Death sentence
Sweat mingled with blood trickled down his chapped lips, the astringent taste of blood spreading across his tongue. Chu Yiran knelt head bowed on the cold gold bricks, numbly listening to the eunuch read the imperial edict—
"The Imperial Preceptor Chu Yiran has formed cliques for personal gain, wreaked havoc on the court, acted arbitrarily, deceived his superiors and subordinates, and, despite receiving imperial favor, has not thought of serving the country but instead committed rebellious acts... He should be severely punished according to the law, dismissed from his post, his property confiscated, and poisoned to death, so as to rectify the court, appease public anger, and relieve the worries of the people."
A shrill voice echoed through the hall. Chu Yiran struggled to lift his head, his vision blurred as he gazed at the new emperor on the high throne. The man wore a bright yellow satin robe embroidered with dragons, his crown obscuring his eyes and exuding an unapproachable majesty. In his arms, he held the newly appointed empress—the prime minister's daughter, Shen Ruoqing. The two of them looked quite well-matched standing together.
Who could have imagined that not long ago that man was holding his hand and saying, "Wenxi, once the situation is settled, I will rule the world with you."
How utterly ironic! Chu Yiran gave a mocking smirk.
After the eunuch finished reading the imperial edict, the officials in the hall began to whisper among themselves—
"Giving him poison is too lenient. Such a treacherous minister should be torn to pieces and beheaded as a warning to others!"
"Yes, if it weren't for his interference in the Battle of Mobei, how could our 30,000 soldiers have been completely wiped out, leaving no trace of their bodies?!"
"It's a pity that the Chu family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, yet such a scourge was born!"
...
The eunuch carried the poisoned wine to Chu Yiran's side. Looking at this once powerful minister who stirred up trouble, now dressed in prison clothes and huddled up in a sorry state, he glanced at him and sneered: "You criminal, Chu Yiran, hurry up and accept the decree to die."
Before Chu Yiran could make a move, the new emperor on the high throne suddenly raised his hand: "Do you have anything else to say?"
In an instant, the hall fell silent, and everyone looked at the new emperor in bewilderment.
"I originally thought... I would end up like my father, left to rot in the wilderness, or like my mother, hanged from the rafters, or like my clansmen, executed in the marketplace..." Chu Yiran's voice was dry and hoarse as he recounted, word by word, everything that man had done to his parents and brothers, yet his tone was light and casual, as if he were joking. "Unexpectedly, Your Majesty has shown such mercy, allowing me to be punished in the Golden Palace, bestowing upon me poisoned wine, and sparing my body. I am naturally extremely grateful..."
Having said all that, everyone could hear the sarcasm and mockery in the words, and they began to discuss it again. But the new emperor on the high seat remained calm and unmoved.
Looking at the poisoned wine in front of him, Chu Yiran scoffed. Ignoring the pain all over his body, he straightened his back and looked at the man: "Su Jing, if there is an afterlife, I only wish that you and I... will never meet again."
No sooner had he finished speaking than he pulled out a slender silver hairpin from somewhere and suddenly slashed it across his neck.
Blood gushed out, splattering all over the face of the little eunuch in front of him. Chu Yiran fell backward as the eunuch looked on in horror.
Screams erupted all around, and in the last moment before losing consciousness, Chu Yiran seemed to hear a familiar voice.
——
"Ran-ge, wake up! Your scenes are about to start filming!"
Chu Yiran suddenly opened his eyes, the blinding light causing him to instinctively raise his hand to shield them.
A round-faced, big-eyed little girl was gently shaking his body. Before Chu Yiran could react, a memory that didn't belong to him suddenly flooded into his mind—
The world is now a thousand years in the future. The owner of this body is also named Chu Yiran. He came from a poor family but was good-looking. He entered a performing arts academy by chance and successfully entered the entertainment industry. He is working hard to rise from an unknown actor and is currently playing the third male lead in a low-budget web drama.
The development over the past thousand years and the changes of the times flashed through Chu Yiran's mind like a fleeting glance. After a barrage of information overwhelmed him, only four words remained in his mind—
He was reborn.
"What are you all dawdling about?" The assistant director grumbled as he walked over and pulled Chu Yiran up. "Everyone's waiting to start filming. How many times have we called them and they still aren't here?"
"I'm sorry, Director Zhang, we really didn't mean it. Brother Ran has just been staying up too late lately and hasn't been getting enough rest..." The round-faced, big-eyed girl kept apologizing, and Chu Yiran automatically recognized her in his mind—this girl was named Sun Xiaoxiao, and she was his assistant.
Chu Yiran was pulled in front of the camera with a blank expression. The scene was set in a private room of a luxury hotel. There was an exquisite Western meal on the table, with a strawberry heart-shaped cake in the middle. The phone screen next to him lit up, showing the current time: 16:30 on June 6, 2025.
A melodramatic scene of three men vying for one woman is unfolding right now. The female lead, while waving her long fingernails and applying powder to her high nose, complains, "I don't know how long we'll be filming this scene today..."
The male lead beside her whispered comfortingly, "It's okay, it's your birthday today anyway. Didn't you say you were born at 8:30 tonight? What a coincidence! We can finish filming this scene now and wrap up, so let's go home early and celebrate the little birthday star's birthday together..."
"Chu Yiran, what are you standing there for? It's your turn to read your lines!" The director's irritable voice came through the walkie-talkie, "If you can't act, you'd better pack your things and get out of here!"
Chu Yiran stared intently at the high nose bridge and blurted out, "You...don't ride in black cars lately, something bad will happen."
The man with the high nose bridge paused, then looked up at him.
——
"Brother Ran, what happened to you?" Sun Xiaoxiao was on the verge of tears. "This was a job opportunity that we worked so hard to get! Now, the director has forced us to stop filming, and we're completely out of work."
Sun Xiaoxiao had only graduated from university for half a year, and this was her first job. From her initial high aspirations to her current state of giving up her fantasies, she had witnessed the utilitarianism and cruelty of the entertainment industry in just six months. Beneath those glamorous exteriors, there were many small people struggling without resources or background.
But Chu Yiran is different. Although he has been in the industry for five years and is still a relatively unknown celebrity, Sun Xiaoxiao can feel his seriousness and hard work. She has always wanted to help him get more exposure opportunities...
Thinking about this, Sun Xiaoxiao felt a little discouraged. She handed the suitcase to Chu Yiran: "I've already cancelled the lease on the apartment in Hengdian, and I've bought the high-speed rail ticket back to Jiangcheng. You should rest for a while. I'll ask Sister Kelly if there's any other work when we get back to the company—"
Chu Yiran didn't say anything, but silently took the suitcase. Seeing his expression, Sun Xiaoxiao was still indignant and said, "Why did you have to tell someone's fortune? Can you even be accurate?!"
In this penniless production crew, the only thing worth mentioning is the female lead, Lin Wanxing, a rising star. Yet, Chu Yiran goes up and says something bad will happen to her. Isn't that just stirring up trouble?
“Of course,” Chu Yiran raised his head when he heard someone question his fortune-telling talent. “I am not very talented. I could recite poetry at the age of three, understand yin and yang at the age of five, and ride a horse and test swords at the age of ten. Taking a look at a person’s birth chart and face is a small matter for me.”
Sun Xiaoxiao frowned, stepped forward, stood on tiptoe, and reached out to touch his forehead: "Brother Ran, are you out of your mind from exhaustion? Didn't you tell me before that when you were a child, you started working in the fields at the age of three, picking corn at the age of five, and helping your second aunt take care of her children at the age of ten?"
Chu Yiran: "..."
——
After returning to Jiangcheng, Chu Yiran and Sun Xiaoxiao separated. He found his home by relying on his memories. He pushed open the door and turned on the living room light. The ceiling was fitted with frameless spotlights, and the cold white light illuminated the modern interior decoration. Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room, there were brightly lit high-rise buildings.
Looking at these novel things in front of him, Chu Yiran felt no emotion whatsoever, only a sense that everything had changed and the world had turned upside down.
Is this... God taking pity on him? Is it giving him a chance to start over, or is it just a dream like Zhuangzi's butterfly dream?
Chu Yiran felt incredibly heavy-hearted, both physically and mentally. He went to the bathroom, ran a bath, and quietly lay in the tub with his eyes closed to rest.
"Don't you know that Su Jing had an ulterior motive in approaching you from the beginning?"
"The rabbit is killed after the hunt, the hound is cooked; it has always been this way. You've read so many history books, don't you even understand such a simple principle?"
"Chu Yiran, today I will remove your name from the Chu family genealogy. From this day forward, I, Chu Zhongyi, will no longer have you as my son!"
"Wenxi, just apologize to your father and give in..."
...
As past scenes flashed through his mind, Chu Yiran was overcome with grief and slowly slid into the water.
He made too many mistakes, so what's the point of starting over?
As the water rose above his head, he suddenly saw a patch of blood on the surface—was it the floor tiles of the Golden Palace, or the setting sun over the northern battlefield?
"Ah Ran! Ah Ran! Why aren't you saying anything? Are you alright?!"
Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking on the door. Before Chu Yiran could react, he was pulled out of the water.
"Ah Ran, how are you?"
A middle-aged woman anxiously cupped his face in her hands, her almond-shaped eyes gentle and clear. Chu Yiran's eyes widened in surprise.
"Mother?!" Chu Yiran grabbed the woman's arm, his voice filled with surprise and delight. "Mother, what are you doing here?!"
His mother, Princess Anning, was the youngest sister of the late emperor, a delicate and gentle woman who was loved by everyone. However, when she learned of her father's death in battle, she resolutely hanged herself without leaving a single last word.
The woman was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "Ah Ran, what's wrong? Have you been working too hard lately?"
Before Chu Yiran could say anything more, the woman's identity automatically appeared in his mind: Zheng Shuyi, 50 years old, with the same name and age as his mother in his previous life, and even looked exactly the same, but she was not his mother, but the original owner's mother in this world.
Yes, although the woman in front of him looked exactly like his mother, her skin was dark, and the palms that touched his face were covered with calluses. Long-term labor had left wrinkles on the woman's face, and she did not look like a royal woman raised in seclusion at all.
Chu Yiran shook her head with a complicated expression: "It's okay, Mom... I just accidentally fell asleep."
"You really scared me to death!" Zheng Shuyi breathed a sigh of relief and patted her son's shoulder. "Hurry up and get ready to come out. Mom brought you lots of delicious food, all your favorites."
As she spoke, Zheng Shuyi walked out. Chu Yiran quickly tidied up and followed her into the living room. Watching Zheng Shuyi busy at the stove, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.
His mother was such a pampered person, never lifting a finger since childhood. Whenever she tried to cook for him, she always made a complete mess, unlike the woman before him who seemed so effortless. He remembered one time when he was little, he was so sick he was vomiting and had diarrhea and couldn't eat. His mother wanted to make him some Eight Treasures Cake to cheer him up, but she mistakenly added salt instead of sugar. After feeding him a bite, he vomited even more violently…
Chu Yiran was lost in his memories when Zheng Shuyi sat down next to him with a tray of food: "Yiran, Mom brought you your favorite Eight Treasure Cake. Your stomach has never been very good, eating this will make you feel better."
As memories and reality intersected, Chu Yiran was momentarily dazed and subconsciously picked up a soft, glutinous pastry and took a bite.
Zheng Shuyi touched his face with a hint of heartache: "Your dark circles are so bad. Have you been working too hard lately? If you really can't take it, come back to our hometown with Mom. Mom really doesn't want to see you working so hard. Your father is gone, and you're all I have left to worry about..."
"Aran, promise Mom that no matter what happens, you will live well and stay healthy and safe by Mom's side, okay?"
The sweet, soft, and creamy flavor melted on his tongue, but he suddenly tasted a hint of saltiness and bitterness. It turned out that tears had already been streaming down his face without his noticing.
Listening to Zheng Shuyi's gentle instructions, Chu Yiran nodded firmly.
This time, he will never let anyone hurt his family again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
