Dream-Entering Pill

Soon, Lord Wang was carried away by the palace attendants.

Xiao Yanchen pressed a hand to his forehead and arranged for an imperial physician to remain on duty. He had a feeling it was necessary.

He looked over at his two younger brothers. They were still laughing, their books trembling along with them.

After that, Shen Anxin, having nothing else to do, indeed spared no one present.

Most of them were young officials, so their gossip was mostly trivial stuff. It might not affect their official careers, but it affected their dignity.

Chacha: [This Lord Zhao may look icy and hard to approach, but he's actually terrified of bugs. He jumps at the sight of an ant. He keeps mugwort in his sleeves year-round and secretly carries it inside his robes to court, afraid something might happen and make him lose his composure before the throne.]

Everyone stared in astonishment at the unsmiling Lord Zhao. No wonder he always smelled of herbs. When someone had asked, he'd said it was a scented pouch his wife insisted he carry.

Lord Zhao slowly lowered his head, his face beet red and all hope gone, but he still pressed the mugwort tightly against his chest.

Bugs really are terrifying! They have so many legs!

Chacha: [Lord Qian has a terrible memory, so every time he attends court, he secretly writes cheat notes on the insides of his arms to keep from forgetting what he needs to report. He's done it so often that both arms are stained, and he can't wash the ink off anymore.]

Everyone immediately looked at Lord Qian's arms. They could just make out traces of ink hidden inside his sleeves.

Lord Qian clutched his cuffs, screaming inwardly, terrified someone would come over and pull them open for a look. But that was practically a confession in itself.

Chacha: [Lord Sun loves drinking, but he can't hold his liquor. Three cups and he's drunk. His favorite thing to do afterward is take his dog, Big Yellow, and sit in the moonlight pouring his heart out, crying about how hard life is, shouting about the bitterness in his heart and asking the dog if he understands his troubles. Now, whenever Big Yellow smells alcohol on him, he runs for his life.]

Everyone was about to look at Lord Sun, only to find that he had already fainted from anger. It was a secret only his family knew! How had it been exposed? His face and dignity had been swept into the dirt!

Chacha: [Lord Li loves raising koi and thinks he's very good at it. He often invites his colleagues over to admire them, and everyone praises him as a master who can keep even the hardest koi to raise alive. But he's really a koi killer. Any koi in his pond is sure to die within three days. His family is afraid he'll be upset, so they secretly replace them. He's always thought it was the same koi, but actually, he's already on koi the nineteenth.]

Everyone thought, Koi the fucking nineteenth? No wonder the koi always seemed to change a little whenever we went to admire it. But Lord Li was so confident that we couldn't very well question him. So they weren't even the same fish!

Lord Li: My koi! He fainted.

Chacha: [Lord Zhou took five concubines, not because he's lecherous, but because his kidneys are weak. He's afraid people will suspect, so he puts on a show and refuses no one, proving how capable he is...]

Next door, Lord Wang slowly came to and watched the officials being brought in one after another. Quite a few of them had laughed at him earlier.

Sure enough, it wasn't that retribution wouldn't come; Shen Anxin just hadn't arrived yet.

Finally, he felt better. He no longer needed to hold medicine in his mouth or lie down. With a wave of his sleeve, he was going back to eat gossip.

As long as a whole group suffered together, none of them could laugh at anyone else!

Meanwhile, in the imperial study, Emperor Hongyao and several of his most trusted ministers were discussing important affairs of state. During a pause, the Brocade Guard brought in a record of Shen Anxin's inner thoughts.

Emperor Hongyao quickly skimmed it, then frowned in disinterest. "It's all trivial stuff, nothing useful. In the future, this kind of thing... Hmm?"

Making a cat take the blame?

He took another look...

Once he started, he couldn't stop. The ministers couldn't see a thing, only the emperor's gradually changing expression. By the end, he was struggling so hard to hold back his laughter that their curiosity clawed at their hearts and scratched at their livers.

What exactly did he hear? Didn't he say it was trivial stuff? Why won't His Majesty share it? Let us eat gossip together!

They suddenly felt full of regret. If only they had been assigned to the battle preparation group too, they could have eaten gossip with Shen Anxin as it happened. Instead, all they could do now was watch the emperor eat gossip with relish.

No, when they left later, they had to make a detour to the battle preparation group and ask what had happened. What gossip could make the solemn Emperor Hongyao laugh like that?

If they didn't get the full scoop on the gossip in that report today, they wouldn't be able to sleep.

Meanwhile, the people in the Hall of Bright Radiance had been left with no mind to study and prepare for battle.

Those who hadn't been named were trembling with fear, their hearts in their throats.

Those who had already been named had given up on saving face. They even hoped the next unlucky soul would hurry up and join them.

Xiao Yanchen rubbed the space between his brows. He could only use Shen Anxin's poor health as a pretext to let her return early and rest.

Shen Anxin: [Oh yeah, off work early! Playing sick really does work! I'm off, I'm off.]

The ministers who feared being named were instantly weeping with relief inside. Their good names were safe for the moment.

The ministers who had already been named, however, wore fierce expressions. Just wait. Next time, none of them would get away!

She returned to the private courtyard the palace had arranged for her, where several palace attendants waited on her.

Of course, these attendants in plain sight had all been specially chosen because they couldn't hear her inner thoughts.

The Brocade Guard also kept watch in the shadows, recording Shen Anxin's inner thoughts and protecting her.

Because of her identity, Shen Anxin still did most things herself. She wasn't afraid to sleep, either. If Chacha saw that something was wrong, Chacha would wake her.

After a quick wash, Shen Anxin climbed into bed and began her plan to save her father.

Shen Anxin: [Chacha, can the Dream-Entering Pill be used if Dad is unconscious right now?]

Chacha: [Yes, but if he can't wake up, dreaming alone won't help. I still suggest contacting your brother first.]

Shen Anxin thought that made sense and exchanged points for a Dream-Entering Pill first. But when she selected Shen Anlan with her mind, she couldn't use it.

Chacha: [Wait a little longer, host. Your brother hasn't gone to sleep yet.]

With no other choice, Shen Anxin could only wait. Bored, she gathered some points by checking the gossip on every palace attendant serving in the courtyard.

The Brocade Guard hidden in the shadows noticed a pattern. Though they were very close, Chacha hadn't given Shen Anxin any gossip about them.

Perhaps there was another condition for eating gossip: the person within a hundred meters of Shen Anxin had to be someone she could see herself.

Those hidden away like them couldn't be checked.

The Brocade Guard passed the discovery up the chain. The emperor and the crown prince soon received it, gaining a further understanding of the rules of eating gossip.

After a long wait, Shen Anxin was nearly dying of sleepiness when the Dream-Entering Pill finally lit up, showing that its intended target had fallen asleep.

Shen Anxin hurriedly used the Dream-Entering Pill and instantly plunged into a dream.

When she opened her eyes, she was inside the Marquis of Shuoping's Residence. Mist hung all around her, and the scene looked as though it hadn't finished rendering.

In the distance, a tall, handsome man in a blue robe strode toward her. His features were almost identical to hers, but on a man's frame, they had a greater hardness.

In truth, without makeup, there was still quite a difference between the two of them.

Shen Anlan walked over, his path taking him toward her courtyard. He was muttering, "My eyelid's been twitching a lot lately. I wonder if Anxin is behaving herself all alone. I just hope she doesn't stir up any trouble..."

Shen Anxin: ...Thanks for asking. I haven't behaved, but nothing's gone wrong yet.

"Shen Anlan!" Shen Anxin jumped right in front of him, giving him a fright.

"Shen Anxin! You..." Shen Anlan faltered, seemingly a little confused.

Chacha: [Hurry, host. Your brother has very strong mental power. He can easily reject an intruder.]

Shen Anxin hurriedly asked, "Where are you now? How's Dad?"

Hearing this, Shen Anlan answered truthfully, "Don't worry. Dad and I are at Divine Physician Valley. He's been treated successfully and is awake now. His condition isn't difficult for Divine Physician Valley to handle. We can head back in two days."

Shen Anxin was stunned. "That fast? He's already been treated? You're coming back already?"

"Mm. Dad's past the dangerous period, and Divine Physician Valley won't keep him here. They gave us a prescription and told us to go home and let him recuperate. Shen Anxin, stay home and behave. Don't cause trouble. Wait for us to come back."

Shen Anlan patted his little sister's head. He still couldn't put his worries to rest, always feeling that something big was going to happen.

Plans couldn't keep up with changes. Shen Anxin hadn't expected her father's trip to go so smoothly. Should she exchange her points for the pill now or not?

The points she had fleeced from the emperor were enough to exchange for the All-Ailments-Curing Pill and one item transfer, but explaining it would be troublesome.

Originally, for her father's health, she naturally couldn't worry about all that. She could make up a story when the time came, then say she didn't know if anyone asked further, and muddle her way through.

But now that her father was fine, she might as well wait until he returned to the capital, then secretly give him the pill and pretend Divine Physician Valley had cured him. That way, her father could make a full recovery, and she wouldn't be suspected.

After thinking it over, Shen Anxin withdrew from Shen Anlan's dream, exchanged points for another Dream-Entering Pill, and entered her father's dream.

As soon as she went in, she saw a heartwarming scene.

In the garden, her imposing father, dressed in armor, was helping little Shen Anxin ride a horse. A beautiful woman was brewing tea nearby, a young girl nestled against her side. Not far away, little Shen Anlan was reading under a tree.

Shen Anxin had never met this body's mother, so she took a careful look at her now. Perhaps because they were related by blood, she felt a particular closeness to her.

The other girl was Shen Anwan, the Shen family's eldest daughter. Shen Anxin had only spent half a year with her, but they were very close.

Because she had to care for her younger sister, who had once been mentally impaired, Shen Anwan's marriage had been delayed for a long time. She had originally planned never to marry and to shoulder the burden of caring for her sister for life, but then her sister had suddenly recovered.

The family felt deeply indebted to Shen Anwan, and the family she had once been betrothed into was still willing to go through with the match, so they naturally hurried to complete the marriage.

Thus, Shen Anwan and Shen Anxin had spent only half a year together before Shen Anwan married and left home.

Shen Anxin had met her brother-in-law. He was quite a fine-looking man, with a noble title to inherit, though he held no official post and was still preparing for the imperial examinations.

He and Shen Anwan also loved each other; theirs wasn't a blind marriage.

Thinking of this, Shen Anxin decided to take Chacha along to visit her later. Then she could use the Gossip System to help Shen Anwan get rid of anyone around her who posed a danger.

As she was thinking, the horse carrying little Shen Anxin lost control and charged toward her.

The Marquis of Shuoping hurried after it. Shen Anxin seized the chance to jump out and speak to her father.

"Huh? Xinxin? How did you suddenly grow up?" The Marquis of Shuoping stared blankly at Shen Anxin, his face full of confusion.

Shen Anxin planted her hands on her hips. "Dad, I was just worrying about you. How are you feeling now? Are you awake? When are you and Shen Anlan coming back?"

"How many times have I told you? Call him Brother." The Marquis of Shuoping stepped forward helplessly and rubbed his daughter's head with his large, rough hand. Smiling, he said, "Don't worry, Xinxin. I feel much better. Even the people at Divine Physician Valley said I'd have no problem living another ten years. We'll be back soon. Is there anything you want, Xinxin? Daddy will bring you some Southern Xia specialties."

Ten years? Sure enough, we still need the All-Ailments-Curing Pill.

"Dad, I'll wait for you to come back. Stay safe on the road and don't rush. Your health comes first."

"All right. Xinxin, you be good too. It's all our fault for being away and leaving you alone in the capital. Don't go out, or bad people might bully you." The Marquis of Shuoping's fatherly worries burst forth; he couldn't stop worrying about Shen Anxin. "If anything really happens, go to your eldest sister."

Shen Anxin thought that when they came back and learned what she had done, her father would probably faint all over again.

Outwardly, she obediently agreed, then withdrew from the dream.

The matter was settled for the time being. Now she could rest easy.

As for the points she hadn't spent, it was safest to exchange them when she actually ran into trouble.

Elsewhere, the emperor and the princes took turns visiting the side hall where the seventh prince stayed.

Every one of them said they had come to see him and give him a cuddle.

But every time they finished holding him, the seventh prince burst into loud wails.

They, on the other hand, left refreshed and invigorated, leaving the seventh prince's mother completely bewildered.

Early the next morning, when she changed his clothes, she saw that the seventh prince's bottom was swollen.