Ning Yao turned her head, revealing her beautiful profile, her eyes filled with malice: "Even if I kill you both here tonight, no one will know!"

"Since I can take the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion out of the capital and protect them, as for you..."

Ning Yao was interrupted before she could finish speaking: "It really is different."

Ning Yao loosened her grip on the guard's neck, and the guard gasped for breath.

"Let him go. I don't want to be enemies with the Ning family, nor with your eldest sister."

Ning Yao released the guard and turned to face Shen Ce.

She sensed that the emperor before her was different.

Since they came in, Ning Yao didn't feel any of the ruthlessness of those in power; instead, she felt a sense of helplessness and deep regret.

This apology is not only for the eldest sister, but for the entire Ning family.

Therefore, Ning Yao did not intend to actually kill the guards, but even if she were to take action, she would not show any mercy.

"Get down and receive your punishment!"

The guard replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, sir!"

"Zhilan, you go out too, and close the door behind you."

Zhilan glanced at the atmosphere inside, turned around and left, closing the door behind her. She remained outside the door, never leaving.

"Are you a maid who accompanied Consort Rong in her dowry?" The guard did not leave for the time being.

He looked at Zhilan with curiosity; he knew all the people around Ning Yao back then.

The maid named Zhilan didn't know martial arts, but now it seems that's not the case.

"That's the third young lady of the Ning family, not Consort Rong! Watch your tongue!"

The guard pursed his lips and said nothing more.

The third young lady of the Ning family seemed to have become a completely different person, unfathomable. Not only did she know kung fu, but she was also a martial arts master.

What about her maid? The guards didn't want to cause any more trouble, lest they be beaten up and then beaten up again.

Inside the room, Ning Yao and Shen Ce stood facing each other.

After a long pause, Chen Ce uttered a sentence that shocked Ning Yao.

"I have lived two lives, and only now am I just barely in time."

"What do you mean?" Ning Yao asked, suppressing her surprise.

Shen Ce gave her a deep look, and Ning Yao felt as if all her secrets had been seen through in that one glance.

Ning Yao pursed her lips and confronted him.

"I know you are not the original Ning Yao, and I also know you possess extraordinary treasures. The reclusive Ning family is related to you, isn't it?"

Another bombshell.

Ning Yao took a deep breath: "Then who are you?"

Shen Ce turned around and sat down on his own: "I am Shen Ce, the emperor of Yan, and also the husband of your sister Ning Qiong, your brother-in-law."

Ning Yao frowned: "Don't you think it's pointless? My elder sister has already left the palace. His Majesty is the emperor, there's really no need for him to hold a grudge against a woman who is considered dead by the world."

Shen Ce lowered his eyes, but Ning Yao didn't see the deep regret in them.

He ignored Ning Yao's words and continued, "I watched with my own eyes as your eldest sister died in my arms, her blood staining everything. I'm not reconciled... I'm really not reconciled..."

Ning Yao seized on the key point in his words: "What do you mean you saw your eldest sister die in your arms? What exactly happened?"

Shen Ce looked up, and the crimson in his eyes stung Ning Yao.

His words struck Ning Yao like a heavy blow.

"She didn't die in the cold palace twice, but she died at the hands of refugees both times. She was so kind, like a fairy, but she died at the hands of the refugees she had helped."

"I can't save her. Every time, I'm just a little bit short, really just a tiny bit short. She's forgiven me all along, so why is it always just a little bit short?"

“Ning Yao, this is the third time. I knew you were here this time, so I wasn’t afraid. That’s why I told your father in advance to take Qiong’er out of the palace. Now I’ve won my gamble. Qiong’er is still here, and Yi Yi is here too. It’s really wonderful!”

The emperor, as if driven mad, slumped in his chair, laughing and crying, recounting the hardships and difficulties of his three lifetimes.

Ning Yao remained silent. She hadn't expected that Shen Ce had actually been reborn!

And not just once, but three times!

Including the first incarnation, this is Shen Ce's fourth incarnation!

This is outrageous! It's even more outrageous than her transmigrating into a book!

"Was it you and my father who orchestrated my elder sister's departure from the palace? What exactly happened? Explain yourself!"

As if he had found an outlet, Chen Ce spoke his mind.

It turns out that Ning Qiong, in her first life, really did die in a fire, along with her newborn child.

Shen Ce was depressed and committed suicide by hanging himself five years after Ning Qiong's death.

Unexpectedly, after waking up, she was reborn at the time when Ning Qiong had just been banished to the cold palace!

Before the fire broke out, Shen Ce had no time to think it through. He found Duke Ning Wenyi and asked him to work with him to rescue Shen Qiong from the palace.

The constraints imposed by the imperial court and the inner palace made it difficult for Shen Ce to make any progress.

As an emperor, he was gradually stripped of his power by the Zhang family.

He wanted to turn the tide, but for some reason he got deeper and deeper into trouble. When he finally had the chance to go to Ning Qiong, he was met by Ning Qiong who was barely alive.

The two cleared up the misunderstanding, and Ning Qiong forgave him on her deathbed, while she closed her eyes forever.

Overwhelmed with grief, Shen Ce hanged himself again in despair.

Her consciousness vanished into the void, and when she awoke again, she found herself back in the time when Ning Qiong had been banished to the cold palace.

Shen Ce felt that God was playing a joke on him. Why did he have to go through this twice?

What he felt even more sorry for was Ning Qiong, the woman he fell in love with at first sight and vowed to treat well for the rest of his life.

Having lived two lives, he doesn't have to go through the process of meeting, getting to know, falling in love with, and promising himself to her, as well as all the misunderstandings that followed.

Ning Qiong, however, had to face that cold-hearted and ungrateful self, experiencing those things twice over!

But since things have already come to this, what he needs to do is not only to rescue her from the cold palace, but also to ensure that she doesn't die.

He knew there would be drought, refugees, and chaos in the world, so he could absolutely guarantee Ning Qiong's safety!

Just like in his previous life, after Ning Qiong "died," the Zhang family became even more unscrupulous, openly and secretly trying to make him a puppet emperor.

Shen Ce didn't mind. Having lived through two lifetimes, as long as Ning Qiong was safe, nothing else mattered.

However, things spiraled out of his control again, and he didn't know how the news that Ning Qiong was still alive got out.

When he arrived, he saw the scene from his previous life again.

Ning Qiong lay on the cold ground, barely alive, blood streaming from the corner of her mouth, wetting the parched earth beneath her.

Shen Ce hated himself for being the emperor yet unable to protect his beloved. Overwhelmed with grief and indignation, he hanged himself again to die for love.

This time, though he died, he did not escape into the void; his soul was torn apart in excruciating pain.

After the pain subsided and he regained consciousness, he discovered that he had not been reborn, but was a soul floating above the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

Meanwhile, the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion was holding a funeral, with wailing filling the house and the Duke and his wife crying their hearts out.

He thought Ning Qiong's body had been found, and he was filled with grief.

However, upon approaching the mourning hall, they realized something was wrong.

It's not Ning Qiong's funeral, but the funeral of the Third Miss Ning Yao!

What happened? Did something happen to Ning Yao too?