Jiang Yinjin's eyes lit up with surprise, "Over the years, you're the only one who can understand my thoughts so easily."

"You flatter me," Shen Mianmian chuckled. "And then, you succeeded? You not only got Marshal Xue to help Prince Jin rebel, but you also got your father to rebel?"

Jiang Yinjin said with great interest, "That's right, and it wasn't just these people they recruited."

As he spoke, he rattled off the names of a whole host of officials.

Shen Mianmian was dumbfounded. "You gathered so many people? No wonder Prince Jin was able to successfully rebel! So, you didn't develop feelings for Prince Qin like in the original novel, but instead developed feelings for Prince Jin?"

A hint of disdain crossed Jiang Yinjin's bright face. "Sparks of love? No."

"Huh?" Chen Mianmian asked, "You two have a conflict?"

“It’s not really a conflict, but he was just a tool for me to deal with the King of Qin,” Jiang Yinjin said with a helpless sigh. “You can’t imagine how hard it is to kill the King of Qin! Over the past few years, I’ve tried every method to kill him, but he always manages to escape. It’s infuriating!”

After Chen Mianmian finished speaking, she asked, "Difficult to kill? Is it because of the male protagonist's halo? Did he murder you?"

"Of course, but he didn't succeed."

Sleepyhead—okay, is this a battle between the male lead's halo and the female lead's halo? This plot is completely messed up.

Jiang Yinjin continued, "When Prince Jin rebelled, I made many contributions, and he recognized my strength, so he proposed marriage to my family. After he ascended the throne, I naturally became the empress. As for whether I liked him, I didn't."

At this point, she glanced up slightly, looking out the window at the palace courtyard, and said in a deep voice, "Perhaps it's because I've died once, experienced too much, and witnessed the Qin King's despicable nature and the Jin King's mediocrity, that I have little interest in men. Compared to men, I prefer power! Only by possessing power can I avoid being treated like fish on a chopping block!"

Shen Mianmian suddenly remembered that seven years ago... seven years ago in this world, she and Jiang Yinjin were in the Qin Prince's Mansion, where they mentioned "being at the mercy of others." At that time, Jiang Yinjin made a bold statement, saying that she would definitely gain power.

Unexpectedly, seven years later, she actually did it!

Jiang Yinjin paused, then teased, "You'd probably rather hear about Lord Bai, wouldn't you?"

Shen Mianmian explained, "There's no rush. Say whatever you want; we'll talk about him sooner or later."

Shen Mianmian herself found it strange. She missed Bai Qingzhou very much, but she was not impatient. She didn't know if it was because she had transmigrated into the book twice, or because she was older and had lost the passion of her youth, or perhaps, the two of them had never had a passionate relationship.

Yes, looking back now, the two of them were as calm as still water from the very beginning.

Over time, they gradually developed feelings for each other.

Even after they parted ways, their bond never reached the point of being together through thick and thin.

Outside the book, she lived a peaceful life, cherishing her days while longing for him; inside the book, he did not yearn for power, but as they had agreed, he found a beautiful place to serve as an official and waited for her silently.

Perhaps he firmly believed that the two of them would meet again, even if not in this life, they would definitely meet in the next.

It was as if she thought so too.

Unaware of the turmoil in Shen Mianmian's heart, Jiang Yinjin continued, "Back then, Lord Bai took the poison given by the Emperor, faked his death, and left for Beixia."

Initially, I had no contact with him. But when the Emperor was recruiting soldiers, the Marquis of Anning unexpectedly approached me, saying he wanted to help the Emperor rebel. It was after that that I reconnected with him.

I told him about your transmigration into the book, and that this world itself is a book. I also told him that the current "Chen Mianmian" is not the same person he met in Jiangnan. And the Chen Mianmian he loved was the one he loved from the beginning of their marriage until their time at the Qin Prince's residence.

Chen Mianmian listened intently, her heart pounding with tension.

Jiang Yinjin said, "I thought he would be devastated and depressed after hearing this, but I didn't expect him to just say: She still left in the end."

She paused, then asked, puzzled, "You told him before that you were leaving?"

Chen Mianmian sighed, a relieved smile playing on her lips. "No, but he said he had a feeling I would leave."

Jiang Yinjin nodded. "I asked him what his plans were for the future. He said he wanted to help the emperor rebel, kill the dog emperor, and avenge himself."

Chen Mianmian—yes, Qingzhou should be the one who hates the dog emperor the most. At that time, he received the top three honors, his father recovered, his mother was pregnant, and his unsuitable marriage ended, all things were moving in the best direction.

But everything changed when the dog emperor summoned him to the palace, and all happiness seemed to come to an abrupt end.

She suddenly wondered—if Bai Qingzhou didn't look like Prince Jin and hadn't caught the eye of the dog emperor, would everything that happened afterward have occurred?

Will she remain in the book, accompanying him as he continues his imperial examinations, until the examinations end, and the two of them live in a beautiful, scenic place?

"Oh, by the way, do you remember Marquis Xuanping and Huo Rang?"

Chen Mianmian interrupted her thoughts, looked up and said, "I remember."

Jiang Yinjin smiled and said, "Because of Huo Rang and Lord Bai's matter, Marquis Xuanping and Marquis Anning have also become friends."

Upon learning that Marquis Anning had pledged allegiance to the Emperor, Marquis Xuanping rushed to join him. That Huo Rang has rendered many military exploits and has now been ennobled.

Shen Mianmian exclaimed in surprise, "Really? That's really great!"

Huo Rang was the second son of the Marquis of Xuanping, and normally he would not have been able to inherit his father's title.

Unexpectedly, he was granted another noble title because of his military achievements.

"Where is the King of Qin? You just said you couldn't kill him and he escaped?" Chen Mianmian asked.

Mentioning the King of Qin, even the usually confident Jiang Yinjin felt a bit defeated. "Don't mention that cunning fox. We were all fooled by him. He didn't actually reincarnate. Instead, he had a retainer who could use Gu poison."

That retainer was later captured by me, and after being severely tortured, he finally confessed.

It turns out that the King of Qin planned to use the Heart-Connecting Gu on the Emperor. The King of Qin would take the Gu Mother and the Emperor would take the Gu Child. In this way, as long as the two were close to each other, the Gu Mother could hear the Gu Child's thoughts.

But by a twist of fate, you ended up taking the poison, right around the time when Lord Bai was poisoned and the Emperor asked Princess Ruian to write a letter demanding to see Lord Bai.

Princess Ruian demanded that either Lord Bai see the Emperor, or you see the Emperor. In the end, you entertained the Emperor, but for some reason, he ingested a poisonous substance.

Chen Mianmian stood there stunned. "What? Wait, let me think!"

Then I started reminiscing like crazy.

Whether it was fate or something else, even though thirty-five years had passed, the memory of entertaining Prince Jin in the hall that year was still vivid in his mind.

“I remember now. Originally, I was sitting in the main seat with the Emperor, and a servant brought tea. Later, the Emperor stood up and walked to the door. I thought he was leaving, so I got up to see him off. But then the Emperor came back and sat in my seat, so I had no choice but to sit in his seat.”

He drank the tea that was on my side earlier, and I picked up his tea too. The moment I took my first sip, I realized something was wrong: the water didn't seem to be inhaled, it felt like it was being forced into my mouth.