The emperor held the imperial seal high with both hands.
The palace attendants knelt in rows.
Yun Yi thought: Cue the background music—the Lion King has entered the scene.
The young emperor’s gaze met the seal at eye level.
Yun Yi looked away, avoiding his stare.
A tiny sesame-seed-sized mole rested on his carotid artery, at this moment rising and falling with each pulse.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, pulling that little mole along with it.
The emperor had been born according to her aesthetic preferences. Yun Yi couldn’t help herself—she snuck another glance.
She stood outside the gate of a 5A-rated scenic spot, standing on tiptoes to peek at the view inside, feasting her eyes without spending a dime on admission.
In her dreams, she ate so well. Growing bolder, she glanced at him once more.
Seeing the cinnabar paste staining his fingertips red, Xiao Zhi’s face darkened. “Dirty.”
The young eunuch said, “This servant will assist Your Majesty in washing his hands.”
The emperor commanded, “Prepare water.”
Oho. A clean-freak emperor.
The emperor strode briskly. Yun Yi moved forward with each of his steps. Out of the corner of her eye, the hem of his robe rolled like thick clouds. The wind whistled in her ears.
Wait a minute… Which boss brings the company seal with him to bathe?
The palace bathhouse was larger than Yun Yi’s entire home. Steam curled into mist.
Yun Yi, forced into the men’s bathhouse, was full of bravado: You’re the one insisting I watch. So I won’t hold back.
Before the emperor could undress, there was a plop—bubbles gurgled up and over her head.
It turned out she was the one getting a bath.
She knew how to swim.
But being held in someone’s hand and forcibly submerged was another matter entirely.
The sky was falling. Even an Olympic swimmer could drown, okay?
The sensation of drowning never came. A large hand swiftly lifted her out.
Xiao Zhi picked and scraped at the residual mud on the base of the imperial seal.
The water torture ended. Having narrowly escaped with her life, Yun Yi was locked back inside the casket.
“Wait for me,” Xiao Zhi said, tapping the beast’s head on the imperial seal with his fingertip.
The lid closed, tight and seamless, plunging her into crushing darkness.
Muffled through the box wall, Xiao Zhi’s voice drifted in and out, indistinct: “Summon the Imperial Seal Casting Office. I want the inscription ground away and recarved.”
Yun Yi: …
Not only am I in prison, but my butt is about to face the knife. You damned dog emperor!
She didn’t know how long she waited. Suddenly, the casket was opened.
Two officials entered. They performed the full kowtow ceremony—seeing the seal was like seeing the emperor himself.
These must be the heads of the Seal Casting Office.
The officials rose, took a single look, and dropped back to their knees.
Yun Yi overheard them whispering.
“Altering the imperial seal’s inscription is no small matter. It cannot be done.”
“Absolutely impossible.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. Her butt cheeks were safe.
These men withdrew.
Thinking she would be locked back in the casket, Yun Yi was surprised when the eunuch carefully placed the imperial seal on the imperial desk.
Now, to Yun Yi’s left was a row of beautiful brushes. To her right was a “Flying Spring” inkstone. Having a father in archaeology, Yun Yi had absorbed enough to recognize quite a few antiques.
By the emperor’s standards, these four treasures of the study were rather ordinary.
A palace maid added fresh incense to the ear-handled censer. A segment of ash broke off on the rim.
Yun Yi suddenly felt a sense of recognition: This censer—it’s the exact same antique the homestay owner asked Dad to appraise!
The young eunuch’s expression darkened. The palace maid’s face turned even worse than the eunuch’s. She fell to her knees and begged for mercy: “Please spare me, Eunuch.”
“This is an old item His Majesty brought from his former residence before his ascension. If it were damaged, how would you compensate? Go accept your punishment.”
After delivering his reprimand, the young eunuch tenderly wiped away the remaining ash—reverent, solemn, as if performing a sacred ritual.
Such a loyal assistant. Yun Yi watched him wipe the ear-handled censer until not a single fingerprint remained. Then he respectfully carried over a tray and arranged the emperor’s belongings in order.
The engraved bamboo tube was also placed on the desk.
Wuwuwu—her oil-glutinous rice cake!
…
The sound of sobbing filled her ears—”Wuwuwu”—crying so hard it made Yun Yi’s temples throb.
She raised a hand to rub her eyes, tugging at the IV tube on the back of her hand.
Someone pressed down on the hand that had drawn blood.
“Yunbao! You’re awake! Wu…”
Before her stood an extremely familiar middle-aged man, weeping as if on the verge of a breakdown. Yun Yi pulled herself out of the dream. “Dad, what happened to me?”
“Tell me why you’re trying to lose weight,” Yun Guoqiang scolded, expounding on the dangers of dieting.
The hospital room was quiet. The 200-jin patient in the bed across the way shot her a hostile look: With those little twig arms and legs, what are you losing weight for?
It turned out that after Yun Yi had bowed to the Xiao ancestors, she’d collapsed face-first onto the ground. If it hadn’t been for the kneeling cushion breaking her fall, she would have been disfigured.
The Xiao ancestral hall was a bit haunted.
Suddenly remembering the censer from her dream, Yun Yi said, “Dad, the ear-handled censer from the homestay owner—”
A nurse came in to change the IV bottle. “The patient needs rest.”
“If you don’t behave, the doctor will give you a shot in the butt,” Yun Guoqiang said, treating his adult daughter like a three-year-old. As for that ear-handled censer—it was just a fake. “That incense burner? The owner uses it as a water bowl for his dog, Dahuang.”
Dahuang was the homestay owner’s village dog, and he got along great with Yun Yi.
“That’s not a fake. That’s Yan—”
A group of people stood outside the door. Yun Yi snapped her mouth shut.
The village chief came to visit. “The medical expenses will be covered by the village. On behalf of all the villagers of Xiao Family Village, I personally extend our condolences to Miss Yun.”
Full leadership presence.
Yun Yi said, “Thank you, Village Chief.”
The village committee director added, “Little sister, this is a protection talisman from the abbot of Fuyun Temple. It will keep you healthy. Keep it safe.”
The talisman was triangular, adorned with intricate, delicate runic markings—very much like the kind wealthy tycoons paid fortunes for. It was not the same as the yellow talisman Priest Xiao had pasted into the notebook’s front page.
Yun Yi thanked them. As a hazy thought surfaced, she asked, “Fuyun Temple?”
The village had invested heavily in tourism projects, one of which was “renovating the Taoist temple.”
“Fuyun Temple is halfway up Emperor Ridge. It’s a shame the abbot is abroad, officiating a overseas ordination ceremony—otherwise, we’d definitely take you for a tour.”
“…” Overseas? A foreign Taoist priest?
Yun Yi was astonished. This was even more absurd than her dreams.
After seeing off the village officials, Yun Guoqiang went out to buy food. The patient across the way was discharged by his family. The hospital room fell completely silent.
A medical chart rested on the bedside table, stamped with the words “Xiao Family Village Community Hospital.”
In Yun Yi’s hand was the Fuyun Temple talisman.
She had been unconscious for one hour. In her dream, however, it had felt like an entire day had passed.
The flow of time in the two places seemed different.
She felt a little hungry. She closed her eyes and waited for her father to return, thinking that when she woke up, she’d fill her stomach.
Yun Yi dozed off for just a short while. When she opened her eyes again, the hospital room was gone. The smell of disinfectant had vanished.
She was sitting on an unfamiliar chair.
Before her were an inkstone, an incense censer, an empty tray, and that bamboo tube.
“?” Back in the dream again?
This time was completely different from her previous entries into the dream. She was no longer sealed inside the imperial seal.
Yun Yi was somewhat delighted. She moved her hands and feet.
Lying in the hospital bed, she hadn’t felt such a strong sense of hunger. Now, sitting upright, her stomach churned like wild waves, lodging a serious protest.
Her eyes stopped on the bamboo tube. She thought for a second, then reached out and grabbed it.
The supremely delicious oil-glutinous rice cake! That stinky emperor was afraid of poison and wouldn’t eat it—he had no taste.
Yun Yi pulled out the lotus leaf package and gave it a sniff.
Not spoiled. Edible.
She took a bite, then felt uneasy. She didn’t know the situation outside. What if eunuchs or palace maids came in and mistook her for some random intruder?
She was wearing an oversized moon-white shirt, loose-legged pants, and a pair of black leather shoes that only a modern person would wear.
The ancient people in the dream would surely find it strange.
Holding her breath, Yun Yi shuffled sideways with her two legs and ducked behind the screen.
Pouncing like a starving ghost, she opened wide—Owom—and bit down.
An Unfavored Prince’s Counterattack to Ascend the Throne – No One Was Convinced.
The atmosphere at the coronation ceremony was eerie, like a storm about to break. Xiao Zhi sat alone on the dragon throne, facing the skepticism of the entire civil and military court.
The once-unremarkable prince had vanished. Now, his gaze carried a natural authority. Whoever he looked at bowed even lower.
The more respectful and submissive they appeared, the more they cursed him in their hearts.
Xiao Zhi returned to the imperial study. Officials from the Seal Casting Office wished to report on the matter of altering the imperial seal’s inscription.
The words “absolutely impossible” stuck in their throats. Before they could speak, the newly ascended emperor seemed to read their minds and said flatly, “You intend to defy my decree?”
A clatter of kneeling bodies – officials, eunuchs, palace maids – all dropped to the floor.
Pat. The bamboo tube fell to the ground.
“Who?” Xiao Zhi spun around, his gaze landing on the screen.
Out of nowhere, guards materialized and surrounded the screen in a flash.
Yun Yi lifted her head and saw her own silhouette cast upon the screen.
It was over. She was no longer a soul attached to the imperial seal.
“…”
Shwing – The sound of swords being drawn.
Behind her was a wall. There was no retreat. She stood frozen. No way. You guys play this hardcore?
The late emperor had been assassinated; the assassin had taken his own life. Until the remaining conspirators were rooted out, Xiao Zhi’s throne would never be secure.
Unwilling to be a short-lived emperor, Xiao Zhi snatched a sword from one of the guards. He needed to take a living prisoner to uncover the mastermind behind it all.
“Your Majesty.” The guard captain moved to protect him.
Xiao Zhi raised his hand. He would personally wipe out the remaining assassins.
The shadow of the sword-wielding figure on the ground grew closer and closer.
Yun Yi: “…”
The shadow stopped two zhang away. A familiar voice drifted in. “I will give you one chance. Come out on your own.”
Xiao Zhi’s voice was ice-cold, carrying the intimidating presence of a villain making his entrance.
Yun Yi was out of options: Why won’t this damn dream end?!
She couldn’t just say: Hey, Emperor bro, my soul time-traveled into your imperial seal, and now I’ve time-traveled back out. I just borrowed your place to grab a bite. Don’t worry, it won’t affect you being emperor. I’ll leave right away.
Anyone would think she was insane.
One second of stillness.
As Yun Yi’s mind raced, a flash of sword light split the air. A moment later, a tremendous crash echoed.
The screen before her had been cleaved in two.
Xiao Zhi got a clear look at the assassin: a tiny figure crouched on the ground, cheeks puffed out, clutching a piece of lotus leaf in her hands.
Back when he was confined to his old residence, this was exactly how the field mice in the corner of the courtyard wall used to eat their stolen food.
Looking closer, the assassin’s lips glistened with oil. She was eating an oil-glutinous rice cake – and enjoying it thoroughly.
Guards swiftly surrounded her.
Yun Yi was paralyzed with fright. The last time she’d seen such a grand spectacle was on an IMAX screen at the movies.
She saw the emperor raise two fingers, signaling the guards to make a path. Swaggering like the arrogant ruler he was, he walked up to her.
Xiao Zhi scanned the assassin’s bizarre clothing. From the Western Regions? But with her flat nose and small eyes, she didn’t look like it.
Then he looked at the half-eaten oil-glutinous rice cake in her hand.
He hadn’t tasted one since his grandmother passed away.
And now an assassin had eaten it.
Yun Yi’s gaze landed on the blade in the emperor’s hand. She choked.
“Who are you?” Xiao Zhi’s tone was unnervingly cold.
Yun Yi: “Hic.”
Xiao Zhi: “…”
Listen to that. The assassin was full. How absurd was that?
The assassin hadn’t died after eating the cake, proving it wasn’t poisoned.
Frustration and anger coiled around Xiao Zhi’s heart like snakes. If only he had tasted it himself!
He delivered his ultimatum: “Speak now, and I will spare you from torture, allow you to keep your body intact for burial, and grant your nine kin a swift death.”
Torture. Intact body. Nine kin.
Yun Yi’s fury surged. “HIC –!!!”
The hiccup stopped abruptly.
The assassin’s delicate and elegant features twisted together. Her breathing grew rapid.
Her face turned from pale to grey, then gradually to purple.
The guard captain shouted, “Not good! The assassin has poisoned herself!”
Leave a Reply