The mysterious Endless Indulgence Kingdom is full of unsolved riddles—its architecture is strange, its servants are strange, and even the palace under the night sky is so bizarre it makes people stare wide-eyed.
Ivy Shen darted through the darkness like a black cat. This wasn’t her first time sneaking around a palace at night, but it was definitely the most headache-inducing. Right now, she seriously wanted to ask the king of Endless Indulgence if his ancestors were transmigrators—otherwise, why would the tunnels be so modern, the buildings look Mongolian, and even the nightscape lights exist?!
Ivy really couldn’t figure it out—there was a big, bright landscape light every ten steps. Where the heck was the power for these things coming from?
But she couldn’t even start obsessing over that. The real problem right now was that with all these lights and all these guards everywhere, it was way too easy for her to get caught!
So, how on earth was she supposed to snoop around the palace without getting busted?!
Just then, as she was about to leap to another tree, she accidentally brushed against a mechanism hidden on the trunk—and suddenly, the whole tree lit up like a beacon.
"What the—?!" Ivy blurted out, totally losing her cool. Dammit, the founder of this kingdom must've been a transmigrator—either they zipped to the modern world or they came from it. Otherwise, who the heck puts lights on trees? Ugh, transmigrator brain strikes again!
"Assassin!" someone suddenly shouted. Instantly, a mob of guards came running this way, fast as lightning.
Seeing this, Ivy cursed the founder of Endless Indulgence Kingdom a hundred times over, then sprang forward and bolted ahead at top speed.
That one shout of 'Assassin!' inside the palace was enough to send wave after wave of guards rushing over, all joining the hunt for the mysterious intruder.
Elsewhere—
A slender figure was slowly making her way down a flower-lined path, fragrant blooms all around.
Tonight, Ivy (disguised as Lily Ruan) wore a pale pink dress. It wasn’t overly decorated, but the fine fabric made the pink gown look extra luxurious. As she walked, the hem fluttered gently around her, making her seem like a vision straight out of a painting. (If only the real Lily knew she was being body-doubled right now...)
"Miss Ruan, slow down! I’ll go report to the Crown Prince right away—he’s getting impatient waiting for you!" Charlie Qiao called out, grinning. The prince was practically steaming in the bath, so Charlie had come out to greet her. Seeing her arrive, he hurried off to inform the anxious prince.
Once Charlie left, Lily Ruan couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips. Why was he so eager to see her tonight?
"Miss, you look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous tonight! When you whip off that veil, the Crown Prince’s jaw is gonna hit the floor and bounce!" her maid giggled, fussing over her. The makeup was flawless—there was no way the prince wouldn’t be stunned into next week.
"Don’t be ridiculous," Lily replied, her voice sweet and soft—a textbook noble lady.
"I’m not making this up, Miss! With that veil, you’re giving off total mysterious goddess vibes—didn’t Miss Liu say guys are obsessed with the 'barely-there, gotta-peek' look? Makes them wanna snatch it right off just to see your face!" The maid snuck a peek at Lily’s face. Even with the veil, her beauty was basically leaking out.
"You’re such a chatterbox." Even so, Lily couldn’t help ducking her head in embarrassment.
"Come on, Miss! Charlie Qiao said the Crown Prince wants to discuss the future with you. I bet he’s hoping... hehehe, anyway, you’re totally going to be the Crown Princess. Definitely!" The maid blushed as she said it.
"Don’t say such things—none of that is true!" Lily protested, but even with the white veil, her cheeks were turning pink.
"Miss, don’t be embarrassed! The Queen absolutely adores you—she’s already decided you’re going to be the Crown Princess. After this round of seclusion, she’ll definitely have you two married! And after that, you won’t just be the Crown Princess, you’ll be Queen someday!" The maid finished, grinning smugly.
Once Miss became Crown Princess, her own status would shoot up too! So many people would be scrambling to curry favor. Hmph, she’d always hated how smug Xiaojuan and the others acted just because their mistress married into nobility—big deal. When her own Miss became Crown Princess, she’d make sure to put those girls in their place! Hmph!
"Oof!"
"Miss, what’s wrong? Are you alright?" The maid quickly rushed over to support her.
"It’s nothing, I just walked too quickly and twisted my ankle a bit. I’m fine," Lily said, lifting her head to keep moving forward.
But just as she looked up, a black shadow suddenly flashed past. In the next moment, both Lily and her maid felt everything go black—and knew nothing more.
A few seconds later—
"Wake up, wake up..." Someone patted her cheeks—smack, smack—and the maid snapped her eyes open.
"Huh? Miss..." The maid rubbed her head. "What just happened? I think I fainted."
"No, not at all. You must just be tired."
"Oh, maybe! I’m usually asleep at this hour, haha." The maid rubbed her head, then frowned at her Miss: "Hey, why is your hair down like that? Wasn’t it just up a moment ago?"
At that, 'Lily'—actually Ivy Shen in a flawless disguise—gave a dainty cough and said, "I just thought maybe this look was better."
"Huh, Miss, your voice..."
"Ahem, the night’s so chilly—my throat’s a little sore."
"Oh, I get it—Miss is just shy! Hehe, it’s fine, you’ll always be the prettiest no matter what." With that, the maid grabbed her ‘Miss’ and practically dragged her forward, all hyped for the big night.
Just then, a squad of guards rushed over and started searching the area. When they saw the girls, they bowed respectfully: "Miss Ruan."
"Hey, Captain Cheng, what are you guys doing?" The maid recognized him from their frequent palace visits.
"Oh, we just spotted an assassin heading this way, but they disappeared when we got here. Did you see anyone?" Captain Cheng asked, glancing around nervously.
"Assassin? No way, it’s just me and Miss here," the maid replied, thinking her blackout was just from exhaustion.
Just then, Charlie Qiao came running out from inside—the Crown Prince was ready and wanted Lily Ruan brought in quickly. But when he saw all the guards and the girls together, he couldn’t help asking, "What’s going on here?"
Captain Cheng nodded politely—Charlie Qiao was the Crown Prince’s right-hand man and in charge of his safety, so of course the guards had to be respectful. After bowing, Captain Cheng explained the situation again.
"An assassin?" Charlie’s expression turned anxious. "Are you sure? Where was the sighting?" With the King and Queen in seclusion, any mistake would be a disaster.
"In the rear garden—headed this way, but vanished when we arrived," Captain Cheng said, still scanning the area.
"How could that happen?" Charlie was puzzled too, worry creeping into his heart. He trusted Captain Cheng’s abilities—he wouldn’t make up such a thing. But if it was true, how did the assassin get inside? The palace walls were specially built to foil martial artists. Could they have tunneled in underground?!
"Miss..." Just as Charlie was puzzling over it, the maid’s anxious cry snapped him back to attention.
"What’s wrong?" Charlie asked quickly.
Seeing her Miss shrinking in fear, the maid pleaded, "Guard Qiao, please have them catch the assassin! My Miss is scared, and besides, it’s freezing out here—she’s barely dressed, she’ll catch cold!"
Only then did Charlie realize he’d been so focused he’d forgotten Lily Ruan was still out here.
"Sorry, Miss Ruan—I got distracted by the assassin news. Come, come, follow me." He turned to Captain Cheng: "Start searching, and be thorough!"
"Yes, sir!" Captain Cheng replied, rushing off to organize the search.
"Miss, let’s go." The maid quickly helped her Miss follow Charlie Qiao inside.
"Mm." 'Lily'—aka Ivy Shen, channeling maximum fake shyness—nodded and followed her maid forward.
Meanwhile, not a single person noticed the real Lily Ruan—unconscious, wearing just a white shirt, swaying high up in a big tree like someone’s forgotten laundry. If this isn’t peak slapstick, what is?
"Miss Ruan, go on in." Charlie Qiao opened the door with a meaningful grin—the Crown Prince had been waiting long enough.
"Uh?" Ivy Shen blinked in confusion—where on earth was this, and what was she supposed to do inside?
"Miss, don’t be shy—go on in." Her maid giggled, blushing, and nudged her inside.
Once the maid had pushed her Miss inside, Charlie Qiao snapped the door shut. The two servants traded gossipy, excited looks—oh boy, tonight was gonna be a wild show! They were already dying for morning to come so they could spill the tea.