Chapter 13: Chapter
The Crown Prince slowly looked toward Xi Jianyu and Xi Wenzhe again, his sharp eyes filled with suspicion and lingering fear.
"You both arrived before the attack even started," he said slowly.
His voice had become much lower now, heavier than before.
"How did you know?"
The moment those words fell, the entire hall became silent again.
The palace guards standing nearby unconsciously lowered their heads, yet their attention still quietly remained on the Xi father and son.
Because honestly—
Their arrival tonight had been far too timely.
Too precise.
It was almost as if they had already known exactly what was going to happen inside the palace.
Xi Jianyu stood calmly beneath the flickering lantern light while Xi Wenzhe remained beside him with blood still staining the edge of his sleeve from the earlier fight.
Father and son exchanged a brief glance.
Neither of them spoke immediately.
Because even now, explaining the truth sounded absurd.
Were they supposed to tell the Crown Prince that the newly married young madam of the Xi family casually revealed future events through her thoughts?
That everyone close enough to her could somehow hear those thoughts clearly inside their minds?
No sane person would believe such a thing.
Even they themselves still found it difficult to fully accept.
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince continued staring at them seriously, clearly waiting for an explanation.
After a few moments, Xi Jianyu finally spoke in his usual calm voice.
"Before returning to the manor earlier, this minister received information that something unusual might happen inside the palace tonight."
His answer was smooth and steady.
But it was also extremely vague.
The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly understanding that Xi Jianyu was hiding something.
Still, he did not continue questioning further.
Not here.
Not inside a palace hall still covered in blood and corpses.
Not while frightened servants were still trembling in every corner.
After a moment, the Crown Prince slowly nodded.
"No matter the reason," he said quietly, "this prince will never forget what the Xi family did tonight."
As he spoke, his gaze slowly swept across the dead assassins scattered around the hall.
The warmth in his expression disappeared instantly.
Cold killing intent replaced it completely.
"Whoever dared touch my wife tonight..." his voice darkened dangerously, "...this prince will personally make them regret ever being born."
The terrifying pressure inside his words caused even the palace guards to stiffen.
Nobody doubted him.
The Crown Prince rarely lost control of his emotions publicly.
But tonight—
The assassins had almost succeeded in killing the person he loved most.
At that moment, the Crown Princess slowly stepped forward again.
Her face still looked pale beneath the lantern light, and there was still lingering shock hidden inside her eyes, but gratitude filled her expression as she looked toward Xi Jianyu and Xi Wenzhe.
"Grand Duke Xi," she said softly, "Young Master Xi... thank you."
Her voice became gentler.
"If not for both of you arriving tonight, this palace would already be in mourning."
The atmosphere inside the hall became quieter.
The Crown Princess lowered her gaze slightly before continuing softly,
"You have already done more than enough for us tonight. Please return and rest first."
Xi Jianyu calmly cupped his fist respectfully.
"Protecting the royal family is the duty of the Xi family."
The Crown Prince stepped forward once more and looked directly at Xi Wenzhe.
"This prince owes you a favor."
Xi Wenzhe’s expression remained calm and unreadable.
"This subject only did what he should."
The Crown Prince stared at him for a moment before finally nodding slowly.
Soon after, Xi Jianyu and Xi Wenzhe finally turned toward the palace exit.
The guards immediately moved aside to open a path for them while servants hurriedly lowered themselves to their knees.
The cold night wind rushed into the hall once the doors opened again.
As father and son walked out beneath the moonlight, neither of them spoke.
But the atmosphere around them had already changed completely.
Because now—
Both of them understood something terrifying very clearly.
Everything Su Yueqing had said earlier...
Was slowly becoming true.
.....
The atmosphere inside the Eastern Courtyard was completely different from the chaos happening inside the palace.
The night had already deepened quietly.
Moonlight poured softly across the bamboo garden outside while the sound of insects echoed faintly through the peaceful courtyard. The servants had already withdrawn after helping prepare hot water and fresh clothes for the new young madam.
Now the entire residence was silent again.
Inside the main chamber, Su Yueqing lazily leaned against the soft couch near the window with one arm supporting her head.
She had already changed completely out of her blue hangu from In its place, she now wore light pale-red inner robes loosely tied around her waist, making her finally look relaxed for the first time since entering the Xi Manor.
Her long black hair fell freely behind her shoulders while a half-finished plate of snacks sat carelessly beside her.
The room was quiet and peaceful.
Su Yueqing slowly picked up another pastry before speaking lazily inside her mind.
"So."
"How many Villain Points do I have now?"
The familiar blue screen immediately flickered before her eyes.
[Current Villain Points: 5.]
Su Yueqing paused.
"...Five?"
[Correct.]
She stared at the screen silently for several seconds.
Then she slowly swallowed the pastry in her mouth.
"I slapped a maid in front of the entire family."
"I threatened servants."
"I acted arrogant."
"And I only got five points?"
The system replied calmly.
[The slap earned all five points.]
Su Yueqing almost laughed.
"So the rest of my behavior counted for nothing?"
[Host’s later actions reduced overall villain evaluation.]
Su Yueqing narrowed her eyes slightly.
"What later actions?"
The system answered immediately.
[Host accepted the smaller courtyard peacefully.]
[Host patted Xi Anran’s head gently.]
[Host did not create conflict with Li Mei.]
[Host showed signs of emotional restraint.]
Su Yueqing clicked her tongue softly.
"Your standards are ridiculous."
[This system only judges facts.]
She leaned deeper into the couch tiredly.
"Five points..."
"At this speed, I’ll grow old before reaching five thousand."
The system remained silent for two seconds before replying calmly.
[Host should work harder.]
Su Yueqing rolled her eyes.
Then her gaze slowly drifted toward the quiet bamboo shadows outside the window.
Honestly...
She did not hate this place.
Compared to some of her previous missions, this world was already much more peaceful.
Nobody had tried feeding her poison yet.
Nobody locked her inside a dungeon.
Nobody buried her alive.
That alone already made this world feel comfortable.
The system suddenly spoke again.
[Host is unusually calm tonight.]
Su Yueqing looked bored.
"I’m tired."
"This wedding alone weighed more than my previous emperor."
The system ignored her complaint.
Then after a brief pause, it suddenly asked—
[Host is not going to ask about Favorability Points?]
The room became quiet for a second.
Su Yueqing slowly frowned.
"...Why would I ask?"
The blue screen flickered lightly.
[Because several targets already gained Favorability toward Host today.]
Su Yueqing immediately sat up straighter.
"What?"
The system calmly repeated itself.
[Favorability Points have increased.]
Su Yueqing looked genuinely horrified for the first time tonight.
"How much?"
A brief pause followed.
Then—
[Current Favorability Points: 83.]
"...EIGHTY-THREE?!"
Su Yueqing nearly dropped the pastry in her hand.
She stared at the screen like she had just seen a ghost.
"How?!"
"I barely did anything!"
The system answered coldly.
[Host avoided conflict intelligently.]
[Host displayed unexpected gentleness toward Xi Anran.]
[Host’s mystery value increased.]
Su Yueqing looked deeply offended.
"Mystery value?"
[Several Xi family members currently find Host mentally fascinating.]
She almost choked.
"That sounds like a disease."
[It is not.]
Su Yueqing immediately pointed at the screen accusingly.
"No. Absolutely not."
"This is exactly how people accidentally get trapped inside mission worlds."
"One minute they think you’re interesting, next thing they start emotionally attaching themselves to you like abandoned cats."
The system remained silent.
Which somehow felt like agreement.
Su Yueqing immediately looked even more alarmed.
"Oh no."
"No no no."
"We are stopping this immediately."
She quickly began counting on her fingers seriously.
"Tomorrow I’ll insult somebody."
"Maybe throw tea."
"Definitely bully Li Mei a little."
The system finally sounded satisfied again.
[That would help restore villain image.]
Su Yueqing nodded firmly.
"Exactly."
"I refuse to get emotionally adopted by this tragic family."
Outside the room, the night wind quietly rustled through the bamboo leaves.
Meanwhile inside the manor—
The Favorability Points screen silently flickered again.
[Xi Anran Favorability +10.]
[Xi Yunchen Favorability +8.]
[Lin Meiyun Favorability +15.]
[Xi Wenzhe Favorability +5.]
Su Yueqing did not notice it yet.
Because at that exact moment—
She was still seriously planning how to become more hated tomorrow.
