As the footsteps drew near, Silver Consort led Noble Lady Lana into the room. Trailing behind Lana was Adrian Night, disguised as a maid, his face painted with heavy makeup. One glance revealed his cheeks were a bit swollen—Silver Consort explained that the 'maid' had been whipped for making mistakes.
But nobody knew the real reason: Adrian had let Nina Xu punch him several times just so he could see Ivy Shen. That, plus a whole afternoon of makeup, finally made him look nothing like himself—a passable palace maid.
It was Adrian's first time playing a woman, and he was seriously struggling—not only did he have to walk all careful and timid, he also had to act all anxious and scared. But the worst part? Why did Nina have to stuff two giant steamed buns on his chest?!
The moment Sherry's 'sister' Lana walked in, Nina Xu couldn't help but rush past the curtains straight to the bedside, with her 'maid' (Adrian) trailing close behind.
"Sherry, Sherry—what happened to you?" Lana cried as soon as she saw her on the bed. Sherry looked even paler than the last few days, so ghostly it was scary.
"Sherry, Sherry, wake up! It's me, it's your Lana here to see you!" Seeing her like this, Nina Xu started sobbing. She turned to Silver Consort and demanded, "What on earth happened? Why is Sherry even worse than before?" Watching Sherry grow thinner every day, Nina's heart hurt so much she could barely breathe.
Silver Consort replied coolly, "She ran into an assassin."
"What? An assassin?!" Nina was completely stunned. How could there be an assassin in the palace?
Meanwhile, Adrian, standing off to the side, couldn't help clenching his fists tighter and tighter. His heart ached watching Ivy lying there so pale. He wanted to rush over and hold her, but he knew he couldn't—not with Silver Consort here, and especially not in the middle of the palace, crawling with guards. Even with all his martial skills, there was no way to fight that many people. And now, with Ivy so badly hurt, he couldn't afford to be reckless; risking himself was one thing, but if he got Ivy in trouble, that would be unforgivable!
Silver Consort said, "It's complicated. But for now, she's safe." She glanced anxiously toward the door, her mind clearly elsewhere. In truth, her thoughts had already followed Jude Song out of the palace; something about this whole incident felt way more complicated than it looked.
Even if the woman on the bed really was the one who broke into the Demon-Sealing Cell, how could she have come here alone? This was the imperial palace, after all—wasn't that suspicious? Thinking it over, Silver Consort was sure there had to be plenty of allies hiding in the dark corners of the palace.
Outside, the night was as black as ink. Silver Consort's heart was full of worry. She tried to tell herself to relax—it was the imperial palace, after all—but as a mother, knowing enemies were lurking unseen, how could she not be anxious?
Adrian stole a glance at Silver Consort standing to his right. When he and Nina Xu first arrived at the Crown Prince's palace and saw Silver Consort, he was honestly shocked. He knew she had some connection with the prince, but seeing her move freely in and out of the palace, and Jude Song trusting her so much—it was all just a little too weird!
Ever since they'd entered the room, Silver Consort kept glancing anxiously toward the door, as if she was worried about something. But what was she so worried about?
Under the covers, Ethan Chu was suffering—his mouth dry, his body burning up. He still couldn't believe what was happening: the pale, flawless skin, the silky smoothness, the lush 'mystery zone'—it was almost too much for him.
Meanwhile, Ivy Shen, pretending to be asleep, was starting to sweat on her forehead. One hand was outside the covers, held tightly by Nina Xu, while her other hand was inside the blanket, clamped over Ethan's eyes to stop him from peeking. Even so, his hot breath kept brushing against her skin, making her super embarrassed.
Ethan Chu gently pulled her hand down and kissed it, then tucked it against his chest, hugging it close with a satisfied sigh.
That move left Ivy even more flustered. Right now, she honestly wanted to curse herself—how could she be thinking about that kind of thing in a situation like this...?
She was actually getting... those kinds of thoughts...
Oh my god, how could she be so shameless?!
But for someone with Ivy's experience, sneaking around under the covers and getting teased in front of everyone was honestly thrilling. It felt just like having a secret affair—which made it all the more exciting.
"Sherry, Sherry, how are you really?" Lana called out, anxiously clutching Sherry's hand, totally unaware that someone was hiding under the huge, fluffy dragon bed covers.
"Uh..." Ivy couldn't help letting out a soft moan as Ethan Chu's wandering hand got a bit too bold. Instantly, she felt embarrassed, but no one seemed to notice anything weird—they all just thought she was waking up because she felt unwell.
"Sherry, you're awake?" Lana cried, tears in her eyes, absolutely overjoyed. Finally, Sherry was awake!
Hearing her, Ivy knew she couldn't keep pretending. She quickly opened her eyes and smiled weakly at Lana. "Lana... you... why are you here?" As she spoke, she reached under the blanket and pinched Ethan Chu hard—this guy was way too bold!
Ethan Chu winced at the sudden pinch but didn't say a word. To him, this whole situation was a rare treat—after all, Ivy was his wife, and sooner or later they'd have their wedding night. So, why not sneak a few touches and kisses now? Totally worth it, right?
"Awake?" Silver Consort glanced back at Ivy, suspicion growing in her heart. How could someone so badly injured wake up so quickly? But a second later, she decided not to care—whoever Ivy really was, it didn't matter. Her only goal was to protect her son. As long as Ivy didn't hurt him, Silver Consort wouldn't interfere. But if she did...
...she would kill Ivy, even if it cost her own life.
"Sherry, how could you be so bad at taking care of yourself?" Lana choked up, not even knowing what to say.
"I'm... I'm fine," Ivy said with a weak smile, trying to reassure her.
At that, Lana wiped her tears and managed a smile. "Yeah, I knew Sherry's tough—she'd pull through anything." Then she turned to the maid behind her: "Quick, pour Sherry a cup of water!" Seeing Sherry's lips so pale, Lana nervously ordered.
Adrian Night hurriedly poured a cup of tea and brought it over, handing it to Lana.
Ivy Shen stared at the tall 'maid' approaching her, her frown deepening. The next second, her eyes flew wide—wait a minute...
That was Adrian Night?!
Noticing Ivy's weird look, Lana realized she'd figured out the maid's true identity. She quickly coughed to warn Ivy not to stare—she'd blow their cover.
"Sherry, your mouth's open—drink some water!"
"Thank you, Lana," Ivy said, snapping back to reality. She carefully took the teacup Lana handed over and brought it to her lips, but her mind was anything but calm. Wasn't Adrian supposed to wait for news? Why did he show up in the middle of the night?
She shot a worried glance at Silver Consort by the door. Ivy was seriously anxious—why couldn't Adrian just listen for once? So reckless!
Suddenly, a voice called out from outside: "Aunt Silver!" It was Moon Crescent. Silver Consort hurried to the door to greet her.
"Miss Moon Crescent, did the Crown Prince meet with the Empress?" Silver Consort anxiously asked.
"Ah, no, we haven't seen the Crown Prince," Moon Crescent replied, a bit confused. She was just about to ask if he'd left yet—the Empress was still waiting!
"What? You haven't seen the prince?" Silver Consort grew even more anxious. Then, spotting the tall man and Liu Qingyan behind Moon Crescent, she frowned. "What are they doing here?"
"Oh, it's like this—" Moon Crescent quickly pulled Silver Consort aside and explained everything that had happened.
"Got it," Silver Consort nodded, though she still shot a worried glance at Liu Qingyan.
"Aunt Silver, let's head inside," Moon Crescent urged.
Silver Consort nodded, but still looked anxiously outside. She didn't believe in ghosts, but Moon Crescent had just said that Liu Qingyan's predictions were always accurate. That meant Jude Song could be in real danger—and they hadn't seen him yet. This was bad...
"Aunt Silver, hurry up!" Moon Crescent called, leading the way inside.
Silver Consort followed, distracted and worried.
"Sherry, you're awake?" Moon Crescent smiled as she entered and saw Ivy sitting up. "Oh, Noble Lady Lana's here too?" She bowed politely. "Blessings, Noble Lady Lana."
Lana quickly nodded and smiled back.
"Miss Moon Crescent, is there a reason you're here so late?" Lana asked, puzzled.
"Yes—the Empress is worried about Sherry, so she sent me with top-grade ginseng. And... the Saint from Cloud Virtue Monastery. Her Majesty wants him to help calm Sherry down." With that, she called out through the curtains: "Liu Qingyan, Saint Liu, please come in!"
Hearing that, Ivy's hand slipped and her teacup crashed to the floor, shattering...