Chapter 38
Yuan Qiong is a man of his word. He said he would dismiss Lin Qiang from his position as commander of the Imperial Guards, and he did. As for the reigning emperor, Yuwen Jing, who was recently focused on rekindling his relationship with his empress, he naturally had no objection.
Yuwen Zhe was displeased.
He was initially somewhat resentful of Lin Qiang for threatening him to obtain the position, but now it seems he made the right move! Otherwise, the Empress wouldn't have wanted to dismiss him so quickly!
In Yuwen Zhe's view, the more Yuan Qiong wanted to get rid of Lin Qiang, the greater the threat Lin Qiang posed to her, so naturally he wouldn't let her have her way! After all, Lin Qiang was now considered one of his men, so naturally he had to protect him.
"Your Majesty, has Commander Lin done anything wrong?"
"This..." Without Yuan Qiong's daily nourishing medicine, and with Yuwen Jing no longer abstaining from sex, his already weak body had been overtaxed, and the young emperor's face was pale with a sickly pallor: "The Empress said she doesn't want to see this guard."
“Your Majesty, you are the ruler of the country. How can you listen to women in everything? Although Commander Lin was recommended by me, he was able to sit in the position of commander because of his true abilities. Your Majesty dismissed him so rashly just because of a word from the Empress. How will the ministers and the people view you?”
“They will surely say that Your Majesty is immoral, incompetent, and tyrannical. I don’t want to hear such comments; I truly feel sorry for you, my brother!”
Yuwen Zhe's words were very sincere, and the emperor, who was always easily swayed, was immediately swayed.
He looked at his younger brother and hesitated, "But the Empress..."
“If your sister-in-law truly cares about you, she naturally wouldn’t want your brother to suffer such a disgrace.”
"...But, I..."
"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy!"
In the end, Yuwen Jing was persuaded by his beloved younger brother.
"After that, Commander Lin will still stay in the palace to serve, but he should stay away from Zhaoyang Palace so that the Empress doesn't see him."
"promise."
Lin Qiang, who had been standing to the side as a muralist for a long time, finally responded. Coincidentally, he also had things to do during this time, so he wouldn't linger around in front of the little girl.
**
More than twenty days later, Yuan Liuniang, who still couldn't escape, was forced by the madam of the brothel to be a substitute at the Flower Queen's Gathering.
Moreover, under the immense power of the plot, Yuan Liu Niang, who was clearly a backup, unexpectedly became one of the top courtesans and ended up on stage in a completely bewildered manner.
That night, the people of the capital were all extremely excited. Outside the colorful flower streets and alleys, a flower tower was erected high. From a distance, the lanterns and flowers were shrouded in gauze mist, making it look like a fairyland.
Tonight, the city is filled with pleasure-seekers, and the youthful blooms, in their prime, reunite, their beauty scattering across the city. Countless delicate flowers surge through the crowd, ascending the flower towers, hoping for overnight fame.
Hua Wenluo, who was unwittingly pushed to the center of the stage, looked at the crowded people below the flower platform and her mind began to swirl.
This scene looks so familiar...
It was as if it had happened in a past life or in a dream. Flowers were in full bloom, zithers and harps played melodiously, and under the lamplight, no one could help but be mesmerized by the magnificent sight.
The phrase "a riot of flowers dazzles the eye" can describe not only plants and trees, but also tonight.
Among the crowd were Yuwen Zhe, Zhao Shixian, Guan Shengran, Lin Qiang, Yuwen Ting, and so on... Almost everyone of note in the city was there.
The moment Yuan Liuniang, dressed in the floral dress to be chosen, appeared, everyone looked up at her. They looked at the woman who seemed both strange and familiar. Especially Yuwen Zhe; he didn't see Yuan Liuniang, but Hua Wenluo from his previous life.
Suddenly, the drumbeats began. Yuan Liuniang, who had been standing there in a daze, didn't know what was happening to her, and her body began to move out of her control.
She clearly couldn't dance, but when the drumbeats started, she found herself moving without even realizing it.
She seemed like a light cloud veiling the moon, drifting like swirling snow in a flowing wind. From afar, she shone like the rising sun at dawn; up close, she was as dazzling as a lotus emerging from green waves. Her long sleeves were torn, her figure alluring, and at that moment, countless people were captivated by her dance.
Lin Qiang stared at the unfamiliar woman on the stage, his gaze filled with complex emotions. He was certain that the woman was definitely not Yuan Liu Niang, the one who had grown up in the mountain village!
After doing all this, are we really going to go back to square one?
At this moment, all the events that had happened, or rather, all the events that had occurred in the book, were forcibly crammed into Yuan Liu Niang's mind by an unknown force. Her memories became a chaotic mess.
who I am?
Yuan Luo?
Or is it Hua Wenluo?
A transmigrated woman who has just arrived in another world?
Is it that courtesan who died once?
A voice whispered in her mind:
I have loved others before. And I have been loved by others before.
The person I loved abandoned me. The person who loved me betrayed me.
Zhao Shixian wanted status, which I couldn't give him. Yuwen Zhe wanted children, which I couldn't give him either. Therefore, Zhao Shixian abandoned me for status. Yuwen Zhe betrayed me for his children.
My whole life has been a joke that God used to make fun of me...
All the memories exploded in my mind.
Yuan Liu Niang's sea of consciousness returned to calm.
Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here?
At that moment, the woman dancing gracefully on the stage abruptly stopped. She turned her head in confusion, her gaze piercing through the sea of people, searching for someone.
She saw Zhao Shixian, she saw Yuwen Zhe, she saw the men who had loved her in her previous life, she saw the romantic scholars who had been infatuated with her and the high-ranking officials who had gone mad for her.
A strange sadness rose in her heart. None of this was what she wanted, nor was it the person she was looking for.
Finally, her gaze swept across the room and settled on a tall, imposing man whose deep eyes, like a vast sky, could encompass everything about her.
The boss's...
As Yuan Liu Niang softly called out, she forgot about the drugs controlling her body. In an instant, she seemed to be filled with power, and with a whoosh, she jumped off the stage and rushed straight towards the man.
"The boss's..."
Through the throng of people, amidst the chaos and screams, Yuan Liuniang arrived before the tall man, tightly grasped his collar, then opened her arms and embraced his lean waist, tears streaming down her face.
"I'm so scared..."
Why do you have to remind me of all this?
If only I hadn't remembered...
No, I am not Hua Wenluo. Hua Wenluo is dead. I am Yuan Liuniang, the Yuan Liuniang who grew up in a bandit's den, the fiery and carefree Yuan Liuniang.
I don't want to remember any of this, I don't want to be fooled by this world again and again!
**
Meanwhile, in the palace, Yuan Zhen, taking advantage of her pregnancy, ran rampant in the harem, offending almost everyone she could in the past twenty days. When concubines came to complain, Yuan Qiong would only smile and appease them, not blaming them, and coldly watch her act up again and again.
Another month passed, and Yuanzhen finally managed to "accidentally" miscarry her child. And it happened right there at the Empress's Dragon Boat Festival banquet, shocking the Emperor so much that he fainted on the spot...
The scene she had envisioned of confronting the Empress did not occur.
Yuan Qiong coldly rose and detained her in a corner of Zhaoyang Palace, then sent troops to capture Yuwen Ting and bring him into the palace.
"Girl, are you really going to send Yuwen Ting out of the capital?"
There have been many things going on these past few days, so Lin Qiang has been going to the palace less often. Who would have thought that he would receive such news as soon as he arrived?
He smiled bitterly. Was the plot truly beyond his control? First Yuan Liu Niang, then Yuwen Ting. If he could, he truly wished to eliminate Yuwen Ting now, thus eliminating another menace!
“My original intention was for you to take this opportunity to seize his fiefdom and then imprison him in the capital. If you release him back to his fiefdom now, there will be endless trouble in the future.”
However, Yuan Qiong had her own plans.
Her grandfather currently holds absolute power in the court, so imprisoning Yuwen Ting wouldn't bring her much benefit. Letting him go would maximize her gains.
"Big Beard, my affairs are none of your business. If there are any problems, those are my problems."
No, to be precise, it was the trouble she left for her grandfather, Yuan Su Hui.
As long as Yuwen Zhe dares to openly rebel, everything will take a new turn...
Lin Qiang remained silent for a long while before gently patting her head, then sighed with a helpless smile, "Fine, whatever you want."
No matter how chaotic the world becomes, I will always be here to protect you.
Author's Note: I was working overtime on 618 and my brain is still foggy. Please forgive me if the writing isn't very good, my little darlings. Thank you!
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