Ex-Girlfriend – Chapter 26
by Little PandaPower Overwhelming the Court
Deposed Empress 01
Covering the Sky with One Hand
In that moment, several ideas flashed through Zou Yunfei’s mind, only to immediately tangle into a chaotic ball of yarn, throwing his brain into complete confusion.
Xin Lan tilted her chin at him and cracked her neck.
An alarm blared in Zou Yunfei’s head. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled Shen Shuiyan behind him.
“My, quite the deeply devoted pair, aren’t we?”
Xin Lan raised her eyebrows in surprise when she saw Zou Yunfei’s movement.
“Can we resolve our issues once we get out of here? As long as we get out, I’ll let you do whatever you want with me. It was all my fault before.”
Zou Yunfei took a deep breath and spoke, looking at Xin Lan with utmost sincerity.
This scene was rather amusing. Anyone unaware of the context would’ve thought Xin Lan was some overbearing main wife, while Shen Shuiyan, hiding behind Zou Yunfei, was a pitiful, innocent white lotus.
Xin Lan sneered, displaying nothing but disdain.
“Sorry, the slots are full. If you want to get out, let the person behind you die here. I’ll give you a chance to think about it. What do you say?”
Xin Lan casually tossed out the dilemma. Zou Yunfei stood frozen for a long moment.
Shen Shuiyan put on a display of utter despair, her brow furrowing as she gazed at Zou Yunfei, her eyes shimmering with tears.
A dull ache throbbed in Zou Yunfei’s chest. If Shen Shuiyan hadn’t run all the way here for his sake, why would she have to face such a situation?
But he didn’t want to die…
Zou Yunfei looked at her, made up his mind, and suddenly lunged forward to attack Xin Lan.
Xin Lan shifted her body to dodge, catching his incoming fist and violently twisting his arm back.
“You really love overestimating yourself, don’t you? It seems you just never learn.”
Xin Lan remarked coolly, watching Zou Yunfei collapse to one side, clutching his arm.
“Let her go, okay? Take her out of here.”
Knowing he was no match for her, and despite the bitter resentment in his heart, Zou Yunfei forced his breathing to steady and pleaded with Xin Lan for Shen Shuiyan’s sake.
Xin Lan pulled down the corners of her mouth, staring coldly at Zou Yunfei. She felt quite displeased.
This man’s pathetic act was truly nauseating. Who was he trying to move?
Even if the original owner of this body were standing here, she’d only have been further enraged by his actions.
Just who did he want to move with his self-sacrificing display? This deep devotion, when contrasted with what he’d done before, was incredibly ironic.
Xin Lan glanced at Shen Shuiyan, only to find she wasn’t moved at all. Instead, she was watching Zou Yunfei as if spectating the show. Detecting Xin Lan’s gaze, she flashed her a smile.
The slight irritation in Xin Lan’s chest vanished instantly. Fortunately, a certain top student wasn’t so easily duped.
“Forget it. I’m too lazy to keep acting with you. Let’s go.”
The moment Xin Lan spoke, Zou Yunfei froze. He was bewildered, but then the truth dawned on him. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Shen Shuiyan behind him.
There was no longer any trace of that delicate, pity-inducing expression on Shen Shuiyan’s face. In its place was a bright, mocking smile.
“You played me!”
Shock and rage warred in Zou Yunfei’s chest as he glared at Shen Shuiyan.
“So what if we lied to you? What about it?”
Shen Shuiyan walked right past him, giving him a disdainful smile.
Goaded into madness, Zou Yunfei lunged to grab her, but Xin Lan was faster. She seized his arm and dislocated his other arm as well before he could touch her.
“You’ve been lying to me this whole time! Why are you doing this to me? How have I ever wronged you?!”
Zou Yunfei roared. Recalling how moved he’d just been, he felt as if his face had been repeatedly slapped, burning with intense humiliation.
It was truly hilarious. While he’d been so moved by her actions, she’d probably been laughing at how stupid he was in her heart.
“Have you forgotten how you treated Xin Lan? How do you have the nerve to complain about me lying to you? It’s just a taste of your own medicine—what you did to her is exactly what I’m doing to you. Besides, you deceived her for so long, and I’ve only lied to you for a day or two.”
Shen Shuiyan spoke in a frigid tone. She still felt it wasn’t enough; the time she’d spent tormenting him was far too brief.
Zou Yunfei’s eyes flushed red, the blood rushing to his head.
“You did all this for her?! I never saw you defending her before! Now you’re putting on a show just to survive? I’m the one who knew you first! What right do you have?!”
Zou Yunfei felt ready to cough up blood, speaking with a mixture of fury and mockery.
“Exactly. I’m shocked it took me so long to realize how disgusting you are.”
Shen Shuiyan drove the knife in ruthlessly, stepping beside Xin Lan and taking her hand.
Her palm was cold, so Xin Lan gently rubbed it.
Witnessing their intimate behavior, Zou Yunfei suddenly realized something. The disgust in his eyes deepened as he looked at them.
“Shen Shuiyan, I’ve finally seen your true colors today! If you didn’t like me, why didn’t you just say no? You just love having people circle around you and pamper you, don’t you? Turns out you’re just a stinking wh.ore who likes women, acting all pure in front of me every fucking day…”
He was losing all control of his mouth. Before he could spew any worse filth, Xin Lan cut him off with a sharp slap.
“Did your mother never teach you to go home if you want to eat shit, instead of spewing shit everywhere here?”
Xin Lan also found it laughable. It’d been entirely a one-sided attraction from Zou Yunfei toward Shen Shuiyan; he’d never even confessed, and she’d never begged him to treat her well. Where’d he get these idiot notions? This fucking idiot didn’t just have a bad brain, his eyes were useless too if he couldn’t tell the difference between leading someone on and basic politeness.
Shen Shuiyan was barely paying attention to his insults. Her focus had locked onto that single phrase: ‘likes women’.
Her eyes lit up slightly, and she subtly squeezed Xin Lan’s fingers.
“I didn’t start out liking women either. I have you to thank for that. Otherwise, how would I have discovered how wonderful Xin Lan is? Compared to you, she’s countless times better. Even if I willingly love her, I wouldn’t spare you a single glance.”
Shen Shuiyan was always steady, ruthless, and accurate when stabbing someone in the heart. Since Zou Yunfei had said that, she just went along with his words to keep stepping on him.
Shen Shuiyan stepped in front of Xin Lan and leaned in slightly, signaling with her eyes for her to play along.
Xin Lan caught the look but hadn’t yet figured out how she was supposed to cooperate before Shen Shuiyan pressed close and kissed her on the lips. It was as brief as a dragonfly brushing the water, yet the sensation of that momentary contact was overwhelmingly real.
Xin Lan froze, and Zero Nine in the system space froze as well.
??????
The sight turned Zou Yunfei’s eyes a deeper shade of red. The person he loved had mocked and betrayed him without mercy; he’d been toyed with like an absolute clown, his sincere feelings trampled. To make matters worse, his beloved preferred his ex-girlfriend—a woman who had humiliated him time and again!
Yet he couldn’t even beat this woman. With his arms injured, he stood there like a pathetic wretch, watching the two women mock him.
His sanity had burned to ashes, and a twisted smile crept onto his face.
“If I’m miserable, don’t think either of you will have it easy!”
“Someone has gathered…”
Zou Yunfei suddenly bellowed. Knowing exactly what he was trying to do, Xin Lan lunged forward, grabbed him by the hair, and slammed his head into the wall.
Blood left a dark red smear on the wall. Xin Lan let go of the man, who was now nearly knocked unconscious by the impact.
“Are you in pain? Someone was once a hundred times more miserable than you.”
Xin Lan whispered in his ear, her voice chillingly cold.
It wasn’t currently hunting time, so she couldn’t kill him.
But that didn’t matter. Sometimes, living was far more agonizing than dying—especially when waiting for death.
Xin Lan used her knife to cut out Zou Yunfei’s tongue, watching his eyes bulge as he found himself unable to even utter a cry of pain.
Just like how she’d dealt with that □□ist before, she stabbed his body until he was drenched in blood, then dragged him into the girls’ restroom.
A trail of blood stretched down the corridor.
This should’ve been an eerie sight, but Shen Shuiyan stood in place, completely unafraid.
She touched her lips, a thoughtful look crossing her face.
Xin Lan dumped him onto the restroom floor and clapped her hands.
Zero Nine: “Bingo! Congrats, Host, the mission is complete! I’ve already submitted it. We’ll see the evaluation results as soon as we head out!”
Zero Nine was praying for an S-rank. That would yield the maximum amount of points. The points would go straight into the host’s account; as the system, she held a secondary card with rights to use up to thirty percent of the earnings. If the host permitted, she could spend even more.
Xin Lan nodded. Zero Nine didn’t ask if she wanted to log out right away.
Obviously, Xin Lan was going to wait until they walked out of here to log out.
“Enjoy the taste of despair right here.”
Xin Lan said flatly.
Despair and break down, just like the original owner of this body once did.
Mocked and abandoned by the person she loved, forcefully dragged into a room and hu.miliated; she’d clearly seen a glimmer of hope, but the person she’d once foolishly loved didn’t offer any. He’d simply watched her be tortured, filled with resentment and pain, before she was brutally murdered. How desperately that young girl must have wanted Zou Yunfei to die back then.
Zou Yunfei’s eyes were full of venomous hatred. Xin Lan turned away, not sparing another glance at the man on the floor.
Xin Lan stepped out of the restroom. Shen Shuiyan was waiting for her by the stairs.
In truth, the commotion had already attracted the attention of quite a few people. The survivors peeked out from their classrooms, but upon seeing the trail of blood on the floor, they indifferently withdrew their gazes.
They would never know that they wouldn’t get any result by waiting here.
When Xin Lan and Shen Shuiyan walked down, Xu Deng and the others breathed a sigh of relief.
“Can we set off now?”
“Of course.”
Xin Lan nodded.
While walking down the stairs, neither Xin Lan nor Shen Shuiyan brought up that kiss. They tacitly pretended as though nothing had happened.
Shen Shuiyan was thinking about some things, while Xin Lan simply treated it as Shen Shuiyan’s way of spiting Zou Yunfei. Other than freezing for a moment and feeling a bit awkward at the time, she didn’t take it to heart much.
The completed map revealed a route. One peculiar phenomenon worth mentioning was that the matching map fragments didn’t require any glue to bond; they joined together seamlessly on their own, showing no visible cracks, as though they’d never been torn apart.
They passed the teaching building and the administration building, descended the steps, and continued forward.
There was a small lake inside the campus, with a circular pebble-paved path running along its shores, lined with willow trees on both sides.
The winter climate here wasn’t cold enough to freeze water, and the surface of the lake rippled gently in the wind.
“We have to walk to the end from here.”
Xin Lan kept her eyes on the map as she walked forward.
“Huh? Is there still a path ahead? I remember this being a circle?”
“Just follow.”
Zhou Chun replied to Qi Xiao, who had just spoken. The two of them walked at the very rear, holding hands.
Xin Lan held the map and walked in front with Shen Shuiyan, while Xu Deng followed in the middle. This formation made Xu Deng feel much better—at least she wasn’t left alone at the very back, staring at the pairs of coupled silhouettes ahead.
“After we get out, let’s go have a proper meal together.”
Shen Shuiyan suddenly spoke up.
Xin Lan paused, unsure whether she should agree or remain silent.
“I know a really delicious hotpot restaurant. I’ll ask you out once we’re out.”
Shen Shuiyan didn’t notice Xin Lan’s silence, speaking with a warm smile.
There were perhaps still some things she hadn’t fully figured out, but that didn’t stop her from extending the invitation.
She’d always been someone who liked to plan things out. There was no need to rush; she’d figure things out eventually.
“Sure.”
Xin Lan said.
But she figured she wouldn’t be able to eat this hotpot.
The mission in this world would wrap up as soon as they stepped out, with no other follow-up. This meant that even if she wanted to have a meal with Shen Shuiyan, she couldn’t.
Task executors could indeed linger in a world, but there was a time limit. As long as they had enough points to pay for their stay, they could remain in that world for as long as they pleased, provided the world itself had enough timeline progression to allow it.
The duration of the stay was determined by the progression of the subsequent plot. Task personnel could stay only up to the furthest point of that world’s timeline.
Shen Shuiyan was entirely oblivious, continuing forward in high spirits.
Xin Lan remained silent, feeling a trace of guilt for flaking on this little sister.
However, that guilt lasted for only about a minute. After all, she wasn’t one to easily indulge in sentimentality. She could clearly distinguish between the mission and reality.
At the end of the pebble path, a short flight of steps leading downward appeared.
According to the map, after descending the steps, they would reach a place resembling an underground tunnel, bringing them to an iron door.
The iron door seemed long neglected, covered in thick rust. When Xin Lan pushed it open, her hand was accidentally coated in rust flakes.
Passing through the iron door, a chilly draft swept through the narrow passage.
Everyone shivered instinctively. From the back, Qi Xiao muttered about how creepy it was.
No matter how eerie it was, they had to keep moving. After all, this wasn’t yet the end of the map.
When they finally reached the designated finish line, Xin Lan breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, the rules weren’t so entirely psychotic as to screw them over right before their exit.
Not far ahead was a cluster of light, much like the one Xin Lan had seen during the extra game.
“That should be it. Let’s go.”
As they drew closer, a voice belonging to the rules echoed in their minds.
“Congratulations to the team that has successfully reached the exit. Please accept my blessings.”
A faint light enveloped Xin Lan and the others, only to dissipate a moment later.
“Whether by strength or by luck, your victory proves that you deserve a smooth and peaceful life. Go forth.”
In the next instant, Xin Lan felt as though her body were being pushed forward.
By the time the light vanished from her eyes, she was standing in a familiar place.
Beside her, Zero Nine stretched lazily and stepped forward to open the door to the Task Room.
“You’re back! Ah, I’m so tired.”
Zero Nine collapsed onto her sofa, picking up a bottle of Coca-Cola and taking a joyful gulp.
Xin Lan walked out and sat down on a chair in silence.
“Host, our evaluation is indeed an S! Huh, wait, there’s another line of text below it.”
Zero Nine pushed up her glasses, the digital streams in her eyes flashing rapidly.
“With the buff from the mission world, our points are multiplied by 1.2! Oh ho, we hit the jackpot!”
Zero Nine took a look at her little treasury and instantly placed an order for a box of assorted potato chips and a case of Sprite-Coke mixers. The life of an otaku is just that blissful.
“Lan-jie, want some thips?”
Zero Nine ripped open a bag, stuffing a handful into her own mouth while offering the bag to Xin Lan.
Xin Lan reached out to take one, her expression calm.
“What’s wrong? You aren’t still thinking about that hotpot, are you? How about we go out for hotpot tonight then?”
“All you think about is food.”
Xin Lan flicked her forehead.
She’d simply… not had the chance to say goodbye.
Forget it.
It wasn’t as if they would ever meet again anyway.
“Host, would you like me to book an emotional dilution procedure for you?”
“No need.”
In the past, she’d opted for emotional dilution because acting as a villain inevitably left behind many unpleasant memories. She didn’t have any this time, so she would just leave it be.
“I’m going to sleep. I’ll take you out for hotpot once I wake up.”
“Long live the Host!”
Zero Nine nodded, curling up on the sofa to watch television and drink soda.
Systems don’t rely on food to maintain their functions, nor can these things provide them with any energy. Since they can’t digest food, the food’s energy is temporarily stored in their bodies before being excreted through a specialized process.
This setup still has its perks. A shut-in system never has to worry about gaining weight no matter how much she eats and drinks. Normally, a system only grows fat if she overcharges.
Xin Lan returned to her room, took a shower, and lay down on her bed.
She wasn’t particularly sleepy. A few thoughts drifted through her mind, but eventually, nothing remained.
Zero Nine sat cross-legged eating her chips, a massive, newly delivered box of assorted flavors sitting by her feet. Suddenly, a beeping sound echoed in her mind. It was a communication request.
Zero Nine blinked in confusion. A high-privilege ID she’d never seen before was contacting her?
“Hello, this is Face-Slapping Department System G09, Zero Nine.”
“Huh? Yes, we did indeed participate in the Ex-Girlfriend Series mission. My host is Xin Lan, who just transferred over from the Villain Department.”
“Is this a routine inquiry regarding members who have transferred departments? Do you need me to evaluate my host?”
“Oh, okay. My host is very good, she has immense potential.”
“You wish to know the location of our next mission? I haven’t decided yet. Senior, is this part of the investigation as well?”
“Oh, I see. You are the Commander-in-Chief overseeing this series. Understood. I will send you a message once I determine the location of the next world.”
“Goodbye, Senior.”
Zero Nine let out a sigh of relief. Being suddenly contacted by a senior had left her rather dazed.
With such a high clearance level, this senior had likely already retired.
To systems, retired seniors aren’t outmoded relics at all. On the contrary, their specs are usually the absolute finest. Having completed countless missions with stellar performance, they no longer need to guide hosts. They become independent entities, serving as directors of certain departments or mission series, or simply traveling wherever they please.
Zero Nine tossed the matter to the back of her mind, watching TV while waiting for Xin Lan to wake up and take her out for hotpot.
When Xin Lan woke up, it was exactly dinnertime.
She wore a khaki knit sweater, her long hair tied into a low ponytail behind her, with a few loose strands framing the sides of her face. Coupled with her striking features, she exuded a trace of gentleness.
At first glance, Zero Nine was slightly incredulous. She felt that the gorgeous, elegant woman before her couldn’t possibly be her host. After all, Xin Lan’s brutal image had already become deeply ingrained in her mind.
“Aren’t we going?”
Xin Lan buckled the watch on her wrist, looking at the motionless Zero Nine.
That cold glance made Zero Nine shudder. Yep, still the same host.
The hotpot restaurant closest to Xin Lan was highly popular. Hosts who knew each other gathered there for meals, each accompanied by their respective systems.
Some systems took on human forms like Zero Nine; unless one stared directly into their eyes, you couldn’t tell them apart from humans.
Other systems were instantly recognizable, taking the forms of rabbits, spheres, chicks, or even more extravagant creatures like dragons, phoenixes, flood dragons, tigers, and leopards.
Since the hosts came from various planes, their attire differed wildly. Some wore qipaos and held painted fans, while others donned nano-combat suits. At the table next to Xin Lan, two hosts—one in a plunging short skirt and the other in wide-sleeved ancient robes—were sweating profusely as they dipped ingredients into their hotpot. Looking around, one couldn’t help but feel a sense of temporal confusion.
“Table for two?”
The smart ordering interface on the table spoke.
“Yes.”
“Please place your order.”
“Jiu’er, what do you want to eat?”
“Let’s start with some sliced mutton, sliced beef, tripe, shrimp paste, potatoes, lotus root slices, fried dough sticks, an assorted mushroom platter, and some QQ noodles just to line my stomach. Oh, and a large bottle of coconut milk! We can order more after we finish. What do you think, Host?”
Zero Nine stared at Xin Lan with glittering eyes. Xin Lan’s fingers could barely keep pace with the speed at which she rattled off the dishes.
“Of course. Go ahead, see if you can eat yourself to death.”
Xin Lan wore a smile. How on earth could this new system eat so much?
But she was her own system after all, so she had to keep feeding her.
Inside the bustling, crowded hotpot restaurant, the rising steam enveloped everyone. Having eaten her fill, Xin Lan saw that Zero Nine was too busy eating to keep up, so she helplessly started swishing meat slices for her, thus failing to notice a gaze from behind.
Only one person sat at that table. She raised her glass toward Xin Lan from a distance, then lowered her head to silently resume eating her hotpot.
This could be considered keeping their promise—to eat hotpot together.
She’d originally wanted to go over and greet her, but there were still some things she hadn’t yet figured out.
If she approached her now, she felt it’d be awkward and lukewarm, with nothing to say to each other.
After returning from the hotpot restaurant, Xin Lan took a few days to rest before letting Zero Nine select her next mission.
The data in Zero Nine’s eyes flashed as she picked one from the mission panel.
“Host, is an Ancient World okay?”
“Yes.”
“Although this one isn’t as thrilling as the last, it’s a career-focused face-slap. I think you’ll like it.”
Xin Lan remained noncommittal, pushing open the door to the Task Room.
…………
The State of Wu, the Fourth Year of Yuan Ling.
“The Empress1 has acted out of order, violating palace regulations. She possesses a malicious heart and poisoned the imperial heir. Her crimes are unforgivable. Effective today, her rank is stripped, and she is demoted to a Commoner2, to be moved permanently to Biyue Palace. Thus is the sovereign’s command.”
The moment Xin Lan arrived, a shrill, piercing voice enumerating her offenses rang in her ears. The turbulent emotions of the body’s original owner surged through her mind, causing her head to ache.
The Eunuch3 delivering the decree saw the deposed Empress still sitting on the rosewood chair, her head slightly lowered, and felt a wave of dissatisfaction.
“Lady Xin, why haven’t you knelt to receive the Imperial Edict4?”
Xin Lan frowned upon hearing this. What she hated most about these backward, feudal co.untries was all the constant kneeling.
Since she was already a deposed Empress anyway, she simply waved her hand at the Eunuch.
“Got it. Just leave it there.”
“Are you defying an imperial decree?!”
Incensed by her dismissive attitude, the delivering Eunuch barked in a harsh voice.
“Eunuch, are your ears defective? When did I say I was defying the decree? I told you to put it on the ground. If you think the floor of Changqiu Palace is unworthy of this decree, then put it on the table. Do you understand what I mean or not?”
Considering her status as a deposed Empress, Xin Lan didn’t use the original owner’s formal self-referential terms.
The delivering Eunuch was startled by her indifferent gaze and mocking words, instinctively shrinking back. But he immediately remembered that she was now nothing but a deposed Empress. What did he have to fear anymore? This realization left him feeling both ashamed and angry.
“Your Majesty—no, Lady Xin! Who do you think you are, daring to show such disrespect to the Imperial Edict?!”
“Fine,” Xin Lan nodded. “I’ll accept the decree.”
Xin Lan walked over. The hairpins and pendants on her head made her a bit uncomfortable. As she drew near, just as the delivering Eunuch was feeling smug, she snatched the Imperial Edict right out of his hands.
“Now that I’ve accepted it, Eunuch, do you have anything else to say? If not, please leave. Don’t delay me from packing my things.”
Xin Lan curved her lips into a smile, but it was so forced that it sent shivers down the man’s spine.
The delivering Eunuch’s face flushed red with rage. He flicked his whisk and stormed off in a huff.
Xin Lan sat back down in her chair, placing the bright yellow Imperial Edict on the table beside her. She picked up her teacup, took a sip, and set it down.
The reason she dared to be so blunt was that Zero Nine had just provided her with a simplified summary of the critical background details. The source of her confidence—and the very reason the original owner had been ruined and brought to this state—was her maternal relatives.
The original owner of this body shared her exact name, both first and last. Xin Lan suspected that all the original owners in this series of missions would have the same name.
The original owner was the legitimate daughter. Her father was the Left Chancellor5, her mother was the daughter of the Grand General of Zhenyuan6, and her older brother was the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicature7. Her background was prestigious beyond measure. At fifteen, she’d married the Fifth Prince, becoming his princess consort. The immense political backing she brought provided the Fifth Prince with the leverage he needed to successfully seize the throne in the second year of their marriage.
By all rights, the original owner should’ve been showered with absolute favor—a princess consort in her first year, and the Empress in her second. But that wasn’t the case at all.
The Emperor had cold-shouldered her for a long time. Having reigned for four years under the constant restraint of her father and brother in court, he found himself unable to vent his frustrations in the assembly hall, unleashing all his resentment upon her instead.
Cold remarks, favoring other consorts, picking on her at every turn—he only stepped into her palace on the two designated days of each month, never staying the night.
At first, the original owner would feel sad, but later her heart died. Knowing she wasn’t loved, she just carried on as a dignified Empress.
Because the Empress lacked favor, the other consorts began to harbor ambitions, subtly slandering her to the Emperor and isolating her behind the scenes.
But she was no pushover either. If anyone showed disrespect, she punished them strictly according to palace protocol, earning her quite a few enemies in the imperial harem.
She didn’t care. A horde of women was constantly coveting her position anyway. Whether she actively fought them or not, she would still face their jealousy and bullying, so she simply vented her anger whenever she pleased.
This time, the pretext for her deposition was the harming of the imperial heir.
The original owner had no children of her own, but she desperately wanted to adopt and raise a child of her own. The one she had set her sights on was the child of Consort8 Liu, who was only a few months pregnant.
Yet at that crucial moment, Consort Liu suffered a miscarriage.
First, something strange was detected in the food sent by the Empress. Then, Consort Liu’s maid claimed she’d been coerced by the Empress, who had threatened the lives of her entire family to force her cooperation.
Normally, with only these two pieces of evidence, the case would’ve been flimsy at best. But the Emperor had no interest in her innocence. Without a proper investigation, he directly rendered his verdict, stripping her of the empress-ship and demoting her to a commoner.
Based on the original owner’s background, this shouldn’t have happened, because acting like this was tantamount to provoking the powerful factions behind the Empress.
But she had a replacement. Or rather, the Xin family had prepared a new pawn to take her place on the throne.
At present, she was nothing more than a discarded piece—though she’d been entirely unaware of it.
Xin Lan touched the red polish on her fingernails and smoothed her hair at her temples.
Technically speaking, the original owner was an ex-wife, not an ex-girlfriend.
Zero Nine: Cough, cough, cough. It’s within range, it’s all the same, all the same!
Before Xin Lan could ask Zero Nine to transmit the rest of the plot, someone entered to urge her along, reminding her that it was time to depart.
At that moment, two maids stepped forward, each carrying a bundled pack, and bowed to her.
“Master, everything’s packed.”
Upon hearing that she was deposed, the other servants of Changqiu Palace had long since fled. Only these two maids remained. One was He Hua, her dowry maid who had accompanied her from the Chancellor’s estate to the prince’s residence and had stayed with her for years. The other was Chun Yue, a young maid whom she’d saved and promoted after entering the imperial palace.
Xin Lan nodded. She went into the inner palace chamber, took off her luxurious robes, and packed the hairpins and accessories neatly into boxes. The three of them then left the palace, following the leading Eunuch.
Stepping out of the grand, majestic Changqiu Palace, Xin Lan didn’t look back.
Biyue Palace’s name was a homophone; it didn’t use the character for ‘close’ from the idiom ‘closing the moon and shaming the flowers,’ but rather the one meaning ‘to avoid,’ signifying a place so desolate that even the moonlight couldn’t enter—the cold palace.
Halfway there, a rich fragrance wafted over, and a mocking voice rang out beside them.
“My, isn’t this our Empress? Why are you dressed like this, and where are you off to?”
The newcomer wore an apricot-yellow, flower-scattered gauze robe. Her hair was styled in a perfume-gathering cloud bun, held by a gold-plated silver hairpin of butterflies playing among twin blossoms encrusted with gems. In her hand, she held a gold-painted silk fan of fine bamboo, using it to partially obscure her mouth as she smiled, though it still revealed most of her face. With two palace maids trailing behind her, she put on quite an ostentatious display.
“Greetings, Noble Consort9 Highness.”
The Eunuch leading the way bowed respectfully and stepped aside.
Seeing that Xin Lan didn’t respond, the maid beside the Noble Consort quickly spoke up.
“Master, you might not know, but the Empress was demoted to a commoner by an Imperial Edict this morning.”
“So that’s what happened. My, I received the Emperor’s favor yesterday and woke up a bit late today, so I hadn’t heard about it. No wonder you look so thin and worn, jiejie. Honestly, jiejie, you were far too petty. Consort Liu’s child was also His Majesty’s offspring. How could you bring yourself to do such a thing?”
The Noble Consort gently fluttered her fan, sighing after a display of bashfulness, though her eyes were filled with absolute pity and ridicule.
She and the original owner were sworn rivals. The Noble Consort had desperately wanted her to fall so she could take her place; after all, having someone constantly sitting above her was incredibly frustrating.
Xin Lan only found her incredibly noisy. She kept her face expressionless, waiting for her to finish.
She’d clearly come to watch a spectacle, but Xin Lan had no intention of giving her a show.
“Do you truly think that with me gone, you’ll be able to sit in that position? When will you grow out of your naivety? Since you’ve finished talking, you should leave. It must’ve been hard on you, meimei, to walk all this way just to see me. Rest assured, I’ll keep a close eye on you. Eunuch, let’s proceed.”
Xin Lan was slightly taller than the Noble Consort. As she uttered these words, she cast her gaze downward, fully exuding her commanding presence.
The Noble Consort grit her teeth, her fingers tightening around her embroidered handkerchief.
Why wasn’t this woman grieving, raging, or weeping bitter tears?!
Why did she still have that high-and-mighty, detached demeanor, as if she weren’t heading to the cold palace but were instead receiving the formal bows of the consorts?!
“Xin Lan! I’m the one who won! Me!”
The Noble Consort said resentfully, but the figure ahead didn’t look back.
In her anger, she threw her fan onto the ground and stomped on it repeatedly, as if it weren’t a fan but the very person she loathed to her core.
Xin Lan entered Biyue Palace. The Eunuch leading them watched them enter before shutting the vermilion gates.
“Master, please rest here while we go clean the place up.”
Chun Yue rolled up her sleeves, and Xin Lan nodded.
Chun Yue and He Hua set down their bundles and began drawing well water to clean the premises.
Xin Lan dusted off the swing in the courtyard and sat down to receive the subsequent plot details.
As her thoughts gradually cleared, Xin Lan didn’t know whether to call it tragic or pitiful.
The story hadn’t started out this way, but circumstances had changed.
When the original owner first married him, it was because she’d fallen deeply in love with the Fifth Prince, entirely unaware that he’d deliberately manipulated her into falling for him.
The Fifth Prince didn’t love the original owner at all; he only wanted to borrow the political power behind her. After she entered the prince’s residence, her virtue and conduct were impeccable. Since the Fifth Prince hadn’t become the Emperor yet, he pampered her at every turn. But once he ascended the throne, his attitude immediately grew cold. The original owner didn’t notice, simply thinking the Emperor was too busy.
This was merely the beginning of her misfortune; at most, she could only be called a tragic political sacrifice, but what the Emperor did went far beyond that.
Deceiving her feelings with superficial affection—this was his first crime.
Secretly administering poison to her shortly after she married into the prince’s residence to strip away her fertility—this was his second crime.
Despite being the culprit behind her childlessness, the Emperor mocked and even despised her for it—this was his third crime.
And of these three crimes, the original owner was completely oblivious, kept in the dark from beginning to end.
Tricking her feelings solely for utility, drugging her when she was still a fifteen-year-old girl to strip away her right to be a mother without her knowledge, and subsequently spending the next three to four years mocking her for being barren; furthermore, when other consorts caused trouble, he showed blatant bias, deliberately mentioning and favoring other women in her presence—as Zero Nine put it, his actions were utterly subhuman.
Yet the original owner’s suffering didn’t end there. Looking at the subsequent plot, she faced an even more agonizing fate.
Even after being deposed, she lived in the cold palace without much panic because she knew she still had her family backing her, believing she wouldn’t be left to rot here forever.
Instead of the news she expected, she learned that her family had sent a new girl into the palace to become the next Empress. It was then she realized she could never return to her former position; she’d been abandoned.
It was a logical yet heartless decision. Utterly disheartened, she’d spent half her life only to end up with absolutely nothing.
She’d resigned herself to surviving in the cold palace, yet there were those who still refused to let her be.
The imperial examinations were held once every four years, coinciding with this year. The Top Scholar10 possessed exceptional literary talent and an outstanding appearance. However, while heavily intoxicated during a celebratory feast, he vanished on his way out of the palace.
The Emperor sent men to search, only to discover that near a rockery not far away, the Top Scholar was lying with his clothes disarrayed, pinned down by a woman—the deposed Empress.
Naturally, she could never have slipped out of the cold palace to se.duce a stranger. Anyone with eyes could see that there was something highly suspicious about the situation.
Consequently, under the charge of defiling the imperial palace and failing to maintain female virtue, she was sentenced to the beating punishment11.
Aside from the Emperor himself, who else in the palace could knock the original owner unconscious, disarrange her clothes, and precisely lure the drunken—or rather, drugged—Top Scholar to that specific spot?
And the Emperor didn’t order a cup of poi.soned wine or a length of white silk for her execution; she was beaten to death, losing her life in the most brutal manner.
Though they say a great man must sometimes be ruthless, torturing his former wife in such a sinister and despicable manner was incredibly shameful for an Emperor, exposing his petty character and disgraceful methods.
Just as the original owner said, she’d lived half her life without ever understanding it. She’d expected a smooth and peaceful existence, only to meet such an end.
Thinking of the Emperor, whom she had yet to meet face-to-face, a wave of disgust washed over Xin Lan.
To an Emperor, romantic love was never the most important thing—the empire was. To deal with such a man, one had to strip away everything he possessed and ensure he met a miserable end, just as the original owner had suffered.
Zero Nine: “Lan-jie, if romance isn’t that important to this scumbag, are we still going through with our previous plan?”
Xin Lan: “What plan?”
Zero Nine: “Stealing his woman.”
Xin Lan: “Of course. This time, we absolutely must steal her.”
While romance might not be the most important thing to this scumbag, stealing her would still deal him a heavy blow. Moreover, the female lead of this world was of immense importance to him.
The unfortunate, framed Top Scholar was the female lead.
Disguised as a man, she possessed extraordinary talent despite being a woman, contributing greatly to the Emperor’s efforts to eradicate the maternal relatives and dismantle the Xin family.
During a previous incognito tour of the southern regions, the Emperor had disguised himself and traveled with her for some time, considering her a close confidant. He’d been ecstatic to see her in the Golden Throne Hall. Upon accidentally discovering her identity as a woman, his affection deepened; he believed she was the only one capable of standing beside him, the true Empress.
In Xin Lan’s opinion, this scumbag was simply a piece of trash.
He’d intentionally designed the scheme against the Top Scholar. Otherwise, he could’ve easily arranged for anyone else to deal with the original owner. While the Top Scholar was drugged and delirious, the Emperor had rushed over, punished the deposed Empress, and carried the Top Scholar back to his own chambers to have his way with her, establishing a conjugal reality and sealing it with countless grand vows.
The mere thought of it disgusted Xin Lan. How was this any different from se.duction and r.ape?
No matter how one looked at it, Xin Lan had to steal this person.
The author has something to say:
Today is another ten-thousand-character update, which includes the bonus chapter for classmate 【Hei Chuan】’s red envelope~
The original owner of the body and Sister Lan are two separate individuals, and the Commander and her characters (the top student and the Top Scholar in the original plot, etc.) are also separate entities. Please keep them distinct! Even if Sister Lan hadn’t arrived, the Commander wouldn’t necessarily have followed the original plotline, so please do not confuse them.
There’s also a reason they didn’t go over to greet each other. Sister Lan draws a sharp line between the mission worlds and reality, while the Commander is accustomed to thorough planning. A sudden greeting would’ve been highly awkward. We’ll take our time with the romance; the relationship development will come. After all, didn’t they just kiss? If we round that up, it’s practically a home run! √
Footnotes
- Empress (huánghòu): The principal wife of the Emperor and the mother of the nation, holding supreme authority over the imperial harem.
- Commoner (shùrén): A status stripped of all titles, noble ranks, and privileges, reducing the person to the level of an ordinary citizen.
- Eunuch (tàijiān): Castrated male servants who attended to the imperial family and managed court administrative duties.
- Imperial Edict (shèngzhǐ): A formal, binding decree issued by the Emperor, traditionally written on silk of various colors—predominantly yellow—and stamped with the imperial seal.
- Left Chancellor (zuǒchéngxiàng): One of the highest administrative officials in ancient China, acting as a prime minister alongside the Right Chancellor.
- Grand General of Zhenyuan (zhènyuǎndàjiāngjūn): A high-ranking military title awarded to commanders responsible for stabilizing and defending distant borders.
- Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicature (dàlǐsìshǎoqīng): A senior judicial position in the Court of Judicature and Revision, which handled high-level legal appeals and state trials.
- Consort (pín): A mid-ranking imperial concubine status in the harem hierarchy.
- Noble Consort (guìfēi): The highest rank among the Emperor's concubines, positioned directly below the Empress.
- Top Scholar (tànhuāláng): Literally 'flower snatcher,' the title awarded to the third-place finisher in the triennial palace examinations, historically associated with young, handsome, and talented scholars.
- beating punishment (zhàngxíng): A traditional form of corporal punishment in imperial China involving severe beatings with heavy wooden staves or bamboo poles.
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