Dawn in the PalaceThe sky had just begun to lighten, and the morning glow had not yet pierced the shadows of the palace walls when Ying Zheng already stood beside Zhong Li's couch. The couch was narrow, and Zhong Li curled up on it; his delicate side profile looked extraordinarily soft in the faint light, even the usually taut lines of his eyebrows and eyes relaxed, like a child who hadn't grown up yet. Ying Zheng's gaze lingered on his face for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable. He stood silently for a quarter of an hour, then turned and walked out of the courtyard.
His steps were extremely light, barely making a sound as they touched the bluestone slabs. He walked along the base of the palace wall toward the more remote Cold Palace. When he encountered patrolling guards along the way, he could always dodge into the shadows with precision—either behind a corridor pillar or into a crevice in the rockery—his movements so fast that only a faint afterimage remained, as if he was born knowing how to hide himself in this palace.
The vermilion-lacquered gate of the Cold Palace was already chipped and worn, and the lock was covered in rust. Ying Zheng pressed his foot down slightly, leaped over the wall, and landed in the courtyard overgrown with dry grass. He pushed open the door of a dilapidated room; the air inside was filled with a musty smell, and a woman lay on the bed. She was once a maid who had served his birth mother, Zhao Ji—and also a mission executor sent by a certain "System".
Sensing movement, the woman opened her eyes suddenly. Her face was instantly a mix of joy, grievance, and reluctance. She forced her weak body to sit up, her voice hoarse as if scraped by sandpaper: "You still came to see me."
Ying Zheng frowned and gave a low reply: "Hmm."
The woman smiled, but there was an imperceptible calculation hidden in her eyes—her mission was to gain Ying Zheng's trust and help him ascend the throne. However, her health had been deteriorating lately, so she had to resort to this last trick: the "deathbed entrustment". "I just wanted to see you one more time. After all, we were like master and disciple once. I taught you to read and write, and helped you avoid being bullied by palace servants several times."
A flash of mockery passed quickly through Ying Zheng's eyes, but he said nothing, only staring at her intensely.
The woman rambled on with her exhortations, her tone growing more urgent: "The Queen's methods have become more ruthless lately—I can even hear the rumors here in the Cold Palace. You need to plant your own people quickly, but don't be too ostentatious. Keeping a low profile and biding your time is the way to last. You must take good care of yourself; I believe you will succeed for sure."
Seeing that Ying Zheng remained silent all the while, the woman lowered her eyes and squeezed out a few tears. The teardrops fell on the tattered quilt, leaving small damp spots: "I don't want you to see me die in such a mess. You should leave now..."
Only then did Ying Zheng step forward, his tone softening a little: "I've remembered everything you said. I will protect myself well."
"I believe you," the woman looked up, her eyes filled with "gratitude", and she even deliberately showed a hint of weakness. "I've left you a few hidden strongholds. There's food, money, and people in them. If you run into trouble, go find them."
Ying Zheng didn't respond; he just picked up a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from her face. The young man's clear voice sounded in her ear, carrying a touch of solemnity: "You will always be the most important person in my heart. When I ascend the throne in the future, I will make you the Empress Dowager, to be revered by thousands."
The woman's lips trembled slightly, and an uncontrollable sense of pride burst forth in her eyes—It worked! The target's trust level is full, and I'm finally going to complete the mission! [System 145: Detected target trust level at 100%. Mission completed!]
"Thank you. You're so kind," her tone was light, even a little carried away. "When I told you all those 'sincere words' back then, you actually believed them all. Lucky for you I'm not a bad person—otherwise, you would have been long gone by now..."
Ying Zheng suddenly smiled. It was his first smile since entering the room, yet it carried a hint of coldness. He slowly placed his hand behind the woman's neck, leaned over, and looked at the pride in her eyes. His smile widened: "You're right. I don't trust anyone. You approached me on purpose—I don't know your motive, but..."
Before he finished speaking, his right hand suddenly tightened, firmly pinching the woman's neck. The woman's face turned red instantly; her breathing became more and more difficult, and her hands scratched desperately at Ying Zheng's arm. Her eyes were filled with panic and disbelief. Yet Ying Zheng's eyes remained calm, as if he was just crushing an ant: "In your next life, don't come to the palace to be a pawn again."
[System 145: Warning! Target trust level dropping sharply! 60%... 30%... 0%! Mission failed! Forced disconnection in 3 seconds!]
"No..." Before the woman's consciousness faded, only one thought remained—How could I have failed? I clearly won his trust!
Ying Zheng let go of his hand, watched the woman slump softly onto the bed, and sighed quietly: "What a pity for such a beautiful face—too bad she's just someone else's pawn." From start to finish, he only trusted himself. In this palace, no one was worthy of his true devotion.
When he walked out of the Cold Palace, the morning light had illuminated half the sky. Ying Zheng thought of Zhong Li's clumsy attempt to protect him the night before, and the corner of his mouth lifted imperceptibly—He really hoped that young eunuch wouldn't reveal his motives too soon. He also didn't want to always end "tests" with killing. After all, in the eyes of others, he was still a "kind and generous" down-and-out prince.Zhong Li's AwakeningZhong Li opened his eyes suddenly, his whole body still trembling slightly—In a half-dream, half-awake state just now, he had felt a sudden chill. He stared blankly at the surroundings, and it took him a while to remember that he had already transmigrated into the world of the book, and had even slept in Ying Zheng's side courtyard the previous night.
Where was Ying Zheng?
He hurried to get up, but the room was empty, not even a trace of warmth left. Zhong Li ran into the courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the pile of broken wood and overgrown weeds, but he still didn't see Ying Zheng's figure. His heart tightened; he was about to rush out of the courtyard gate when he heard Ying Zheng's angry roar from behind: "Stop! Where do you think you're going?"
Zhong Li's body froze instantly. He turned around slowly and saw Ying Zheng standing in the corner of the courtyard, carrying a wooden bucket full of cold water. His clothes were dotted with grass scraps, and his eyes were filled with displeasure. "I-I thought you were gone..." His voice sounded a little weak.
Ying Zheng's face darkened immediately: "Gone? Do you think I could just run away?" He put down the bucket, walked forward, and his tone was filled with frustration, as if scolding someone who was not living up to expectations: "You spend all day thinking about useless things. No wonder you're just a lowly eunuch who gets bullied by everyone."
Listening to this, Zhong Li couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. He looked up at Ying Zheng—the young man was wearing a faded brocade robe, and his hands were still damp with water. It was obvious he had just come back from outside and hadn't even had time to put down the water. Clearly a prince, yet he had to do everything by himself, even rough work like carrying water. But he still put on an air of "I'm very powerful".
"I'm not ambitious enough. It's my fault," Zhong Li tried hard to hold back his laughter, his shoulders trembling slightly, but he still put on an obedient expression.
Ying Zheng looked at his "good attitude of admitting mistakes"—yet it was obvious he was holding back laughter—and his face turned even darker: "If you have nothing to do, get out. My side courtyard is too small to accommodate a 'carefree' eunuch like you."
Zhong Li snickered inwardly: This kid is being difficult again. He bowed respectfully, turned around, and left, his steps light. There was none of the fear and trepidation he had felt the day before—nor even a trace of reluctance.
Ying Zheng watched Zhong Li's figure disappear outside the courtyard gate, and he stood there in a daze for a long time—Did that young eunuch just leave like that? He had thought Zhong Li would cling to him and curry favor like all the other servants in the palace, but instead...The System's Warning[Host, are you just going to leave like this? Aren't you afraid he'll hold a grudge against you and affect the subsequent mission?] The System's voice sounded in Zhong Li's mind, filled with a hint of worry.
Zhong Li let out a scoff, his tone indifferent: "What do you know? Over the past two days, I've humbled myself and catered to him, which has already made him develop a slight sense of dependence and leniency toward me. There's a limit to everything—if I keep clinging to him, it will only make him suspicious. Keeping an appropriate distance is the way to make him care more about me."
The System fell silent for a long time before speaking in a trembling voice: [B-But that's Ying Zheng! His will is terrifyingly firm. We've sent four mission executors before, and all of them died—even their bodies weren't left behind...]
Zhong Li's steps suddenly stopped, and alarm bells rang in his mind instantly: "You sent many people? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
[W-Well, we were afraid you wouldn't dare to take the mission if you knew...] The System's voice grew softer and softer. [In your human terms, this is called "acting first and reporting later".]
"Acting first and reporting later?" Zhong Li couldn't help but curse inwardly. "What the hell kind of 'acting first and reporting later' is this? You're just throwing me into a fire pit!"
[Host, don't get excited!] The System quickly explained. [The first four mission executors all failed because they were too overconfident. They thought Ying Zheng was just a poor, unloved child and let their guard down.]
Zhong Li's head ached fiercely—Four people had died, and they still couldn't figure out the reason. This was simply a hell-level mission difficulty! "Tell me in detail. How did they die?"
[The first one transmigrated into a eunuch beside Zhao Ji. He wanted to get close to Ying Zheng in the name of "his birth mother", but as soon as he mentioned "wanting to help you contact court officials", Ying Zheng had him beaten to death on the charge of "sowing discord between mother and son". The second was a newly entered palace maid who brought snacks to Ying Zheng every day. But because she secretly added "tonics" to the snacks, Ying Zheng suspected she was the Queen's person and threw her directly into the swill bucket of the imperial kitchen. The third transmigrated into a concubine in the Cold Palace. She pretended to "run into" Ying Zheng and wanted to talk about "cooperation", but Ying Zheng strangled her before she could finish speaking—that's the woman you almost met yesterday. The fourth was the captain of the emperor's bodyguards. He wanted to stay with Ying Zheng in the name of "protection", but because he secretly investigated Ying Zheng's movements, Ying Zheng framed him on the charge of "assassinating the prince" and had him executed by lingchi (death by a thousand cuts).]
Zhong Li felt a chill run down his spine, and he subconsciously touched his neck—Luckily, he hadn't been in a hurry to "show his loyalty". "Did any of them try to 'report everything' and not make decisions on their own?"
[Yes! The second maid did! Every time before she brought snacks, she would tell Ying Zheng, "This is made by this servant with my own hands; nothing extra was added." But instead, Ying Zheng thought she was "currying favor for no reason and must have ulterior motives", which made him even more suspicious of her. She died even faster...]
Zhong Li fell silent. He had originally thought that "discussing everything with Ying Zheng" would be a safe approach, but now it seemed this method wouldn't work either. He suddenly thought of the identities of the first four mission executors and instantly understood the key to their failure: "The identities they transmigrated into were either related to Zhao Ji, related to the emperor, or people the Queen could easily reach. How could Ying Zheng not be suspicious?"
[Host, you finally figured it out!] The System's voice was filled with excitement. [Ying Zheng grew up in the harem, so he is inherently wary of people with "backgrounds". The identity you transmigrated into is a cleaning eunuch from the west—no family, no backers. This is your advantage!]
Only then did Zhong Li heave a sigh of relief. Although his identity was lowly, it was "clean"—no factions, no patrons. He seemed like just a small eunuch trying to survive, which could instead make Ying Zheng let down his guard a little.
[But Host, you still can't let your guard down!] The System began to worry again. [Ying Zheng doesn't even have much affection for his own birth mother. If you make even one small mistake someday, maybe...]
"Don't worry," Zhong Li interrupted it, his tone firm. "I'm different from them. I won't deliberately curry favor, won't make decisions on my own, and even more so, won't make him feel like I have 'ulterior motives'. I want him to think that I stay by his side only because I 'fear being bullied' and want to find a master who 'seems down-and-out but has potential'—not because he is the 'future emperor'."
He thought of his actions the day before—eating the spoiled rice for Ying Zheng—and his deliberate "unhesitant departure" today. A clearer plan took shape in his mind—To deal with a suspicious person like Ying Zheng, he could only use a subtle, gradual approach, letting Ying Zheng gradually get used to his presence until he couldn't do without him.
"Let's go. First, go back to the residence to find Xia Zhi," Zhong Li quickened his pace. "Today, I still have to go to the west to do the cleaning. I'll also see if I can find another chance to 'run into' Ying Zheng—After all, boosting favorability can't be rushed."