Chapter 27

The next day, news of the engagement between Cheng Ruyi and Rong Mo spread like wildfire.

As her former fiancé, Yan Zihao found himself feeling an inexplicable, subtle bitterness, despite his usually indifferent nature.

Ever since Cheng Ruyi had suddenly become the “flavor of the month” a few days ago, the atmosphere in the Marquis Huaiyang’s manor had been bizarre. Yesterday’s visit from the Princess Consort of Prince Rong had made things even stranger. Some military officers were secretly mocking the Marquis, claiming he had “eyes but could not recognize jade.”

Even the current Emperor found his interest piqued, turning his attention toward the eldest daughter of the Marquis Changle—and, by extension, her fiancé, Rong Mo.

Upon closer inspection, the Emperor discovered that Rong Mo, the sole survivor of the Rong clan, was no simple character. Without the entanglements of family factions, he realized Rong Mo was a man who could be put to great use.

The Emperor wasn’t the only one watching. The shadowy hand that had once annihilated the Rong clan had been observing him for some time but remained still for now. Then there was the God of War himself, Prince Pingnan.

Prince Pingnan had recently ramped up his grain stockpiling, even secretly purchasing large quantities from other countries, leaving him short-handed. In this crucial moment, Rong Mo caught his eye. Unbeknownst to the public, the two had already made secret contact.

Once his legs had healed, Rong Mo had planned his future: should he take the imperial examinations to become a civil official, or fight his way up through the military? After discussing it with his uncle, the Marquis Changle, and weighing his options carefully, Rong Mo chose the military.

The Marquis lacked military connections, and Rong Mo refused to easily tap into the old Rong family networks, given their tragic history. When Prince Pingnan extended an olive branch, Rong Mo took it.

In the neighboring Jian’an Marquis Manor, Cheng Qingyao breathed a secret sigh of relief and smiled when she heard from her maid, Qiulan, that Cheng Ruyi had gotten engaged to her cousin.

The Marquis Changle’s family really is low-class, she thought. They even rejected the Princess Consort of Prince Rong only to pick the worst possible candidate. They had a winning hand and played it like losers. It was truly a joy to see.

However, her smile faded slightly. She realized she had been paying too much attention to her cousin lately—so much so that the humiliating story of her coughing up blood and fainting had spread, becoming fodder for idle gossip.

Cheng Qingyao touched her fair, smooth cheek. Between her failure at the Lotus Poetry Party and the fainting incident, the “perfect reputation” she had meticulously crafted had taken a significant hit.

Furthermore, when Lin Xin’er visited this morning, her eyes were evasive. It seemed the Countess of Jinyang was distancing herself. Cheng Qingyao frowned. She wondered what the Heir, Lin Jinxun, was thinking.

She had collected vast amounts of grain across the Zhou Dynasty. Without the help of princes and heirs, she wouldn’t dare distribute relief to the commoners directly. Without that, gaining the undying gratitude and respect of the masses—and thus increasing her own value to marry into higher nobility—would be nearly impossible.

Having lived a second life, Cheng Qingyao was obsessed with rising above everyone else. Little did she know that her master plan for fame was already being dismantled while she sat there dreaming.

“Miss, news has broken that the second son of the Minister of Rites, Master Zhang, prefers the company of men,” Qiulan reported as she entered, bringing unwelcome news.

“What? How was it exposed?” Cheng Qingyao was stunned. In her past life, Master Zhang’s preference for men hadn’t been revealed for another ten years. Now, it was out in the open, meaning Cheng Wanru’s marriage was ruined.

Dammit! All that careful planning, only to fail at the finish line.

The suspicious Cheng Qingyao first thought Cheng Wanru had done it, but then dismissed the idea. No matter how clever Wanru was, she couldn’t have uncovered a secret Master Zhang had kept hidden for over a decade. Who was it? Who ruined my plans?

“There’s one more thing,” Qiulan added tentatively. “The Emperor has decreed a marriage for the Fourth Prince. He is to marry Lady Ye Wanlin from the Left Premier’s manor.”

“What?!” Cheng Qingyao screamed, her blood pressure spiking so hard she nearly fainted again.

In her past life, Ye Wanlin did marry the Fourth Prince, and the Fourth Prince eventually ascended the throne. Qingyao had been trying everything to hook him. With Princess Lin Xin’er’s help, she had finally made contact, but that was all it was. She hadn’t even had the chance to show off her brilliance to him yet.

With things going wrong day after day and the timeline diverging from her previous life, she began to wonder if her rebirth was just a dream.

Despite being engaged to Rong Mo, Cheng Ruyi felt that life hadn’t changed much. The only difference was that her cousin now loved holding her hand and frequently gifted her jewelry and cute trinkets.

If only this jewelry could be traded for food, she thought.

While listening to Moxiang’s gossip about the capital, Cheng Ruyi skillfully used her newly bought tools to carve wood. She had finally managed to escape Nanny Yang and that pile of account books. With her powerful mental energy, managing a household wasn’t hard to learn, but she found it deathly boring.

Every time she looked at an account book, it felt like it was shaving years off her life—not to mention having to practice her “chicken-scratch” handwriting under Nanny Yang’s watchful eye.

“Miss, I heard that Lady Wanru’s marriage to Master Zhang from next door is off,” Moxiang said excitedly.

Cheng Ruyi perked up. It seemed her interference had successfully derailed the original plot. In the book, the protagonist used Master Zhang to torment Cheng Wanru, the “number one villainess.” Now, Zhang was out of the game.

“It’s for the best,” Cheng Ruyi remarked. “Since he likes men, he shouldn’t ruin a woman’s life.”

“True, true! Good thing it came out early, or Lady Wanru would be so pitiable,” Moxiang agreed.

Cheng Ruyi just smiled. She had a feeling Master Zhang’s outing was actually Cheng Wanru’s own doing. After the engagement was broken, the former eldest miss wouldn’t just sit around; she’d strike back. It remained to be seen if Cheng Qingyao could handle it.

“Oh, and Miss, the Emperor decreed a marriage for Ye Wanlin, one of the ‘Twin Beauties of the Capital.'”

“Oh? Is it to the Fourth Prince?” Cheng Ruyi’s eyes lit up. Ye Wanlin was a major supporting character.

“You’re so smart, Miss! It is the Fourth Prince.”

Cheng Ruyi laughed. The male lead of the original book had been “snatched.” Well, not exactly snatched, since they were the original couple in the previous life anyway. She wondered how Cheng Qingyao felt—would she cough up blood again?

Because of her interference, Qingyao hadn’t shone at the poetry party, and her relationship with the Fourth Prince hadn’t progressed. In the book, they should have been falling for each other by now. Cheng Ruyi felt a bit smug; she was a regular “CP-wrecker.” At least the Marquis Changle’s manor was safe for now.

As Moxiang finished her marathon of gossip, she suddenly noticed the piece of wood in her mistress’s hand. It had become a lifelike eagle, with eyes so sharp they were almost frightening. She gasped. “Miss… did you really carve this? It looks so real!”

“Weren’t you watching me the whole time?” Cheng Ruyi said, rolling her eyes. She had put a lot of effort into this carving; all it needed now was a final polish.

“Daughter, that eagle has real spirit!” The Marquis Changle entered, accompanied by Rong Mo, who was dressed in white.

Seeing the eagle, Rong Mo’s lips curled into a faint smile of delight. This is the gift she’s giving me, he thought.

“Father, Cousin, you’re back,” Cheng Ruyi greeted them happily.

“Is this eagle for me?” the Marquis asked excitedly, his eyes locked on the carving.

Rong Mo remained silent. It’s for me!

Moxiang shrank back, knowing full well who the carving was for.

“No,” Cheng Ruyi said bluntly. “This eagle is a gift for my cousin.”

The Marquis felt like an arrow had pierced his heart. He glared at the elegant Rong Mo. Waaa, my daughter has been stolen by this brat! “You don’t love your daddy anymore, I’m so sad!”

Cheng Ruyi felt a bit guilty. Her dad was good to her. “Dad, what do you like? I’ll carve one for you another day!”

The Marquis immediately beamed and gave Rong Mo a provocative look, which Rong Mo ignored. “Ahem! Well, I like big carvings. Carve me a tiger!”

“Sure, but I’ll need a bigger piece of wood,” she said. “Actually, I can do stone carvings, too.”

The Marquis’s eyes lit up. “Daughter, I have an idea! When you have time, carve me a stone statue of myself, and then some stone beasts…”

“Okay!” Cheng Ruyi agreed instantly.

“No!” Rong Mo interjected. He couldn’t bear the thought of her suffering. Wood carving was a fine hobby, but stone was too hard. She was a lady; he wanted to spoil her, not watch her do manual labor.

The Marquis realized Rong Mo was right—stone carving was grueling work. He quickly took back his request, feeling bad for his daughter.

Cheng Ruyi didn’t mind. In the apocalypse, she had carved massive stone structures. With her abilities, it wasn’t hard labor at all. But seeing her father and cousin’s concern made her feel warm inside.

Just then, Molan, Rong Susu’s head maid, ran in panting, her face pale with sweat.

“My Lord, Miss, Young Master! The Princess Consort of Prince Rong is here again. She says she likes the Eldest Miss so much that she wants to adopt her as a goddaughter!”

“The Madam rejected her, but the Princess Consort insists on seeing the Miss to ask for her opinion directly.”

“The Madam is furious!”

The Marquis exploded in rage. “Does this woman think I’m a pushover? One scheme after another to get at my daughter!”

A murderous intent flashed in Rong Mo’s eyes. It seemed he needed to speed up his plans to deal with this “problem.”

Cheng Ruyi was also unhappy. The Princess Consort was about to have a very bad day.

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