Holding the script, I want to give up.

"Ugh! This is so boring! I want to wait too! It's driving me crazy!"

Shangguan Zitong squatted on the ground, bored, propping her hands up and counting the green plants in the distance! Seeing that she was bored, the boy conjured up a rabbit for her to pass the time.

"This rabbit looks great! Let's make spicy rabbit heads! It'll be delicious!"

She picked up the rabbit and looked at the boy.

[...a glutton.]

"Master, His Majesty seems to be waking up!"

The young doctor, witnessing Huangfu Hongxi's final moments of lucidity, was thrilled to see this miracle unfold.

"I think I see the deceased Crown Princess."

Huangfu Hongxi slowly woke up and, seeing that he had returned to the palace, said nothing more.

"Damn it!"

Shangguan Zitong coughed up a mouthful of blood.

[WARNING! WARNING! Serious Warning!]

[Mission failed; the host will die and their soul will dissipate within one month!]

"Damn it, you dog system, I can't beat you."

Shangguan Zitong collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

How could this be?

The boy, also severely injured, slowly moved to her, picked her up, and activated a teleportation array to send her back to Dongchuan. The rabbit, startled, ran away. The boy transformed into a fox and nestled in Shangguan Zitong's arms, concealing his form. She lay quietly on the bed, waiting for Liu Yunwan to discover her.

"Zitong, are you awake?"

"I'm in!"

As Liu Yunwan entered the palace, the fox was sealed within the system space the instant she entered.

"how so!"

"Yue Ai, quickly go and call the imperial physician."

Liu Yunwan stared at Shangguan Zitong, who lay on the bed, barely alive, lost in thought. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and the arrow wound in her heart.

"How could you be so badly injured? Where did you go?"

Liu Yunwan pulled down her coat and saw the blue phoenix mark on her chest that seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She could only temporarily tear off a piece of her own skirt to bandage the wound.

"Your Majesty, the imperial physician is here."

Yue Ai led the imperial physician into Huayu Pavilion. The physician, intrigued by Shangguan Zitong's symptoms, quickly got to work. Liu Yunwan didn't disturb him, watching quietly from the side.

"Her injuries are quite unusual; I will certainly do my utmost to help!"

The imperial physicians had never seen such a strange injury. It didn't look serious, but all her internal organs were damaged. She probably wouldn't live past next year. She looked to be only seventeen years old!

The imperial physician sighed and began the diagnosis.

"Alright, just tell me if you need anything."

Liu Yunwan waited anxiously, hoping that Shangguan Zitong would wake up and tell her what had happened.

"Wanwan, I have something strange to tell you!"

Mu Rongyi originally wanted to go to the nursery to find Liu Yunwan, but she wasn't there. He guessed that she was at Yuhua Pavilion, so he came here.

"Let's talk outside!"

Before Mu Rongyike could even see Shangguan Zitong's injuries, Liu Yunwan pushed him out of Yuhua Pavilion.

"Wanwan, what happened to her? She looks badly injured! And Huangfu Hongxi seems to be..."

Although Mu Rongyi couldn't see it clearly, she noticed that her injuries were somewhat similar to someone else's.

"What? Huangfu Hongxi, wasn't he in Beiji? How come he's injured too?"

Liu Yunwan already had some guesses in her mind.

"According to the scouts, Huangfu Hongxi suffered a very serious arrow wound to his heart last night and is almost on the verge of death."

"But strangely, he was fine after he woke up this morning, and the wound was gone."

Everyone exclaimed that it was truly amazing!

Mu Rongyi spoke of the messages relayed by the scouts.

"I understand. Don't tell anyone else. If this continues, Zitong will be in danger."

"Perhaps Zitong's final mission was to assassinate Huangfu Hongxi, but she failed."

“The punishment would be to be injured in his place, or something even more serious, and he might not live long.”

Liu Yunwan shared her guesses, but the specifics would only be known once Shangguan Zitong woke up.

"Is this... because of the system?"

Mu Rongyi asked uncertainly.

"Ah."

Liu Yunwan was wary of him, but not much.

"Would your system treat you like that?"

"Will you end up like her...?"

"I'm a little afraid that you'll disappear again."

Mu Rongyi hugged her and said.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I've finished all my tasks."

Liu Yunwan actually has one more task to complete, but since the system is no longer available, she can leave it for now.

Her mission was exactly the same as Shangguan Zitong's, but she could still win over Mu Rongyi, while Shangguan Zitong could never win over Huangfu Hongxi.

"So, once you've finished, you're not going to go back, are you?"

"Neither I nor the children can live without you!"

Mu Rongyi hugged her even tighter, as if afraid she would disappear in an instant. The look in his eyes darkened.

"Don't worry, I'll always be there for you and the baby. I can't live without you either."

Liu Yunwan hugged him back and gently patted his back, coaxing him softly.

......

Meanwhile, inside the Beiji Imperial Palace, Huangfu Hongxi sat at a square table in the Cining Palace.

"Your Majesty, an envoy from Nanning has arrived outside the palace."

"They said they came from afar carrying valuable items, just to return them to you."

The chief eunuch entered the hall, bowed, and conveyed the message.

"Quickly summon that envoy into the palace; I will go there immediately."

Huangfu Hongxi walked towards the reception room, pondering why the Southern Emperor would send someone to deliver something. Was it news of Shangguan Zitong?

"Your Majesty, we have come only to return your item, which is too valuable and unsuitable for Nanning."

After the messenger finished speaking, he handed over an exquisite wooden box, which was taken by the chief eunuch and given to Huangfu Hongxi.

"I understand. Go back and tell the Southern Emperor that I will protect Nanning for life."

Huangfu Hongxi opened the wooden box, glanced at the jade bracelet inside, and said... After everyone left, he covered his face and sneered, like a madman.

"Shangguan Zitong, you must still be alive!"

I will find you no matter where you are.

"You wanted to kill me? Come on! I'm not dead yet!"

Although Huangfu Hongxi had rarely witnessed anything strange, he was certain that he had seen Shangguan Zitong last night. However, he couldn't understand why there was always a white-haired boy behind her.

He picked up the wooden box and went to Cining Palace to rest for a while.

"Your Majesty, what's wrong with you lately?"

"Why do you always go to Cining Palace and the Crown Prince's residence?"

"She's already dead, why are you so insistent?"

Song Yao carried a bowl of medicine to Cining Palace to find Huangfu Hongxi, hoping to persuade him to go back to handle state affairs and also to see their child.

"No, she's not dead."

"Your Majesty, you must believe me, she is not dead. She is just hiding and does not want to see me."

"She must still be alive. Do you think she'll go somewhere?"

Huangfu Hongxi supported Song Yao's arm and said.

"Your Majesty, you are ill and need to recuperate."

"Can't you even tell the difference between the dead and the living?"

"You're talking nonsense in broad daylight! Drink this bowl of medicine now."

Song Yao handed the medicine to him and spoke softly.

"I won't drink it, I'm not sick!"

"Your Majesty, you've become increasingly audacious lately."

"It is not your place to make decisions about my affairs. Don't let this happen again, or don't blame me for turning ruthless."

"I say she's not dead, so she's not dead!"

Huangfu Hongxi knocked the medicine bowl out of her hand and grabbed her by the neck.

"You...you're hopeless!"

Song Yao used her internal energy to fight him, but because she hadn't practiced martial arts for a long time and was rusty, she was at a slight disadvantage.

Huangfu Hongxi didn't bother with her, and seeing that she couldn't beat him, he flew away.

Back at the Dongchuan Flower Rain Pavilion, Shangguan Zitong woke up slowly in the evening, with Liu Yunwan by her side.

"How are you? Is anything bothering you?"

"What happened? How did you get so badly injured?"

Liu Yunwan held her hand and asked worriedly.

"It's okay, I'm very strong."

"Well, it's a long story. Basically, it's about the backlash from a failed mission!"

Shangguan Zitong shrugged, indicating that she was also helpless, and said in a lighthearted manner.

"How much longer do you have?"

Liu Yunwan guessed correctly, but fear began to creep into her heart.

"About a month! I'm not sure."

"I was a little hard of hearing at the time and didn't hear clearly."

Shangguan Zitong said that the situation at the time was really useless, so she just lay down and fell asleep. She was fed up with that damn system.

"So your system is pretty good to you!"

"At least it gave you time! It didn't make you disappear completely and cease to exist between heaven and earth."

After listening to her words, Liu Yunwan analyzed the situation.

"It works sometimes and it doesn't work sometimes, do you need it?"

"How about I give it to you?"

Shangguan Zitong declared that she didn't need that lousy system anymore, and she didn't want to see him for even a second longer. He was practically her death warrant.

"System? System? Are you there? Come out!"

She became furious when no one responded.

"I don't need it. I don't want to be too dependent on the system."

Liu Yunwan felt that with the system, she was no different from someone who had cheated.

"Dependency?"

Shangguan Zitong pondered these words repeatedly, falling into deep thought.

......