Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Oh my god, is he about to lose his composure?"

"Wasn't that just a polite way of rejecting him?"

"Seriously? Is it really that serious?"

"He looked rather creepy."

Xiao Zitong held onto Shangguan Zitong's hair bun, glancing back at Huangfu Hongxi's state from time to time.

Stop looking, things might get tough for you later.

Shangguan Zitong quickly walked to her bedroom, and after confirming that no one was there, he closed the door.

I've found out why he's unkillable.

Shangguan Zitong sat at the square table, looking at her.

"What? 』

Xiao Zitong sat on the square table, gazing at it.

He is surrounded by auspicious energy, but not much.

Heaven will protect him.

"If I cannot kill him with a single blow, will I, as an outsider, be discovered by the Heavenly Dao? Will I then suffer a backlash and be banished?"

[Pretty much, but the backlash was purely accidental; it only happened because I was inside you.]

The mission has failed twice.

I'm not sure if you'll actually be able to assassinate Huangfu Hongxi after I give you back control of your body.

[You have a maximum of three chances to complete a task. If you fail all three, you will vanish forever and cease to exist in any realm.]

Are you... coming back?

Shangguan Zitong looked at her seriously.

"Let me think about it."

"I believe I can survive to the end."

Shangguan Zitong collapsed onto the square table, and Xiao Zitong was absorbed into her body.

"Wow, I'm finally back."

The first thing Shangguan Zitong did after waking up was to jump around a couple of times.

"...cough...cough...cough..."

Shangguan Zitong coughed until his face turned red, and he leaned on the square table, panting.

"Will I have a relapse if this continues?"

I'll suppress it for you; just do your best to complete the task.

I will protect you.

"Okay, thank you. Ahri."

Shangguan Zitong walked to the bedside, took off her shoes, and fell asleep fully clothed.

In the middle of the night, Shangguan Zitong woke up after tossing and turning.

"Ah Li, are you asleep? I can't sleep."

She got up, hugged her pillow, and paced barefoot back and forth in the hall.

[I'm here, host.]

"Can you transform into your true form and show it to me?"

【Hold on. 】

Shangguan Zitong looked at the nine-tailed white fox that had suddenly appeared on the ground and moved its head closer to her.

"Holy crap, that's huge!"

Shangguan Zitong gestured with her hands to indicate its size. It wasn't entirely a white fox, after all, each of its tails had a tuft of red fur at the tip.

"Excuse me, are you a mixed-breed fox?"

Why does your ninth tail look a little faint?

"Can you shrink? You're small enough to be my mount."

Shangguan Zitong asked three questions in a row.

No, I was born this way.

I would trade my life for your friend's.

Yes, wait a moment.

The system suddenly shrank and fell from the sky. Shangguan Zitong reached out and caught it, holding it up to his face to examine it closely.

"I'm so sorry, I caused you to lose your life."

Shangguan Zitong looked at it apologetically.

[As long as you, host, can complete the task, that's fine.]

The system was kicking its two small, short front legs in the air.

"Born? Aren't you a system?"

She placed it on the soft blanket and asked with a curious look.

Who's born with a system? That would be incredibly tragic. I'm only born because of ***.

Um... never mind, you don't need to know.

"Your name is Ah Li, which means fox; then Sister Liu's previous system was called Ah Long, so was it a dragon?"

Shangguan Zitong stared at the system with shining eyes, already imagining herself riding a dragon and flying in the sky.

No, it's just a coincidence.

"Oh, okay then."

"Then be my body pillow and sleep with me."

Shangguan Zitong picked it up and walked towards the bed.

【don't want. 】

The system struggled within its embrace.

"Didn't you say you'd transform into your true form and sleep with me? Why are you going back on your word?"

Shangguan Zitong ignored its struggles and picked it up, throwing it directly onto the bed.

Men and women shouldn't touch each other. Your behavior is frightening me; I'm going back to my spatial dimension.

It jumped off the bed, stared at her, and then disappeared.

"Never mind, go back to your space."

Shangguan Zitong sat on the edge of the bed, hugging her knees and burying her head in her hands, feeling emo in the middle of the night.

......

The following day, during a meal in the main hall, Shangguan Zitong appeared before everyone with dark circles under her eyes.

"Your Highness, I wish to go out of the palace to make some purchases, so I came here specifically to inform you."

Shangguan Zitong quickly finished her meal and left the mansion. Huangfu Hongxi and Song Yao continued to eat leisurely, watching her departing figure.

"Your Highness, I have an appointment with the sisters of the Prime Minister's residence today, so I will take my leave now."

After finishing her meal, Song Yao put down her chopsticks, stood up, bowed, and walked out of the hall.

"..."

Huangfu Hongxi was inexplicably annoyed during the meal; how come everyone was so arrogant?

"Hong Jin."

"My subordinate is here."

Hongjin walked from outside the hall to Huangfu Hongxi and bowed with clasped hands.

"How could they treat me like this? Have I been too good to them?"

"Your Highness, if that's the case, then break their wings, break their legs, and lock them up."

"That's a good idea. Let's start with the Crown Princess."

Huangfu Hongxi got up and walked towards the study.

At the market, Shangguan Zitong took Leqi and Yibai for a stroll. They wanted to buy everything that looked interesting, but unfortunately, they didn't have many silver ingots in their pockets.

Ugh, it tastes bland, nothing tastes good. I miss the days when I was a ghost. She muttered to herself.

Shangguan Zitong ate candied hawthorns one after another, finding them utterly tasteless.

"Yibai, you wait outside the store. Leqi and I will go inside and browse around."

"If you feel bored, you can also wander around the neighborhood by yourself."

After Shangguan Zitong finished speaking, she pulled Leqi into the store to look at ready-made clothing items.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will wait here for the Crown Princess."

Yi Bai sat casually and elegantly on the stone steps outside the shop, fanning himself and enjoying the cool shade under the parasol.

"Leqi, what do you think of this outfit?"

Shangguan Zitong pointed to a light green jacket and skirt and looked at Leqi.

"It suits you very well, and the material is also very nice."

Leqi touched the fabric of the clothes and felt that it felt pretty good.

"So do you like it?"

Shangguan Zitong looked at her and said.

“I’m too old for these light-colored clothes; they really suit you.”

Leqi looked at the clothes in her hand, her eyes filled with sadness.

"The reason I left the manor this time was specifically to bring you here to pick out clothes."

"I mainly want to thank you for taking care of me while I was in a coma."

"So, if you see a particular set you like, just tell me. We have plenty of money."

Shangguan Zitong tugged at her arm and said coquettishly.

"Taking care of you is my duty, you really don't need to be so good to me. It would be the same for anyone else."

Leqi sighed.

"I do not care."

"Boss, do you have any clothes that would suit her? I want the best ones, give me a few sets."

Shangguan Zitong waved her small hand and said domineeringly.

Why does she have that domineering CEO vibe? She felt like she was the domineering CEO at that moment.

"Okay, please wait a moment, sir, I'll go check the inventory right away."

Seeing Shangguan Zitong's extravagant demeanor and her attire, the shopkeeper knew she was someone of high status and wealth. He quickly went to the warehouse to find inventory.

"Your Highness, you really don't need to do this."

"The maids' uniforms were all the same according to their rank."

After the boss left, Le Qi whispered to Shangguan Zitong.

"I don't believe it. There will always be times when people get a break."

"Leqi, just pick what you like, don't overthink it, okay?"

“My clothing department will be sending some over, and they all look really nice. I just want to pick out some clothes for you.”

Shangguan Zitong took her hand.

"Here come the beautiful clothes."

The boss carried a pile of clothes from the warehouse toward them, placed them on the table in front of them, and let them choose.

"Leqi, take a look and see if there's anything you like."

"Yes."

Leqi carefully selected a few items.

"These are the ones I like best."

Leqi pointed to a few of the clothes.

"Okay. Boss, please pack up all the clothes she pointed to. We'll buy them all."

"Let's settle the bill, how much?"

Shangguan Zitong took out a stack of banknotes from his waistband.

"Alright, sir, that'll be four hundred and ninety taels of silver in total. Would you like to pay in gold, silver, or banknotes?"

The shop owner packed the items with a cheerful expression.

"Here, this is five hundred taels. Keep the change."

Shangguan Zitong handed him a ticket.

"Yibai, come in and pick up the goods."

When Shangguan Zitong saw Leqi reaching for the things, she quickly stopped her, while Yibai acted as the unfortunate helper, carrying the things for her.

"coming."

Upon hearing the summons, Yi Bai put away his fan, darted to the shopkeeper, and took the various gift boxes from his hands.

After strolling around for a while, it got too hot and she got tired, so she led them back home.

"Your Highness, what are you embroidering?"

"Is this embroidered for His Highness the Crown Prince?"

When Leqi saw Huangfu start showing off something dark and unrecognizable, she couldn't tell what it was.

“I’m embroidering a sword tassel for Yibai. He always carries a sword because he practices martial arts.”

"I was so busy buying you things today that I forgot to give him a gift."

Feeling guilty, I thought I'd embroider a sword tassel as a gift for him.

Shangguan Zitong continued embroidering the handkerchief in her hand.

"Your Highness, please let me do it."

"Just tell me what you want me to embroider."

Leqi couldn't stand it anymore. If this thing were given away, the Crown Princess would have no image left at all.

......