Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 81

—————————————-

Xie Nuange looked at the prince and princess. They stared straight back at her.

All they wanted was to go to the pavilion.

After thinking for a moment, she took two glass marbles from her sleeve.

They came from the large jar of Healing-type ghost items she had obtained from Cheng Luo.

Holding up the two marbles, she said, “Let’s play marbles.”

She displayed them on her palm before the children. “It’s more fun than going to the pavilion.”

“Besides, it will soon be time for dinner. Consort De will become very worried if she cannot find you.”

The young prince hesitated, then picked up a marble. “How do you play?”

Xie Nuange crouched and drew a line along a crack between the flagstones, then taught them how to flick the marbles.

As they played, faint strains of singing drifted over.

Xie Nuange looked up. Su Ye left briefly and soon returned.

“It’s one of the Attendants who entered the palace a few days ago. She must be desperate. She’s singing and dancing over in the imperial garden.”

Su Ye paused. “The Emperor and Consort Jing were feeding the fish and happened to hear her. I took a look from a distance just now. The Emperor left with the new Attendant.”

The rules said Consort Jing could sing and that no one should sing in her presence, because she would consider it a provocation.

But those rules only appeared after attending the Emperor. A newcomer who had not done so would not know them.

Xie Nuange did not know whether someone unaware of a rule could still violate it.

“How did Consort Jing react?”

She watched Consort De’s two children crouching on the ground, taking turns flicking marbles.

“Consort Jing fed the fish for a while, then left.”

When it was time to go, Xie Nuange took the marbles back.

Seeing the children’s reluctance, she smiled. “I’ll keep these two for now so they don’t get lost.”

“When I return today, I’ll have the Imperial Household Department make some more. Once they’re ready, the three of us can play together. How does that sound?”

The prince and princess were reluctant, but they nodded.

“All right. We’ll find Noble Lady Xie to play again next time.”

Hand in hand, the two children walked away.

Su Ye watched them go. “I thought you would give them the marbles.”

Xie Nuange shook her head. “Of course not. If I gave them away, why would they keep thinking about coming back to find me?”

“You want them to come find you?”

Su Ye did not understand. “Aren’t you afraid you might anger them, or that they’ll insist on dragging you somewhere that violates a rule?”

“No.”

Xie Nuange put the glass marbles away. “The more they miss me, the more opportunities I’ll have.”

News arrived as dinner was placed on the table.

The Emperor had kept the Attendant from earlier with him for the night without selecting her plaque.

After they finished eating, Xie Nuange looked into the darkness outside and spoke with Su Ye.

“Something about this is strange.”

Su Ye looked up. Xie Nuange swallowed the word “scenario.” “There are no ghosts, no anomalies suddenly appearing. It’s too safe.”

“The greatest dangers are having to see the Emperor within thirty days and having to attend the birthday banquet.”

Su Ye frowned. “I still think it’s difficult. If you consorts don’t compete for favor or seek help from your principal mistresses, you still can’t complete the objectives.”

Xie Nuange touched the bracelet around her wrist.

But compared to previous scenarios, where the slightest mistake could cost them their lives, merely competing for favor, obeying the rules, and clinging to powerful patrons was far too… easy.

She opened her system panel. Her Assimilation Level had jumped from ten to fifteen.

She had not even noticed when those five points appeared.

“What’s your Assimilation Level?” she asked Su Ye.

Su Ye checked. “Ten points.”

“Keep it there. Don’t let it rise too high.”

Xie Nuange pressed her lips together as she stared at the points that had accumulated without her noticing. “Just gather information. Don’t do anything else.”

“What exactly does Assimilation Level do?”

Su Ye frowned. Many times, she had gained a point without knowing why.

“Maybe it’s like Faith Points.”

Xie Nuange did not voice her suspicion. She merely warned Su Ye.

In a side hall of Yanxi Palace, Liu Feng sat before a bronze mirror while the palace maid behind her combed her hair.

An ebony comb slid from crown to tips, producing a faint rustle as it passed through the ends.

“Your Ladyship, His Majesty selected Attendant Zhang’s plaque tonight.”

Liu Feng looked at her reflection and softly acknowledged the news.

The comb traveled downward again. The palace maid’s fingers threaded through Liu Feng’s hair, her fingertips pressing gently against the scalp in a soothing massage.

“This servant has served in the palace for many years, but she has never seen His Majesty select the same mistress’s plaque for three consecutive days.”

The maid carefully studied Liu Feng’s expression. “Your Ladyship need not worry. His Majesty truly likes you.”

Liu Feng’s cheeks flushed. She shot the maid behind her a coquettish look.

She remembered the enormous red-sandalwood canopy bed in the Palace of Heavenly Purity.

She remembered the passion of those nights on that bed, the Emperor’s handsome face, and the pleasures they had shared.

Liu Feng studied her reflection for a moment, then sighed softly. “Yet I’m still only a Noble Lady.”

The palace maid’s hand paused against her scalp for an instant before continuing the massage.

“There is no need to rush, Your Ladyship. Consort De rose to the rank of Consort because she became pregnant.”

“In this palace, favor is the water and rank is the boat. When the water rises, the boat naturally rises with it.”

Liu Feng did not answer, but at some point, her hand had come to rest over her lower abdomen.

She silently counted the days, then the number of times the Emperor had selected her plaque.

Since the rules said children were both a fast route to clearing the scenario and natural allies…

It was not enough yet. His favor was not secure.

She would wait until it stabilized.

As for her Assimilation Level, Liu Feng checked it. It had already exceeded sixty.

What exactly did that mean?

Unfortunately, she had no companion with whom to discuss it.

As for Ye Wan, Zhao Ning, Xie Nuange, and the others, they were all imperial consorts who would compete with her for favor.

She trusted none of them.

At the next morning greeting in the Palace of Phoenix Grace, the Empress sat on her phoenix throne with her fingers resting lightly on the armrest and swept her gaze across the consorts below.

It paused on Attendant Zhang, who had sung in the garden, then moved to Consort Jing. The corners of the Empress’s lips curved into an ambiguous smile.

“Consort Qi and Noble Lady Ye appear to be growing closer by the day.”

Consort Jing spoke with a faint smile of her own. “Your Majesty, this concubine sees that Consort Qi has a sister to accompany her every day and would also like a sister of her own.”

“Oh?”

The Empress glanced at Consort Jing. Xie Nuange and the others all looked at Attendant Zhang, who had attended the Emperor only the previous day.

Attendant Zhang’s face was pale. Only after attending him had she received the second set of rules and learned that she had inadvertently violated Consort Jing’s rule.

“Since Sister Zhang has such a fine singing voice, it must be lonely singing alone in the imperial garden.”

Consort Jing smiled at Attendant Zhang. “Why not move to the Palace of Universal Happiness and live with me?”

“I grow bored in the palace. Listening to my younger sister sing would be just the thing to relieve the tedium.”

Attendant Zhang’s face went deathly white. She rose and moved her lips, but before she could speak, the Empress’s voice rang out.

“That would be well. Since Consort Jing wishes to hear you sing, you should go. The Palace of Universal Happiness is spacious; one additional Attendant will make no difference.”