"Princess, this maid has put enough aphrodisiac in Young Master Xu's tea. You must act quickly!"
"Once you've done the deed, even if the Emperor is a hundred times unhappy, he'll have to go along with your wishes!"
Jiang Ning'an was stunned.
She was now in a bedroom, and on the bed in front of her lay a bare - chested man.
The man had fair skin and a handsome face, but his body was too thin. Every rib was clearly visible, completely ruining the beauty of his face and killing any desire.
Jiang Ning'an blurted out subconsciously, "Where did this pale, skinny guy come from?"
Chun Tao's eyes widened. "Princess, what are you saying?"
Jiang Ning'an pressed her throbbing temples.
She had had a dream last night and had been in a daze since waking up. It wasn't until Chun Tao said those words just now that she realized everything was exactly the same as in last night's dream.
From that dream, she learned that the world she was in was actually a storybook about the love - hate relationships between the female protagonist and several men.
Unfortunately, Jiang Ning'an was just a malicious supporting female character.
Her only purpose was to create trouble for the female protagonist and highlight the female protagonist's noble qualities of not compromising despite her humble origin and bravely fighting against fate.
Under the control of the plot, Jiang Ning'an had fallen madly in love with one of the male protagonists, a poor - background top scorer in the imperial examination.
To get him, Jiang Ning'an had resorted to any means, doing many stupid and malicious things.
Later, Jiang Ning'an even deliberately opposed the female protagonist, trying to take everything from her.
She became infamous, and even the people around her couldn't stand her actions and defected to the female protagonist's camp one after another.
The only one who had always stood firmly by her side was her Emperor uncle.
But in the end, the Emperor died in a palace coup. His head was cut off by the rebels and hung on the city gate, exposed to the wind and rain.
After the Emperor's death, she was imprisoned in a dilapidated courtyard. The medicine that had been provided to her since birth was stopped. When she was dying from the torture of illness, she was poisoned and died a miserable death with her intestines rotted.
The royal family fell, one of the men around the female protagonist became the Emperor, and the female protagonist naturally became the Queen.
The new Emperor was magnanimous and deeply in love with the female protagonist. Unable to bear seeing her sad, he arranged positions in the palace for the men close to the female protagonist so that they could enter the palace at any time.
Jiang Ning'an's family was destroyed, while the female protagonist became a winner in life. Everyone was happy.
After this dream, Jiang Ning'an finally understood why her every move had been out of her control since two years ago.
It turned out that there was such a force secretly controlling her.
But now, the power of the plot had inexplicably disappeared. She was clear - minded, and even the top scorer she had loved so desperately before now seemed just so - so.
This was no place to stay. Jiang Ning'an turned around and was about to leave.
But Chun Tao took a step across and blocked her way. "Princess, didn't you say before that Scholar Xu was a dragon among men and that you'd have no regrets in life if you could marry him? Now the opportunity is right in front of you. What are you doing?"
Chun Tao had come to Jiang Ning'an's side two years ago.
Under the influence of the plot, Jiang Ning'an had an inexplicable trust and dependence on Chun Tao and had directly promoted her to be her confidant.
But in these two years, Chun Tao had said a lot of bad things about the Emperor in her ear. When the instigation didn't work, Chun Tao had started to praise Xu Linchuan's excellence in various ways, pushing her step by step to where she was now.
In the future, she would also push her into a deeper pit.
Because from the very beginning, Chun Tao had been a pawn to ruin her reputation and take her life!
Jiang Ning'an looked at her intently. "Can't this princess just think that this Xu guy is nothing special now?"
Chun Tao took another step closer. "But Princess, we've come all this way. If we don't get things done, won't it be a big loss?"
Seeing Chun Tao pressing on, Jiang Ning'an slapped her.
With a crisp sound, Chun Tao's face was turned to the side.
Chun Tao covered her face and looked at Jiang Ning'an in disbelief.
How could this happen?!
Jiang Ning'an had been so easy to coax before. No matter what she said, Jiang Ning'an would do it obediently!
Jiang Ning'an shook her numb hand and sneered. "Who do you think you are, daring to boss this princess around? Get out of the way!"
Instead of getting out of the way, there was even a flash of fierceness in Chun Tao's eyes.
Jiang Ning'an was just a sickly girl. At this point, she couldn't just leave if she wanted to!
Chun Tao was about to make a move when suddenly the closed door was kicked open.
A man nearly fifty years old strode in, accompanied by imperial guards. His black robe with red dragons on it showed his imperial identity. The majesty of the royal family was so overwhelming that no one dared to look directly at him.
Jiang Ning'an's eyes lit up. "Uncle!"
Seeing that Jiang Ning'an was safe, the Emperor also let out a sigh of relief.
She was the only child of his deceased older sister and the only one he had brought up by his own hands. He valued Jiang Ning'an more than his own eyes.
In the past two years, Jiang Ning'an had done a lot of stupid things. Recently, she had even set her mind on the poor - background top scorer. So half a year ago, the Emperor had let Jiang Ning'an enter the palace and kept an eye on her.
Knowing that Jiang Ning'an had sneaked out of the palace today, the Emperor was so worried that he personally led the imperial guards to track her down. Fortunately, he had made it in time.
The Emperor was still in a state of shock when Jiang Ning'an walked up to him and tugged at his sleeve. "In the past, Ning'er did a lot of stupid things and caused Uncle a lot of trouble. If Uncle blames Ning'er, Ning'er has nothing to say. I'll accept whatever punishment Uncle gives me."
Looking at the little girl looking like she was ready to face death, the Emperor almost couldn't help laughing.
Jiang Ning'an looked nine - tenths like her mother. Seeing her, the Emperor seemed to see his older sister again.
But Jiang Jia had always been bold and straightforward, while Jiang Ning'an had a sickly look in her eyes and was always surrounded by the smell of medicine.
The Emperor's eyes dimmed for a moment.
He raised his hand and patted Jiang Ning'an on the head twice. "All right, it's not a big deal. Let's go back to the palace."
This time, he had to keep a closer eye on her.
But Jiang Ning'an shook her head. "Uncle, I want to go back to the Princess Dowager's Mansion."
Alarm bells rang in the Emperor's mind.
Was this girl trying to get out of his sight and do something stupid again?
Although the Emperor didn't show his emotions, as the person closest to him, Jiang Ning'an could tell his mood without even looking at his face.
Jiang Ning'an simply hooked her arm through his and said softly, "Uncle, I really won't do it again. I just want to go back because I'm worried about Mother's mansion. Without me, there's no one in charge. You must be worried too, right?
How about this? You can send someone you trust to follow me. Will that do?"
The Emperor glanced at her.
Rarely, this girl hadn't acted coquettishly with him like this for a long time.
The Emperor was about to speak when he was attracted by Chun Tao's swollen face. "If a maid is disobedient, just have her dragged out and punished. Don't hurt your hand."
The Emperor had long been dissatisfied with this maid.
Jiang Ning'an's eyes curved slightly. "I'll listen to Uncle."
As soon as the uncle and niece left, the man on the bed opened his eyes.
There was a clear look in Xu Linchuan's eyes. Where was there any sign of being drugged by the aphrodisiac!
He propped himself up and stared at the closed door with a sinister look in his eyes.