Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Activities are restricted to the palace grounds."

"And I must have my eyes and ears around me."

"These are my conditions, are you going or not?"

Huangfu Hongxi wanted to get close to her, but he was afraid she would harm herself.

"Ha! If I don't go, what's the point of chaining me up like a dog?"

"I'd rather starve to death."

Where did you hide my dagger?

Shangguan Zitong questioned him about the matter.

“I’ve hidden it; it’s too dangerous for you.”

"Never mind, your activities are confined to the palace, I won't send anyone to keep an eye on you."

"Eat your food properly."

Huangfu Hongxi approached her and unlocked the chains binding her; the chains were long enough to allow her to move freely throughout the hall. After placing the food on the table, Le Qi began tidying up the room.

Apart from the basic infrastructure, there was nothing left in the entire palace for Shangguan Zitong to smash; it was practically bare. Huangfu Hongxi acted as if he didn't see it and ordered the other maids to replace everything that should be in Cining Palace with new ones.

"I'm not hungry, I'm too hungry, I don't want to eat at all now."

Shangguan Zitong had truly experienced hunger.

"Don't be stubborn, at least eat a little."

Huangfu Hongxi pulled her by the sleeve and led her to the dining table to sit down. Seeing that she did not resist, he felt inexplicably overjoyed.

"I told you, I'm not hungry, didn't you hear me?"

Shangguan Zitong looked at him and said in a calm tone.

"I have already sent your sister back to Nanning."

“If you don’t behave, I can’t guarantee that I won’t use your alleged madness and regicide as a pretext to launch an attack on Nanning.”

Huangfu Hongxi said in a harsh tone.

"Then if you want to attack, then attack Nanning."

"What do their lives have to do with me?"

"I'm not some savior who has accumulated good deeds."

"Besides, using me as an excuse is just a pretext you're using to attack Nanning."

"Even without me, you would still launch an attack on Nanning."

Why bother with such high-sounding words?

Shangguan Zitong picked up her bowl and chopsticks and started eating. Although she wasn't hungry, she knew she had to eat because she was a person of her own.

"you..."

"How could you...think that?"

"It's really unreasonable."

Huangfu Hongxi's face turned almost green with anger.

"Ha, isn't that so?"

"A prosperous dynasty needs no women to adorn it; it shines on its own. But the fall of a dynasty requires women to take the blame."

"Countless princesses sacrificed themselves in political marriages, but how many of them had a good ending?"

"In other words, in this era of male supremacy, women's self-awareness has never awakened."

“From birth to death, no one taught them what independence is, only how to be a good wife and mother, and to take their husbands as the head of the household.”

"Not a single person thought it was wrong! Look at me, I got a little carried away and said too much, I'm so sorry."

As Shangguan Zitong spoke, she realized she had been too sentimental lately, overwhelmed by negative emotions. She felt like a stranger to herself. After finishing her meal, she went for a stroll in the garden alone. Huangfu Hongxi sat quietly in the Cining Palace, waiting for her return.

......

"When can you take me away?"

"I feel like I can only endure this kind of life until Song Yao gives birth."

"Ah, Ah? I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I've been acting like a lunatic."

Shangguan Zitong strolled aimlessly through the garden.

[Host, I will definitely take you away next spring. Please hang in there a little longer.]

"What about the mission?"

The most important thing is to stay alive.

"Why has it suddenly become so humane?"

I've always been this way.

"I wonder who used lightning on me last time."

That cold and ruthless guy must be my clone.

"Huh? There's such a saying?"

Well, you don't need to know too much.

"All right."

Shangguan Zitong toured the entire palace in one afternoon, but didn't find a single underground passage.

"That's strange, why isn't it there?"

"That shouldn't be the case! Could it be that I just didn't find it? Shouldn't there be a tunnel leading to the outside? To prevent the royal bloodline from becoming extinct?"

Unable to figure it out, Shangguan Zitong randomly grabbed a maid and asked her about Song Yao's bedroom. She then went to Yikun Palace alone.

Inside Yikun Palace.

"Didn't you tell me to run away?"

"Does it still count now?"

Shangguan Zitong entered Yikun Palace without anyone stopping her. Everyone there was a snobbish person; they weren't blind and could see how much His Majesty valued her, so no one dared to offend her, fearing that they would suffer the consequences.

"I dare not let you go now."

"You're more precious than me now."

Song Yao didn't blame her for not bowing.

"I'm really impressed, is there any authenticity?"

Tell me, I will escape someday.

Shangguan Zitong went straight to the point and asked.

"Yes, but I can't tell you."

"How can this cage truly confine you?"

"I believe you will eventually get out."

Song Yao slowly picked up her teacup and took a sip.

"Oh right, with your trust, I can dig a tunnel much more efficiently. Seriously, speechless. Anyone can say nice things." Wait a minute, why does her tea-drinking gesture look so familiar? Shangguan Zitong felt like a clown, utterly worthless.

"Hmm, where is Yibai's body?"

When she couldn't get any answers from him, she mentioned Yi Bai.

"I do not know, but I do know that his tomb faces the palace from afar. It was at His Majesty's behest."

"Ask His Majesty about these matters; he will surely know the answers to these questions."

Song Yao stood up, circled her twice, and then stopped. She took her hand and patted it gently, saying, "You've lost weight. I know it's not easy for you, so I won't make things difficult for you. If there's anything you need, you can tell me in advance, and I'll come up with a solution for you."

"Well, thank you."

After Shangguan Zitong finished speaking, she left and returned to Cining Palace.

Inside the Cining Palace, Huangfu Hongxi was waiting for her to have dinner together.

"You haven't left at all?"

As soon as Shangguan Zitong stepped into the hall, she saw Huangfu Hongxi sitting steadily at the dining table, without moving an inch.

"From now on, I will dine with you."

You'd better get used to it soon.

Huangfu Hongxi picked up his chopsticks, gesturing for her to eat with him. For some reason, Shangguan Zitong felt nauseous at the sight of him and fell into deep thought as she looked at the food. She didn't touch a single bite, and Huangfu Hongxi waited quietly for her to start eating.

"I'm still full, I'm not hungry, you eat."

"Where's Yibai? Take me to see him."

"Please, I'm begging you, please have mercy!"

He's dead...

Shangguan Zitong put down the bowl and chopsticks she had picked up.

"eat first."

"I told you I can't eat."

"Hongjin, bring the person up."

No sooner had Huangfu Hongxi finished speaking than Hongjin pushed Leqi into the hall, her hands bound. Hongjin brought her before Shangguan Zitong, and placed a sword against Leqi's neck.

“If you don’t eat, then kill her, and the others will too, until you eat.”

Huangfu Hongxi gestured to Hongjin, who immediately understood, and a bloody mark instantly appeared on Leqi's neck.

"Fine, I'll eat it! Let her go."

"Huangfu Hongxi, can't you change your habit of killing people?"

Shangguan Zitong picked up her bowl and chopsticks and began to eat slowly. Hongjin put down his sword, and Leqi bowed to her gratefully without saying a word. Everyone held their breath, marveling at how she had addressed His Majesty by his given name.

"okay."

"If I won't kill him in front of you, then I'll just kill him behind your back," Huangfu Hongxi thought to himself. He ate his meal without making a sound.

"Have you finished eating?"

"Ah."

"It's getting late, you should get some rest. I'll take you to see him tomorrow."

"Ah."

"I still have official business to attend to. Remember to take your medicine on time."

"Ah."

Shangguan Zitong replied perfunctorily that she wouldn't drink those medicines; there was no guarantee someone wouldn't poison her. She would pour them into the plants every time she needed them, pretending she'd drunk them. Huangfu Hongxi wasn't annoyed by her response. After putting the chains on her, he left.

After he left, Shangguan Zitong dismissed everyone and brandished the chains in his hands.

"Ah Li, come out and try jumping rope!"

"This chain could easily jump over ten people."

I have serious doubts about your mental state.

Is something bothering you? Tell me and I'll try to comfort you.

The system transformed into a fox and lightly jumped around with her a few times. When it saw that she stopped shaking it, it stopped jumping too and ran to her and squatted down.

No, I will live a good life.

"My sister went back; I'll see Yibo tomorrow."

"How could I not be happy! I'm overjoyed!"

Shangguan Zitong took off her shoes, sat cross-legged, and hugged the fox to her lap, plucking its fur as she played with it.

Your sister was deported back to China.

The person you saw was dead.

You can't escape for the time being.

[Host, are you just toughing it out?]

It looked up at her and saw that her eyes were filled with tears. It jumped to the ground and instantly grew to the size of a mount. It stopped behind her and sat down, its fox tail wrapping around her waist and pulling her towards its neck.

You're tired, take a rest.

"Okay, sure."

Shangguan Zitong leaned against its neck, and its remaining tail covered her in front of her as a blanket.

......