A sharp warning siren echoed throughout the Central Star System.
Standing before Suxing Ye, Yulan froze for a moment before quickly snapping back to reality and eagerly asking, "Do you need me to help you prepare anything?"
"No."
"I'll be leaving now. If there's anything you can't handle, you can ask the butler for help first."
"On the battlefield, I won't be able to reply to your messages at any time."
Suxing Ye's expression was unprecedentedly solemn.
Or rather, judging by the original owner's past behavior, any messages sent to these males consisted of nothing but spoiled whining and clingy demands.
Who knows, she might even be blocked right now.
After hurriedly finishing his instructions to Yulan, Suxing Ye turned and ran straight toward the front entrance.
Meanwhile, Huo Zhanting on the second floor did not come downstairs.
He leaped straight down from the second-floor windowsill, his formidable 3S-grade physique allowing the man to land without the slightest tremor.
Running to the entrance, Suxing Ye called out, "Marshal."
Huo Zhanting gave a slight nod. Under Yulan's watchful gaze, the figures of the two men suddenly accelerated, leaping through the air to board a battleship preparing for departure at the nearby starport.
May both of them return safely.
Yulan murmured a silent blessing in her heart.
*
At the same time,
at the Palace:
The very moment the alarm siren began to wail, Louisa rushed to the residential palace of Queen Belina.
Belina, who should have long been asleep, sat upon the grand hall because of the piercing siren, waiting for attendants below to report the situation at any moment.
"Your Majesty the Queen," Louisa bowed respectfully.
"You're here, get up quickly," Belina said hastily, her tone tinged with a trace of worry. "Who knows what the situation outside is like right now."
Louisa spoke to reassure her: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. The moment the news came, Marshal Huo and Major General Su boarded a starship and headed straight for the Thirteenth District."
"With the two of them there, I trust no problems will arise."
"The strength of Marshal Huo and Major General Su is plain for all to see."
"That is true." Queen Belina nodded upon hearing this.
One was Huo Zhanting, born into the military with a father who was a marshal, having grown up through rigorous training from childhood.
The other was Suxing Ye, born a commoner, who had been promoted to major general based on his own illustrious military achievements.
The strength of the two men truly could not be underestimated.
Hearing that the two of them had already rushed to the scene, not to mention Queen Belina, even the citizens of the Thirteenth District currently under attack by the Dark Planet breathed a sigh of relief.
"However, I..." Louisa furrowed her brow, a hesitant expression crossing her face.
The expression stood in complete contrast to her previous trust and recognition of Huo Zhanting and Suxing Ye's strength, instantly arousing Belina's suspicion.
"What is it? Louisa, if you have something to say, speak your mind."
Louisa immediately spoke up, "Actually, I am worried about Lanlan."
With that, she quickly recounted how Yulan had given Suxing Ye an inducer last night to lure him into rut.
However, she omitted the fact that when she arrived, Suxing Ye had already recovered.
"Marshal Huo and Major General Su are fighting valiantly for the Empire, braving such hardships."
"Yet Lanlan would do such a thing for her own selfish desires."
"Fortunately I arrived in time today, so no major disaster was done."
"But I have heard that Lanlan's actions do not stop there. Normally she constantly harasses them with frantic communications, and now Marshal Huo and Major General Su are on the battlefield. If Lanlan continues to act like this..."
Louisa paused. "I'm afraid it will chill the hearts of Marshal Huo and Major General Su."
"I know Your Majesty cares deeply for Lanlan and wants to give her something to lean on."
"But Lanlan's actions would be difficult for any male to accept. If she accidentally angers them..."
Louisa tactfully refrained from continuing.
Huo Zhanting and Suxing Ye, several of the arranged marriage partners bestowed upon Yulan, were not pathetic males who could be casually manipulated at will.
The men were powerful and influential. Once enraged, even Queen Belina's status and position might be difficult to preserve.
Males were powerful yet had rut phases requiring females to soothe them; females occupied high positions, forming a structure of one female to multiple males.
Yet males in high positions were hardly lacking in females to soothe them.
Sure enough, Belina's expression sank.
She immediately instructed the butler: "Pass down the word. Have Yulan come to the palace tomorrow, I have something to discuss with her."
"Yes," the butler dutifully acknowledged.
*
The next day,
while Yulan was eating breakfast in the morning, the villa's butler immediately informed her of the matter.
Eating a strangely flavored green nutrient solution with her pretty face scrunched up into a bitter ball, Yulan raised her head and obediently asked, "Did she say when I should go?"
"The notification message received was as soon as possible."
"Your Highness, I have already arranged the carriage for you."
The butler stood to the side with a polite smile, as if serving as a silent urge.
"Alright."
Lanlan sighed and sat up from her chair.
She happened not to want to eat this weird-tasting nutrient solution anyway.
"Let's set off now, then."
Half an hour later,
led by the guards, passing through layers of reports and inspections, Yulan finally arrived at the entrance of a palace.
As soon as she stepped inside, a stern shout rang out instantly from the room:
"Yulan, get down on your knees!"
Yulan's small figure froze in a daze.
She raised her head, her gaze locking onto Belina, who was sitting on the main seat, panting and looking furious, and Louisa, who sat beside her with a crooked smile that was not quite a smile.
Before Louisa, she would never kneel.
Otherwise, she would lose all her face.
"Why?"
Yulan asked stubbornly, looking bewildered.
As soon as she spoke, the anger on Belina's face grew even more intense.
Even a strange light flashed across Louisa's eyes.
She understood Yulan relatively well: the princess's noble status compounded with her experience of being stranded in the slum districts, coupled with the loss of her most basic healing power as a female, had left her with extreme inferiority mixed with extreme arrogance.
She would put on a false show of haughtiness before Louisa, wanting to compete with her over everything.
Yet before Belina, she was intensely servile and ingratiating, terrified of angering Belina and having her princess status stripped away.
In the past, the very second Belina spoke, Yulan would have already dropped to her knees. How could she possibly have retorted with a "why" like today?
"Why?"
Belina sneererd. "Have you no idea what you did last night?"
"Giving Suxing Ye an inducer, luring him into rut, you..."
"But he was originally the male beast bestowed upon me by you, my fiancé. I was merely exercising my rights as his Female Master. What wrong did I do?"
Before Belina could finish, she was interrupted by Yulan's matter-of-fact words.
Last night, Yulan had crammed knowledge of this world overnight.
What the original owner did was immoral, but upon closer scrutiny, it wasn't considered a grave offense either.
So kneeling—Yulan was definitely not going to do that.
Yulan merely looked at Belina and Louisa with a pretty, puzzled face, her little mouth continuing to chatter:
"Besides, I already obtained Suxing Ye's forgiveness last night. This can entirely be classified as playful banter between myself and my own male beast."
"If you don't believe me, you can contact Suxing Ye right now and ask if this is true."
Saying this, Yulan lowered her head and moved to open her communicator.
Belina's expression instantly changed.
"Yulan, stop right there."
"Someone, bring her communicator over to me!"