Although Tushan Ze had initially planned to use the palace banquet to remove the thorn in his heart and transfer the engagement to Yun Yanyan, aligning the Minister of Rites with him and bringing the auspicious omen mentioned by the National Master into his household, much had changed now.
He carefully considered his words of refusal: "Your Majesty, I..."
Yun Yaoyao shot him a cold glance. "Oh? From what I understand, Prince Ze has been rather close to the Minister of Rites' family lately..."
Tushan Ze's heart skipped a beat, and he hastily bowed. "That was not my intention! I will humbly obey Your Majesty's decree!"
"Hmm." Yun Yaoyao closed her eyes. "Then there's nothing more to discuss."
Hah, she was now a tyrant, and her main approach was to be unreasonable!
As he withdrew, Tushan Ze took another careful look at his brother.
Perhaps due to injury, the overwhelming aura of violence had diminished, but his methods had clearly become more devious, insidious, and shameless.
Tushan Ze's concerns about his own "plan to usurp the throne" grew threefold.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards had arrived at the water prison to release the Yun family.
Fang Wucheng, the Deputy Commander of Imperial Guards, personally escorted Yun Liang out of the water prison. "His Majesty has determined that the Yun family is innocent and specially ordered me to come here."
Yun Liang was so moved that his hands trembled. "His Majesty's judgment is as discerning as ever. We thank His Majesty for his mercy!"
Madam Yun and Yun Yanyan embraced each other, having narrowly escaped death, almost bursting into tears.
"We are grateful to His Majesty!"
Fang Wucheng mysteriously added, "Minister Yun, I have two more pieces of good news."
Yun Liang quickly said, "Please, Deputy Commander Fang, do tell."
"At Prince Ze's request, the engagement between the eldest Miss Yun and Prince Ze has been canceled. Instead, the second Miss Yun will take her place."
Yun Liang was delighted. It was indeed Prince Ze who had interceded; his decision to privately show willingness to support Prince Ze had not been wrong!
Yun Yanyan was overwhelmed with joy. She knew that Prince Ze had feelings for her!
Yun Yanyan instantly forgot her previous misery and dejection, puffing out her chest to gloat at Tu Shanjin.
"Sister, you've committed an unforgivable act and will likely face execution. Since we're sisters after all, I'll take care of Prince Ze for you after you're gone~"
Yun Yanyan suppressed her glee and eagerly asked Fang Wucheng, "Deputy Commander, what's the second piece of good news?"
Could it be that Prince Ze not only wanted to marry her but also make her his primary consort!
Fang Wucheng replied meaningfully, "As for the second..."
"His Majesty's investigation has proven that the eldest Miss Yun was innocent in the matter with the guard. Moreover, the eldest Miss Yun's intelligence and quick thinking in using the assassination attempt on His Majesty to uncover the truth has caught His Majesty's attention."
"His Majesty has decided to take the eldest Miss Yun into the imperial harem and bestow upon her the title of Consort Miao!"
"Minister Yun, what a great fortune for your family, with two joyous events at once!"
These words struck Yun Yanyan and Yun Liang like a bolt of lightning, leaving them stunned. They exclaimed in unison, "How is this possible!"
Yun Yanyan thought: Not only does Yun Yaoyao escape death, but she also gets to marry the emperor? This news is worse than being killed!
Yun Liang worried: This unfilial daughter attempted regicide but ends up in the imperial harem, now outranking me?! With the eldest daughter of the family becoming a consort, how can the Yun family still support Prince Ze? They would be forced to side with His Majesty! His peaceful days were over!
Just then, a eunuch arrived to announce the imperial decree. After it was read, the Yun family's expressions turned completely sour.
As the chains were removed, Tu Shanjin walked out of the water prison. Her thin, wet clothes clung to her body, outlining her shapely figure.
Faced with this body, Tu Shanjin still felt extremely uncomfortable. How could anyone's body be so soft and delicate, bruising at the slightest bump or knock?
She spread her arms towards Fang Wucheng, her aura of superiority unmistakable: "Clothes."
Fang Wucheng immediately took clean clothes from the eunuch and respectfully draped them over Tu Shanjin.
After doing this, he suddenly realized – why had he so readily performed a servant's task?
Oh, he remembered now. For a moment, he had seen a glimpse of His Majesty in Yun Yaoyao.
Fang Wucheng shook his head, kicking this ridiculous thought out of his mind.
Tu Shanjin lowered her eyes. Being able to use Prince Ze and this excuse to rescue him showed that this Yun family's eldest daughter wasn't as foolish as the rest of the Yun family.
It was perfect timing; he wanted to meet this Yun family's eldest daughter in person to see what mischief she had been up to with their soul swap!
"Take me..." Tu Shanjin cast a cold glance at Fang Wucheng, catching herself mid-sentence and changing course, "Since I've just been released, I'll go see His Majesty."
Fang Wucheng nodded instinctively, "Yes."
"Ah, see His Majesty? Wait, I need to inform His Majesty first."
Fang Wucheng was frustrated with his own behavior. Damn it, how had he felt the pressure of royal bloodline from the Yun family's eldest daughter again!
However, Yun Yaoyao didn't get to meet as she wished. According to protocol, Tu Shanjin was taken by the etiquette instructors to learn palace etiquette.
To become His Majesty's consort, rules and etiquette were essential.
The matron approached Tu Shanjin with a smile, speaking respectfully: "Lady Yun, the first step to entering the palace is the virginity test."
Tu Shanjin frowned: "Virginity test?"
The matron nodded: "The so-called virginity test is to check whether that place is untouched. First, we smell its fragrance; a virgin has a faint, delicate scent. Then we observe its color; a virgin's color..."
Before she could finish, Tu Shanjin's face turned cold: "No!"
Although it wasn't his own body, his pride couldn't allow him to truly spread his legs to be sniffed, prodded, and examined by an old matron.
The old matron first tried to persuade him gently, but seeing Tu Shanjin's stubborn refusal, her expression hardened, ready to use force.
"Grab her!"
The watching palace maids immediately swarmed forward, pinning Tu Shanjin's arms and spreading her legs. "Matron, come quickly and check!"
Unable to struggle free, Tu Shanjin closed her eyes in humiliation.
A bunch of insubordinate dog slaves!
And that Yun family's eldest daughter who caused all this!!!
Similar incidents continued to occur for several days, wearing Tu Shanjin down to exhaustion.
By the time the process of conferring the title of imperial consort was complete, Tu Shanjin's patience had reached its limit.
Besides lamenting the hardships of being a woman, he had also thought of hundreds of ways to deal with Yun Yaoyao.
On the very night she was conferred the title of "Consort Miao" and moved into her palace chambers, her placard was turned over.
After another round of meticulous grooming and dressing, Tu Shanjin was stripped naked and wrapped in a quilt.
As the eunuchs carried her towards the Palace of Cultivated Mind, Tu Shanjin gazed at the beautiful moon in the sky. There was no peace in her heart, only a murderous look in her eyes, like the calm before a storm.
The night was eerily quiet.
Inside the Palace of Cultivated Mind, Yun Yaoyao pondered over the events of the past few days while waiting.
These past few days, she had used her injury as an excuse not to attend court sessions, instead focusing on reading memorials to better understand the affairs of this kingdom.
Now that Tu Shanjin was about to arrive, she knew that someone capable of ascending to the throne wouldn't be easy to fool. She had to come up with a good strategy to dispel his suspicions, while also being able to keep him in check and make him willingly cooperate with her.
She needed to prevent Tu Shanjin from turning the tables on her or discarding her once she was no longer useful.
As she was deep in thought, the shrill voice of a eunuch came from outside.
"Your Majesty, Consort Miao has arrived~"
The doors to the bedchamber were opened, and Yun Yaoyao looked up.
Moonlight poured in through the wide gap, half falling on the floor and half on the delicate beauty being carried in.
The beauty had already undergone meticulous grooming and dressing, and in the hazy, cool moonlight, she appeared even more alluring, graceful, and delicate.
Yun Yaoyao's heart skipped a beat. The appearance of "Yun Yaoyao" in the novel was exactly the same as her own in real life!
Was it mere coincidence or some kind of predestined arrangement...
As her mind wandered, Tu Shanjin was also observing Yun Yaoyao.
Seeing his own face display expressions he would never show, staring intently at him, Tu Shanjin felt a mix of horror and strangeness, with a touch of peculiarity.
It was... quite indescribable.
After the eunuchs placed Tu Shanjin on the bed, they respectfully left the inner chamber.
Just as Yun Yaoyao was about to speak, Tu Shanjin took the initiative.
She flung the brocade quilt around herself, sat up straight, and fixed a cold gaze on Yun Yaoyao.
"Eldest daughter of the Yun family, do you know the punishment for regicide!"
"What sorcery have you used? Undo it at once!"
This sudden rebuke and accusation caused Yun Yaoyao to immediately withdraw the welcoming smile she had prepared.
Well, well. Even after soul-swapping into the body of a weak woman, unloved by her father and endangered by her mother, taken into the imperial harem and awaiting ravishment at any moment, he still puts on airs like he's the king of the world?
It's time for him to get a taste of society's harsh reality.
Yun Yaoyao raised her eyebrows, widened her eyes, and suppressed the other party's imposing manner with a theatrical, forceful rebuke.
"Insolent mortal!"
"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?!"
