Ruan Qiu’s target was the highest place in the hall—the dragon throne. Whether it was to save costs or for another reason, the director had set the banquet hall and the throne room in the same place. Earlier that day, Ruan Qiu and Xue Wu had searched the hall together and noticed something unusual about the dragon throne.

Ruan Qiu reached out and twisted off the dragon head on the armrest of the throne. A minister noticed her actions and loudly reprimanded, “Eunuch Ruan! What are you doing?”

Before he could shout the next sentence, “How dare you defile the Emperor,” he saw Ruan Qiu pull out a scroll-like object from the hollow dragon body.

The minister fell silent, his voice trembling as he asked, “Is… is that the Imperial Decree?”

“It’s not the succession decree,” Ruan Qiu unexpectedly shook her head and read the text aloud, “It says, ‘The matter of succession is of great importance. After much deliberation, I originally intended to have Prime Minister Yuan keep the decree at his residence. However, I later deemed this inappropriate, fearing it might bring him mortal danger. Thus, I placed it…'”

“Where?” The crowd couldn’t help but ask in unison.

Ruan Qiu frowned, “‘Thus, I placed it in the hands of the divine, in a place heavily guarded, within the ancestral admonitions, and above the gaze of all ministers.'”

Everyone exchanged bewildered looks.

What did the late Emperor mean by this? Why the riddle?

“So according to this, isn’t the decree hidden in the dragon throne?” Qi Yingying gestured as she spoke. “Think about it: I don’t quite understand the ‘hands of the divine’ part, but speaking of heavily guarded places, besides the Emperor’s bedchamber, this place has the strictest security.”

Bai Jinyao added, “And ‘ancestral admonitions’—I think the late Emperor and previous emperors would have received admonitions from their ancestors here in the hall before becoming emperors. After they ascended, they sat on the throne to continue educating the next generation. So the decree is likely hidden in the dragon throne.”

Seeing the girls’ logical explanations, Ye Xingyu touched his long hair and added, “The phrase ‘above the gaze of all ministers’ is easy to understand. I think the Emperor sits on the dragon throne, receiving the ministers’ reverent gazes.”

Everyone concluded that the decree was hidden in the dragon throne, but Ruan Qiu felt something was amiss. She stepped aside, handed the scroll with the writing to the others, and watched them fumble around, trying to take the throne apart.

The discussion in the live chat was also heated:

[Given to the divine? Could it have been burned? Was the late Emperor superstitious?]

[They’re almost dismantling the wooden throne, and there’s no sign of the decree. Could they have guessed wrong?]

[So the decree wasn’t with Minister Yuan at all, but he pretended to have it to keep others from finding it?]

[Prime Minister Yuan was really great; the Fourth Prince deserves to die!]

[So where is the decree? Can someone guess it before I go to sleep? I won’t be able to sleep without knowing the answer!]

The director looked at the confused guests and audience, revealing a mysterious smile.

“Didn’t expect that, haha!” He hid the decree in a place nobody could imagine. As long as the guests didn’t find the real decree, he could improvise the script and continue challenging them.

The director’s hair was a mess, his eyes fixed on the screen, emitting a strange light. He completely forgot that he was shooting a romance variety show, only wanting to outdo Ruan Qiu, fiercely defeat her, and return all the grievances he had received in these two episodes.

The assistant director quietly distanced himself: …He doesn’t seem quite normal. Should I resign earlier?

On the screen, Xue Wu looked at the dismantled throne and turned to Ruan Qiu, who was still pondering, saying, “Let’s rest first. It’s already late, and we can continue searching tomorrow.”

Ruan Qiu was indeed a bit tired. She had just exerted a lot of physical energy, and her wrists were starting to ache.

She nodded and walked out with the other guests.

Dealing with the rebellion would also be put off until the next day. Although the identities of the guests this time were somewhat opposed, no one had the intention of eliminating each other. With less than two days of filming time left, they could be peaceful and set this matter aside, interact more with others, and boost the popularity of the CP relationships.

They had figured it out. The director had no intention of letting them fall in love at all. This romance variety show was different from others. The production team wouldn’t prepare romantic date spots or other activities to bring them closer. Even the opportunity to meet each other had to be created by themselves. It was entirely about riding on the popularity of romance shows while actually conducting a real-life escape game.

Although this approach could generate high popularity, everyone liked novel things.

Ruan Qiu followed behind Xue Wu, lost in thought. She still hadn’t figured out what the late Emperor’s words meant, feeling a knot in her heart.

In the Infinite Flow dungeon instances, puzzle instances were the most hated by everyone. If they couldn’t solve the puzzle within a minute, they would be a minute longer without knowing the monster’s attack patterns and couldn’t make corresponding preparations, increasing the possibility of being attacked and killed by the monster. The team leader was swallowed by a sudden swamp because they couldn’t solve the matrix on the grassland.

Ruan Qiu couldn’t help but look back at the hall one last time, at the broken throne, the pillars, the plaques, the palace lamps, and the wide-open palace doors…

Wait a minute.

Ruan Qiu suddenly stopped in her tracks, still holding the long sword, blood dripping down the blade, forming a small crimson circle on the ground.

Xue Wu habitually turned around, only to find Ruan Qiu hadn’t followed. He walked up to her and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

“I think…” Ruan Qiu blinked, “I seem to know where the decree is.”

Not far away, Bai Jinyao and others all turned back, their voices unconsciously high as they asked in unison, “Really?! Where is it?”

Qi Yingying eagerly grabbed Ruan Qiu’s arm, saying, “Ruan Ruan, quickly tell me!”

Ye Xingyu and Jiang Yan also looked at Ruan Qiu expectantly, waiting for her to reveal the answer.

In the backstage, the director suddenly felt a surge of unease. He tightly grasped the insulated bottle, ready to pour water for himself at any moment to calm down.

[What’s this?! Did Ruan Qiu guess it again?!]

[I also want to know! Ruan Qiu, don’t keep us in suspense, please tell us quickly!]

[Why is Ruan Qiu going back to the hall? Does the throne have some other unnoticed place?]