Shoutout to Tachibanaswife for the commission!
I was startled, and my hands unconsciously loosened. He quickly struggled free, hurriedly retreated a few steps, and guarded his neck with both hands while looking at me warily.
“Why can’t I go back? Is my physical body gone? Burned?” I asked blankly.
Seeing that I was no longer using force, the Star Lord of Fate took the chance to straighten his appearance before answering, “No, the physical body is fine.”
I found it strange. “Then why can’t I go back? Weren’t you trying to repay a favor? Sending me back would count as repaying a favor, leaving me here feels more like revenge!”
The Star Lord of Fate hesitated for a moment and said, “When you came here you used Zhang’s physical body. Zhang’s lifespan wasn’t finished yet, so naturally she also needed a body to be reborn into, so she used yours.”
I froze for a moment, then asked in disbelief, “You mean my original body is now being used by Lady Zhang?”
The Star Lord of Fate nodded, then shook his head. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Actually, that’s not quite accurate. It should be that you originally used her body, and she used your body. Now it’s you using the body she used for more than ten years, while she’s using the body you used for more than twenty years. Calculated this way, you used her body for several more years, so you’re the one who benefited.”
I smacked my lips, thought about it again, then grew even angrier and shouted, “I, I, I… didn’t understand! Say it again!”
The Star Lord of Fate rolled his eyes. “Simply put, you were originally meant to be born into this body. There was a small mistake on the King of H*ll’s side. Because your fate in this life is extremely important, if the mistake continued it could affect all living beings, so the King of H*ll asked me to secretly switch the two of your bodies back.”
I was already dumbfounded. After a long moment I still couldn’t react and asked blankly, “So… this… is my legitimate… body?”
The Star Lord of Fate looked at me with sympathy and nodded.
I lowered my head in disbelief and touched my chest, then slid down to my slender waist before raising my head again to look at him.
He looked even more sympathetic and patted my shoulder. “Accept your fate. This body is top quality, you even said before that you like this kind of girl.”
D*mn it, I only said that because I thought I was still a man!
Suddenly I felt weak all over, with a splitting headache. The last bit of hope in my heart was completely cut off by the Star Lord of Fate.
The Star Lord of Fate sighed deeply and patted me again. “Stop thinking about it. Go wash up and sleep.”
I reached out and grabbed his sleeve as he was about to leave. “Is my original body doing well now?”
He looked at me. “What’s past is past. What’s the point of looking?”
I forced a bitter smile. “I used it for more than twenty years. It would be good to see it one more time.”
He asked, “Seeing it will only bring more trouble. You still want to see?”
I quickly nodded. “Yes! I want to see!”
The Star Lord of Fate sighed and shook his head, took a crystal mirror from his sleeve, and held it out to me. “Then… look.”
With an excited heart, I took the mirror with trembling hands. Mist gradually rose within the mirror. Although I couldn’t hear any sound, in the hazy image appeared the back of a man, dark-skinned, strong, covered with fine beads of sweat. As his body moved up and down, the sweat gathered into thin streams that slowly rolled down along his spine…
I was puzzled and said, “It’s only been a few months, how did he get so tan?”
Hearing this, the Star Lord of Fate leaned over to look and said, “Oh, that’s not your body. The one underneath is.”
I was greatly surprised and looked more carefully. The angle in the mirror shifted, revealing another figure, eyes half-closed, cheeks flushed, rosy lips slightly parted, an expression that couldn’t be distinguished between pain or pleasure… It was unmistakably me!
I stiffly turned my head and silently looked at the Star Lord of Fate.
He looked a little embarrassed and spread his hands. “You can’t blame Zhang. She’s a delicate woman at heart, she needs a man to take care of her…”
I didn’t say anything. I directly smashed the crystal mirror into his face.
D*mn it! It’s one thing that in this life I’m being bullied by a man, but you even let my previous body be pressed under a man too! I, I, I…
Just as I was so furious I wanted to swallow the Star Lord of Fate alive, I suddenly heard someone calling by my ear: “Niang Niang, Niang Niang…”
I opened my eyes. The Star Lord of Fate had already disappeared. In front of me, Luli looked anxious as she stared at me. “Niang Niang, what’s wrong? Did you have a dream?”
A dream? Yes, let’s just treat it as a nightmare, I comforted myself.
My mind was still immersed in the nightmare and hadn’t recovered when Luli had already brought clothes to dress me. I felt dazed. Perhaps thinking I was upset because we were returning to my maiden home today, Luli gently advised: “Today Niang Niang will ride in the same carriage as the Crown Prince. Please don’t be willful anymore, be more accommodating to His Highness, and His Highness will naturally change how he treats you…”
It felt like thunder striking from the sky. Even the hand I had stretched out to put on my clothes froze midair. I only turned to Luli and asked, “Ride with Qi Sheng?”
Luli, completely unaware, nodded. “Since His Highness is willing to accompany Niang Niang back home, he naturally won’t let Niang Niang ride alone and invite gossip. Travel in the capital won’t be fast; by the time you reach the suburban residence it will take at least half a day. Niang Niang must seize this opportunity to grow closer to His Highness.”
One thunderbolt after another struck my head, scattering my soul. I couldn’t hear anything else Luli said. Before my eyes there was only that naked back swaying up and down…
I… I’d better just die!
An attendant came from outside to report that the carriage was ready, and Crown Prince Qi Sheng was already waiting at the palace gate. Luli no longer had time to carefully adjust my makeup and hurriedly dragged me outside. My hand moved a little too slowly to grab the pillar, and once outside I had to maintain my dignity, so I could only obediently follow her.
At the palace gate, sure enough, the Crown Prince’s ceremonial escort had already arrived. A large royal luxury carriage blocked the entrance.
The beauties of the Eastern Palace couldn’t return to their own homes, but they were still dressed gorgeously and stood at the gate to see us off. My mind was too chaotic to admire them, and I only searched for Qi Sheng.
Seeing me looking around, an attendant quickly came close and said softly, “His Highness is already waiting inside the carriage. Please board, Niang Niang.”
Luli had no idea that I had already been “struck” inside and out. She carefully adjusted my makeup again, then complained that my lips weren’t red enough and kept whispering: “Niang Niang, bite your lips, bite harder.”
Bite my lips? I might as well bite my tongue!
The attendant lowered the golden footstool. Even after stepping onto it, I still wasn’t reconciled and turned back to ask Luli, “Can we change carriages?”
Perhaps Luli was too nervous to hear me. She only urged anxiously in a low voice, “Bite your lower lip, bite it harder!”
Her nervousness finally infected me. I actually forgot my own question and followed her instructions, biting my lip hard. A sharp pain came, and when I wiped it with my hand there was blood, I had bitten it open.
Luli stared in shock for a moment before crying out, “Niang Niang, it’s broken! It’s bleeding!”
Her shouting instead made me calm down. I wasn’t Lady Zhang anyway, just two grown men riding in the same carriage, what was there to be nervous about? So I boldly lifted my skirt, shook off Luli’s supporting hand, and stepped onto the carriage with great momentum!
Inside the carriage, Crown Prince Qi Sheng was leaning comfortably against a soft pillow. When I entered, he lifted his eyelids and glanced at me lightly. His gaze paused briefly on my lips before moving away, and he lowered his head again to read the book in his hands.
I touched my still-bleeding lips, hissed a few breaths of cold air, then found a comfortable seat opposite him and sat down.
Outside, an attendant asked whether to depart. Qi Sheng gave a soft “Mm.” Before I could express any opinion, the carriage had already begun moving slowly. Perhaps because the carriage’s shock absorption wasn’t very good, the compartment swayed gently.
Uh… that rhythm again made me think of that swaying back… truly soul-stirring.
Outside the carriage, ceremonial music played; inside, there was silence. I thought for a moment, Qi Sheng had always spoken little to Lady Zhang, so it was unlikely he would speak first. Fine, I would start.
“Qi… Your Highness?”
Qi Sheng finally raised his head from the book and looked at me, still without speaking.
I adjusted my tone to be as friendly as possible. “Do you have time? Shall we… chat a bit?”
Qi Sheng remained expressionless. “What’s the matter with Yang Yan?”
Me: “We can’t keep going like this, seeing each other all the time but saying nothing.”
Qi Sheng: “In the future, have less contact with Old Nine and the others.”
Me: “Who exactly is Yang Yan?”
Qi Sheng: “Stop causing trouble.”
Fine. I’ll shut up, okay?
