Sima Jiao had never heard such words before in his life. After leaving Liao Tingyan's carriage, he couldn't help but laugh.

But as he laughed, his face darkened, his brows furrowed, and his expression gradually turned gloomy.

Suddenly, he reached out and forcefully pressed his temples, his face revealing obvious pain and irritability.

The steward, who was originally preparing to step forward, immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw Sima Jiao like this.

He silently retreated, not daring to approach any closer. The other two eunuchs following Sima Jiao also lowered their heads and held their breath, trembling as they waited. Only when Sima Jiao lowered his hand and became expressionless did the steward steel himself to step forward, bending his waist almost to the ground, and cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell again?"

Sima Jiao didn't speak, but still frowned, a hint of blood visible in his eyes. His gaze slowly swept over the people around him, then he raised a hand and pointed at the two eunuchs behind the steward. Those two eunuchs instantly shook like falling leaves in a cold wind, but didn't dare make any other movements.

After a while, Sima Jiao lowered his hand and directly boarded the carriage. Only then did the two eunuchs breathe a sigh of relief, as if they had instantly lost all strength, and fell to their knees with a thud.

The steward glanced at the two and said in a low voice, "Consider yourselves lucky to have escaped with your lives. Hurry and get out of here."

The two scrambled away, both feeling the relief of having narrowly escaped death. Every time His Majesty was in a bad mood with a painful headache, he would want to kill someone.

If someone provoked him at this time, it would definitely result in death. If no one provoked him, whoever was in front of him at this moment would be the unlucky one. Today, the two of them were indeed fortunate. If it were any other time, if His Majesty had pointed at them and uttered the word "kill", their lives would have been forfeit.

That day, Liao Tingyan didn't see Chang You. When the convoy stopped to rest midway, she even specifically looked for him among the convoy but found no trace of Chang You.

It wasn't until the next day when she saw Chang You appear again that she breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought that this bold and reckless eunuch might have been punished by the steward after speaking to her.

However, something still seemed off. Liao Tingyan carefully observed him and found that Chang You's complexion was even paler than before, the corners of his eyes were slightly red, with visible blood streaks. The veins on his equally pale hands slightly protruded.

Perhaps he had indeed been punished. After all, as a eunuch serving others, daring to say those words, if someone found out, he would inevitably be punished.

When they were talking earlier, there might have been someone listening outside the carriage. The more Liao Tingyan thought about it, the more she felt the situation was severe, and she also felt some regret. She was still too used to being relaxed and didn't react in time to realize that she had already entered the most treacherous palace subplot.

"A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. You must remember this in the future," Liao Tingyan said to Chang You, while speculating about what punishment he had received. Beaten with a board? Spanked on the buttocks or back? Surely not something like being stabbing with needles, right?

Sima Jiao: "..." What is she talking about? Why can't I understand?

Liao Tingyan, "Forget it, you don't need to serve me today. Just sit there and rest."

Sima Jiao instantly understood her misunderstanding, his slightly furrowed brows relaxed a little, and he even smiled. "Does the lady see that this servant is unwell?"

This was truly a novel experience. Usually, when he appeared like this, the people around him would only show fearful expressions, all thinking he would kill someone at any moment - although that was indeed the case.

Liao Tingyan didn't answer and handed him a cushion. "Use this to sit on." Seeing his improper sitting posture, she thought he might have really been beaten on the buttocks.

Sima Jiao sat lazily, originally about to lose interest in continuing the act, but seeing Liao Tingyan's appearance, he suddenly felt that pretending for a few more days would be fine. He took the cushion and sat a bit more properly.

This cushion had been used by Liao Tingyan for several days and seemed to carry her scent, which was slightly fragrant.

During the journey, Liao Tingyan spent most of her time in the carriage. Except for Chang You, no one chatted with her.

As the days passed, Liao Tingyan became familiar with this young eunuch. She occasionally felt that Chang You was a bit strange, sometimes his tone and behavior would make her inexplicably feel a sense of dissonance, but in the end, she attributed it to another reason.

Because Chang You was, strictly speaking, a castrated man, Liao Tingyan had never interacted with this group before and secretly guessed that they might indeed be somewhat different from ordinary people.

Moreover, compared to Chang You, a nameless passerby not mentioned in the original novel, the closer they got to Luojing, the more Liao Tingyan worried about what to do after meeting Sima Jiao. She didn't have much energy to focus on Chang You.

In the original novel, during the period when the female lead met Sima Jiao, the female lead was still a typical early-stage female lead who would sympathize and shed tears upon seeing beggars, desperately try to stop killings, and feel aggrieved when others disliked her, stubbornly asking, "Why don't you like me? Did I do something wrong?"

If Sima Jiao liked this style, should she test her acting skills?

It was too distressing. She had no acting skills at all. She could only pray that Sima Jiao wasn't actually captivated by the female lead's kindness and only liked her appearance. She really hoped he was such a superficial man.

"We are about to reach Luojing, and the lady is frowning so deeply. Are you afraid of meeting His Majesty?" Sima Jiao asked with a smile, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

Liao Tingyan had become accustomed to Chang You frequently mentioning His Majesty during this period. Upon hearing this, she pulled the corners of her mouth and looked at the city walls gradually approaching outside the window. "I'm just thinking, I hope His Majesty can at least like my face."

Sima Jiao made an "oh" sound and said, "His Majesty will definitely like you. Do you believe me, my lady?"

Liao Tingyan thought: As long as he doesn't want to kill me, that's fine. If he really likes me a lot, that seems a bit miserable too.

Seeing her not responding, Sima Jiao tilted his head and said, "The lady doesn't believe me?"

Liao Tingyan: "Didn't you say you rarely see His Majesty? How can you be so sure? What gave you this confidence, is it my face?"

Sima Jiao: "Hahaha!"

As the capital of the country, Luojing was far superior to the rural area of Hexia. Just seeing the towering city gates, Liao Tingyan couldn't help but exclaim in amazement. In her own time, she had visited the ruins of several ancient capitals, but even the reconstructions based on various imaginations in later generations couldn't compare to what she saw with her own eyes at this moment.

The city walls were so thick and tall that they almost dwarfed the crowds below into ants. An endless stream of people entered and exited through the wide city gates, with three official roads running parallel into the city. The hustle and bustle of the city could be heard from afar.

Their group entered the city directly through the central gate. Just passing through the city gate seemed to take a long time for Liao Tingyan, which showed how thick the city walls were.

Once inside the city, the curtain could no longer be lifted at will, so Liao Tingyan could only sit inside the carriage and listen to the various lively sounds outside. They seemed to be passing through a bustling street. After a long, long time, the surroundings gradually became quiet again, and the sounds of the city's hustle and bustle gradually faded away. Liao Tingyan understood that they were about to enter the imperial city.

Nearly half of the entire capital Luojing belonged to the imperial palace. The layers of palaces surrounded mountains and lakes, and various beautifully landscaped gardens were built. It was the most luxurious and enjoyable place in the world, but also the most dangerous and terrifying, because the master of this vast palace was a true demon king.

Liao Tingyan was sent to an unknown palace, remaining as quiet as a dummy throughout the process, allowing the palace maids with humble and respectful attitudes to arrange her. At dusk, she obediently followed several unfamiliar eunuchs to another place—it was said that the emperor was holding a banquet tonight, and all the beauties in the harem had to attend, including her, a newly entered beauty who had no rank yet.

Rubbing her nearly flattened stomach from hunger, Liao Tingyan silently prayed, hoping that Sima Jiao wouldn't kill anyone on the spot tonight. Otherwise, she really wouldn't be able to eat anything. What if she got a stomach illness from hunger?

The night breeze had already begun to cool. Liao Tingyan was surrounded by a group of palace servants with their heads bowed, walking through the lantern-hung corridors and empty squares.

There were many people around her, but they were all silent.

Everyone was so quiet that she could barely hear their footsteps.

With so many people walking together, it created a terrifying atmosphere where it seemed like she was the only one still breathing. It showed how oppressive the atmosphere in the palace was on a daily basis.

Liao Tingyan now worried about another thing. Could it be that this palace was haunted? To be honest, the atmosphere was really scary right now, and goosebumps had already appeared on her body.

Also, wasn't it said that all the beauties in the harem had to attend this banquet? Why hadn't she seen any other beauties along the way? Various thoughts kept popping up in her mind as she saw the brightly lit hall right in front of her eyes.

Liao Tingyan took a deep breath and slowly walked into the hall. The threshold was too high, and the dress prepared for her was too cumbersome with a long train. For a moment, she almost fell, but fortunately, she was supported by the female attendant beside her.

Looking down, she saw that the ground was covered with expensive brocade mats. Glancing left and right, she found that various beauties had already filled both sides, with all shapes and sizes present.

It didn't make sense. With so many people in the hall, why wasn't there any sound at all? If it weren't for noticing a few beauties also looking at her, Liao Tingyan would have suspected that these beauties were wax figures.

The atmosphere in the hall was very solemn and strange, without the sound of orioles or swallows, only endless silence. Liao Tingyan didn't dare to look up as she walked into the hall step by step, standing steadily in the center of the great hall and bowing.

"This Concubine Liao, a lady from Hexia, pays respects to Your Majesty."

Someone at the top seat laughed softly. The great hall was spacious and too quiet, so although the laughter was soft, it seemed to echo in the hall, making it clearly audible to everyone.

"Rise."

Liao Tingyan's heart was pounding, thinking that this voice sounded familiar... She controlled her facial expression and slowly raised her head, quickly glancing at Emperor Sima Jiao on the high platform at the top.

Then she couldn't help but let out a desperate scream in her heart, followed by a triple combo of curses.

Damn it, why was the demon king Chang You! How could Chang You be Sima Jiao! Could a change of clothes make such a big difference in temperament?

Sima Jiao, with his sick mind, actually had the interest to disguise himself as a eunuch to tease her? Did he have a lot of fun serving her in the carriage every day?! She had still underestimated his mental condition!

Liao Tingyan looked at the handsome face of the demon king, who was smiling slightly. She calmed down a little, and a strange thought suddenly popped into her mind—it must have been hard for this murderous psychopath these past few days.

How did he endure for so long without going crazy? He actually pretended to be a normal person in front of her!

Then, at this moment when she discovered that the passerby servant beside her had suddenly turned into the neurotic male lead, what expression should she put on? Liao Tingyan asked this painful question in her heart.

No one could answer her. Sima Jiao sat above, looking at her expectantly, not knowing what he was expecting.

Liao Tingyan didn't react for a long time. The expectant expression on Sima Jiao's face slowly faded. He put down the wine cup in his hand with a click, his face expressionless. Liao Tingyan seemed to hear a few beauties let out fearful gasps.

No way, he was going to go crazy already? She hadn't done anything!

Sima Jiao tapped the table irritably. "Don't you want to say something to me?"

Liao Tingyan pinched her fingers in her sleeves: So what exactly do you want me to say to you?

She thought for a moment, trying her best to get into the character of the original female lead's bitter persona. In the end, she hardened her scalp and said in a trembling voice with as much grievance as possible, "Your Majesty, you have deceived this concubine so bitterly."

Sima Jiao immediately burst into laughter, slapping the table.

The demon king laughed enough and didn't comment on her poor acting. He just stretched out a hand to Liao Tingyan, "Noble Consort, come to my side."

Author's Note:

Liao Tingyan: ...????