122 Have you ever dreamed of him naked?

"Then I shall trouble you, little sister." Fang Rulai spoke with feigned politeness, yet she did not rise, instead extending her arm with an air of arrogance. The implication was clear: since you are so eager to play the role of the younger sister, do not just stand there—come forward and serve me.

The Sixth Princess smiled elegantly, bowed, and extended her wrist, truly offering it as if it were a cane for Fang Rulai to lean upon. "After you, Imperial Sister-in-law."

One bowing, one looking down, their eyes met, and each could clearly see the calculation in the other's gaze.

—Calling me Imperial Sister-in-law? Is this a reminder that I can never again have any connection with that idiot Guan in this lifetime?

—Ordering me to come forward and serve? Do you think I cannot even swallow this insult? What new scheme are you hatching now?

Both smiled at the same time, neither willing to show weakness.

Fang Rulai loosened her loosely clenched fist, turning the downward motion into a grip. She caught the Sixth Princess by the wrist, though, of course, it was through her sleeve. Or rather, her original target had been the sleeve offered right before her eyes.

"Very well, let us go." Fang Rulai responded with a smile, gripping the Princess's wrist and heading toward the door, while focusing the remainder of her attention on the sleeve.

—Fang Rulai, what is it you want to hear?

"Fang Rulai, what is it you want to hear?"

The voice in her mind and the voice in her ear spoke almost in unison.

Fang Rulai stopped abruptly and turned her head. The Sixth Princess offered an elegant nod. "The Crown Prince gave notice in advance, saying that Imperial Sister-in-law's intelligence is extraordinary, and ordered us to serve you with caution. Thus, before coming here, I made sure to bathe and change my attire."

The Sixth Princess gestured toward her own sleeve with her eyes. "This garment was sent specifically by the Crown Prince; he said it was crafted by the same mute artisans who created the furnishings in this room and the clothes you are wearing. Oh, and Fu'an, who was specifically assigned to you, has also been completely reorganized from head to toe, all to give you a sense of everything being brand new. So tell me, Imperial Sister-in-law, are you surprised?"

Only then did Fang Rulai understand why she could not sense any useful information in this room. The Crown Prince was truly meticulous!

Seeing Fang Rulai stop, the smile on the Sixth Princess's face became even more elegant. "Initially, I was very unhappy to see you. But now, seeing you like this, I suddenly feel that strolling through the Imperial Garden with you might be quite a pleasant affair."

"Your words are truly begging for a beating." Fang Rulai thought it, and she said it.

"Thank you for the compliment." The Sixth Princess lifted an eyebrow with the triumph of a general who had just won a small battle, then half-pushed, half-supported Fang Rulai to urge her to continue walking out. "Go, go, let us hurry out for a stroll. Feel free to sense whatever you wish—stone benches, flower pots, wood carvings; Imperial Sister-in-law, please do as you please. I shall sit and watch you work, and I shall never interfere!"

Fang Rulai stopped suddenly.

The Sixth Princess asked, "What? Not going? Changed your mind?" The subtext was: You have lost!

Fang Rulai knew it well. She lowered her eyes slightly and brushed the Sixth Princess's hand away from her wrist. "I have thought about it, and it would be better if you stayed further away from me..."

"Admit it, you..." The words were cut short. The Sixth Princess clearly saw two fists flying toward her face, one after the other.

The first was Fang Rulai's, and the second, coming from the side, was Fu'an's.

The Sixth Princess was so frightened she forgot to blink, watching helplessly as Fu'an's palm engulfed Fang Rulai's fist, stopping it right before her nose.

Her word "lost" never made it out.

If her intellectual capacity was on par with a doctoral student, her athletic ability was below that of a kindergartner.

Fang Rulai smirked, twisting the knife. "I told you to stay away from me. You are so insufferable that I fear I might not be able to resist taking a swing at you at any moment."

This savage woman! The Sixth Princess gulped hard, finally unable to maintain her elegant expression, and snapped in a fit of rage, "You cannot escape this place! Give up!"

Fang Rulai remained unmoved. She rotated her wrist, pulled back her arm, and said to Fu'an, "Even if you hadn't intervened, I wouldn't have truly beaten her. Even if I were to beat her, it wouldn't be in broad daylight where there is a guard every three steps and a sentry every five!"

The Sixth Princess straightened her hair, recovering her elegance with remarkable speed. "Consider yourself clever enough to know that you wouldn't come out unscathed after touching me..."

"Wrong!" Fang Rulai wagged her index finger to interrupt her. "I didn't strike not because I considered those things, but because fighting in broad daylight—is just not satisfying!"

"You!" The Sixth Princess's face twitched with anger. How dare she speak to her like that!

"If you are so begging for a beating, one should cover you with a black sack, drag you to the corner of the latrine, fill a pillowcase with stones, and give you a thorough thrashing!" Fang Rulai shrugged her shoulders and bounced on her heels, having adopted the demeanor of a hoodlum. "And when a maid finds you—ha! The most elegant princess of the Yaotian Kingdom beaten unconscious in a latrine by a mysterious hand—do you think your reputation would rise another notch?"

"You, you... you are barbaric! You are no lady!"

The Sixth Princess was a typical royal, accustomed since childhood to playing with hidden arrows behind a mask. She was not skilled at tearing off the mask and engaging in a shouting match. Thus, after holding it in for a long time, this was all she could manage—the insult she deemed the most hurtful: "You are no lady."

Opposite her, Fang Rulai was already bent over with laughter. She had discovered that this princess was utterly hopeless at verbal sparring, which was why she had shifted into a hoodlum persona to deal with her. Who would have thought the princess's counter-attack ability would be as incompetent as she had imagined? Not a lady? Was she supposed to act wounded by that?

"To borrow your own words, thank you for the compliment." Fang Rulai smiled back. Only then did the feeling of difficulty breathing, as if someone had been choking her, begin to subside.

If the Crown Prince had already made so many preparations to guard against her in secret, then the person behind the scenes devising strategies for him could not be taken lightly. Who could this person be? In an imperial palace where her abilities were forcibly sealed and she had no way to contact the outside world, from which direction should she start her attempt at self-rescue?

Fang Rulai walked forward on her own, a leisurely, shallow smile on her face, while her mind had already entered a state of high alert.

Among the people she had encountered so far, the Crown Princess she had clashed with earlier seemed like an excellent candidate for providing information. She must not be trusted by the Crown Prince; otherwise, he would not have allowed the Sixth Princess to openly call her the future Empress in front of her without so much as a word of notice. And earlier, if an incident where a Crown Princess was accosted were to be investigated, even if she, the culprit, could not be touched, shouldn't those maids who failed to protect her have been punished? Yet the Sixth Princess had not mentioned it at all.

By the way, the Crown Princess had mentioned a "Brother Ping." Who was this person? Judging by the petulance in her tone, did that imply an affair? Someone who could have an affair with the Crown Princess and move freely within this palace...

"Stop right there!"

The Sixth Princess's voice came again. Fang Rulai turned around. "What is it now? Weren't we going to see the flowers?"

The Sixth Princess pointed in the opposite direction. "The Imperial Garden is this way."

Fang Rulai's eyes flickered as she looked ahead. "And this way is?"

"Fu'an." At the Sixth Princess's command, Fu'an blocked Fang Rulai's path in a flash. "Master, please turn."

Fang Rulai put on a wronged expression. "Fu'an, how could you treat me like this?! Who was it just a moment ago calling me 'Master' and worrying about me catching a cold, insisting I change my shoes and add layers of clothing? How is it that as soon as this princess arrives, I am nothing at all?"

Fu'an kept her head down, showing neither guilt nor embarrassment. "When you one day ascend to the position of Empress, you will truly be my master. At that time, even if you wish to settle old scores and execute me for no reason, I shall have no objections."

"Ahem, no wonder that Crown Princess called you 'Aunt Fu'; you are indeed capable." As she spoke, Fang Rulai leaned close to Fu'an and whispered, "You were so eager to urge me to go out and see the flowers just now because you were afraid I would cross paths with certain people, weren't you? And only the Crown Princess has come by so far..."

Fang Rulai pointed behind Fu'an. "Then this direction must lead to the Crown Princess's residence."

She did not wait for Fu'an's reaction, but turned and walked toward the Sixth Princess waiting nearby. "So cautious? That means not every place in this palace has been 'reorganized' by you lot. Ahem, I smell a hint of hope!"

"Don't you dream of it!" The Sixth Princess, having been "tormented" by Fang Rulai's words, could no longer be bothered to act elegant.

Fang Rulai stroked her chin. "There is only one reason why a negotiation fails, and that is that the temptation is not enough. No matter, I can add to the stakes. Tell me, Sixth Princess, what will it take for you to answer a few small questions that won't compromise your position?"

"Hmph," the Sixth Princess sneered. "I told you, don't dream..."

"In your dreams, have you ever seen him? Does he wear men's clothing, women's clothing, or does he wear nothing at all?" Fang Rulai draped an arm over the Sixth Princess's shoulder, assuming the posture of a bosom friend, wearing a seductive, brilliant smile like a procuress. "Do you know that although he looks thin, his chest is actually broad and firm? Do you know that while he must wear bright, feminine colors in front of people, he is actually wearing sexy black undergarments beneath it all? Do you know that he likes his breakfast salty, his lunch spicy, his dinner sweet, and for a midnight snack, he must have a big! red! apple!?"