Su Nuan stood and looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. Then, she tilted her head and thought out loud, "Oh? You're right!"
She fixed her gaze on Commandery Princess Shuanghua, her expression filled with the ignorance of a young girl.
She was still in the body of a 10-year-old, and her original host was not very smart. So, Su Nuan decided she should continue acting like that.
In her previous revival, she had retorted back angrily. The only difference was that she was pushed into the well by somebody on her way back.
She suspected that the person who had killed her the last time was Commandery Princess Shuanghua.
It seemed like they had met earlier in this rebirth because she was late to arrive.
She did not want to fight with her later. There were too many people here to really fight. At most, they could have a verbal fight.
"You!"
Commandery Princess Shuanghua was very angry. How dare a newly-arrived princess from a subsidiary state be so arrogant? Even the real princesses of Shang Nation can't be so impudent in front of me.
She wanted to slap her across the face. However, Commandery Princess Shuanghua remembered that this was her aunt's, the Empress Dowager, chambers. If someone witnessed it and gossiped about it, her aunt would reprimand her.
Therefore, she simply replied, "As expected of the princess of the Yun Nation. You are indeed 'intelligent'. Since you have married Big Brother Emperor, in the future…"
"From now on, I'm your sister-in-law!"
Su Nuan blinked her big eyes and chirped happily, "You don't have to be so polite! This will be your home from now on. You can come here to play often."
Commandery Princess Shuanghua was furious.
Who's being polite to her? She had never seen such a shameless person.
She glared at the little person in front of her. She had big eyes, a high nose bridge, and a small mouth. Perhaps it was because she was too gluttonous, but her face was chubby, and she looked like a child.
Su Nuan was nothing like herself, who had a more mature womanly appearance. She had a slim and graceful figure with a slender waist and a stunning appearance.
Compared to this fatty…
Commandery Princess Shuanghua couldn't help but purse her lips in a smile. Between the two of us, who exudes the aura fitting of the mother of the nation?
Princess? She's just a princess for marriage—a play doll sent by the Yun Nation to curry favor with her Big Brother Emperor.
Forget it. There is no point in being so cautious with her. With her dumb appearance, I won't have to do anything. As long as she angers Big Brother Emperor a little, she will still be beheaded.
The thought of Su Nuan joining the human skin floating in front of the Emperor's chambers made her happy.
"Forget it, I won't argue with you today. I heard that Big Brother Emperor killed another palace maid last night, right?"
"Yes!"
Su Nuan's eyes lit up, and she looked excited.
She continued, "That palace maid shouted for mercy and was really too noisy, so Big Brother Emperor cut her tongue off before having her beheaded and skinned. I heard that it is very easy to peel human skin! If you pour mercury into a live human through their head, their skin will be easier to peel off."
Her words made Commandery Princess Shuanghua's scalp tingle. She had not witnessed the scene herself, but the imagery was evocative.
She thought to herself, Is she a little psychopath?
Is she excited about watching a murder? What an idiot.
She was no longer in the mood to scare her. She said, "Alright, go along. What a headache."
Su Nuan was allowed to leave, and she was, of course, very willing to do so.
When Su Nuan saw the change in Commandery Princess Shuanghua's eyes and the disdain expression on her face, she knew that the latter would drop the matter.
After all, in the eyes of Commandery Princess Shuanghua, Su Nuan was short, fat, and silly. Su Nuan couldn't be considered a threat.
However, the words that she had just said made her heart pound.
Even she felt like she was a psychopath.
She quickly called Zhen Zhu to follow her back to her chambers. She did not want to stay in this horrible place for any second longer. Someone more horrible might come to pay their respect to the Empress Dowager, and she didn't want to witness it.
But, as soon as she turned around, she bumped into Feng Junyi.
Su Nuan was startled, but she quickly composed herself and threw herself into Feng Junyi's arms. "Big Brother Emperor!" she exclaimed excitedly.
She was so unlucky. If she had a shorter conversation with the Commandery Princess, she might have missed running into him.
"Pouring mercury into a live human makes their skin easier to peel off? Interesting. I could try that next time."
Su Nuan was hugging him when her thin body stiffened.
Oh no, if Feng Junyi listened to her and poured mercury into a live human before skinning them next time… God, she would be condemned by all of history.
Although this was just a world in a book, these people standing before her were all alive. Skinning them was bad enough, but abusing them like that would be a sin.
Her small hand squeezed Feng Junyi's fingers, and she said softly, "I was just spouting nonsense. Who asked Commandery Princess Shuanghua to scare me?"
She spoke truthfully in an attractive, coy manner.
The playful look in Feng Junyi's eyes grew.
He had sensed the little girl's fear, but she held on to him despite that.
But, such clumsy acting skills made him feel even more magnanimous.
To him, it was much better than certain people who appeared to be the Mother of the Nation but carried out ugly, morally corrupt deeds.
"Who was scared, huh?"
Feng Junyi spoke emotionlessly, but it was easy to hear the teasing tone in his voice.
She did not care who should have been scared.
As long as Feng Junyi was not angry—as long as she could appease him—she could sit back and relax.
Su Nuan returned to her chambers and laid like a log across her bed.
She looked at her chubby little hands and arms and then stroked her chubby little face. Finally, she remembered the way Commandery Princess Shuanghua had studied her and sighed.
Her body seemed a little plump.
Zhen Zhu brought some desserts and placed them beside her bed. "Your Majesty, this is a freshly baked peach blossom pastry from the Imperial Kitchen. They said that they've sent it for you to try."
Su Nuan scanned the pastries. They were high in sugar and starch. So it would not be a surprise if she got fat from eating it.
She waved her hand and said, "No, I'm not eating it. I won't be eating anymore, I want to lose weight."
She puffed out her cheeks and got up from the bed. She placed the pastries in front of a little white cat that had run in from outside. She smiled at it happily.
A palace maid knelt in front of the hall and reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has summoned you to Ci'an Palace."
Without waiting for Su Nuan to respond, the palace maid stood up and left.
Su Nuan found it odd. Didn't I just greet the Empress Dowager? Why did she suddenly summon me again? She frowned slightly as she watched the palace maid leave.
Zhen Zhu was also quite puzzled. "Why is the Empress Dowager looking for you?"
When she turned around, Zhen Zhu saw Su Nuan lying down again. She hurriedly exclaimed, "Your Majesty, why are you lying down again? Please get up quickly, I will help you dress up so that you can meet the Empress Dowager."
Su Nuan was dragged along and freshened up again. Several pearl hairpins were re-inserted into her hair, and not a single hairpin was forgotten. She felt like her head had gained a few pounds.
They headed to the Empress Dowager's Ci'an Palace once again. However, when they reached the peach blossom trees, they overheard whispers.
"The Emperor has always been intelligent. He is clearly the eldest son of the first wife, yet he was not favored when the late Emperor was still alive. I heard it was because he was not the biological son of the late Emperor."
"There's been a lot of talk in the palace about this. They're saying that the Emperor was born because the Empress Dowager and the Regent had an affair. You know, there must be a reason for these rumors to even begin. I think it must be true."
"The Regent is a dignified man and has not taken a wife or concubine for many years. Is that the real story? It's no wonder he has done his best to assist the Emperor for so many years. He's his own son."