Chapter 35: Lu Jingchuan is your anchor. As long as he is in this world...

At night, in a strange space shrouded in white fog, Qin Yuqing suddenly appeared here. She looked around in confusion.

"Where is this place?"

As Qin Yuqing finished speaking, voices suddenly sounded not far away. It sounded like two people were having a conversation. Qin Yuqing moved closer to the voice.

The white mist gradually dissipated, and Qin Yuqing appeared in the familiar courtyard of the imperial palace. But the difference was that there was a person sitting on the relatively new swing in the courtyard, and that person seemed to be holding a baby in his arms.

"Mother, what do you think the future is?"

“The future is within reach.”

Huh? What does that mean?

When Qin Yuqing heard this, she walked towards the mother and daughter out of curiosity.

She saw that the woman had a beautiful face, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe her as stunningly beautiful, and the baby in her arms was like a miniature version of the woman.

What surprised Qin Yuqing even more was that this woman looked very similar to her, but she looked more like her modern mother.

"Mother, what is within reach?" The baby asked in a baby voice, as if he didn't understand what the woman said.

The woman rubbed the baby's face and said, "You can get it if you want it."

Qin Yuqing took a deep breath. Even for her in modern times, the future belonged to an unknown and untouchable time and space.

"Go ahead, play by yourself, and don't get too close to strangers." The woman gently placed the baby on the ground and patted her head softly.

"I know, mommy." The baby smiled and ran towards Qin Yuqing. Just as Qin Yuqing was about to move aside, the baby went straight through her body.

Qin Yuqing turned her head to look at the baby in the distance until her figure was gradually swallowed by the white mist. For some reason, she always had a familiar feeling when looking at the baby.

"You're here."

Qin Yuqing turned around suddenly and met the woman's smiling eyes. She was sure that the woman was talking to her.

"You know me? Who are you? Can you see me?"

The woman sat on the swing, her eyes filled with tenderness. Perhaps Qin Yuqing's question was interesting, so she laughed and said, "Qing'er, you don't even recognize your mother?"

Qin Yuqing took a step back in disbelief. Her mind was a bit confused. If the woman in front of her was her mother, then who was this baby? And why was her mother here?

"She is you, there's no doubt about that." The woman saw through Qin Yuqing's doubts and took the initiative to explain, "To be precise, you are her when she grows up. You are also her in the future. You are the her I brought back from the future."

It was a simple sentence, but it contained an unusual amount of information. She could understand the words separately, but when they were put together, she couldn't understand them at all.

What is she who exists in the future? What is she who was brought back from the future?

"I know you have a lot of doubts." The woman stood up and walked to Qin Yuqing's side. She stood on tiptoe and looked at Qin Yuqing, who was half a head taller than her. "You've grown so tall. Remember at the end of this time and space, you held my hand and cried, and told me that you would never wander around again next time."

"I am her? Then what am I?" Qin Yuqing doubted the authenticity of her existence for the first time. Is she really a human?

"You are my child, a child born in two simultaneous but completely different time and space." The woman said something that Qin Yuqing could not understand even more.

"You are her. I am a time traveler, or you can think of me as a systematic fast traveler. You shouldn't have been born in this time and space, but to protect you, I split your soul into two. One is in the future, or the present, and the other is in this time and space."

Qin Yuqing took a step back. What did it mean for a soul to be split in two? What was the connection between the present and this imaginary world?

"Because you will be taken away by them sooner or later. You are a false existence, originally unsuitable for this world. You are an existence that needs to be corrected. But I have left you an anchor in this space and time. If you don't return, this space and time will eventually collapse. The fact that you can see me means they have taken action, but don't worry, they can't do anything to you anymore."

Qin Yuqing seemed to understand the woman's words. When she was about to say something, the white mist suddenly twisted violently, and Qin Yuqing felt a burning pain on her body.

The woman stepped forward, held Qin Yuqing's head, put her forehead against it, and spoke very quickly.

"Qin Yuqing, you must remember that Lu Jingchuan is your anchor. As long as he is in this world, it is real."

"You should go back. You will forget everything that happened, but it doesn't matter. Mother will make you remember the most important things."

Before Qin Yuqing could say anything, the woman suddenly pushed Qin Yuqing and watched Qin Yuqing disappear with a smile.

"Mother!"

Qin Yuqing opened his eyes and screamed, gasping for breath and looking at the surrounding environment in horror.

Who am I! Why am I here! Where is this place!

"Aruan, what's wrong?"

Hearing the noise, Lu Jingchuan didn't care about the difference between men and women. He trotted to Qin Yuqing's window and stroked her back: "It's okay, don't be afraid, Ruan."

This voice is Lu Jingchuan!

My name is Qin Yuqing. I am in the world of the novel "The Empress" and I have to complete a mission.

Qin Yuqing only felt a headache. She couldn't remember what had happened just now, but when she saw Lu Jingchuan's face, she could no longer control her emotions and hugged Lu Jingchuan's waist.

"Lu Jingchuan is your anchor. As long as he exists in this world, it is real."

These words were like a curse, engraved in her mind. She couldn't remember who said them to her, but she knew they must be very important.

"With you here, my world is real." Qin Yuqing smelled the plum fragrance on Lu Jingchuan's body. This smell made her feel at ease, and the panic she had just felt was swept away.

Lu Jingchuan didn't know what Qin Yuqing dreamed about, but he could feel that Qin Yuqing's emotions were gradually stabilizing. When he heard her words that were almost a confession, his heart couldn't help but beat again.

"I'm always here." Lu Jingchuan felt the person in his arms' breathing gradually slow down. He gently put her down and covered her with the quilt. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he was grabbed by a hand.

"Don't go."

"Aruan, I'm not leaving. I'm here."

Lu Jingchuan sat on the ground, looking at the girl's frown. Although he didn't know what Qin Yuqing had encountered, he knew that he needed to accompany her now.

Lu Jingchuan stayed awake all night.

At dawn the next day, Lu Jingchuan pulled out his hand, placed a piece of warm jade in Qin Yuqing's arms, called Chuntao to accompany Qin Yuqing, and then quickly left the palace.

When Qin Yuqing woke up again, it was already noon. She vaguely remembered that Lu Jingchuan was with her last night, but now she couldn't even see him.

Qin Yuqing felt inexplicably flustered, and her hand unconsciously grabbed the quilt, but she felt something hard.

"What is this?" Qin Yuqing picked up the warm jade and examined it carefully. She could smell a faint fragrance of plum blossoms. This smell made Qin Yuqing certain that she had indeed seen Lu Jingchuan last night.

If you think about it this way, did she take the initiative and hug him? !

It's over! I can't explain it!

After the results of the imperial examination came out, Qin Yuqing thought she would be busy, but who knew that she spent several months almost idle.

After the imperial examination, the forces of all parties suddenly stabilized, and even the southern part of Dayin, which was constantly hit by natural disasters, stabilized. Almost all the disasters disappeared overnight.

What was discussed in the court every day were some unimportant matters. Qin Yuqing went to and from court on time every day. He looked very busy but had nothing to do.

Even the fifth princess Qin Youran, who was at odds with her, found it difficult to settle down. According to the information reported by the informant, Qin Youran spent every day in the yard tending flowers and embroidering, and even closed the door and refused to see guests.

The fourth princess, Qin Qinqin, did come to see her from time to time, but they just chatted about useless things. Regarding the previous witchcraft incident, the fourth princess took the initiative to say that there was no need to investigate. She probably noticed something, but did not exchange information with Qin Yuqing.

Since the Fourth Princess said so, Qin Yuqing naturally would not say anything else. However, she secretly tried to inquire about Chen Cairen's affairs from many sources, but to no avail. The entire harem kept silent about this matter, as if they had been instructed by someone.

But just when Qin Yuqing was about to take the initiative to cause trouble, the newly appointed scholar of the Hanlin Academy died at home. What was even more frightening and terrifying was that there was a line of words written in blood next to the deceased.

The woman entered the court and brought natural disasters.

Without even giving Qin Yuqing time to react, many ministers in the court died in the same way at home, with the same words left beside them, pointing directly to the Sixth Princess Qin Yuqing.

For a time, rumors were spreading throughout the court and the country. Everyone tacitly wrote letters to accuse Qin Yuqing and openly accused Qin Yuqing in the court, saying that this was the punishment from the gods for women entering the court and that it was the gods appearing.

If women had not participated in the imperial examinations and entered official careers, how could such a thing have happened!

The emperor obviously did not trust this matter. He was not yet at the age of being foolish. As soon as the matter came out, he realized that this was a conspiracy against the Sixth Princess, so he secretly sent Lu Jingchuan to assist Qin Yuqing in investigating the matter.

But he was slow this time, or perhaps it was a conspiracy against Qin Yuqing. The person behind the scenes spent several months planning a killing scheme specifically for her.

While the emperor was still hesitating about how to protect the sixth princess Qin Yuqing, a big incident happened in the National Master Tower.

The Imperial Master...is dead!

The National Master died in the meditation room. No one had ever entered the meditation room before his death. The National Master was holding a note in his hand, and the content on the note pushed Qin Yuqing into the abyss.

Monsters appeared in the world, causing chaos in the government.

The gods are angry and disasters are about to occur.

For a time, everyone attacked him, and the emperor had to confine Qin Yuqing to the courtyard.

"Have you found out?" Qin Yuqing was sitting on the swing with a pile of papers scattered at her feet.

"The officials who died were those who did not vote in the mountain of documents." Lu Jingchuan squatted down and collected the papers.

"That is to say, all the neutral officials were killed." Qin Yuqing realized when the first official died that this matter was ostensibly aimed at her, but in fact it was a party dispute.

"Yes." Lu Jingchuan said.

Qin Yuqing was a little distressed. She was now under house arrest in the courtyard and had no way to investigate the matter. She had a hunch that the answers she wanted would be in the National Master's Tower.

Suddenly the sky darkened, followed by a violent storm.

People could hardly stand, and the tiles on the houses were blown to the ground, making a terrifying sound.

Lu Jingchuan realized that something was wrong. The weather came at a very inappropriate time, which corresponded exactly to the last words left by the imperial teacher when he died.

As a modern person, Qin Yuqing recognized at a glance that this was normal natural weather, but in ancient times, set in a fictional setting, how could they know so much?

Oh no! Qin Yuqing thought to himself, this is not good, time waits for no one.

"Take me to the Imperial Master's Tower."

Lu Jingchuan didn't ask why, he just said.

"Okay, I'll accompany you."