CHAPTER 35

 

This was absolutely ridiculous!

 

Song Yuanzhi looked at the Northern Rong Divine Lady, whose expression was also cracking, and felt a rush of anger. If it weren’t for the fact that they were in such a formal setting, Song Yuanzhi would’ve dragged her over for a good beating to vent her frustration.

 

Xuanyuan Guifei shot a warning glance at Xuanyuan Yu, who was lost in thought. When she looked at the Northern Rong Divine Lady again, her gaze was filled with not only anger but also a hint of murderous intent.

 

Emperor Yongkang, unaware of the underlying tension, merely found the Divine Lady’s face somewhat familiar. Then, when he turned to look again, it suddenly clicked for him: No wonder she seems familiar. She bears a slight resemblance to Ah-ji’s wife. However, no matter how much the Divine Lady tried to project an image of a celestial being above worldly concerns, Emperor Yongkang couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Despite her serene demeanor, he could sense the deep ambition and desire hidden in her eyes. Compared to Song Yuanzhi, who genuinely didn’t care for worldly things, the Divine Lady seemed like a poor imitation. Standing next to Song Yuanzhi, the Divine Lady’s otherworldly image crumbled, making her appear as nothing more than a pretentious fraud.

 

Seeing the clear shift in the surrounding people’s attitudes, Song Yuanzhi couldn’t help but laugh. Even though the story had gone completely off the rails, the original body she had taken over was still the protagonist of this novel, and what was the most basic trait of the female lead? She was undisputedly the most beautiful woman. While different kinds of beauty could still stand their ground next to her, this Northern Rong Divine Lady—more appropriately called Yu Ling—was a low-budget version of Song Yuanzhi. If Song Yuanzhi didn’t outshine her, it would be an insult to the original character’s design.

 

After just one glance, Song Yuanzhi recognized that the mystical Divine Lady before her was indeed Yu Ling.

 

It wasn’t surprising. Since Song Yuanzhi transmigrated into this world, she had cursed Yu Ling’s ancestors plenty of times. With the experience of such a scientifically inexplicable phenomenon like transmigration, it would be impossible for her to forget Yu Ling. The moment she saw Yu Ling, even though her face had changed, Song Yuanzhi could immediately identify her by the unmistakable, insufferable aura she radiated.

 

To make matters worse, Yu Ling now had a face resembling Song Yuanzhi’s, which instantly doubled Song Yuanzhi’s disgust for her. It felt like finding half a cockroach in your food after finishing a meal.

 

Yu Ling, for her part, was also having a mental breakdown. When she wrote this novel, it was purely an outlet for her hatred toward Song Yuanzhi. She knew exactly what Song Yuanzhi hated, so she created a male lead that ticked all her boxes for frustration. She also created a dead fiancé whom Song Yuanzhi would have loved, just to make her misery worse.

 

Even though these were just fictional characters in a story, Yu Ling found satisfaction in imagining Song Yuanzhi suffering under her pen, as if the real Song Yuanzhi was experiencing this torment.

 

After realizing she had transmigrated into her own novel, Yu Ling’s first instinct was to seek out Xuanyuan Yu. After all, the original owner of her character was Xuanyuan Yu’s first love. As the author, Yu Ling knew exactly how much influence her character Bai Yue had over him and how terribly Song Yuanzhi would suffer at her hands later in the story.

 

With that kind of advantage, how could Yu Ling not jump at the opportunity to use it?

 

Unfortunately, she transmigrated at the worst possible time—after her character had already been secretly hunted down by Xuanyuan Guifei’s gaurds and was forced to flee to the Northern Rong. If it hadn’t been for Yu Ling’s quick thinking, she might have lost her life. That’s how the Northern Rong came to possess the telescope and explosives; Yu Ling had desperately recalled these inventions in order to preserve her cover as the Divine Lady.

 

These changes in the timeline were why Lu Shaoyou, who was supposed to die on the battlefield in the original story, had managed to survive, return to the capital, and agree to marry Song Yuanzhi.

 

Yu Ling, however, didn’t know any of this. Her focus had always been on Song Yuanzhi, and she harbored a secret, twisted hope. If Song Yuanzhi had also transmigrated into this world, Yu Ling could torment her directly. If Song Yuanzhi hadn’t transmigrated, then Yu Ling would take her revenge on the character based on her.

 

So, when Yu Ling heard that the heir to the Marquis of Nan’an was about to marry a daughter of the Song family, she pulled every string she could to convince the Northern Rong Emperor to send her with the envoy to the Rong Dynasty capital.

 

Given the terrible living conditions in the Northern Rong, Yu Ling felt that staying there even one more day was torture. Besides, there was still a male lead in the Rong Dynasty who had once been in love with her character. Since she had transmigrated into her own novel and given her advantage in status, it seemed perfectly natural for her, as the supporting female character, to reverse roles and end up with the male lead in a happy ending.

 

As for Song Yuanzhi? She was going to die anyway, so whether she died sooner or later didn’t matter. Considering how miserable Song Yuanzhi’s life would become later in the story, Yu Ling even felt that killing her off early would be a mercy, sparing her from future suffering.

 

But Yu Ling never expected that the one marrying Xuanyuan Yu wouldn’t be Song Yuanzhi, but Song Lilan, while Song Yuanzhi herself had smoothly married Lu Shaoyou!

 

Even the original author, Yu Ling, was baffled by the unexpected twists in the storyline.

 

However, there was one thing Yu Ling was certain of—Song Yuanzhi had also transmigrated!

 

Both women exchanged tense, subtle glances, waves of hostility passing between them. The others, thinking they were simply stunned by each other’s resemblance, smiled knowingly and tactfully pretended not to notice the awkward tension between them.

 

Xuanyuan Yu’s brief moment of panic hadn’t gone unnoticed either. Given the hatred that Prince Wu had accumulated lately, it was only natural that the Marquis of Nan’an’s family, being his in-laws, would share in some of that resentment. Back then, Xuanyuan Yu had caused quite the scandal when he nearly gave his life for Bai Yue. Although the gossip had died down, people hadn’t forgotten. Some still remembered Bai Yue, especially people like Prince Hao, who sat not far from Xuanyuan Yu.

 

This prince had always been fond of leisure and entertainment, especially when it involved drama. When Xuanyuan Yu and Bai Yue had their tearful love affair, Prince Hao had eagerly been one of the first to witness it all.

 

Recently, Prince Hao had been frustrated with Emperor Yongkang’s obsession with alchemy, making it difficult to meet with the emperor and get some funds for his own personal endeavors. His anger toward Prince Wu had been steadily growing. So, seeing Xuanyuan Yu’s visible discomfort, Prince Hao couldn’t resist seizing the opportunity. He let out a cold laugh and raised his voice. “Xuanyuan Yu, doesn’t this Divine Lady look familiar to you?”

 

Xuanyuan Yu’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly glanced at Emperor Yongkang’s face and then forced a calm smile. “People often resemble one another. It’s no surprise that the Divine Lady bears a resemblance to the Zhenbei Marquis’s wife.”

 

Hearing this, Yu Ling, who had been gazing longingly at Xuanyuan Yu, instantly had tears in her eyes. She looked at him with a pitiful, heartbroken expression, like someone who had just been betrayed.

 

Prince Hao scoffed again. “That’s not what I was referring to.”

 

Emperor Yongkang’s curiosity piqued. “Oh? Is there more to the story?”

 

Prince Hao, encouraged by his father’s interest, went on. “Father, do you recall a few years ago, when Xuanyuan Yu threw a tantrum because he wanted to marry an orphan girl? Back then, the Marquis of Nan’an nearly broke his leg over it, and it took him a month to recover from the beating.”

 

With a son as nosy as Prince Hao, Emperor Yongkang felt like a predator in a field of ripe gossip. The scandal of Xuanyuan Yu defying his family for love had been quite the juicy story back in the day. Now, hearing Prince Hao bring it up again, the emperor’s gaze toward Xuanyuan Yu and Yu Ling grew even more meaningful.

 

Xuanyuan Yu’s scalp prickled. Just as he was about to deny everything, Emperor Yongkang gently asked Yu Ling, “So, are you that Miss Bai?”

 

The Northern Rong envoy immediately looked displeased and responded in broken Rong Dynasty language, “The Divine Lady is a treasure bestowed upon the Northern Rong by the heavens. How could she be one of your people?”

 

Who would believe that? Everyone in the room thought the same thing: We’re not blind. With the way the Divine Lady looks at Xuanyuan Yu, it’s clear they have a past. Even an idiot could see that.

 

Xuanyuan Yu broke out in a cold sweat and shot Yu Ling a sharp look before quickly pleading, “Your Majesty, please understand. When Miss Bai disappeared, I searched for her extensively, but all I heard were rumors of her tragic death. Today, upon seeing the Divine Lady, I found her appearance familiar, but I dared not entertain any other thoughts.”

 

Emperor Yongkang’s expression was unreadable, his emotions unclear. He turned to Yu Ling again and said, “Miss Bai must have suffered greatly.”

 

Xuanyuan Guifei immediately lifted her head and stared intently at Yu Ling. Realizing the precariousness of her position, Yu Ling bit her lip and glanced at Xuanyuan Yu with a mixture of reproach and sorrow before softly replying, “The past is gone. Your Majesty, my name is Yu Ling.”

 

Emperor Yongkang gave her a kind smile.

 

Xuanyuan Yu, on the other hand, was ashen-faced.

 

Lu Shaoyou casually picked up a small piece of date cake and held it to Song Yuanzhi’s mouth, thoughtfully suggesting she use this romantic drama as “gossip fuel” to enjoy her snack and keep warm.

 

Song Yuanzhi was so stunned by the unexpected developments that she was at a loss for words. She even felt a twinge of pity as she looked at Yu Ling.

 

A person from the Rong Dynasty who fled to the Northern Rong, helping them develop powerful weapons that had killed tens of thousands of soldiers.

 

What was the difference between her and a traitor?

 

After tonight, Yu Ling would do well to hide in the Ministry of Rites and never show her face again. Otherwise, she’d likely be drowned in a flood of public outrage. Thankfully, she had the cover of being an orphan; otherwise, her family’s ancestral graves might not be safe from the mob’s fury.

 

Having been involved in such a dramatic love story, Xuanyuan Yu’s political career was also looking grim.

 

Sure enough, the Censorate officials who had once impeached Xuanyuan Yu had murder in their eyes, ready to drag him down for good.

 

It was becoming clear: there were few good men in Prince Wu’s faction.

 

This strange and tense palace banquet came to an abrupt end.

 

On the way back to their residence, Song Yuanzhi couldn’t help but gloat, “Xuanyuan Yu’s life is about to get very difficult, isn’t it?”

 

Lu Shaoyou chuckled, his expression enigmatic. “It’s not just Xuanyuan Yu. Prince Wu and Xuanyuan Guifei are also in for a tough time.”

 

At that very moment, after leaving the banquet, Emperor Yongkang surprisingly didn’t return to his alchemy chamber. Instead, he summoned his secret guards, angrily coughing as he pounded on the table, and ordered, “Investigate thoroughly how this Northern Rong Divine Lady ended up fleeing from the capital to the Northern Rong back then!”