Cui Lingyao had little interest in the tea served by the new concubine; her main concern was that this body of hers couldn't consume alcohol.
She looked at Xie Jinbai.
The day they'd fallen in love, she had accidentally drunk a cup of wine and broken out in hives. He had been so...
Xie Jinbai lowered his gaze to her, his eyes showing neither anger nor joy, and his tone was flat. "Rong'er is offering wine in place of tea. Since you are so virtuous and magnanimous, you shouldn't refuse."
Their eyes met, and every single word struck home.
Cui Lingyao froze.
They had only been married for three years, and they'd never had a rift between them. How could the young man who once worried for her so desperately have vanished in such a short time?
'It makes me wonder if the words 'Mission Complete' I saw back then were just a hallucination.'
'Is a full Love Value score really this fragile?'
'Or is it that he really is the great emperor praised by history, born to be a flawless political machine? Perhaps for him, love and romance only ever occupied a minuscule part of his life.'
'That must be why a 100% Love Value could vanish completely within a single year.'
Cui Lingyao didn't want to dwell on it, but she was not going to drink this cup of wine.
Even if she could leave this world tomorrow, she refused to put herself through that misery.
Experiencing an allergic reaction to alcohol once was more than enough.
She glanced at the wine cup offered by the servant and was about to refuse when she heard the man before her command in a low voice, "Drink it."
Long accustomed to a position of power, his two simple words carried an authority that needed no anger.
This was a Prince who held true power, the legitimate son of the Empress, already granted his title. Cui Lingyao also knew that one day, he would become the master of the entire Dynasty.
If she truly earned his enmity, she could just wash her hands of it all and leave by faking her death.
But her family...
One must yield to circumstances.
Cui Lingyao's chest tightened. Her earlier sense of detachment, born from the feeling that they were even, now gave way to a surge of bitter resentment.
She pressed her pale lips together, took the cup with both hands, and drained it in a single motion.
Li Wanrong covered her mouth and chuckled softly. "Oh, Sister. You had to drink it eventually, why make our husband force you? It seems you prefer to do things the hard way."
A dead silence fell over the hall.
It wasn't unusual for a man to dote on a concubine at the expense of his primary wife, but for a concubine to mock the lady of the house in front of everyone was a rare spectacle indeed.
The cool liquid went down her throat at the same time as the mocking words.
There was none of the burning sensation in her throat that she remembered.
It was as bland as water.
'Wait, this *is* water.'
Cui Lingyao froze for a second, then heard the man before her say, "Now that you've finished, you are dismissed."
"..." She fell silent for a moment, her lips tightening into a thin line. "Yes."
With that, she turned and departed under the watchful eyes of every guest in the hall.
With the departure of the lady of the Prince Mansion, the banquet hall quickly grew noisy again, though the atmosphere had been somewhat soured.
Before long, a square-jawed, middle-aged man, eager to curry favor with Xie Jinbai, rose to his feet. Raising his cup, he said, "This humble official would like to propose a toast to Your Highness and the new concubine. Congratulations on your marriage."
As soon as he spoke, several others clapped in approval.
The smile in Li Wanrong's eyes deepened. She felt that the day she would replace Cui Lingyao and take the title of Princess Consort was within reach.
Standing amidst the noisy hall, Xie Jinbai's expression remained impassive. He lifted his arm, sidestepping Li Wanrong's attempt to take it, and said in a measured tone, "Today is a joyous occasion. Since the Lord Assistant Minister has shown such kindness, you should go and offer him a toast."
This was his way of declining the toast.
The Lord Assistant Minister held his cup, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Well..."
Li Wanrong was taken aback for a moment, but she quickly recovered with a radiant smile. Raising her cup, she said, "My thanks, Lord Assistant Minister."
Her bearing was dignified and graceful.
She drained the cup.
Only then did the guests recall that this concubine was also the daughter of a Marquis Mansion. She addressed the current Empress as "aunt" and was Prince Yu's first cousin on his mother's side.
For someone of her status, being a mere concubine was indeed a slight.
It was rumored that the Empress had originally intended for her niece to be her son's principal wife, but the young lady from the Changping Marquis Family had snatched the position from under her nose.
This...
With the concubine so clearly in favor, Princess Consort Yu's life was about to get much harder.
......
The moment they stepped out of the banquet hall, a frantic Xia Zhi began ordering someone to fetch the household doctor, but Cui Lingyao stopped her. "It was just a cup of water."
It must have been one of Xie Jinbai's men, who had switched it out beforehand.
The anxiety on Xia Zhi's face eased, but she couldn't help saying, "Even if it was just water, the Prince was still too cruel. How could he treat you like that? In the past, he..."
"That's how men are," Cui Lingyao said flatly, cutting off her trip down memory lane. "When a new love arrives, the old one must make way. At least he wasn't cruel enough to actually make me drink the wine."
Having witnessed her mistress's public humiliation, Xia Zhi's heart ached for her. She covered her mouth, her own eyes welling with tears. "If you want to cry, my lady, please just cry."
To think the once-loving couple had ended up like this in the blink of an eye.
Even the other servants had found it painful to watch; her lady's heart must have been shredded.
And yet, through it all, she hadn't shed a single tear.
Bottling it up like this would only make her sick.
Cui Lingyao did want to cry. The system had been silent. 'It wouldn't really go back on its word and abandon me in this world, would it?'
Back in Jianxia Courtyard, just as mistress and maid were on the verge of holding each other and weeping, a BZZT of static crackled in Cui Lingyao's mind. A moment later, an electronic voice rang out in her head.
[Hello there, Host.]
The familiar voice made Cui Lingyao go rigid. She hurriedly replied in her mind, 'You're finally awake! When are you sending me home?'
[Don't be hasty. Let me just see what's happened while I was asleep for a year... Huh...]
The cheerful electronic voice suddenly pitched higher. "[Xie Jinbai is taking a concubine today?]"
"That's right."
Cui Lingyao pursed her lips. 'Has his Love Value dropped?'
[After mission completion, the target's Love Value becomes unviewable.]
[This shouldn't be happening...]
[This shouldn't be happening...]
[I've never heard of a maxed-out Love Value dropping before. Could there be some hidden reason?]
The system was a chatterbox, and its prattling gave Cui Lingyao a headache. She raised a hand to rub her temples as she dismissed Xia Zhi from the room. 'Forget it. Never mind him,' she thought. 'I just want to know if I can still go home tomorrow.'
That was the only thing she cared about.
The system didn't beat around the bush. "[Of course you can. My core directive is to uphold our contract. I won't short you on the Hundred Diseases Pill you're owed, either.]"
Hearing this, Cui Lingyao finally felt at ease. 'When, exactly?' she asked again.
[You woke me up ahead of schedule, so I'm still a little short on the energy needed to send you back.]
The system did a quick calculation. "[Tomorrow afternoon. Pick a way to die. I need to go back into hibernation to recharge.]"
With that, there was a CLICK.
The voice in her head cut off again.
But Cui Lingyao's earlier anxiety was gone. She hugged a pillow, laughing and crying at the same time, so overcome with joy she felt like she could jump to the ceiling.
'I can leave tomorrow! And my brother will be saved!'