Yan Qi Palace, the Palace of Consort De Fei

    As the thunderstorm weakened, the sky opened wide and clear. The lotus flowers planted in the giant basin in front of the palace refreshed the air with their delicate fragrance, carried by the gentle breeze. Yan Qi Palace was calm and cool but vibrantly awake. Two orioles chirped loudly from a willow before flying off as Nara suddenly opened her eyes!

    —head throbbing!

    Nara sprawled on the cold stone floor in the middle of the lotus basin garden. The first thing she saw was the warm, bright sunlight; the sweet, moist scent of rain lingered in the air, complemented by the ornamental rocks and miniature mountains adorned with blooming orchids that stretched out invitingly.

    The sunlight was so warm... Her beautiful eyes cautiously rolled around as butterflies fluttered nearby—a sight long absent in her era, making this return to nature's simple beauty incredibly thrilling.

    Nara slowly sat up, checking that her body was intact. Her traditional Thai Sinh sarong and sabai were still pristine and radiant. She confirmed the correct Christian year before quickly brushing herself off, preparing to meet the family of Phraya Wichit. Her first task was to quickly activate the red gem to intervene their memories and assume the identity of the Phraya's daughter—to work and then return home to collect her rewards…

    Ah, Ayutthaya! Miss Nara had arrived!

    Here I am…

    Am…

    Nara paused... there were no temples, no palaces of Ayutthaya. Why had it turned into a Chinese-style palace?!! Goosebumps rose on her arms as she discovered herself amidst a cluster of simple yet beautiful palaces. Her wide eyes scanned the nameplate, which she could not read, but the script was unmistakably the handwriting of a Qing dynasty ruler, guarded by imposing stone lion sculptures reflecting a formidable presence—Nara felt uneasy.

    "Oh no no no no no no"

    Without hesitation, she climbed a decorative mountain for a higher view and noticed the vast, high-walled enclosure stretching as far as her eye could see. Whether it was the vibrant red fences or the intricately tiled roofs, all gleamed defiantly against the sun. People dressed in ancient palace attire bustled about—Was this a city? No... her blood ran cold when she spotted a particularly grandiose palace in front with a double-layered golden roof, the color reserved only for the emperor.

    The Taihe Palace, the administrative hall of the emperor.

    This is the Forbidden City, the imperial palace of Gu Gong!

    Feeling utterly insignificant like a speck of dust within this vast, intricate royal palace, Nara's big eyes scanned her surroundings in awe. The solemn grandeur of the place overwhelmed her, making her unsure of what to do. Once she gathered her wits, she quickly activated her location beacon to signal for help back to the research lab.

    Waited and waited, but there was no reply…

    Nara clutched her sabai, not knowing which spot in time she fell into. She was unaware of her exact location within the sprawling palace, which comprised up to 9,999 rooms. The year on her wristband aligned with what her father mentioned, but the destination coordinates were off. With the Chinese historical knowledge left in her brain, Nara counted on her fingers, calculating... matching the era of King Narai of Ayutthaya with...

    Kangxi!

    Nara held her head, I'll be damned!

    The young woman paced around the miniature mountain until the ground was almost worn out, constantly looking around for help like a child waiting to be picked up by her parents. Now, her only possession was a prototype four-dimensional bag, so she could fit anything into it, no matter the size, just like Doraemon's belly pocket. Let's see... Did her father pack any emergency tools?

    "What is this... a dildo?" Her delicate hand rummaged through the bag, pulling out a silicone mock-up of a gentleman’s tool, which Nara quickly tossed into the water with a grimace.

    "Forty boxes of condoms!"

    "Pregnancy tests, this is crazy! Have I turned into a sex toy sales rep?" Nara rummaged further, only to find more inappropriate items. The items in the bag offered nothing edible to sustain life, only sex toys. The food pills her father told her to pack had been thrown away by her.

    Then, as if on cue, it began to rain heavily.

    Real trouble now... Nara slumped down, tears streaming down her face, drenched as if she were a soaked puppy. If a servant or a lady-in-waiting happened to pass by at that moment, Nara would have to grab all her belongings and flee in her sarong. She could not just abandon her stuff for fear that someone else might find it and cause problems. It was sad enough that she was misplaced in time; having to carry these things only added to her troubles. Maybe she should consider selling these erotic items to make the best out of a bad situation.

    Nara was dazed, her life had changed unexpectedly, and without knowing where to go, she sat huddled, hidden in the shadows of the trees, feeling like a child thrown out of her home. How would she survive, and how long would she have to wait to go home? These simple questions seemed unanswerable. God help me...

    "Communications, this is Unit One calling Unit Two, come in, please..." Nara stayed close to her original position near the miniature mountain, hoping for a signal to bring her home.

    While hiding, Nara noticed a middle-aged woman of stunning beauty kneeling and praying in a small pavilion within which stood a statue of Guanyin. The scent of sandalwood incense helped calm the mind. The woman, dressed in plain gray, held a string of prayer beads and wore no jewelry, her face bare but still gentle and serene, as if she wished to renounce the world with every breath. Nearby, an older woman waited outside the pavilion, her demeanor much stricter, evident from the fear displayed by the smaller maids around her.

    “+%#*M$^B]l;./q!W”

    They spoke in Mandarin, which Nara could not understand, so she pulled out a translation jelly from her cleavage, swallowed it, and immediately understood their language.

    "Have you boiled the medicinal for Niangniang[1]yet?"

    "Ah... not yet, Chen Gugu[2]."

    "And you still don’t hurry? Must I really order your punishment, Tao Zi?"

    "I dare not. I will go right now," the young servant named Tao Zi said, bowing repeatedly before hurrying off. Chen Gugu sighed wearily. Tao Zi was hardworking but often careless, not as reliable as her older sister, Si Zi, who was proper in manners, knew her mistress’s heart, and kept secrets well. Chen Gugu noted that the incense in the burner was almost spent and whispered an order for the younger eunuchs to fetch more aromatic incense for the pavilion, but the little eunuchs shook their heads.

    "It’s been out since yesterday, Gugu. The Ministry of Rites hasn’t delivered more."

    "Normally, they always send someone to deliver; they never fail."

    "They said no one was available. We have to pick it up ourselves. Even when I went to remind them, they completely ignored me."

    "Those sly eunuchs are acting like foxes, only cozying up to Liang Fei now, completely ungrateful, forgetting who helped them rise to power."

    "Yilan, don't worry too much about it. It's almost the Empress Dowager's birthday, they must be very busy. If they're unavailable, we'll just send someone to fetch it."

    "Yes, mistress," Chen Gugu bowed respectfully to the lady in grey before stepping away from the small pavilion and whispered harshly to the younger eunuchs with a stern face, "Hurry and fetch more aromatic incense. If you can't, don't bother coming back. And next time, don't speak of such troubling news, understand?"

    "Yes, Gugu."

    In the past, the Ministry of Rites always delivered goods to Yan Qi Palace without fail. Every time, the department head himself would bring the items. However, within the grand palace, one's standing was measured by the favor shown by one's master. Whenever favored, one would be surrounded by people eager to please. If the emperor became distant and did not visit a palace, it would inevitably fall into silence and loneliness. Moreover, the mistress of the palace was seriously ill, causing natural anxiety among all her servants.

    Chen Gugu gazed sadly at the roof of the palace, then clasped her hands in prayer and closed her eyes, praying for the consort De Fei's quick recovery. She was willing to chant prayers a hundred times a day if it would help.

    Amidst the white incense smoke and the serene atmosphere, the rhythmic chanting synchronized with the knocks of the wooden fish[3] echoed continuously. Suddenly, the woman kneeling and praying experienced a sharp chest pain, sweating profusely and struggling to breathe before collapsing face-first onto the altar, causing great alarm for Chen Gugu. She rushed to support the woman with deep concern before running out to call for the royal physician.

    Nara, hiding not far away, clearly saw that it was a sudden cardiac arrest. If they waited for the royal physician, it would be too late. Looking around and seeing that the coast was clear, she decided to jump out from her hiding place and quickly helped the middle-aged woman to lie flat in a more relaxed position. She then began an urgent heart massage, but her condition did not improve. Deciding quickly, Nara reached into her four-dimensional bag.

    "Pretty Pills!!"

    Inspired by internet Pretty sellers who were all the rage two hundred years ago but have since been wiped out, the professor named this miraculous pill in their memory. This pill could cure anything. Before administering it, Nara had to ensure the woman was conscious because the pill was quite large. Due to the urgency of the situation, Nara fed her the pill immediately.

    The reaction from the diagnostic device she was using made Nara frown.

    This was no ordinary illness…

    Soon after taking the pill, the woman's chest pain miraculously lessened significantly, true to the Pretty Pills brand. "Auntie, breathe in deeply, slowly, count to three; exhale, count to three..."

    "Y... young lady, who are you...?"

    Nara hesitated to speak, but at this point, whether to speak or not seemed to make no difference. "I just happened to be passing by. Auntie, you look very pale. Please rest now, don't say anything."

    Fortunately, the woman was still breathing on her own. She gazed unblinkingly at Nara's unusual lotus-colored sabai. Nara's eyes were sweet and dewy like drops of honey, yet cunningly clever. Her skin was astonishingly soft and white, radiant in a way she had never seen on anyone before. The odd way Nara wrapped the lotus-colored fabric around her body looked funny, but when touched by the sunlight, the fabric shimmered, emphasizing her clear white skin, making her look exquisitely noble beyond words. Truly, she was a beautiful young lady.

    "What is... your name?"

    Nara pursed her lips when asked her name. According to her original mission, she would infiltrate the house of Phraya Wichit using the name Miss Saraphi. But since she was now beyond her original mission, Nara decided to disclose, "My name is Nara, you can also call me Nungning."

    "Ning’er..."

    The woman in the gray dress tried to express her gratitude but lacked the strength. The more she observed the nimble but delicate young woman, the more fascinated she became. Nara's accent and speech were peculiarly elegant. Her sublime beauty deserved poetic praise indeed.

    Nara quickly extinguished the incense to clear the air of smoke. Just then, people within the palace began to rush in. Having no other choice, Nara fled to hide behind the artificial mountain. Nobody noticed her as everyone was preoccupied with the condition of the woman in gray.

    Chen Gugu, along with a few maids and eunuchs, brought the royal physician. As they were helping her out of the prayer hall, the woman in gray looked towards the artificial mountain, where Nara was hiding, trying to indicate someone should fetch Nara, but she could not speak.

    "Niangnaing, are you alright? It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have let you out, the wind just worsen your condition," Chen Gugu panicked, dabbing the sweat off the woman's forehead, while the royal physician rapidly checked her pulse and administered acupuncture. Everyone was surprised as normally the consort's flare-ups caused excruciating pain throughout her body, but this time it seemed to subside so quickly that it hardly caused an issue after a brief rest.

    Chen Gugu wept non-stop before turning towards the artificial mountain as the lady indicated, "Is there something there?"

    "Black Tooth..."

    "Black Tooth?"

    "Yes, go fetch her for me."

    After hiding and waiting for a rescue signal until the afternoon, Nara, driven by hunger, tried peeking into the kitchen of the Yan Qi Palace. According to the information recorded on her bracelet, this ancient palace was built during the reign of Emperor Yongle of the Ming dynasty. As she read the information, Nara searched for food to survive. She found scraps of dim sum and some boiled chicken on a plate. Hungry, she had to eat—desperation at its peak.

    "In the past, it was the residence of a favorite consort who had tragically miscarried. The next consort also died mysteriously of illness."

    Nara read and swallowed hard, looking left and right while folding her hands in a prayer, "I came here out of hunger, not to disrespect this place. May the merit of all protect this humble one. Amen."

    Suddenly, a loud crack made her hair stand on end. Nara stopped chewing her dim sum, as a pair of eyes met hers at close range.

    "Eeek!!!"

    Shocked by the scream, Nara wanted to scream herself. She quickly stood up, leaving behind her plate of dim sum and the chicken scraps, and came face-to-face with a maid. The maid's hands trembled so much that the dishes fell. Another maid’s tray of herbal medicine crashed to the ground. Her face paled and her lips quivered as she stared at Nara. Nara winked and nodded in a friendly manner.

    The other side stared back, shocked. Then, they burst out screaming,

    "Eeek! There's an intruder!"

    "What’s going on, Tao Zi?"

    A group of robust eunuchs rushed over following the commotion. Seeing the strangely dressed woman in a diagonal sabai, exposing one shoulder, and moreover soaked from rainwater. Nara tried to smile amicably, but the commotion only got louder. If not out of fear, they seemed ready to poke her as if poking some weird animal. Nara was furious, this is Nara, a beauty with the figure of a model from the year 2199, you know!!

    "Look, a ghost!! S...so pale, with red lips and black teeth, utterly frightful. Eeek!"

    "I'm not a ghost!! I'm just hungry."

    "Why are you making such a racket?! This isn't a place for you to be so noisy!" Chen Gugu, a confidant of the consort, hearing the clamor and fearing it would disturb her sick mistress, quickly came out and was shocked to see Nara’s face directly. The stern middle-aged maid was so startled that she fainted, collapsing to the floor.

    "Auntie! Are you alright? Take it easy, please." What a disastrous day, with every aunt fainting. Nara quickly helped her up, but the maids in the residence cried out in despair.

    "Eeek!! The red-lipped ghost is going to suck Gugu's blood!"

    Nara wanted to kick the noisy girl.

    "Catch her! Quickly, don't let her get inside the consort's residence!" The frightening eunuchs gathered, intending to apprehend the black-toothed foreign woman. The only choice to avoid a historical anomaly was to return to her original time as quickly as possible; if that was not feasible, she could only die to protect the timeline. But damn the timeline! Why would she just accept death easily?

    Nara dashed with all her might, dodging around, her sex toys scattering everywhere.

    Oh, father helps poor Ning!!!

    At the same time, a tall, imposing figure entered the Yan Qi Palace. His calm and intense gaze was powerful, his face stoic and cold, looking straight ahead with sharp eyes. Meanwhile, Nara was desperately trying to escape, her sandal slipping off in the chaos. While others might time-travel to become beautiful princesses, Nara had ended up with sex toys—a fitting tribute, indeed.

    Running tiger!! Nara fled from the Yan Qi Palace, dashing forward with her sabai flying, not noticing she was running past someone.

    He watched her until she was out of sight, his usually calm and steady gaze widening with curiosity upon seeing the tail of Nara's sabai. Her hair started to come undone, flowing with the wind, her strikingly red lips vividly apparent. In her hurry, a garland of jasmine that adorned her hair fell right at the feet of the young man.

    Nara slowed down for a moment, debating whether to pick it up or not? She looked into the eyes of the strikingly handsome man before deciding to prioritize her escape.

    "Just so you know, I'm not hitting on you, uncle," her voice trailed off with the wind. Yinzhen's gaze was captivated, fixed on the mysterious young woman as if pinned there. She was like an arrow slowly released from a bow, piercing his thoughts in a flash, and in that moment, he also noticed her black teeth.

    Black teeth?

    "Do you see what I see?"

    "I do, Fourth brother," the Thirteenth Prince, Yinxiang, replied with a chuckle, "A brave girl with bare feet[4], no less. “Aiya, she runs faster than a Mongol courier horse. Look, she's gone that way in a flash."

    Almost immediately after Nara's departure, a group of guards and servants started chasing after her, catching up quickly. The Thirteenth Prince saw Nara climbing a tree with agility, scrambling up the roofed walkways and even kicking a soldier squarely in the face, causing him to topple over.

    "And what does 'hitting on' mean?"

    Yinzhen shrugged, implying he had no idea, even though he was fluent in three languages. "She doesn’t look like she's from Manchu.”

    “Or Han... Maybe she was from some tribe from beyond the borders. And she certainly called Yong Qinwang, Yinzhen an 'uncle'." Yinxiang grinned, his chest heaving with laughter until he turned pale. "She called you 'uncle'!"

    "Am I really old enough to be called uncle now?"

    "If she were a little child, yes. Looks like we’re in for some excitement today. Seems she popped out from the palace of the Consort De Fei. Let's hurry and see," Yinxiang was intrigued by the strange woman and followed her quickly, but after a few steps, he had to turn back as his brother headed in a different direction. "Aren’t you interested in coming with me?"

    The strong hand picked up something from the ground—it was the fragrant jasmine garland that Nara had dropped. He had never seen such a flower weaving before. This woman provoked him to intensely question her identity. A smile slowly spread across the face of the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen.

    "I am interested, but I’ll go this way."

    [8] It means "goddess," a term used to address the consorts in the main palace, starting from the rank of and higher.

    [9] It is a term used to refer to senior female attendants or maidservants.

    [10] The carved wood which is a percussion instrument that provides rhythm or helps adjust the rhythm during chanting. The sound of striking the wooden fish also serves as a reminder to maintain concentration and focus.

    [11] The values of that era considered a woman with bare feet to be no different from one who was topless.