Chapter 4: You'll Pay for the Button

Sang Zhi's eyes flickered with a hint of guilt. "A-Yao, don't talk nonsense."

"I'm just guessing. Otherwise, why would His Highness the Crown Prince suddenly show up in front of Yue Li Palace?"

Mu Yao leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "But whoever that palace maid is, she must be incredibly lucky!"

Sang Zhi: ???

Mu Yao waggled her eyebrows. "His Highness has broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. You can tell just by looking—he'd be fierce in bed."

"I also heard that at fifteen, His Highness led troops into battle and took on a hundred men single-handedly.

He fought Western Xia for seven days straight and still had the strength to slip into enemy lines alone and take their commander's head.

Which proves His Highness has extraordinary stamina. Seven rounds a night? Easy."

Sang Zhi's face went scarlet. She didn't dare lift her head.

Come to think of it—not having shared a bed with Xiao Yan meant she'd narrowly dodged a bullet...

Mu Yao pinched her cheek. "Go back and find out which maid from Yue Li Palace had the guts to pull something like that."

As she spoke, Sang Zhi distinctly felt Xiao Yan turn his head up ahead and cast her a look she couldn't quite read.

Her brow twitched. A bad feeling crept up her spine.

She ducked behind Mu Yao at once, like a startled little rabbit.

Xiao Yan's lips curved into the faintest arc.

Li Yu, bowing nearby, wondered if a sleepless night had left him hallucinating.

Had His Highness just... smiled?

His Highness hadn't smiled in a very long time.

The vast palace took a full quarter-hour to cross before they reached Feng Ming Palace.

Xiao Yan entered first. Sang Zhi and Mu Yao waited outside.

They waited until all the consorts had finished paying their respects, and only then did the Empress's senior maid come to usher them in.

Inside, sandalwood incense drifted through the air, and bright yellow brocade curtains embroidered with golden phoenixes hung along all four walls.

The moment Sang Zhi stepped through the door, she gathered her skirts and curtsied. "This subject greets Her Majesty the Empress. May Her Majesty enjoy good health."

"Rise, Zhi'er."

Empress Su, seated on the gold-painted phoenix couch, carried herself with calm dignity, a gentle smile on her lips.

Sang Zhi rose as told. She was about to take her place at the side when the Empress called her back. "Zhi'er, come sit beside me."

Sang Zhi blinked, then obediently walked over and perched stiffly at the Empress's side.

Xiao Yan, seated nearby, sipped his tea with apparent indifference, but his eyes never left the girl.

Her head was bowed, long lashes veiling those pretty eyes, making her palm-sized face look all the more delicate and pitiful.

Her skin was fair as the whitest, brightest pearl nestled in a clamshell—impossible not to notice.

Pure. Beautiful.

He thought of last night, how she'd crept to him like a kitten up to no good.

Her kissing was clumsy, but she was bold.

The moment their lips met, her tongue pushed inside.

Soft as spring water, whimpering about helping him purge the drug.

And yet—she could have stayed in the Eastern Palace. Instead she'd rather knock him unconscious and flee.

She refused to admit last night had happened at all.

Did she... not want to?

Something flickered through Xiao Yan's eyes, his pupils black and bottomless.

Want to or not—it made no difference.

She'd provoked him. Now she'd have to stay tangled up with him.

Too late to run, Zhi Zhi.

*

Sang Zhi noticed none of Xiao Yan's cooling expression.

She stared down, dazed.

The Empress's cool palm closed around her hand, fingers overlapping—just like a mother holding her daughter's.

Her nose stung sharply.

Since entering the palace, she'd grown up at the Empress's knee.

The Empress had protected her in earnest, never letting her suffer the slightest grievance.

She remembered the original plot—how jealousy had clouded her head, how she'd thought of nothing but destroying the original heroine.

She'd turned stupid and cruel, and cut ties with the Empress of her own accord.

Thank goodness she'd snapped out of it in time, before the book's plot dragged her under.

As long as she kept her head down and behaved, none of those bad things would happen to her.

When the princes and princesses had finished paying their respects, the Empress spoke, her tone warm.

"You may all withdraw. Zhi'er will stay and keep me company."

"Yes."

The others filed out one by one.

Looking at Sang Zhi sitting so obediently beside her, the Empress's heart went soft as melted butter.

"Zhi'er, are you feeling better today?"

Sang Zhi blinked. It suddenly came back to her—last night she'd faked illness to slip out of the banquet and sneak into the Eastern Palace.

The Empress's senior maid, Yu Hu, had even escorted her back to Yue Li Palace.

Her voice came out soft and sweet, every inch the good girl. "Replying to Your Majesty, Zhi'er is much better. Thank you for your concern."

She'd always been snow-pale, and now with her brows and lashes lowered, she looked even more docile and lovable.

Seeing her more affectionate than before, the Empress's eyes brimmed with even more fondness.

"Mother, why are you always fussing over her? I'm still here too~"

It was the Fifth Princess of Da Sheng, Xiao Wanzhu.

Watching the Empress's gentle, loving gaze, Xiao Wanzhu felt like a handful of green plums had been stuffed into her chest—sour and bitter.

She shot Sang Zhi a glare. "Spoiled little thing!"

Sang Zhi ignored her.

The Fifth Princess was Xiao Yan's full sister, and she and Sang Zhi had never gotten along.

When Sang Zhi first entered the palace, she'd clung to the Empress and Xiao Yan constantly. Xiao Wanzhu felt she was stealing her family's affection and picked fights with her at every turn.

But Sang Zhi was clever. She'd pretend to be bullied half to death, cry pitifully to the Empress, then hide in Xiao Yan's arms and secretly pull faces at her.

The Fifth Princess ground her teeth but could never do a thing about it.

No wonder the book called her the villainess. Clearly she had a gift for it.

Seeing Sang Zhi treat her like thin air, a small flame sparked in Xiao Wanzhu's eyes.

Little Sang Zhi, pale as a lump of white dough, and yet her temper was anything but soft.

Always competing for favor—for Mother's love, for Brother's love.

Speaking of Brother...

Xiao Wanzhu turned to Xiao Yan, who'd been staring off at something since earlier.

"Brother, I heard someone drugged you last night? You turned the whole palace upside down—guards even searched my quarters."

Sang Zhi's heart clenched. She quietly slid her hand out of the Empress's.

At this, the Empress immediately asked, "Yan'er, is what Zhu'er says true?"

Xiao Yan glanced at Sang Zhi, his expression flat. "Replying to Mother, it is."

Xiao Wanzhu slammed the table and shot to her feet, furious.

"Then have you found out which little fox spirit did it?"

"Brother should dig three feet into the ground, find the culprit, and send them to the Directorate of Punishment for Interrogation—let Auntie Jingqi give them a proper flogging!"

Sang Zhi's face paled. She shrank closer to the Empress.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan's eyes shifted slightly. "Mother, don't worry. It's nothing serious."

The Empress's brows knit. "How is it nothing serious? Have you found the person?"

Xiao Yan lifted his gaze calmly, took a light sip of tea, and spoke without hurry. "Replying to Mother, not yet."

Sang Zhi let out a breath. Thank goodness.

The next moment, Xiao Yan's following words nearly scared her unconscious.

"But I already know who the woman is."