The female protagonist, Mu Ruoling, was just as mentioned before in her previous life: a spoiled brat who was incorrigible, stubborn, and good for nothing.
While there were issues with the emperor and empress's upbringing, the blame cannot be placed entirely on them. After all, the second princess, who was born at the same time as her, was known for her talent and virtue—however, after the female protagonist was reborn, she became a hypocritical and vicious black lotus female supporting character.
The original owner of the body, Wei Zixiao, was the eldest son of the prime minister. He was gentle and refined, and had outstanding literary talent. He was known as a child prodigy from a young age. As he grew up, he was also good-looking. He entered officialdom as the top scholar in the imperial examination and was hailed as the most handsome man in Zhaodu. Although there was some exaggeration and flattery involved, it was enough to show that he was indeed good-looking.
Mu Ruoling fell in love with him at first sight at a flower-viewing banquet when she was twelve years old. She began to pursue him relentlessly. When she came of age, she saw that he was still unmarried, so she asked the emperor to arrange a marriage for her.
Regarding the important matter of marriage, the emperor thought his daughter was cute and lively, but he still wanted to ask Wei Zixiao's opinion, which led to the scene just now.
If the female lead hadn't stepped in, this question might have just been asked.
In his previous life, Mu Ruoling threatened to kill herself, and the emperor, disregarding his own dignity, forcibly granted him marriage. Disobeying the imperial decree was a capital offense, so Wei Zixiao had no choice but to painfully break off the engagement with his beloved.
His betrothed was Su Wanrou, the eldest daughter of the Vice Minister of Works. She was the same age as Mu Ruoling. Her mother and Wei's mother were once close friends and had arranged a marriage between them when they were young. The two of them got along well as they grew up, and when they fell in love, they were mutually attracted to each other.
In Zhaodu, Su Wanrou's talent was comparable to that of the Second Princess, and her appearance was also elegant and refined. Although her status was slightly lower, the Wei family did not care. Others could only make a few sarcastic remarks about the Su family, but they had nothing to say.
Su Wanrou lost her mother when she was thirteen and had to observe three years of mourning. As a result, the two families postponed the wedding. Who would have thought that the royal family would forcibly intercept the marriage?
Both families were victims, so they remained silent and couldn't object.
However, this incident was bad for Su Wanrou's reputation. The emperor's conscience was entirely devoted to his precious princess, but the Wei family could not be without conscience. They offered a lot of compensation, and Wei's mother also stated that she would add to Su Wanrou's dowry when she got married.
Wei Zixiao and Mu Ruoling got married, but their marriage was not harmonious.
He was well-read, but his wife was full of straw; he was skilled in music, but his wife knew nothing about it; when he talked about people's livelihood and national affairs, his wife would say something like, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"... Such a woman, with only beauty, was completely incomprehensible. How could Wei Zixiao not be sad?
Even though she had a passionate and devoted heart that loved him.
A delusional and wishful thinking.
The two had not shared a bed for many years and naturally had no offspring. Mu Ruoling suffered from outside criticism, had to deal with her mother-in-law's accusations, endure the indifference of her beloved, and be framed by her shameless rival who repeatedly came to her door. In the end, she had to force a smile in front of the emperor and say good things for these people, taking the act of compromise and groveling to the extreme.
In the fifth year of their marriage, Wei Zixiao finally lost his temper after being drugged by his wife and asked for a divorce. However, she refused, so he had the palace maid who had given him the idea beaten to death.
In order to make his beloved happy, this love-struck man pulled another stunt, begging the unmarried Su Wanrou to come into his household as a concubine.
When Wei Zixiao learned that the matter was already settled, his face turned green.
On that one occasion, the princess was diagnosed with pregnancy, but ultimately died in childbirth, taking the lives of both mother and child. In this matter, Wei Zixiao, Su Wanrou, and Wei's mother were all involved in something unethical, which became one of the reasons Mu Ruoling wanted them dead.
Later, the Empress discovered that she had only given birth to one daughter, the Second Princess, while her most beloved eldest princess was born to Consort Chen, whom she hated the most. She also learned that the child she had miscarried was the Emperor's doing; it was a fully formed male fetus that, if born, would have been Crown Prince Tiansheng, the next Emperor.
The emperor's actions served two purposes: first, to suppress her maternal clan, and second, to reassure her so that she could focus on caring for the little wretch.
Hatred compounded, the empress orchestrated various schemes to win over court officials and nobles, and then patiently waited until one of her concubines became pregnant before launching a rebellion.
It doesn't matter whether the concubine is carrying a boy or a girl; it's certain that the baby will be a boy.
Wei Zixiao personally killed the emperor, which was witnessed by Mu Ruoling in her soul form. This was the second reason why he was destined to die.
However, the rebellion was not entirely successful because the male protagonist, Yanling, arrived late with his troops, eliminated all the rebels, and brought out the young prince whom he had hidden at some unknown time, placing him on the throne. Yanling then became the regent, working diligently for the country and its people. What happened next is unknown.
Only then did Mu Ruoling enter the process of rebirth.
The moment of rebirth was just now, severing the ill-fated relationship with Wei Zixiao.
In her previous life, she learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and songs to please her husband. After being reborn, she made a name for herself at a palace banquet.
This palace banquet was a triumphant celebration for the male protagonist Yanling after his victory in battle, and it was also attended by envoys who had surrendered and princesses who had been sent for marriage alliances.
During the banquet, the Second Princess Ruoyin played a war song. A mentally challenged child, who disregarded national dignity, and challenged Mu Ruoling, who was known to be inept at playing the zither. The latter confidently stepped forward and played better than the Second Princess. Using Mu Ruoling's talent as a stepping stone, the Second Princess ascended to power and began to whitewash her past.
For example, being reckless and impulsive is seen as righteousness and kindness; having a bad reputation is seen as slander by some people; and being unintelligent is seen as naivety and simplicity.
Leaving those aside, let's first talk about how the emperor was troubled by the previous incident at Yanling before the banquet. After learning about this, Mu Ruoling offered to arrange a good marriage for him.
The emperor's heart was moved. In his heart, no one could compare to his beloved daughter. After questioning the two men in turn, he discovered that his daughter greatly admired Yanling and that the latter was also willing to marry the princess. So, at the triumphant banquet, he bestowed a marriage upon the two men.
The wedding wasn't going to happen so quickly. The male and female leads went through a lot of things, including fighting the Second Princess, fighting Su Wanrou, fighting the princess who liked Yanling and was sent to marry a foreign ruler, and saving the poisoned emperor. After traveling a long distance to seek medical treatment and curing the emperor, their relationship had improved. The emperor was also eager to have a grandson, so the two got married.
After getting married, he continued to fight the Wei family. Before the Wei family fell, Wei Zixiao sacrificed himself to heaven. He fought against the daughter of the city lord of the mechanical city, the empress, and various reactionaries. He expanded the territory and attacked mechanical cities outside of independent countries. Interspersed with the male protagonist's experience of revealing another identity.
Then the male lead takes the female lead to the land beyond the mortal realm to see her master, where she discovers the true identity of Consort Chen. The female lead recognizes her relatives and, with her hard work and the support of her uncles, becomes the ruler of the land beyond the mortal realm. Together with the male lead, they unify the world and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
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