“If I had told you this back then, would you still have stopped Her Majesty from killing me?”
Chi Qing’s single sentence let Chi Wan understand why.
But…
“But you didn’t have to help me.”
If Chi Qing hadn’t helped her, this disaster wouldn’t have happened. If she had just quietly been the Earl of Huai’an and followed the rules, she wouldn’t have died.
Chi Qing managed a difficult smile. “It was just a gamble.”
“We weren’t that close before. Without that incident, if I were dying today, you would at most have someone send medicinal herbs. After I died, you’d come, burn some paper money, and leave. But because of what happened, you’re sitting here talking with me about these things.”
“Actually, it wasn’t much of a gamble. I believed in your place in Her Majesty’s heart. As long as you didn’t want me to die, Her Majesty would surely listen to you.”
What a brilliant scheme. Chi Wan thought about it, and the logic was indeed sound.
Given her relationship with Yu Jiuzhou, if she wanted to protect someone, the other would certainly spare them. If she valued someone, the other would certainly give them an important position. This was the tacit understanding between them.
Since she came to this world, countless people had schemed against her. But very few had truly succeeded. She had thought the most successful scheme was Princess Lin’an poisoning her with a Gu, but now it seemed it was Chi Qing.
To scheme using kinship… even if their bond wasn’t deep, the only person tied to Chi Wan by kinship, besides her three children, was Chi Qing.
If she were to rank them, Yu Jiuzhou was unique. Then came her children, Chun Gui, Xia Qu, Qiu Lai, Dong Ying, and her comrades-in-arms. After them, Chi Qing would make the list, especially since she had nearly lost her life to help her.
For this reason alone, Chi Wan would not forget Chi Qing. With her status, it was only a matter of time before Chi Qing held a high and powerful position.
Wait…
“If it was for power, you even gave up the position of Minister.”
A Minister, one step away from the Grand Secretariat. To give that up so easily, wasn’t it a pity?
Chi Qing shook her head. “The moment I knew my life was burning out, it was no longer a pity. Besides, I served as an official for over a decade without a single mistake, and I made many contributions. I have done right by the people I governed, right by Great Zhou, and right by my own learning.”
“What I wanted was not just a high position, but the power to get things done, to change the inheritance of noble titles. But I discovered that unless one is the emperor or a regent, it’s impossible. You and Her Majesty are still young. As long as you are here, I could never be regent, nor would I live that long.”
That was true. As long as they were around, there would be no regent. And neither would their successor allow one.
“You could have told me, asked me to help you. As long as it wasn’t an excessive request, and as long as these things weren’t laid bare, I would have done it.”
By maintaining a good relationship, Chi Wan didn’t think she would have refused Chi Qing, as long as the requests weren’t unreasonable.
But now that it had come to this, everything was a scheme. The source of her anger wasn’t that she had been schemed against, but that Yu Jiuzhou had been.
Although Chi Qing did these things to destroy the Chi family for revenge, she had also brought trouble upon Yu Jiuzhou.
Before her rebirth, the lofty Grand Princess had been reduced to a cripple, and it all began with Chi Qing’s schemes.
Chi Qing had schemed against too many people, plotted too many things.
“A scheme is just a general outline. I couldn’t be certain what would happen during the process. I could only set the plan in motion; as long as the result was what I wanted, that was enough. A good scheme is like that—the planner cannot control every detail.”
So, many things that happened along the way were beyond her control. The involvement of innocent people was also beyond her control.
“I was bent on revenge and would stop at nothing. Looking back, I did too many things wrong, and many people and events were affected by my schemes. After my revenge succeeded, I suddenly lost my purpose. Being posted away from the capital was perhaps a good outcome—far from Shengjing, far from the strife.”
That year, she stood on the dilapidated ancient city wall, watching the convoys pass by. Dust billowed up, and the common people covered their mouths and noses. Some choked and coughed.
Merchants, farmers, and that broken flagstone road.
She had built this road herself when she first arrived, overcoming all difficulties. In just a few short years, it had fallen into such disrepair. She wanted to repair it, but with the country in turmoil, there was no money. They could only make do.
In any case, it was much better than the old muddy path. A clean, easy-to-travel road brought many more merchant caravans, and trade began to flourish. This dilapidated little city finally had a sense of prosperity.
At that moment, Chi Qing’s mindset suddenly changed. Her life shouldn’t be just about revenge. Immersed in hatred, she had missed too much. At the very least, she wanted to do something for Great Zhou, something for these suffering people.
“Until I was recalled to be a supervising army official.”
Chi Wan remembered. At that time, Beining had invaded. Emperor Shengyuan didn’t want to use the Xu family but had no choice, so he wanted to send a supervising official. After much thought, Emperor Shengyuan thought of Chi Qing. He even wanted her to adopt Chi Qing’s child to inherit her title.
One could only say that fate plays tricks on people. Perhaps Chi Qing’s schemes were too vast, creating countless karmic ties, and thus her life was tragic.
In her youth, she learned that her father was not her real father, and her mother had died at his hands. The mother who raised her was not her birth mother; her birth mother had died at the hands of her adoptive mother.
A girl of twelve or thirteen, who likely hadn’t even formed a proper worldview yet, learned the truth at that age. She was filled with hatred, and so her world was left with nothing but hatred.
She used every means possible, willing to perish together with her enemies, just to kill them.
If Chi Wan hadn’t transmigrated, Chi Qing would have been executed along with the entire Chi family. Emperor Shengyuan had spared her, likely because he still had a use for her. So he only executed Chi Mingwu and Chi Xu, sparing the women of the family, reducing their rank by one degree, and allowing Chi Qing to inherit the title.
However, within a few short years, Chi Qing suffered the pain of losing her wife and son. Except for an adopted daughter, none survived; they were all born frail.
Incurable, impossible to keep.
“I started to think that my schemes must have violated the harmony of heaven, and so I was unworthy of having family or a lover in this life.”
“And you, my younger sister, in my plan, you were supposed to be the one who died the most miserably. Not because my hatred for you was the deepest, but because the entire plan revolved around you. I might not have been able to make others follow my scheme step by step, but you could. You were too easy to manipulate, and I knew you too well.”
“But the one thing I didn’t calculate was that you are not Chi Wan. You actually managed to gain the Grand Princess’s trust, and you two fell so deeply in love. But it didn’t matter. Since you are not Chi Wan, you were not on my list for revenge. Most importantly, you are the only child registered under my mother, Chi Mingwen. I can no longer carry on my mother’s line in this life, but you can carry it on openly and honorably.”
Hearing this, Chi Wan finally understood why she had escaped the scheme. It was because the other party had discovered she wasn’t the original person and had become the sole descendant of Chi Mingwen.
Bloodline wasn’t important. What was important was that on the family register, she was Chi Mingwen’s descendant.
Chi Wan had calmed down by now. In her heart, she only felt that Chi Qing’s life was truly a tragedy, a miserable one at that.
Everything was in the past. This was now the debriefing session.
But she still didn’t know why Chi Qing was revealing all this now. Was there another motive? Or was it because she was on the verge of death?
Chi Qing glanced at her, knowing her confusion, but didn’t rush to explain.
“You keep saying I’m not Chi Wan, but you can’t say who I am. Clearly, it’s all your speculation. Could it be that you think because I hold a high position, you don’t dare to scheme anymore, and you’ve fabricated this reason just to make yourself feel better?”
Chi Wan put down her empty teacup. Transmigration was her biggest secret. Besides Yu Jiuzhou, she would never tell anyone, nor would she ever admit it.
Chi Qing pulled the silver needles from her own head. “The world is vast and full of wonders. Perhaps you just look identical to Chi Wan and were found by Her Majesty to replace her. Who knew that you two would actually develop feelings for each other.”
This person was suited to writing storybooks.
Falling in love with a substitute—although different from a typical substitute romance story, it was still a substitute.
“Alright, state your purpose.” After saying so much, Chi Qing seemed to have stated her purpose, but in reality, she hadn’t.
Chi Wan was getting tired. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore.
Seeing her impatience, Chi Qing finally spoke. “Our relationship can only be considered ordinary, but I have done some things for you, so you probably won’t refuse my request. I originally thought that you and Her Majesty would let the Third Princess take the surname Chi, but who knew she would still be surnamed Yu. So, I have registered Chi Guo under my aunt’s name. I hope you can declare her the grandchild of my mother, Chi Mingwen, and let her inherit the title as Chi Mingwen’s grandchild.”
If this was her purpose, it wasn’t excessive.
A cold smile touched the corners of Chi Wan’s lips. “If this was your only purpose, then weren’t all those things you did when I lost my memory completely unnecessary?”
“How could they be?”
Chi Qing waved her hand, denying the assertion. “Back then, you were missing. In case something had happened, I had to prepare early. If nothing had happened to you, I could use it to gain your trust. With my great revenge accomplished, and being in officialdom, who wouldn’t want to be the head of the civil officials? The higher you stand, the more you can do. Alas, fate plays tricks on people.”
Fate plays tricks on people. She wouldn’t live that long.
“Since you’re dying, you should have taken these secrets to your grave. But you’ve told me everything. After all this, how could I possibly help you?”
Chi Wan spoke mercilessly, even harshly. She felt like she had been deceived.
Towards Chi Qing, she wasn’t heartless. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have called her ‘Elder Sister’.
But Chi Qing was completely unconcerned. She didn’t think her choice was wrong. “Because of Her Majesty.”
Yu Jiuzhou? What did this have to do with Yu Jiuzhou?
“Back then, I used kinship to make you see me in a different light. With you, the Prince of Qin Yu, protecting me, becoming the head of the civil officials wasn’t impossible with my planning. In fact, I succeeded. Although you didn’t show it, I knew that the kinship I displayed had planted a seed in your heart.”
“However, after you left the capital for Wudang, Her Majesty summoned me again. She had discovered my intentions. She wanted to kill me, but because of her promise to you, she didn’t act. She only told me that if I dared to harm you, she would have my mother, Chi Mingwen, nailed to the pillar of shame in history.”
“Her Majesty felt that I had created a rather good image for myself in your eyes. You were quite vulnerable at that time; I guessed you had lost your memory. If you hadn’t lost your memory, she certainly wouldn’t have hidden this from you. It’s just that you were different back then.”
“Later, you returned to the capital, and the matter was already in the past. As time went on, it was never brought up again. Perhaps she forgot, perhaps she didn’t want to ruin your mood with it, or perhaps she felt that I had already received my punishment in this lifetime.”
“But a few days ago, Her Majesty suddenly sent word, telling me to tell you everything. I think there must be a reason I don’t know, but Her Majesty said that as long as I told you everything, she would grant my wish. Chi Guo will become the Earl of Huai’an, and the first Kun Ze to inherit a noble title.”
Of course, Chi Wan knew the reason. If Chi Qing weren’t on her deathbed, once these things were revealed, she would definitely have killed Chi Qing. She would have been furious and heartbroken.
She didn’t care about the original Chi Wan, nor did she care about the Chi family.
However, Chi Qing’s schemes had plunged Yu Jiuzhou’s life into a low point. She had suffered so much in her past life. The timeline could be reset, but the wounds she suffered would not disappear. Covered in scars, how could she forgive?
Yu Jiuzhou knew everything. Although Chi Qing didn’t have the power to control the entire situation, she was the one who had set it in motion. Or rather, her schemes had caused many subsequent events to occur.
But Yu Jiuzhou hadn’t killed Chi Qing. In the end, it was out of consideration for Chi Wan’s feelings.
And she had never found the right opportunity to bring it up. Now, Chi Qing was dying. Before she died, there were some things Chi Wan needed to know.
So, Yu Jiuzhou made this deal with Chi Qing, because she didn’t know how to tell Chi Wan herself and could only have Chi Qing do it.
As she was leaving, Chi Wan left a few words behind. “There is nothing wrong with revenge, but harming the innocent is evil. There is nothing wrong with ambition, but using any means necessary is also evil.”
Chi Qing spat out a mouthful of blood. Was she truly an evil person?
Perhaps she had done good things for the people, but that only meant she was a good official. It didn’t mean that what she had done could be wiped away.
Merits are merits, and faults are faults.
Merits and faults can offset each other, but the dead cannot be brought back to life.
Chi Wan strode out of the room. Chi Guo quickly bowed and was about to return to her room when Chi Qing’s voice came from inside. “Guoguo, see Her Highness out.”
“Yes.”
Chi Guo followed behind Chi Wan. She felt that Her Highness’s aura was completely different from when she had arrived.
When she arrived, she could sense Chi Wan’s worry. Now, not only was there no worry, but there was anger.
After seeing Chi Wan off, she returned to Chi Qing’s room, puzzled. “Mother, why did I feel a faint aura of anger coming from Her Highness?”
“Because I offended her.”
“Ah?”
Chi Qing smiled. “Are you afraid?”
Chi Guo shook her head. “I’m not afraid. My life was given to me by you, Mother. No matter what happens, I am not afraid.”
“Don’t be afraid. She won’t do anything. She is a kind and reasonable person.”
“Then why did you still anger her, Mother?”
“I just told her the truth.”
The truth?
After learning the so-called truth, Chi Wan waited in their bedchamber for Yu Jiuzhou to return from court.
As soon as court was dismissed, Yu Jiuzhou knew she had returned. She hurried back to the bedchamber, asking, “How did it go?” as she removed her heavy court robes.
She could sense that Chi Wan was in a bad mood, but she wouldn’t ask directly. She would guide Chi Wan to speak slowly, so that the discomfort in her heart could be soothed.
Chi Wan silently stretched out her arms, showing no intention of speaking.
Yu Jiuzhou raised an eyebrow, walked over to her, and let her wrap her arms around her waist.
“Tired?”
Chi Wan nodded, burying her head in Yu Jiuzhou’s abdomen. She took a deep breath, then nuzzled her a couple of times.
“How is Chi Qing’s illness?” Yu Jiuzhou knew she had gone to the Earl of Huai’an’s residence.
Feeling the hand stroking her head, her mood improved significantly. “Chi Qing told me many things.”
She had thought Chi Qing was helping her so tirelessly out of sisterly affection. But thinking back, what sisterly affection was there between them?
Not with the original, and not with her either.
She had even wondered if perhaps the original Chi Wan or she herself had done something inadvertently that made Chi Qing grateful. She really couldn’t figure out why, but the other person had indeed helped her, so she was willing to call her ‘Elder Sister’.
Yu Jiuzhou had a premonition. “She told you everything?”
“She did.”
Chi Wan nodded affirmatively. Her heart was filled only with pain for Yu Jiuzhou. Yu Jiuzhou was the most innocent one in all of this.
Perhaps without Chi Qing’s scheme, Yu Jiuzhou wouldn’t have married that useless original Chi Wan, but she would have married some other useless person. But not all useless people are the same; some might be even more useless, completely incapable of anything.
In any case, the outcome was set. There were no ‘what ifs’.
Yu Jiuzhou pinched her ear. “If she told you, she told you. It’s all in the past.”
Hearing this, Chi Wan felt something was off. “You didn’t tell her to say it?”
“Me? No.”
Yu Jiuzhou denied it. This matter was many years in the past. When she first learned of these things, there was hatred in her heart.
In truth, it wasn’t Chi Qing’s scheme alone, but a multi-faceted plot involving many people, including Emperor Shengyuan and the three princes.
Chi Qing was the catalyst, but without Emperor Shengyuan and the three princes, she couldn’t have succeeded.
If one were to assign blame, Emperor Shengyuan was the main culprit, with Chi Qing and the three princes sharing the rest. Emperor Shengyuan was dead, and the three princes had all become rebel princes. Logically, Yu Jiuzhou should not have spared Chi Qing.
But she had spared her. For Chi Wan? Perhaps.
She no longer had any family in this world; the Empress Dowager was long gone. At the very least, she could see that there was some kinship between Chi Wan and Chi Qing.
Not much, but it was there.
Chi Wan recounted everything Chi Qing had said, not missing a single word.
Yu Jiuzhou frowned. “You had lost your memory then. I didn’t want this matter to hurt you, so I didn’t tell you. But I never told her to hide it either.”
“So she was still lying to me.”
Really, even at a time like this, why was she still lying?
Yu Jiuzhou stroked her hair. “Why do you think she lied to you?”
Chi Wan looked up, resting her chin on Yu Jiuzhou’s abdomen. “She’s still scheming against me.”
“Mm, she’s already told you her goal. Logically, you wouldn’t let her have her way, but she told you anyway.”
Yu Jiuzhou pinched her cheek. Perhaps she already knew what Chi Qing was up to, but just didn’t want to admit that she had been schemed against again.
That woman, Chi Qing, was truly skilled at scheming.
“We want Kun Ze to enter officialdom. Over the years, some minor officials have indeed appeared, all promoted from clerks or rewarded for meritorious service. But they have never been granted noble titles or been able to participate in the formal imperial examinations. We need an opportunity, an opportunity to allow a Kun Ze to inherit a title. Chi Qing only has one daughter, Chi Guo. She wants Chi Guo to inherit her title, so she will submit a memorial. If we want Kun Ze to be able to receive titles, we will have to agree.”
“After all, it’s a rare opportunity. Who knows when the next one will come? If we refuse, it will send a signal to the outer court that we aren’t that supportive of Kun Ze entering officialdom, and they can suppress them even more harshly.”
Chi Wan understood Chi Qing’s meaning. The more she spoke, the angrier her tone became. “Who is Chi Qing? She is my, the Prince of Qin Yu’s, older sister. She has no heirs. Even if we agree to her request, the entire court will have little to say. After all, some Kun Ze have already become officials. A pitiful person like her, who only wants her adopted daughter to inherit her title, to live off the imperial stipend without holding office—it’s no big deal.”
This was why people were slowly getting used to Kun Ze officials. There were now some Kun Ze in the court. Not many—only one in twenty officials—but it was already quite good. So, for Chi Guo to inherit the title was reasonable and not abrupt.
In any case, it was inheriting a title, not a Kun Ze being directly ennobled.
Chi Qing had calculated correctly. They wanted to change the court’s structure, they wanted an opportunity. Even if she told them the truth, they wouldn’t refuse.
Yu Jiuzhou looked at Chi Wan’s fuming expression and chuckled lightly. “And?”
“And I despise Chi Mingwu. Having him struck from the records without an heir, and letting the Earldom of Huai’an return to Chi Mingwen’s line—why wouldn’t I be happy to do it?”
This was indeed the case. No matter how you looked at it, letting Chi Guo become part of Chi Mingwen’s line and inherit the Earldom of Huai’an was beneficial. It was just Chi Qing’s scheming that was infuriating.
Yu Jiuzhou smiled gently and couldn’t help but ruffle her hair. “Perhaps it wasn’t a scheme. She’s been scheming her whole life; maybe in the end, she wanted to be sincere for once. After all, even if she hadn’t said all this, she would have gotten her wish.”
That made sense, but Chi Wan was still fuming. “Then why did she lie and say you told her to tell me?”
“So that you wouldn’t think I was deliberately hiding it from you, to avoid damaging our relationship, perhaps.”
Yu Jiuzhou couldn’t say for sure what Chi Qing’s reasons were. It might be as she said, or it might be to satisfy some dark humor of her own before she died.
That wasn’t important. What was important was what Chi Wan wanted to do.
She pinched Chi Wan’s ear. “It’s fine. It’s just an opportunity. Even without this one, it’s only a matter of time before a Kun Ze is ennobled.”
It just wouldn’t be this easy, Chi Wan added silently in her heart.
“Then let’s tell her it’s impossible while she’s still alive. We’ll do it after she passes away.”
She lied to me, right? Then I’ll lie right back.
“Someone, go and pass a message to the Earl of Huai’an. Tell her she’s dreaming. We’ll do without this opportunity if we have to.”
Yu Jiuzhou poured her a cup of tea, amused. “Still so childish.”
“I don’t care. This Chi Qing is too infuriating.”
It wasn’t just infuriating. Given Chi Qing’s initial schemes, if Yu Jiuzhou hadn’t been reborn and she hadn’t transmigrated, the consequences were already known.
“Alright, don’t be angry. Let’s go eat.”
Chi Wan took a sip of tea and stood up, pulling Yu Jiuzhou’s hand. Knowing the truth was good, but being constantly schemed against by someone you trusted was even more infuriating.
Thankfully, she had Yu Jiuzhou by her side. As for Chi Qing, a person about to pass away, there was no need for hatred or excessive anger. She could just treat her as an insignificant person and move on.
At the dinner table, Chi Wan picked up some shrimp for Yu Jiuzhou. The shells, of course, were already removed for them. But she felt Yu Jiuzhou was eating too little and kept putting food on her plate.
After all, if she said she was done eating, no one could persuade her otherwise, except for Chi Wan.
They were halfway through their meal when the person sent to the Earl of Huai’an’s residence returned. “Reporting to Your Majesty and Your Highness, this servant had just reached the palace gates when I encountered Chi Guo from the Earl of Huai’an’s residence, coming to report a death.”
Report a death?
Chi Wan’s grip on her chopsticks tightened instantly. That damn Chi Qing. The person she had sent to lie to her hadn’t even arrived, and she was already gone.
