Chapter 229 A Terrifying Experience on the Palace Road

He Ling held the sandalwood box containing the Chinese knot, walking step by step as if in a dream.

My mind was still filled with Jiang Huan's riddle, "Show some sincerity!"

Sincerity? What sincerity? Why has Your Majesty become a riddle teller?

As she walked back along the familiar palace path, she kept pondering those words in her mind, feeling as if they were a tangled mess, getting more and more chaotic the more she tried to untangle them.

Does she want me to do something for her? But what can I do?

[Besides knitting scarves, which is passable, I'm terrible at everything else, including playing musical instruments, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and dancing and singing are complete disasters...]

We can't exactly knit scarves for the Empress every day, can we?

The system shop does have quite a few modern items, which would be absolute rare treasures in this era.

[But...but I don't have any points either. The system even reneged on my 40 points of favorability last time.]

He Ling became increasingly confused as she thought about it, and her steps became unsteady.

[System, what exactly does Her Majesty mean?]

He Ling became more and more confused as she thought about it, and almost tripped over a protruding bluestone slab as she walked.

She quickly steadied herself and clutched the box tightly in her arms, still shaken.

【System!】He Ling, tormented by her chaotic thoughts, couldn't help but call out in her mind, 【What exactly does the Empress mean? What kind of sincerity does she want? You love to analyze, right? Now analyze it for me.】

An electronic voice immediately sounded, laced with sarcasm: "Beep! The target, Jiang Huan, has unclear intentions, and her words may contain multiple traps."

"System determination: This target is attempting to induce the host to reveal the system's existence or obtain system resources; this behavior is extremely dangerous!"

"We strongly advise the host to stay away from Jiang Huan and sever all contact!"

Upon hearing this, He Ling's anger flared up again.

[Inducement? Trap? System, stop trying to sow discord.]

[The Empress doesn't know I have a system; she was probably just saying it casually.]

[You lousy system, all you do is pour cold water on things and create panic; you're completely useless.]

She angrily retorted in her heart, and her steps unconsciously became heavier, the soles of her shoes making a clattering sound on the bluestone slabs, which was particularly clear in the quiet palace path.

"The system issues reasonable warnings based on data analysis; there is no jealousy module present."

"Target Jiang Huan is extremely dangerous. Her behavior pattern matches the characteristics of a high-risk fraudster. Host, please immediately execute the order to stay away, or you will bear the consequences!"

The system's voice was cold and stubborn, each word like a hammer blow to He Ling's nerves.

You're the fraudster! Your whole family is fraudsters!

[The Empress has everything she wants; why should I let her deceive me?]

[I think you're just trying to sow discord between me and the Empress because you don't want to follow your instructions to win over that cold-faced emperor; you only want to cling to the Empress and get by.]

[You're just jealous that the Empress is gentler and more reliable than you!]

He Ling grew angrier the more she thought about it, and her steps quickened as she tried to get back to her small but safe side hall.

Unbeknownst to her, she turned past a high palace wall and entered a relatively secluded corridor.

This corridor connects several less important palace rooms, and there are usually few palace servants coming and going, so it seems particularly empty now.

[Huh? This road isn't usually this quiet.]

What happened today? Where did everyone go?

She felt a vague unease and instinctively hugged the box in her arms tighter.

Just then, a figure staggered out from the shadows of the corridor.

The man was dressed in the clothes of a low-ranking eunuch, his body was somewhat hunched, he was carrying a wine pot in his hand, and he reeked of alcohol.

He was completely drunk, staggering, and his eyes were glazed over.

But when his gaze fell on He Ling, his cloudy eyes lit up instantly, like a hungry wolf spotting its prey.

"Hehe, hiccup... little beauty..." he mumbled indistinctly, a lewd smile spreading across his face, as he staggered toward He Ling.

"Which palace are you from? Why are you here all alone? Keep... keep me company for a drink?"

He Ling was jolted awake by the strong smell of alcohol, her eyes widening in surprise.

[Holy crap! What's going on? How dare a eunuch be so arrogant?]

Are the rules in this palace just for show?

[Help! Is this old man drunk and not recognizing people?!]

【I'm a concubine, after all! How come I'm being taken advantage of by an old eunuch???】

He Ling subconsciously took a step back, trying to avoid the person who suddenly appeared.

"Beep! Beep! Beep! Highest level alarm!"

"Host detected facing a threat. Threat source: Unknown drunken eunuch!"

Threat Level: Lethal!

"System Analysis: The probability of this event occurring is highly correlated with the host's severely lagging progress in conquering the game."

"System determination: This event is a forced intervention by world rules, intended to eliminate inefficient players."

"Warning! Host faces risk of forced offline! Survival probability assessment: Extremely low!"

"Without effective defenses, the host is advised to... well... good luck!"

The system's electronic voice was sharp and piercing, and He Ling instantly broke down.

[System! You bastard! You son of a bitch!]

[You're the one who forcibly brought me to this godforsaken place and forced me to do this damned mission.]

Now that I'm failing the mission, you're abandoning me and even want the world's rules to kill me?

[Waaaaah... Help! Someone please save me!]

She had no time to argue with the system; her survival instinct made her turn and run.

"Don't run away... little beauty..." The eunuch chuckled indistinctly from behind, staggering but determined to catch up.

He Ling ran as fast as she could, her heart pounding in her throat.

[Help! Help! Someone please save me!]

In her panic, she ran blindly, wanting only to escape the terrifying figure behind her.

Just then, at the corner of the palace road ahead, a bright yellow hem flashed by.

Bright yellow—that's for the Emperor!

A fierce will to survive instantly flashed in He Ling's eyes.

As if grasping at the last straw, she used all her strength to run wildly in that direction.

"Your Majesty, save me!" she cried out hoarsely as she ran.

However, no one responded for a long time.

When she rushed breathlessly to the corner, there was no one there.

"Where is he? I clearly saw him just now!"

He Ling felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, and was so anxious that she almost cried.

"How could it... be gone?"

She looked back in horror, and the eunuch was already staggering closer.

The eunuch wore a chilling smile, his murky eyes filled with desire.

"Hehe...run away...why did you stop running?" he said, reaching out to grab He Ling.

He Ling screamed and turned to run again, but her legs felt as heavy as lead; the frantic run had exhausted her strength.

What made her even more desperate was that, despite her shouting and yelling for so long, the palace path remained deserted.

Where are the patrolling guards? Where are the palace servants? Where have they all gone? Why is there no one here?!