sobs grew louder and louder. Even Mo Yun, who was guarding outside the door, could hear her clearly.

"Don't cry. The Shen Sangwan I know is a spoiled brat. If Chu Xue and the others see you like this, they'll probably laugh at you for years."

Cen Yan pulled the person into her arms and kept patting their back.

"I have a back injury. I don't know if it's a side effect of that lousy Vitality Pill, but I can't feel any pain. Please don't slap it open again."

"..."

Cen Yan mischievously pinched the face that resembled Shen Sangwan's in the real world.

The original princess's facial features were more defined, with deep and powerful features. Perhaps due to years of immersion in the battlefield, there was a heroic spirit between her brows, which made Cen Yan happy and she couldn't put her hand over it.

"By the way, Xiao Yan Yan, what was the situation when you woke up?"

After pinching and touching Shen Sangwan's face, Cen Yan finally put down her hands and sat down next to Shen Sangwan.

"When I first woke up, I was in a swaying carriage. I almost threw up several times. Suddenly I realized that you drive quite steadily, at least I don't get carsick."

"Then I overheard the conversation between the maid and the old woman serving me. Miss Cen went to Qianfo Temple to fulfill her vow five days ago. On the day she returned to the manor, before I could even recover, she encountered a group of people who seemed to be bandits and almost lost her life."

"Fortunately, I had guards protecting me, but I hadn't gone far when I encountered the Imperial Guard commander who had kidnapped me. He grabbed me and took me away. I was stunned at the time."

"Fortunately, that person kidnapped me to threaten you. The moment I saw you, my fearful heart finally calmed down a lot."

"I survived because the original princess died, and I was able to live on using her identity. But if you say that Miss Cen didn't die, how did you get here and become her? If she didn't die, where is her soul right now?"

"When I woke up, there was a lot of chattering in my ears, and then I was forced to take some medicine. I suspect that Miss Cen may have some kind of congenital disease."

"Xiao Tong, what's going on with the eldest daughter of the Cen family?"

[Master, Miss Cen is indeed as your friend said; she has a congenital heart condition and fell ill on the way back to the manor. There was no cure, which is why your friend had the opportunity to live under her identity.]

[Furthermore, since the master's friend plays a role in advancing the main quest, this system suspects that the main system arranged for the person to be here as well.]

"…! Then let me ask you, is there any chance for Cen Yan and me to return to the present world?"

【Master, it's probably... maybe... perhaps... there's no chance. After all, the system's items are all clearly laid out there. Even if you complete the mission, there's no way back to the real world.】

[I...@￥%*？%]

She can't die, and she's forced to live on the edge every day. She can't go back. She doesn't seem to have done anything heinous, so why torture her like this?

She strongly suspects the system is sabotaging her, and she has evidence to back it up.