Please Call Me Your Highness (GL) - Chapter 3

Dong Xiaoning was lounging in the courtyard, basking in the sunlight, when she heard the voice. She merely lifted her eyelids and glanced at the newcomer.

Since her soul had transmigrated into this body, she had inherited not only its physical form but also its memories. The moment she saw that face, an inexplicable wave of displeasure surged within her.

It seemed to be a lingering resentment from the original Fourth Princess toward Dong Muning. After all, their relationship had never been good. In fact, there were times when they had clashed head-on.

Which meant… this visit was unlikely to be a friendly one.

“Third Sister, now that our eldest sister is gone, have you thought about how many tears you’d shed if I were to die as well?”

The words struck precisely where it hurt.

“You—!”

Dong Muning’s face twisted with rage. She had come with plenty to say, but now, her thoughts were in complete disarray. Furious and flustered, she stormed off.

Watching her dramatic arrival and equally dramatic departure, Xiao Fu was stunned for a moment. Then, with eyes full of admiration, she discreetly gave Dong Xiaoning a thumbs-up.

Dong Xiaoning merely smiled and continued enjoying the sunlight.

Inside the Imperial Palace

Dong Muning, still seething, went straight to the palace to see the Empress, only to find that Dong Yanning was already there.

“Mother, Dong Xiaoning is so ungrateful! I went to see her out of kindness, and she repaid me with insults!”

She was both furious and sulking, nearly stomping her foot in frustration.

The Empress Ming, who had initially appeared kind and gentle, hardened her expression at those words, her demeanor shifting into that of a ruler.

“What happened? Tell me everything.”

Dong Muning immediately recounted her visit in detail. However, as she repeated Dong Xiaoning’s words, she gradually realized that something felt off—as if she had unwittingly walked into a trap.

But by now, it was too late to take back what she had said, so she could only double down on her anger.

Dong Yanning remained silent.

The Empress snorted coldly, her anger evident, yet she did not speak immediately. After a long pause, she turned to Dong Yanning.

“You were the one who brought her back from the island. Speak.”

Dong Yanning answered calmly, “Mother, Fourth Sister has gone through much over the years. It is only natural that she has changed. I ask that you be merciful and forgive her this once.”

Her words were deliberately vague, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Dong Muning’s complaint.

“Second Sister, what do you mean by that? Are you defending her?” Dong Muning snapped. “Is she the only Qianyuan in the royal family? Is she the only one fit to inherit the throne?”

“Enough!”

The Empress sharply rebuked them, cutting off their quarrel. Her expression softened slightly as she turned to Dong Yanning.

“Yanning, your sister-in-law is about to give birth. That is our most urgent priority. You must stay vigilant and ensure that no ill-intentioned people succeed in their schemes.”

“Yes, Mother,” Dong Yanning responded obediently.

“Mother, don’t worry. As long as Sister-in-law gives birth to a Qianyuan, Dong Xiaoning will be completely irrelevant. When that time comes, we’ll send her back to the island.”

As Dong Muning spoke, her eyes lit up, as if envisioning that very moment.

“I heard that before she left the island, Dong Xiaoning punished a guard officer by forcing her to drink wild greens porridge. When we send her back, she can eat that every day.”

Dong Yanning discreetly observed the Empress’s reaction.

She did not reprimand Dong Muning, which meant that she approved of the idea.

This confirmed something Dong Yanning had long suspected—the Empress and the Empress Regent were not of the same mind.

Taking this opportunity, Dong Yanning finally asked the question that had been bothering her.

“Mother, there is something I do not understand. Why was Fourth Sister placed under Prince Kangning’s care? By custom, shouldn’t she have been brought into the palace?”

Even Dong Muning turned her attention to the Empress at this.

“At first, your mother-empress did intend to have her brought into the palace, believing it would be more appropriate,” the Empress explained. “But I disagreed.”

She paused, then continued, “Think about it. She was exiled as a criminal. If her status is restored just because she is the only remaining Qianyuan, what does that say about the dignity of the imperial family? What about the laws of the empire?”

Looking at her daughters, the Empress spoke with deliberate gravity.

“Placing her under Prince Kangning’s care is merely an alternative to keeping her on that desolate island. It serves as a reminder—she is still meant to reflect on her past.”

Dong Yanning understood immediately.

The Empress still bore a grudge against Dong Xiaoning.

This confirmed her suspicions.

Not long after, the two sisters left the palace together.

The moment they stepped outside, Dong Muning turned on Dong Yanning, her anger reigniting.

“Second Sister, why did you defend her? Are you planning to betray us?”

Dong Yanning had no desire to argue and simply turned to leave.

But before she could take another step, Dong Muning grabbed her sleeve.

“Don’t leave! Do you think I don’t know what you’re planning? You just want to have it both ways! No matter who becomes the Crown Princess, as long as they are your sister, you’ll secure your own future. But let me tell you, others may be acceptable—but not Dong Xiaoning!”

“Why not?”

“No reason! I just hate her!”

“……”

If that was the case, then what more was there to say?

Dong Yanning’s voice turned indifferent. “Let go.”

“Hmph!”

Dong Muning snorted but didn’t argue further. She had said everything she wanted to say, so she simply let go.

“Let’s go visit our sister-in-law.”

“Fine!”

The two sisters made their way to the Eastern Palace, where they met the Crown Princess Consort, who was heavily pregnant.

The Crown Princess Consort’s surname was Ming. She had two mothers—one was the current Empress Regent’s younger sister, and the other was Empress Ming’s younger sister.

This marriage was a political alliance that strengthened ties within the imperial family. The couple had genuinely been affectionate toward each other, and their relationship had once been celebrated. However, since the Crown Princess’s tragic death, their once-blissful union had been shrouded in sorrow.

The Crown Princess Consort looked melancholic. The conversation started with casual pleasantries, but soon, she directly asked about Dong Xiaoning—a question that immediately put the two sisters in an awkward position.

“I heard she has been living in terrible conditions these past years. Is that true?”

Dong Muning, who usually had plenty to say against Dong Xiaoning, found herself at a loss for words.

Dong Yanning fell completely silent.

The Crown Princess Consort sighed. “Of course, how could she have lived well? An isolated island, surrounded by opportunists and traitors… Even back in the capital, those closest to her were the first to betray her. How quickly the tables turn.”

There was a deeper meaning in those words.

Dong Muning stole a glance at Dong Yanning, regretting coming here in the first place. She should have just gone out to have fun instead.

Dong Xiaoning had no advance notice that Prince Kangning would visit.

But since she had come, Dong Xiaoning had no choice but to serve her the tea that had been prepared for her by the prince herself.

“Are you adjusting well to life here?”

Prince Kangning glanced around the room. Although this was her own estate, she inspected it as if she were a guest in someone else’s home.

“It’s fine. Nothing to complain about.” Dong Xiaoning answered casually—but in truth, she was quite satisfied.

The two sat facing each other, even Xiao Fu had been sent outside, making it clear that this was an opportunity for a private conversation.

Sure enough, after a brief pause, Prince Kangning pulled out a written confession and placed it on the table.

“Take a look at this.”

Dong Xiaoning skimmed the document quickly.

It detailed an attempt to poison her food—a plot that had been discovered and thwarted by the prince’s guards before it could be carried out. However, the confession did not name any mastermind. The suspect simply claimed that they had once resented Dong Xiaoning for her arrogance and had sought revenge.

“What a convenient excuse.” Dong Xiaoning remarked as she pushed the confession back across the table.

Prince Kangning narrowed her eyes slightly, studying her. “You’re not afraid?”

Dong Xiaoning shrugged. “Eat a meal, live another day. If I die now, then I die—it’s as simple as that.”

She spoke of death with a careless ease, throwing around the very words that nobles feared the most, her face void of any concern.

This response caught Prince Kangning off guard. She tested further, “Do you really think that? Or have these years of isolation broken your spirit?”

“Both.”

Dong Xiaoning refused to choose between the two and shut down the conversation with that answer.

Prince Kangning stared intently at Dong Xiaoning, as if trying to see through her thoughts. But in the end, it was a futile effort.

With the current situation still uncertain, Prince Kangning chose not to say much more. She soon left and recorded the incident in a memorial to be submitted truthfully to the Empress Regent.

Inside the Courtyard

“Your Highness, that nearly scared me to death!”

Xiao Fu clutched her chest, as if the mere presence of Prince Kangning had placed her under immense pressure.

“Stop talking about life and death all the time. Aren’t we still alive?” Dong Xiaoning chuckled, waving her hand for Xiao Fu to clear the tea set. Meanwhile, she leaned back in her chair, momentarily lost in thought.

In this world—where there was no takeout, no online shopping—being confined to a small courtyard every day was indeed suffocating. Out of sheer boredom, Dong Xiaoning began revisiting the novel’s plot.

She had read it quickly, skimming through parts of it, so many details were vague in her memory. For instance… when exactly was the Crown Princess Consort supposed to give birth?

She strained to recall, but the exact date eluded her.

The Crown Princess Consort went into labor and gave birth to a daughter—a Zhongyong.

According to the customs of Great Yu, Zhongyong were unable to bear children and therefore could not inherit the throne.

The once hopeful imperial court was now in various states of panic.

April 16

After spending nearly a month in Prince Kangning’s estate, Fourth Princess Dong Xiaoning was summoned to the palace.

“Daughter greets Mother-Empress and Mother-Queen.”

“Rise.”

“Thank you, Mother-Empress, Mother-Queen.”

Dong Xiaoning straightened up and looked toward the two figures seated before her—the Empress Regent, who occupied the imperial throne, and Empress Ming, who sat beside her.

This world had no men. Every person was born with two mothers. Among commoners, there were no distinct terms to differentiate them the way royalty did with “Mother-Empress” and “Mother-Queen.”

How commoners distinguished between the two was never explained in the book, and Dong Xiaoning had no idea either.

The first to speak was Empress Ming, her voice sharp and severe.

“Xiaoning, do you realize your mistakes?”

Her gaze was cold, and the sheer pressure in the hall was enough to make even the palace attendants uneasy.

Dong Xiaoning met Empress Ming’s gaze calmly. The residual emotions from her original body’s memories told her that this mother-daughter relationship had always been strained at best.

In the original novel, the Empress Regent was portrayed as a brilliant and ruthless ruler, while Empress Ming was an ambitious and power-hungry strategist.

Together, they had firmly controlled the empire, tolerating no challenges to their authority.

The original Fourth Princess, Dong Xiaoning, had been exiled and disgraced precisely because she had once stood against them.

But now… things were different, weren’t they?

“I acknowledge my mistakes. Everything in the past was my fault.”

Dong Xiaoning’s voice was steady. Rather than sounding like an admission of guilt, it carried an unsettling sense of confidence, as though she had nothing to fear.

Empress Ming’s expression darkened. “Do you think that just because the Eastern Palace lacks an heir, the throne will naturally fall to you? That you can act however you please?”

Her voice rose sharply, her commanding presence filling the chamber.

Dong Xiaoning immediately recognized this for what it was—a warning.

She felt a flicker of defiance but didn’t argue back. Instead, she simply smirked coldly, meeting Empress Ming’s glare without backing down.

“Your Majesty, I believe this ungrateful wretch is still insufferably arrogant. She should be dragged out and given twenty strokes of the rod to teach her some humility.”

Empress Ming made no attempt to conceal her disdain.

“Is that really necessary?”

For the first time since saying “rise”, the Empress Regent finally spoke.

Her sharp brows and commanding aura exuded natural authority. Having survived brutal political struggles to secure her reign, she rarely showed anger—even now, her tone remained remarkably composed.

Dong Xiaoning sneered inwardly, already forming a retort in her mind.

But before she could speak, a sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her.

Her vision blurred, the grand throne room spinning before her eyes.

Her legs buckled. Her body swayed.

She was falling.

Just before losing consciousness, she thought she saw the Empress Regent rise from her seat—her lips moving, speaking words that Dong Xiaoning could no longer hear.