The next morning, Ruan Mei slowly opened her eyes. The entire room was filled with Herta puppets.
Some were cleaning. Some were preparing breakfast. Others were laying out new robes for inspection.
Two tiny sprite-like Herta puppets flew over and handed Ruan Mei her phone.
Ruan Mei's expression remained unchanged, but a hint of doubt flickered in her eyes. What is that woman plotting now?
Getting me accustomed to future life? Only she would think of this.
"Why are you all here?"
Herta #3156, rewarded for helping Herta escape the previous day, had been promoted from the Simulated Universe to Ruan Mei's lab to oversee the puppets.
She understood: she couldn't just resent Herta Ninety-Nine. She had to become the next Herta Ninety-Nine.
She bowed to Ruan Mei.
"Madam Ruan Mei. I am Herta #3156. In Herta City, I attended to Madam Herta for several Amber Eras."
"Now, by Madam Herta's orders, I am to assist in caring for your daily needs."
Ruan Mei rose. Puppets helped her change robes. Sprite-puppets arranged her hair.
Others brought toiletries. Washing. Brushing teeth.
Everything done for her. She only had to stand there.
This is Herta's daily life? Spoiled rotten. No wonder she blows up kitchens.
"You may leave. I need no assistance."
Herta #3156 froze. Error messages flickered through her mechanical mind.
Madam Herta's orders were clear: stay and care for Ruan Mei. It cannot be violated.
Then she remembered Herta Ninety-Nine. To surpass her, I must learn from her.
"Madam Ruan Mei. We mean no harm. Please let us stay."
Ruan Mei cast her a cold glance. Is Herta's goal to have these puppets monitor me?
Or to gradually turn this place into another Herta City?
"You cannot defy Herta's will. So you defy mine?"
With a single thought, frost enveloped the room. Every puppet froze.
Herta #3156 admitted defeat. Ruan Mei, whose personality is as famously terrible as Herta's, is not someone puppets can influence.
When Ruan Mei's cool, moonlike gaze fell upon her,
She stood frozen, unable to meet her eyes. So cold. So terrifying.
What would Herta Ninety-Nine do? How would she explain?
Helplessness washed over her. Can I really do nothing?!
"Benefactor Ruan Mei. Madam Herta is here. She brought breakfast and tea."
Tingyun's voice rang out.
Ruan Mei withdrew the frost, leaving only an icy silhouette and a voice devoid of emotion.
"Leave. Now. Or I have a thousand ways to make you regret it—far worse than Herta's formatting."
After she left, the puppets finally unfroze.
A sprite puppet wept.
"Wuwu!! Madam Herta's orders. Madam Ruan Mei's warnings. Both are beyond us!!"
"I want to go back to Herta City!!"
"Geniuses are terrifying."
"Herta Ninety-Nine, save us!!"
Every puppet felt their fate was cursed. A world where only puppets suffered when geniuses clashed.
It's all this world's fault.
Herta #3156 stood there, lost.
---
Moon Star Pavilion.
Herta sat across from Ruan Mei, offering breakfast bought from the Xianzhou.
"You went to the Luofu again?"
Herta waved a hand casually.
"Not the Luofu. These are Yueque's osmanthus cakes."
"I visited the Fu family personally. Investigated their views on Fu Xuan and Qingque's wedding. Picked up some breakfast along the way."
Ruan Mei blinked. Herta can freely traverse the cosmos with her [Mirrors]. And she uses this power for breakfast and gossip?
Then again, she used those same mirrors to flee on the Luofu. To avoid my confession. So... this tracks.
"The Fu family. What do they think of the wedding?"
Herta smiled faintly.
"Asking me? Where's the proper attitude? The procedure?"
Ruan Mei sighed helplessly. With cool detachment, she praised.
"All-knowing, unmatched Madam Herta. Please enlighten me. What did you learn?"
Herta crossed her arms, pleased.
"Sigh. The people of Yueque are still so traditional."
"Apparently, when the Fu family first heard about Fu Xuan's wedding..."
"Fireworks. Lanterns. Celebrations throughout Yueque. They said the old, rigid Grand Diviner finally had a future."
"Then they found out Qingque is also a woman. The whole family froze. Humiliated. They haven't left their ancestral manor since."
Ruan Mei sighed.
"Sigh. Stellar Calendar 8100, and some Xianzhou natives are still so conservative."
Herta agreed.
"Indeed. But it's mostly the old noble families. Ordinary Xianzhou people don't care anymore."
Ruan Mei nodded silently. She set down her pastry.
"So in six days, at Fu Xuan and Qingque's wedding... not a single Fu family member will attend?"
"Probably not. That's how it seems."
---------------------------------------------
Power Stone Progress: 232/275 ( 5 Chapters)
Power Ranking: 42/12 (15 Chapters)