Chuxiu Palace
“Pfft—cough, cough!”
Fu Lingxi had never experienced such agony!
It felt even more painful than when she had first undergone the cleansing of her marrow and the refining of her bones in her previous life.
Her “soul” felt as though it were being forcibly squeezed into a mold. Fortunately, the fit was perfect.
Floating between consciousness and a coma, bizarre perceptions and memory fragments surged into her mind like a tidal wave. Forcing herself to endure the sensation of fainting, Fu Lingxi abruptly snapped her eyes open.
“…???”
Her eyes were brimming with water. Through the blurry haze, the first thing she saw was the thunderous, murderous wrath of an emperor!
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! This servant did not do it on purpose! Have mercy, please spare my life!”
Not far away stood a tall man clad in bright yellow imperial robes. Facing her direction, his features were obscured, but she could feel the murderous glint flashing in his eyes. With a ruthless expression, he drew the sword from the guard standing beside him.
“Vile woman, you deserve to die.”
As his deep, somber voice rang out, he instantly slit the throat of the beautiful woman in palace attire who was kneeling and trembling before him.
From where Fu Lingxi lay, she saw a terrifying spray of blood erupt from the woman’s neck.
“Ah!”
“Aaaah!”
“Murder! He’s—he’s killing people!”
Witnessing the Emperor personally strike someone down with a sword, several horrified female voices shrieked in unison, their screams piercing the air like a sonic attack.
One could hardly blame the candidates for their terror.
These were all young ladies raised in the seclusion of their boudoirs. To suddenly see their future husband and Emperor acting as a cold-blooded executioner—who wouldn’t be afraid?
Of course, the most pitiable of all was Fu Lingxi, who had only just been jolted awake by a palace matron pressing hard on her philtrum.
Caught between life and death, Fu Lingxi’s soul was still unstable. Startled by the barrage of screams, she collapsed backward in a heap.
With a loud thud, the back of her head slammed against the stone ground, and she instantly lost consciousness again.
“Noisy.”
Irritated by the piercing, uncontrolled wailing and crying, Emperor Taiyong [Note 1] swept a cold gaze across the room. The candidates immediately covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound.
These candidates are all as timid as mice… utterly useless.
Emperor Taiyong knitted his brows in disdain. He sheathed the long sword with one hand and issued an order to the head eunuch standing behind him:
“Lin Pingzhi, take her out and deal with it.”
“Understood, Your servant will see to it immediately.”
This wasn’t the first time Lin Pingzhi had handled such a situation. He gestured for two of his subordinates to work quickly.
I cannot let the Emperor become any more irritable or violent; otherwise, more blood will be spilled today.
“Sheng Shizan, has the Imperial Physician not arrived yet?”
“Reporting to Your Majesty, the physicians are currently at the Clear Jade Pavilion, doing their utmost to save the First Princess.”
As the Emperor’s chief eunuch, Sheng Shizan bowed low, his forehead drenched in sweat as he gave his report with utmost reverence.
Fortunately, today was the final round of the imperial selection, so physicians were already stationed outside the hall. After all, the most powerful figures in the palace were all gathered at Chuxiu Palace; the physicians naturally didn’t dare to slack off.
Hearing this, Emperor Taiyong pressed down hard on the jade ring on his thumb. He glanced at the unconscious candidate lying on the ground. Since she had merit in saving the First Princess, she deserved a reward.
“Summon a physician to wake this candidate and grant her a fragrance pouch.”
“Understood.”
Hearing the Emperor’s intent, Sheng Shizan was internally shocked. He instinctively wanted to steal a glance at the Dragon’s countenance.
After all, it is a miracle that His Majesty even noticed a candidate fainting on the ground…
However, the Emperor’s next words left Sheng Shizan frozen in place, nearly forgetting his imperial decorum.
The Emperor’s phoenix eyes were as cold as frost. With a grim expression, he flicked his sleeves behind his back and gave a chilling command:
“Notify Empress Dowager Yi [Note 2] that the remaining candidates who have not yet been presented shall all have their placards turned over—send them home.”
With that, Emperor Taiyong strode toward the Clear Jade Pavilion.
“Understood. Your servant will notify Empress Dowager Yi immediately.”
Sheng Shizan instinctively looked up in anxiety, then bowed deeply as he accepted the order.
Trembling with fear and hearing no further words from the Emperor, Sheng Shizan looked up again only to see the magnificent silhouette of the Emperor’s retreating back.
Hiss… His Majesty really isn’t giving Empress Dowager Que any face!
In this selection, every official—civil and military—knows that Empress Dowager Que encouraged Empress Dowager Yi to issue the decree together. But now, before the candidates Empress Dowager Que wanted to select could even enter the hall, the First Princess had an accident…
Ultimately, His Majesty’s struggle with heirs is indeed difficult… However, His Majesty is only twenty-five, and his mind is entirely on state affairs. He has little interest in women, so it’s normal to have few children… Empress Dowager Que was simply too impatient!
Sheng Shizan’s thoughts whirled, but he didn’t dare delay. He gave a sharp look to his young apprentice behind him. Seeing that the boy was smart enough to step forward and tend to Candidate Fu, Sheng Shizan hurried toward the main hall of Chuxiu Palace.
[“Obtain… give birth…”]
[“…Assist… and it shall be as you wish.”]
“Be quiet! You’re annoying me to death!”
The voice was vague, mystical, and kept repeating itself. Fu Lingxi, unable to bear it, snapped irritably in her mind and instinctively opened her eyes.
“Hiss, it hurts… Huh?” Where am I?
She gritted her teeth and waited a moment until the pain at the back of her head subsided slightly. She confusedly surveyed her surroundings.
The light in the room was dim. The chamber was decorated in an elegant, ancient style, and the clothes she wore were dry and comfortable.
Holy crap!
Fu Lingxi let out an internal “marmot scream,” her body stiffening.
She had really been reborn! She had transmigrated into a book!
It was a case of “the dove taking over the magpie’s nest”…
The girl in her dream, who shared her name and looked exactly like her, had truly died in the lake.
Blinking, Fu Lingxi didn’t dare move.
If I’m dead, I’m dead. Why the hell did I have to transmigrate and be reborn? For a cultivator, this means tying up loose ends and creating karma!!!
Staring blankly at the light pink gauze curtains, Fu Lingxi finished processing the original owner’s memories. Her face was a mask of frustration and bitter laughter.
What a coincidence… to transmigrate into an old-school palace intrigue and child-bearing novel?
If she hadn’t taken over, the original owner would have died right here during this selection.
And her death would have been for nothing. Instead, it would have paved the way for the original owner’s cousin—the female lead of the original story, Ruan Zhenjun!
Here, one must mention the original owner’s background.
Her biological mother, Madam Chu, was of good commoner status. Years ago, an accident forced a union between her and the Duke of Jingwei without a matchmaker, resulting in the birth of the original owner.
After many hardships, Madam Chu was eventually taken in as the Duke’s “Virtuous Concubine” (Liangqie), and the original owner became a concubine-born daughter of the Duke’s manor.
Among the young ladies of her generation in the Duke’s manor, the original owner ranked sixth.
However, although the servants addressed her as “Sixth Miss,” they all looked down on her birth. In secret, they neglected her and even ignored her existence.
This was because the original owner was essentially an “illegitimate” daughter brought from the outside.
After all, she was already five years old when she entered the Duke’s manor.
From the original owner’s memories, Fu Lingxi knew she had been constantly tormented and set up by the primary wife and her sisters.
At first, the original owner had tried to fight back.
But she lacked emotional intelligence and schemes. How could a five-year-old girl win against the Duke’s wife, a master of domestic power struggles?
Within a few days of her arrival, the Duke had decided:
The original owner had grown up in the countryside and possessed a vulgar, unruly nature. She had to be strictly disciplined and trained to prevent her from tarnishing the prestigious name of the century-old Jingwei Duke’s Manor.
Because the first impression was so poor, no matter how hard the original owner worked to learn the skills of a noble lady or tried to become a “proper noble daughter,” her biological father never gave her another ounce of concern.
Furthermore, once Madam Chu was taken into the manor, she remained deeply favored by the Duke and soon became pregnant with a second child.
The original owner had seen with her own eyes how the primary wife caused the death of her mother’s six-month-old fetus. Her mother had nearly died in that sea of blood.
The original owner had been scared out of her wits.
Since then, to protect her mother, she never dared to openly defy the primary wife’s “upbringing.”
Until the fifth year of Taiyong.
The original owner was now sixteen, and a terrible marriage was about to be arranged for her by the primary wife.
It was then that the two Empresses Dowager issued an official decree for the first time: an imperial selection for the Emperor!
“By order of the Grand Empress Dowager Xiao Que Zhuang and Empress Dowager Xiao Yi Zhao:
Within the Imperial City, all maidens who have reached the age of fifteen but are under twenty, who possess graceful features, elegant voices, and proper decorum, and who are skilled in the six arts, are hereby summoned for selection. You shall carry the Imperial Decree, submit your names, and undergo examination.
On the first day of the first month, the selection of the Imperial Consorts shall commence to balance the Yin and Yang, ensure the peace of the Shangyi Kingdom, and continue the imperial bloodline. All unmarried daughters of officials of the fourth rank and above are to participate. This is the Imperial Will.” [Note 3]
[Notes]
Emperor Taiyong: “Taiyong” is the era name (reign title), not a posthumous title.
Empresses Dowager: – Empress Dowager Que is the “Empress Dowager of the First Rank” (the late Emperor’s primary wife).
Empress Dowager Yi is the “Mother Empress Dowager,” the biological mother of Emperor Taiyong.
This is a modified version of historical imperial selection decrees for literary effect.