[Judging purely by Mo Xuanchen's looks and his domineering, decisive ruthlessness, I actually liked him quite a bit.]
Mo Xuanchen's clenched fist suddenly relaxed, and a barely perceptible trace of amusement flickered through his narrow phoenix eyes.
"Fourth Brother, your future looks promising!"
Mo Yao leaned close to Mo Xuanchen's ear and whispered, slinging an arm around his shoulders and giving him a thumbs-up.
Mo Xuanchen was in quite a good mood now and did not hold it against him.
Minister Shen looked utterly heartbroken.
A grown daughter could not be kept at home!
Shen Yuxi had no idea how many people were making calculations in their hearts because of her careless remark.
[But I think that kind of liking has nothing to do with romantic feelings. It's like... when I read a novel and some domineering CEO male lead really makes my heart flutter, I fantasize about being the female lead.]
[If I actually met someone like that in real life, I'd stay far, far away, because our status and standing wouldn't match.]
[As for Mo Xuanchen... right now, I admire him and like him, but it has nothing to do with romantic love.]
Morning court ended.
"Young Official Shen, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager wishes to see you."
Shen Yuxi had barely stepped out of the Hall of Supreme Polarity when a palace maid suddenly appeared and blocked her path.
Shen Yuxi was as bewildered as a ten-foot monk unable to touch his own head.
She asked in confusion, "Did Her Majesty say why she summoned me?"
"This servant does not know." The palace maid shook her head.
Shen Yuxi did not change her clothes. After a moment's thought, she followed the maid to the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility in her official robes.
The Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.
The moment she entered the vermilion gates, an air of solemn composure washed over her.
A faint sandalwood incense burned inside the hall, its wisps drifting into her nose, soothing the mind and calming the heart, as though they could blow away all irritation and anxiety.
"This subject's daughter, Shen, pays her respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager and Your Majesty the Empress. May the Empress Dowager enjoy boundless blessings and good health, and may the Empress enjoy good health."
Shen Yuxi curtsied respectfully, her voice clear and pleasant, neither servile nor overbearing.
From the seat of honor came the empress dowager's gentle yet authoritative voice. "Rise."
"Give her a seat."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Although Shen Yuxi was usually unlearned and carefree, she knew all the basic etiquette expected of a young lady.
Now, before the empress dowager and the empress, she sat obediently in her chair, her hands naturally folded over her legs.
[Why is the empress here too?]
[The empress's family went to great lengths to find a thousand-year-old ginseng root and presented it to her. The empress dowager is in poor health and takes medicine year-round. Thinking she had no need for it herself, the empress brought the ginseng here specifically to nourish the empress dowager's health.]
[Oh, the empress is pretty filial. Thousand-year-old ginseng is hard to come by.]
Outwardly, Shen Yuxi remained quiet and well-behaved, but inwardly, she could not resist chatting with the system.
A barely noticeable flicker of astonishment crossed the empress dowager's eyes.
Although the emperor and empress had told her what was special about the Shen family's youngest daughter, witnessing it herself still left her deeply shaken.
Could that spirit called the "system" truly know the hidden affairs of the world?
Having emerged victorious from half a lifetime of palace intrigue, the empress dowager was surprised for only an instant before regaining her usual gentleness.
"Third Miss Shen sounds a little distant. How about I call you Yuxi?"
"Of course."
Shen Yuxi thought the empress dowager was easier to get along with than she had imagined.
The empress dowager's lips lifted into a gentle smile, even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes suffused with tenderness.
"I've long heard that Minister Shen's youngest daughter is clever and charming. Now that I've met you, I see your reputation is well deserved."
The empress agreed with a soft laugh. "You're right, Mother. Just look at Third Miss Shen. What a lovely young lady."
Shen Yuxi grew embarrassed by their praise.
"Good child, this is our first meeting, and I have nothing much to give you."
The empress dowager removed an ice-grade jadeite bangle from her wrist and gave it to Shen Yuxi.
The bangle had excellent translucency, a color like spring waters, carved entwining lotus patterns, and a warm, lustrous texture.
One glance was enough to tell it was worth a fortune.
"The late emperor bestowed this bangle on me when I was named Noble Consort. Now I'm giving it to you. Good child, you mustn't refuse."
Shen Yuxi immediately swallowed her words of refusal and accepted the jade bangle the palace maid handed her.
"This subject's daughter thanks Your Majesty for your gift."
A gift from an elder must not be refused.
If she refused, she would instead cause the empress dowager to lose face.
Seeing the genuine smile on Shen Yuxi's face, the empress dowager's eyes grew even kinder.
Such a delicate, unaffected young lady was more likable than those aristocratic young ladies who acted one way to someone's face and another behind their back.
[System, is the empress dowager like this with other aristocratic young ladies too?]
[Why do you ask, host?]
[Don't you think the empress dowager seems a little too nice to me? Second Sister said that whenever she saw her at imperial banquets, she almost always looked stern and imposing. But right now, she's completely different from how Second Sister described her.]
[That can only mean one thing.]
[What?] Shen Yuxi pressed curiously.
[Everyone loves you, host. The empress dowager took a liking to you at first sight.]
Three question marks hovered over Shen Yuxi's head as she asked doubtfully, [Am I really that charming? Even the empress dowager has fallen under my spell?]
The system nodded in wholehearted agreement. [Even this great and noble system bowed before you and bound itself to you, host.]
[That's true.]
[Host, stop asking about that. I've spotted a huge melon. Want to eat it?]
Here it came!
The empress excitedly clenched her handkerchief, looking at Shen Yuxi expectantly.
She had heard the emperor talk about Third Miss Shen eating melons, but unfortunately, she had never witnessed it herself.
[Go on. What's the melon?]
[This melon is about the empress dowager!]
The empress dowager, who had been waiting to watch the show, raised her brows slightly. About her?
Her interest piqued, the empress dowager wanted to hear what it was.
Emperor Xuanzhao, who had reached the doorway, paused mid-step over the threshold upon hearing this, then walked inside as though nothing had happened.
"You're here, Emperor. Why didn't you have anyone announce you?" the empress dowager said, spotting Emperor Xuanzhao first.
The empress and Shen Yuxi hurriedly rose to pay their respects, and Emperor Xuanzhao excused them from the formalities.
He strode over and sat in the chair opposite the empress dowager, first casting an unobtrusive glance at Shen Yuxi.
Then he laughed heartily. "I heard you've been feeling better these past few days, Mother. As it happens, I had nothing to attend to after court today, so I thought I would come pay my respects."
[What's the emperor doing here now? Shouldn't he be discussing state affairs with the ministers in the imperial study?]
The system mercilessly exposed Emperor Xuanzhao's purpose.
[The old emperor has his eye on the thousand-year-old ginseng the empress gave the empress dowager. He's here to snatch it.]
Shen Yuxi was speechless. [The empress dowager has only just recovered from a serious illness and needs ginseng to nourish her health. The emperor is strong and healthy. Why fight her for ginseng?]
Clutching its belly, the system roared with laughter. [A couple of days ago, the emperor was favoring a consort. He was just about to raise his spear and charge into battle, but who could have imagined that the very next moment, he'd lay down his weapon and surrender?]
[Oh, his face was blacker than the bottom of a pot.]
[He abandoned the consort on the spot and fled back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity as though running for his life. He shut himself in his room and spent the whole night pondering his existence.]
At this, the empress dowager and the empress looked at Emperor Xuanzhao strangely.
The emperor was in the prime of his life, yet already his spirit was willing but his flesh was weak?
Emperor Xuanzhao pretended to drink his tea, nearly burying his head in the cup.
He secretly gritted his teeth.
That wretched girl. Sooner or later, this human-and-system pair would shake out every last one of his embarrassing incidents, leaving not a scrap of his private affairs untouched.
Could they not leave him even a shred of dignity as the ruler of a nation?
Shen Yuxi cackled like a goose inside. [So the emperor set his sights on the thousand-year-old ginseng because he wants to give himself a boost?]
[Yep!]
[Thousand-year-old wild ginseng is hard to come by. Even the old emperor can't have it whenever he wants.]
[He isn't greedy, either. A little piece will do, or he could cadge a few bowls of it from the empress dowager's palace.]
With every sentence the system uttered, Emperor Xuanzhao's ears reddened another shade.
In the end, they turned completely pink.