Chapter 2

In the dark water prison, the Yun Family members were suspended by iron chains, their hands raised and their lower bodies submerged in bone-chilling water.Tu Shanjin lowered his head, gazing at the water's surface. The cold water shimmered, reflecting his face.

Skin as white as snow, cherry lips, and a delicate nose. A pair of autumn-water eyes most capable of evoking pity. Though his black hair was disheveled, it only made him appear more purely alluring and captivating.

His figure was impressive, best described as slender branches bearing luscious fruit.

There was not a single flaw worth criticizing, except for one terrible thing: he, a monarch, had transmigrated into this body.

Tu Shanjin's face remained impassive, but dark clouds had long since gathered in the depths of his eyes.

On the other side, the Yun Family members, who had been cursing Tu Shanjin for three days and nights, finished their prison meal, gathered their strength, and began cursing again.

Yun Liang glared at him hatefully: "Wicked daughter! Poisonous woman! The entire Yun Family has been ruined by your hands! If we had known this would happen, we should have strangled you in your cradle!"

Madam Yun was still thinking of ways to survive: "Yaoyao, I know you hate me for stealing your mother's affection in the past, but the master, Yanyan, and the entire Yun Family are innocent. How could you do this? Quickly explain the truth to His Majesty..."

After three days in the water prison, both psychological and physical torture had pushed Yun Yanyan to the brink of collapse: "Yun Yaoyao, so it was all an act. You've been planning to destroy the entire Yun Family all along. Even as a ghost, I won't let you off! Ahhhhh!"

His train of thought interrupted, Tu Shanjin coldly glanced at them, his gaze laden with murderous intent: "Shut up!"

This gaze was too cold, too ferocious.

Somehow, Yun Liang suddenly thought of His Majesty. When he became angry, his eyes looked exactly like this wicked daughter's, terrifying.

The Yun Family members fell silent briefly.

Tu Shanjin moved his hands. The chains suspending his arms were long enough to allow him some range of movement.

He pulled out a small hairpin hidden in his hair bun and, without hesitation, stabbed it hard towards his own heart.

As the hairpin pierced flesh and blood, pain surged. Tu Shanjin only furrowed his brow slightly.

After a short while, he opened his eyes again to see the horrified expressions of the Yun Family members, as if they had seen a ghost.

It seemed that this was not the method to switch back again.

Tu Shanjin had never found the faces of the Minister of Rites' family so detestable as he did at this moment.

Another glance filled with killing intent flew towards them: "Unlucky! Get lost!"

The Yun Family: ??

Soon, the water prison was filled again with Yun Liang's hoarse, cursing voice.

"Wicked daughter, even insulting your father now. What a disgrace to the family, what a disgrace!"

Meanwhile, compared to Tu Shanjin's difficult situation, Yun Yaoyao was living quite comfortably.

In the morning, she drank the carefully prepared nourishing medicine from the Imperial Medical Academy. At noon, she indulged in rare delicacies, ending with a coconut egg white jelly with bird's nest as a dessert.

Yun Yaoyao breathed a long sigh of contentment. This life was simply a paradise for food lovers!

It was just a pity that due to the wound on her chest, her arms couldn't engage in vigorous movement, so her plans for some personal entertainment had to be temporarily shelved.

After lunch, Yun Yaoyao propped her head up, pondering her current situation.

In the Yanchi Dynasty, the current monarch was Tu Shanjin, which was the body she now inhabited.

Ruthless and cruel, quick to order executions, he was feared and dreaded by everyone in the court.

The novel described Tu Shanjin like this:

[He ascended to the throne by stepping on the corpses of millions. Although the ministers respect and fear him, in the entire court, except for the pillars and the bricks on the ground, everyone else wishes for his death.]

She had spent the past three days unconscious, and now it was the fourth day. Not to mention not attending morning court for four days, even the memorials in Xuanzheng Palace had piled up like a mountain.

If this continued, she would be exposed sooner or later. She had to find the tyrant and reach an agreement with him.

Moreover, the uncertainty of her soul swap with the tyrant was also a hidden danger...

If one day she transmigrated back into "Yun Yaoyao's" body, she needed to not only protect "Yun Yaoyao's" life but also ensure that "Yun Yaoyao" lived a comfortable and secure life!

But having attempted to assassinate the emperor in public and spoken so arrogantly, what kind of reason could she find to erase "Yun Yaoyao's" crimes?

Yun Yaoyao suddenly understood what it meant to lift a stone only to drop it on one's own feet.

Just as she was pondering anxiously, the voice of a eunuch announcing visitors came from outside the hall. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ Nʘvᴇl(F)ire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Ze requests an audience."

Prince Ze?

Yun Yaoyao recalled the plot from the novel, her eyes lighting up.

Perfect, this excuse had just delivered itself!

"Let him in."

"Yes."

Yun Yaoyao straightened her back, leaning half her body against the bed, trying to imitate Tu Shanjin's cold and fierce demeanor, striving to make herself look unapproachable.

"I heard Your Majesty has awakened. I've specially brought a thousand-year-old ginseng from the prince's mansion to nourish Your Majesty's health. Is Your Majesty feeling better now?"

The voice arrived before the person.

A voice as gentle as bamboo lightly striking a jade plate sounded, inadvertently softening one's heart.

As the person approached and completed his bow, it revealed a face as clear as a cloudless sky and as peaceful as the passage of time. Especially those peach blossom eyes that looked at even dogs with deep affection, they easily made people let down their guard and feel goodwill.

Anyone who saw him would want to praise him as a "pure love" or a "white camellia."

This was the former sixth prince, now Prince Ze, Tushan Ze.

Because of his detachment from worldly affairs, his lack of desire, his friendly and respectful demeanor towards others, Tushan Ze became one of only two princes to survive the struggle for the throne.

After becoming Prince Ze, he further distanced himself from factional disputes, only wanting to be a person of leisure. He was also known for his charitable deeds and had an excellent reputation among the common people.

But Yun Yaoyao, having read the novel, knew that all of this was a facade!

He had been wanting to kill Tu Shanjin and usurp power for a long time.

Moreover, Yun Yanyan's plot to harm "Yun Yaoyao" this time also had his instigation behind it.

"You may rise," Yun Yaoyao said flatly, her expression as cold as if she had been killing fish at a supermarket for twenty years.

Tushan Ze was already accustomed to Tu Shanjin's indifferent attitude. He expressed his concern with a few sentences before stating his purpose.

"Your Majesty, I feel that there's something suspicious about this Yun Family affair. The words Yun Yaoyao spoke after the assassination attempt don't seem sincere and don't make logical sense. It's obvious she was trying to implicate the Yun Family. However, Yun Yaoyao's act of attempting to assassinate Your Majesty is undeniably a grave offense."

Yun Yaoyao: "Mm."

Tushan Ze couldn't fathom his attitude, but for the sake of his own plans, he had to continue. He smiled bitterly.

"I don't wish to interfere in these matters, but after all, I do have a marriage agreement with Yun Yaoyao..."

Yun Yaoyao: "Mm."

Eighteen years ago, Yun Yaoyao and Yun Yanyan were born one after the other, coinciding with the Yanchi Dynasty's Imperial Diviner passing through the area.

The Imperial Diviner stroked his beard and said meaningfully: "The birth of this girl will bring great fortune to the Yanchi Dynasty."

The emperor at the time was overjoyed upon hearing this and immediately betrothed the Yun Family's eldest daughter, Yun Yaoyao, to the most favored sixth prince at the time, Tushan Ze.

At first, everyone thought the dynasty's fortune was the eldest daughter Yun Yaoyao, but as the two children grew up, one was foolish and weak, while the other was intelligent and talented.

Later, everyone said that the second young miss of the Yun Family was the true bringer of fortune.

This engagement also became a thorn in Tushan Ze's heart.

Tushan Ze probed: "Your Majesty, what is your suggestion?"

Yun Yaoyao suddenly asked an unrelated question: "What do you think of Yun Yanyan?"

Tushan Ze was taken aback but answered diplomatically: "The second young miss of the Yun Family is of the highest caliber in both talent and appearance, naturally she is excellent."

Yun Yaoyao: "I understand."

Tushan Ze: ?

This response suddenly confused Tushan Ze completely.

What? You suddenly understand what?

Yun Yaoyao spoke in a deep voice: "Come, pass down my decree!"

The eunuch waiting for orders immediately ran in respectfully from outside the hall.

"After my investigation, the Yun Family is innocent. The palace guards framed the Yun Family's eldest daughter. Yun Yaoyao attempted assassination and made extreme statements in order to clear her name by allowing herself to be imprisoned so that I could investigate the truth of the matter."

Tushan Ze: ?

"At Prince Ze's request, Yun Yaoyao's crimes are pardoned. However, while the death penalty is waived, she cannot escape punishment entirely. The engagement between Yun Yaoyao and Prince Ze is hereby annulled! The second young miss of the Yun Family, Yun Yanyan, is talented and beautiful, deeply loved by Prince Ze, so I hereby decree the marriage of Prince Ze to the second young miss of the Yun Family."

Tushan Ze: ??

"Although the eldest daughter of the Yun Family, Yun Yaoyao, was disrespectful to me, she is also a rare talent with courage, wisdom, quick thinking, and a virtuous heart. From this day forward, Yun Yaoyao will be brought into the imperial harem and bestowed the title of Consort Miao!"

Tushan Ze: ???

How did things suddenly develop in this direction?!

Yun Yaoyao maintained an icy exterior while inwardly smiling, even giving herself a mental thumbs up for her clever wit.

Not only could this prevent Tushan Ze from recruiting the Minister of Rites into his ranks and expanding his power,

But it would also bring the ticking time bomb - that tyrannical dog - to his own side.

How marvelous, Prince Ze, your arrival is truly impeccable!

I'll just give Yun Yanyan to you as a wife!