Chapter 201: Chapter 183

Jun Zishu’s attempt at coaxing was too obvious, so much so that Yue Mingsheng couldn’t help but feel embarrassed because of it. Had Jun Zishu behaved as she did before, she wouldn’t have been so torn up as she was now.

However, Yue Mingsheng also didn’t want Jun Zishu to return to the way she was before. She felt that the current Jun Zishu was wonderful, and she couldn’t help but be madly in love with her.

“I ran into Prince Meng at a pavilion today.”

It was awkward to have their stroll surrounded by silence, so Yue Mingsheng decided to strike up a conversation.

“Mhm. Did he talk to you?” Jun Zishu asked despite knowing the answer already.

“Yes.”

The conversation halted for a minute or two after this curt reply. Then, Yue Mingsheng looked at Jun Zishu curiously and asked, “Are you not curious about what he said to me, Big Sister?”

“What more can he say other than to ask about whether he could leave or not? There’s nothing to be curious about,” Jun Zishu nonchalantly said.

Even if Jun Zishu hadn’t watched the broadcast of the conversation, she could more or less guess what Meng Lanxi would say to Yue Mingsheng. After all, the two of them were still more or less strangers to each other at this time. There was no way Meng Lanxi would dare share any of his secrets.

“You are really good at predicting things, Big Sister.”

“Try to keep your distance from him.”

Jun Zishu had held Yue Mingsheng’s hand since they left the palace, and she was still holding it even until now. When she spoke just now, she gently nudged the back of Yue Mingsheng’s hand with her fingertips.

“Are you afraid of him, Big Sister?”

Yue Mingsheng’s body tensed up, and her mind wavered when she felt the fingers tracing the back of her hand. She tried very hard to focus her mind on what Jun Zishu said just now.

Personally, Yue Mingsheng didn’t think there was any need to be afraid of Meng Lanxi. While she admitted that he was talented, that was all. Intelligence was no big deal if it didn’t have the necessary strength and influence to back it up.

“Afraid? Why would I?” Jun Zishu snorted. Even if Meng Lanxi was the male protagonist, she wouldn’t fear him. “I am simply worried that he will steal your heart away if you get too close to him.’

“That won’t happen! I’m not like Big Sister…”

Yue Mingsheng’s voice sounded very intense during the first sentence. However, it quickly fell into obscurity during the second sentence.

“That’s good. I’ll be sure to find someone who’s excellent and is a good match for you,” Jun Zishu said. If she were to pick a brother-in-law, she would naturally choose someone who was excellent and could win her little sister’s heart. She wouldn’t let any scumbags get close to her little sister.

“You are the most excellent in my heart, Big Sister,” Yue Mingsheng said as she looked at Jun Zishu. So, do you dare give yourself to me?

“Such a sweet little mouth.” Jun Zishu smiled and nudged Yue Mingsheng on the nose.

…

Now that the rear court was missing a lot of people, the place suddenly felt a lot more desolate.

After walking for some time, Jun Zishu and Yue Mingsheng came across a group of palace servants.

When the servants saw Jun Zishu and Yue Mingsheng, they promptly saluted them before walking away with swift steps.

The eunuch walking in the lead of the group was in charge of internal affairs. Because of the empress’s orders, he was now swamped with work. Thus, he was going around asking for help to make sure that everything proceeded smoothly.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu and Yue Mingsheng walked a little longer before they decided to rest at a pavilion.

After the palace maids served the two tea, they quietly stood outside the pavilion, waiting for further orders.

Although the sun was already setting, the day was long, and the night was short in summer. So, the sky was still bright right now.

Little Fairy hovered around in her system space in boredom. Compared to the modern era rich in entertainment, the ancient era was truly a boring time to live in.

The only thing she could do was help her host with some odd jobs and watch movies from time to time. She couldn’t help but miss the netizens she had argued and conversed with in the previous mission world.

[I’m going to sleep, Host. I’ll see you in an hour.]

Little Fairy needed to sleep one hour every week to exchange data with the Department of Transmigration’s mainframe and update her inventory. She could freely choose when she conducted this weekly update, so she decided now was the best time since nothing was going on.

Okay.

When Yue Mingsheng saw that Jun Zishu was seemingly in thought, she propped up her chin and admired Jun Zishu’s visage set off by the setting sun, the sight of her elder cousin’s thoughtful look instilling a feeling of tranquility within her.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Jun Zishu asked, smiling when she noticed her little cousin staring at her with such a fixated gaze.

“It’s because you look beautiful, Big Sister.”

“You look beautiful as well, Mingsheng.”

Jun Zishu lifted her hand and pinched Yue Mingsheng’s face, fulfilling the urge she had since long ago. Even though Jun Zishu wasn’t a person who emphasized appearances, she would still feel happy when looking at little beauties like Yue Mingsheng.

“In my heart, I don’t even have one-millionth of your beauty, Big Sister.”

“Since when did you learn to talk so smoothly, Mingsheng? Even those men have never said such sweet words to me. Your words also sound so pleasing to the ear, unlike the insincere praises people often shower me with,” Jun Zishu said, smiling as she took a sip of tea.

Jun Zishu was telling the truth. If outsiders were to praise her like Yue Mingsheng, she would definitely find their words fake and insincere. However, when Yue Mingsheng was uttering these praises, she would find them sounding especially sincere.

Maybe it was because this little girl was too cute?

“Also, you don’t need to be so humble, Mingsheng. If you were born outside the palace, there’d be a crowd flooding your home to ask for your marriage.”

“You exaggerate, Big Sister,” Yue Mingsheng said with a blush.

If others were to listen in on Jun Zishu and Yue Mingsheng’s conversation, they would think that they were merely flattering each other. However, the two participants in the conversation did not think so, and they were very happy to hear the compliments they had for each other.

“By the way, I’ve never seen the faces of the other shadow guards. Do you think there is anyone with outstanding looks among them?” Jun Zishu asked curiously.

However, Yue Mingsheng’s expression instantly changed when she heard Jun Zishu’s words. After all, this person had always been fond of beautiful men. What if another man capable of making Jun Zishu’s heart flutter appears in the future?

However, Yue Mingsheng quickly found that she was worrying for nothing. After all, she didn’t even have the qualifications to embrace the person before her right now, so how could she be qualified to meddle in who this person liked?

“This, I do not know,” Yue Mingsheng said with a forced smile. However, she had hidden her heavy spirits well, so Jun Zishu didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

“I was just asking for fun. But it’s a fact that they are all very capable,” Jun Zishu praised, only to let out a soft sigh immediately afterward.

“What’s wrong, Big Sister? Is something worrying you?”

Yue Mingsheng didn’t understand why Jun Zishu would suddenly sigh, and she couldn’t help but bring herself to worry.

“I’m just thinking about a problem.”

“What problem?”

“About who should succeed this empire.”

Jun Zishu originally wanted to pick a child from a side branch. However, the imperial family had mostly withered away during the previous generation. She had no uncles or aunts to speak of, let alone blood-related cousins. Not to mention, if her uncles were still alive, the throne would’ve never fallen into her hands.

This was truly a headache-inducing problem.

There was no way Jun Zishu would have a child with a man. She would rather adopt a child with no blood relations to her than go with that option. She didn’t even care if the dynasty had to change surnames.

She would only complete her missions under the condition that they did not violate her bottom line.

“It will naturally be your child, Big Sister.”

“I won’t have a child,” Jun Zishu said as she stared at the tea leaf floating in her porcelain cup.

“What?”

Yue Mingsheng was startled by Jun Zishu’s answer, and she couldn’t help but wonder if Jun Zishu was plagued by disease or someone with bad intentions had drugged her and ruined her ability to bear a child.

“I will never sleep with a man again, much less bear a man’s child. Little Sister, if you have a child, then I think I can—”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

“No. I won’t be having a child, either,” Yue Mingsheng said in a hurried but lowered voice. Just the thought of marrying a man and educating the man’s child gave her a nauseating feeling.

“Why?”

Jun Zishu didn’t think her little cousin would have such an intense reaction, so she gently patted Yue Mingsheng on the back to soothe her.

“What is your reason, Big Sister?”

“I lost interest.”

“I am the same.”

“You are still young.”

Jun Zishu laughed.

“But I know what I want.”

Jun Zishu was momentarily stunned when she heard Yue Mingsheng’s answer, and she couldn’t help but think back to when she was still a child. She had already formed a firm goal in her mind when she was a child, and that was to take over her father’s company. However, when she told her father her goal back then, her father simply thought she was trying to make him happy. After she started working on inheriting the company, he even celebrated that she didn’t have a rebellious phase.

Now that she had grown up, she more or less understood her father’s thoughts.

From an adult’s perspective, a child was simply too innocent and immature. They were also incredibly susceptible to outside influence, so there was no saying when a child would suddenly change their thoughts.

However, it was also true that some people knew what they wanted since they were a child. They had a clear goal in their mind, and they would work toward that goal determinedly.

After taking a long look into Yue Mingsheng’s eyes, Jun Zishu understood which type of child she was.

“Okay. I’ll think of another solution, then,” Jun Zishu said, nodding.

…

The empress’s bath was naturally very luxurious, consisting of a pool surrounded by four golden dragons spitting out hot water.

Jun Zishu had the servants withdraw, opting not to have anyone serve her.

When the original bathed, she would always have three servants serving her. One would wash her hair, one would wash her back, and one would massage her body. It was an incredibly luxurious bath.

However, Jun Zishu disliked having many people touch her body. She couldn’t help but frown even at the thought of having people serve her as the original owner, let alone carrying out those thoughts.

However, after having the servants withdraw, Jnu Zishu suddenly remembered that she still had a cousin beside her, so she asked, “Do you need someone to serve you, Little Sister? I’ll have someone come in if you do.”

“No need. I don’t like having people serving me when I bathe, either.”

“Okay.”

Afterward, Jun Zishu started removing her hairpins and setting them aside.

“I’ll help you, Big Sister.”

“Okay.”

Yue Mingsheng carefully removed all the ornaments from Jun Zishu’s head. Then, once she removed the last hairpin, Jun Zishu’s long black hair spread out and flowed down like a waterfall before her.

When the hair swept past her face, and her nose caught a smell of the fragrance coming from it, Yue Mingsheng felt her heart itch a little.

Meanwhile, Jun Zishu straightened her hair and began undoing her robe. Then, one by one, the garments covering her body slipped to the ground until she was left with her dudou. Her dudou was dark-red in color, and images of overbearing dragons were embroidered on it.

Yue Mingsheng’s gaze fell on Jun Zishu’s body, her eyes scrutinizing the exposed shoulders. Then, she couldn’t help but clench her fists to control herself as she watched Jun Zishu walking toward the pool, her long hair swaying gently along with her movements and revealing glimpses of her unprotected back.

Eventually, when Jun Zishu turned around with her face slightly dampened by steam, Yue Mingsheng finally understood why others would say that the empress was a peerless beauty.