Chapter 91 Ninth Life

Wang Ziying felt much better and circled around Lu Yao. "Host, what kind of magic did you use? You look a little different in the live stream, even the background has changed. It's so amazing!"

"I cast a Fainting and Concealing Spell," Lu Yao said modestly. "The streamer is a bit too famous now, and I don't want to be pestered for fortune-telling on the street."

Wang Ziying couldn't help but laugh.

"Lu Yao, you're really amazing! Where did you learn that?"

"It was taught by my master."

As the two were talking, Wang Ziying's phone started beeping.

Wang Ziying glanced at it and said to Lu Yao, "She's my manager."

Originally, the company was furious after this incident and wanted to tear up the contract, freeze her out of the company, and even threatened to make her pay all the breach of contract fees.

"Hello, Sister Han." Wang Ziying's hand trembled slightly as she answered the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Ziying opened Weibo.

The apology statement and PR article that the company's official Weibo account posted yesterday, saying that it would "freeze" her account, has now been transformed into a long, positive article "supporting the voice of justice".

"Sister Han said there's a script for 'Thorn Rose,' about a victimized girl who rises to become a legal beauty, and she specifically asked me to play the role." Wang Ziying said, sharing the good news, but her expression wasn't very pleasant. "Won't this kind of resource be considered undignified? Is it like receiving charity through scars?"

Lu Yao's eyes narrowed, and she said seriously, "When the door to the top is open, don't ask why, just walk in."

She told Wang Ziying a story.

A thousand years ago, in the Golden Palace, when the young Celestial Master received the Imperial Preceptor's jade seal, the entire court was filled with skepticism and sneers.

The white-bearded prime minister stepped forward, his voice booming like a bell: "A hen crowing at dawn is an omen of misfortune for the country!"

The Imperial Observatory officials were even more indignant, saying, "According to our dynasty's ancestral rules, how can there be a woman in charge of the Imperial Observatory? How can a woman with cosmetics understand the star charts of the observatory?"

One by one, the men stood up to object, and Lu Yao could hear her heart pounding like a drum.

—Not fear, but excitement.

"Your subject obeys the decree."

Lu Yao raised her hands, letting the heavy jade seal press into her palms.

This bow was not to the aging emperor on the dragon throne, but to the countless women who had been confined to their boudoirs for thousands of years.

Lu Yao clearly saw the shrewd glint in the old emperor's eyes as he sat on the dragon throne:

He wanted her to predict the prosperity of the nation and the destiny of heaven.

His respect for her wasn't genuine; he was more of a user than a customer.

But so what?

Since the establishment of the dynasty, there has never been a female national advisor. Why would she refuse such a good opportunity to rise to a higher position because of her pride?

From then on, the bluestone slabs of the Censorate would bear the marks of women's official boots.

The traces drawn by the woman's fingertips will remain on the star map of the Imperial Observatory.

If even she has to step back, when will those girls in the inner quarters who sigh in front of the bronze mirror ever be able to see the sky outside the palace?

She is about to become the Imperial Advisor, breaking the golden rule that men hold absolute power over the secrets of heaven, and breaking down the high vermilion walls that confine women to their inner quarters.

Wang Ziying listened blankly, as if a scene from the imperial court appeared before her eyes: men standing together, harshly attacking the lone girl.

But her back was proud, her spine straight, like a sword about to be drawn.

The scene stirred Wang Ziying's emotions, and she was persuaded by Lu Yao.

However, Wang Ziying then remembered something, touched her lower abdomen, and gave a bitter smile.

“Lu Yao,” Wang Ziying murmured, “then tell me, what should we do with this child?”

Lu Yao's fingertips warmly enveloped her icy hand. "Your body is your own territory. Here, only you have the right to decide what should be kept and what should be erased."

Wang Ziying thought quietly for a long time.

“I am not ashamed of this, but I refuse to let Qi Mao’s genes take root in my body. More importantly, I am not ready to be a mother. At this age, I have many other things I want to do.”

For example, the long dresses on the Cannes red carpet, the self-written and directed film scripts, the acceptance speeches on the awards stage...

Lu Yao took her hand. "I'll go with you. Don't be afraid."

The next day, Wang Ziying went to the medical appraisal center to complete a paternity test, leaving behind irrefutable evidence of Qi Mao's crime.

Afterwards, Lu Yao accompanied her to another department.

The operating room lights were a stark, blinding white.

Wang Ziying lay on the operating table, her nasal cavity filled with disinfectant.

The crisp sound of metal instruments colliding was particularly jarring in the silent space.

"Take a deep breath," the doctor's voice came through the mask.

Wang Ziying closed her eyes.

The smudges maliciously drawn on the notebook must be vigorously erased with an eraser before a clean chapter can be rewritten.

A tear slid down the corner of her eye and disappeared into her hair.

These are not tears of regret, but a resolute farewell.

Wang Ziying whispered in her heart: Goodbye, unexpected event that should never have happened. I will take my life back into my own hands.

On the operating table, Wang Ziying had a long dream.

She dreamt that she was dressed in palace attire, kneeling on the cold, gold-brick floor.

The palace maids all called her Sakura, and she was the princess's personal maid.

Day after day, she mechanically repeated the tasks of combing hair, serving tea, and keeping watch at night, like a soulless puppet.

Suddenly one day, a huge uproar broke out in the palace when the old emperor actually appointed a wandering Taoist priest of unknown origin as the national advisor.

Moreover, it was a woman.

"What female imperial advisor? She's definitely a vixen." Princess Changping gripped her peony fan tightly. "Yingzhi, come with me to see this witch!"

She will always remember the moment she first met Lu Yao.

—The Imperial Preceptor, dressed in simple white robes and without makeup, was more dazzling than all the jewels and ornaments in the palace.

When Princess Changping spoke rudely, the Imperial Preceptor merely raised his eyes slightly: "Your Highness secretly read the forbidden book last night and hid it under the floor tiles in the southeast corner of the bedroom."

The princess was so frightened that she fell silent.

From then on, Princess Changping went to see the Imperial Preceptor every day.

She was also able to see that man more often.

Watch her draw talismans on yellow paper, and listen to her talk about the mountains and rivers outside the palace walls.

Those words were like seeds that sprouted in her parched heart.

Later, Princess Changping wanted to send her to the Turks for a political marriage. She was unwilling to go, but dared not say so, fearing that the princess would be furious and not only her own life would be in danger, but her family would also suffer.

The suffocating feeling I experienced in that instant was exactly the same as when Sun Zhang betrayed me in this life.

But the imperial advisor saved her.

The Grand Preceptor refused to exchange women's blood and flesh for peace and insisted on stopping war with war.

After the Turks surrendered, the Grand Preceptor pleaded with Princess Changping to release her from the palace.

She kept thinking about the Grand Preceptor while she was outside the palace, and often dreamed of his hands holding copper coins at night.

Three years later, a severe drought began. She heard that the Imperial Advisor had begun to travel around praying for rain, so she traveled thousands of miles to follow him.

The severe drought ended with the Imperial Preceptor severing his own immortal bones, but he was then suppressed by treacherous individuals and imprisoned at the foot of Broken Soul Ridge.

She stood before the eerie, terrifying human-shaped stone tablet and solemnly made her vow.

"I am willing to suffer the pain of being unable to defend myself for nine lifetimes in exchange for the return of the Imperial Preceptor to the mortal realm."

Fragments of memory came rushing in like snowflakes.

In the military camp, the Miao herbal medicine she applied to wounded soldiers was accused of being evidence of treason.

In the workshop, her improved blueprints were falsely accused of stealing secrets.

Lifetime after life, whenever she tried to speak up in defense, it felt as if an invisible hand was choking her throat.

...

Wang Ziying opened her eyes, and the operating room lights gently enveloped her.

I finally understand that all the hardships of the past nine lifetimes were for this lifetime, so that I could illuminate all the injustices that were difficult to defend in front of the live broadcast camera.

As she stepped out of the operating room, Lu Yao was waiting for her in the corridor.

"Does it hurt?" Lu Yao reached out to support her, the warmth of her palm seeping through her skin.

It felt so familiar, exactly like the time when she knelt before the Imperial Advisor and he helped her up from the ground.

"Grand Preceptor, I knew you would wake up," Wang Ziying murmured, choking back tears as she gripped Lu Yao's wrist.

“It’s all in the past.” Lu Yao understood that Wang Ziying must have remembered. Her fingertips trembled slightly as she wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Silly girl, why did you make such a vow back then? Nine lifetimes of unspeakable suffering, how could an ordinary person bear it?”

"You never told me why you saved me, or why you were willing to sacrifice your chance to ascend to immortality to save all people?"

Lu Yao was stunned, then suddenly chuckled softly.