Chapter 206 The Eighth Day of Entering a Rebirth Novel

Chapter 206: The Eighth Day of Rebirth into a Novel

Inside the rear courtyard of the Right Grand Chancellor’s residence, within an exquisite embroidery pavilion.

Ran Zhuyu sat staring blankly at an unfinished embroidery piece, her needle and thread idle for a long time.

Having been reborn, she appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was tormented day and night by the hatred of her past life and the scheming of her present life.

Just then, her trusted maidservant hurried in, dismissed the others, and leaned close to her ear to whisper the news of the Imperial Preceptor’s drought prophecy.

Ran Zhuyu’s embroidery needle dropped sharply onto the embroidery frame. She sprang up from her stool, her face twisting with shock and rage, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"What did you say?! The Imperial Preceptor prophesied a drought?"

Her voice trembled with shock: "How... how is this possible?!"

Her mind was a chaotic storm, as if hit by towering waves.

How could the Imperial Preceptor know about the coming drought?

In her previous life, until the disaster fully erupted, the court had been completely unprepared, and the Imperial Preceptor had never issued any warning!

An absurd, terrifying thought struck her—could it be... that the Imperial Preceptor, An Yi, was also reborn?

This realization sent a chill through her hands and feet.

If the Imperial Preceptor was also reborn, did he know of her existence?

What was his purpose in issuing this warning now, disrupting her secret grain-hoarding plans?

Countless questions flooded her mind.

She immediately summoned her closest maidservant, her voice urgent: "Quick! Send word to all our people to stop buying grain immediately. For what has already been stored, keep it securely under guard. Not a single grain is to be moved without my order!"

She had to cut this trail as quickly as possible before things spun out of control, to avoid anyone following the trail back to her and finding evidence against her.

If the Imperial Preceptor was truly reborn and had noticed her, her previous actions were like walking a tightrope.

After all, who would so coincidentally start hoarding grain?

Moreover, in the eyes of outsiders, she was merely a girl from the private quarters.

However, just as she had given the order and before she could compose herself, she heard her father's personal attendant call from outside: "Miss, the Grand Chancellor requests your presence in the study immediately."

Ran Zhuyu's heart jumped. "Coming."

She took a deep breath, striving to make her expression appear natural, straightened her slightly disheveled collar, and followed the attendant to her father’s study.

Inside the study, Right Grand Chancellor Ran Yuanzheng stood with his hands behind his back by the window. Hearing footsteps, he slowly turned around.

He was nearly fifty, with a lean face and piercing eyes, exuding the authority of one long accustomed to power.

At this moment, his face was expressionless as he simply gazed at her.

"Father." Ran Zhuyu lowered her eyes and bowed respectfully.

Ran Yuanzheng did not speak immediately. His eyes lingered on her for a long time before he said slowly, "Yuer, I have recently discovered that you seem to have been secretly moving a considerable amount of silver, even... using the shops from your mother's dowry, to purchase large quantities of grain?"

Ran Zhuyu’s face changed abruptly as she looked up. She hadn’t expected her father to have known all along!

She had thought she was being discreet...

Ran Yuanzheng took in the change in her expression, his brows furrowing slightly as he pressed further, his tone growing heavier: "Why are you hoarding grain?"

Ran Zhuyu was silent.

Ran Yuanzheng's expression grew grimmer: "Tell me, does your hoarding of grain have anything to do with the Imperial Preceptor’s sudden drought warning? How... did you know there would be a drought? Have you been in private contact with that Imperial Preceptor? Did he inform you in advance?"

The last question carried a sharp edge of suspicion and a barely perceptible coldness.

If his daughter truly had private dealings with that Imperial Preceptor, regardless of her intentions, nothing good would come of it.

Ran Zhuyu looked at her father’s piercing eyes, listened to his questioning full of suspicion, and the pressure of recent days, the fear since her rebirth, the uncertainty of the future, and the hurt of being doubted by her own father—all of it came rushing out like a flood breaking a dam.

She looked at her father, her eyes reddening rapidly, tears streaming down like pearls.

Suddenly, with a thud, she knelt to the ground, her voice choked with sobs, laden with immense pain and regret: "Father... I'm sorry... I have failed you, failed Mother, failed the Ran family..."

Ran Yuanzheng was startled by his daughter’s sudden breakdown. He stepped forward quickly, reaching out to help her up, his voice filled with shock and worry: "Yuer! What are you doing? Get up! What has happened? Why are you saying sorry?"

But Ran Zhuyu stubbornly remained kneeling, shaking her head, her tears soaking her collar.

She wept uncontrollably, as if pouring out all the grievances, pain, and despair of her past life.

She cried for a long time before, as her father anxiously tried to comfort her, she gradually stopped, though her voice remained thick with tears.

She lifted her head and looked at her father through tear-blurred eyes. She was silent for a long time, as if making some kind of decision.

Finally, taking a deep breath, she spoke tearfully, slowly telling everything from her past life: how she had foolishly adored the Crown Prince, married into the Eastern Palace, drained her family’s resources to help him ascend the throne, how she had been deposed as empress, framed, leading to the ruin of the Ran family, and how she and her young son had ultimately died tragically in the Cold Palace...

She sobbed, saying she had brought disaster upon her family, that she had misjudged people and let a wolf into the fold, which had led to the most beloved ones meeting such a miserable end...

At first, Ran Yuanzheng listened with wide eyes and stunned disbelief, thinking his daughter had lost her mind and was talking nonsense.

But as Ran Zhuyu’s account grew more detailed, involving many court secrets, palace personnel, and even events that had not yet occurred but were logically plausible—everything fit together...

His expression shifted from shock to gravity, and finally to horror and fury!

His mind reeling, he staggered back a step, bracing himself against the desk behind him to steady himself.

He looked at his daughter, weeping and nearly collapsing on the floor, his eyes now filled with incredulity and blazing anger!

"Yuer, what you... what you said... is it all true?!" His voice trembled with shock.

How could such things exist in this world?!

Ran Zhuyu nodded heavily, tears streaming: "Every word I speak is true! If there is a single falsehood, may I be struck by lightning!"

Ran Yuanzheng looked at his daughter, her expression so heart-wrenchingly sincere, and combined with her recent unusual behavior, he was already mostly convinced.

Overwhelming anger and fear washed over him like ice water, chilling him to the bone.

The Crown Prince! He and the Ran family had been so loyal, and yet this was how they were repaid!

He took several deep breaths to barely suppress the storm within him, then stepped forward and firmly helped his daughter to her feet, saying in a low voice: "Yuer, stand up! This matter is of great importance. Remember: what you have told me today must never be repeated to anyone else—not a single word!"

Ran Zhuyu rose to her feet, nodding through tears.