My Emperor's Final Dance After My Death

In the tenth year after transmigrating to this dynasty, I gradually forgot my original name, becoming just another ordinary concubine in the imperial harem. I adapted to paying respects and performing kowtows; adapted to the clear class distinctions and the supremacy of imperial power.

I became no different from the other people of this dynasty, and the Emperor hadn't visited me in a very long time.

Chapter 1

The direct consequence of losing favor was that our winter palace's coal supply was insufficient. The inferior coal, once lit, filled the entire palace with choking smoke. Thus, the palace had to keep its doors and windows open day and night. When the cold wind blew, the coal wasn't hot enough, and many people in the palace caught colds.

And because we were from my palace, we couldn't even get prescriptions filled. One bag of herbal dregs had to be boiled repeatedly for several people to drink. I had damaged my foundation when I was young, so my body was naturally weaker than most people's. Aqiao feared I would catch cold too, so except for paying respects, she had me stay in bed at all other times.

In the Qingning Palace, just before the New Year, the atmosphere was gloomy and desolate.

When dinner was served that evening, Aqiao didn't come. It was one of her junior maids who brought the food. A plate of tofu, a plate of green vegetables, and a cold pastry that looked unidentifiable.

I ate absentmindedly, then suddenly put down my chopsticks and asked: "Where's Aqiao?"

"Auntie Aqiao isn't feeling well today, so she sent me to serve you, Your Ladyship."

I curled my lips and made a motion to stand up: "Oh, she's not feeling well? Then I must go see her."

The little maid was still young, and her emotions showed in her eyes. She panicked immediately. Kneeling on the ground, she told me everything that had happened today: "Auntie Aqiao went to get vegetables today and argued with the kitchen staff. Someone from the Noble Consort's palace slapped her."

"She was afraid you would see and feel sad, so she sent me over instead."

I understood. I took some high-quality ointment and had her bring it to Aqiao. That night, I thought a lot. In the palace, a woman's rise and fall depended on a man, and my people's rise and fall depended on me.

As a concubine without children, the only person I could rely on was Xiao Chengyan.

Chapter 2

The next morning, while Aqiao was combing my hair, I asked: "Is that jade hairpin the Emperor gave me still here?"

Aqiao paused and asked: "Why do you want that, miss?"

I didn't answer. Aqiao rummaged through boxes and cabinets and finally found the hairpin at the very bottom of a chest. That year when I broke with Xiao Chengyan, I had thrown this hairpin and broken it into several pieces.

"Back then, miss told me to throw away the hairpin, but I didn't dare throw away something gifted by the Emperor. I had a craftsman repair it with gold thread."

Aqiao placed the hairpin in my palm. I looked at it against the light for a long time. Time had passed, and even the fine mutton-fat jade had lost its color, emitting an air of decay everywhere.

I put the jade hairpin in my bosom and said to Aqiao: "Come with me to the plum garden."

Aqiao carefully tied my cloak for me and packed a hand warmer for me to bring along to the plum garden. The plum garden was something Xiao Chengyan had specially planted for me, but after our breakup two years earlier, I had never returned since it was first planted.

He would come to the plum garden to enjoy the flowers every winter—this was a secret only I knew. I left behind the hairpin he had personally carved for me under the plum tree we had planted together. As the wind blew, red plum blossoms fell one after another.

Aqiao finally understood what I was going to do. She looked at me several times and suddenly said: "Miss, you're not quite the same as before?"

I thought for a long time and actually forgot what the past me was like, so I asked somewhat confusedly: "How am I different?"

She thought for a long time before saying: "Before, Your Ladyship wouldn't do such things."

As if remembering something, she smiled again: "Even when the Emperor came to the palace before, it depended on your mood. When you got angry, you dared to drive even the Emperor out."

She was clearly talking about me, but it sounded like she was talking about someone else. So fearless, so vibrant and unrestrained.

Chapter 3

That evening, Xiao Chengyan came to my palace, holding that jade hairpin in his hand. Today I had deliberately worn cyan, Xiao Chengyan's favorite color.

In the dim candlelight, the traces left by time on my face were hidden. For a moment, it truly felt like returning to the past. That night, Xiao Chengyan was unusually talkative, holding my hand and saying many things:

"Do you remember, you once said you came from a world a thousand years in the future."

"You said that in your era, everyone was equal, cars could fly in the sky, and women could study and take exams just like men."

He looked at me with great interest: "Do you remember? Tell me more about it."

Several scenes seemed to flash through my mind but quickly passed, leaving only a vast whiteness. After a long time, I said blankly: "I don't remember. Maybe I read it in some weird novel. They were all absurd tales."

Disappointment flashed in Xiao Chengyan's eyes. He looked at me for a long time and finally said: "You seem different from before."

Before I could answer, he had already turned away, his tone indifferent: "Sleep."

In the morning, when the Emperor woke up, the concubines were supposed to get up and help him dress in court robes. When I got up, Xiao Chengyan pressed down on my shoulders: "It's cold. Sleep a little longer."

"This isn't proper etiquette. It's my duty."

In the end, I still got up, knelt on the ground, and tied the court sash around Xiao Chengyan's waist. He looked down at me thoughtfully and said those words for the second time: "You seem different from before."

As if remembering some interesting past event, he suddenly smiled: "The past you, forget about getting up. If I disturbed your sleep, you could kick me out of bed with one foot."

"It made me feel like a thief every morning, holding my clothes to dress in the outer room."

I knelt on the ground, eyes downcast, and said respectfully: "I was ignorant in the past. I won't do that again."

Xiao Chengyan sighed and turned to leave. Later that day, the rewards entered the Qingning Palace. Everyone in the Qingning Palace was like victorious generals, all beaming with joy.

That evening, the high-quality coal that the Imperial Household Department had been withholding was fully replenished, and there was medicine for treating colds too.

Chapter 4

The next day, when I went to pay respects to the Empress, she kept me behind after everyone else had left. She used to see me as a thorn in her eye and flesh in her side, but now that she was older, she had become somewhat more affectionate.

A fallen concubine without children was no longer a threat to her. She sat at her dressing table, and I held a comb, combing her hair stroke by stroke. What used to be a head of black hair now had a few white hairs mixed in. I wanted to pull them out, but the Empress waved her hand: "I'm getting older. I'm not a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl anymore. White hairs can't all be pulled out."

She looked at herself in the bronze mirror, then looked at me and sighed: "Both you and I are getting old. In the blink of an eye, we're thirty."

Perhaps because she was older, she couldn't escape falling into nostalgic feelings. That day, the Empress pulled me and talked a lot about the past: "Back then, when the late Emperor arranged my marriage, His Majesty refused because of you. He would rather kneel at the palace gate as punishment than marry me."

She smiled: "I was truly furious then. I, the daughter of a general, couldn't compare to you, a mere maidservant?"

"That day, I heard you had gone hunting outside the city. I was about to give you a lesson when I saw you riding a tall horse, dressed in riding clothes, coming amid apricot blossoms with the brilliant sun behind you."

"At that moment, I knew why His Majesty liked you. There was something about you that the women of our capital didn't possess."

I smiled, somewhat dazed. These days, people kept telling me about the past, but the girl in my memory grew dimmer day by day, and I couldn't remember many things clearly.

The Empress looked at me, her voice tinged with emotion: "You seem a bit different from before."

This was the third time I had heard this phrase from someone else. Had I really changed so much?

When I left, the Empress gave me many good things, and her tone held more genuine sincerity: "New concubine selections will begin in spring. Sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls will come, making us look even more like withered flowers."

"Rather than letting those young girls gain favor, it's better to let you be the one."

"I'm serious. Dress yourself up well."

Chapter 5

Xiao Chengyan would come to my palace once a month—no more, no less. Not too much favor, but not so little as to be forgotten—just enough to survive in the harem.

In spring, new people entered the palace. The Empress was right. Sixteen or seventeen-year-old girls, in the flower of their youth, made one feel better just looking at them. Among them, one named Jiang Ran gained much favor. In just half a year, she was promoted to the rank of Pin, which was unique favor in the harem.

She loved coming to my Qingning Palace, always calling me "sister, sister" when she came. Aqiao told me that Consort Jiang was very much like the past me. I looked carefully and indeed saw some similarities in her features.

But she was like me and yet not like me. Her temperament was completely different from mine. One was bright and brilliant, the other plain as water. In all these years in the harem, the only truth I had learned was that all unreasonable enthusiasm involved calculation.

So my attitude remained lukewarm. After encountering a few cold receptions, Consort Jiang came over less frequently.

In the blink of an eye, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the Emperor would invite court officials to celebrate together. This festival was also a rare time for the women of the harem to see their families. Those concubines with strong maternal clans were often the focus of these banquets.

As an orphan of maidservant origin with no maternal clan, I was just playing a supporting role. The air in the hall was too stuffy, so I found an excuse to walk in the courtyard for a while. Aqiao didn't follow. I had her stay at my seat to watch for anything and come find me promptly if needed.

After sitting in the pavilion for a while, I hadn't walked far when a maid spilled water on my skirt. She knelt on the ground, about to cry. I softened my heart: "Find me a place to change clothes. I won't blame you."

She quickly kowtowed her thanks and led me to a room, saying she would go get clothes for me. I was extra careful, not because I noticed anything wrong, but because I had suffered too many losses over the years and always left some room for caution.

So I changed to another place to wait. Soon after, a shifty-eyed person entered the room where I had originally been waiting. I didn't make a sound but followed the shadows back to the banquet silently.

When Consort Jiang saw me, she clearly panicked for a moment.

The next day, I saw that little maid in Consort Jiang's palace.

Chapter 6

I kept this to myself but kept thinking about it. It was the Empress Dowager's birthday. The Empress Dowager was a Buddhist, and Consort Jiang had specially found a white jade-carved Bodhisattva to present to her.

The one presenting the Bodhisattva was that little maid from that night. When the red cloth was lifted, everyone was shocked. A crack ran across the face of the white jade Bodhisattva. What had been a compassionate-looking Bodhisattva now looked like a vicious ghost.

The little maid immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness. The Empress Dowager swept her gaze around, her expression unreadable: "What does everyone think?"

Those who were on good terms with Consort Jiang said that Buddha was compassionate and it was just an accident, so punishing her with half a year's salary would suffice. After everyone had spoken, the Empress Dowager asked my opinion. I stood up and bowed, saying slowly: "It's true that Buddha is compassionate, but the Bodhisattva was fine along the way and suddenly developed a crack. I'm afraid this is an omen from heaven."

"Buddha lowers his eyes, while Vajra shows his wrath. Blind compassion is not the teaching of Buddhism."

"Not punishing her might damage the Empress Dowager's blessings."

The Empress Dowager was a Buddhist, but she was also the champion of the previous palace struggles—how could she be a truly compassionate Bodhisattva? Three words decided a person's life and death. Consort Jiang's and the maid's faces instantly turned pale.

The Empress Dowager's expression darkened, and she said coolly: "Fifty strokes with the rod. Whether she lives or dies is up to fate. Consort Jiang failed in her supervision. Punish her with two months' salary."

After saying this, the Empress Dowager went into the inner chamber. A perfectly good birthday banquet was ruined. The Empress Dowager ordered me to supervise the punishment. I stood on the steps, expressionless, listening to the sounds of wailing.

Xiao Chengyan stood before me. In his eyes, I saw disappointment, sighing, and a thousand other emotions that merged into one sentence. For the third time, he said those words to me: "You're different from before."

I answered respectfully: "People change."

The thud of wooden rods hitting flesh was dull. A girl of only fourteen couldn't survive fifty strokes. Life being as cheap as grass was the best annotation of this era. A jade-carved Bodhisattva was more valuable than a human life.

Was she wrong? Yes. But did her crime warrant death? Not necessarily. In the harem, everyone served their own master. As a maid, did she really have a choice?

But I still killed her. Because I had no evidence to punish Consort Jiang, I could only use this maid to give Consort Jiang a warning. One human life, just as a warning.

At the thirty-second stroke, the executioner told me she was no longer breathing. When I first heard this, I froze for a long time. Looking up, the white undergarment was already stained red with blood.

I nodded expressionlessly and handed over a handful of gold beans, my tone unchanging: "Make a coffin and bury her somewhere."

In the ten years since transmigrating to this dynasty, I had completely lost my basic reverence for life.

Chapter 7

They always talked about what the past me was like, but listening to them was like hearing someone else's story. I pondered to myself that person must have been crazy. Equality for all, freedom, even daring to hit the Emperor—I must have been sick before.

Now I was cured. Vaguely, I felt I had forgotten something but couldn't remember what. In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year again. Nothing particularly new happened in the palace.

The only thing I heard was that Consort Jiang had been pregnant but somehow lost it. After I had that maid beaten to death that day, Xiao Chengyan never came to my palace again. I had lost favor once more. But now that I was clearly aligned with the Empress's faction, people in the palace didn't dare to shortchange me too much, and life was still manageable.

A few days before the end of the year, I happened to have a cold, so I took the opportunity to be lazy and asked for leave. On New Year's Eve, I was holed up in my palace. Several maids and eunuchs from the palace gathered in the room, sitting around the stove drinking tea and eating snacks, playing leaf cards.

Year after year, this was what palace life was like—never-ending. Amid their chatter, snow began to fall outside. It hadn't snowed all year, and the first snowfall came at the very end of the year.

The snow grew heavier, goose-feather flakes falling silently to the ground. It was so quiet, so peaceful. Taking advantage of Aqiao's absence, I quietly slipped out of the room.

There was a plum tree in the courtyard, its red blossoms standing proudly against the snow, especially beautiful. I watched somewhat entranced when someone suddenly fell from the plum tree. Just as I was about to cry out, I met a familiar pair of eyes.

It was Xiao Chengyan. He seemed a bit drunk, the corners of his eyes carrying a faint crimson color. Just as I was about to speak, he covered my mouth and shook his head at me: "I'll take you somewhere."

Before I could refuse, he had already pulled me and walked out. In the flying snow all around us, we just kept walking and walking. I felt like I had seen this scene somewhere before—just the two of us.

Xiao Chengyan led me to the highest star-gazing tower in the palace. Looking down, everything was a vast white expanse dotted with scattered candlelight, incredibly beautiful. He wore a black sable hat, and snow fell on his head, making the fine hairs tremble slightly: "You taught me this. What's it called? Social dance."

Actually, I couldn't clearly remember what I had taught him, but my body remembered, naturally following his dance steps. After the dance ended, we stood face to face. He looked down at me, his gaze unwavering: "I once promised you that I would spend every New Year's Eve with you."

"If we walk together in the snow, we can be said to have grown white hair together in this life. Shuhua, we will grow white hair together, won't we?"

He looked at me with such deep affection, as if there had never been any discord between us. For a moment, I almost believed him, drowning in his eyes. There wasn't that much between us. I even almost forgot why Xiao Chengyan and I had broken up.

I only remembered some things from when we were in the Eastern Palace. He was the most unfavored crown prince, and I was a fearless little maid. Only the two of us were in the Eastern Palace. We had relied on each other and spent many New Year's Eves together.

The next moment, Xiao Chengyan's chief eunuch led a group of people swarming in: "Your Majesty, it's so cold. If anything happens to your dragon body, what will we do?"

Someone handed him a cloak, someone a hand warmer, and I was isolated outside the crowd. Taking advantage of everyone not noticing me, I quietly returned to my palace.

Chapter 8

That night felt like a dream. The only evidence was that my cold had worsened. I stayed in bed for several days before slowly recovering. That day, I wanted to get up and walk in the courtyard but unexpectedly couldn't find Aqiao.

I asked the little maids in the courtyard, who said Aqiao had been busy with something recently. I wanted to find a chance to ask Aqiao but never expected that when I saw her again, something had already happened.

Aqiao had been having an affair with a guard and was already pregnant. She was imprisoned in the Department of Punishment. This was a serious crime—disrupting the palace's order, a crime punishable by death. They said all maids were the Emperor's women, and having an affair was a grave crime.

Everyone who was on good terms with me advised me that being able to leave Aqiao with a whole body was already enough. They said taking care of Aqiao's family was also fulfilling the bond between mistress and servant.

Only I didn't understand. I didn't understand why two people who loved each other and harmed no one's interests had to die. I didn't understand.

I seemed to be sick again. It snowed heavily again today—the second heavy snow of the new year. I begged the Emperor to show mercy to Aqiao. Everyone tried to persuade me, saying I was the biggest fool in the world.

The snow fell heavily. I knelt in the snow, and soon a thick layer covered my body. Cold—it came at me from all directions. In the end, it wasn't cold anymore, just a continuous numbness.

Someone held an umbrella for me, someone pleaded for me: "Your Ladyship's health is poor. Kneeling like this, I'm afraid you can't bear it."

Xiao Chengyan paced back and forth, his expression grim: "I didn't make her kneel. If she wants to kneel, let her kneel enough."

After saying this angrily, he left. Soon a group of people came over. They placed a circle of stoves under the eaves, brewing tea around them while enjoying the snow scenery. Xiao Chengyan rested his head on Consort Jiang's lap while she read novels to him.

The person who had just said he wanted to grow white hair with me was now holding another woman, looking down at my miserable state from above.

I forgot how long I knelt. The moment before I fainted, I saw Xiao Chengyan running anxiously toward me.

Chapter 9

I had a very, very long dream. In the dream, I was in another dynasty. I was a travel blogger who had seen deserts, snow mountains, oceans, and volcanoes. I had experienced the local customs and traditions of various places around the world and had climbed to the highest peak of Mount Everest through my own efforts.

Until that avalanche on the snow mountain, I was trapped in a cave and signed a contract with a system to transmigrate to this era, accompany someone to the throne, and it would save my life. But shortly after I arrived, the system disappeared. No golden fingers, no space—so I struggled alone in this era.

A little maid in the Eastern Palace, accompanying the unprotected crown prince until his ascension. Later, our ideas diverged. He didn't understand my thoughts, and I couldn't accept his, so we broke up.

Those memories gradually swallowed by this era finally became clear again. Until the system's voice appeared in my mind again, with a hint of apology in its tone: "The system had some issues, so I lost contact with the host. You've suffered."

The phrase "you've suffered" almost made me cry again. "In thirty days, I will arrange for you to leave this world and return to your original time."

I finally remembered my name. I was Wen Qiao—the Qiao of a towering tree. After waking up, I cried hard, shouting like a madman: "My name is Wen Qiao, Wen Qiao, the Qiao of a towering tree."

I was afraid I would forget my name again, so I wrote the name Wen Qiao in every corner of the room. Xiao Chengyan rushed over shortly after I woke up. The anxiety in his eyes seemed genuine.

Actually, he probably loved me, but this love only extended to giving me some favor. He couldn't promise me a lifetime of one person, couldn't give me the position of Empress, and couldn't even pardon Aqiao's crime. This was the love he could give—only this much.

Aqiao—days of high fever made my mind a mess. What happened to Aqiao? What was it again? I finally remembered—Aqiao was going to die.

So my mind was filled with only one thought: I had to see her one last time. I threw off the covers to get up, but my body swayed from extreme weakness.

Xiao Chengyan held me. I clung to him like it was my last hope: "Please, let me see Aqiao one last time. Just one last time."

He seemed unable to meet my eyes and said slowly: "Aqiao is already dead. I ordered people to bury her properly. Her family has also been taken care of."

"Without rules, there can be no order. I cannot break the rules for her."

In my great grief, I seemed unable to cry. Instead, I sat there woodenly, like a carved figure. The imperial physician took my pulse and asked me who I was. I told him: "My name is Wen Qiao, the Qiao of a towering tree."

The physician said I was having delusions and wanted to give me acupuncture. I fought back with all my strength, and several people couldn't hold me down. In desperation, he could only prescribe medicine.

I feared bitterness the most. In whichever era, I had always hated taking medicine, let alone traditional Chinese medicine. So I kept my mouth shut and refused to take it: "I'm not sick. They are."

Xiao Chengyan learned some method from somewhere and actually held the medicine in his mouth to feed me. When his face came close, I subconsciously slapped him.

With a crisp sound, the entire room fell silent. Maids and the physician knelt everywhere. I looked at Xiao Chengyan expressionlessly. It had been a long time since I had looked at him straight on.

When I realized he could decide the life and death of me and those around me, when I realized my life and death depended on his words, I became a little afraid of him, so most of the time I looked up at him slightly. But now my mentality was similar to when you're about to resign—treating your boss as if you can live, you can live; if you can't, then die.

Actually, how could I not hate him? I hated that he gave me one green hat after another and I could do nothing about it. I hated that he couldn't promise my requests but kept me trapped in the palace for decades.

Our eyes met. I thought he would be angry, but unexpectedly, Xiao Chengyan suddenly smiled, as if he had regained a treasure he had lost for a long time: "This is my Shuhua."

He broke my wings but hated why I wasn't like before. How ridiculous.

Chapter 10

After learning I had only thirty days left to go home, I completely let myself go. I stopped going to pay respects. At five in the morning, whoever could get up could go—I couldn't. The Empress didn't mind either. If I didn't go, she came over instead, her tone carrying some excitement: "The people in this palace are really boring. I've seen enough of them. I just like seeing you like you used to be."

For a while, I really hated the Empress, feeling she had forcibly interfered in my relationship with Xiao Chengyan. Later, I understood that even without her, Xiao Chengyan would never marry a maid as his principal wife. I was quite lucky. The Empress wasn't actually a bad person. Otherwise, with my personality of challenging everything back then, it was already quite lenient of her to let me live.

Later, I didn't like seeing the Empress because I felt she was the principal wife, and someone like me in modern times would be a mistress. Later, I discovered that she was actually the same kind of pitiable person as me, trapped in this square courtyard.

I regained my unique favor in the palace. Xiao Chengyan came every day, right after morning court, punctually as if clocking in at work. Although I really didn't want to see him, no one dared to block the Emperor's path, so I could only watch him swagger in.

Xiao Chengyan set up a place in my courtyard to handle memorials. Wherever I was, he followed, like a piece of gum I couldn't shake off. When I got too annoyed, I would go to the Empress's palace and tell her about my various experiences around the world.

That scoundrel Xiao Chengyan was shameless, sitting between me and the Empress, occasionally offering his opinions. After a while, he looked at me thoughtfully and asked: "Where did you hear about these things?"

I suddenly smiled: "Didn't I say it before? I'm not from this era."

He paused, and I smiled again: "Just kidding. I read it in storybooks."

Xiao Chengyan seemed to have some other issue. He suddenly grabbed my hand, his tone heavy: "Under heaven, all is the King's land. No matter where you're from, I will find you."

Chapter 11

Perhaps seeing I was bored, Xiao Chengyan took me hunting at South Mountain. Midway, while Xiao Chengyan wasn't paying attention, I secretly slipped away to the town market to look around.

In the ten years since transmigrating to this era, I never really had a chance to properly experience the local customs. In the early years in the Eastern Palace, I couldn't guarantee tomorrow's survival. In later years, I was trapped in the palace, caught in one struggle after another.

Now standing firmly on this land, I discovered that the scenery here was actually very beautiful. Aqiao had told me that her parents lived at the end of the second alley to the east. With some memory and some asking for directions, I finally found their home.

Aqiao's brother had married, and the house had been newly renovated. The family was well-dressed and seemed to be doing well. I didn't want to bring up the past and needlessly sadden them, so I just looked and left.

Aqiao's grave was not far from the back mountain. She loved flowers, so I had people plant four seasons of flowers there, so that no matter spring, summer, autumn, or winter, there would always be flowers blooming. She was a friend I had known since I was a maid. After I entered the palace, she had always followed me.

We were friends like family, but I couldn't protect her. If possible, in her next life, I would take her to see all the scenery she envied. I sat at Aqiao's grave until the sun set, then headed back.

It wasn't that I didn't want to leave, but with only a few days left, I didn't want to implicate the maids and eunuchs who took care of me. When I reached the marketplace, there was a commotion ahead. Going closer, I found a child had fallen into the water.

The child's mother couldn't swim and cried until her voice was hoarse. No one around could swim, and those who could were weighing their own safety. If it were the past me, I wouldn't have gone to save them because I had to consider various issues. After coming out, my clothes would be wet and cling to my body. I was afraid people would use it against me. I had to cherish my reputation, and reputation was more important than life.

In this era, human life wasn't valuable. A few words could determine life and death. Whether I was willing or not, many people died because of me—some to protect me, some because they tried to harm me. I had learned to be very indifferent to the passing of a life, but Wen Qiao couldn't. Wen Qiao respected every life.

So I jumped in. The river water was cold, and the current was a bit fast, but I managed to grab the child. After getting ashore, the child wasn't breathing. I immediately performed CPR and artificial respiration.

The people around me watched in shock. I didn't have time to care what others thought, just focused on saving this life. The child was finally revived. When I heard the crying, I almost cried. Life was so precious. I was glad I had finally regained my reverence for life.

Before I could stand up, someone had already wrapped me in a cloak. Xiao Chengyan's expression was terrible. He picked me up by the waist, mounted a horse, and headed back to the palace.

Chapter 12

Along the way, he didn't say a word, only finally exploding in anger after returning to the courtyard. He paced back and forth like a trapped beast: "Shuhua, have I been too indulgent with you, making you dare to do anything?"

"What is your status, to do something so unbecoming for a commoner?"

"If I hadn't arrived in time, do you know what the consequences would be?"

I looked at him calmly. Because he saw me as his possession, when others saw my soaked body, he flew into a rage. Xiao Chengyan seemed to be infuriated by my dismissive attitude. He suddenly bent down close to me, grabbed my chin, and forced me to look at him: "You should know that you can only rely on me. The dignity of the Son of Heaven cannot tolerate your repeated provocations."

He was determined to teach me a lesson, so he sent me to the Cold Palace. The system said gleefully in my mind: "Only three days left. Who are you threatening? I was just wondering how to let you get sick naturally, and here's the opportunity."

I was sent to the Cold Palace. The Empress pleaded for me and was also confined. The grudge between Consort Jiang and me was too deep. Now that she was in high favor, those who wanted to curry favor with her used me as a sacrifice. It was just the usual dirty tricks of the palace. Those who had received my kindness before advised me to admit my mistake to the Emperor and show weakness. I just smiled and shook my head.

The next day, I developed a high fever. No one was sure of the Emperor's attitude toward me, so they didn't dare to fetch the imperial physician. I burned for a whole night. When Xiao Chengyan arrived, the imperial physician was already beyond help.

He staggered to the bedside. I had no strength left, even lifting my head was difficult. Using my last bit of strength, I gently stroked his face, my voice dripping with blood: "Xiao Chengyan, the thing I regret most in this life is meeting you."

"You killed me. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't die."

"I curse that you will never know joy in this life and never meet a good end."

The system said I couldn't change the course of history, but I was truly unwilling, so I could only plant a thorn in his heart. In his midnight dreams, I hoped this poisonous thorn would torture him constantly.

The system began the return countdown. I started vomiting large amounts of blood. Xiao Chengyan grabbed my shoulders like a madman: "Do you think dying will let you leave me?"

He suddenly drew a guard's sword and pressed it to the imperial physician's throat: "Give her acupuncture! Force the medicine! Even if it means defying heaven to change fate—"

Then my hand slowly fell, and I lost consciousness.

Chapter 13 (Xiao Chengyan's Perspective)

"Your Majesty, Noble Consort Shuhua... has passed away."

Everyone knelt down. The imperial physician prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to raise his head. Xiao Chengyan suddenly remembered that autumn hunt, when Shuhua had also fallen into his arms covered in blood but still smiled and pulled his sleeve: "Your Highness, your robe is dirty."

Xiao Chengyan suddenly went mad, shaking the already lifeless body: "Impossible! Get up for me! This is an imperial edict! Otherwise, I'll execute your nine clans."

Only after saying this did he realize that Shuhua had no nine clans. She seemed to have fallen from the sky, appearing in his most anxious and fearful youth.

Perhaps as she said, she really did come from a world a thousand years in the future. "Shuhua..." Blood-stained fingertips traced her lips. The Emperor finally bent his straight spine: "Open your eyes..."

Hot tears fell on her cold eyelids: "Look at me..."

Thunder rumbled outside the window, and a downpour began. Xiao Chengyan suddenly remembered the day she was made Empress. Shuhua smiled sorrowfully through the bead curtain: "Your Majesty is now truly alone."

He had thought it was just a joke then, only now realizing every word pierced his heart. "Issue an edict." The Emperor tightly wrapped the gradually cold body in his dragon robe: "Noble Consort Shuhua... caught a cold. Move to the Hall of Mental Cultivation."

Blood dripped from the sword hilt, blooming like strange red plums on the blue bricks: "Anyone who dares to speculate will be executed, along with their nine clans."

The eunuch threw himself to the ground: "Your Majesty! Her Ladyship is already..."

A flash of cold light, and a strand of white hair fluttered to the ground. Xiao Chengyan carried the body horizontally toward the rain curtain: "Prepare the carriage. Go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

He whispered by her ear: "We'll go pay respects to our ancestors. I want to make you my Empress..."

Later, it was said that the Emperor went mad that night, making a corpse his Empress. He killed anyone who tried to dissuade him. The Empress Dowager supported the Empress's son to the throne, becoming the Grand Empress Dowager, while the Empress became the Empress Dowager.

The young emperor was still a child, so the two empresses ruled together, creating the Taihe era of prosperity.

Chapter 14

When I woke up, I was back in modern times, as if from a very, very long nightmare, my heart still pounding. Only when I saw the blue sky and sunlight outside the window did I feel I had truly returned to the human world.

My mother said I had been unconscious for ten days. When I was dug out from the snow mountain, I had completely lost consciousness. Everyone said I would never wake up, but she didn't believe it.

One day in heaven was a year on earth—so it had only been ten days. After leaving the hospital, I went home. My dog was unusually clingy, as if it knew I had almost not returned.

After my body recovered, I soon set out on my journey again. Travel life was fulfilling. I met various people every day and solved various problems, rarely thinking about the past.

Based on memory, I drew Qiao'er on my clothes. I had promised to take her to see the world—I couldn't break my promise. Later, I had a few relationships. Honestly, their appearance was somewhat similar to Xiao Chengyan's.

It wasn't because of lingering feelings for an old love, but really because my preference was for that type—with a bit of exotic flavor. Superior bone structure, slightly deep-set eyes, preferably with lighter-colored pupils, and always a hint of melancholy in their gaze.

A strong but not fat build, with beautiful muscle lines. Over the years, I met many people. Slavic people were stunning but prone to alcoholism; French people were passionate and romantic but unfaithful; Germans were rigorous and family-oriented but liked to give the cold shoulder.

After seeing it all, I still chose someone from the same cultural background—a Chinese person, specifically with one-eighth German blood. Shen Yan, a university professor who was proficient in eight languages.

I loved listening to him recite those erotic verses in different languages in bed. Once he took off his gold-rimmed glasses, he transformed from a professor into a refined degenerate.

In the end, one must not disappoint the fine spring scenery.

Chapter 15 (Xiao Chengyan's Perspective)

Xiao Chengyan had a very, very long dream. In the dream, he went to a strange place and became a little black dog. When he saw the living, breathing Wen Qiao, he was incredibly excited. A thousand words eventually became a few barks.

She pulled him into her arms—a living, breathing person, not that cold corpse. So Shuhua was telling the truth. No, her name wasn't Shuhua. She should be called Wen Qiao—the Qiao of a towering tree.

In this world, cars sped along the roads, giant birds could carry a hundred people, and people thousands of miles apart could communicate instantly. Everyone was equal, and women could also go to school and work. So this was the heaven she spoke of.

He finally understood where Wen Qiao's unconventional ideas came from. Wen Qiao often said she didn't want to rely completely on him. Before, he didn't understand. In his era, it was natural for women to rely on men.

The most beautiful words of love were: "However many I rank among men, you'll rank the same among women." But someone who had truly experienced holding their destiny in their own hands—how could they truly be content to depend on others?

Perhaps it was fate. Now he had become Wen Qiao's little dog, dependent on her alone. She was always traveling around the world, while he could only wait at home day after day. He would often look out through the balcony window at the sky. Occasionally, planes would fly by, and he wondered if it was Wen Qiao's plane.

Xiao Chengyan thought about those nights when he didn't go to her palace—was she also waiting for him then? He finally understood why he had given her unique favor in the palace, yet she had never been happy.

Later, a new man appeared in her life. He hated it so much he could grind his teeth, but he didn't dare to really bite anyone. So he could only do some wicked things, like carrying away that person's shoes or secretly urinating on his things.

For the owner, a pet's anger was just a joke. Later, he grew older day by day and reached the end of his life. The last thing he saw before dying was him quietly watching Wen Qiao, trying to remember everything about her to get through those sleepless nights.

Wen Qiao held him, sobbing uncontrollably. Xiao Chengyan optimistically thought that being a dog wasn't bad—at least he could see her cry for him.

Despite all the unwillingness, he eventually closed his eyes. No one could defy fate—not even the Son of Heaven.

When he woke up, he was lying in an empty hall, surrounded by toppled wine bottles. In the end, it was all empty. Zhuang Zhou dreaming of a butterfly—not knowing if Zhuang Zhou dreamed of the butterfly or the butterfly dreamed of Zhuang Zhou.

In the fifth year of Taihe, that crazy emperor, who was taboo to speak of in the palace, died one night. He alone climbed the Star-Grazing Tower, danced a dance, then jumped down.

A heavy snowfall left everything a vast, clean white...

(The End)