Chapter 002: The Arrival Of Yan

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Translator’s Note: ✨ The previous chapters are getting a glow-up! ✨ They’re being fully edited and translated to match the original novel. Here’s the polished chapter! ??

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In this seemingly brief moment, Jiang Xuening’s mind was flooded with countless thoughts, a wave of dreamlike visions and mixed emotions.

She had been reborn.

But when she counted on her fingers, it was clear that Heaven had not exactly shown her much favor.

It had been like this in her previous life, and now it was the same in this one.

In the stories You Fangyin had told her, those who were reborn with regrets often found themselves returning to the beginning, using their knowledge from the past life to correct mistakes, compensate for regrets, and avoid danger.

But for her, it was different.

She had been reborn at a point that wasn’t exactly early—she couldn’t prevent things from the start—and it wasn’t exactly late, as many things were still yet to come.

Dressing as a man was something she had started doing after returning to the capital at the age of fourteen. It continued until she was eighteen, when she was summoned to the palace to serve as the companion reader for Princess Leyang. During this time, she was always with Yan Lin, mainly to avoid constraints, traveling from the east to the west of the capital.

With Yan Lin by her side, she was unafraid of anything.

He was a young man from a military family, having spent some time at the border, with the kind of boldness most boys in the capital didn’t have. He was always well-dressed, full of vigor, and moved like a knight, always by her side, protecting and cherishing her.

Everything was perfect.

But in the autumn of the fourth year of Yong’an, when she was eighteen, she, still dressed as a man, went to a temple fair with Yan Lin, who had just returned from serving in the palace. Along the way, they unexpectedly encountered Prince Linzi, Shen Jie, who was traveling incognito.

At that time, Jiang Xuening did not know Shen Jie’s identity.

She could only tell that this refined and elegant young man in fine clothes was familiar with Yan Lin and seemed to have a special status. When Yan Lin first saw him, he immediately said, “Why are you out here?”

Yan Lin’s identity was well-known.

He was the heir to the Duke of Yongyi, a family as powerful as the Xiao family, and had been personally appointed by the emperor at a young age. He was deeply favored at court, and wherever he went, people respectfully called him “Young Lord.”

There weren’t many people who could make him address them with a “you” like that.

Eventually, the three of them ended up visiting the temple fair together.

Shen Jie had curiously asked about her identity.

Yan Lin, who had his own reasons, knew about her cross-dressing and didn’t want others to know, so he told Shen Jie that she was a distant cousin of the Jiang family, a young master, and since their temperaments matched, they often spent time together.

At that time, Shen Jie didn’t suspect anything.

At most, he just thought that the young master of the Jiang family seemed too delicate, too feminine.

After all, who could imagine that Yan Lin would dare to take a young lady dressed as a man, from a prestigious family no less, to walk through the crowded streets?

Thus, Jiang Xuening, under the guise of a distant cousin from the Jiang family, met Shen Jie, who was still the Prince of Linzi at the time. Later, when she learned of his true identity and heard rumors that the emperor had no sons and was considering making Shen Jie the crown prince, what had initially been a casual encounter turned into a deliberate approach.

In the end, she got what she wanted and married Shen Jie.

Not long after, the emperor passed away due to illness and passed the throne to Shen Jie, making her the empress.

However, although Shen Jie had grown up in the palace, he was different from his other brothers. His heart was too kind, to the point of being indecisive. His temperament was too gentle, making him weak and overly compassionate, to the extent that even his power couldn’t suppress the court, and he often had to rely on the newly appointed Grand Tutor, Xie Wei, to handle matters and negotiate on his behalf.

In the end, he was poisoned.

By then, Jiang Xuening had already been placed under house arrest by Yan Lin and couldn’t even see him one last time.

People who are too kind cannot be emperors.

This was the only lesson Jiang Xuening had learned from Shen Jie’s tragic fate in her previous life.

Now, she had been reborn just after meeting Shen Jie. Although she was already somewhat involved with him, fortunately, the involvement was not yet deep.

Perhaps there was still time to change things?

This time, she would not enter the palace again, for the Palace of Kunning would be her tomb.

The room, simply arranged, was still quite elegant.

In the cool early autumn air, the faint scent of last night’s wine still lingered, though it had mostly faded.

Outside the tightly shut windows, the distant noise of the market could be heard.

Yan Lin still held a sword in his hand. Though he was still a young man, his waist and back were already clearly defined. When his lips were pressed tight and his face bore no smile, there was a certain intimidating presence to him.

He paid no attention to Shen Jie for the moment.

Instead, he turned his head and, with his brows lowered, the coldness in his voice softened a little, as if afraid of frightening her. He asked, “Are you alright?”

Jiang Xuening finally came back to her senses, having been momentarily dazed by the realization of her rebirth. The young man’s bright, star-like eyes were just inches away from her, still untouched by the pain of the Yan family’s troubles and the darkness of court struggles.

Clean, bright, and dazzling.

Like a blazing sun hanging in the sky.

He had only just introduced her to Shen Jie a few days ago, and Shen Jie had just referred to her as “Brother Jiang,” so he likely had not yet uncovered her true identity. By extension, she should not yet know Shen Jie’s identity either.

When Jiang Xuening was young, she wasn’t particularly clever, but after entering the palace and being exposed to the inner workings of the court, even someone as dense as her could pick up some sharpness. In the blink of an eye, she had already figured out how to respond to the current situation.

“It’s nothing…”

Jiang Xuening’s voice trembled slightly as she exhaled slowly, looking as if she had just been startled.

“I just had a nightmare… a bad dream.”

As she spoke, she raised her eyes again and quickly grabbed the arm of Yan Lin, still holding the sword: “It’s my fault for not distinguishing things clearly when I woke up. Swords have no eyes—Yan Lin, quickly put down the sword. It would be bad if someone got hurt. It’s all a misunderstanding!”

Only then did Yan Lin glance once more at Shen Jie, still doubtful, and slowly sheathed his sword.

Shen Jie, seeing this glance, couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time: “What, brother Jiang just said it was a misunderstanding, and you still want to kill me?”

The speaker had no ill intent, but the listener had their own thoughts.

Jiang Xuening hadn’t encountered this situation in her past life, but hearing Shen Jie’s words now, she couldn’t help but think, Wouldn’t you want to kill him in the future?

In her past life, Shen Jie, the unfortunate emperor, had been poisoned—either by Xie Wei or by Yan Lin.

It didn’t make much of a difference.

They were both from the same faction.

Looking at them now, one was the Prince of Linzi, and the other a young lord of the Yongyi Duke’s family, talking casually as if they were on good terms. Who would have imagined that, just a few years later, they would end up in a deadly struggle?

Yan Lin didn’t take Shen Jie’s joke seriously, but recalling his earlier impulse, he felt somewhat embarrassed. He cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject: “Ahem, by the way, is your face alright?”

After all, he was the Prince of Linzi.

Although Ning Ning was the one he treasured the most, Shen Jie was the emperor’s own younger brother, and recently there had been rumors in the palace that the emperor had no sons and was in poor health, possibly intending to make Shen Jie the crown prince. Shen Jie had just been slapped, and if he really got angry, a young lord from the Duke of Yongyi’s family wouldn’t be able to protect her.

Fortunately, Shen Jie had a good temper.

He had always been a reasonable person who rarely lost his temper.

He simply adjusted his disheveled robes, then touched his cheek and smiled at them: “My face is fine, but in the future, I’m afraid I won’t dare to drink with you two until dawn.”

After all, one had a nightmare, and the other had drawn a sword.

He had barely been the Prince of Linzi for two years—if things kept going like this, he might soon be reporting to the King of Hell.

Jiang Xuening couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed.

To be fair, Shen Jie was indeed very handsome, especially when he smiled. His eyes would curve slightly, giving him an air of elegance and warmth, like a piece of fine jade.

After she married him, Jiang Xuening never once had an argument with him.

The reason was simple: first, Shen Jie had an exceptionally good temper; second, he didn’t truly love her; and third, she didn’t love him either. She only cared for the position he held, so nothing else really affected her.

To those who didn’t know better, their relationship might have appeared to be one of mutual respect and harmony, the ideal of “a perfect emperor and empress.”

In her past life, Jiang Xuening had regretted spending her whole life scheming and working hard to enter the palace. In this life, she had no desire to get involved with this future unlucky emperor again, but she certainly couldn’t afford to offend him.

Though, based on what she knew, the chances of him getting angry were extremely low…

But what if?

She blinked, her gaze falling on the slightly red spot on Shen Jie’s left cheek. She hesitated before speaking, “It’s all my fault, I’ve caused trouble and offended you, sir. I’ve heard that applying an egg on the face can help with swelling. I’ll have someone bring one for you, to atone for my mistake?”

It was impossible to say that she wasn’t at fault.

Who could tolerate a slap out of nowhere?

But when Shen Jie turned his attention to the “Jiang family young master,” he saw those soft, water-like eyes. The frail young man’s face was as delicate as porcelain, with red lips and white teeth, his youthful features still soft and round. The symmetry of his features only made his beauty more striking, leaving a hint of ambiguity about whether he was more feminine or masculine.

Any anger Shen Jie had left quickly dissipated as he watched the young man, his irritation all but forgotten. He was just about to mention that he needed to go into the palace to accompany the emperor and listen to Master Xie’s lecture, and that he needed to take care of his face to avoid drawing attention.

But unexpectedly, Yan Lin scoffed, pulling Jiang Xuening aside. “Such a small matter, there are servants to take care of it. Though I didn’t explicitly tell you, do you think he’s an ordinary person? Just sit tight.”

Jiang Xuening was at a loss for words.

She hadn’t said she was going to handle it herself.

Shen Jie was taken aback, his gaze lingering on the hand Yan Lin had placed on Jiang Xuening’s arm. After a moment, he said, “Last night, I drank too much and it caused some trouble. It’s already time for Master Xie’s lecture, so we should quickly disperse and attend to our own business. We can meet again another day.”

Yan Lin simply nodded. “Alright.”

Then, turning to Jiang Xuening, he said, “I’ll take you back.”

Shen Jie froze.

He had disguised himself and gone out in plain clothes—wasn’t Yan Lin supposed to escort him back?

He glanced back and forth between Yan Lin and the “Jiang family young master.”

Jiang Xuening felt her scalp tingle.

The earnestness of youth was unmistakable. The young man, still inexperienced in hiding his emotions, wanted to protect her because he liked her, and when he cared about something, he wore his feelings on his sleeve, as if he wanted to keep her in the palm of his hand at all times.

Unfortunately, she was not worthy of such affection.

The Jiang family was her ultimate destination.

However, now that she had just been reborn, Jiang Xuening truly needed some quiet time to clear her mind and sort out the chaotic thoughts in her head. Besides, now that she had seen Yan Lin’s face, her feelings were far too complicated.

So, she said to Yan Lin, “No need, I’ll return on my own.”

In the past, she was known for her pampered and spoiled nature.

Half of it was because her father, Jiang Shilang, felt guilty and didn’t dare to control his daughter, who had been brought back to the capital. The other half was due to Yan Lin’s indulgence.

Therefore, when she wanted to return alone, she didn’t need to make up any excuses.

As expected, Yan Lin didn’t question her at all. It was as if he had grown accustomed to her willfulness and spoiled behavior. He simply said, “Then I’ll have Qing Feng follow you from a distance.”

Qing Feng was one of his two personal attendants.

Jiang Xuening knew that although she had the desire to refuse, after seeing his expression, she decided to suppress it for now and obediently nodded in agreement.

Yan Lin then gave his instructions, and after Shen Jie had tidied himself up, the three of them left the inn.

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On the way back to the palace, Shen Jie replayed the details from the inn in his mind, feeling that something was off, especially the moment when Yan Lin had drawn his sword and held it to his neck in defense of Jiang Xuening.

Thinking further, the young man had a delicate figure and striking looks…

Shen Jie furrowed his brows, suddenly realizing that, although he was a few years older than Yan Lin, there were some things he needed to point out. He lifted the curtain of the carriage and said, “Cough, Yan Lin, although there are some scholars in the capital who prefer men, and that Jiang family young master is indeed handsome, you are the heir to the Marquis of Yongyi, and in the future, when it comes to marriage…”

Shen Jie was traveling by carriage.

Yan Lin, however, was riding a horse, keeping pace with the carriage.

The horse was handsome, and the rider was even more so.

But upon hearing this, Yan Lin’s face turned dark. “Your Highness, I don’t like men.”

This time, Shen Jie looked at him with suspicion. “Then what about that Jiang family young master?”

“She is not a young master from the Jiang family.”

Yan Lin, remembering what had happened earlier, especially the way Jiang Xuening had looked at Shen Jie, felt uneasy.

A hint of thought passed through his dark eyes.

The troubled young man suddenly turned to Shen Jie and said, “She is the second daughter of the Jiang family.”

“Ha! Cough, cough…”

Shen Jie, who had just picked up a cup of tea, nearly choked. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard!

No wonder he had drawn his sword so suddenly…

“You… you actually—”

Yan Lin, however, didn’t seem bothered.

He sat tall on his horse, his dark robe making him appear even more striking.

He simply said, “She loves the bustling world and enjoys her freedom, so I brought her out to have some fun. Your Highness treats me like a brother and a friend, so I’ve told you her true identity today. It’s to let you know that she is a woman. In the past, when you didn’t know, there was no harm; now that you do, you should be more mindful, to avoid alarming her as you did this morning.”

Shen Jie instinctively nodded in agreement.

But as soon as he did, he realized something wasn’t right. “Shouldn’t you be the one to mind your manners? And she dared to go out with you—how reckless! If this gets out, how will she ever marry?”

The young man’s sharp brows revealed a glimmer of defiance. He smiled lightly and said, “I’ve spoiled her, so I’ll be the one to marry her.”

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