The room fell silent.
Alone, Yun Zi’rao leaned against the headboard and turned her head slightly toward the doorway.
A faint, mocking smile curved her lips.
The pale, fragile face that had looked so pitiful moments ago now showed not a trace of sadness.
Madam Yun was not a foolish woman.
When Yun Zijun was first brought back to the family, Prime Minister Yun had spoken with absolute certainty.
He insisted that Yun Zijun was their biological daughter who had been switched at birth.
The red mole on the sole of her foot served as evidence.
Madam Yun had little choice but to believe it.
The revelation had shocked her so thoroughly that she barely had time to process it.
Then came Yun Zijun’s constant displays of vulnerability.
The Crown Prince’s support and persuasion.
Yun Zexuan’s deliberate assistance.
Even if Madam Yun harbored doubts, she could only force herself to accept their version of events.
Yun Zijun understood better than anyone that fourteen years of mother-daughter affection could not easily be severed.
That was why she repeatedly framed Yun Zi’rao.
She wanted Madam Yun to lose patience with her.
To gradually grow disgusted and distant.
Acting was Yun Zijun’s greatest talent.
The moment she put on a pitiful expression, she looked like someone who had suffered endless abuse.
Then Prime Minister Yun would scold a few people.
And somehow every accusation landed squarely on Yun Zi’rao.
The entire family stood on Yun Zijun’s side.
No one helped Madam Yun untangle her doubts.
Now, Yun Zi’rao was simply using the same methods.
Adding a few carefully chosen details.
Planting a seed of suspicion in Madam Yun’s heart.
As long as Madam Yun chose to investigate, Yun Zi’rao had plenty of ways to help her uncover the truth.
As for that scumbag male lead, Mo Jinglin…
A chill entered Yun Zi’rao’s eyes.
He wanted to ascend the throne and enjoy a harem full of beauties?
Dream on.
If she was going to tear up the script, she might as well tear apart all the trash characters along with it.
Let the heroine shine alone.
Though…
That didn’t seem entirely practical either.
Yun Zi’rao brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and sighed.
She wasn’t a princess.
She lacked royal status.
She couldn’t openly marry a handsome and obedient consort.
Nor could she legally keep three husbands and four favorites.
She wasn’t a female general either.
She couldn’t ride into battle and earn glory through war.
In a feudal dynasty, women were bound by endless rules and restrictions.
Aside from a handful of royal women who could occasionally participate in politics, or the extremely rare female general who commanded armies, most women had only one path in life:
Marriage.
Motherhood.
Domesticity.
“Tsk.”
What a nuisance.
With this frail body, building her own power from scratch would be incredibly difficult.
So her most urgent task was still finding a reliable man to use as a backer.
Ideally one who could leave her a child and then conveniently disappear.
Yun Zi’rao imagined the blissful life of a wealthy widow raising a child in peace.
To her, that was practically the perfect lifestyle available to a woman in ancient times.
No serving her in-laws.
Actually…
The best choice would be a husband who didn’t even have living parents.
Which raised an important question.
How could a man die quickly?
Poisoning him was out of the question.
If she got caught, she’d be the one losing her life.
A terminally ill invalid?
Also unacceptable.
She had no interest in caring for a bedridden husband.
That left only one option.
A general.
A military commander stationed at the frontier.
A man who returned home once every three to five years.
A husband and wife living separately most of the time, each minding their own business.
Perfect.
Exactly her type.
Resting her chin on her hand, Yun Zi’rao searched through the original owner’s memories.
One name immediately surfaced.
Prince Zhan, Mo Canglan.
Her eyes lit up.
A villain.
Excellent.
An ultimate villain in a melodramatic novel.
Whether in terms of ability or methods, he completely crushed the male lead, Mo Jinglin.
Even after becoming emperor, Mo Jinglin would still have to respectfully address him as Imperial Uncle.
Why was he considered a villain?
Because he constantly opposed the protagonist.
He commanded four hundred thousand troops.
He was stationed on the frontier year-round.
Half the empire’s military power rested in his hands.
On the battlefield, he was a terrifying god of slaughter.
In the capital, he was known as an arrogant and rebellious minister.
A genuine rebel.
In front of the emperor, he referred to himself as This Prince.
He never bowed.
He carried weapons into the palace.
He treated court regulations and ancestral laws as if they didn’t exist.
He looked down on every official in the empire.
The very image of overwhelming dominance.
Every encounter left the male lead furious and desperate to eliminate him.
Mo Canglan was undoubtedly Mo Jinglin’s greatest thorn in the flesh.
Yet objectively speaking…
Such a character was incredibly appealing.
In a tragedy, he might be the villain.
But in a power-fantasy novel?
Wasn’t he the perfect male lead?
Noble.
Powerful.
Handsome beyond compare.
Yun Zi’rao felt somewhat troubled.
The only flaw was that a man like that wasn’t easy to approach.
“Miss Yun! Miss Yun!”
A maid suddenly rushed into the room as though some earth-shattering disaster had occurred.
“Something terrible has happened!”
Yun Zi’rao frowned slightly.
Immediately, she resumed her weak and fragile appearance before turning her head.
“W-What happened?”
The maid looked unfamiliar.
Her clothing clearly wasn’t that of a servant from the Yun household.
Yun Zi’rao couldn’t immediately place her identity.
However, judging from her reckless behavior, she certainly wasn’t someone from Madam Yun’s courtyard.
“Prince Zhan has come to propose marriage!”
The maid looked flustered.
“His Highness the Crown Prince ordered me to inform you immediately. He says you absolutely must not agree!”
Yun Zi’rao fell silent.
Then blinked slowly.
Was this a case of someone handing her a pillow the moment she got sleepy?
Or had Heaven literally heard her thoughts?
Prince Zhan had come to propose marriage.
And the Crown Prince had specifically sent a personal maid to warn her.
This plot…
Felt astonishingly familiar.
Yun Zi’rao sat upright in excitement.
“Y-You said what?”
Immediately afterward, she broke into a fit of coughing.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
The maid looked concerned.
“Miss Yun, are you alright?”
“Young Miss!”
Two more maids hurried into the room.
Looking uneasy, they bowed.
“Please forgive us. We deserve punishment. She’s one of the Crown Prince’s people. We didn’t dare stop her.”
These were the maids Madam Yun had assigned to guard the courtyard and prevent anyone from disturbing Yun Zi’rao’s rest.
Since the newcomer had arrived under the Crown Prince’s orders, they naturally hadn’t dared interfere.
Yun Zi’rao rose from the bed.
Despite appearing extremely weak, she made no attempt to seek support.
The Crown Prince’s maid saw this and a trace of disdain flashed through her eyes.
Then she stepped forward with fake concern.
“This servant can help support Miss Yun—”
“We’ll do it.”
One of the Jing’an Courtyard maids gently moved forward.
Carefully supporting Yun Zi’rao, she said:
“Young Miss, Madam instructed you to rest properly. If you don’t wish to go, you don’t have to.”
“The situation is urgent.”
The Crown Prince’s maid’s expression changed slightly.
“Prince Zhan has personally come to propose. The Prime Minister and Madam are finding it difficult to refuse him, which is precisely why His Highness asked Eldest Miss to step in.”
A cold smile flashed through Yun Zi’rao’s eyes.
The Prime Minister and Madam can’t refuse?
What nonsense.
Marriage was determined by parental approval and formal arrangements.
When had children ever become the decision-makers?
Mo Jinglin simply saw that she was weak, sickly, and merely an adopted daughter now.
That was why he had invented this excuse and pushed her out to deal with the situation.
If Prince Zhan took offense, Mo Jinglin could simply claim that Yun Zi’rao was ill and not in her right state of mind.
He could also point out that she was no longer truly a daughter of the Yun family, making it difficult for the Prime Minister to make decisions on her behalf.
Whether those excuses made sense was irrelevant.
As long as an excuse existed, it could be used.
Unfortunately for him…
This time his calculations were going to fail.
Supported by a maid on either side, Yun Zi’rao shuffled forward like someone at death’s door.
Step by step, she moved toward the courtyard gate.
“I’ll go speak with Prince Zhan myself.”
Seeing her cooperate so readily, the Crown Prince’s maid couldn’t help revealing a pleased smile.
In her view, Yun Zi’rao was still hopelessly in love with the Crown Prince.
She had yet to learn that her engagement had already been dissolved through an agreement between the Crown Prince and Prime Minister Yun.
The position of Crown Princess now belonged to Yun Zijun.
Surely Yun Zi’rao would use her former engagement as an excuse to reject Prince Zhan’s proposal.
If she offended Prince Zhan, no man in the capital would dare marry her afterward.
Besides, who would want a sickly woman like her?
In the end…
Her only option would be to enter the Crown Prince’s household as a mere concubine.