"Grrr~"
Shen Yuxi's stomach growled with hunger.
Her eyes were fixed on Minister Shen as he ate his meat buns. Their steaming fragrance wafted into her nose, and the more she smelled them, the hungrier she became.
Minister Shen's eyes were full of speechless exasperation.
He turned around, putting his back to Shen Yuxi, and buried his head in his buns again.
[Host, if you're hungry, just say so. Why stare at your dad like that? You're practically giving him indigestion.]
Minister Shen: Exactly, exactly!
For once, the system had actually said something human.
Minister Shen felt deeply gratified, but the system's next words nearly made him spit out the bun in his mouth.
[Your dad's getting on in years. Indigestion can easily make him throw up. This carriage is so cramped-what if he throws up on you?]
Minister Shen: Urgh-
His appetite vanished instantly.
Shen Yuxi folded her arms and huffed twice.
[Getting up before dawn, being threatened into attending court by my rotten old dad-this girl has a temper too! I'm not going to swallow my pride and ask him for a bun.]
That would cost her her dignity.
The system: "..."
[Then why are you staring at him?]
[Obviously, because I'm hungry.]
Shen Yuxi was in the wrong but still spoke with absolute confidence.
[Watching Dad enjoy his food so much is making me die of cravings.]
[Then just ask your dad for a bun. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, your dad already asked whether you wanted any, and you were the one who said no.]
[No way.]
[Once Dad realizes his mistake and asks me again, I'll eat.]
The system could not understand its host's train of thought.
[I think your dad probably won't ask you again. Otherwise, he wouldn't be eating it all himself with his back to you.]
[Then I'll... I'll wait until court is over and tell Mom that rotten old Dad wouldn't let me eat.]
[That he stood by and let his own daughter starve.]
Shen Yuxi already had her next moves planned out.
Listening to the conversation between the girl and the system, Minister Shen was so angry his heart and liver ached.
What sin had he committed?!
How had he fathered such a little brat?
They all said a daughter was her father's snug little padded jacket. Why did his let the wind whistle straight through?
But he could not really watch his youngest daughter go without breakfast, much less let her spout nonsense in front of his wife.
If his wife got angry, he would have to sleep on the floor again tonight.
And so.
Resigned to his fate, Minister Shen handed Shen Yuxi the portion of buns wrapped in oiled paper.
"Here, hurry up and eat. Once we reach the palace gates, you won't be able to."
Shen Yuxi flashed her teeth in a grin.
She took them with a beaming smile.
With the buns in hand, she smugly told the system, [See? What did I tell you? Dad adores me. How could he bear to see his precious daughter go hungry?]
The system glanced at Minister Shen, who looked as though he had nothing left to live for.
It played along. [Mm-hmm, as long as you're happy, Host.]
Shen Yuxi really was hungry.
She picked up a bun and bit into it.
In her previous life, as a miserable working stiff, she had rarely been in the habit of eating breakfast.
Occasionally, she would go to a breakfast shop for a cup of soy milk and an egg, or grab some bread to make do.
After transmigrating into the Shen household, she still had not changed this bad habit.
But it was no longer because she lacked the time to sit down to a proper breakfast. Instead, she slept until the sun was high in the sky and simply would not get out of bed.
At first, the Shen parents and her older brother and sister had taken turns calling her every day.
Eventually, after discovering that Shen Yuxi would not get up no matter how they called her, and that her refusal to leave bed was severe, they gradually gave in.
Fine, fine.
As long as there was nothing wrong with her health, let her be.
On this rare occasion when she got up early, Shen Yuxi felt that having hot buns for breakfast was rather nice.
Her stomach felt warm and cozy.
"Once we enter the hall, behave yourself. If you displease His Majesty, even your father won't be able to save you."
"Oh, I understand, Father."
On the surface, Shen Yuxi answered obediently.
Inside, however, she kept complaining to the system.
[System, am I not well-behaved?]
[Why does Dad always look like he's 'ready to wipe my backside because I could cause trouble at any moment'?]
[Host, doesn't your conscience hurt when you ask that?]
The system counted off each incident on its fingers.
[When you were one, you didn't like being held and insisted on crawling around yourself. In the end, you crawled under the bed while no one was looking and fell asleep. Unable to find you, the whole family went frantic.]
[When you were six, your dad thought you ate too much candy and was afraid you'd get cavities, so he wouldn't give you any. Then he turned around and gave it to your eldest brother and second sister.]
[You were furious, Host, so you grabbed a handful of sand and mixed it into your dad's porridge. He nearly choked to death on a mouthful.]
[When you were nine...]
[Stop, stop, stop!]
Shen Yuxi hurriedly slammed on the brakes.
[You don't need to say any more. I know I'm unreliable.]
How embarrassing!
At the system's words, scenes of his youngest daughter's mischief from years past rose unbidden in Minister Shen's mind.
Every single scene sent his blood pressure soaring.
Yet his youngest daughter was especially good at yielding and acting cute, and she had such an adorable little face.
Her big, watery eyes seemed able to speak as they stared straight at you.
They made it impossible to bear scolding her.
The carriage came to a steady stop at the palace gates just as Shen Yuxi finished the buns in her hands.
Minister Shen stepped onto the carriage stool and got down first, with Shen Yuxi right behind him.
Their timing was just right.
The main doors of the Hall of Supreme Polarity stood wide open.
The civil and military officials straightened their robes and official hats, formed orderly lines, and filed inside.
As a eunuch's shrill, far-carrying voice rang out, "His Majesty arrives-"
Everyone in the hall knelt respectfully.
"Long live our emperor! Ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years-"
Shen Yuxi knelt with both knees on the icy floor.
As the saying went, one knelt to heaven, earth, and one's parents. As a modern person in her previous life, the notion of kneeling to another person simply was not in her bones.
In this life, her parents had always kept her at home. She had never met any important figures, much less knelt before anyone.
Suddenly having to kneel to a so-called "emperor" felt strange to Shen Yuxi, and a little difficult to accept.