Chapter 8, Chapter 008: She didn't even glance at you! ...
"Aaaaaaahh ...
A heart-wrenching scream shattered the tranquility of the night, causing everyone's heart to skip a beat. But unexpectedly, what unfolded before their eyes was not the scene of Lu Yuanyuan being disemboweled and splattered with blood. Instead, the monster let out a long howl, retreating step by step, a long red tongue protruding from its mouth as it hissed and panted. Without its skin to cover it, rotting flesh around its eye sockets spilled out, and the front of its clothes was filthy, a mixture of red and white, no longer recognizable as a human face—a truly horrifying sight.
In just a short while, all the Imperial Guards from the vicinity arrived. They surrounded it in layers, a dense, dark mass. In the chaos, a palace servant caught a glimpse of something and cried out with wild joy, "It's the Grand Preceptor! The Grand Preceptor has arrived!"
"That thing is definitely the Skinning Demon! Don't let it get away!"
The wounded demon huddled in the shadows of the palace wall, panting heavily, its gaping maw filled with countless teeth. As if knowing that all was lost tonight, it glared venomously at Lu Yuanyuan, then suddenly flipped over, nimbly scaling the top of the palace wall and fleeing into the deep darkness of the palace.
The Imperial Advisor flicked his whisk and ordered his men to follow, saying, "All of you, come with me! This demon must be slain!"
She had narrowly escaped death. Lu Yuanyuan's heart pounded wildly, and she was drenched in cold sweat. The relief of surviving the ordeal made her tense nerves relax, and her body swayed.
Yue Hong, quick-witted and agile, swiftly stepped forward to catch her, put an arm around her shoulder, looked down at her, his gaze dazed, as if he couldn't quite come to his senses.
This was the first time in his life that a girl had protected him, and the shock and complex emotions he felt were indescribable.
This guy... he was usually such a timid person, he never expected that at the critical moment of life and death, she would rush out without hesitation, using her frail body as a shield to protect him.
Isn't she afraid of monsters?
No, she was so frightened by a mouse that she threw herself into a panic; how could she not be afraid of monsters?
So, is it because of... him?
A strange thrill pierced his chest, and his blood rushed through his body in an instant. Yue Hong's Adam's apple bobbed, and he involuntarily tightened his grip on her slender shoulders.
Lu Yuanyuan was still dizzy and had no idea that this person's imagination had wandered so far. At this moment, she suddenly felt a heat in her palm and heard a crisp metallic sound—on the back of the bronze mirror covered with cinnabar scriptures, a narrow crack appeared in the cloud and thunder pattern.
The next second, it shattered into dust without warning, drifting and scattering in the night wind.
As the mirror shattered, an invisible, menacing aura shot straight to her face, sending chills down her spine. Lu Yuanyuan felt a dull pain in her chest, as if she had just performed a dramatic chest-breaking act. Her body swayed, and she lost consciousness.
...
When she woke up, Lu Yuanyuan was already sprawled on her bed in her palace.
She had been lying down for too long and was a little confused. Before her vision had cleared, her tongue tasted a strong, bitter medicinal flavor that went straight to the top of her head.
What tastes so awful... Ugh.
At this moment, a pretty figure rushed excitedly to the bedside, bursting into tears of joy: "Princess! It's wonderful, you're finally awake! You've been unconscious for a whole day and night! The imperial physician just finished giving you acupuncture... I'll go and fetch someone right away!"
It's the sound from the silver screen.
Lu Yuanyuan struggled to speak, so she simply shut her mouth and let Yinping go. Once the bedchamber was quiet, she mentally asked the system, "Has the Imperial Advisor captured that monster? How is Dang'er?"
System: "Did not capture her. Dang'er died while being devoured by the demon, and her body was found in a ditch outside the palace. Like the previous Imperial Guards, she was skinned alive."
Lu Yuanyuan was silent for a moment: "No wonder they said I was an NPC in the dungeon. It turns out it had been possessing my palace maid all along."
System: "Correct. If the original storyline of the instance were to unfold, its target the night before last would have been someone else. It was because you had too much yin energy that it targeted you and made its move."
Lu Yuanyuan moved slightly and felt that her right hand seemed to be wrapped up. Slightly puzzled, she pulled her right hand out from under the covers and found that her palm was wrapped in gauze, from which a faint herbal fragrance wafted.
By the way, before she lost consciousness, the bronze mirror in her hand seemed to have broken; that must have been when she cut her palm.
However, it's normal for it to break. After all, it was just an ordinary mirror; it would be strange if it remained intact after being struck so many times by evil energy.
Any magical artifact capable of directly confronting evil spirits must be crafted using rare and precious materials from the cultivation world. Even the most skilled craftsmen in the mortal realm, with their limited manufacturing capabilities, could not create such divine weapons.
Thankfully, this is just a beginner-level dungeon. If the boss were stronger, that bronze mirror would probably shatter before she even reached the Imperial Garden.
The candles burned brightly in the bedchamber, their light flickering in the night breeze. Because of her weakened state and the evil spirits that had possessed her, Lu Yuanyuan was even more sensitive to the cold than before. She silently breathed warm air onto her fingertips, then pulled her hands back under the covers and burrowed deeper into the blankets.
After waiting for a while, Yinping arrived in a hurry with the female doctor. Surprisingly, she was also accompanied by Eunuch Zhang and several unfamiliar palace servants.
The female physician knelt on the cushion, took Lu Yuanyuan's pulse, then instructed her to lie on her side, partially undressed her, and gently administered acupuncture. Afterwards, Eunuch Zhang, who had been waiting outside the screen, approached and asked in a low voice, "How is the princess?"
The female doctor replied, "Please rest assured, Eunuch Zhang, the princess has been affected by evil spirits and is somewhat weak, but it's nothing serious. With some rest and recuperation, she will definitely recover."
Zhang Gonggong's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, settled back down: "That's good, that's good."
The events of the previous night caused quite a stir, even alarming the Emperor and Consort Xie. At the time, many people saw that the Princess of Yan had fainted while protecting the Third Prince.
After all, she was a princess sent by the Yan Kingdom for a marriage alliance. If anything were to happen to her, the Emperor would likely reprimand her. Fortunately, she was unharmed, which relieved Consort Xie.
.
After the female doctor left, Lu Yuanyuan ate a bowl of millet porridge to fill her stomach and then lay down to rest. However, she didn't sleep for long before she was awakened by a chill that enveloped her skin, and the system's alarm beeped loudly in her ears.
It turns out that while she was unconscious, her health points had dropped to 4/100!
"Princess, it's time for your medicine." Yinping carried a bowl of medicine in a small wooden dish to the bedside. She was shocked to see Lu Yuanyuan hunched over, trembling by the bedside. "Princess, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Lu Yuanyuan shivered uncontrollably. Yinping helped her up, her pale face hidden in her dark hair. "It's so cold... clothes... quickly give me some clothes."
Yinping quickly put down the medicine bowl, took the outer garment from the screen, and draped it over Dang'er's shoulders. She then gestured to another palace maid who had been brought in to replace Dang'er to lower the thick curtains blocking the wind from the window, but it was all in vain.
Lu Yuanyuan hugged herself tightly, her teeth chattering. Her temperature control seemed to have malfunctioned; a chill seeped from her very bones, as if she were in an icy lake.
"Princess, please wait a moment, I'll go get your winter clothes right away!" Yinping hurriedly pulled up the quilt and wrapped her up like a dumpling, then said to the palace servants behind her, "Go quickly and fetch the female physician!"
The palace maid had never seen such a scene before. Feeling flustered, she nodded and hurried away.
This is probably just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Lu Yuanyuan reached out from under the covers and tightly grabbed Yinping's arm. With her last shred of consciousness, she said, "No need for that. Just go and call..."
Before they could finish speaking, a shadow suddenly fell upon them.
Yinping was taken aback, turned her head to look, and immediately knelt down to pay her respects: "Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince."
"I heard the princess has woken up, so I came to visit her. Why is there no one guarding the palace gates?" Yue Qi stepped onto the steps and, seeing Lu Yuanyuan's appearance, was taken aback: "Why do you look so pale?"
Yinping dared not lie: "This servant was just about to feed the princess her medicine when she said she was very cold. This servant has already sent someone to fetch a female physician, and is now on her way to find some winter clothes for the princess..."
Yue Qi glanced at the porcelain bowl beside him, walked over slowly, picked up the bowl, and said, "It's not good for the medicine to get cold, I'll feed it to you. Go and get some winter clothes."
Yinping was taken aback.
The princess was currently only wearing a thin, soft silk nightgown. Moreover, to facilitate the physician's acupuncture, she wasn't even wearing an undergarment; it was only loosely tied, making it easy for her to expose herself. Although the crown prince was her future husband, the two had not yet consummated their marriage. To be alone together by the bedside in such disheveled attire was improper.
However, when she met Yue Qi's indifferent gaze, Yin Ping's heart trembled. She dared not say "no," and hurriedly nodded to find her clothes.
Yue Qi lifted his robe and sat on the edge of the bed, picking up the medicine bowl with his right hand and about to help Lu Yuanyuan up with his left. Unexpectedly, a petite body suddenly squeezed into his arms.
He paused and looked down.
Lu Yuanyuan's dark hair was disheveled, and she looked somewhat dazed. As if acting purely on instinct, she climbed into his arms, sat on his lap, and tightly hugged his waist. Her wrists and bare feet were as white as snow. After nestled in his embrace, she let out a long sigh, her face lowered, remaining motionless. Slowly, a pale pink blush rose to her cheeks, like a demon clinging to a human man and absorbing his life essence.
...
This is what Yue Hong saw when he walked in.
Today, the emperor summoned him early in the morning and asked him many questions.
He stayed in his father's palace until dark before coming out, only to hear from Eunuch Zhang that Lu Yuanyuan had woken up, so he immediately changed his route to see her.
Arriving outside her palace, Yue Hong happened to run into the palace maid who had gone to fetch the female physician. Learning from her that Lu Yuanyuan's condition had suddenly worsened, Yue Hong's face darkened. Without waiting for the maid to go in and relay the message, he rudely walked straight in.
Eunuch Zhang wiped his sweat and chased after him, saying, "Your Highness, please slow down..."
Lu Yuanyuan's palace servants had just been sent away and were unaware that the Crown Prince was also inside. They dared not stop the Third Prince and could only hurry after him with the female physician.
Unexpectedly, upon entering the inner hall, they encountered this scene.
The curtains in the bedchamber were all drawn, making it completely airtight, and the palace lanterns cast a dim yellow light. Surprisingly, the Crown Prince was also on the bed, holding a person wrapped in a blanket in his arms. He was holding a bowl of medicine and feeding her.
The person seemed extremely cold, with only a drowsy, flushed face peeking out from under thick clothes and blankets.
Behind Yue Hong, several people's hearts skipped a beat simultaneously. Having served in the palace for so many years, there was nothing new they hadn't seen. But this scene made them feel as if they had spied on a scene in their master's boudoir that they shouldn't have seen, and their cheeks flushed as they lowered their heads, not daring to look any longer.
The Crown Prince remained calm, as if he had already seen them enter through the screen. He put the empty bowl aside, smiled, and asked, "Third Brother, why didn't you send someone to let us know you were coming in?"
Eunuch Zhang secretly glanced at his master out of the corner of his eye.
Yue Hong's back stiffened: "Oh, did I disturb you?"
"It's not really disturbing her, I'm just feeding her medicine," Yue Qi said, patting Lu Yuanyuan's back to signal her to let go. But because Yue Qi's luck wasn't as strong as his younger brother's, Lu Yuanyuan had only just managed to get her health to 20/100 and was still a little dazed. She didn't even notice who was standing in front of her, and just squinted her eyes, hugging the person in her arms even tighter.
...
Yue Hong didn't stay long before leaving the palace.
Eunuch Zhang followed behind him and secretly peeked at him.
This was the first time he had ever seen His Highness with such a gloomy and unpleasant expression. As a result, a chilling suspicion gradually began to rise in his mind.
Zhang Gonggong's godson also noticed that Yue Hong was in a bad mood. He recalled Yue Hong's past relationship with Lu Yuanyuan and said indignantly, "That Princess Yan is truly outrageous! Your Highness, you condescended to visit her personally, and she had the time to embrace the Crown Prince but didn't even glance at you! Your Highness, please don't upset yourself..."
The veins on Zhang Gonggong's forehead throbbed, and he pinched his godson's waist hard: "What nonsense are you talking about!"
If you can't speak properly, then shut up!
.……
Lu Yuanyuan was completely unaware of the undercurrents that day.
After absorbing 40 life points from Yue Qi, her body temperature returned to normal. For the next two weeks, she stayed in her palace to recuperate, and such a sudden drop in life points never happened again.
Considering that she had saved Yue Hong's life, Consort Xie did not hold the broken Buddhist scripture against her after learning the reason for borrowing the book. During her convalescence, Consort Xie even sent many gifts to her.
With the emperor's rewards and gifts from all sorts of people, the boxes were almost overflowing her usually quiet palace.
After resting for several days and feeling a bit better, Lu Yuanyuan finally had time to check the various values in her mind.
She thought the dungeon was finished. But when she checked, the dungeon progress was surprisingly stuck at 99%.
The probability of encountering danger and the probability of death both surge to 90%!
Lu Yuanyuan: "...What's that 1% left on the progress bar? Does it mean I'll have to appear later?"
System: "1% represents a possibility. This is because the dungeon boss has not yet been defeated. Only when it vanishes will the progress be finalized and pushed to 100%. Also, you should know that evil spirits are extremely vengeful. Based on the fact that you have already formed a grudge with it, we will appropriately increase your chance of encountering danger before it dies. But don't worry too much, theoretically, you will not have any more opportunities to directly confront it later."
At this moment, Lu Yuanyuan did not pay attention to the words "theoretically". She nodded to indicate that she understood and then began to check the various data on the panel.
Because she absorbed a lot of luck from Yue Qi and hasn't left the house recently, her main routine has been eating and sleeping, and she's been given bitter medicine and supplements every day. As a result, her health points are dropping very slowly, and she still has 30/100.
The [Strength Value] and [Spiritual Power Value] remain unchanged.
The [Character Completion Rate], which had remained unchanged, increased from 1% to 5%... What exactly does this Character Completion Rate refer to?
The system sensed her question: "When you complete the original storyline, your [Character Completion] will become 100%."
Lu Yuanyuan gave a soft "hmm," drank the last mouthful of bitter medicine, handed the porcelain bowl to Yinping beside her, and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief. Come to think of it, she had been isolated from the world for almost half a month, so she asked, "By the way, Yinping, has anything unusual happened in the palace recently?"
That night was chaotic. She flew to block the monster, wondering if anyone with sharp eyes would discover the secret of the bronze mirror, and if rumors had already spread in the palace.
After all, logically speaking, a princess of the Yan Kingdom shouldn't know how to exorcise demons.
As it turns out, Lu Yuanyuan was right; there were indeed rumors circulating recently.
But she guessed the wrong direction of the gossip.
After Yinping finished recounting it, Lu Yuanyuan almost choked on her saliva and looked at her absurdly: "...Say it again?"
Holding the small wooden dish for delivering medicine, Yinping said earnestly, "People outside say that you can't judge a book by its cover. She appears delicate and frail, but in reality, she practices ten sets of boxing techniques every night in her palace. She is incredibly powerful and strong, and her righteousness is so strong that even monsters are afraid of her... Princess? What's wrong with you?"
Lu Yuanyuan rubbed her twitching eyes: "Okay, okay, stop talking. I think I know everything. Is that all?"
Yinping hesitated for a moment.
Besides these rumors, there have also been some whispered gossip circulating in the palace recently about the princess and the third prince's affair... However, these rumors are clearly meant to cuckold the crown prince. Therefore, no one dares to openly spread them, and the gossip remains confined to a small circle.
Saying such things to a princess would offend her ears; it's best not to say them.
Yinping shook her head and changed the subject: "By the way, Princess, you weren't feeling well the other day, so I didn't bother you. The Emperor and Consort Xie have bestowed many gifts upon you, all of them precious tonics and medicinal herbs. Also, the sons of the Vice Minister and the Minister have sent gifts. Would you like to take a look?"
Lu Yuanyuan asked doubtfully, "The Minister and the Vice Minister?"
Aren't these the same people who used to bully her and send her toads and dead snakes? Why are they sending her gifts this time out of the blue?
It's probably not something that will make you feel happy.
Lu Yuanyuan shook off the seven words "a weasel paying respects to a chicken" from her mind and said tactfully, "Those things... if they're usable, you guys can divide them up. If they're not usable, just get rid of them. You don't need to show them to me."
Yinping blinked: "Thank you for the princess's gift."
The princess didn't even look at them... even though they were all good things.
.
Lu Yuanyuan spent a month recuperating. By the time she was fully recovered and able to move around as before, it was already August.
During this period, everyone in the palace, from top to bottom, lived in fear.
The fact that a demon had infiltrated the most heavily guarded palace in the entire land was truly unsettling. The emperor was furious and ordered the imperial advisor to capture the monster as soon as possible. However, a whole month passed without incident.
In the blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival is almost here. As is customary, the Yong Kingdom will hold a moon-viewing banquet at Mount Dengtian. With the grand event approaching, the tense atmosphere that had been gripped by fear and suspicion has finally eased somewhat.
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