Chapter 73

After the two of them separated slightly, the water glimmered.

The lip gloss on Song Pianxian’s lips smudged.

Feng Yuexian used her fingertips to touch the piece of crimson cloud, pressing her finger joints against it, wiping away the dense red mist. However, the cold white finger joints were stained by the lip gloss instead.

Who would use this kind of wiping method?

When Song Pianxian was about to hold Feng Yuexian’s hand to her palm to scold her for playing around, she heard Feng Yuexian whisper:

“Song Ziyi… “

Song Pianxian looked up at her.

Feng Yuexian’s eyes were slightly deep, her voice still lazy but now with a hint of sharpness:

“He must not be kept, lest it becomes a major problem.”

09 was nestled there, secretly watching the hosts cuddling and cuddling, let alone accepting the setting where the host and a newcomer hit it off, they even became addicted to banging. 

Seeing the two figures just separate, Feng Yuexian said such irrelevant words, making 09’s little head all confused; “Women’s hearts change so quickly?” Just a short while ago, Feng Yuexian seemed quite fond of Song Ziyi.

How come after some cuddling and cuddling, she changed?

Song Pianxian didn’t expect Feng Yuexian to say this.

Feng Yuexian rarely made things difficult for children, just by her willingness to spare the insignificant heir of King Chu’s family could be seen.

So, what happened that she didn’t know? It made Feng Yuexian determined to deal with the child.

Song Pianxian didn’t know the reason, but couldn’t help but admire Feng Yuexian’s keenness. Just a slight diversion, and Feng Yuexian noticed something unusual about Song Ziyi.

Song Ziyi would indeed be a major problem in the future.

But—

“He is still young, and has done nothing wrong.” Song Pianxian comforted her.

“By the time he grows up, it will be just a blink of an eye,” Feng Yuexian said.

Song Pianxian just smiled:

“When you withdraw your hand, he will have to endure the bitterness of the Prince’s Consort. Whether he lives or dies will depend on his fate.”

Feng Yuexian looked at her, saying nothing.

Why suddenly silent? Song Pianxian asked her: “What’s wrong?”

Feng Yuexian shook her head slowly:

“Then it’s up to you.”

Song Pianxian knew in her heart that Feng Yuexian must have noticed something slightly unusual. She was grateful that Feng Yuexian didn’t ask further, otherwise, she would have to deceive Feng Yuexian.

She couldn’t explain to Feng Yuexian why she kept Song Ziyi; she had another use for him.

When Feng Yuexian went to deal with the affairs of the harem, 09 quietly asked Song Pianxian:

“Host, are we really going to keep Song Ziyi? This is too risky.”

Song Pianxian flipped through the pages of a book and said:

“Song An’s imperial worth is insufficient, difficult to control, and there’s an 80% chance of the imperial power wavering, as you told me.”

When Chu Wang’s family first came to the Eastern Palace, 09 made a deduction, and the results showed that both Song An and Song Ruyan reached the imperial threshold, which exceeded Song Pianxian’s expectations.

Unfortunately, Song Ruyan, whose imperial worth was nearing full capacity, had no royal blood at all, which was particularly crucial in the ancient times. No matter how high her imperial worth was, she couldn’t gain the people’s loyalty.

If calculated on a percentage basis, Song Ruyan’s imperial worth was 93, Song An’s was only 71, and Song Ziyi’s was 72, almost equal.

Without 09’s reminder, Song Pianxian could determine that it would be difficult for Song An to stabilize the country—after all, in the original world, someone like Song Ziyi couldn’t accomplish it.

And Song Pianxian’s task was to preserve the legitimacy of the royal bloodline and stabilize the imperial power.

Bloodline and imperial power, one couldn’t be lacking; otherwise, it would be a mission failure.

09 was a bit conflicted: “Song An is already in such a difficult situation, do we still want to make it harder for him?”

Song Pianxian turned a page of the book, and the thin pages licked her fingers, making a fragile and flexible sound.

With half of her snowy white face hidden behind the book, Song Pianxian’s voice was faint:

“It’s precisely because it’s difficult that change occurs.”

“Without variables, it’s a dead end.”

Song Ziyi was like a live fish thrown into stagnant water by her, stirring up the water as it swam around, able to liven it up.

Of course, whether the outcome would be good or bad, Song Pianxian was not a deity and couldn’t predict it.

She could only gamble once, and to increase the odds of winning, she decided to keep Song Ruyan in the palace.

As siblings who grew up together, Song Ruyan and Song An were closer. If anything were to happen in the future, they could stand together—

Or she could protect Song An.

With this decision, the Eastern Palace gained two more young masters.

As a county princess, Song Ruyan lived in the Embroidery Tower behind the Eastern Palace, named Zele Tower. Due to Song An’s strong attachment to her and her undefined status, she moved into Zele Tower with her nanny.

On the day they both stayed in the palace, it was a show of solidarity. Afterwards, they returned to Chu Wang’s Mansion with a few personal maids and servants, as well as palace maids and guards carefully selected by Feng Yuexian, to take care of Zele Tower meticulously.

After the banquet, the feudal lords couldn’t linger in the capital. Lady Li came to see them once before feeling at ease and reluctantly returned to the northwest.

The Qintian Observatory chose an auspicious day to prepare for ancestor worship and lineage revision. However, in the past few days, they received an edict, ordering them to place Song An under the title of Princess instead of Crown Prince.

With this matter, it was obvious that the Emperor had acknowledged that the Princess would inherit the throne, rather than keeping the empty title of Crown Prince.

Perhaps the next decree would be to confer the title of Crown Princess upon Song Pianxian.

Song Pianxian hadn’t expected the old Emperor to make such a move. She hadn’t manipulated anyone or spoken in front of the Emperor. Unexpectedly, when the Emperor arrived at this point, he seemed to have suddenly become enlightened, accepting her faster than the courtiers.

Song Pianxian personally went to Qianqing Palace to discuss with the Emperor.

They talked about her identity, her marriage issues, and Feng Yuexian’s situation.

As for marriage issues, due to her original body’s inability to bear children and nobody daring to let her bear children due to concerns about foreign relatives causing trouble, it wasn’t difficult to make the Emperor worry.

As for Feng Yuexian, they had collaborated to break the deadlock, allowing women to hold positions of power in the court. However, in the short term, they couldn’t allow women to marry, especially since they were also sisters-in-law.

Fortunately, in this world, their mission was only temporary, and they would soon leave.

For this reason, the two of them had to make a show to highlight the importance of the Feng Family in stabilizing imperial power, even to the extent of being powerful enough to influence the direction of the court. Only then would the Emperor and others feel fearful and agree to let Song Pianxian control this fierce beast.

After everything was settled, Princess Song Pianxian became the first Crown Princess of Dali and took over the Eastern Palace.

As for the Princess Consort Feng Yuexian, she wasn’t stripped of her title. Instead, she was promoted to the rank of a noble consort of the first rank and given a palace. As a result, the noble consort shamelessly took over the original Ming Shou Palace of the Princess.

Song An was raised under Song Pianxian’s care and lived in the Eastern Palace, and now he was the Crown Prince. As for Song Ruyan, she was originally a county princess, and with her brother’s elevation in status, she also rose by one rank, receiving the title of “Morning Sun.”

There were other rewards in the northwest, but they weren’t mentioned for now.

Everything settled down.

On a typical morning, Song Pianxian lazily got up.

Autumn had deepened, and the Inner Palace sent autumn clothes early in the morning. The palace attendants checked them one by one. The palace attendants from the Inner Palace said they were going to deliver them to Lady Ronghua later, fearing she might not have gotten up yet.

Everyone in the palace knew that Lady Ronghua always kept her doors closed and rose late every day.

Song Pianxian looked back and saw Lady Ronghua lying on her own bed, her lips shining with a smile, her hair scattered like clouds.

The inner garment had always been thin and smooth. As Lady Ronghua got up, it slipped off her shoulders, revealing her charming beauty like a pile of rouge on snow.

The snow was soft and trembling, full and tempting.

The rouge was gorgeous, speckled, with a hint of allure.

Lady Ronghua of Ming Shou Palace was going to be late again.

Lady Ronghua propped up her slender waist, leaned over, and with a subtle gesture, she pulled the Crown Princess back into the soft blankets.

The cool autumn air was blocked outside the canopy, while here, a warm fragrance enveloped them.

Now, even the Crown Princess would be late.

After the two of them finally got ready, Song Ruyan and Song Yingguang had already been practicing calligraphy in the study for half a moment.

It had always been Feng Yuexian who supervised their studies.

Otherwise, they would have to go to Song Pianxian.

Therefore, when Song Ruyan wrote to Jin Lingzhi, she didn’t hesitate to mention how well she was being taken care of by Feng Yuexian.

Jin Lingzhi thought that Feng Yuexian, out of consideration for their relationship as sisters-in-law, was especially attentive to Song Ruyan, and she sent twice the annual gift when she visited the capital.

Song An was now three years old and had invited a great scholar to tutor him, but at noon, he only followed his two Big Sisters around. He was the little tail of the Big Sisters, following them wherever they went. As long as the two Big Sisters laughed, he would laugh along.

Song An was well-behaved and adorable, truly loved by everyone. The consorts in the palace all loved him dearly and wished they could take him back to raise him themselves.

In the past, few people visited the Eastern Palace, but because everyone felt that the Crown Princess was gentle and kind, and there was no need to worry about gender segregation, and with the presence of the little child to entertain, gradually, more and more people came to visit.

The Left Consort was the most lively and active. Moreover, the Eastern Palace often gathered the four beauties — two mature beauties and two young beauties. Just seeing them was pleasing to the eye.

She often dragged Lady Lu to play around. Over time, they became familiar, especially with Song Ruyan.

Because in recent years, the court had become increasingly clear and orderly, and under Song Pianxian’s management, things were handled much more efficiently. When she returned to the Eastern Palace, it was almost dusk.

The light was soft and gentle. In the courtyard of the Eastern Palace, they were playing pitch-pot.

Song Yingguang stood on the corridor with Song An watching them play. Song An obediently followed her, always listening to her.

Before the green-glazed pitch-pot, an arrow in the hands of Zuo Manran flew out but fell to the ground.

This happened three times in a row. With a sigh, she decided to blindfold herself and continue playing.

The blindfolded arrow almost hit the target.

“Did it go in?” Zuo Manran asked eagerly.

Lady Lu calmly put her arrow into the pot and said, “You’re lucky.”

Zuo Zhaoyi opened her eyes with a “wow” and was extremely happy. “Am I that good? I’ll compete with them tomorrow and win their jewelry!”

Lady Lu: Hmm, I’m listening.

Song Ruyan stood by, looking pensive, as if she had learned something.

The window of the main hall was open, revealing a corner of the room inside.

The soft smoke-colored gauze window, the translucent white jade vase, and a beautiful maple branch slanting into the scene, gathered under the window, with the maple leaves as red as fire.

In the hall under the window, Feng Yuexian was arranging the chessboard.

If Song Pianxian guessed correctly, that was the unfinished game from a few days ago.

Perhaps because Song Pianxian had been standing for too long, Feng Yuexian seemed to sense something and looked up.

Then, the figure disappeared from under the window and walked out of the hall door, her skirt fluttering.

Song Ruyan tossed an arrow to Feng Yuexian.

She was restless and often practiced some moves with Feng Yuexian, always eager to see Feng Yuexian’s skills.

Although the arrow had little force, it still came flying. Feng Yuexian casually caught it and glanced at the pitch-pot.

Feng Yuexian casually threw the arrow, and without stopping her feet, she walked away.

Lady Zhao Yi said: “I know you’re strong, but this lady with a narrow spout on the pot requires careful attention.”

Just as Lady Zhao Yi’s words fell, the arrowhead landed in the pot, and the feathers continued to sway inside.

Feng Yuexian didn’t turn back, continuing to walk towards Song Pianxian: “The endgame is still waiting for you.”

Song Pianxian smiled and walked up to her.

Suddenly, a mournful call came from the side of the palace road: “Report to the Crown Princess…”

What happened?

Song Pianxian immediately turned around, and Feng Yuexian also focused, looking over.

The person was Hong Chang.

Hong Chang knelt down with his head bowed, his knees hitting the ground with a dull thud: “Crown Princess, Lady, Your Majesty… His Majesty has passed away.”

At the same time, Song Pianxian heard 09’s voice: “The dimensional assessment is complete. The world has reached a stable state. Efficiency mode can be activated.”

“Should I activate it?”

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu

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