Chapter 59
Ying Shisan gave a bitter smile and said, “Master, Madam, Miss Yanran, please don’t be anxious. Allow me to report everything slowly. Here’s what happened…”
As Mu Qing listened to Ying Shisan explain the full sequence of events, she couldn’t help but think two things simultaneously: first, their opponent was absolutely deranged—even a young boy like Xiao Wu, already physically disabled, hadn’t been spared. Second, who would’ve thought this Ying Shisan brother was actually such a talkative guy?
In truth, Mu Qing had barely interacted with Ying Shisan before. She remembered that this ever-cloaked subordinate of her husband was always the silent type.
On the rare occasions they met, he would lower his head, offer a silent bow to her, and then promptly disappear.
And by disappear, it was always the dramatic sort of “whoosh!” and gone.
Never lingering. No fuss.
That had left Mu Qing with the impression that of course her husband’s subordinates would be just like him—aloof and cool. Birds of a feather.
But wow.
This was totally overturning her assumptions. Not only was Ying Shisan not cool and aloof, he was actually a little bit goofy—kind of a chatterbox.
Luckily, when reporting official matters, he still managed to stay organized and concise. It was just that once he got going, he got a bit too into it… and started getting emotionally invested.
Mu Qing couldn’t tell if he’d always been like this or if today’s near-tragedy, when she’d been ambushed and nearly killed, had shaken him so badly that his true nature had slipped out.
Either way, by the time she finished listening to Ying Shisan’s report, she found herself thoroughly pulled into the same righteous fury.
She was dying to find and beat the living daylights out of whoever was behind this… and that impulse was so strong it even startled her a little.
Who knew? Ying Shisan really was one of those “silent until he speaks” types. No wonder her husband never let him talk—too powerful.
Mu Qing was completely swept up in this shared sense of fury. Even Miss Yanran looked similarly incensed. Only her husband maintained his usual calm expression.
Mu Qing looked at his handsome face—always so composed—and couldn’t help but sigh internally.
Her husband definitely had a story.
Otherwise, there was no way he’d always be like this.
He wasn’t much older than her—two, maybe three years? By modern standards, he’d still be considered a fresh-faced young man, practically a boy. But here he was, exuding the calm and gravitas of a seasoned middle-aged man.
Of course, she didn’t mean his appearance—he still looked every bit the devastatingly beautiful young man, one who could debut purely on looks alone.
But his stoic personality and mature demeanor made it feel like his mental age had to be somewhere in the 40s or 50s.
Truly the very model of “wise beyond his years.” She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of upbringing had shaped him, what trials he’d endured…
Oh, speaking of trials—Mu Qing actually knew part of his past. He’d shared it with her in the room that had once belonged to his deceased mother.
It was a story full of sorrow and pain, enough to bring tears to any listener. A tragically beautiful past.
Probably those experiences had left him with deep scars from childhood—ones that would take a lifetime to heal, if they ever could.
Thankfully, with her help, things had improved a bit.
But only a bit. Their time together had been too short. Even so, she felt she’d done a pretty good job.
The rest… would be up to him.
Or perhaps, someday, up to his future wife—a bright, sunny, healing type.
Mu Qing drifted off a bit in her thoughts. But fortunately, she’d had so many close calls lately with being caught zoning out that she’d developed a new skill—being able to daydream while still keeping tabs on the conversation around her.
Especially when it came to her husband. He wasn’t just mature beyond his years, his insight was terrifying. If he were a prince in the palace, she had no doubt he’d win the throne.
Mu Qing recalled the many princes she’d seen in dramas and novels—brash, foolish types who thought they were invincible. Arrogant to the point of stupidity.
No wonder they always lost.
The Second Prince seemed to fit that mold exactly.
And the Third Prince? He was the “mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind”—the true threat.
The Fourth Prince, however, had never even appeared in the original novel. So who exactly was this mysterious character?
To be chosen as the adopted son by a consort from a military family, he couldn’t be ordinary. Perhaps he was the real dark horse…
That was why Mu Qing had hesitated to tell her husband and Yanran who the eventual winner was in the original plot. What if the Fourth Prince really was the black horse? She might be pointing them in the wrong direction.
Forget it. Better to keep observing.
She had considered whether to meet this Fourth Prince in person, but on second thought, maybe it was better to wait… as long as her husband remained in his camp, they’d meet eventually.
She’d deal with it then.
Mu Qing shelved that idea and quickly brought her thoughts back to the present. Under her husband’s quietly questioning gaze, she smiled.
“Seriously, husband—now that Xiao Wu’s in this state, we absolutely can’t just sit back and do nothing. This has to be the work of the Second Prince’s people, right? And the Third Prince—didn’t Sister Yanran say earlier that those two are working together now? We have to give them a taste of their own medicine. Blood for blood, tooth for tooth. Not one of them can walk away from this.”
She spoke casually, like a concerned sister-in-law upset that her little brother had been bullied. But to everyone present, her words seemed to trigger a tidal wave.
The first to be stunned was Ying Shisan. He looked at Mu Qing, then at his master, as if wanting to say something… but at a mere glance from his master, he shrank back and fell silent.
Then came her husband’s reaction.
In truth, the moment Chu Yu heard her first sentence, his expression had changed. Mu Qing had used “we” before, but never with this much conviction.
He was keenly observant and paid close attention to everything Mu Qing said and did, so he immediately noticed that this time was different.
In the past, when she said “we,” it was usually just a polite turn of phrase or said half in jest. But this time, though her tone still sounded casual, her eyes were resolute.
Was she truly serious about standing with him now?
Even if it came a bit late, he couldn’t help but feel happy.
Chu Yu kept his expression carefully neutral, though the corners of his lips couldn’t help but twitch upward slightly.
There was so little in this world that brought him joy anymore. He had thought he’d spend the rest of his life just dragging himself forward, clinging to duty.
But reality had turned out to be far more complicated than expected—his enemies were more formidable than he had imagined.
After all, they were palace-raised princes. None of them were true fools. Even the ones who seemed foolish were just pretending. One wrong move, and they’d bite back hard.
When it came to the throne, nothing was simple.
Not to mention, the so-called “scumbag father” he’d underestimated turned out to be more shrewd than he let on.
Sometimes, Chu Yu felt that this father of his—though he put on that useless, smitten act—had, after all, survived his own brutal succession war. He clearly wasn’t someone who wore his heart on his sleeve.
Everyone wore masks. That didn’t make Chu Yu the odd one out.
Still… he’d once longed for something real?
He’d believed he didn’t care for childish things like “true connection.” But then he met his wife, and everything changed.
Chu Yu sighed inwardly and followed her lead, saying, “Madam is absolutely right. Then may I ask, what should we do next?”
Mu Qing blinked, surprised by his question—because her husband almost never asked for her opinion. In the past, he wouldn’t even bother to tell her anything, much less consult her.
Or maybe it wasn’t that he was unwilling, but that he didn’t see the point.
They had only ever been temporary partners, after all. The unspoken agreement was: no need to share personal matters.
Mu Qing had always abided by that. So had he. At least until recently.
Now things had quietly shifted.
It probably started that day, during his emotional confession in the private residence that had belonged to his late mother.
It had been incredibly moving, no doubt. But this new progress was also slightly… alarming.
Mu Qing smiled her usual professional smile, quietly pressing down the unease bubbling up inside her.
It’s fine, she told herself. She was Mu Qing, after all. No way she’d lose control in a situation like this.
It’s all an illusion, that’s all! Just a misunderstanding!
She worked hard to calm her pounding heart. Just because a man looked at her a certain way, her face flushed and her heart raced—how humiliating! So much for her image as a tough, no-nonsense woman!
Luckily, even though she was internally flustered, she managed not to show it. They were talking about serious matters, after all—something to help refocus.
And not just any serious matter. A very serious one.
Succession struggles were never trivial. A single misstep could mean execution, clan extermination—terrifying outcomes. It had to be handled with care.
After assessing the situation and accepting that she was well and truly tied to her husband’s camp now, Mu Qing actually felt a bit calmer.
Since there was no escape, then don’t flinch. Face it head-on. Fight fire with fire. As long as they won, the methods didn’t matter.
She paused to think. What they needed most right now was to “know themselves and their enemy.” Only then could they win every battle. Miss Yanran had already shared what she knew about the Second and Third Princes. The Fourth Prince, however, was still a mystery—not even her massive brothel intelligence network had anything on him.
But if her husband’s powerful family had chosen him as their leader, he had to be something special.
Mu Qing wouldn’t press for answers. For now, the most urgent matter was that Xiao Wu had been hurt. They couldn’t afford to wait—they had to strike back.
She searched her memory for relevant parts of the original plot and remembered that the actual fight for the throne didn’t begin for another five years.
However, Liu Feng met the future emperor—who turned out to be the current Third Prince—within the next three years.
At the time, Liu Feng had already become Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. During a case investigation, he met the Third Prince, who was still working for the Second Prince.
As the protagonist, Liu Feng had a magnetic pull for powerful allies. While others dismissed the gentle, soft-spoken Third Prince as a lackey, Liu Feng saw his potential and stood by him through thick and thin.
And wouldn’t you know it—thanks to the plot armor, that unimpressive Third Prince ended up on the throne.
Mu Qing remembered that the two major factions vying for the throne in the original were led by the First and Second Princes.
The First Prince was the sickly heir of the late Empress.
The current Emperor had loved the Empress dearly—they’d grown up together and married young. Because of her fragile health, he refused to take other consorts for many years.
The Empress tried everything to bear him an heir and finally succeeded, but it took such a toll on her health that she died not long after.
Devastated, the Emperor tried to abdicate and become a monk. But he had no surviving brothers left from the last succession war.
The old Emperor had to intervene, installing new consorts and eventually forcing the Emperor to marry the Empress’s cousin as a step-Empress.
That’s when the Emperor gave up on love and embraced power. He even disowned his beloved concubine and son to secure the throne.
The Third Prince, born to a servant girl turned concubine, rose against all odds. When he took the throne, he honored his mother lavishly but refused to let her be buried alongside the Emperor.
It was poetic justice.
And yet… despite such a tragic childhood, the Third Prince was still drawn to Liu Feng’s charisma and made him his closest confidant.
In return, Liu Feng supported him fiercely—even when it meant alienating the First and Second Princes. Eventually, this led to tragedy.
Mu Qing, as Liu Feng’s first wife, lost their beloved son to the chaos of war. Heartbroken, she faded away… while Liu Feng rose to become Grand Tutor under the new emperor.
A brutal tale.
So now the question is: how did the fight for the throne actually begin?
And why had the First Prince already died?
Why did the Empress’s cousin support the Fourth Prince instead of her nephew?
It all pointed back to this mysterious Fourth Prince.
And for some reason… whenever Mu Qing thought about meeting him, she felt an odd sense of unease.
Almost as if… some unseen force was shielding him.
Could it be… he too was a transmigrator?
She had transmigrated—was it possible the Fourth Prince had, too?
What to do? She suddenly really wanted to meet him.
The moment the thought crossed her mind, Mu Qing was hit by a wave of dizziness and collapsed sideways.
Instinctively, she covered her head. But the expected crash never came.
She fell into a familiar embrace.
That familiar scent… she knew without even looking.
Strangely, the moment she was in his arms, she felt completely fine. She looked up at his impossibly handsome face and sighed.
“Husband, I’m honestly fine. Maybe if I’d hit my head, it would’ve helped me think up a better way to deal with those two.”
Miss Yanran had been quietly watching with a smile, but at these words, she finally spoke up.
“Miao-niang, you don’t need to worry yourself so much. I actually have a very good idea. Want to hear it?”
