Chapter 44

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This chapter is edited by Rain. Thank you for your contribution!

Chapter 44

When everyone enters the illusion, they are transported to different areas, and their clothes are completely changed to match the characters in the script. The special magical items are also hidden by the spirit of the illusion in various locations.

Yu Jiu, being one of the smartest among his peers and a natural ghost child, could barely remember his true identity at first, but his fate was truly unfortunate.

This identity was too painful; with limited mobility and numerous restrictions, he felt like he was sinking into a swamp. The more he struggled to remember, the faster he forgot.

The body of a ghost child is naturally destined to attract negative emotions, and this trait is also applied to the illusion. Possessed by these terrible ghostly beings, Yu Jiu was truly the unluckiest one this time.

On the day he entered, he remembered that he needed to find the senior martial sister, initially thinking of the emperor as the great senior martial sister. However, upon entering the palace, Yun Chuyou became the emperor’s cousin whom he needed to win over.

With the Empress’s careful planning and Yu Jiu’s schemes, Yun Chuyou was drugged. Meeting Yu Jiu should have been a happy occasion for her. But when she realized something was wrong with her body, her mind was thrown into chaos, and she was nearly enraged to the point of steaming.

Although Concubine Meng He was willful, she was truly foolish and couldn’t come up with any tricks; a little coaxing would make her obedient.

Yu Jiu, on the other hand, was different. He was clever and had more tricks up his sleeve than a sieve. Yet even he let his guard down and fell into this big trap.

“Yu Jiu! You have really changed! How could you give me medicine? Are you crazy?!”

It’s one thing to use medicine, but it’s another to use such vile and shameless medicine! If she had her spiritual power, she could have pushed it out at any moment, but Yun Chuyou’s power was completely sealed. She couldn’t even retrieve the Qi Clearing Pill from her storage ring.

Although the system could still display the panel, the storage function was no longer usable. When she tried to take something from the system, it only sent her a notification:

[Signal interference detected, signal fluctuation failure, the system is loading, please wait patiently…]

After several days of loading, it still hadn’t finished. If she hadn’t encountered this situation, Yun Chuyou would have already retrieved those seemingly useless items from the system to resolve the current trouble.

“Cousin sister, please help me…”

The frail and beautiful young man lay on the bed, barely holding up his weak body. Sparkling tears fell from the corners of his red eyes, giving him the appearance of a black-hearted lotus.

Seeing a beauty cry was naturally heart-wrenching. If Yun Chuyou truly considered herself the emperor, born and raised in the matriarchal kingdom, she would have struggled to suppress her feelings right now.

It would be hard to resist.

But Yun Chuyou remembered everything. Her body burned like fire, yet her heart was as cold as the harshest winter—chilled to its core.

Yu Jiu was a ruthless person; the medicine he used didn’t just affect Yun Chuyou but also himself. He was someone who could endure much, but this time his body betrayed him. Despite his clear eyes, his face turned a deep crimson, resembling a ripe peach ready to burst with sweet juice at the slightest touch.

“You’re very bold,” Yun Chuyou said, her expression pained. “What if I don’t touch you? Aren’t you afraid someone else will?” She paused, her voice soft but biting. “Yu Jiu, you’re confused!”

In the illusion, some people experienced marriage and even had children, living either peaceful or chaotic lives. But when the illusion ended, it all turned into a fleeting dream.

However, Yun Chuyou wasn’t sure all illusions were like this. Some felt far too real. Even if the imaginary characters inside were fake, once back in reality, it was impossible for feelings toward the other cultivators who had also entered the illusion to remain unchanged.

In the original story, the female lead, Song Mingzhu, was adored by everyone. Yet someone like Shi Rujing, the heir of a Buddha sect, initially had no special feelings for her. It was only within the illusion that they bonded. After returning to reality, his thoughts began to shift, and he eventually fell completely in love with her, captivated beyond reason.

In the vast palace, Yun Chuyou was not the only woman present. There were female guards, several princesses, and, of course, the female lead, Song Mingzhu.

Among these people, Yun Chuyou dreaded the possibility of anyone—be it Zhong Wei, who seemed timid, or Ye Xuanye, a prince disguised as a princess—sleeping with Yu Jiu. Even the thought of an NPC doing so made her scalp tingle.

Yu Jiu had always had a dark mind, even as a child. If something went wrong, such as being taken advantage of by a guard, he might go crazy and take revenge on the world, dragging everyone into his nightmare.

Yun Chuyou hadn’t forgotten that in the original story, Yu Jiu was a magnet for trouble. At Qingxu Sect, no one could change his nature; they could only force him to hide it better.

Tears streamed down Yu Jiu’s face like a string of pearls, his voice choking with grief as he recounted his tragic fate. “I… I didn’t want this. But my mother wants to marry me off to the second daughter of the Bo Ping family. She’s already married and has a whole courtyard full of little servants! I even heard she abused and killed some of her concubines.”

The beautiful youth pleaded softly, “Cousin sister, please save me. If you don’t save me, I’ll die.”

Yun Chuyou’s smoldering anger flared, immediately replacing the wicked fire inside her. She hadn’t been able to find Yu Jiu earlier because she lacked the relevant story scenes and had no clear idea of his situation. Hearing this, her heart naturally ached with fury.

When her junior brother made mistakes, she always acted as the responsible senior martial sister, cleaning up after him before scolding him in private. Yun Chuyou had an inherently protective nature, much like Xie Fuzhi. And in this fantasy realm, Yu Jiu had done nothing wrong at all. He was entirely a victim.

Yun Chuyou sighed and grabbed Yu Jiu, who was about to fall over, and pushed him onto the chair, “Sit tight, you brewed the medicine yourself. You have to bear with it, I’ll call the royal physician to give you the antidote.”

That kind of special medicine that requires a balance of yin and yang is usually very strong, but a mother wouldn’t use such medicine on her daughter; it would be harmful to her health.

The secret medicine in the palace naturally has an antidote, but one cannot avoid some suffering.

Yun Chuyou instructed the royal doctor, “Add more herbs to clear his mind and calm his heart.”

She thought for a moment, if Yu Jiu goes home, he will surely have to negotiate, and then get caught up in the inner chambers.

She could not waste such a clever ally. People, of course, cannot be touched, but the rights that should be given must be shared. First, bring them closer to her sight and ensure their safety, so they can work together on the broken mirror matter.

Once Yu Jiu finished the big bowl of bitter medicine, there was one more Concubine Yu in the palace. As the senior martial sister, she still felt sorry for her junior’s misfortune, so she assigned him to Concubine Xian, one of the four consorts. After all, there are only a few people in the palace – one is the Empress, another is the Noble Consort. They couldn’t let Yu Jiu come in and be stepped on by everyone, that would be even worse.

“Concubine Xian, reflect well; once you enter the palace, you must follow the palace rules and copy the palace regulations one hundred and fifty times.”

Yun Chuyou said with her hands behind her back, “My junior, Noble Consort Meng He copied the palace regulations one hundred times a while ago. Since you are lower than him, you will copy them one hundred and fifty times.”

Yu Jiu, do you recall this? This scene happened a few years ago when the two brothers quarreled, and she made both of them obediently copy the sect’s rules.

Upon hearing the name Meng He, a hint of disgust naturally appeared in Yu Jiu’s eyes. That pampered noble consort with a warrior’s background and a big chest but no brains?

Yun Chuyou’s expression shifted from hope to disappointment. Upon seeing Yu Jiu, she realized he hadn’t thought things through at all. Forget it. With everything unfolding like this, staying in Yu Jiu’s palace any longer was impossible.

Perhaps it was a characteristic of this matriarchal society, but in the secret realm, her emotions were too easily stirred, and her urges felt unnaturally heightened. Although everyone had taken the antidote, her body still felt off, as if the lingering effects refused to subside.

She couldn’t remain here any longer. Resolving to leave, Yun Chuyou decided to return to her duties first and consider later whether she could take action against Shi Rujing.

Before departing, she addressed the unfortunate beauty, Yu Jiu. “In addition to adhering to the palace rules, you must repeat the lessons on being a gentleman fifty more times. Such an incident must never happen again.”

Yu Jiu wisely chose not to push his luck. Instead, he was astonished by the emperor’s restraint. To endure such strong medicine without succumbing to its effects was nothing short of miraculous. Furthermore, rather than punishing him harshly or casting him out, he was granted the title of Concubine Xian. This unexpected turn left him even more bewildered.

Yu Jiu’s thoughts were delicate and sensitive. He could sense that this unfamiliar emperor—his cousin sister—genuinely cared for him. Gazing into her ever-clear eyes, he found her strikingly different from the emperor he had heard rumors about. She seemed… gentle.

Once the emperor’s figure disappeared, Yu Jiu reminded himself: Emperors are heartless; he must not be moved by this bit of warmth and kindness. Moreover, Concubine Meng He held a higher status than him and shared a senior-junior relationship with his cousin sister.

He had a strong instinct: the Concubine was a major threat to him!

Little did Yun Chuyou know that she was completely wasting her effort; while she was busy handling her duties, an unexpected visitor came to see her.

Indeed, the one they found was none other than the fierce queen.

Meng He is really a silly little dog; he is honest and when asked to copy the rules, he obediently does it himself.

However, Meng He loves to dance with swords; practicing his sword skills a hundred times is much easier for him than copying the “Palace Rules” a hundred times. Without much education, he copies so slowly that he has spent three days in the illusion and the favored concubine is still locked in the courtyard, unable to go outside.

The queen, on the other hand, while feeling sorry for herself, can command the palace servants to mimic her handwriting and copy the “Gentleman’s Rules” a hundred times.

So basically, on the first day, Queen Xie Qi was released from her confinement. Yun Chuyou, not hiding anything, naturally knew right away that a newcomer had arrived in the palace.

The fierce queen’s sole focus was clear: to settle scores with Yun Chuyou!