Spoke too soon

Jiang Yingcheng had her eyes closed, trying her hardest to pretend she was asleep.

Normally, she fell asleep the moment her head touched the pillow and had never done anything like this before. With her eyes shut, every bit of flesh on her face was straining, as though she wanted to tell everyone outright, "I'm asleep already, so stop looking at me!"

Nanny Zhang did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Your Highness, do you need to use the privy?"

Aside from that, she really could not think of any reason the little princess would make such a face.

Jiang Yingcheng felt a little deflated, but stubbornly intended to keep up the act to the bitter end.

007 said helplessly, [Why do you insist on pretending to sleep?]

Her childish voice sounded perfectly justified. [H-how can I talk to you if I don't pretend to sleep?!]

007 said, [Aren't we talking already?]

They communicated through brain waves and had no need to worry about being overheard. It truly could not understand Jiang Yingcheng's behavior.

Jiang Yingcheng gave a soft, babyish huff.

She was not stupid.

If she kept her eyes open now, Nanny Zhang would keep coaxing her to play. She could not do two things at once, and if she focused on chatting with her system bro, she would often freeze in place with a blank expression. That would look so silly!

Jiang Yingcheng kept her eyes tightly shut, and before long, she actually fell asleep.

[007: ...]

Sins in a past life, babysitting in this one.

Not even an adorable little angel like Jiang Yingcheng made it bearable!

When Jiang Yingcheng woke again, her nanny had already brought her to the dining table, where she sat beside Imperial Consort, waiting to eat with her.

Jiang Yingcheng clapped both hands tightly over her ears, her little nose twitching with sniffles.

007 had been ranting nonstop for quite some time, leaving her head spinning.

Only after it finally stopped did 007 notice what Jiang Yingcheng was doing. It asked in puzzlement, [What are you doing?]

Their communication did not involve ears at all. Covering them served no purpose and would only make the people beside her suspicious.

Jiang Yingcheng sniffled and said mournfully, [I-I've been dirtied.]

007's language had been far too filthy!

At that, 007 gave a loud, cold snort.

Consort Fang, who had caught that remark without any context, looked Jiang Yingcheng over carefully twice.

The little one was fair and soft, with a lovely sweet scent about her. She did not look dirty at all.

Still, since the little one had said so, she rallied her spirits and asked with a gentle smile, "Chengcheng, shall we take a bath together after we finish eating?"

The moment she said it, waves of pain swept through her heart.

She remembered the news she had heard earlier in the little one's thoughts.

For her elder sister to have done such a thing, she clearly had not cared about Chengcheng's safety at all. Yet her sister had no idea what a lovable child Chengcheng was.

What a child worthy of love she was.

A startled cry from the nanny brought Consort Fang back to her senses. She saw the little one clumsily standing up on her chair, reaching out to lean toward her.

Consort Fang hurriedly gathered the little one into her arms.

The moment she nestled into her embrace, the little one braced her hands on her shoulders, leaned toward her cheek, and planted a firm kiss on it.

"Mwah!"

Everyone in the room froze for a moment, then burst into laughter together.

The little one raised her chubby little fists, her eyes sparkling as she said, "Don't be sad, Imperial Consort! Tomorrow, Chengcheng will sneak out to play with Imperial Father again!"

For a moment, Consort Fang could not follow the logic.

Fortunately, she did not have to puzzle over it, for the little one's thoughts immediately rang out-

[Then I'll have Imperial Consort come pick Chengcheng up again, so she can spend more time building a bond with Imperial Father!]

Consort Fang tapped the little one's forehead with a bent finger, torn between laughter and tears, but had no intention of stopping her.

Since her sister dared make such plans now, it meant the child swap had already sown the seeds of trouble. She had yet to find an effective solution, and letting the little one build a good relationship with Emperor Mingze would give her considerable peace of mind.

Consort Fang barely managed to suppress her worries and began eating with the little one.

007 finally found an opportunity to explain its uses as her cheat in detail.

There was no shortage of pride in its tone. [I know everything about this fictional world and can help you avoid every plot against you.]

[I can also redeem lots of things in the system shop-food, everyday supplies, and even knowledge that doesn't exist in this world.]

[Jiang Yingcheng: Wow!]

She was delighted. [Then, then Chengcheng wants two little strawberry-flavored cakes!]

Consort Fang slowed her chewing, afraid that one careless moment would make her miss something important. Yet after listening for so long, all she heard besides a string of amazed exclamations was that one request.

What were little cakes? Egg cakes?

And how could they be strawberry-flavored?

Consort Fang discreetly swallowed the meat in her mouth.

For some reason, today's dishes were much more plentiful than usual. She paid it no mind, assuming it was the same throughout the palace today.

Without realizing it, she leaned a little closer to the child, hoping to hear more news about Jinshu.

007 said, [Of course you can redeem cakes, but you'll need to use Merit Points.]

Jiang Yingcheng paused, repeating in a murmur, [Merit Points?]

[That's right,] 007 said. [Every good deed you do earns you a corresponding number of Merit Points. Once you have enough, you can redeem all sorts of things in the shop.]

Jiang Yingcheng hurriedly asked 007 to bring up her panel. The large "0" in the Merit Points field made her little face flush.

[Then, then as long as I do enough good deeds, I can redeem lots and lots of things, right?]

Hearing this, Consort Fang silently committed the information to memory.

Although she did not know exactly what these so-called Merit Points could buy, judging by the information that person possessed, the available items certainly could not be ordinary things.

It seemed she, too, needed to make some careful plans for the little one.

After receiving 007's confirmation, Jiang Yingcheng asked again, [Then is there anything you can do without points?]

007 hesitated for a moment. Rather than answer directly, it asked, [What do you want to do?]

Jiang Yingcheng lowered her head and picked at her chubby fingers, her voice soft. [Chengcheng wants to help Imperial Consort think of a way to bring my little cousin to her side...]

Consort Fang looked stunned, her chewing coming to a complete stop.

She had thought that, after learning her true identity, the little one would want to prevent her from seeing Jinshu. She had never expected her to be so generous, even taking the initiative to find a way to bring Jinshu to her side as well.

Consort Fang's eyes grew hot and damp, and her delicate fingers tightened around her silver chopsticks.

The little one was so warmhearted that, for a moment, it even made her sad.

The filthy strife between adults had dragged such a little child into its midst. Layer upon layer of regret threatened to drown her.

Consort Fang forced a smile onto her lips. Just as she was about to ask the nanny to serve the little one more meat, that childish voice rang out again.

[Wow, system bro, you're so smart!]

[If we bring my little cousin into the palace as my study companion, then, then he can come to the palace often! Your idea is wonderful!]

Consort Fang's eyes lit up as well.

Of course!

Chengcheng was already old enough to begin her schooling. When the time came, she could discuss it with Emperor Mingze and use that reason to bring Jinshu into the palace.

Even if she could only see him during the day, she would at least have a chance to explain. That was far better than letting her sister tell only her own version of events!

Consort Fang's heart raced. After experiencing great sorrow and great joy within a single day, she no longer even wanted to eat. All she wanted was to hold the little one and plant a couple of hearty kisses on her.

She truly was her lucky star!

Her lucky star's troubled voice promptly rang out-

[Mm, but Chengcheng doesn't want to go to school.]

[Is there a way to make only my study companion go to school, while Chengcheng plays in the palace?]

Consort Fang: "..."

[007: ...]

Spoke too soon.

There were some things it simply could not do.