Chapter 1 Everyone Gathers

Every month on the first and fifth, Emperor Jing'an would take his four princes to see the Empress Dowager. This time, almost all the players gathered together—except for Lu Xiaoyao.

She had to stand at the door.

[Hahahaha, I really can't help but laugh.]

[Look at my darling's wronged face, *pfft*~ others are drinking tea and eating snacks inside, while she's blowing in the wind and basking in the sun!]

[Look at her resentful little eyes, ew~~ tsk tsk tsk.]

[Who says otherwise? It's both tragic and hilarious.]

…

Lu Xiaoyao knew that her current situation was truly miserable!

Especially in comparison!

She had followed Emperor Jing'an all morning, meeting the various princes, and she had to bow;

On the way here, she encountered the Noble Consort, and she had to bow;

When she arrived at the Empress Dowager's place, she still had to bow, and then she retreated outside to bask in the sun!

The key was that these were all players!

It was too bullying QAQ!

Lu Xiaoyao felt icy cold inside, her skin darkening from the sun.

Meanwhile, the other players sitting in the room, whether it was the Empress Dowager or the prince players, were startled by Emperor Jing'an's performance and changed their expressions from time to time.

"The other day, I heard that you were reviewing memorials all night long, Emperor. You're not taking care of yourself. You should leave things for your subordinates to do."

Mingming Lengyouyou meant well, but Emperor Jing'an sipped his hot tea and said, "If the subordinates were capable, I wouldn't have to do this."

After saying that, he swept his gaze directly over the other four princes, his naked gaze almost saying, "Look at how useless you all are." Yuan Fang and the others didn't dare to say a word.

Could someone tell them Emperor Jing'an's favorability towards them?

Was it negative infinity?

"If they don't have the ability, Your Majesty can teach them more. No one learns this overnight, right, Fengtai?" Lengyouyou said, steering the topic to Zhen Po, while observing the reactions of the other three players, continuing, "The other good children also need Your Majesty's guidance."

In response, Mu Chen simply didn't respond, and the other four players didn't dare to say anything, making Lengyouyou extremely embarrassed.

Lengyouyou was speechless, almost cursing Emperor Jing'an in her heart. At least, you should at least respect the old and love the young, right?

"The eldest one's wife is about to give birth, right?"

Suddenly, Yuan Fang realized that Mu Chen was calling him, and he quickly stood up to answer.

"Having offspring is a good thing, regardless of gender." After saying that, Mu Chen looked at Zhen Hu and Zhen Po, and asked, "What about you two? You've been married for two or three years and still don't have any children?"

Zhen Hu: "..."

He couldn't answer that.

Zhen Po: "..."

He couldn't answer that either!

The two brothers sat silently together at this time, looking quite tacit.

"And the fourth one, he's at the age where he should be betrothed, right?"

He was really calling them out one by one. Julian had been secretly laughing at the others, but when it was his turn, he was also a little dumbfounded.

"Yes, what kind of girl does the fourth one like? It's good to tell His Majesty now."

Lengyouyou didn't mind the excitement and took the lead in egging him on.

Julian only paused for a second, glanced at Lengyouyou and the Emperor, immediately put down the teacup in his hand, and respectfully said, "I'll leave everything to Father Emperor. The woman Father Emperor chooses must be good."

Flattery will get you everywhere. Anyway, him getting married was just part of the game.

Julian thought indifferently, but the girl he met in the game before came to mind. Afterwards, he actually met her offline.

He hadn't sent people to investigate the matter of NPCs suddenly coming to life, but he received a warning from his father.

Some things were not for him, still in school, to know.

The adult world… sigh~

Putting that aside, the fact that he was chased like crazy by the other party for several weeks, his father didn't even care, just told him to handle it himself and not cause any bad influence.

Thinking of that time, Julian felt a sense of detachment.

Wasn't it good to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the Federation?

The Federation was his wife, who needed a partner?!

Thinking of this, Julian instantly sat up straight again, looking worriedly at Mu Chen, and silently added, "If possible, I hope Father Emperor can find someone quiet, preferably someone who doesn't talk much."

Mu Chen: What kind of request is this?

The players: Are you toxic?

After seeing the Empress Dowager, Mu Chen left first. The rest was up to the players to do as they pleased. He didn't interfere, and he even found a reason to leave Lu Xiaoyao behind, in order to give the players a chance to "compare notes" and help Mingmei "attract traffic."

Sure enough, as soon as Mu Chen left, the Cining Palace immediately became like a tea party, chattering away.

Soon, everyone learned about the mysterious merchant in the palace.

"What does she look like?"

Zhen Hu and the other boys had residences outside the palace and had to leave the palace at night, unless there was a banquet in the palace, they might walk around in the palace at night.

"White clothes, masked." Bai Xiao simply described the scene of meeting Mingmei that night. As for what Mingmei was selling and what its effect was, she didn't say, only saying that others would know once they bought it.

Currently, she was the only one who had eaten the boxed lunch and obtained the relevant function, so she could naturally seize the opportunity.

In response, Yuan Fang, who was in the same camp as Bai Xiao, secretly exchanged glances with Bai Xiao and immediately looked away.

[Minced Pork and Eggplant Boxed Lunch (one academic point/serving, can know one secret of the Emperor)]

[Braised Meatball Boxed Lunch (one academic point/serving, can know whether one person under your command is loyal (can be repurchased up to three times)]

Thinking of the effect of the Braised Meatball Boxed Lunch, Bai Xiao's eyes turned to Lu Xiaoyao, who was silently eating snacks next to her.

This verification was not necessarily used to verify NPCs, as long as it was the camp she had marked in her information, she could check it.

She just didn't expect that she had inadvertently discovered a traitor mark on Lu Xiaoyao.

Secretly, Bai Xiao glanced at Lengyouyou, who was smilingly feeding Lu Xiaoyao snacks. Bai Xiao wondered, could it be that Lu Xiaoyao was coaxed away by Lengyouyou?

Looking at Zhen Po, who was chatting with Lu Xiaoyao over there, Bai Xiao felt a sense of foreboding.

Perhaps, there was really such a possibility.

Mingmei, through the live broadcast, saw clearly every small action and small look in the eyes of the players gathered together this time. They really had ulterior motives.

"That mysterious merchant will appear in the Imperial Garden at night?"

Finally, Lengyouyou couldn't help but ask.

Now there were only three female players in the palace, Bai Xiao seized the opportunity, she couldn't be slower than Lu Xiaoyao, right?

"I met her in the Imperial Garden, as for whether she only appears in the Imperial Garden, I don't know."

Bai Xiao couldn't guarantee this, and the others couldn't help but sigh.

The appearance of the mysterious merchant in this game was too difficult, right?

Mingmei, watching a group of players frowning through the live broadcast, was also depressed.

Along with her, when she accompanied Mu Chen to review the memorials at night, she also complained about this: "How long will it take for them to really find out that I'm in the Cold Palace? Last time, I took the initiative to go to the Imperial Garden. Am I supposed to go there every day in the future?"

"It won't be too long." When Mu Chen asked Mingmei about the effect of the boxed lunch, he assured Mingmei, "Since Bai Xiao knows Emperor Jing'an's secret, she will take action in the Cold Palace. When she takes action, it will naturally attract the Empress Dowager's attention. Soon, your place will no longer be a secret."

Mu Chen directly told Mingmei that the Emperor's secret was about the Cold Palace, about her, the seemingly abandoned concubine, but in reality, the person Emperor Jing'an loved the most.

"Have you ever thought about what her expression will be when she discovers that the one academic point she spent was actually just a 'part-time' mysterious merchant, a mysterious merchant she had already patronized?"

After saying that, Mingmei suddenly realized, wouldn't the first person to buy the Minced Pork and Eggplant Boxed Lunch be a fool?

Was she specially guiding people?

In response, Mu Chen chuckled and said, "It's okay~ Since it's a secret, it must be useful."

These words made Mingmei's heart itch, and she turned to look at him, curiously asking if he knew something, but Mu Chen never said another word, just telling her to wait patiently.

"In this game, just eat and drink well, and wait for them to buy your boxed lunch."

"That… won't they be dead before they buy it?" Mingmei still remembered what Mu Chen said a few days ago about clearing the game quickly.

"Before they buy your boxed lunch, I guarantee, I won't do anything to them~"