Masking the Prince and Being Silly Together

Ye Piaoling, a former genius of the Great Li imperial city, transmigrates into the body of a legitimate prime minister's daughter who had lost her immortal vein and cultivation, becoming a social outcast. While fleeing monster beasts in the Dark Night Forest, she is guided by a malfunctioning Silly System to escape by kissing a sleeping beauty in a cave. She discovers the figure is actually Di Xiulan, the Regent King, who is under a Soul-Severing Curse that makes him appear dead during his periodic slumber. Ye Piaoling kisses him awake, steals his mask, and replaces it with a pink handkerchief before fleeing. Upon returning to the Ye residence, she confronts her abusive family, including her scheming father Ye Liao Zhai, her treacherous concubine mother Concubine Liu, and her bully brother Ye Tianbao. Using spirit talismans provided by the system, she exposes Concubine Liu’s hidden hatred and her father’s physical inadequacies, forcing them into submission. She lies about her immortal vein recovering in one month to secure temporary safety and resources.

The Silly System reveals its main quest: to collect the Regent King’s four-piece set, consisting of his mask, belt, and two other items, with the reward being financial freedom and restored power. Having already obtained the mask, Ye Piaoling is now targeted for the belt. Meanwhile, Di Xiulan’s subordinate Liang Yun traces the pink handkerchief to Ye Piaoling’s former maid, Qiao Shu. Liang Yun captures Qiao Shu and brings her before Di Xiulan, but quickly realizes she is not the woman who kissed him when she fails to replicate the specific reaction. Di Xiulan, intrigued by the audacious woman who dared to touch him, decides to investigate personally. He arrives at the Ye residence just as an assassin hired by Concubine Liu attempts to kill Ye Piaoling. Ye Piaoling defeats the assassin using a chaotic fighting style induced by a system talisman, impressing Di Xiulan, who has been watching from the shadows.

Ye Piaoling encounters Di Xiulan face-to-face and boldly demands his belt as compensation for waking him. Di Xiulan agrees to the exchange on the condition that she awaken a massive evil dragon sealed in the underground palace of Chonghua Palace. Ye Piaoling is confined to the dark, oppressive underground chambers with the beast. Rather than attempting to wake the dragon immediately, she spends her days eating, sleeping, and teaching card games to the shadow guards, displaying a bizarre nonchalance in the face of death. Di Xiulan observes her behavior, noting her strange resilience and humor. As days pass, the evil dragon begins to stir, drawn by the intoxicating scent emanating from Ye Piaoling, which it finds far more appealing than its usual prey. The dragon subtly manipulates its environment, moving Ye Piaoling’s bed closer to the cage, setting the stage for a dangerous interaction that could either fulfill the quest or result in her demise.

The narrative establishes a complex dynamic between Ye Piaoling and Di Xiulan, characterized by mutual curiosity and power struggles. Ye Piaoling’s lack of fear and her unconventional methods disrupt Di Xiulan’s expectations, while her desperate need for the system’s rewards drives her to continue engaging with the Regent King. The conflict within the Ye family escalates as Concubine Liu and Qiao Shu plot further revenge, unaware that their schemes are being thwarted by Ye Piaoling’s growing influence and the attention of the most powerful figure in the kingdom. The story moves toward a climax where Ye Piaoling must navigate the perilous presence of the evil dragon while maintaining her precarious position in the political and personal web she has woven around the Regent King.