Chapter 8

After that day, Nan Gongye no longer held back and would frequently appear at the Yan residence. Meanwhile, Nan Gongxuan began to realize that the Eastern Palace had felt somewhat deserted lately.
Aside from his advisors, the most frequent visitors to the Eastern Palace were his close friend Jian Yuyan, his younger brother Nan Gongye, and Yan Yiming.
Although he had never seriously considered marrying Yan Yiming into the Eastern Palace over the years, having grown accustomed to her striking appearance made ordinary beauties difficult to appreciate. Moreover, he had vowed to marry a crown princess he truly loved, which was why there were no women in the Eastern Palace.
Yan Yiming was born arrogant and domineering. After being praised by the empress a few times, she had genuinely come to see herself as the mistress of the Eastern Palace, visiting nearly every day. Later, as Nan Gongxuan grew increasingly impatient with her, Yan Yiming gradually became wiser, learning to find excuses to visit every few days to avoid being too bothersome.
He had told Jian Yuyan more than once that only when Yan Yiming stopped setting foot in the Eastern Palace would there be some peace. Back then, Nan Gongxuan had said this with a smile, never imagining that Yan Yiming would one day truly stop coming.
He had forgotten when and where he had overheard Yan Yiming say that as long as she could marry him, it wouldn't matter if she wasn't the crown princess.
Hearing the eldest daughter of the Duke of Ding, who was usually so proud and aloof, say such words made Nan Gongxuan realize from then on that Yan Yiming had set her heart on him.
Recently, Nan Gongxuan had naturally heard about Yan Yiming being bedridden due to illness. But she had feigned illness countless times before just to lure him into visiting, and he knew exactly what had happened that day. So, Nan Gongxuan didn't believe it at all, assuming it was just another trick to draw him to the Yan residence.
She claimed to be heartbroken and ready to give up, yet it was nothing more than playing hard to get. While mocking her, Nan Gongxuan failed to notice that after realizing this, the inexplicable restlessness he had felt over the past couple of days had mostly subsided.
Even Yan Yiming might not have expected that His Highness the Crown Prince felt a slight sense of loss upon realizing the Eastern Palace had grown quieter without her chatter. After his advisors left, Nan Gongxuan picked up a brush from the brush holder. As he dipped it in ink, his gaze fell upon the dragon-tail inkstone.
This inkstone... Nan Gongxuan recalled how Yan Yiming had carried it to him herself, presenting it like a treasure. It was an exceptional inkstone, rare even in the imperial family. He had no idea where Yan Yiming had obtained it, only later hearing that the old Duke of Ding had been furious upon learning his precious granddaughter had given away his priceless inkstone.
Nan Gongxuan didn't understand what was happening to him. These past couple of days, he kept thinking of Yan Yiming, her stunningly beautiful face filled with disappointment as she left that day, and her eyes brimming with anticipation whenever she tried to please him.
Nan Gongxuan couldn't help but chuckle softly. Though he knew Yan Yiming was once again feigning illness to lure him into visiting, this time he didn't feel the same aversion as before. The thought reminded him of how Yan Yiming used to pretend to be sick, waiting for days without seeing him, only to eventually show up at the Eastern Palace as if nothing had happened.
Looking back now, there was a certain foolish charm to it. Perhaps in a few days, he'd indulge her wish and pay a visit to the Yan residence, it wouldn't hurt.
Meanwhile, Yan Yiming, who had been idly passing time at the Yan residence, had someone fetch a fishing rod and bait and was lounging by the lakeside pavilion fishing. Suddenly, Little A exclaimed, “Nan Gongxuan's favorability has increased by another five percent!”
Startled by Little A's abrupt outburst, Yan Yiming's hand trembled, causing the fishing rod to shake and the nearly hooked fish to dart away. Holding the rod, Yan Yiming sighed in exasperation and scolded Little A, “Even as the hundredth-generation Little A, how are you still so easily excitable?”
Little A, feeling a bit ashamed for its overly dramatic behavior that seemed to disgrace the Apple family, mumbled softly, “I really tried my best to control it, but I just couldn't help it.”
Yan Yiming pulled up the hook, now devoid of bait, and set it aside with a laugh. “Alright, if you can't control it, then don't. You said Nan Gongxuan's favorability increased by five percent? Any idea why?”
Little A shook its head helplessly. “I'm a derivative system of the game. The main storyline still revolves around Jian Yu'er as in the original game. I can only detect interactions involving Jian Yu'er. These past couple of days, Jian Yu'er's focus has been on Jian Yuyan. Since there's been no interaction with Nan Gongxuan, I have no information about him.”
Unable to check on Nan Gongxuan, Yan Yiming reluctantly watched for a while how Jian Yuyan meticulously cared for his “younger sister.” However, from start to finish, there were no particularly thrilling scenes, so she soon lost interest and closed the game progress screen.
Among the four male leads, the genius Chief Chancellor Jiang Yi and Jian Yuyan had the most reserved relationships. Jiang Yi's restraint stemmed from his personality, while Jian Yuyan's was due to his status constraints. As for Nan Gongxuan, he did as he pleased, and Shao Jingyu's action stats were off the charts, whatever he thought of, he acted on immediately. Thus, these two had storylines filled with physical contact, and their emotional developments progressed the smoothest.
“So, humans are sensory creatures. Men develop a desire to conquer through physical dominance, while women develop a sense of belonging through physical contact. When the senses are satisfied, emotional progress skyrockets,” Yan Yiming discussed with Little A for a while why Jian Yu'er was most drawn to Shao Jingyu and Nan Gongxuan. “Do you know where the fastest love originates?”
Little A humbly asked, “Where?”
“In bed,” Yan Yiming gritted her teeth and said. “Shao Jingyu's farewell kiss before heading to the battlefield made Jian Yu'er experience her first crush, and she's been unable to forget it ever since. As for Nan Gongxuan, I remember during the scene where Jian Yu'er fell into the water, the two had intimate physical contact. Perhaps things got heated, and something more happened. Even if Nan Gongxuan has low emotional intelligence, he's the game's favored son, he was ahead from the very start. So...”
Little A felt something was off and wanted to argue, but after thinking for a long while, they couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong. They could only muddle through and continue Yan Yiming’s earlier topic. “So what?”
Having failed to catch a single fish all morning, Yan Yiming stood up from the bench with a hint of disappointment. “So, next time I transmigrate, it’d be best if I get a role with more room to maneuver. Even though the game’s setting is already quite unrestrained and shameless, being a young lady from a prestigious family means I can only engage in platonic talk. Isn’t that just making the conquest harder?”
Little A: “...”
This was clearly the top-tier identity it had painstakingly selected out of concern that the host might be dissatisfied, and now it was being criticized! It thought to itself that it would definitely pick a few wild and unrestrained identities for the host later.
“So, host, where are we going now?”
Yan Yiming smiled faintly, the red mole at the corner of her eye captivatingly alluring. “Of course, we’re going to get dressed up and go flirt with the little wolf dog.”
Before Nan Gongxuan had a chance to visit Yan Yiming, he was summoned by his mother, the Empress, to the Kunning Palace.
The current Empress had been the princess consort back when the Emperor was still a prince. A significant reason the Emperor succeeded in ascending the throne was due to the influence of the Empress’s family. The Empress’s clan were clever people, after the Emperor took the throne, they voluntarily relinquished their power, which deeply moved the Emperor. From then on, the Empress’s family was heavily relied upon, a brilliant move of advancing by retreating.
The Empress was gentle yet intelligent. Over the years, she and the Emperor had always treated each other with respect. She had given birth to two princes and one princess, and her position as the Empress had remained stable for many years. However, as her two sons grew older without even a single consort by their sides, she couldn’t help but worry.
Especially Nan Gongxuan, who was to have his capping ceremony by the end of the year.
Although there were many noble daughters in the capital, only a handful had the deep-rooted influence to be of help to her son. Among these young ladies, Yan Yiming was one of them.
The Empress had always held a favorable impression of Yan Yiming. Though her temperament was a bit fiery, she was exceptionally beautiful and came from a scholarly family, intelligent and well-educated. The Ding Duke’s residence had long enjoyed the Emperor’s favor. Most importantly, that girl was devoted to her son.
Marrying a daughter from a powerful aristocratic family could be a great asset, but if she continued to prioritize her maternal family after marriage, it could become a significant problem. However, given Yan Yiming’s devotion to the Crown Prince, controlling her would be effortless for him.
The only slight difficulty was that the Crown Prince didn’t seem particularly fond of Lady Yan. When the Empress had once asked him why, he replied that Yan Yiming was too impulsive and that he preferred someone with a gentler disposition.
The Empress doted on her son and knew that beneath his strong exterior lay a tender heart. He had always wanted to reserve the position of Crown Princess for someone who truly held his heart. But in the imperial family, such things were never that simple. Although Nan Gongxuan was the Crown Prince, he had an elder brother above him. While the rule was to appoint the legitimate heir over the eldest, the current Emperor himself had not been the legitimate son. No one truly knew what he was thinking.
Now that the Crown Prince was approaching his capping ceremony, it was better to settle the matter of the Crown Princess sooner rather than later.
Nan Gongxuan understood this all too well. When his mother brought up Yan Yiming again, although he didn’t feel as averse as before, he still couldn’t help feeling a sense of regret. After listening to his mother, he waved for the attendants to withdraw and said, “What does Mother think of Chancellor Jian’s daughter?”
“Jian Yu'er?” The Empress was taken aback. After her son nodded, she pondered briefly and recalled that Jian Yu'er did indeed possess a gentle and refined temperament, no wonder the Crown Prince favored her.
In terms of status, Jian Yu'er was no less than Yan Yiming. Though her looks couldn't compare to Yan Yiming's, she excelled in her docile and mild nature. Once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, Jian Yu'er's temperament would make her more suitable for the position of Empress than Yan Yiming.
However, although the Jian family hadn't explicitly stated it, they had already aligned themselves with the Crown Prince. Marrying a daughter from the Jian family again would somewhat waste the position of Crown Princess.
But the Crown Prince was fond of her...
She hadn't considered Jian Yu'er before, but now that the Crown Prince mentioned her, the Empress suddenly felt that Jian Yu'er wasn't a bad choice. Yet, neither family would agree to have their legitimate daughter serve as a consort, even if it were the Crown Prince's consort. Noble families had always valued their family's reputation. After thinking it over for a long while, she couldn't decide which option was better and could only sigh in resignation, unable to come up with a perfect solution.
The mother and son chatted for a while longer before moving on from the topic and discussing her younger brother, Nan Gongye. These past few days, Yan Yiming had been feigning illness at home and hadn't visited the Eastern Palace, and even her younger brother, who usually treated the Eastern Palace as his own home, had been absent.
Upon hearing this, the Empress laughed. “Ye'er came to see me just yesterday and, after much persuasion, managed to take away the set of delicate green jade drop pearl bracelets your father had gifted me. He wouldn't say what he needed them for.”
Even without him saying, as someone who had been through it all, how could the Empress not see through it? Her younger son must have taken a fancy to some young lady and was trying every means to please her, even going so far as to covet her belongings.
Nan Gongxuan also laughed upon hearing this. “No wonder we haven't seen him around lately. Since I don't have any urgent matters today, I'll pay a visit to his residence and see exactly which young lady has captured his heart.”