Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 68

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Xie Nuange absently ran her fingers over the beads around her wrist.

“Could it work something like Corruption Points?”

She thought back to how she had suddenly gained one point after remarking that she felt like a consort entering the imperial palace in ancient times.

Ye Wan could not make sense of it either, but she had always been quick to set aside things she could not figure out.

“The Emperor started selecting plaques two nights ago.”

She changed the subject. “Consort Qi said that for their first three days in the palace, the newly admitted Noble Ladies will be selected in turn. Your turn should be coming soon.”

“Once all of you have attended him in bed, your green-topped plaques will be presented to the Emperor together with those of every other consort in the palace, and he’ll choose from among them.”

Xie Nuange picked up the teapot to pour herself some tea. Her hand jerked at those words, nearly spilling it.

“Has he selected your plaque? What did you do?”

She looked at Ye Wan, curious about how Ye Wan intended to handle it.

Ye Wan was silent for a moment before answering, “When I entered the palace, I pledged my loyalty to Consort Qi.”

Xie Nuange looked up.

Ye Wan met her gaze, her tone tinged with schadenfreude.

“I told her that since I’d been assigned to Zhongcui Palace, I belonged to her and would never compete with her for the Emperor.”

“So on the day the Emperor selected me, Consort Qi intercepted the summons. She thinks quite highly of me now.”

Xie Nuange said nothing.

The Palace of Eternal Spring had no principal mistress. Its main hall was empty, as was its western side hall. She was the only Noble Lady in the entire palace.

Having no principal mistress meant no one would control her, sparing her the danger of dealing with another NPC.

But it also meant no one would protect her or bring her to the birthday banquet.

“There are advantages to having no principal mistress too.”

As though she had read Xie Nuange’s mind, Ye Wan said, “You don’t have to pay respects to her every morning. You only need to show your face at the Empress’s palace, and the rest of the day is your own.”

“But then no one can bring me into the birthday banquet.”

Xie Nuange sounded aggrieved. “What am I supposed to do if the Emperor selects my plaque tonight?”

“Cling to the Emperor’s coattails, of course. Get him to personally appoint you to attend the banquet. Wouldn’t that be faster?”

“But I’m not even twenty yet.”

Ye Wan was drinking tea. She choked at the words and coughed several times before recovering, then stared at Xie Nuange in astonishment.

Xie Nuange twisted her handkerchief, her face full of bashfulness.

“If my brother found out that before I even turned twenty, I shared a bed with an NPC inside a scenario…”

“He’d explode.”

Ye Wan stared at her for two seconds, then burst into laughter. It took her quite a while to stop.

“Xie Nuange, we’re inside a Rules Horror scenario.”

She looked Xie Nuange straight in the eye. “We don’t even know if we’ll make it out alive.”

“And instead of worrying about the danger of not getting to see the Emperor, you’re worried about whether your brother will get angry?”

Xie Nuange sighed. “You don’t understand. My brother is scarier when he’s angry than the scenario boss.”

“If your plaque really is selected tonight, assess the situation first.”

Ye Wan straightened her expression and offered some advice. “If the Emperor is… acceptable, then just treat it as dating someone.”

“Staying alive and clearing the scenario are what matter most.”

She patted Xie Nuange. “Don’t do anything foolish.”

Xie Nuange calculated silently. The Emperor she had seen in Jiang Fan’s previous scenario had looked quite young.

He should have no trouble living another ten-odd years, right?

If she summoned Jiang Fan every time and let him chat with the Emperor, would the Emperor agree to take her to the birthday banquet?

Would that not keep her safe?

Jiang Fan had said he could only help her once, but meeting the Emperor…

How could that count as him helping her?

She would clearly be helping Jiang Fan.

With that thought, Xie Nuange temporarily set her worries aside.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Su Ye and Zhang San returned carrying food boxes.

Two meals had been prepared for the Noble Ladies. Xie Nuange looked at the dishes on the table, then at Su Ye and Zhang San.

“Where’s your food?”

“We brought ours too.”

Su Ye sighed and opened the food box for them to see.

Ye Wan glanced inside.

There were two coarse-grain buns, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a dish of preserved cucumber. Not even a glimmer of oil was visible.

“Eat with us.”

Xie Nuange waved Su Ye and Zhang San over. “We can discuss what to do next while we’re at it.”

“There should be a custom in this palace of bestowing dishes on others.”

Seeing their hesitation, Ye Wan explained, “When a high-ranking consort rewards someone of lower rank with dishes from her own allowance, it’s considered a favor. It doesn’t violate any rules.”

Only then did Zhang San and Su Ye sit down to eat with Xie Nuange and Ye Wan.

Both Xie Nuange and Ye Wan held the rank of Noble Lady, so naturally they did not need to follow any rules governing meals.

They could eat however they pleased. Zhang San and Su Ye, on the other hand, remained stiff and restrained throughout.

After the meal, Ye Wan left with Zhang San.

At the doorway, she turned and gave Xie Nuange one last look.

“Xie Nuange, think carefully about what I said.”

After Ye Wan departed, the eastern side hall fell quiet once more.

Xie Nuange had Su Ye summon Xiao Yunzi and the palace maid responsible for sweeping and cleaning.

Xiao Yunzi stood just inside the doorway with his hands lowered. The cleaning maid followed behind him. She was very young, no more than fourteen or fifteen by the look of her.

“What’s your name?” Xie Nuange asked.

“Your Ladyship, this servant is called Chuntao.”

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Chuntao.”

Xie Nuange softened her voice. “There are only four of us in the Palace of Eternal Spring right now. I’m merely a Noble Lady who has just entered the palace, so there isn’t much I can offer you.”

“But look at it another way.”

She changed tack and began painting rosy promises for the two of them. “Precisely because there are only four of us here, you’ve both been with me from the very beginning. If I gain power one day, you’ll be my longest-serving attendants.”

“If I rise in rank, you’ll become my senior palace maid and chief eunuch. I won’t give those positions to outsiders—only to the people who have followed me from the start.”

“My rank simply isn’t high enough yet.”

Xie Nuange turned to Chuntao. “A Noble Lady is permitted only one senior palace maid. So for now, Chuntao, you’ll have to continue sweeping and cleaning. But I promise that once I rise in rank, you’ll be the first person I promote to first-rank palace maid.”

“The same goes for you, Xiao Yunzi. As long as you serve me loyally, the position of chief eunuch will certainly be yours.”

Xiao Yunzi and Chuntao dropped to their knees with a thud, pressing their foreheads to the flagstones.

They cried in unison, “This servant thanks Your Ladyship for your favor! This servant will devote every effort to serving Your Ladyship!”

Xie Nuange had Su Ye help them up. She took two pieces of silver from her sleeve and gave one each to Chuntao and Xiao Yunzi.

“A reward from Her Ladyship. Serve her well from now on.”

The two accepted the silver with profuse thanks.

Xie Nuange looked at her system panel. Nothing had changed.

There was no loyalty display, no numerical value, and no progress bar.

It was completely different from Su Ye.

Once the two attendants had left, Xie Nuange turned to Su Ye. “Su Ye, let’s visit the Noble Consort’s palace this afternoon.”

“Isn’t choosing the Noble Consort right away a little too risky?”

Su Ye looked at Xie Nuange worriedly. “We only just went to see the Empress this morning, and now you want to visit the Noble Consort.”

Xie Nuange glanced over at Su Ye. When she had extracted Su Ye’s information, she had not seen anything about her faction.

Did palace maids start out without a faction?

“Su Ye, which entrance did you come through?”

Su Ye did not understand why Xie Nuange had changed the subject so abruptly.

“Entrance B.”

Xie Nuange’s pupils contracted.

Entrance B, and no faction.

She had been wrong from the start. Faction… had nothing to do with entrance.