The three guys saw the unbeatable grin on Ivy Shen’s face and instantly knew she must be thinking back to last night. As soon as that memory popped up, all three of them—united for once—just wanted to dig a hole and disappear.
Sure, it wasn’t their first nosebleed moment—okay, this one was way more dramatic than the last—but still, they’d all been through it before. But...
But come on, just getting a nosebleed shouldn’t make you faint! That’s next-level humiliation!
Right now, the three guys were dying of embarrassment. This was one memory they’d rather erase forever. If Poison Snake and Iceberg ever found out, they’d laugh themselves to death!
Meanwhile, Ivy was still hung up on the fact that the queen turned out to be a total scammer. All that talk about her dying soon? Pure nonsense!
Turns out, the moment Ivy set foot in the Endless Indulgence Kingdom, it looked like nobody was tailing her—but actually, the locals were secretly reporting everything to King Raymond and Queen Yvonne. That kicked off a full-on investigation. The queen hadn’t expected their people to come up empty: nobody could dig up a single thing about her background.
That made the queen extra suspicious, and the king agreed Ivy was definitely not here for fun. So they kept her under close watch—but get this, their spies weren’t guards or martial arts experts. Nope, it was just the regular folks in Illusion City!
The citizens here are super loyal. Whenever a stranger shows up, they pretend not to care—but actually, everyone is watching their every move. If anything even slightly suspicious happens, they report it to the authorities in a heartbeat!
And those officials? They escalate every report up the chain at lightning speed!
That’s why all those outsiders who accidentally wandered into the Endless Indulgence Kingdom never hurt the locals. If anyone acts even a little bit sketchy, they get grabbed right away. And if someone actually tries to leave...
The second they make a move to leave, everyone swarms them—guards, the whole lot. Not to kill them, but to wipe their memories clean. The guards force-feed them a mysterious potion brewed right here in the kingdom.
This potion’s wild—made from the black flowers of Hell Valley. It’s poisonous, but only a drop at a time, so people don’t die. The weirdest part? Every pill has a gu bug inside. The bug merges with the flower’s toxins and makes people forget everything about the Endless Indulgence Kingdom—including where it even is!
That’s why, for hundreds of years, nobody’s ever figured out the kingdom’s real location. Even if they do, once they get dosed, they forget everything!
Since nobody could find any info on Ivy, the king and queen watched her even more closely. They never expected her to enter the cooking contest—and totally crush it.
She got a result that made the Crown Prince super happy.
Hearing all this from Queen Yvonne, Ivy had to admit this place was seriously unique. The people’s loyalty? Off the charts. Their management skills? Also impressive—getting the whole city to work together like this!
Then the queen dropped another bomb: actually, the very first time she saw Ivy...
She thought this young person was really good-looking, but didn’t connect them with being a woman.
But when she saw the ‘older brother’ Ivy brought with her, she knew right away Ivy wasn’t just here for fun. One look at the man in the wheelchair and she spotted the gu poison—deep and dangerous. There was only one way to cure it!
Clearly, curing that poison was the real reason they’d come here!
She didn’t want to blow their cover—if Caleb could get Xuan’er to eat, that was already a win. As for the ‘cure’ they wanted, it all depended on what they did next. Ivy couldn’t force it; this kind of thing had to come from the heart!
The more the queen talked, the darker Ivy’s face got.
But Queen Yvonne was on a roll—she didn’t care about Ivy’s mood and just kept going.
If you want to know exactly when she figured out Ivy’s real identity, it was that night Ivy cooked for Xuan’er—and Miss Rowan Ruan was there too. The queen kept trying to push them together, and that’s when she started piecing things together.
"That’s all it took?" Ivy was honestly confused.
"It’s all about intuition," the queen replied with a sly grin, then launched into her story.
Turns out, every time she tried to match Xuan’er with Miss Rowan, Ivy’s face was super sour. That made the queen suspicious—guys shouldn’t make that face unless they’re into Miss Rowan, right?
But then, when Miss Rowan looked at Ivy, Ivy was clearly unimpressed and impatient. So the queen figured—they didn’t even know each other!
Next, Miss Rowan tried her best to please Xuan’er, but Ivy just stormed off, totally jealous. With all her years of experience, the queen knew right then—Ivy couldn’t possibly be a guy. No man would react like that. She just hadn’t guessed Ivy and Xuan’er were already married!
After that, she and King Raymond started calculating Ivy’s identity, and rushed to invite a chef from the Beijing Roast Duck House to meet Xuan’er.
But here’s the weird part: that chef had worked at the restaurant since day one, but Xuan’er didn’t recognize him at all.
That was super odd, so they guessed Ivy and Xuan’er must already know each other.
But what kind of person could stick in Xuan’er’s mind, even after he lost his memory?!
Remember, Xuan’er had amnesia—he didn’t even recognize his own parents, and it took ages for them to get him comfortable. But this total stranger? He warmed up instantly and trusted her completely. That meant she was seriously important to him.
Then they remembered what his aunt said: he’d fallen for a woman—so hard he almost died for her—and still couldn’t let go!
Suddenly, they realized Ivy was the princess who’d been hunted down—the very woman Xuan’er nearly died for, and still cared about even after losing his memory!
Ivy couldn’t help but admire the queen’s detective skills—she might look ordinary, but her brain was razor-sharp.
After that, the queen called Xuan’er in and asked if he really liked Ivy.
His answer? Forever. Forever and ever!
That’s why they kept trying to get the two together. But then, just as the Mountain God got angry and saw them all running around in a panic, a new plan started forming in Ivy’s mind.
So she and King Raymond cooked up this whole drama, just to nudge the two into the bridal chamber as soon as possible!
But she never expected Ivy to have so many husbands. Seeing that, she was even more determined to help Caleb win her first—so he wouldn’t lose face in front of the others!
That’s why she used herself as a bargaining chip—and after that, everything played out as you know!
Ivy was seriously annoyed. This scheming woman had been plotting against her from the start?!
But Queen Yvonne just grabbed her hand, grinning, and said no matter how dangerous things got, Ivy was their chosen daughter-in-law. They’d help her—anytime she needed it.
"Really?"
"Oh, come on, don’t look at me like that! I’m just doing what’s best for you, you know!"
"Mother-in-law?" Ivy was floored.
"Oh my, my daughter-in-law is gorgeous! See, we’re so lucky to be together. If we go out, people will think we’re sisters!" Queen Yvonne laughed, absolutely delighted.
Ivy just stared. Was this really the legendary ‘gentle and dignified’ queen?
Why did she feel like ‘gentle’ and ‘dignified’ had nothing to do with this woman?!
"Xin Xin, you have to give Caleb a big, chubby son someday! And let me babysit—I’m great with kids! Just imagine, you’re so pretty, Caleb’s so handsome, your baby will be a total heartbreaker!" Queen Yvonne pressed her palms together, starry-eyed, already picturing a baby calling, "Grandma, Grandma, hug!"
"Hey, you—"
"Hey what? That’s rude! Call me Mother-in-law."
Ivy rolled her eyes. Fine, she’d play along—she needed the queen’s help, after all. "Good Mother-in-law, can you help me heal him now?"
Just then, Eli Crane came over with Caleb, who looked completely wiped out. Queen Yvonne was shocked, and Ivy thought, Uh-oh, if she sees how badly Caleb’s hurt, she’ll refuse to help!
"Alright, I’ll help you!" Queen Yvonne suddenly declared.
"Huh?" Ivy was stunned. What was going on?
Queen Yvonne suddenly grabbed her hand and whispered, "I can’t believe how alike we are! Caleb’s exhausted, but you’re still full of energy—just like me!" She gave Ivy a big thumbs-up.
Ivy was speechless. Did she really think Ivy had knocked Caleb out?! What kind of mother-in-law was this?!
Ivy couldn’t be bothered to explain. Whatever—the whole royal family were scammers, so what did it matter if she kept quiet!
So Queen Yvonne kept her promise, let Ivy take her heart-blood, and personally helped Eli Crane cure his twenty-year-old illness.
Ivy was still annoyed, but what could she do? At least Eli Crane was finally healed. As for Caleb and his complicated feelings—well, she’d just let fate decide!
*****
(Author’s note: Sorry about yesterday! I didn’t get a single update done, and I didn’t even have time to warn you all. I wanted to post two chapters, but my little Yiyi cried so much she spat up her milk, so I had to take care of her. I’ll make it up to you as soon as I can—thanks for your patience!)