【Not much of an effect, is it?】
Su Zhenzhen floated all the way back.
Today, she had held her crush's hand.
By tomorrow, they could be married.
Back at the Chuxiu Palace, Su Zhenzhen glanced at the lit window of Song Lizhen’s room and let out a low sigh.
Alas.
As far as Song Lizhen was concerned, even if Su Zhenzhen didn't help her fake her death, Shen Yanci would have arranged for someone else to do it.
Su Zhenzhen didn't believe that just because she was a transmigrator who knew a bit of the plot, she could survive in this power-struggle novel filled with masterminds.
She had only changed her environment and her body, not her brain.
Revealing that she had foreknowledge of the plot would only make things more dangerous for her.
As for why she didn't just poison that old eunuch to death—this was an ancient society governed by laws, not a lawless wasteland. If someone died, the higher-ups would definitely investigate. The ancient judicial officers weren't pushovers, and neither were these ruthless power-seekers.
The most important thing was that she couldn't bring herself to do it.
She could curse the old eunuch to fall into a puddle and drown the next day, and she might even dance for joy upon hearing the news of his death, but she couldn't pull the trigger herself.
Su Zhenzhen squatted at the entrance of Chuxiu Palace, absentmindedly plucking a weed and pulling off its leaves.
Live.
Die.
Live.
Die.
Live.
Die.
Su Zhenzhen snapped the stem in half.
Live.
Zhenzhen wants it.
Zhenzhen gets it.
After her free psychological counseling session ended, having sacrificed only a single weed, Su Zhenzhen decided to go to sleep.
Who knew, maybe she wouldn't die until the day after tomorrow. If she died of exhaustion from staying up late tonight, wouldn't she be losing two days of life?
Just as her front foot stepped into the servants' quarters, a group of people appeared in Chuxiu Palace.
The leader wore a high-ranking scarlet round-collar eunuch robe, clearly no ordinary servant.
Holding an imperial decree and looking solemn, he appeared in the courtyard.
In the next moment, everyone in Chuxiu Palace was summoned to receive the decree.
"Which one is the Young Lady Song Lizhen?"
Song Lizhen looked up with a wooden expression. Su Zhenzhen saw the despair in her eyes.
If she remembered correctly, there was a part in the original novel where the Empress Dowager issued an edict promoting Song Lizhen to the rank of Noble Lady. This should be it.
Such an exceptional promotion showed how much the Empress Dowager favored her.
Song Lizhen stepped forward and knelt.
Wei Heng opened the scroll and read aloud.
"By the Grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: We have heard that Song Lizhen, daughter of the Left Vice Minister of Works Song Jing, is virtuous, refined, well-versed in poetry and etiquette, and a model of feminine grace. General Zhou Changfeng, the Conqueror of the West, is brave, skilled in battle, loyal to the country, and has performed great feats in guarding our borders, possessing the heroic spirit of a commander.
Observing that the two are well-matched in talent and virtue, a match made in heaven, We hereby bestow the hand of Song Lizhen in marriage to Zhou Changfeng. Let them wed at an auspicious hour.
Let this be proclaimed to the world, so that all may know.
By Imperial Command."
What? A marriage decree?
Kneeling at the very back, Su Zhenzhen looked stunned.
Wait, the plot is wrong.
What on earth happened?
Su Zhenzhen returned to the servants' quarters, lying on her bed and staring blankly.
Although she didn't know why this was happening, she knew she wasn't going to die anymore.
Could she be the legendary "hard-to-kill" type?
-
A month ago, the letters from Song Lizhen to Zhou Changfeng suddenly stopped. Anxious and unsure of what had happened, he took it upon himself to ask the Emperor for her hand.
According to the original plot, this memorial should have been buried under a mountain of other documents, ignored by everyone.
In reality, Song Lizhen had cut off contact because she knew she was entering the palace. She knew that once she went in, there would be no more chance for her and Zhou Changfeng.
Though her father didn't love her and her mother had died young, Zhou Changfeng was different.
She knew he had become a great general with a bright future and a warm, harmonious family. Between him and her, they were simply destined to be apart.
When Zhou Changfeng returned to find his beloved had become part of the tyrant's harem, who wouldn't be filled with hate? Naturally, he would no longer be loyal.
But with imperial power hanging over him, Zhou Changfeng would have been helpless.
And that was when Shen Yanci would have appeared like a savior from the heavens.
That was how the original plot was supposed to go.
But now, a mistake had occurred.
Shen Yanci looked at the secret report delivered by his subordinates, his usually gentle and jade-like face showing a hint of ferocity.
Shen Yanci took a deep breath. "How did this happen?"
The undercover agent kneeling on the ground naturally didn't know.
"That Emperor has always ignored court affairs. Why would he suddenly interfere? Has he noticed something?" Grand Secretary Sun, sitting beside Shen Yanci, stroked his beard and said, "It was my oversight. I should have pulled that memorial out sooner. But the Emperor never reads them; I don't know why he did this time."
"How could it be Teacher's fault? It must be that my subordinates were incompetent." Facing Grand Secretary Sun, the mentor who had introduced him to the court, Shen Yanci immediately became respectful.
Grand Secretary Sun nodded. "The elaborate trap you set is ruined. However, fortunately, the Empress Dowager's side didn't gain anything either. It seems this wasn't for her benefit; the tyrant simply had another inexplicable fit of madness."
This plan was meant to secure Zhou Changfeng as a pawn and to make him resent both the Empress Dowager and the tyrant.
It was truly a brilliant "two birds with one stone" strategy. What a waste.
Grand Secretary Sun glanced at Shen Yanci. "I heard we lost a batch of undercover agents. Have the new ones been sent in?"
Shen Yanci shook his head. "The Brocade Guard has suddenly tightened their inspections."
Grand Secretary Sun pondered for a moment. "Go and ask Wang Ji if he is ready. Wei Heng controls the Brocade Guard; they are a fierce tiger that cannot be allowed to remain."
"Yes."
-
Last night felt like a dream.
Song Lizhen was so happy she danced all night. Su Zhenzhen couldn't stay awake and fell asleep halfway through. Knowing she wasn't going to die, she slept even more soundly.
After all, staying up late leads to sudden death.
Now that she had finally managed to live, she needed to catch up on her sleep.
Having slept her fill, Su Zhenzhen sat at the entrance of Chuxiu Palace, spacing out. Suddenly, she heard rustling sounds from up ahead. A few young eunuchs and maids were gathered together, standing on their tiptoes and looking into the distance as if watching some excitement.
Gossip!
Neither caffeine nor polyphenols were as effective as a good piece of gossip.
Su Zhenzhen immediately rushed over.
She stood on her toes to take a look.
She saw several young eunuchs struggling to carry a body wrapped in a straw mat.
Judging by the direction they were coming from, it seemed to be the Imperial Garden.
It was a long way from the Imperial Garden to here. The mat was soaked through with water, and a corner had flipped up, revealing the face of the old eunuch.
It was actually that "cerebral thrombosis" old eunuch.
He was dead?
Talk about a double blessing!
Su Zhenzhen was thrilled. While her luck was holding, she immediately sought out the little eunuchs of Chuxiu Palace who were secretly gambling with dice. She joined in for a couple of rounds and promptly lost all the silver she had on her.
"Thank you for the tip, sister!"
Su Zhenzhen: ...Unlucky! Better go find her "sweetie" instead.
"Sister." One of the little eunuchs suddenly stopped her.
Su Zhenzhen’s internal alarm bells went off instantly.
You're not an undercover agent too, are you?
Meeting Su Zhenzhen’s wary gaze, the little eunuch looked a bit flustered. "Sister, this is a hairpin I received from the Young Lady today. I want to give it to you."
"Why are you giving it to me?"
The little eunuch’s face suddenly turned red.
Su Zhenzhen hadn't exactly experienced it firsthand, but she’d certainly seen enough to know how it worked.
"Take it back."
Look, I might be that kind of girl, but you’re just not that guy.
-
Tsk.
Tsk, tsk.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Truly handsome.
Su Zhenzhen sat on a small stool, her chin resting in one hand, staring at the little eunuch sitting beside her.
Even though he was wearing the coarsest, lowest-ranking eunuch uniform, his beauty was the kind that couldn't be hidden even if he were draped in a burlap sack. It was the kind of looks people fell for.
"Did you know? My mistress, Lady Song, was granted a marriage decree by the Emperor. She was so happy she danced all night long and is catching up on her sleep right now."
"And another thing, remember that old eunuch I told you about who used to bully me?" Su Zhenzhen said gleefully. "He’s gone to 'enjoy his fortune' in hell."
Lu Hexu: ...
The little eunuch sat on his stool, his long limbs folded as he rested one hand on his knee and lazily propped up his chin with the other. His eyelids drooped slightly. "Are you free to brew my medicine now?"
"I am."
Su Zhenzhen reached out and naturally took the little eunuch's wrist to check his pulse.
(Hmm... there’s no effect at all.)
He had told her that ordinary poisons didn't work on him.
Frowning, Su Zhenzhen handed the cooled medicine to him first.
Lu Hexu drank it with a lazy air.
"Oh, right. I brought this for you today."
Su Zhenzhen took out some milk she had hidden in a small earthenware jar and poured freshly brewed hot tea into it.
Half milk, half hot tea, and finally, a spoonful of honey.
A cup of extra-sweet milk tea was ready.
"Taste it."
A new poison?
"It’s really good."
Come on, good boy, just a sip.
Her poor baby had grown so thin; he must have never eaten anything good.
He reminded her of her cat.
When that stray, three-legged cat first came to her house, it ate everything: cat food, treats, pork liver, beef, pork, chicken breast, shrimp, canned food, salmon—you name it. It even raided the trash can at midnight to steal her leftovers.
Later, she spoiled it so much that it became incredibly picky. It wouldn't touch anything except cat snacks and a tiny bit of kibble.
Fearing it would become malnourished or ruin its health with junk food, Su Zhenzhen bought all sorts of sample bags of kibble to test its palate and boiled various types of fresh meat. Eventually, the cat got so annoyed with her that it would pretend to eat while watching her out of the corner of its eye. Then, the moment her back was turned, it would sneak the snack bag onto the bed to feast in secret.
When Su Zhenzhen got home from work and pulled back the covers, the bed would be covered in crumbs.
The cat was a menace, but its owner was kind.
"Oh, wait."
Thinking of something else, Su Zhenzhen left the jar and ran to a corner, plucking a few rose petals.
The weather in Jinling warmed up early, and the roses here were already in bloom. It was a wild, edible rose bush—the only one around. Who knew which greedy little bird had dropped the seed from its wings while flying by?
Su Zhenzhen washed the petals with spring water and added them to the jar.
The milk tea’s aesthetic appeal instantly leveled up.
The little eunuch finally reached out, cupping the small jar to take a sip.
The jar wasn't large, only about the size of Su Ruoshui's palm.
Lu Hexu took a sip, and his casual expression shifted abruptly.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and took another slow, deliberate sip.
"How is it?"
"It’s alright."
Looking at the empty jar, Su Zhenzhen let out a heavy sigh in her heart.
Just as she thought.
Extra-sweet milk tea would be cloyingly sweet to a normal person, yet the little eunuch in front of her had finished the whole thing.
Last time, he hadn't found the green apricots sour, and he hadn't found the jar of preserves sweet either.
It meant his sense of taste was extremely weak.
If a normal person’s taste was at a seven, his seemed to be at a three.
Just what kind of things had he gone through to be broken down like this?
As Su Zhenzhen was lost in thought, the stool beside her suddenly lightened.
"You're leaving?"
"Yes."
"Well... are you coming back tomorrow?"
"Yes."
"And one more thing..." Su Zhenzhen stared at the little eunuch's face, lost in his looks for a long moment. "Drink more hot water."
When it came to chasing guys, Zhenzhen was a total rookie.
