Chapter 175: Palace Intrigue X Self X Heroine’s Aura (5)

Chapter 175: Palace Intrigue X Self X Heroine's Aura (5)

Before approaching the heroine, Keding secretly prepared himself mentally.

Then, in the middle of the night, he headed out, following the sorrowful sound of the flute. As he got closer, he suddenly entered a state of being rooted and silenced, unable to move.

System: "Wait, wait!! What's going on with your heart rate, pulse, and breathing!"

Keding, with trembling pupils, was frozen in place: "She's so beautiful ahhhhhhhh——"

She looked like a perfect blend of classic beauty and modern trends—Wang Zuxian, Maggie Cheung, Lin Qingxia, and every trendy face you could imagine!

System: "Close your eyes for a moment, I forgot to help you block the heroine's aura."

Keding: "I can't, I can't, I can't control myself!"

System: "My bad, I'm not skilled enough at my job, letting you carelessly peek and get hit by her aura."

She used her administrative control to close the young eunuch’s eyes and then erected an ultimate firewall to block the heroine's aura.

The young eunuch suddenly sneezed.

When he opened his eyes again, there was a pretty girl on the wall, but she wasn't the kind to make someone lose their mind or disrupt their senses.

"What the heck just happened?!" Keding turned to look at the other young palace maids who were still cleaning: "Wait, have the others all become prettier?!"

"With such a strong aura, it’s no wonder she makes everyone else look less appealing," the system said. "This girl is suited for the arena, blinding everyone with her overwhelming presence and then finishing them off one by one."

At this moment, the heroine, Yuan Biwei, leaned on a lamp, playing the flute, letting the long wind blow open her skirt.

She closed her eyes, lost in thought, completely unaware that someone had come following the sound.

Prince Lan was summoned into the palace late at night to discuss military affairs with the emperor. After finishing, he was supposed to leave through the side door but was unexpectedly drawn to the melancholic flute melody.

He called a young eunuch over, saying he needed to change his clothes, and silently snuck into the cold palace to find the person who had stirred his heart.

In the quiet of the night, the long corridor was dim.

He held his breath and moved closer. When he saw the aloof palace maid playing the flute, his heart sank.

Before Prince Lan could take another step, a young eunuch suddenly jumped out, collapsed his hips, and pointed to the sky.

Prince Lan: "...?"

Hiding in the corner, Keding watched as an innocent bystander struck a classic pose from a certain app, reciting a famous line from Stephen Chow’s character, Sau Bao, in broken Cantonese.

"This lady's song is passionate and creative, I, Sau Bao, feel like I’m about to burst!"

The system silently continued the line: "As a butcher, I too dream of becoming a great dancer!"

Before the words even fell, the young eunuch launched into his solo performance with the frantic moves of a Dance Dance Revolution player.

Passionate, creative, unlimited! Flower hand moves, head shaking, hip thrusts—thrust harder!

More young palace maids and eunuchs suddenly looked up and uncontrollably joined the artistic celebration.

Flower hand moves together! Head shaking together! Shake harder, like they were trying to shake their heads off!

Keding was stunned.

"I remember this isn't a zombie square dance instance, right?"

System: "Oh, the smart brain is watching your livestream. That's a reward."

Keding: "…?"

The corner of Prince Lan Yuan's mouth and his eyebrows twitched.

Amidst the chaotic dance, a stunning young eunuch was shaking his hands in the air, with an expression so free, so handsome, and so oblivious to love that no one could compare.

Keding began to wonder if the company's aura could rival the heroine's aura.

"I wonder if the prince will be turned by the stunning eunuch."

The prince just watched a group of people dancing as if they were drunk, muttered "crazy," and walked away.

Keding and the system sighed in disappointment simultaneously.

"Unappreciative," Keding said. "Shake Society is a postmodern art form that deserves some recognition."

"Whenever I'm on the verge of freaking out from a horror movie, I watch five minutes of Shake Society to calm down."

System: "You're pretty good at keeping things balanced."

When the heroine opened her eyes again, her world remained cold and lonely.

In the distance, a few young palace maids and eunuchs were chatting and patrolling, their voices fading into the night.

Keding was fairly satisfied with this development.

He helped the heroine clear up a messy love situation and indirectly scared off a guy who was about to make a bad choice, which earned him some karma points.

There were still half a month until the next key plot point. Although the company provided a fast-forward function, Keding planned to wander around the harem a bit more under the identity of Xiao Tongzi.

Most of the important intelligence was automatically collected by the background program. He lingered around the cold palace, more out of a desire to understand the original world the heroine hadn't fully stepped into.

Although the imperial consorts in the cold palace were imprisoned in this sunless place, the young palace maids and eunuchs hadn't committed any crimes and still had a degree of freedom.

To transport supplies, they often had to go in and out of various palace grounds.

Additionally, for palace repairs and grand ceremony arrangements, they would be mobilized and dispatched everywhere.

Through these errands, Keding picked up a lot of juicy gossip.

For example, which princess liked archery and horse riding, which young prince had a penchant for spicy food, and which head palace maid had gone pale after catching some young maids kissing.

While helping an old eunuch move flowers, a ding suddenly echoed in his mind.

"A young palace maid is less than 500 meters away from you!" The system exclaimed excitedly. "Do you want to take a look?"

Keding quickly finished his current task, said goodbye to the old eunuch, and slipped out. Following the map, he searched until he found the location, while the system explained the background.

"Huacui started as a lowly cleaning maid. One day, she helped Noble Consort Xian find her long-lost imperial cat. Because of her cheerful and smiling personality, she soon became one of Noble Consort Xian's trusted confidants."

"Later, as Noble Consort Xian repeatedly plotted against the heroine, Huacui became an accomplice, a cruel supporting character, and was eventually beaten to death."

Keding paused in his steps and, before seeing their appearance, first heard the hearty and carefree laughter.

"Fly higher!"

"Huacui, is your hand being hurt by the string?"

Several young palace maids were pulling on a high-flying kite, playfully competing with each other, while a little princess stood nearby, munching on flower pastries with great relish.

The Virtuous Consort leaned against the slanted railing, watching them play and laugh, her eyes filled with a relaxed smile.

Perhaps informed by someone or maybe by chance, the emperor, after changing his clothes following the court session, came here.

The little princess cheered, spread her arms, and rushed into her father's embrace, being effortlessly lifted up by him.

Keding blinked, getting his first clear look at the male lead.

"He’s really quite handsome, with a strong nose and expressive eyes," he thought.

System: "You'd better be praising him."

Feeling somewhat tired after court, the emperor sat down with the Virtuous Consort for a casual chat. After enjoying the scenery at Xifeng Terrace for a while and feeling drowsy, he had a more comfortable lounge chair brought over and dozed off in the sun.

The Virtuous Consort had a soft blanket fetched and gently covered him with it as he slept.

The little princess sat nearby, munching on a sweet melon imported from the Western Regions, still eating with great relish.

Keding smiled. "The little girl is so cute and chubby ah!"

System: "Yes!"

Keding: "I hope you’re not telling me that the female lead will harm this child later due to power struggles."

System: "Oh, the original work doesn’t have any plot involving this child. She doesn’t interfere with the female lead’s interests, just briefly mentioned that the Virtuous Consort only bore a daughter."

Keding breathed a sigh of relief and continued to peacefully watch the little princess munch on an apple.

The kid sure has a healthy appetite. She should keep eating.

There were still half a month until the male and female leads would meet, and half a month until the world line would be completely affected.

The Virtuous Consort did not die in resentment, and the little princess thrived under her parents' love, everything seemed perfect.

Even better, there was no influence from the female lead at the moment, and they were all real and natural people.

These moments felt like they belonged to a different world, one that never existed in the original story.

Later, after returning to the Cold Palace, Keding reflected and made a decision.

The more he interacted with the harem’s residents, the more he understood the young palace maid’s desperate wishes after her death.

Sure, the palace was full of petty conflicts, and the imperial system could be brutal, but at least no one should lose themselves completely to the female lead’s influence.

The root of everything lay in the event where the female lead was favored by the emperor in the Cold Palace.

"If the female lead hadn’t been favored by the emperor while he was drunk, she wouldn’t have lashed out in anger, nor would she have become entangled in the situation, falling deeper into a cycle of suffering with everyone else."

The system found it very reasonable. "At the time, the emperor was actually visiting the Cold Palace to see Imperial Noble Consort Rong, and the female lead had schemed to secure this position, hoping to earn enough silver to leave the palace and live a better life."

Rong Imperial Noble Consort, who was officially on sick leave but had actually been under house arrest in the cold palace for three years.

Unable to resist his deep longing for her, the emperor visited her in the dead of night, only to become furious and drink himself into a stupor. In his drunken state, he ended up favoring a concubine who was serving in the side hall.

Even when looking at the moving photos in the file, Keding was startled by her beauty.

She has such grace! Her features are perfectly proportioned!

If she were born in modern times, she could have been a top box office draw, even as a pretty face!

"She's beautiful, isn't she? The Imperial Noble Consort is thirty years old now, even more beautiful than when she was in her early twenties," the system sighed. "The eunuchs and young palace maids in the cold palace have secretly praised her many times. She's like the everlasting flower in the four seasons, becoming more beautiful as she lives. No wonder everyone likes her, not just the emperor."

Keding: "With her mix of joy and anger, if I were the emperor, I'd forgive her even if I was cheated on. What did she do to end up in the cold palace?"

"She slapped the emperor."

Keding: "……?"

Considering the historical context, it does make sense.

Though he may seem like just a figurehead, he is still the true Son of Heaven...

"Rong Imperial Noble Consort has a rather headstrong personality," the system said. "Her father was the prime minister of the previous dynasty. He was from a prestigious family, had many disciples, and was a renowned calligrapher."

"She and the emperor had been in love for over a decade but never had any children."

"The Empress Dowager wanted Yu Imperial Concubine to rise in rank, so she secretly caused trouble for Rong Imperial Noble Consort, which widened the emotional rift between the young couple. All these suspicions and misunderstandings eventually led to a major fallout."

"Ah?" Keding caught onto another key character. "Yu Imperial Concubine?"

"Although her rank is a bit lower than Rong Imperial Noble Consort's, her title 'Yu' (Jade) sounds more refined and noble." Keding tried to analyze the palace intrigue in a straightforward male way. "Isn't she more favored now?"

"Not really," the system said darkly. "The imperial concubine's family name is Yu."

Keding: "？"

"Because their feelings ran so deep, they would often argue, and after each argument, one would cry while the other would drown their sorrows in drink. They were like this for several years, but her position kept rising rapidly, all the way to Imperial Noble Consort, just below the empress."

"Since his teenage years, the emperor had always indulged and spoiled her. She was just too beautiful, and everything she did was right."

"—Until three years ago, when Rong Imperial Noble Consort discovered she couldn't have children because she had been drugged. With some instigation, she completely believed that the emperor was wary of her father's influence and hated him so much that she slapped the emperor and ended up in the cold palace."

Keding was stunned. "So, was the emperor wary of her?"

"The emperor wasn't wary at all!" The system chuckled. "Zhu Yuanzhang wasn't wary of Empress Ma, and Li Shimin wasn't wary of Empress Zhangsun, let alone the fact that she was just an Imperial Noble Consort!"

"If she had given birth, it would have been to a noble heir. Who knows, he might have even become the legitimate successor!"