7.
I entered the banquet hall.
The two of them were certainly considerate. They sat on either side of me, their faces exactly alike.
I smiled faintly. “Do you two still remember what I like to eat? Let’s see how filial you are.”
I wanted to find out which of them was really my ex-boyfriend.
One picked abalone out of the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall soup for me; the other placed cinnamon-scented shark fin in my bowl.
I stared at the food, my smile growing wider.
Wonderful. They’re both such good
sons
of mine.
Because neither of them knew—I’m allergic to seafood.
If he loved me, how could he be this bad at it?
Hmph. Did they both know that if I figured out which one was my ex, I definitely wouldn’t help him?
Because… a good ex-boyfriend should be as good as dead.
8.
Before I could eat, assassins showed up.
The dancers performing onstage suddenly pulled short arrows from their sleeves.
I silently thanked heaven and earth.
If I’d eaten seafood, I might’ve died just the same.
In an instant, the whole palace was in chaos. Everyone ran for their lives in an unprecedented panic.
A bunch of useless fools!
I was the only one still sitting straight, as steady as Mount Tai.
Somebody help me up! This is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this in person, and it’s way too intense! My legs have gone weak—I can’t move!
A feathered arrow came straight at me!
At that very moment, two people swooped in from either side and grabbed me, like hawks snatching up chicks!
The arrow plunged three inches into the chair.
If it had hit me, it would’ve gone right through me!
“Trần Uyển Uyển, are you trying to get yourself killed?!”
“Uyển Uyển, are you so scared you’ve gone blank?”
The angry one was the emperor; the gentle one was the regent.
Those two little troublemakers had the nerve to call me by my name! If anyone else heard them, they’d never let them live it down.
Luckily, everyone was busy saving their own skin, running faster than rabbits!
I snapped, “Call me
Mother
!”
I felt the hands gripping my shoulders go still for a moment.
Judging by the distance to the ground… about ten feet.
I wouldn’t die, but I’d definitely break my legs.
I immediately changed my tone. “Good boys, I was only joking. Don’t take it seriously.”
Wait, this is the same kind of transmigration—so why am I getting such different treatment?!
How come those two can fly?!
The hands on my shoulders suddenly tightened, hurting so much my eyes nearly filled with tears.
“Hmm? Who did you just call that?”
“Who did you just call that?”
I forced a smile and tried to sound cheerful:
“You’re both… my precious boys. Mom loves you both.”
9.
I suddenly dropped, and screamed in terror. The two of them immediately pulled me back up in unison.
Then they glanced at each other, eyes narrowing as sparks seemed to flash between them.
This atmosphere… How about you two let me go, and I’ll walk on my own?
Caught between the two of you, I feel completely superfluous.
“Your Majesty, I arrived late and failed to protect you in time!”
The Imperial Guards had arrived. The impostor dancers were either killed or captured.
The emperor said in a low voice, “Mother was frightened. I’ll escort her back to her chambers myself.”
See? In the end, he still had to call me Mother. What a good
son
I have!
The emperor glared at me with his big, bright eyes.
Everyone else looked at me with question marks all over their faces.
I patted his shoulder and explained slowly, “I mean, Your Majesty is so filial.”
The regent wasn’t willing to give in. He immediately cut in, “I’d like to go with you, too.”
The emperor glanced at him and smiled thinly. “Regent, you’d better stay here and help me interrogate those traitors.”
10.
The emperor brought me back to Từ Khê Điện, then waved his hand and ordered everyone to leave.
He picked up his teacup and took a sip, his expression half amused, half unreadable, then asked:
“You saw him?”
“I did.”
Had he guessed I’d met the regent because I’d been so calm at the banquet today?
Or did he already have spies in my Từ Khê Điện?
“What do you think of him?”
Could you please stop dragging me into your mess?
The emperor suddenly leaned close, gripped my chin, and forced me to meet his eyes.
“You want to help him? Do you still have feelings for him?”
Looking at his expression, I felt that if I answered yes, my head would be on the ground the next second.
So I answered with a question of my own: “Then you admit he’s the real Tống Tư Kỳ?”
“Trần Uyển Uyển, do you love the face or the soul?”
“If there were two identical faces, which one would you choose?”
“Is Tống Tư Kỳ very important to you?”
This was just like the hardest question in the world:
“If your mother and I fell into a river, who would you save?”
When we were together, Tống Tư Kỳ always made me feel that something was off.
Sometimes he was so gentle that I melted; other times he thought I was an idiot.
I used to think it was because his personality was unpredictable.
But that was exactly why, when two
Tống Tư Kỳs
appeared, I hesitated, unsure which one was the real one.
They were like two halves of one complete Tống Tư Kỳ.
Or… had he really had dissociative identity disorder in the modern world, and had the time-space transmigration split his two personalities into two independent people?
The emperor tightened his fingers around my chin, his voice turning cold:
“What are you thinking? Answer me.”
My head felt like it was splitting open. I lost control for a moment and slapped his hand away.
“I’m not choosing anyone! Don’t forget, Tống Tư Kỳ and I broke up! Whoever you two are, it has nothing to do with me!”
The emperor’s gaze darkened, and he said coldly:
“Trần Uyển Uyển, you’re avoiding the question. Sooner or later, you’ll have to choose. The regent arranged tonight’s assassination attempt.”
“He can’t hold back any longer. He wants my life.”
His words, along with the regent seeking me out earlier today, weighed heavily on my mind.
He was telling me that one of them was bound to die.
“What do your political power struggles have to do with me? I’m just a discarded pawn, completely useless in the palace. You don’t really think the Trần family will listen to me, do you?”
The emperor looked at me and sighed softly, his voice gentler than before:
“I won’t force you. But you have to listen to your heart.”
“You’ve had quite a fright today. Get some rest.”
11.
Phu Du sent a woman to the capital as tribute. Her name was Shangguan Yan.
What was remarkable was that she looked exactly like Shen Yiyan, as if they’d been cast from the same mold.
What a coincidence.
She was also excellent at playing the pipa, and her manner and bearing were remarkably similar.
I looked at the two men beside me. Both of them were staring at her, completely transfixed.
Hmph. Men’s words are all lies!
Yesterday they were saying all sorts of sweet things to coax me, and today they’re staring at another woman like they’ve lost their minds.
As expected, they can’t forget their old flames—and now they want to trick me into putting in a good word for them? Not a chance!
If I ever fell in love, I’d be Wang Baochuan, stuck eating wild greens in a cold cave for eighteen years.
No, I’d have to gnaw on tree bark for twenty years!
Those two unfilial sons can both just drop dead!
When the pipa piece ended, I calmly applauded.
“This beauty certainly has an exotic charm. The emperor and the regent are both in need of a lovely woman like her. Let’s see which of you will take her in.”
The emperor laughed. “Whoever Mother wishes to arrange her for, I’ll obey.”
The regent looked at me calmly, his gaze inscrutable. “Elder Brother is right. Marriages are arranged by one’s parents. Mother, just say the word—who would you like to bestow her upon?”
Wait, can I take back what I just said?
How did this suddenly become my decision?!
I pondered for a moment, then smiled. “I find her very agreeable. Why not have her come to my palace and serve me? I’ll make you… a chief palace attendant.”
That way, I’d get to keep the beauty by my side!
That’s me for you!
12.
The assassins had been captured. Word was, Deputy General Lin had arranged the assassination.
And Deputy General Lin was a member of the regent’s faction.
The regent came to the palace in person to tell me what had happened.
He said the assassins had actually been men sent by the emperor in disguise. The emperor’s aim was to frame him and force him to fight back.
After that, he began reminiscing about our past relationship.
He recalled how I’d pursued him and how he’d fallen for me the moment we met.
When I confessed my feelings, he’d agreed right away.
He even said that we’d gone to Disneyland together to watch the fireworks, and that we’d promised to stay together forever. We’d even agreed to see the aurora together someday.
He’d planned to propose to me after we graduated.
Finally, he took my hand and tried to explain that there had never been anything between him and Shen Yiyan. He’d often gone out back then to prepare a birthday surprise for me, not because he’d ever considered breaking up. If I’d help him seize the throne, he’d find a way for us to share in all the wealth and glory.
As he spoke, he put his arm around my waist.
Click!
The door swung open.
Insolence! Hadn’t I ordered that no one was to come in?!
I turned to look. The person who’d come in was the emperor.
Oh. In that case, it’s fine.
The emperor slammed the door shut, the crash so loud it shook the whole room.
He looked at the regent and me, gritted his teeth, and shouted toward the outside:
“Everyone wait outside for me!”
I jumped, my legs going weak, and instinctively threw myself into the regent’s arms.
I was doomed. If the emperor’s glare could kill, I’d have died ten thousand times over by now.
Seriously… couldn’t you just talk things through? Why are you still holding me around the waist?!
This was a full-blown love-triangle showdown!
I trembled, genuinely terrified.
Ah, a remarkable woman like me always has men fighting over her until their eyes turn red.
The emperor swept his arm out and, as if I were a little chicken, hauled me out of the regent’s arms.
“Regent, are you trying to create a scandal in the imperial harem? That’s a capital offense!”
The regent raised an eyebrow and replied unhurriedly, “How would I dare? Mother was just a little dizzy, so I steadied her, that’s all.”
Me: “…”
Even a toe could figure out that was a lie.
Who steadies someone by holding them so tightly around the waist?!
But the emperor believed him.
The emperor was indeed wise.
Oh, no… it was because he had an agenda of his own!