The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat

Chapter 389: Chapter 391: Do Whatever You Want

Xianfei frowned. "He was perfectly fine. Why did he suddenly fall ill?"

The eunuch quickly explained.

"The Seventh Prince was premature, so his constitution is naturally weaker than that of an ordinary infant.

On top of that, he was exposed to the wind during the transfer tonight and caught a chill.

Now the Seventh Prince is running a fever and won’t stop crying. Should we perhaps summon an Imperial Physician to examine him?"

Xianfei didn’t answer directly. Instead, she looked at Hua Manman.

"I recall that Hua Zhaorong is your older sister."

Hua Manman replied, "What of it?"

The System shrieked in her mind.

’Quick, think of a way to save them!’

The nanny at her side frowned and chided her disapprovingly.

"How dare you speak to Lady Xianfei in such a manner?!"

Xianfei waved a hand. "It’s alright."

Hua Manman said disdainfully,

"Since you know Hua Zhaorong is my sister, you must also know we weren’t born from the same mother.

Our relationship has never been good, even when we were children.

If you think you can threaten me with Hua Zhaorong and the Seventh Prince, you’re sorely mistaken.

I can barely save my own skin right now. How could I possibly care about anyone else’s life or death?

Do whatever you want with them."

The System was beside itself with anxiety and yelled,

’What are you saying? Don’t forget your mission! You can’t just ignore whether Hua Qingqing and the Seventh Prince live or die!’

It was truly terrified of its host, fearing she would pull some stunt at a critical moment.

Xianfei, of course, knew that the sisters Hua Qingqing and Hua Manman did not get along.

’After all, they didn’t come from the same womb. It’s perfectly normal for there to be a rift between them.’

But Xianfei still wanted to test the waters.

"Since you put it that way, then I will simply stand by and let them die."

Hua Manman let out a snide laugh.

"Fine by me. So what if the Seventh Prince dies?

You’ve already killed the Fifth Prince. What’s one more dead Seventh Prince to you?

From this perspective, Prince Dongyang is quite the ’good brother,’ isn’t he?

A thousand years from now, people will surely sing his praises, lauding him as the paragon of brotherhood. His name will truly go down in history!"

Xianfei’s expression flickered.

"Deliberately provoking me will do you no good."

Hua Manman feigned innocence. "Did I provoke you? I thought I was praising your fine son."

Xianfei had no more patience for her snide remarks. She said coldly,

"Since you’ve said as much, how could I possibly fail to honor your wishes?

I’ll let you see with your own eyes how the Seventh Prince wastes away and dies from his illness.

Guards! Take Princess Consort Zhao to Chaoyang Palace!"

The System was stunned.

’I-It can work like this?!’

Immediately, a pair of Yulin Guards came in and forcibly escorted Princess Consort Zhao away.

The nanny at her side couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Your Ladyship, did you truly believe what Princess Consort Zhao said?"

Xianfei said calmly, "Of course not."

’Even if Hua Manman and Hua Qingqing weren’t born of the same mother, it doesn’t necessarily mean their relationship is poor.’

From what Xianfei knew, Hua Qingqing had gone into premature labor precisely because she’d heard Hua Manman was kidnapped. The frantic anxiety had stressed her pregnancy, forcing her to give birth to the Seventh Prince ahead of term.

Given how much Hua Qingqing cared for Hua Manman, their relationship couldn’t possibly be bad.

’Hua Manman’s act of indifference just now was clearly meant to muddy the waters.’

’Xianfei would not let her get her way.’

The nanny was perplexed. "If you knew, why did you send Princess Consort Zhao to Chaoyang Palace? Aren’t you just reuniting the two sisters?"

Xianfei stated with calm composure,

"I want them to reunite precisely to stoke that sisterly affection.

Once the Seventh Prince is on the verge of death, I will make my appearance.

At that point, they will agree to anything I demand."

The nanny’s face lit with understanding. She praised her sincerely, "Your Ladyship is truly thorough in your considerations."

...

Chaoyang Palace was originally the residence of the late Emperor’s first wife, the Empress. After she passed away, the late Emperor ordered the palace to be sealed.

The palace remained sealed even after the current Emperor ascended the throne.

With no one having set foot inside for many years, the place had long since fallen into utter disrepair. It wasn’t the Cold Palace, but it was in even worse condition.

The great doors creaked open, and Hua Manman was shoved inside.

She stumbled forward a few steps.

The doors slammed shut behind her.

She glanced back at the tightly shut doors.

Adhering to the principle that a performance must be convincing, Hua Manman threw herself at the doors and began to pound on them.

"Open the door! Let me out! I don’t want to be in here!"

As expected, there was no response.

Hua Manman kept shouting for a while before she finally stopped.

She rubbed her palms, which were a little red from the pounding. ’That should be enough,’ she thought.

The System couldn’t help but praise her. ’You’re pretty clever.’

’To even think of using reverse psychology... and her acting just now was so convincing, it almost fooled me!’

Hua Manman replied modestly,

"It was nothing special. I’m just a little bit smarter than you, that’s all."

System: "..."

’I suspect you’re insulting me.’

All the notable concubines, princes, and princesses in the harem were now locked inside Chaoyang Palace.

Hua Manman had just reached the entrance of the main hall when she heard the faint sound of women crying from within.

She stepped inside and saw several concubines weeping.

When the concubines saw someone enter, they all looked up with tear-filled eyes.

They of course recognized Princess Consort Zhao and asked through their tears,

"Your Highness, how did you get locked in here too?"

Hua Manman spread her hands. "Bad luck. I was abducted from my home."

The concubines began to cry even harder.

"Even Princess Consort Zhao was captured! There’s no hope for us now!"

Hua Manman glanced around but didn’t see Hua Qingqing.

She asked, "Excuse me, where are Hua Zhaorong and the Seventh Prince?"

One of the concubines pointed to the left, sobbing, "Over there."

"Thank you."

Hua Manman strode toward the attendant hall on the left.

Along the way, she saw many concubines, with a few princes and princesses scattered among them.

Some sighed in despair, others hung their heads and wiped away tears, while a few were trying to figure out a way to save themselves.

Hua Manman passed through them and finally found Hua Qingqing and the Seventh Prince in a bedroom in the Left Attendant Hall.

Hua Qingqing was sitting on the edge of the bed, clutching the Seventh Prince tightly in her arms.

Uncomfortable from his illness, the Seventh Prince was crying incessantly. His little face was flushed, and his voice was hoarse from all the wailing.

Hua Qingqing was startled by Hua Manman’s sudden appearance.

"Why are you here? Don’t tell me you were captured too?"

Hua Manman pursed her lips. "Isn’t it obvious?"

Hua Qingqing grew even more anxious.

’Now, not only are the Seventh Prince and I trapped, but my younger sister has been dragged into this as well.’

’What are we going to do?’

Seeing the Seventh Prince crying so hard he could barely breathe, Hua Manman feigned impatience and asked,

"Why does this little one keep crying? Isn’t it noisy?"

At the mention of this, Hua Qingqing’s heart ached.

"Qiong’er is sick. There are no Imperial Physicians here, so he can only endure it. But he’s just a baby... how can he possibly get through this?"