The Vicious Woman and the White Moonlight are both me - Chapter 17

Among all these gazes, the one that bothered her most was Princess Zhaohua’s gaze. 

After all, before entering the palace, her parents had already warned her about Princess Zhaohua’s reputation and behavior, telling her to be careful and never offend her. 

She considered that she had returned to the capital several times and occasionally heard rumors about this princess but had never actually met Princess Zhaohua in person. The last time she returned was three years ago, wasn’t it? Why was this princess now looking at her so frequently? 

Song Zhaoyan still did not know that Zhan Xinyue had already noticed her gaze, and Zhan Xinyue had begun to feel wary of Princess Zhaohua. 

Having returned to the capital for a few days, her father had already told her that this time she would not be allowed to leave and that he intended to find a husband for her. 

Naturally, Zhan Xinyue was unwilling but the city gates were strictly guarded and since her father had already notified the guards, she could not leave Shengjing. 

In the past few days, her stepmother had also sent people to teach her needlework and etiquette. Faced with her father’s graying hair and deep voice, Zhan Xinyue was helpless and could only study earnestly. 

But these things were not learned in a day or two. A couple of days ago, when going out with her sisters, she was mocked for not knowing how to compose poetry. 

Now, with Princess Zhaohua staring at her so intensely, could it be that she intended to make fun of her? 

Thinking about this, Zhan Xinyue’s vigilance rose even higher, even though her eating slowed down. 

Seeing Zhan Xinyue’s behavior, the other onlookers around her also became tense. 

At this moment, a palace maid who was pouring wine for Zhan Xinyue used her sleeve as a cover and tossed a small paper ball to her. 

Zhan Xinyue was surprised, glanced at the maid beside her, but the maid acted as if she had seen nothing, finished pouring the wine, and left. 

Although she had lived for many years on the border, that did not mean life on the frontier was innocent and naive. One had to remember that battling enemies required strategy. 

Entering the palace for the first time, someone handed her a note—what could it possibly say? 

Zhan Xinyue was very curious, but she did not think it was some prince who had taken a fancy to her and wanted to arrange a private meeting. 

As she pondered, Zhan Xinyue opened the paper ball and lowered her eyes to read its contents. 

Song Zhaoyan watched the entire process with a blank expression, still not knowing what was happening. 

After a moment, Zhan Xinyue, who had been avoiding eye contact, suddenly lifted her eyes to look at Song Zhaoyan. 

Song Zhaoyan was startled, but relying on her status as a princess, she glared back fiercely with a sharp and proud gaze. 

Seeing this, Zhan Xinyue’s expression was like a calm, steady lake, revealing nothing of her emotions. She calmly raised her cup and drank the wine that the palace maid had just poured for her. 

Song Zhaoyan could not help but feel a bit amused. The palace maid who had delivered the note was arranged by her; she had already secretly instructed someone to give the hint, yet Zhan Xinyue still drank the wine and even made eye contact with her. 

Should she call this female lead confident or arrogant? 

_______________ 

Before she knew it, time had passed, and the young ladies’ talent displays were mostly finished. The Empress, feeling bored, finally spoke again, saying that everyone must be tired from sitting and that some small games had been prepared in the courtyard for everyone to try. 

For those games, Zhan Xinyue had also been required to practice diligently these past few days—things like threading needles, testing skill with throwing needles, or carving melons and fruits. 

They all required extremely fine precision and patience. 

Zhan Xinyue did not have that patience, so naturally she did not intend to participate, planning only to walk around casually. 

Seeing Zhan Xinyue rise, besides Song Zhaoyan, the few princes and princesses who had intended to make a move also exchanged glances, a calculating, wicked smile rising on their faces. 

Targeting Zhan Xinyue was very easy. Though she was a noble girl, she had grown up on the frontier, had no friends in the capital, was unfamiliar with them, and had no personal connections—naturally making her the easiest to target. 

Afterward, it would be easy to pin accusations on her: for example, Zhan Xinyue had reached the age to marry, but having grown up on the frontier, no one dared marry her due to her fierce-woman image, so she supposedly schemed against the Fifth Prince, trying to force things to happen. 

Everything was arranged flawlessly. 

Even if the Fifth Prince had a general as a father-in-law, what did it matter? The other princes’ maternal families were not just for show. And compared to Song Zhaoyan, they could never let her become an ally to Pei Chengyun. 

Seeing that most people in the hall had already moved, Song Zhaoyan finally rose leisurely. 

“Let’s go, I also want to see this year’s Qixi Festival games.” 

___________________ 

Compared with other main halls, Penglai Pavilion was not considered large, but for it to be used as a banquet venue, it could still be called small. 

At present, the noble girls were gathered in groups of two or three playing games, while the young masters were together composing poetry. 

Zhan Xinyue had just returned to the capital and had no close companions in the inner chambers; the only ones who could accompany her were her younger sisters. But at the moment, her sisters’ whereabouts were unknown. 

Seeing that finding them was hopeless, Zhan Xinyue did not wish to participate in those games, nor did she want to sit alone at a seat, being mocked as a rough and fierce woman, with no one willing to interact with her. So, she could only walk alone toward the back garden, where fewer people were. 

This action played right into the hands of certain people, who clenched their fists tightly in excitement. 

Some kindhearted young ladies who knew the truth and did not wish to go along with the scheme wanted to warn her in advance, but they had long been warned off by the Sixth Princess and Seventh Princess. 

Now, seeing Zhan Xinyue walk alone toward a sparsely populated area, their hearts burned with anxiety. 

After circling around twice, looking at the direction Zhan Xinyue had gone, Song Zhaoyan elegantly yawned as if fatigued and said, “Every year it’s always the same old stuff, completely unoriginal. This banquet is truly boring. I will go rest in the side hall. Call for me later!” 

After speaking, she glanced at Pei Shen and deliberately said, “No need to guard me for now. There are many games in the courtyard; go play them!” 

After finishing, Song Zhaoyan laughed lightly and entered the side hall. 

Pei Shen, having heard her words, clenched both fists, but his face remained calm and unreadable. 

Does she consider him a woman? To participate in games that only women play? 

Perhaps after these days of being accustomed to Song Zhaoyan’s humiliation, whatever she said now, Pei Shen still felt anger in his heart, but his expression could still remain composed. 

Seeing Xuezhi and the others guarding the side hall, and Song Zhaoyan herself allowing him free movement, how could Pei Shen not be pleased? 

However, although he could move freely, honestly, Pei Shen did not know where to go. 

For the first time, he made the same decision as Zhan Xinyue, going to the less crowded back garden. 

Song Zhaoyan, having entered the inner hall, did not lie down to rest, but after removing the cumbersome clothes and headwear, disguised herself as a palace maid and climbed out of the window. With points accumulated, the system naturally helped her leave successfully. 

She had already warned Zhan Xinyue, yet Zhan Xinyue still went to the back garden. 

Song Zhaoyan recalled that Zhan Xinyue had glanced at her before drinking the wine. Could it be that she had guessed the paper bundle was from Song Zhaoyan but knowing her poor reputation, simply did not believe it and deliberately drank the wine? 

Song Zhaoyan almost laughed in anger. 

Thinking that Zhan Xinyue drank several more times afterward and might have already ingested the medicine, Song Zhaoyan felt mentally exhausted by this arrogant female lead. 

Following the system’s instructions, Song Zhaoyan successfully located Zhan Xinyue, who had not yet met Pei Chengyun but first encountered Pei Shen. 

Seeing the two standing in a pavilion, seemingly talking about something, Song Zhaoyan immediately stopped and retreated, leaning against the fake rock. 

A moment later, she crouched again, looking toward the pavilion. 

The male lead and female lead had already successfully met; no matter what they were saying, they had already made a connection, and from now on, getting to know and love each other would only be natural. 

Song Zhaoyan watched for a while and saw Zhan Xinyue showing signs of physical discomfort, clutching her chest as if in pain. 

Pei Shen naturally noticed as well; he felt a bit flustered. 

Meeting Zhan Xinyue was unexpected, and after she greeted him properly, they naturally exchanged a few words, quickly realizing she had not grown up in Shengjing. 

Living freely at the border, Pei Shen could only feel a sense of longing. 

But before more words could be exchanged, Zhan Xinyue suddenly went weak, forcing Pei Shen to support her. 

In that instant, Pei Shen’s mind raced—who would want to harm her? 

His first thought was Song Zhaoyan, but how could Song Zhaoyan have known he would come to the back garden? 

Yet besides Song Zhaoyan, who else could it be? 

“Ninth Prince, I feel unwell. There’s nothing here. Could I ask you to go find someone to help me?” 

“But you’re alone. Are you really okay?” 

Zhan Xinyue furrowed her brows, looking quite uncomfortable, yet still shook her head with effort: “I’m fine. Please go help me find someone.” 

Pei Shen looked around and saw that indeed no one was passing by, so he helped Zhan Xinyue sit down in the pavilion and said to her, “Wait here a moment, I’ll go get someone!” 

Having said that, he quickly ran out of the pavilion, heading toward the front hall. 

Watching Pei Shen’s figure disappear, leaving only Zhan Xinyue alone, Song Zhaoyan covered her face and hurried over. 

She had spent a lot of points exchanging with the system for medicine to help Zhan Xinyue. It should be noted that in this world’s setting, there was no antidote for the aphrodisiac. 

Thinking about it, Song Zhaoyan still felt a little pained. 

In her heart, Song Zhaoyan praised herself harshly—seeing herself as kind-hearted, great, and selfless. “System, don’t you give me extra points for helping the male lead save the female lead?” 

But just as she was about to approach Zhan Xinyue, the silent system suddenly emitted a series of piercing beeping warning sounds. 

“What’s happening?” Song Zhaoyan instinctively stopped. 

[Host, be careful! Zhan Xinyue isn’t under the influence of the medicine. Quickly dodge!] 

No sooner had the system spoken than, the next moment, Zhan Xinyue, who had been crouched and uncomfortable, suddenly lifted her head. Her sharp gaze showed no sign of being affected by medicine, and a ruthless palm wind shot straight toward Song Zhaoyan. 

Fortunately, thanks to the system’s timely warning, Song Zhaoyan quickly dodged. 

But after dodging this strike, another attack followed. 

Song Zhaoyan had fallen flat on her face, utterly clumsy, while Zhan Xinyue, who had trained in martial arts for years, adjusted her stance immediately after missing a strike. 

Zhan Xinyue’s movements were light and swift like a swallow, stepping decisively toward Song Zhaoyan. In contrast, Song Zhaoyan rolled and scrambled, looking utterly awkward and desperate. 

“System, are you going to explain what the hell is happening right now!!!” 

Song Zhaoyan wanted to yell at the top of her lungs. The system’s voice was urgent. 

[Host, setting that aside, I assume you don’t want Zhan Xinyue to know your identity, right? You can exchange points to obtain peerless martial arts and engage Zhan Xinyue. You can choose durations of five minutes, ten minutes, or half an hour. Given Zhan Xinyue’s current condition, I recommend choosing ten minutes.] 

“You’re deliberately making me waste points, aren’t you? You damn system!!! Exchange! Exchange!” 

The system remained silent, simply deducting points continuously. 

In the next moment, as Song Zhaoyan dodged around, she suddenly felt her entire body filled with strength. Her movements became fluid and precise. 

She no longer merely avoided Zhan Xinyue; she sidestepped and met an incoming palm strike head-on. Soon after, she was exchanging blows with Zhan Xinyue skillfully, back and forth, without faltering. 

When voices were heard from nearby, Song Zhaoyan and Zhan Xinyue finally created some distance, standing opposite each other, both with eyes full of deep caution. 

Not good! Pei Chengxuan and the others had already brought Pei Chengyun here. If she didn’t quickly get Zhan Xinyue out of sight, Song Zhaoyan wouldn’t be able to carry out her next plan. 

At this moment, Zhan Xinyue certainly wouldn’t trust the suspicious stranger in front of her. 

During Song Zhaoyan’s brief pause, Zhan Xinyue asked, “Who are you? Who sent you?” 

Song Zhaoyan didn’t answer, calculating in her mind that since she had exchanged for peerless martial arts, Zhan Xinyue wouldn’t be a match for her within the next ten minutes. 

Song Zhaoyan thought to quickly hide Zhan Xinyue. As soon as the idea appeared, her movements were faster than thought. Zhan Xinyue only saw a fleeting shadow rush to her side, quickly pressing points along her meridians. In Zhan Xinyue’s astonished eyes, she was pulled behind a fake rock to hide. 

The next moment, Zhan Xinyue saw that shadow move to the pavilion, swiftly lowering all the surrounding curtains. Soon, faint cries for help came from inside the pavilion: 

“Help—someone, help me! Help—!”