Chapter 435: Chapter 435

With her sharp eyesight, An Ning quickly made out the face of the person who had been spying.

The person was about twenty years old, pretty-faced, with a jade-white complexion, wearing a cyan palace robe that signified a consort rank, seated slightly toward the back of the consorts' area.

But what truly caught An Ning’s attention was not just the face—no, it was the makeup and styling, which felt eerily familiar to her.

No, “familiar” was an understatement; it felt extremely familiar.

The matching set of jade-green jewelry, the deliberately drawn youthful brows and eyes beneath the eyelids, the large crabapple flower decorations at the temple and cuff—all of it.

Although the adornments were skillfully applied and could fool many, An Ning’s eyes could still spot the subtle inconsistencies.

To be honest, the original body’s brows and eyes had been delicate and spirited, with clear, bright gazes; even without heavy makeup, that person naturally carried a generous hint of spiritual energy. But the person in front of her clearly seemed better suited to a more sultry, dazzling look.

That the styling didn’t come off as completely wrong was partly due to the palace maidservants’ excellent craftsmanship, and partly because the other person’s skin was almost flawless, a translucent, luminous white.

Although all these thoughts crowded An Ning’s mind, they were separated by a crowd of guests, and their mutual gaze lasted only a moment.

The whole set of movements was effortless and fluid.

It was as though that glance had been nothing more than an accidental act.

“A-Ning, what’s wrong?”

Feeling a faint coolness from the hand at her side, An Ning withdrew her gaze and tilted slightly, asking Xie Huai softly, a little puzzled:

“Nothing. It just looked like someone was glancing over toward us just now.”

Following An Ning’s earlier line of sight, Xie Huai cast a barely perceptible glance. The moment he saw the person, he couldn’t help but frown, and slowly muttered a few words:

“Trying too hard to imitate!” Then he added one more phrase:

“Looks awkward and mismatched!”

At the words, An Ning almost burst out laughing. She knew it might not be a coincidence, yet she found his self-assured tone amusing and couldn’t help tapping his palm with her fingertip:

“See what you say. This Noble Lady didn’t used to have much interaction with us. Even if her makeup is a bit similar, it’s not necessarily imitation.”

An Ning wasn’t wrong—only somewhat similar. Though An Ning had broadly followed the original body’s aesthetic preferences, the details still differed.

Despite that, Xie Huai still frowned. He squeezed An Ning’s hand and didn’t relax his grip until the banquet ended and they climbed into the carriage to return to the residence; if anything, his hold grew more intense.

From the side, the Grand Princess glanced over: “……”

That night, inside the gauze canopy, the heated atmosphere lingered for a long time after new pleasures had been unlocked. Only when the person at her side had fallen into a deep sleep did An Ning close her eyes, though she didn’t fall asleep immediately.

To be safe, she didn’t use the seed she had deliberately kept in the palace; instead, she poked a system unit in her spiritual sea and told it to keep a close watch in the coming days.

Still not reassured, she gave one more instruction:

“Remember to use the thing that blocks spiritual awareness!”

“Host thinks that person is suspicious?”

This time the system was not slow to react. Within the spiritual sea, An Ning nodded almost imperceptibly, her expression a little grave as she said:

“That person’s physical condition is uncommon among palace consorts.”

One must remember, in any dynasty’s imperial palace, everyone’s activities were constrained, and from appearances this person’s rank didn’t seem very high. Yet her skin was like jade, light and translucent, as if flawless glass; all her bodily functions were at their best. That kind of condition usually required natural endowment and cultivation—later arrivals would need many maintenance products and exercise aids.

Moreover, if An Ning wasn’t mistaken, the way the woman deliberately avoided certain items on the banquet table and instinctively guarded her lower abdomen when she stood indicated she was currently pregnant.

Maintaining that physical state was not easy.

Of course, the possibility that she was naturally beautiful couldn’t be ruled out, but since this person might be targeting the original body, An Ning had to consider the worst-case scenario.

To avoid surprises, she hadn’t dared to probe into the other person’s spiritual awareness.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me!”

Hearing that, the system immediately pounded its metaphorical chest with confidence. It may be hopeless at some things, but when it came to surveillance, it believed it was quite capable.

In fact, in this regard, the system’s combat effectiveness really was a little something.

Since that palace banquet, as if nothing had changed, An Ning continued to laze about with Xie Huai, occasionally showing the Grand Princess a display of her excellent martial “talent.”

Not far from their courtyard, in a greenhouse, colorful flowers soon burst into competition.

Meanwhile, after several days of surveillance, the system had quickly dug up information on that person.

One evening it reported:

Jade Consort Murong Qing, just turned twenty this year, the legitimate second daughter of Sixth-Rank Official Murong of the capital. She entered the palace during the last imperial selection and in recent years has been fairly favored.

Given the current emphasis on family background, seniority, and the fierceness of palace strife, being safely titled a consort was already quite fortunate.

“And you weren’t mistaken, Host. She did indeed become pregnant just last month.”

“Oh, and one more thing!” The system suddenly remembered: “Murong Qing seems to be quite doted on at home. The Murong family didn’t originally plan to send a young daughter to the palace. Yet this Jade Consort, for some reason, insisted on entering.”

An Ning only nodded, then after a moment asked without surprise:

“This person… does she often daydream or zone out?”