Chapter 446 Planning Ahead
He Ling was so shocked she almost jumped up. Forget about the system shop, she lifted her skirt and rushed towards Weiyang Palace.
She was so anxious that she didn't even have time to respond to the palace servants bowing to her.
"Huff... huff..." After running all the way to the inner hall of Weiyang Palace, He Ling leaned against the door frame and bent over, panting heavily. Her chest heaved violently, and she could barely speak.
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"
Jiang Huan looked up at the sound and, seeing her flustered appearance, was already used to it.
"Speak up, speak up, what's the matter this time? I've become immune to your constant yelling."
He Ling took a sip of tea to catch her breath, then immediately moved closer to Jiang Huan and said in a low, urgent voice, "The system suddenly started alarming like crazy, saying it detected an extremely high-risk plot point and locked onto you as the target. It said that the old witch Empress Dowager is planning to cause trouble at your investiture ceremony, creating some kind of strange phenomenon to slander you as a wicked concubine who has brought disaster to the country!"
Jiang Huan's smile gradually faded, and her eyes sharpened.
Sure enough, I knew the Empress Dowager wouldn't let her be crowned Empress smoothly.
Choosing to strike during the investiture ceremony is truly vicious to the core.
Even the system has flagged it as high-risk; it seems the Empress Dowager has gone to great lengths and is determined to succeed.
She forced herself to calm down and looked at He Ling.
"Did the system specify what the anomaly is? Or are there any prompts to help?"
"They didn't say exactly what, but most likely they'll create some abnormal weather or strange occurrences, and then use that as an excuse to cause trouble." He Ling frowned and quickly flipped through the system panel.
"However, the system has issued an urgent mission, asking me to help you break this deadlock."
Jiang Huan's eyes flickered slightly as she quickly thought through her thoughts.
Man-made natural phenomena... it sounds like a ghost story.
But in this era, once such rumors of divine retribution and misfortune spread, they are extremely damaging. Even if Huo Lin can forcefully suppress them, rumors will inevitably spread.
We need to take precautions in advance, and it would be best to turn the tables and use their tactics against them.
“He Ling,” Jiang Huan’s thoughts gradually became clearer, and her tone became firm, “Let’s see if there are any props in the system that can interfere with the weather, or that can record or even reflect certain scenes.”
He Ling's eyes lit up, and she immediately buried her head in searching: "Yes, yes, yes! Let me see... Weather jammer, which can disrupt established weather programs on a small scale, and this, the Mirror of Truth, which can record and replay real images."
Jiang Huan made a decisive decision: "Change! We can earn more points, but the investiture ceremony must not be disrupted!"
He Ling was also inspired by her decisiveness, and with a bold wave of her hand, she clicked to redeem.
With a flash of light, she held two items in her hands: a metal device resembling a compass and a seemingly ordinary bronze mirror, no bigger than a woman's palm.
He Ling handed the two items to Jiang Huan, saying, "Here you are, Your Majesty."
Jiang Huan accepted the two props, feeling reassured and much more at ease.
With the help of these high-tech tools, at least we are no longer completely on the defensive.
Her thoughts became clearer: "Alright, the weather on the day of the ceremony is your responsibility. As for the Empress Dowager, if she really dares to make a move, we can take this opportunity to expose her true colors. In the next few days, we..."
Two souls from the modern world touched heads, lowered their voices, and began to plan in detail.
Meanwhile, the palace road was bathed in warm sunshine.
Mingzhu recuperated at home for several days and finally recovered.
She was somewhat concerned about Shen Yi, so she specially instructed the kitchen to prepare several delicate pastries, carefully packed them in a food box, and send them to the palace.
As they walked along the palace road near the Imperial Garden, they bumped into Shen Yi, who was about to leave the palace.
Shen Yi was dressed in an indigo brocade robe today, with his hair tied up with a jade crown. He looked to be in good spirits, but his movements still seemed a little unnatural.
Mingzhu's heart tightened, and she instinctively stopped in her tracks.
When Shen Yi saw her, his peach blossom eyes curved into a smile as he greeted her.
"Oh, isn't this our little princess? She looks much better, and she can't wait to come to the palace... to visit the wounded?" he said, deliberately shaking his injured arm in a slightly exaggerated manner.
Mingzhu's cheeks flushed red from his blunt words. She instinctively tried to hide the food box behind her back, but it was too big to hide.
"Stop trying to flatter yourself!" She tried to put on a stern face, but her voice stammered involuntarily. "Who...who came to visit me? I just came to the palace to pay my respects to Her Majesty and brought some snacks for her to try."
"Oh? For Her Majesty?" Shen Yi feigned surprise, took a step closer, sniffed lightly, and his smile deepened.
"But it smells like chestnut flour cake to me. This isn't the Empress's preferred flavor. It's more like... something specially prepared for me."
"What nonsense are you talking about? Who prepared this especially for you? Stop being so presumptuous!" Mingzhu blushed even more after he exposed her thoughts. She took two steps back and glared at him in embarrassment and anger.
A sly glint flashed in Shen Yi's eyes. Taking advantage of her distraction and embarrassment, he flipped his wrist and deftly took the food box away. His movements were fluid and natural, as if the food box had always been meant for him.
"Hey, Shen Yi, what are you doing? Stealing in broad daylight! Robber! Give it back to me!" Mingzhu panicked, forgetting all about being shy, and stomped her feet as she tried to grab it.
Shen Yi held the food box high, beaming with pride.
"For whom did I suffer this injury? Hmm? Now that the wounded are hungry, it's not too much to ask for a snack, is it? Consider it the princess's way of thanking me for saving her life."
"You can't just take it! Give it back to me!" Mingzhu was both anxious and embarrassed, like a cat with its fur standing on end, circling around him, but no matter how many times she reached out to grab it, she just couldn't reach it.
"I won't return it." Shen Yi acted shamelessly, even turning around and distancing himself from Mingzhu.
He took the opportunity to open the food box lid, picked up a piece of chestnut flour cake, put it in his mouth, and savored it.
"Hmm, it's just the right amount of sweet and sticky, cooked to perfection, just what I wanted. It's much better than the bitter medicine soup prescribed by the imperial physician."
When Mingzhu heard him praise the snacks and saw his shameless and smug look, her anger dissipated by more than half, and she even felt a little happy.
But she maintained a facade, glared at him fiercely, and turned her head away.
"Hmph, you scoundrel! You call yourself an official of the imperial court? I'm ignoring you. I'm going to find the Empress!" With that, as if afraid that staying any longer would break her composure, she turned and left quickly.
But the blush that spread from her ears to her neck completely betrayed her.
Shen Yi watched her almost fleeing figure, weighed the food box in his hand, chuckled softly, his eyes full of pleasure, and even the wound on his arm felt much lighter.
On the other hand, Mingzhu slowed down her pace only after she felt the heat on her face subside a bit.
She touched her cheek, recalling how Shen Yi had snatched the snacks earlier, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up.
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