I Was Drugged and Violated, but I Married the Prince and Became Queen

Before the Eastern Palace selection, I was drugged and lost my virtue in an alley to the guard Duan Ming. Thinking Duan Ming had shown me grace, I resigned myself to marrying into the Duan family.

After our marriage, Duan Ming achieved fame and success with my support. On the day he was appointed General, however, beggars appeared at our door, brazenly declaring:

"I am the married lady's lover before her marriage!"

I asked Duan Ming to drive them away, but he laughed viciously:

"It wasn't me who violated you in that alley at all, but these three beggars!"

"I just picked up your corpse that day, never expecting to gain such wealth and honor!"

When I learned the truth, overcome with rage, I pulled out a hairpin to kill him, but he pushed me from a high platform. In the midst of excruciating pain, I saw myself surrounded by those beggars while Duan Ming held his childhood sweetheart and watched coldly.

I died with deep hatred, and when I opened my eyes again, I had been reborn on that drugged night.

I was in the alley, my body burning with fever.

Chapter 1

The moment I realized I had been reborn, I immediately pulled out a hairpin and stabbed it deep into my thigh!

The poison in my body was called Immortal's Desire.

Once this drug took effect, even immortals free from desire would become slaves to their primal urges.

Only intense pain could keep me briefly clear-headed.

Otherwise, I would collapse in the alley like in my previous life, unable to distinguish whether those violating me were human or ghost.

My blurred vision finally cleared.

In the night wind, I keenly caught another sound—a man's suppressed breathing.

After I lost my virtue in my previous life, I collapsed in the alley in a wretched state.

It was Duan Ming, the Shen family's gate guard, who found me first.

He carried me with clothes disheveled and body defiled through the streets, back to the Shen family for all to see.

Throughout that journey, the entire capital knew that Shen Qingzhi, the only daughter of the Imperial Merchant Shen family, had illicit relations with a gate guard in an alley.

Before that night, I had been a strong candidate for Crown Princess.

After that night, I became a loose woman who had an affair with a servant.

During those days, a white silk ribbon was placed on my bedroom table.

I constantly thought of ending my life to preserve my family's reputation.

That was the darkest moment of my life.

Until one day, Crown Prince Pei Yuan suddenly visited with the imperial physician.

He pushed open the door, bringing in a beam of long-awaited sunlight that dazzled my eyes, nearly cried blind.

Pei Yuan asked me: "Miss, that night... did you see me?"

At that time, I was utterly ashamed. Behind heavy curtains, still observing court etiquette, I lowered my head respectfully:

"Your Highness is of golden blood and jade bones. This subject has never met you and dares not make false claims."

Through the curtains, I seemed to hear the Crown Prince sigh softly:

"Take care, miss. A woman's virtue is not between her legs. Do not belittle yourself."

The Crown Prince took away the white silk ribbon and left the imperial physician to nourish my body.

At that time, I only thought the Crown Prince was kind.

Later, I learned that that same night, the Crown Prince had also been drugged and had endured in that alley for the entire night.

Hearing that the Shen family's daughter had been violated in the same alley, he suspected he might have lost control and committed this terrible deed.

Therefore, he specially visited the Shen family to seek an answer.

Having heard of my disheveled state on the streets, he had even brought the imperial hospital's foremost gynecological expert.

After repeated verification, he finally learned it wasn't him.

Now, I stared at the pile of firewood before me.

The humiliation of my previous life was vivid in my mind. I couldn't remember those men's faces, only clearly remembered being pressed onto a pile of firewood and ravaged.

Before those three beggars and Duan Ming arrived, I had to leave this place immediately!

Immortal's Desire was extremely vicious. My legs were weak, my body like ice about to melt.

If any male appeared before me now, I feared I would lose control.

I stabbed my left thigh again, using the intense pain to stimulate my body's potential, and staggered toward the sound of breathing.

I thought it would be hard to find, but it was just behind a wall.

Under the cold white moonlight, a man in noble and luxurious robes leaned against the wall, his handsome face flushed with a thin layer of red, his fair neck tilted back in unbearable need.

I saw him as my savior.

If I had to lose something tonight, at least I would choose it myself! This was my only chance to change my fate!

Like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, I threw myself directly into the man's arms!

In my last moment of clarity, I recognized the imperial dragon pattern on his collar.

I was completely reassured.

In the chaos, I fumbled to open the door of a firewood room in the alley to avoid those beggars.

What followed happened naturally.

The man's well-defined hands tightly clasped my body, and I allowed myself to melt into spring water under the drug's influence.

We were like dry firewood meeting each other's rescue, embracing, burning within each other's bodies.

Chapter 2

When I woke again, a muscular, fair forearm covered with bite marks and scratches filled my vision.

As if possessed, I reached out and fondled it nostalgically.

Unexpectedly, that muscle suddenly let out a horrified voice: "How dare you!!"

I came fully awake, looked up, and saw the Crown Prince with a look of horror and anger, as if he had been "violated."

I reacted quickly, immediately playing the victim:

"Who are you?! What did you do to me!!"

The Crown Prince frowned:

"You don't recognize me?! Deceitful! We clearly met at the palace banquet!"

Of course, I recognized the Crown Prince.

It wasn't until long after my marriage in my previous life that I learned Pei Yuan had given me a second glance at the pre-selection banquet.

It was probably that second glance that made Princess Huayin notice me.

My mother had said that Immortal's Desire was a tribute from the Western Regions to the Emperor for training concubines.

Only a princess could obtain such a drug.

The wine the princess gave me must have been problematic.

Duan Ming was just my family's guard. Without the princess's secret instigation, who would dare violate a noble lady under the imperial family's watch?

My greatest enemy might come from the palace, so in this life, only by aligning with the Eastern Palace could I survive!

Last night's success was just the first step. Now I needed to dispel the Crown Prince's suspicions.

At the palace banquet, I sat with the other noble ladies in the lower seats, always keeping my eyes down, not daring to offend the imperial majesty.

Therefore, even if I now denied knowing the Crown Prince, it was reasonable and would make him think I was pure and innocent.

"Where did you, a villain, come from! How dare you impersonate the Crown Prince!"

As I spoke, I curled up and began to cry loudly:

"You violated me, and you still dare to use the Crown Prince's name! The Crown Prince is my favorite, and you've left me with no chance at all!"

I cried so grievously, almost shaking the roof off this broken firewood room.

Several tall guards rushed in from outside the firewood room, dressed as Eastern Palace guards: "Your Highness, we finally found you!"

Pei Yuan was at a loss, overwhelmed by my tears:

"Hey! Stop crying! I really am the Crown Prince! They can testify!"

I threw a tantrum and shouted:

"You are not! The Crown Prince is wise and divine, how could he be like a dog gnawing at people!"

"The Crown Prince is handsome and elegant, how could he be as dissolute as you!"

"The Crown Prince is my heroic savior, how could he be such a lecher like you!"

The guards watched as the originally angry Crown Prince was struck by these words—"wise and divine," "handsome and elegant," "heroic savior"—his lips curling upward.

"This is the Eastern Palace token."

A golden plaque was enlarged before my tear-filled eyes.

Pei Yuan's lips curled up: "Now do you believe me?!"

The Eastern Palace guards also chimed in: "This is the wise, divine, handsome, and elegant heroic savior the young lady spoke of—Crown Prince Pei Yuan!"

I suddenly stopped crying and reached for the golden plaque, but Pei Yuan pulled his hand back, making me grasp at empty air.

Then he suddenly gripped my pulse. After a moment, his brow furrowed:

"You, you were also drugged?"

The current Crown Prince was skilled in battle and well-versed in medicine. He had once saved an injured unknown soldier on the battlefield and was praised by the people for his benevolence.

I just needed to obediently let him feel my pulse and pretend to be terrified:

"Does Your Highness want to kill me?"

Pei Yuan released my wrist. With his medical skills, he could certainly tell what drug I had been given.

And that drug most likely came from the palace.

He guessed I was just another poor person manipulated by palace nobility.

At this point, I took another step back:

"Rest assured, Your Highness. Although I admire you, I dare not presume on the Eastern Palace."

I gathered my robes and struggled to stand up:

"About last night, I won't tell anyone. You need not worry about it."

With that, I walked unsteadily out the door.

The Crown Prince truly didn't try to stop me—dog man!

I deliberately tore my sleeve, dropping a jade pendant before his eyes.

That jade pendant was carved with the Shen family crest.

And also—my boudoir name.

Chapter 3

I walked out without looking back.

I couldn't let the Crown Prince see any trace of reluctance on my part, or I would become just another clichéd prey in his eyes.

I staggered out of the alley, my dress stained with blood, the wounds on my legs aching.

At the alley's entrance was Duan Ming.

When he found me, he was overjoyed and immediately rushed toward me.

Due to blood loss and last night's exhaustion, I couldn't resist and fainted in his arms.

When I woke again, I was lying on my bed in my boudoir.

My father's face was ashen, my mother's eyes red from crying.

Duan Ming was slapping his own face, saying:

"Last night, I saw the young lady had been affected by an aphrodisiac. If she couldn't find yin-yang balance, she would surely die. This subordinate had no choice but to lose control!"

"I genuinely like the young lady and want to protect her. If you don't mind, this subordinate is willing to request your hand in marriage and make you my proper wife!"

He thought I had lost all memory under the drug's influence, so he lied with righteous confidence.

I weakly retorted: "What did you say?"

Duan Ming tightened his grip on my hand and said firmly:

"Young lady, have you forgotten? Last night you were affected by the aphrodisiac and threw yourself into my arms. I had no choice but to help you achieve yin-yang balance!"

His eyes were sticky as he stared at me, as if reminding, or rather warning:

"Young lady, don't you have a red mole on your right shoulder?"

"During our intimacy, I saw it very clearly. I'll never forget your beauty."

Chapter 4

Duan Ming knelt before my bed, slapping his own face while tearfully recounting his helplessness and impropriety, his regret and admiration from that night.

His self-blame made it difficult for my parents to punish him.

The family physician also helped corroborate: "The young lady was indeed affected by a strange aphrodisiac last night. If it wasn't resolved in time, she would have died from blood reversal."

It was the same in my previous life. With the physician's testimony and my complete memory loss of that night, my parents could only say:

"So Duan Ming truly saved your life."

Merchants had low status. Even though the Shen family was the wealthiest imperial merchant, they were always looked down upon in prestigious circles.

I was of similar age to the Crown Prince. My parents had carefully cultivated me, hoping that one day I could enter the Eastern Palace and have a good future.

Everything was destroyed that night, destroyed by a mere gate guard.

My father's hair turned white overnight. The next day, he went to the Eastern Palace to apologize.

I was already on the selection list. If this wasn't handled well, it could be seen as provoking the Eastern Palace and showing contempt for imperial power.

The Eastern Palace didn't harshly criticize, and the Crown Prince personally visited, telling me not to seek death and to live well.

For several days, Duan Ming knelt in our courtyard, seemingly apologizing but actually forcing marriage.

A woman who lost her virtue also lost control over her own life.

Eventually, burdened by Duan Ming's "life-saving grace," I resigned myself to marrying into the Duan family.

It seemed like marrying down, but actually Duan Ming married into our family. He brought his crude old mother to live in the Shen family mansion.

A servant overnight became a son-in-law, enjoying the wealth and honor accumulated by three generations of the Shen family's imperial merchant business.

As the Shen family's only daughter, having lost the prospect of the Eastern Palace, my parents could only accept their fate, dedicating all the Shen family's connections to support Duan Ming's official career.

With mountains of gold and silver paving the way, three years later, Duan Ming was finally appointed Mingwei General of the fourth rank for his achievements in suppressing bandits.

He didn't have the talent of a scholar or hero to begin with; this was the limit of what the Shen family could support.

Parents love their children and plan for their future. My parents only hoped he would treat me well.

But on the day Duan Ming achieved fame and success, he brought those three beggars to our door.

The three beggars shouted when they saw me: "We are the married lady's lovers before her marriage!"

They opened their stinking mouths, revealing blackened teeth, wantonly mocking me in public.

I thought they were troublemakers causing a scene and asked Duan Ming to drive them away.

But Duan Ming suddenly changed his expression and laughed viciously:

"Why should I drive them away? They're telling the truth. These three beggars are not only your lovers but also our matchmakers!"

"What did you say?!"

"That drug was indeed from the Western Regions. Three years, and you're still kept in the dark."

Duan Ming said openly before my parents:

"It wasn't me who violated you that night, but these three beggars!"

He reminisced: "You were quite fragrant that night, young lady. If I weren't disgusted by the beggars touching you, you would have been barely acceptable that night. After all, in that alley, who would have known?"

"Father-in-law, mother-in-law, you actually treated me as a life-saving hero."

Duan Ming shook his general's armor, full of authority:

"In fact, I just picked up your corpse that morning!"

"And let a noble lady like you marry me, gaining all this wealth, honor, and bright future for nothing!"

When my father learned the truth of that year, he immediately vomited blood and died.

My mother wanted to perish together with Duan Ming but was pushed by him onto the table corner, her head bleeding.

I trembled all over, pulled out a hairpin to perish together with Duan Ming, but was kicked by him from the high platform, covered in blood.

As I was dying, I saw those three beggars surround me.

The memories of that night flashed before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

Under the cover of darkness, they gnawed at my skin, wetting my body in the mist.

I nearly collapsed, screaming and wailing, while Duan Ming held his childhood sweetheart, whom he had kept outside, watching coldly.

That day, Duan Ming told others that he had returned from suppressing bandits to find his wife having an affair with beggars. When the scandal was exposed, his wife went mad and killed her own parents, and Duan Ming accidentally killed her.

At that time, the court was in decline, with internal and external troubles, and government offices were corrupt. Such an absurd lie was never thoroughly investigated.

Thus Duan Ming received his official position and legitimately obtained the wealth accumulated by three generations of the Shen family.

He held his childhood sweetheart, brought his old mother, stepped on my corpse, changed the Shen family plaque to "Duan Residence," becoming the "new master" of the Shen family.

Everything from my previous life was vivid, and it all replayed after my rebirth.

Now, my mother, hearing the physician's words, as in my previous life, tearfully persuaded me:

"Qingzhi, it has come to this. You can't blame Duan Ming. Accept your fate."

"The news has already spread on the streets."

My father looked grave: "Marrying Duan Ming, we can say you had long been engaged. At least it's proper. I'll go to the Eastern Palace to apologize again. The Crown Prince is benevolent and probably won't be harsh."

"Otherwise, it means that before the selection, you and..."

My father gritted his teeth: "Had illicit relations with a guard! It's against etiquette, provokes the Eastern Palace, shows contempt for the Crown Prince, and is the grave crime of deceiving the emperor, punishable by the execution of nine clans!"

My parents didn't know that the one I had "illicit relations" with that night was the Crown Prince himself.

Duan Ming thought he was certain of victory. His eyes gleamed as he greedily grabbed my hand:

"Young lady, for the sake of nine clans, you can only wrong yourself and marry me!"

Chapter 5

My parents' words were all reasonable.

Duan Ming, or rather the person behind all this scheming, was certain the Shen family would swallow their pride for the greater good.

Duan Ming was also confident but still pretended:

"Young lady, I truly had no intention. If you're angry, give me a knife. I won't resist!"

I stared at Duan Ming's hypocritical face and suddenly smiled gently:

"Guard Duan, the physician said you saved my life. How could I bear to kill my savior?"

I raised my hand, stroked Duan Ming's face, and called him softly:

"But Duan-lang, you hurt me last night. I want to punish you with a few strokes of the cane. Will you accept?"

My appearance was first-class in the capital. Duan Ming was infatuated by these soft words of mine and immediately nodded eagerly:

"I'm willing to be punished, as long as the young lady can vent her anger!"

He thought this was just a young woman's small temper. He had gained such an advantage, so enduring a bit of harmless pain to please the beauty was naturally willing.

My parents didn't interfere.

Duan Ming was taken to the courtyard, where he lay on his back, limbs bound by other guards.

He found it strange:

"I thought you were going to cane me. Why am I lying down like this?"

I supported my sore waist and legs, walked to his side, and tapped Duan Ming's cheek with the flat of my dagger, my voice still gentle:

"Because I want to personally teach Duan-lang a lesson!"

Duan Ming thought I was flirting with him and chuckled foolishly.

Soon, he couldn't laugh anymore.

My knife slid from his face to his throat, chest, and abdomen.

Finally, it landed on the small bulge between his legs.

Duan Ming panicked:

"Young lady, what are you doing?!"

"Didn't you just say you'd accept it even if I gave you a knife?"

I sneered, and with a swift motion, brought the knife down between his legs!

Blood sprayed everywhere! A sharp, tragic scream echoed through the Shen residence!

Moments later, a man and a ball of mangled flesh were thrown out of the Shen residence gate.

Blood flowed freely from the man's groin as he writhed and screamed on the ground.

A sharp-eyed passerby remarked: "Oh, a fresh eunuch!"

I walked outside and addressed the curious crowd:

"This guard dog dared to bite his master's reputation. This is his fate!"

Duan Ming, pale with pain, glared at me with hatred: "You, you're a defiled slut!"

I flicked the knife I had used to castrate him, throwing it on the ground in disgust:

"You're the dirty one!"

I had castrated Duan Ming's manhood.

Of course, with this knife, I could have killed him directly.

But if he died, how could I lure out the mastermind?

In the watching crowd, someone looked unusual and hurried away, probably to report the news.

Sure enough, within an hour, a maid came to report:

"Duan Ming has been dragged away, leaving only a pool of blood."

Chapter 6

In the following days, capital gossip was rampant.

Some said the Shen family's daughter, drugged and violated by a gate guard, had castrated him in a rage.

Others said the Shen family's daughter, after having an affair, had killed the donkey after it had outlived its usefulness.

The various rumors all concluded with scolding: "Regardless, the Shen family's daughter has lost her virtue. She should hang herself with white silk to preserve her dignity!"

And praise: "That guard Duan is truly a role model for our generation! A mere gatekeeper got to taste the Imperial Merchant's only daughter! Even if he was castrated, he still made a profit!"

My parents had forbidden servants from gossiping in my presence, but these rumors still reached my ears.

The eldest elder of the Shen clan even specially sent someone to deliver a three-foot white silk ribbon to me—the meaning was self-evident.

I looked at that white silk. In my previous life, I had truly considered suicide.

But my parents only had me. They loved and protected me, planning for my future. I couldn't bear to leave them to grow old alone, so I could only swallow my pride and marry, which ultimately harmed the entire family.

In this life, I personally stored that white silk ribbon in my chest—someone else deserved to be hanged!

Everyone thought I couldn't go on living, but I actively cooperated with the physicians to recover my health.

Compared to my broken body from the previous life, this time only the wounds on my legs, which I had stabbed myself, were more severe.

The physician examined my pulse and tactfully reminded me to avoid indulgence.

The vicious effect of Immortal's Desire was that after one episode, the victim might expend ten times their vital blood, leaving them weak for months.

But the medicine the physician prescribed restored my vitality within three days.

One day, curious, I peeked through a corner of the bed curtains and recognized that the person treating me was not an ordinary physician but Li Changyu, the imperial hospital's foremost female gynecological expert.

Li Changyu was the top female physician, only tending to palace nobles.

Only the Crown Prince Pei Yuan, both in my previous and current life, could request Li's services.

"Did the Crown Prince send you?"

Physician Li didn't deny it: "His Highness asked the young lady to take care of your health."

Since we were acquainted, I simply pulled back the curtains.

Seeing my energetic and radiant appearance, Physician Li smiled with relief: "The Crown Prince asked me to come because he was afraid you might seek death. Now seeing your rosy and full complexion, I know you can overcome this hurdle."

I said calmly: "Chastity is just a shackle imposed by the world. What I want to do is break these shackles, not add another white silk ribbon to them."

Physician Li said: "It's good that you can see this clearly. Poor Miss Lin—abducted by bandits for a night, she hanged herself when she returned. When I arrived, people were still cursing."

I frowned: "Cursing what?"

"Cursing that Miss Lin died too late. She should have hanged herself immediately after being violated to show her resolve, rather than returning to the Lin residence to die."

"A seventeen-year-old girl, unfortunate in life, yet cursed by her own clan after death for 'dying at home, staining the Lin family's dignity.'"

Li Changyu sighed, her eyes filled with compassion, regret, and self-blame for not being able to save her in time.

My broken body from my previous life was also treated by Li Changyu.

She had even tactfully reminded me that those injuries didn't seem to be caused by one person.

At that time, I was deceived by Duan Ming and didn't think too deeply, nor did I dare to.

Probably afraid I might end up like Miss Lin, Li Changyu didn't dare to reveal everything clearly.

After changing the medicine, I grabbed Li Changyu and asked: "Did the Crown Prince say anything?"

"Besides telling you to rest well, he said nothing else."

I curled my lip—dog man.

The timing of my rebirth was too subtle, as if heaven intended to play another trick on me.

"Framing" the Crown Prince that night was my only choice.

The situation was too passive. Half of my bet was placed on the Crown Prince.

Li Changyu asked me in return: "Does the young lady have any message for the Crown Prince?"

"If that's the case, then I have nothing to say."

The tactic of playing hard to get—of course I knew how to use it.

Li Changyu smiled: "I'll deliver these words to the Crown Prince."

After the physician left, my mother came to see me again. She couldn't help but ask:

"Zhier, tell your mother, who was it that night?"

"Mother, I was indeed violated, but it definitely wasn't Duan Ming."

"Then who was it? You won't say who drugged you, who violated you. Zhier, it has come to this. You need to tell your parents so we can find a way out for you!"

As soon as my mother finished speaking, a maid stumbled in to report:

"Madam, young lady! Something terrible! Princess Huayin has arrived in her phoenix carriage, and Duan Ming is back too!"

I gripped my mother's wrist:

"Mother, you'll soon know all the answers."

"That man will definitely come to claim me today!"

Chapter 7

That this matter reached the palace didn't surprise me at all.

Losing virtue before the selection could be seen as provoking the imperial family and showing contempt for the Crown Prince.

Therefore, Princess Huayin coming to the Shen family under this pretext to demand accountability was perfectly reasonable.

The princess sat upright in her phoenix carriage as the Shen family knelt to welcome her.

"Rise."

With these two words, I dared to stand and look up at the princess.

This was the second time I had met Princess Huayin.

Ten days ago at the palace banquet, the princess offered me a cup of fine wine. When I thanked her, I had a hurried first glimpse of the princess.

Now I carefully examined the princess.

She was thirty years old.

The princesses of Daqi either married ministers or were sent off for political marriages, mostly settling their marriages before the age of twenty.

Only Princess Huayin remained unmarried at this age, and Emperor Yuande didn't seem anxious, repeatedly ignoring memorials urging the princess to marry.

The princess's face was stunningly beautiful, her body draped in magnificent brocade robes, adorned with gold and jade. Leaning against her sedan chair like a decadent, world-weary peony.

The recently castrated Duan Ming, with hunched back, said in a shrill voice:

"Princess! Shen Qingzhi had a secret rendezvous with me in an alley before the selection. When the affair was exposed, she took vicious revenge on me. She wanted to climb up to the Eastern Palace, deceiving the Crown Prince and deceiving His Majesty! Please execute her nine clans! Seek justice for me!"

When a man loses that thing, his mentality inevitably becomes twisted. He no longer bothered to fake infatuation and only wanted to kill me immediately.

The princess looked up: "Shen Qingzhi, do you know your crime?"

I retorted: "I was also a victim, drugged and framed. May I ask the princess, what crime have I committed?"

The princess showed no guilt. In her eyes, I was like an ant. Even if she drove me to my death, she would only find it interesting and amusing.

"I don't care about the twists and turns. That you had illicit relations with a man before the selection is an established fact. On this point alone, I can sentence you to death!"

She raised her hand, and two palace maids came forward, one holding a red wedding ribbon, the other a white silk ribbon.

"You have only two paths. Either resign yourself to marrying Duan Ming, and I will personally preside over your wedding."

"Or hang yourself to preserve your chastity and dignity!"

My parents knelt and begged for mercy: "Princess, show mercy! Duan Ming is now a eunuch. How can he marry?!"

"What's wrong with a eunuch?"

The princess laughed with a cruel innocence: "A eunuch can still be a 'eating partner'! It's just missing the pleasures of the bedchamber. The Shen young lady will have to endure it."

With the princess's support, Duan Ming grew bold:

"I became a eunuch because of you! Shen Qingzhi, you cut off my manhood. For the rest of your life, it's your turn to serve me!!"

"I won't marry!"

I protested strongly: "Duan Ming's contract of sale is still in the Shen family's hands. According to Daqi law, masters can punish their servants as they see fit!"

"For those with serious faults, they can be beaten to death within the household without going through the yamen!"

"As long as Duan Ming dares to enter the Shen family's gate, even with the princess residence's guarantee, I can make him die without a proper burial!"

Chapter 8

"Shen Qingzhi, you dare disobey my orders!!"

"This subject wouldn't dare. I'm only reminding the princess that Daqi law was established by our ancestors. The princess shouldn't go against their wishes, or it might give people something to talk about!"

Huayin straightened her upper body, her beautiful face finally showing some anger. Then she laughed:

"What a clever tongue. Since you won't marry, then choose the second path."

That white silk ribbon was held before my eyes.

"You've admitted yourself that you lost your virtue that night."

"According to Daqi law, a candidate who loses her virtue before the selection is seen as showing contempt for the imperial family!"

"His Majesty also personally said that a woman who loses her virtue should hang herself with white silk to show her chastity!"

This was originally a private punishment.

When Emperor Yuande ascended the throne, he directly established this private punishment as iron law—to the superiors, a woman losing her virtue was as heinous as murder or arson.

I used the law to refute the princess, and she used the same law to suppress me:

"Besides, you had illicit relations with your lover. Your crime is doubled!"

"With multiple crimes, I, the princess, grant you this white silk ribbon to leave you a whole corpse!"

"Duan Ming, send your young lady on her way!"

Duan Ming finally saw his chance for revenge. He pulled the white silk ribbon taut and approached me step by step.

My parents knelt on the ground, begging the princess to spare my life, but were held down by guards.

I tried to dodge, but my hands were seized by two strong matrons, one grabbing my hairpin, forcing my head back to wait for that white silk ribbon.

"Young lady, how noble you are. You've ended up in my hands after all!"

Duan Ming held the white silk ribbon, his eyes vicious: "If I don't break your neck, I'm not a Duan!"

At this critical moment, I shouted:

"You can't kill me! I'm pregnant!!"

Princess Huayin seemed to be stabbed in some vital nerve by these words and suddenly laughed, but her eyes showed even greater viciousness:

"Pregnant? So what! Do you think I would pity a mother and child? With a bastard child, you deserve to die even more!!"

"The child in my womb is not a bastard, but of imperial blood!"

"What did you say?!"

"Doesn't the princess want to know who touched me that night?"

Under the princess's gaze, I said loudly:

"The one who spent that night with me was the Crown Prince! The current Crown Prince Pei Yuan!!"

Chapter 9

Everyone was stunned. My parents' mouths fell open.

Duan Ming grew anxious: "This woman is crazy! How dare she imagine the Crown Prince! That night was me, it was me!!"

I looked at the princess's shocked face and confronted her:

"What a coincidence. That night the Crown Prince was also drugged and ended up in the alley. The princess should know best, right?"

The princess's face paled—she was the one who drugged him, of course she knew best!

I angrily rebuked those two matrons:

"I carry imperial blood in my womb. Who dares touch me?"

The two matrons were frightened and loosened their grip. I immediately seized the opportunity to break free.

I looked imposing but was actually inwardly panicking.

Of course, I wasn't pregnant. This was just a delaying tactic born of desperation.

This lie was so fragile that a little thought would reveal its fatal flaw.

What I didn't expect was that the person who saw through this flaw wasn't those experienced matrons but the unmarried Princess Huayin.

"...Shen Qingzhi, this happened only ten days ago. How could you be pregnant so quickly?!"

"Someone, take her pulse and see if it's true or false!"

The imperial physician accompanying the princess came forward to me: "Miss Shen, please give me your hand to feel."

I tightly clenched my palm under my sleeve.

The physician urged: "Whether you're pregnant, I'll know as soon as I feel your pulse. Miss Shen, please extend your hand."

"Why don't you dare extend your hand? You're guilty!"

Duan Ming pressed: "I already said, Shen Qingzhi is crazy to become Crown Princess! She even imagined herself pregnant with the Crown Prince's child! Ridiculous, this madwoman! Hang her quickly!!"

The physician urged again: "Miss Shen, please extend your hand!!"

Once the physician felt my pulse, this lie would be exposed.

My cards were all played. I looked toward the door but still didn't see that figure.

"Please the young lady roll up your sleeve yourself."

With no other choice, I lowered my head and rolled up my right sleeve, the vessels under my skin exposed to the cool air.

Suddenly a pair of warm hands gripped my wrist.

My whole body trembled, thinking the lie was about to be exposed, but I heard a gentle voice laugh and say:

"She really is pregnant."

I looked up sharply, thinking I had met an incompetent physician, but my eyes met Pei Yuan's handsome and elegant face.

His large hand was tightly wrapped around my wrist.

The imperial physician had been flung behind him by the Crown Prince. The Shen residence, originally surrounded by the princess's people, now stood full of Eastern Palace guards.

Pei Yuan felt my pulse, laughing wantonly:

"You're quite capable, Shen Zhizhi."

Zhizhi, my boudoir name.

Cold sweat ran down my back. I breathed a sigh of relief, gritting my teeth and cursing—what perfect timing, dog Crown Prince!!

Chapter 10

Of course, Pei Yuan could tell I wasn't pregnant.

His hand moved from my pulse to my wrist, then to my palm. His long fingers forcefully invaded the spaces between my fingers, interlocking with mine, then raising our joined hands high before Princess Huayin:

"The one who had the wine-fueled night rendezvous with Shen Qingzhi was me, and Shen Qingzhi is indeed carrying my child."

Pei Yuan said unrestrainedly:

"If Royal Sister has objections, submit a memorial with the princess seal to the Eastern Palace. I'll find time to review it when I'm free."

Pei Yuan was the Queen's son, the legitimate Crown Prince. Not only was his background noble, but at fifteen, he led troops to pacify the northern Di threat, recapturing thirteen cities for Daqi. At seventeen, he presided over the cabinet, eliminating corruption throughout the court. Now, after three years of supervising the country, he held real power.

Everyone said Pei Yuan was Daqi's future, the people's savior.

But Princess Huayin's mother was just a dancer favored by the Emperor during an inspection tour. Huayin was only brought back to the palace at the age of five. She had no maternal clan to rely on, even though the Emperor clearly favored this daughter.

With such a disparity in status, if Princess Huayin had matters to discuss, she indeed had to submit memorials to the Eastern Palace and await the Crown Prince's mood.

She could use secret means, but in direct confrontation, the princess naturally fell to a disadvantage.

Huayin's expression was extremely colorful: "Royal Brother, such recklessness goes against proper conduct!"

The Crown Prince declared decisively: "Shen Qingzhi was already one of the Crown Princess candidates. It's natural and proper for me to meet with her!"

"If Royal Sister wants to report to Father Emperor, then I'll have someone thoroughly investigate how the wine at the palace banquet was tainted, causing both me and Miss Shen to lose control!"

This was a thinly veiled threat to expose the princess's secret schemes.

The Crown Prince must have discovered much in recent days.

The princess, feeling guilty, immediately extinguished her arrogance.

Duan Ming, however, was unwilling and went to complain to the Crown Prince:

"Crown Prince! Don't be deceived by Shen Qingzhi! Even if it wasn't me who touched her that night, it should have been three beg—"

Before Duan Ming could finish, a long sword suddenly pierced his throat!

That sword struck with vicious precision, carrying a terrifying sword energy!

Duan Ming stared with wide eyes, his gaze moving down in horror to see his neck nearly severed by that sword.

Blood sprayed everywhere. Everyone screamed in terror.

Even the princess fell from her sedan chair in fright!

The Crown Prince drew his sword, stepped on Duan Ming's corpse, and coldly wiped the blood from his blade, warning the princess:

"Royal Sister had better not interfere in my selection matters again."

"Otherwise, beware of ruthless swords!"

Chapter 11

However grandly the princess entered the Shen residence, that's how miserably she left.

The sedan chair carriers were terrified, nearly tripping on the threshold.

The princess fled in disgrace.

Duan Ming's corpse lay at my feet, my legs as heavy as lead, unable to move.

Pei Yuan kicked the filth aside for me and calmly comforted my parents:

"Don't be afraid. He's completely dead."

My parents: "..."

We're not afraid of the dead, we're afraid of you, Crown Prince!

Pei Yuan looked at me again: "Stop pretending. I just heard you cursing me. What was it, dog Crown Prince?"

"You must have heard wrong, haha."

I tried to bluff my way through, but he grabbed my collar and pulled me back.

"If you're pregnant, why are you running around?"

"I made it up."

"Ah, you made up being pregnant with the Crown Prince's child. That's deceiving the emperor, punishable by the execution of nine clans."

I retorted angrily: "You came too late. I had no other choice!"

"I did it on purpose."

The Crown Prince suddenly took out the jade pendant carved with my boudoir name:

"You're playing hard-to-get games with me. Do you think I can't see through it?"

I felt guilty.

"That night in the alley, I could have controlled myself, but you pounced like a hungry tiger, making me lose my breath and control."

"Afterward, you dared to play the victim first, saying you didn't dare presume on the Eastern Palace, yet you dropped this jade pendant, afraid I wouldn't find you."

"It was too clumsy, too deliberate. Shen Zhizhi, have you never seduced a man before?"

All my schemes were seen through by him.

No wonder he didn't respond for several days. He wanted to see how far I could go on my own.

"Does Your Highness want to kill me?"

"Killing you would be boring. The selection is in three days. You must come."

I was stunned. I had set bait to catch a fish, but the fish had seen through my intentions yet still took the bait.

"Why?"

I had schemed against him, but he truly didn't mind at all.

"If it hadn't been you that night, it would have been the princess's people."

"Rather than someone else, it might as well be you, Shen Zhizhi."

"Besides."

The Crown Prince chuckled softly, leaning close to my ear and whispering:

"Miss Shen, do you remember that night you kept grabbing my arm, calling me savior, savior?"

When he leaned close, I first smelled a cold sandalwood fragrance.

My ears burned, my cheeks slightly flushed. I calmed down and said honestly:

"If it hadn't been for Your Highness that night, I would already be wishing I were dead."

I said sincerely: "Your Highness is indeed my savior."

"Miss Shen, I often have the same dream."

Pei Yuan said: "In my dreams, you are my savior."

He handed me an Eastern Palace token and turned to say casually:

"Remember to come to the selection. It's just a formality to legitimize your name."

Chapter 12

I looked down at this pure gold token. Besides the Eastern Palace cloud pattern, it bore the characters "Zhaolin."

That was Pei Yuan's courtesy name—the world called him Zhaolin Crown Prince, meaning the sun's light descending upon Daqi.

He was the savior king that everyone in Daqi pinned their hopes on.

But such a person was forced to commit suicide in my previous life.

I still remembered that cold, rainy night from my previous life.

Duan Ming had gone out to suppress bandits, and I went to the temple to pray for him.

When I left in the morning, it was calm, but when I returned to the city, a palace coup had begun.

That coup was initiated by Princess Huayin.

When I returned to the city, the coup was nearing its end.

The defeated rebels had taken me hostage. Zhaolin Crown Prince held back the pursuing imperial guards.

Huayin laughed loudly:

"For an insignificant married woman, you can still be so merciful. No wonder everyone says that when you ascend the throne, Daqi will usher in a century of prosperity. What a pity, Zhaolin Royal Brother, you won't live much longer!"

Under the moonlight, I glimpsed Zhaolin Crown Prince.

After that meeting behind the curtains, I hadn't seen the Crown Prince for three years.

In three years, the once high-spirited Crown Prince had become weathered, with white hair appearing.

Three years ago, the Crown Prince was also drugged in the alley. After the selection, he chose the candidate in just one day—Lin, the adopted daughter of a Duke.

There were rumors on the streets that the Crown Prince was drugged in the alley that night, and Miss Lin had helped him resolve the aphrodisiac's effects.

Out of gratitude, and considering Miss Lin's reputation, the position of Crown Princess naturally fell to Lin.

After marriage, Lin gave birth to a son and daughter for the Crown Prince, but both children died painfully at the age of one.

The imperial physicians said it was due to congenital deficiency.

I heard the Crown Prince loved those two children very much. The death of one-year-old children carried deeper emotion and pain than those who died in the womb.

After that, the Crown Prince's health wasn't good.

The imperial physicians couldn't determine the cause, attributing it to excessive grief.

His body grew weaker day by day. A year ago, he could still force his sick body to travel to the northern border, driving back the invading Northern Dan people.

After that triumphant return, the Crown Prince grew much more white hair.

When the Crown Prince was exhausted, Princess Huayin rapidly expanded her power in court and finally launched the coup on this rainy night when the Emperor was gravely ill.

She still failed.

In the night, Zhaolin Crown Prince shot an arrow through the rebel holding me hostage between the eyes.

He saved me, but before I could thank him, Crown Princess Lin rushed over, kneeling to beg the Crown Prince to spare the princess.

The princess seemed to surrender, saying something to the Crown Prince in the rain.

That night was too chaotic. I clearly heard those words but couldn't remember them no matter how hard I tried.

Probably a provocation, a threat.

The Crown Prince's face suddenly turned deathly pale. He vomited a mouthful of black blood and swayed.

The princess and Lin were both taken away.

I stepped forward to help the Crown Prince, but he only looked at me, his eyes sad and mournful, murmuring:

"That spring banquet, we met."

My heartstrings trembled. When I tried to get closer, he waved me away, handing me an umbrella, telling me to return to the residence and not look back.

The rain suddenly intensified. A sword energy cut through my temple hair.

I turned sharply, my pupils constricting—Zhaolin Crown Prince slashed his own throat, blood and rain pouring onto Daqi's land.

That night, the people of Daqi lost their hope.

Afterward, Crown Princess Lin also committed suicide by poison. Princess Huayin laughed maniacally as she fell from the city tower.

Emperor Yuande, overcome with rage, died soon after. The successor was the mediocre King Cheng.

King Cheng could barely maintain the throne as a conservative ruler.

Daqi began its decline.

Six months later, my family encountered trouble, and there was no official to handle the case.

Not long after my death, Daqi, having lost Zhaolin Crown Prince, was breached by the northern Di and Dan peoples working together.

Thus, a dynasty declined toward destruction.

Chapter 13

At this moment, I caressed the Eastern Palace token inscribed with "Zhaolin," watching Pei Zhaolin's vibrant, upright figure in the sunlight.

In my previous life, I knew the Crown Prince was a good person, so after rebirth, I despicably "framed" him and "used" him.

I thought he didn't know and even felt secretly pleased.

Now I see he was just benevolent.

Guessing I was scheming against him, he still came to my rescue at the crucial moment.

Guessing I had no way out, he paved a path for me.

Guessing the world was harsh to women, he preserved my dignity, wanting to legitimize my name.

In this life, my fate might have changed, but what about Pei Zhaolin?

What did Princess Huayin say to him that would drive such a person to suicide?

Why did he fall ill, why did he grow white hair, why did he take his own life?

In this life, my fate was intertwined with the Crown Prince's. I absolutely couldn't let him repeat his previous mistakes.

I caught up with the Crown Prince: "If Your Highness trusts me, send someone to investigate Princess Huayin's dealings with the Duke's residence over the past few years."

The Shen family's connections couldn't reach the princess's residence or the Duke's residence, but the Eastern Palace could.

I just needed to point him in a clear direction.

The Crown Prince seemed to want to ask why, so I told him directly: "The Crown Princess is the future Empress, and the Empress's children are the future ruler. The princess interfering in your selection is for that dragon throne, and the Duke's residence is her only power base."

It was the Duke's residence's contribution that allowed Princess Huayin to be welcomed back to the palace that year.

In my previous life, the princess initiated that coup by allying with the Duke's residence.

But the Crown Prince caught on: "You were certain I would come today?"

I told him frankly: "Your Highness is an intelligent man. You could certainly discover that the princess orchestrated that night in the alley. I believed you would arrive like a divine soldier to rescue me."

I confidently stated: "Because we have common enemies and common interests."

Pei Yuan reached out and pinched my earlobe, chuckling and scolding me:

"Little fox."

Chapter 14

Duan Ming was dead, killed personally by the Crown Prince.

Street gossip suddenly turned, all speaking of the blessed union between me and the Crown Prince.

Duan Ming became a traitorous dog cursed by everyone.

My reputation was restored. The entire Daqi now recognized me as the confirmed candidate for Crown Princess, only needing the formalities.

On the day of the selection, my mother carefully dressed me up.

She swept away her worries, smiling broadly, repeatedly praising my good fortune for turning danger into opportunity.

"The Crown Prince is someone you can entrust yourself to. Your mother is happy for you. Your father these past few days—that smile hasn't left his face!"

I looked at myself in the mirror but felt an inexplicable unease.

This unease was confirmed on my way to the Eastern Palace.

People on the streets ran toward the city tower, saying the Duke's daughter was about to jump from the city tower.

I got out of the sedan chair and hurried over to see my previous life's Crown Princess, now the Duke's daughter Lin Nanxue, dressed in wedding robes, standing on the city tower loudly denouncing:

"That night was clearly me! I was the one who resolved the Crown Prince's aphrodisiac! The Shen family's daughter is an imposter!"

In my previous life, it was this Miss Lin who married into the Eastern Palace based on the alley incident.

On that rainy night, after the princess's rebellion failed, Lin Nanxue knelt to beg forgiveness for the princess, showing they were accomplices.

Everything was now clear.

At the palace banquet that day, because I had caught the Crown Prince's eye for a moment, the princess decided to eliminate me completely.

She gave me drugged wine, let beggars violate me, then had a guard falsely claim responsibility, destroying my reputation and forcing me into marriage.

More importantly, it could sever the Crown Prince's thoughts of me, clearing the way for Lin Nanxue to become Crown Princess.

The princess's plan was seamless, but in this life, I had overturned the situation.

This current scene was a desperate move from a cornered dog.

Lin Nanxue, dressed in wedding robes, stood on the most conspicuous city tower, playing the victim:

"The Shen family's daughter is an imposter! The Crown Princess should be me! Having lost my purity, I can only die to prove my innocence!"

Princess Huayin wouldn't let me go, and she certainly wouldn't let Pei Yuan go.

This seemingly obvious spear aimed at me was actually a hidden arrow aimed at the Eastern Palace.

Chapter 15

As soon as I appeared, I became the focus of the crowd.

Lin Nanxue looked down at me from the city tower.

She seemed about to kill herself, but her hand under her sleeve tightly gripped the corner of the city wall.

Seeking death was false; making a scene to force the Eastern Palace to comply was true.

"Since you say I'm an imposter, Miss Lin, let me ask you, did you clearly see the arrow wound on the Crown Prince's right chest that night?"

Lin Nanxue said: "Of course I saw it clearly! That wound was quite deep! So heart-wrenching!"

The arriving Eastern Palace guards loudly refuted: "The Crown Prince has no arrow wound on his right chest, but on his left chest near his heart!"

Lin Nanxue, without thinking, immediately changed her story: "Right, there was a wound near his heart. It was too dark. I remembered wrong!"

I sneered: "How can one live with an arrow through the heart? Do you think the Crown Prince is made of iron? Miss Lin, as the Duke's daughter, why would you disregard your reputation and lie so brazenly?"

Laughter erupted from below. Lin Nanxue flushed with embarrassment and scolded me: "Shen Qingzhi, you're truly a merchant's daughter—crude and vulgar! How dare you joke about the Crown Prince's private matters!"

"Miss Lin should first consider what crime it is to slander the Crown Prince!"

While Lin Nanxue was flustered, the Eastern Palace guards rushed forward and rescued her from the city tower.

Eunuchs with imperial guards arrived, delivering the Emperor's edict, ordering Lin Nanxue to appear before the Emperor to explain this matter.

I arrived at the Eastern Palace with Lin Nanxue.

Emperor Yuande sat in the main seat. Princess Huayin was also present.

The selection candidates stood on both sides.

When Pei Yuan saw me arrive, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted.

After paying respects, Princess Huayin asked with false concern: "Miss Lin, why are you dressed in wedding robes trying to kill yourself on the Crown Prince's selection day? Do you have some grievance? Speak out, and let His Majesty seek justice for you!"

Lin Nanxue said tearfully: "Your Majesty, please investigate! That night at the palace banquet, it was clearly me and the Crown Prince..."

She acted as if she had suffered a great injustice and said loudly: "The Shen family's daughter is an imposter. She has deceived everyone!"

"I report to Your Majesty." I stepped forward. "The last person to slander me was the Shen family guard. That person has been personally executed by the Crown Prince."

Princess Huayin sneered:

"Of course it wasn't a guard, but someone even more contemptible than a guard! Bring the Lin family's witness!"

The guards escorted three beggars before the Emperor.

The moment those three beggars appeared, a foul odor assaulted my nostrils, instantly pulling me back to that filthy night from my previous life.

My chest churned, my hands trembling uncontrollably. I struggled like a drowning person until I broke the skin on my palm, barely calming myself to face these dirty, evil people.

I tried my best to suppress my discomfort, repeatedly reminding myself that was the pain of my previous life, and I had avoided it now. I should be free.

But Lin Nanxue's reaction was even greater than mine—she actually turned her head and retched, her face even paler than mine.

Those three beggars were targeting me.

"Miss Shen, have you really forgotten how blissful that night in the alley was?"

"Weren't you satisfied with how the three of us served you?"

"Unexpectedly, you still had the strength to run and find the Crown Prince. Do you look down on us beggars?"

Their words were full of humiliation and false accusations against me.

When three men unanimously slander a woman's chastity, even the most absurd lie will be accepted by the world as established fact.

Pei Yuan was furious: "How dare you act so presumptuously in the Eastern Palace!!"

I restrained the angry Crown Prince and stared at one of the beggars with sores on his limbs, asking Pei Yuan: "Your Highness is skilled in medicine. Do you know what kind of rash is on that beggar's hand?"

Pei Yuan was shocked by my composure at this moment. Under my inquiring gaze, he reluctantly gave the answer: "It's syphilitic rash. It's contagious."

"Meaning that through intimate contact, the same spots will appear."

I boldly rolled up my sleeve, revealing flawless, fair skin.

Such iron evidence was more convincing than a thousand clever defenses!

The crowd no longer suspected me but instead scolded me for being vulgar: "A merchant's daughter can't ascend to a proper stage!"

"If I still worried about such trivialities, I would have been framed to death!"

I turned to confront Lin Nanxue:

"Miss Lin, you claim you were also in the alley that night. We already proved you were lying on the city tower. Now your slander against me has been exposed, full of lies. Could the person who really wants to frame the Eastern Palace be you?"

Lin Nanxue retreated guiltily. Her wedding robes were extremely thick, her sleeves covering her palms, and her collar stood very high.

The more she covered up, the more problematic it was.

I suddenly grabbed Lin Nanxue's arm: "Do you dare to roll up your sleeve like me to prove your innocence?"

I was slightly taller than her. From this angle, I could already see scattered red spots on her neck, concealed by her collar.

Chapter 16

The Emperor lost patience and ordered two palace maids to hold Lin Nanxue, directly rolling up her layered sleeves, which indeed revealed a shocking patch of red rashes, identical to those on the beggars.

In this life, the person violated by the beggars had become Lin Nanxue.

That night I had taken Pei Yuan and hidden in the firewood room.

Those beggars couldn't find me but encountered Lin Nanxue, who had come according to plan to find the Crown Prince.

Once such desperate men gave in to their desires, neither princess nor Duke could stop them.

When I saw Lin Nanxue retching at the sight of the beggars, I guessed part of the truth.

Later, seeing her keep her collar and sleeves tightly covered confirmed it further.

Because in my previous life, I had also contracted this rash, and Duan Ming had humiliated me after marriage, saying I had a dirty disease.

The truth was now clear.

Lin Nanxue frantically covered her sleeves and, under the crowd's subtle gazes, shamefully and miserably begged Princess Huayin:

"Princess, you arranged all of this. You must speak up for me!"

But the princess kicked her away in disgust: "Slandering the Crown Prince wasn't enough for you. Now you dare to slander me!"

"Princess Huayin is so heartless to her own daughter!"

This statement made even the Emperor's face suddenly change.

Lin Nanxue stared at me: "What did you say?"

"Miss Lin, haven't you noticed that your eyebrows and eyes are eighty percent similar to the princess's?"

"Fifteen years ago, the Duke's residence brought back a baby girl from a suburban villa. During that time, Princess Huayin was recovering at that same villa."

This was the only piece of intelligence uncovered by the Eastern Palace.

In truth, it was all just my speculation.

Lin Nanxue was eighteen this year, while Princess Huayin was only thirty. They couldn't possibly be mother and daughter.

I just wanted to make the situation more chaotic.

But at this moment, Emperor Yuande on the throne suddenly became enraged:

"Huayin, how dare you manipulate power and interfere in the Crown Prince's selection! What audacity! Someone, take both the princess and Lin Nanxue away and confine them!"

"Father, what are you afraid of?"

As if a seal had been broken, the princess suddenly declared before everyone: "Yes, Lin Nanxue is my biological daughter!"

"Guess who her father is?"

She seemed to have been suppressed for too long, and the slightest mention made her unable to resist revealing everything, with a desperate, fish-dies-net-breaks madness.

The princess stared at the Emperor on the throne: "Eighteen years have passed. Father, have you completely forgotten?!"

The princess's words suddenly made me realize—Lin Nanxue not only looked like the princess, but her entire face, when examined closely, was extremely similar to Emperor Yuande!

Emperor Yuande rose in fury: "The princess is mad! Strike her mouth! Drag the princess away! Imprison her for life!!"

The princess was still speaking crazily. The eunuch beside the Emperor, following orders, struck the princess's mouth with a board, hitting until blood flowed freely. Only then did she give up struggling like a dead fish.

The Emperor was clearly furious. Under the absolute crush of imperial power, I also fell into a passive situation. Accidentally exposing such a scandal might also lead to my death.

But who could have imagined such absurdity!

The sound of bamboo striking mouths continued. I trembled with fear.

At this moment, a pair of large arms pulled me into an embrace. I looked up, startled to see Pei Yuan pulling me into his arms—a protective stance.

Regardless, at this moment, his embrace gave me a complete sense of security.

When the punishment ended, as the princess was dragged past me, she suddenly spoke through bloodied lips, asking me:

"How does the taste of Immortal's Desire feel?"

"When Father used this drug on me..."

Princess Huayin's eyes reddened, her gaze filled with both sorrow and hatred:

"That year, I was only ten."

Chapter 17

I finally remembered what Princess Huayin had said to the Crown Prince in my previous life.

She said: "Your Crown Princess Lin is the illegitimate child of me and your father!"

Under the thunder and rain, the Crown Prince suddenly understood the root of all tragedy.

He had married his own half-sister, given birth to two children destined to die young, and his wife, instigated by the princess, had been poisoning his food and drink daily.

The revered father had violated his own imperial sister, and he, unknowingly, had committed incest with his paternal half-sister.

Blood relatives were unbearable, close relatives plotted against him, his wife poisoned him, twice he suffered the pain of losing children, his body was weak, and his last energy was exhausted by warfare.

He hadn't done anything wrong, but everything was forcing him toward death.

At the moment Zhaolin Crown Prince took his own life, Princess Huayin laughed maniacally in the rain and said to the approaching Emperor Yuande:

"Father, your most outstanding son died at the hands of my bastard child with you!"

In this life, everything that would have driven Pei Yuan to his death was eliminated in advance.

But someone still suffered.

Emperor Yuande wished he could cut out Huayin's tongue to preserve his precarious reputation.

Lin Nanxue, upon learning the entire truth, collapsed to the ground, crying hysterically.

The selection candidates present witnessed such imperial scandal, all terrified, lowering their heads不敢多言。

Pei Yuan's face was pale; clearly, he couldn't accept this either.

If it hadn't been me that night, it would have been Lin Nanxue. Then these filthy truths would, on some future day, strike the Crown Prince between the eyes and drive him to his death.

Fortunately, the great mistake hadn't been made, and I had turned everything around.

Pei Yuan suddenly embraced me.

"I always have the same dream. In the dream, I kill myself on a rainy night, and you rush forward, grabbing that sword."

"The dream was right. Shen Qingzhi, you are my savior."

Chapter 18

Like in my previous life, this selection ended hastily.

I became the Crown Princess firmly chosen by the Crown Prince.

But the Emperor's gaze on me that day was full of killing intent.

I had said things I shouldn't have, threatening the Emperor's noble reputation.

No wonder Princess Huayin never married. Perhaps on the night before the selection, she was still the Emperor's exclusive plaything.

She had lived like this for nearly twenty years.

That day the princess seemed so fragile, but upon reflection, I realize my words were the last straw that broke and drove her mad.

Emperor Yuande wanted to kill me.

Pei Zhaolin entered the palace and confronted the Emperor in the imperial study for an entire day, finally obtaining the imperial edict appointing me as Crown Princess.

He told me: "Father is getting old. In some matters, he must listen to me."

"Otherwise, who will protect his reputation after his death?"

He used that imperial scandal to force Emperor Yuande to bow down and save me and the child in my womb.

After all, Daqi's future was in Pei Zhaolin's hands, no longer under the control of the old beast Emperor Yuande.

On the day I was appointed Crown Princess, the Crown Prince personally detected my true pregnancy pulse.

The princess had confidently said ten days was too soon for a pregnancy pulse because she had already been a mother at the age of twelve.

So she knew better than the palace matrons that I was lying that day.

Now, more than a month had passed, and the lie had become truth.

Pei Yuan was overjoyed, spinning me around three times like a top—the Crown Prince really liked children.

So in my previous life, after losing two children, he was so grieved that it harmed his health.

His Highness is my savior.

This child and I will also be the Crown Prince's saviors.

Chapter 19

After the dust settled, I went to the Duke's residence to see Lin Nanxue.

Only after entering did I realize that her living quarters in the Duke's residence were converted from a firewood room.

Princess Huayin hated Emperor Yuande and naturally hated the daughter carrying his blood.

She was sent to the Duke's residence by the princess, who allowed them to mistreat this "bastard child," as if this could revenge the beast father at her most powerless age.

When Lin Nanxue grew old enough to understand, Princess Huayin appeared in her life as a benefactor, supporting her at the Duke's residence, giving her beautiful clothes and palace pastries.

Those accustomed to hardship, once shown a little sweetness, will feel infinite gratitude toward that person.

When the Crown Prince selection came, Lin Nanxue naturally followed the princess's arrangement. She prepared to marry into the Eastern Palace, use poison to destroy the Crown Prince's body, use those two children to torture his spirit, even though it would also harm her own body, she didn't care.

She believed that as long as she completed all this perfectly, the princess would like her even more.

But in my previous life, she only met the fate of suicide by poison.

In this life, before her lay the same white silk ribbon that had been before me.

"From the age of four, I knew I was just an outsider living under someone else's roof. The Duke's true daughter could cuddle in the stepmother's arms every day. I envied them so much and longed for a mother by my side."

Lin Nanxue held that white silk ribbon, tilting her head to look at the sunlight outside the window:

"But my mother only saw me as a tool for revenge."

"She was the one who told me to go to that alley that night, the one who called those three beggars..."

She smiled bitterly and reached out, revealing those spotted rashes.

She was about to throw the white silk ribbon toward the beam, but I snatched it away.

"The princess is also a pitiable person. If you want to hate someone, it shouldn't just be her."

"You should hate the Emperor on that dragon throne, the beast who violated a young girl."

"Even if our hatred can't shake imperial power, you must live to see the villains' downfall."

I took away the white silk ribbon, dragged Lin Nanxue outside, into the sunlight, to the capital's execution grounds.

There, criminals were being hanged.

The ones being hanged—were those three beggars.

"The ones who should be hanged are not you, but them!"

Chapter 20

The Eastern Palace had informed the Ministry of Justice. When those three beggars were hanged, they suffered far more than other criminals.

After witnessing this, Lin Nanxue suddenly said to me:

"People who are hanged die so ugly. Their tongues all stick out."

I gave her a prescription for the syphilitic rash:

"Take the medicine on time, and you'll be cured within a year."

"Physicians all say this condition is very difficult to treat."

Indeed, it was very difficult to treat. In my previous life, I searched for famous doctors everywhere, enduring acupuncture and medicinal baths for over two years to find such a miraculous prescription.

"I have a distant cousin who also had this disease. She was cured with this prescription. Use it with confidence."

Lin Nanxue showed some instinctive concern: "Your cousin?"

"She had a similar experience to yours, but she's living well now, so you can't give up either. You saw it—being hanged is very, very ugly."

Lin Nanxue looked at me puzzled: "Why help me?"

I asked back: "We're both women. Why not help?"

In the sunlight, she was stunned, then we exchanged smiles.

The day Lin Nanxue left the capital, someone from the princess's residence gave her a small wooden box containing Princess Huayin's personal assets from over the years.

The confined princess, at some moment, also felt guilty toward her daughter, so before she completely lost her mind, she used her last bit of reason to transfer all her assets to Lin Nanxue.

Let her go to Jiangnan and find her own world.

Chapter 21

Three years later, Emperor Yuande fell gravely ill.

On his sickbed, Pei Yuan steadily inherited imperial power and the throne.

The moment he took the imperial seal, Pei Yuan coldly ordered the still-breathing Emperor Yuande:

"Announce to the realm, the Emperor has passed away."

Emperor Yuande looked shocked at this unfilial son of his.

Everyone knew Zhaolin Crown Prince was exceptionally loyal and filial. Who would have thought he could do such a thing?

He dismissed everyone from the Hall of Prudence.

At this time, I had already become the new mistress of the inner palace, with everything under my command.

Therefore, when Princess Huayin, disguised as a palace maid, walked into the Hall of Prudence in full view, no one noticed.

Emperor Yuande was still clinging to life, refusing to die. Suddenly, a white silk ribbon wrapped around his neck, followed by the suffocating feeling of his neck bone snapping.

He struggled, his eyes rolling back in terror as he saw Huayin's pale yet beautiful face.

The princess had been secretly hanged at a villa three years ago by Emperor Yuande's order.

But the Emperor didn't know that his most promising Crown Prince was secretly defiant, letting the princess fake her death and escape.

I had hidden the princess in the capital's suburbs for three years.

All for this moment.

The white silk became Huayin's weapon. She strangled the king, wickedly coaxing him: "Husband, it hurts a bit. Bear with it. In the past, on the bed, you always coaxed Huayin like this."

She suddenly changed her expression, like a child, innocent yet cruel: "Father Emperor, you don't observe chastity and virtue, committing incest and immorality. Your daughter has personally come to see you off to fulfill my filial duty!"

The Emperor was officially declared dead, so no one disturbed this execution.

At dawn, Emperor Yuande was placed in his coffin. Around his neck was that white silk ribbon, beneath which his neck bone was already broken and exposed.

He had established the law that those who lost their virtue and morality should be hanged.

But this law shouldn't only kill women.

He too should die under such a law.

When the mad Princess Huayin walked out of the Hall of Prudence, her hands stained with the late Emperor's blood, her face showed a rare peace.

She smiled at me and Pei Yuan with relief.

At daybreak, Huayin passed away peacefully in the capital's suburbs.

She seemed to have lived only for this night.

To me, the princess was not a good person. She had suffered deeply from Immortal's Desire herself yet used the same means to frame innocent me.

But I knew even better that I couldn't stand by and watch a pure, innocent person be driven to become a vicious madman while the perpetrator stood righteously judging her.

Coincidentally, Pei Yuan thought the same as me.

So I gave her a peaceful end and let her complete her revenge, letting her depart peacefully and calmly.

Chapter 22

Pei Zhaolin ascended the throne as Emperor, and I was enthroned as Empress on the same day.

The century of Zhaolin prosperity for Daqi was about to begin.

Pei Yuan knew what I wanted to do. The phoenix seal he gave me carried real authority.

As Empress, I issued my first empress's decree.

Announce to all the people of Daqi—those who force a woman who has lost her virtue to die will have their lovers executed on the spot, and those who coerce them will be treated as accomplices and exiled three thousand miles.

Those who violate young girls will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice, castrated then hanged.

Since ancient times, those who should be hanged by white silk have never been the victims, but the perpetrators.

As the mother of the nation, what I must sever are the countless invisible white silk ribbons of chastity that hang only around women's necks!

(Full text complete)