Meng Dongting’s anger had reached its peak. Even at seven, when his foolish Crown Prince brother had forced him to eat dog food, he had never been this furious.
The reason was simple: the Crown Prince would always live in the palace and could be punished later. Revenge was inevitable. But that woman? No one knew where she had gone!
General Li Xiaozheng knelt before Meng Dongting, barely daring to breathe. The Emperor’s oppressive aura felt as if it could overturn the waters of Yang Lake outside, pressing down on everyone until they could hardly draw a breath.
The day before, they had pursued the Crown Prince’s remaining followers to this valley, but a leak of information had led them into an ambush. A poisonous mist injured the Emperor’s eyes. After emergency treatment by the accompanying military doctor, Li Xiaozheng had escorted the Emperor back to the edge of Yang Lake.
Meng Dongting knew the area extremely well. The rebels had only two possible escape routes, and he refused to give up the chance to eliminate them completely. He ordered Li Xiaozheng to continue the pursuit.
The valley’s remaining rebels had all been wiped out. Meng Dongting remained safe in a thatched hut, leaving only a eunuch skilled in martial arts by his side. He hesitated for a moment before ordering the eunuch to send a letter to Fu Han.
Now that he was alone, he wanted to see where Fu Han’s loyalties truly lay. Meng Dongting, accustomed to tasting blood from the edge of a blade, always made full use of every situation. Unfortunately, the test letter never reached Fu Han; it had been intercepted.
Chang Li could only blame himself for his insufficient skill, having been led around the city by the bandits and trapped inside the mechanisms of the Eight-Layer Pagoda. If Qiu Zui had handled this, he would never have been trapped in such a device.
Qiu Zui was Meng Dongting’s capable subordinate, the female leader of the secret guards, familiar with traps, and highly skilled in martial arts. She dared to infiltrate the enemy’s territory alone to gather intelligence.
Thinking of this, Chang Li’s heart sank even further. Qiu Zui had not sent any word back in six months. Several groups of secret guards had been dispatched to contact her, but it was like searching for a needle in the ocean completely silent.
Meng Dongting found an earring by the bedside. He clenched it in his palm, ready to crush the jade, then abruptly relaxed and tossed it to the ground, sneering, “Catch it live or die, it’s your problem.” Li Xiaozheng picked up the only clue. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor hated being manipulated by women. No wonder he was so furious. The lingering scent in the air showed that the Emperor’s condition was not illness-related, which made Li Xiaozheng secretly relieved.
God knows how long they, the Emperor’s ministers, had worried in silence about his health. Fortunately, fortunately.
Li Xiaozheng, under the oppressive aura of the Emperor, could not help but feel a little happiness. He wanted to rush and tell the ever-anxious Minister of Rites. Meng Dongting said coldly, “If one more person knows, I will pull one of your tendons.”
Li Xiaozheng: “….” The eunuch, fearing the Emperor’s wrath might fall on an innocent girl, mustered courage to remind him, “About the selection of consorts…”
The Empress Dowager had issued a final ultimatum. Before her return from praying, she must see the harem filled. Eligible young women from across the capital had already arrived, eagerly awaiting the selection. If the Emperor delayed further, the inns would not be able to accommodate everyone.
Meng Dongting snorted coldly. The eunuch pondered the Emperor’s intention carefully but could not make sense of it. Was His Majesty savoring the taste, or had he been bitten once and was now wary forever?
Fu Xinghe was exhausted and hungry, moving without pause. When she finally reached the official road and saw the distant city gate with dust rising, she checked herself for anything of value to hitch a ride on a carriage.
The road was busy with luxurious carriages. Just as she was about to stop one, she remembered: she was the daughter of a high-ranking minister, disheveled and wandering outside the capital. Being recognized could spread rumors. Fu Xinghe did not care about her reputation but feared the Tyrant Emperor would hear and link her strange behavior to the person who had dosed him.
She decided to take a shortcut through the grass. Just then, a voice came from a carriage: “Miss!” A small figure dressed as a male servant ran from the green shade, clearly female from the voice.
Ming Xu looked at Fu Xinghe’s torn clothing and hesitated, not daring to risk her mistress’s anger. Finally, she lowered her voice: “Miss, Madam has been looking for you all day.”
Fu Xinghe noticed the maid’s fear and immediately adjusted her demeanor, hiding her usual guest-friendly smile. She boarded the carriage without a word. “What happened at home?”
Ming Xu said, “Ming Feng said Madam returned early from Dongsheng Temple. Last night she noticed Miss was gone, and searched all night. This morning, the Master also found out.”
Fu Xinghe asked, “How long have you been waiting here?” Ming Xu, “Following your instructions, I drove the carriage out to the countryside. This morning we stopped to rest, waiting for you to return.”
Good. She knew how to avoid drawing attention. Ming Xu was acting as an internal contact while Fu Xinghe acted alone. The original Fu Xinghe had not disclosed her defiance to her maid.
The book’s first chapter had only briefly mentioned that the secondary female lead had intercepted the Emperor’s letter to the Grand Preceptor.
Fu Xinghe closed her eyes. The Tyrant Emperor’s current situation was bad. Sending a letter to the Grand Preceptor was probably a call for help. The original heroine had intercepted it in a reckless attempt to “rescue the hero and force the king” and almost ended up in bed with a stranger. It was unclear on whom the Emperor would eventually take revenge.
The original heroine could not have been foolish enough to intercept the letter within the Fu family estate, right? Fu Xinghe instructed Ming Xu: “If anyone asks, just say we went out to the countryside to watch the sunrise and didn’t return on time.”
Ming Xu hesitated, then spoke: “If Madam knew…” Her eyes screamed: “If my mistress had lost her virtue, Madam would first kill me.” Fu Xinghe adjusted her skirts, feigning calm: “I’m fine just rolled down a hill.”
The maid’s eyes lit up. “Ming Feng’s medicine didn’t work?” Fu Xinghe pretended to be disappointed. “It fell into the lake. You’re worried how strong it was?” Ming Xu, blushing, whispered: “Ming Feng said no man could escape it.”
Fu Xinghe’s eyes glimmered with genuine admiration for the Tyrant Emperor. He truly was no ordinary man. She had barely avoided him just a hair’s breadth and she had escaped. Even if he were blind, she would have had some defense.
Fu Xinghe pressed further: “Why would I need such medicine?” Ming Xu realized she would rather move past it. “It’s nothing, Miss. Your heart is set on His Majesty, how could you notice other men?”
Fu Xinghe leaned on the carriage, playing the secondary female lead’s part. Teasing, she asked: “Do you think I could be an Empress?”
Ming Xu nodded frantically: “Our Master is the Grand Preceptor, the late Emperor’s most trusted regent. His Majesty will hold the first selection soon, Miss will certainly enter the Inner Palace.”
Fu Xinghe raised an eyebrow. One emperor, one court. The late Emperor trusted the Fu family; the new Emperor might not. The Fu family could eventually be eliminated.
Fu Xinghe said, “Keep this secret. And the letter…” Ming Xu reassured her: “Don’t worry, Miss. Ming Feng intercepted it outside the Fu estate; no one knew it was you. The letter has already been burned. No fourth person will ever know.”
Fu Xinghe nodded, letting out a long breath. She felt a little weary and fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes. In her dream, she stood before a simple panel with a few lines of text:
Saved the dying secondary female lead, Points: 20
New Player Protection ON
Congratulations! You have successfully saved “Fu Xinghe” and earned twenty points.
Fu Xinghe instinctively reached out to click, but hit nothing. The cold text offered no further explanation. She tried to ask about the points but could not speak in the dream, waking up frustrated.
Fu Xinghe frowned as the carriage swayed. So the Tyrant Emperor had really tried to kill her last night?
Saving a female lead earned twenty points, but no one explained what the points were for. The new player protection must mean she could detect toxicity around her.
Holding this underwhelming skill, she felt she was missing some crucial information. Even after the carriage stopped at the Fu estate’s back gate, she had no clue.
Facing her family, Fu Xinghe gathered herself and practiced a smile. A habit from her previous life there was no situation in which she could not smile.
Ming Xu arranged her hair and praised her figure, saying that if she were not determined to marry the emperor, even a matchmaker would have barged in.
Fu Xinghe looked at her slender wrist. According to Ming Xu, the original Fu Xinghe had heard that the Emperor favored slim waists and had intentionally dieted. To Fu Xinghe, she seemed far too thin and starved, no wonder she had no strength to resist the blind Emperor.
If it had been her, she would have at least scratched back. Entering from the back, Fu Xinghe followed Ming Xu to her room. In the small hall, a couple in their forties waited.
Both looked angry; if one had not intervened, the ruler’s rod would already have landed on Fu Xinghe.
“This is the good daughter you pamper!” Fu Han’s anger was evident. “Never liked studying, and now dare to stay out all night!”
Mi Dinglan quickly intervened: “Xinghe just went out for a little fun, it’s nothing serious.”
“No study of Confucius and Mencius, no sense of shame! Study the Analects well. Do not leave without my permission.” Fu Han’s exasperation left him weary and disappointed, even if these misdeeds were not hers.
Fu Xinghe noticed his helpless, aged expression, and felt some guilt. Fu Han left without another word. “Madam, you handle her.”
Mi Dinglan, after Fu Han left, dropped her conciliatory tone. “If you don’t want to be grounded, tell me where you were last night.” Fu Xinghe polished her prepared story, performing perfectly. “Is that so, Ming Xu?” Ming Xu lowered her head. “Yes, Madam.”
“Watching the sunrise alone? At least ask your brother to go with you.” Mi Dinglan tapped Fu Xinghe’s forehead. “When will you understand? You’re trying to kill your father with worry? You can’t go on like this, you’re eighteen now. Your mother plans to discuss marriage.”
Fu Xinghe repeated: “I’m only eighteen!” Mi Dinglan warned: “Even at twenty-eight, marriage must follow my arrangement, don’t act on your own.”
Her daughter’s dream of becoming Empress was a secret known and laughed about by all of the capital’s noblewomen.