"I don't accept this!"
"Why is it okay for Dad to go carousing at brothels, but I can't?"
With a stiff neck, Ye Qiong knelt in Ci'ning Palace. Every inch of her, down to the last strand of hair, screamed her defiance.
"You brat! You think you're in the right?!" With anger rushing to her head, the Empress Dowager slammed her hand onto the armrest.
"I... I am in the right..." With a face full of grievance, Ye Qiong felt she had done nothing wrong.
"What kind of place is a brothel? Is that somewhere a Princess should be going? If word gets out, what will happen to the dignity of the Royal Family!"
"So many officials in court go there, so why can't I? Dad is a Prince, and he goes all the time. Besides, it's not like I didn't pay."
With her chest heaving in anger, the Empress Dowager watched as the girl refused to admit her mistake and even had the nerve to act like the victim.
She pointed toward the door and barked an order at Eunuch Fu. "Fu Hai! Go! Find that worthless son of mine, Prince Duan, and bring him here! I can't handle this girl, so let him see for himself what a 'fine' daughter he's raised!"
Eunuch Fu quickly bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty. I'll go right away!"
After Eunuch Fu left, the Empress Dowager turned her attention back to Ye Qiong. With a worried and confused look, she stared at the girl.
Ever since the child had been kicked in the head by a donkey half a month ago, she had been unconscious for three days. When she finally woke up, the royal physicians diagnosed her with memory loss, and her personality had changed completely. In the past, she did nothing but chase after Lord Gu, and the worst people said was that she was a bit dim. Now, her behavior was exactly like her unreliable father's.
In just two weeks, this brat had completely trashed her reputation.
The more the Empress Dowager thought about it, the angrier and more worried she became. She shouted toward the door, "Someone, fetch Physician Zhang! Tell him to check the Princess's head again! I want to know exactly what is wrong with her brain!"
A short while later, Physician Zhang arrived in a hurry with his medical chest.
Despite her reluctance, Ye Qiong didn't dare act out in front of the Empress Dowager. With an annoyed expression, she reached out her hand.
Physician Zhang stepped forward to check her pulse. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, then peeled back her eyelids to check her eyes. The entire routine was practiced and smooth.
"To answer the Empress Dowager, the examination is complete. The Princess's pulse is steady, and her health is fine."
The Empress Dowager frowned. "If she's fine, then why is she acting like such a hooligan?"
"Please calm yourself, Your Majesty," Physician Zhang quickly explained. "The Princess suffered a severe head injury. Memory loss is common, and regaining those memories takes time. We cannot rush it."
"That's not what I'm asking," the Empress Dowager interrupted. "I'm asking why she used to be just a bit slow, but now that she's lost her memory, she's become so reckless?"
Physician Zhang choked on his words. He wanted to say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree, but he couldn't exactly say that out loud.
After a moment of silence, he chose his words carefully. "Your Majesty, the Princess has no memories, so she is like a blank sheet of paper."
"Since she woke up, the person she's spent the most time with is the household of Prince Duan's Manor. Currently, the only masters in the manor are Prince Duan and the Princess. Everything she sees and hears comes from Prince Duan's behavior."
"It's a matter of influence. She is simply copying what she sees. I'm afraid these changes are a result of Prince Duan's impact on her."
The hall fell silent.
The Empress Dowager was stunned for a moment before her expression darkened even further.
With teeth clenched, she slammed her hand on the table. "Fine. A fine example he's setting! Just wait until that boy gets here. I'll show him how I handle this."
Just as she spoke, Eunuch Fu returned with two young eunuchs. They were half-carrying and half-dragging Prince Duan, whose clothes were a mess and whose hair was disheveled. He reeked of alcohol.
Seeing Prince Duan drunk and unconscious, and remembering what Physician Zhang had just said, the Empress Dowager's suppressed rage exploded. Without even looking at the father and daughter kneeling on the floor, she shouted, "Guards!"
The guards outside immediately entered and bowed, waiting for orders.
"Throw Prince Duan into the Imperial Clan Court!"
"Without my express command, he is not to take a single step out of there!"
The guards didn't hesitate. They stepped forward and hoisted up the moaning Prince Duan.
The Empress Dowager then turned her gaze to Ye Qiong, who was still kneeling on the floor, looking like she had no idea what she had done wrong. The sight only made the Empress Dowager angrier.
"And you!"
"Starting today, I am sending Nanny Chen to Prince Duan's Manor. She will personally teach you the rules. You won't be allowed out until you've fixed every single one of those bad habits!"
She added a final threat. "If I hear that you're acting like your worthless father again—running wild and ruining your name—I'll send you straight to the Imperial Clan Court to keep him company!"
With a sharp wave of her sleeve, the Empress Dowager shouted, "Take them away!"
Ye Qiong, now the "proud" owner of a strict nanny, was stunned.
Wait, what?
Where was the justice in this!
Who was running wild?
Who was ruining their reputation?
She wanted to protest, but before she could even get the word "Grandmother" out, the maids grabbed her and marched her out of the hall.
After being shoved into a carriage and escorted back to Prince Duan's Manor under heavy supervision, Ye Qiong didn't even have time to mourn her lost freedom before she received more bad news.
[Congratulations, Host! You have 15 days of life remaining!]
[In 15 days, the Host will die by falling into a latrine and drowning! How exciting!]
The System's cheerful voice sounded a bit too much like it was enjoying her misery.
Ye Qiong sighed. "Isn't there a more dignified way to die?"
System: [No, Host. This is actually the most dignified option available.]
Ye Qiong was stressed. Other people traveled to different worlds and became incredibly powerful, but she had become a short-lived ghost.
To make matters worse, she was bound to a system that was so low on energy that it had forgotten what kind of system it was. Even the tasks it gave her were fragmented and incomplete. Usually, it was just a single keyword—a place, a name, or an item.
If she wanted to complete tasks and stay alive, she had to guess.
Fortunately, she was smart. After half a month of wild experimentation and the few extra days of life she had managed to scrape together, she had a hunch.
She was probably bound to some kind of Villain System.
[Host, the task has been refreshed.]
The voice of that damn system rang out again.
Ye Qiong looked at the light screen. The name "Liu Sisi" was flashing in large letters.
"That sounds familiar. It sounds like a girl's name."
Does it want me to take her out?
[Host, I think the Head Courtesan at the brothel is named Liu Sisi.]
"I have to go to Spring Breeze Pavilion!"
Ye Qiong opened her bedroom door and looked at the maids and older servants guarding the entrance.
With a look of sheer malice, Nanny Chen stared at her while holding a wooden ruler.
"Has the Princess finished copying the Lessons for Women?"
Ye Qiong silently pulled her foot back and closed the door.
"See? It's not that I don't want to do the task. The Nanny won't let me out."
[Why don't you just take her out, Host?]
"Are you crazy? She's been with the Empress Dowager since they were young."
As soon as Ye Qiong finished speaking, her hand felt heavy.
She looked down.
A sniper rifle had appeared in her hands.
[Don't be scared, Host. We have a sniper rifle.]
Ye Qiong stared at the rifle. With teeth clenched, she hissed out every word.
"Did—you—go—rummaging—through—my—storage—space—again?"
System: [!!!]
Oh no, it had been caught. It was over!
Ye Qiong watched as the system hurriedly shoved the rifle back into whatever corner of the storage space it had found it in.
Relying on this piece of junk for advice was useless; she was better off relying on herself.
The girl and her system went from planning together to arguing and metaphorically tearing each other's hair out. In the end, they didn't even make it out the front door. They spent two days stuck in Prince Duan's Manor, following Nanny Chen's strict rules.
As her remaining days of life ticked away, Ye Qiong couldn't sit still any longer.
On a dark and windy night, Ye Qiong climbed over the wall and made her escape.