Holding the script, I want to give up.

Shangguan Zitong was engrossed in studying the booklet the system had sent her in her bedroom.

She lay on her side on the chaise lounge, supporting her head with one hand and a book with the other, slowly reading like that.

"Consort, you may not see the Crown Princess without the Crown Prince's permission."

"It is the maidservant who is guarding outside the palace," she said.

Shangguan Zitong became interested, hid the booklet in his bosom, and sat up straight.

"Open the door, and my words will be Your Highness's words."

"This... Concubine, I'm in a difficult position to explain."

"Let her in."

Shangguan Zitong called out to the maids outside the palace.

"Yes, Princess."

Song Yao was let in, and she was dressed in a white gauze dress, which certainly lived up to the title of "white moonlight".

"Little sister, come and see Sister Shangguan."

As Song Yao spoke, she walked up to Shangguan Zitong and performed a simple bow, not the kind of bow a concubine would give to the principal wife, but a bow that only people of equal rank would give. Interesting.

"Oh? Sister Shangguan? Although I haven't fully mastered Bei Ji's way of bowing, I know that the bow you are performing is a standard bow. So, what do you mean by this?"

Shangguan Zitong stood up and looked at her straight on.

"No, Sister Shangguan, perhaps you've misunderstood."

Song Yao gave a slight bow.

"What do you want from me?"

"Sister, run away. I'll help you."

"Ha! Escape? Where can I escape to?"

"Is there really no place in this vast world where you wish to go, sister?"

"Get to the point, don't beat around the bush. What exactly do you want to say?"

"Sister, I've said it before, I'm capable of anything to protect myself."

Song Yao circled around her once.

"So, was the assassination attempt outside the city your doing?"

Shangguan Zitong stopped her, preventing her from continuing to spin around. It was giving her a headache.

"Yes, feelings are the most useless thing; only power is supreme."

Song Yao smiled, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

Are you afraid of my arrival?

"Yes, he's an indecisive person. I'm worried that he'll become interested in you after a while."

"Since you already know what kind of person he is, why do you still stay by his side? I don't understand."

Shangguan Zitong frowned, puzzled.

"Although I like him, reason prevails over liking him."

Song Yao played with her fingernails.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in him."

"It's unlikely he'll escape. If you can persuade him to divorce me, I'll be incredibly grateful."

"If it succeeds, I will not hold you accountable for sending someone to assassinate me. Just don't target me again in the future, okay? It will be beneficial for both of you."

Shangguan Zitong was a little tired after speaking in one breath, so she walked to the small table, poured herself a cup of tea from the teapot, and slowly drank it.

"Is that really true? He promised me the position of Empress, don't you want that power?"

Song Yao also went over and sat down opposite her.

"Really, it's quite boring. If you like it, maybe I can lend you a hand."

"Okay. It's settled then."

"Ah."

"Then you should rest well, sister. I won't bother you any longer."

Having achieved her goal, Song Yao left.

"Ugh, I'll be living like this from now on. It's so boring."

Shangguan Zitong leaned against the table, propping her face up with one hand, and idly tapped the tea on the table with her finger, writing the word "bored" on the surface.

She's just a laid-back person, unlike Song Yao who has such a strong sense of career ambition.

Knowing full well that Huangfu Hongxi is someone who can't even distinguish between white roses and red roses, why insist on staying by his side, just for that power, for that legendary tale for future generations?

Shangguan Zitong didn't understand, and the booklet in her hand lost its appeal. She simply lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep. There's nothing a good night's sleep can't solve.

She used to think that there was nothing that a meal couldn't solve, but since she lost her sense of taste, everything she ate tasted like cardboard. With no taste in her food, she felt that the most important thing in the world was to sleep.

......

More than a month has passed, and Huangfu Hongxi has indeed been quite busy. For the first few days, he took her to the palace to pay his respects, but later he took his concubine instead. Everyone pretended not to notice this strange phenomenon, tacitly agreeing and whispering among themselves.

Shangguan Zitong, on the other hand, had an even more leisurely life. Apart from being unable to leave the Crown Prince's residence, which was a bit boring, everything else was fine.

"Your Highness, Your Highness requests that you come to the main hall for a meeting."

A maid rushed over, seemingly in a great hurry.

"Then you lead the way."

Shangguan Zitong put down the flower branch she was pruning, placed it in a vase, and then followed the maid to the main hall.

In fact, she had already figured out the layout of the mansion after things calmed down. However, the maid thought she was out of favor, so she kindly led the way for her.

In the main hall.

"What brings Your Highness here?"

Shangguan Zitong, dressed in a pea-green floor-length jacket and skirt, watched the two people in the hall exchanging affectionate glances and wanted to finish speaking quickly and leave.

"Has the Crown Princess been too lazy lately?"

The crown prince, who was sitting, asked her a question while she was standing.

"Didn't you gradually weaken my power? Why are you blaming me? That's really strange."

Shangguan Zitong retorted, "It's the truth! How dare he say he's right? Can't I even speak up? He's really just a subservient man."

"you!"

The Crown Prince was furious.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean'? Speak up if you have something to say."

"It makes me feel like I'm being unreasonable."

"It's been so long, have you even asked about me?"

"You know nothing, don't you!"

Shangguan Zitong said with a look of disgust.

"What kind of look is that? Can't you be as gentle and charming as the concubine?"

"Why did you summon me here? Everyone is unique, and I won't follow her example."

Upon hearing this, Song Yao, who was seated, had a glint in her eyes and tugged at Huangfu Hongxi's sleeve.

"Your Highness, important matters are at stake."

Song Yao said in a soft, sweet voice.

"Leqi, come out."

Huangfu Hongxi clapped his hands.

Le Qi entered the hall from outside and bowed to them in turn.

"This person will be your maid from now on, and will take care of your daily needs."

Huangfu Hongxi tried to capture the changes in her expression, but she was too good at hiding her true feelings and he couldn't see through her.

It wasn't that Shangguan Zitong was actually good at hiding, but rather that she disdained to hide, and her expression remained unchanged.

"This servant, Leqi, greets the Crown Princess."

Le Qi bowed to Shangguan Zitong again.

"No courtesy, stay on your own."

"What does the Crown Prince mean by this? Why have you suddenly started paying attention to me?"

Shangguan Zitong felt that there was no such thing as a free lunch; something bad was bound to happen. She was certain that Huangfu Hongxi wouldn't come up with anything good.

"You don't know what's good for you. Soon it will be time to prepare a state banquet to entertain envoys from various countries. The Empress Dowager intends for you to make the arrangements. What do you think?"

Huangfu Hongxi said with a sincere expression.

Damn it, I told you it was nothing special. Look, let me handle the difficult and complicated tasks, and let Song Yao do the easy ones.

Kid, your mind's completely off the edge. Don't get carried away. Do I look like the kind of person who would plan a state banquet?

They can swallow their pride when asking someone for a favor.

"Do you think I'm up to the task? If you want to embarrass the Beiji royal family, you can let me do it."

"I'll travel for three years, and when I return I'll marry you. Do you think I'll do that?"

Shangguan Zitong sneered.

"Well then, my sister is a daughter of a prominent family, she must be capable of anything."

"Then let my sister come. I'll just say I'm sick, how about that?"

"Does the Crown Princess want me to be branded as someone who favors concubines over his wife?"

Huangfu Hongxi stood up and walked towards Shangguan Zitong, but was stopped by Song Yao.

"Your Highness, please don't be angry. The Crown Princess didn't mean it. Perhaps she accidentally said something wrong."

Song Yao offered some words of comfort.

"Why not? Isn't this the best of both worlds? I'm a master at feigning illness; I guarantee outsiders won't notice anything amiss, not even the imperial physicians..."

"Besides, I've already backed down so much, doesn't the concubine want to give it a try?"

Shangguan Zitong's eyes lit up.

It's better to leave such troublesome matters to the boss, and besides, this is a good opportunity for Song Yao to show her skills.

This is also her chance to truly delegate power.

"Then let's do it this way. Leqi is practically an elder in the household, so just accept it as compensation."

Huangfu Hongxi compromised.

"Okay, have them all leave. I have something to tell you."

As soon as Shangguan Zitong finished speaking, Huangfu Hongxi dismissed the guards and servants.

"Including concubines."

Seeing that Song Yao did not make a move, Shangguan Zitong said.

"Your Highness!"

Song Yao held his hand and said coquettishly.

"Yaoyao is not an outsider, so you can speak."

Unable to resist Song Yao's coquettishness, Huangfu Hongxi said...

"Fine, I'll tell you whether I'm here or not."

Shangguan Zitong got tired of standing, so she casually found a place to sit down, ignoring their reactions.

Seeing this, Huangfu Hongxi and Song Yao also found seats and sat down.

"Huangfu Hongxi, do you think you can get to that position in three years?"

There was silence between them, and the atmosphere was a bit cold.

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? I don't understand."

"Let's get a divorce in three years. You can make her your official wife and both of you can ascend to the throne, while I continue traveling and enjoying life. Wouldn't that be better?"

Shangguan Zitong said slowly.

"Have you ever liked me even the slightest bit?"

Huangfu Hongxi said when he realized things had gone too far.

"No, Your Highness, please spare me."

"Why?"

"...For no reason."

After Shangguan Zitong finished speaking, she got up, opened the door, and took Le Qi, who was waiting outside, back to her residence.

Perhaps it's normal for people here to have multiple wives and concubines, but I'm waiting for the one who's all alone to appear. If not, then I'll remain single. Shangguan Zitong thought to herself.

"How could she say anything about divorce? I have provided her with the best food and drink and have never mistreated her."

"She actually started thinking about getting a divorce."

"Yaoyao, you tell me, have I been too good to her?"

Huangfu Hongxi angrily smashed the tea set on the table to vent his anger.

“Your Highness, my sister is a person who yearns for freedom. Perhaps she doesn’t want to be a caged canary.”

Song Yao crouched down to pick up the broken porcelain shards, deliberately cutting her fingertip from an angle where Huangfu Hongxi couldn't see. Her eyes darkened.

"How could Yao Yao be so careless? From now on, we can have the servants do these things."

"I've wronged you."

Huangfu Hongxi took Song Yao's hand and tenderly bandaged her wound to stop the bleeding with a handkerchief.

"Your Highness, it's alright."

Song Yao said in a sweet voice.

The two were relatively speechless.

......