Bianjing City fell, and the State of Chu was destroyed.

The once bustling East Palace now lay desolate.

“Madam, the city has fallen. Please leave with dignity.” The old eunuch holding a white silk cloth stood in front of the palace. His tone was respectful, but his attitude was firm.

Qin Zheng looked at the wrinkled old face, feeling a bit confused.

Did she transmigrate?

Seeing Qin Zheng silent for a long time, the old eunuch thought she was unwilling and continued, “His Majesty has decreed that all female members of the royal family should sacrifice themselves to preserve their dignity. All palace ladies and princesses have taken their own lives. As the Crown Prince’s consort, you should also depart.”

With the old eunuch’s words, Qin Zheng remembered.

This was the plot of the side story she had read a few days ago, about the antagonist and his deceased unrequited love.

So,

Has she transmigrated into the role of the antagonist’s deceased unrequited love—the Crown Prince’s consort of Chu?

Qin Zheng’s vision blurred.

In the side story, the Crown Prince’s consort’s ending was more than just tragic!

It could be said that, for the Crown Prince’s consort, her beauty was her original sin.

She was originally the fiancée of the antagonist, Shen Yanzhi, but because of her stunning beauty, she caught the Crown Prince’s eye and was forcibly married to him.

Shen Yanzhi’s hatred for the royal family ran deep due to his resentment over losing his beloved to the Crown Prince. As a disciple of a prestigious family, he had access to many military secrets. He secretly colluded with rebel forces, overthrowing the State of Chu.

Shen Yanzhi originally intended to use the fall of the state as a pretext to legitimately rescue his beloved. However, he was too late. Emperor Chu Yang had ordered the execution of all royal women, including the Crown Prince’s consort, after the city fell.

Not only that, but the Crown Prince’s consort was also falsely accused by the rebels, who used her as a political tool to discredit the Chu state.

Despite the Chu state’s long-standing foundation, the new regime established by the rebels was unstable. There were even rumors among the common people that Emperor Wu Jia, the founding emperor of Chu, was a reincarnation of the God of War who had always protected the Chu state.

To solidify their rule, the rebels fabricated books claiming their regime was destined by the heavens, while also publicizing absurd stories about the previous dynasty, destroying the prestige of the Chu state in the minds of the people.

The scandal of the Crown Prince taking another’s wife was exaggerated.

The rebels portrayed the Crown Prince’s consort as a wicked woman who brought calamity to the country, spreading rumors that she drank blood and ate hearts, seduced the Crown Prince, and framed loyal officials.

According to them, the existence of such a wicked consort was the will of heaven that led to the state’s downfall.

Shen Yanzhi tried his best to stop this defamation, but the rebels ignored him and did as they pleased.

The rumors spread, and the Crown Prince’s consort was branded as a calamity to the country, attracting the scorn of the people.

To appease the public and gain support, the rebels whipped the corpse of the Crown Prince’s consort at the execution grounds.

On the day of the whipping, Shen Yanzhi was present at the grounds.

While the corpse of the Crown Prince’s consort was being whipped on the platform, he was held down by soldiers below, his limbs broken, his bones crushed, yet he could not get any closer to the platform.

Those present at the execution grounds that day said his eyes were bloodshot, resembling an evil spirit.

From that day on, Shen Yanzhi truly became a living evil spirit.

Wherever he was, it was like hell.

He gradually became a powerful official, punishing one minister after another who had proposed and spread rumors, marginalizing the imperial power, and allowing corruption to flourish in the court.

He wanted to destroy the dynasty that he had once supported single-handedly—this was his belated revenge.

On the anniversary of the Crown Prince’s consort’s death, the people he killed caused blood to flow from the execution grounds to the market outside.

When reading the book, Qin Zheng found this crazy, antagonistic character deeply emotional, and she cried a whole pack of tissues because of his tragic love story with the Crown Prince’s consort.

Now that she had transmigrated into the Crown Prince’s consort from the book, Qin Zheng felt even more like crying.

She was about to be strangled to death. Who would save her now?

In her past life, she had never offended the gods.

She was just a non-engineer who had slept on a flight back to China. How did she wake up here in a life-or-death situation?

The more Qin Zheng thought about it, the colder her heart felt.

Seeing her silent, the old eunuch stopped talking too. He simply gestured with his eyes to the two strong eunuchs behind him, who approached with the white silk cloth. He said, “Crown Prince’s Consort, please don’t be offended.”

Qin Zheng snapped out of her thoughts and felt a pain in her neck just looking at the white silk cloth.

She quickly said, “Wait.”

Her voice was clear and cold, like a pearl falling onto a jade plate.

As she spoke, Qin Zheng realized that the voice of this body was also very pleasant to listen to.

Indeed, she was a beauty who could make the Crown Prince disregard propriety and law.

The two young eunuchs dared not act rashly and looked to the old eunuch for guidance.

The old eunuch said calmly, “This is His Majesty’s decree.”

There were many concubines who did not cooperate and were all strangled to death without exception.

Even the Empress Dowager and her daughter, who were most favored by Emperor Chu Yang, fled to the Qianqing Palace to plead for mercy, but Emperor Chu Yang cut their throats with a sword.

The old eunuch was Emperor Chu Yang’s confidant and was ordered to come to the East Palace to deal with the Crown Prince’s Consort before the rebel army entered the palace.

After all, the Crown Prince was the heir to the throne, and the Crown Prince’s Consort would become the queen mother.

Even if the State of Chu was destroyed, they could not let the Crown Prince’s Consort fall into the hands of the rebels and be humiliated. This was the last bit of dignity for the State of Chu.

Qin Zheng knew all this, which made her heart heavier.

If she didn’t want to die, she could only try her best to survive.

According to the original book, Shen Yanzhi had come to rescue the Crown Prince’s Consort, but he was too late.

She had to find a way to delay, maybe she could still be saved.

Qin Zheng’s palms were sweaty, but her face remained calm.

She lowered her eyelashes to conceal her emotions, showing a hint of sadness. “I know this is His Majesty’s decree, but His Highness has treated me with great kindness. I beg Your Excellency to allow me to see His Highness one last time…”

The wind blew through the courtyard, and the falling petals of the qiong flowers looked like snow.

Some petals landed in her dark hair, giving her pale skin a fragile look, and her slightly reddened eyes appeared even more sorrowful.

A beauty’s smile could captivate a nation, but her sorrow could break one’s heart.

Several eunuchs who were watching her, feeling somewhat mesmerized, thought to themselves that it was no wonder there were kings like King You of Zhou who played with fire and lost their states due to incompetent rule.

This was the only method Qin Zheng could think of at the moment—to go to the Crown Prince’s bed and pretend to be deeply sorrowful to delay her fate.

The Crown Prince had been shot while commanding the defense on the city walls. Although he was still alive, there was little hope for his recovery.

Nevertheless, since he had not yet passed away, the old eunuch didn’t want to act too harshly. Considering that there were still imperial guards at the Vermilion Bird Gate, allowing her to see the Crown Prince would not delay things for too long. He nodded in agreement.

Qin Zheng breathed a barely noticeable sigh of relief.

……

The Crown Prince’s sleeping chamber was filled with a bitter medicinal smell.

Qin Zheng entered the inner chamber.

Before she could see the person on the bed clearly, she threw herself onto the edge of the bed and cried out in a heartbreaking manner, “Your Highness!”

Her crying was sorrowful, but no tears fell.

Fortunately, the old eunuch and his entourage did not follow her in. They stood at a distance, clearly wary of the Crown Prince.

Qin Zheng felt more convinced that coming to the Crown Prince’s chamber was the right choice.

While pretending to cry, she discreetly glanced at the Crown Prince on the bed.

The light in the room was dim, and the lamps had been lit. Under the candlelight, the Crown Prince’s eyes were tightly closed, his face pale from loss of blood. His features were delicate, his face resembling jade, unexpectedly handsome.

The brocade quilt rose in a small arc, indicating his slender figure, but he was quite tall.

After all, Emperor Wu Jia, the founder of the Great Chu, was a great warrior, capable of single-handedly facing tens of thousands. The foundation of the Great Chu for a hundred years was laid by Emperor Wu Jia.

Although Emperor Wu Jia had no descendants, the Chu clan members were of the same lineage and had some of Emperor Wu Jia’s blood. With genetic advantages, the Chu royal family members were not lacking in stature.

It was said that when the Crown Prince was born, the officials from the Qintianjian proclaimed that he had the same fate as his ancestor, Emperor Wu Jia.

Emperor Chu Yang had high hopes for the Crown Prince, even naming him Chu Chengji, borrowing the words “Chengji” from Emperor Wu Jia’s name, Chu Chengji, hoping that the Crown Prince would inherit his ancestor’s bravery and guard the Great Chu’s centuries-old foundation.

Qin Zheng thought that most likely, the officials who proclaimed his fate back then were blind and got it wrong.

After all, this Crown Prince was just a cannon fodder who was shot to death by an arrow on the city wall.

She had no sympathy for the man responsible for the beginning of the Crown prince Consort’s misfortune.

It would be best if this scum were dead!

But for the sake of her own life, Qin Zheng still had to pretend to cry for him.

The old eunuch, sensing the time, urged, “Madam, now that you have seen the Crown Prince, please don’t make things difficult for us.”

Qin Zheng remained unmoved, continuing to fake cry by the bedside, pretending to hold the Crown Prince’s slightly cold hand tenderly. “Your Highness, please open your eyes and look at me…”

But in her heart, she was wondering why Shen Yanzhi hadn’t come yet!

If he didn’t come soon, she might really be strangled to death here!

The old eunuch gave a glance to the people behind him, and two strong eunuchs stepped forward to drag her away.

Just then, there was a commotion of footsteps outside the hall.

The old eunuch and his entourage were surprised, but Qin Zheng was delighted.

Finally, he’s here!

However, as screams echoed outside, a palace maid was directly hacked to death at the entrance, blood spraying everywhere. Her body was rudely thrown into the hall, and Qin Zheng realized something was wrong.

It wasn’t Shen Yanzhi’s people who had come!

The old eunuch shouted sternly, “Pang Chuan, why are you not defending against the rebel army at the Zhuque Gate and instead come to the Eastern Palace?”

The man who came was tall and robust, the leader of the Imperial Guards, Pang Chuan.

He smirked, then threw a sword, killing one of the eunuchs holding Qin Zheng.

Warm blood splattered all over Qin Zheng, and her face was also stained with tiny drops of blood.

This was the first time Qin Zheng had witnessed a murder. She felt icy cold all over, instinctively wanting to scream, but no sound came out of her throat.

“Kill all these eunuchs!” The leader of the Imperial Guards raised his sword and chopped down several eunuchs.

A group of eunuchs was no match for the Imperial Guards and was quickly slaughtered.

The old eunuch, picking up a blood-stained white silk from the ground, tried to strangle Qin Zheng. But he was quickly pierced through the back by a spear from the Imperial Guards, spitting out blood as he fell to the ground. His bulging eyes, stained with blood, were still staring in Qin Zheng’s direction.

Qin Zheng dared not look at him.

The smell of blood stimulated her senses, making her stomach churn.

She was so scared that she forgot to let go of the Crown Prince’s hand. She held on tightly as if grabbing onto the last straw of life.

In the chaos, no one noticed that the Crown Prince’s eyelids seemed to twitch.

With all the eunuchs dead, the leader of the Imperial Guards approached Qin Zheng.

He lifted her chin with the bloody tip of his sword, and after seeing her face, his eyes were openly amazed. “I’ve long heard that the Crown Prince’s consort is a beauty. Today, seeing you in person, it’s no wonder the Crown Prince would rather risk his life to take you.”

His gaze became greedy.

Knowing that the fate of the Chu Kingdom was sealed, his original plan was to take the Crown Prince and his consort to surrender to the rebel prince.

Now, seeing the stunning beauty of the Crown Prince’s consort, he obviously had other thoughts. His subordinates understood and exited the hall, closing the doors behind them.

Qin Zheng felt the icy and sticky tip of the sword against her chin. She felt as if all her blood was flowing backward.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a dagger tucked at the waist of the eunuch who had been stabbed to death earlier.

Qin Zheng, trembling, shifted her body slightly and looked at the leader of the Imperial Guards with tearful eyes. “Please don’t kill me…”

But her hand slowly moved behind her.

The beauty looked as if she was about to cry, resembling a pear blossom in the rain. The leader of the Imperial Guards was almost completely captivated, paying no attention to anything else.

He reached out to touch Qin Zheng’s face. “My beauty, who could bear to kill you?”

The next moment, he felt a cold sensation in his chest.

Qin Zheng held the dagger in both hands and fiercely stabbed it into his chest.

The pitiful look in her eyes just a moment ago turned as sharp as the dagger’s tip.

Since there was no turning back, she decided to take someone down with her!

Unfortunately, his armor was too strong, and Qin Zheng’s strength was not enough. She only managed to stab the dagger’s tip into him, drawing blood but not causing a fatal wound.

The leader of the Imperial Guards angrily cursed and raised his palm, like a fan, ready to strike Qin Zheng.

However, the palm never landed on Qin Zheng.

The leader suddenly staggered, his eyes widened, and he fell to the ground.

A thin, long golden thread pierced through his forehead, and blood slowly seeped from the wound.

Qin Zheng looked at the man on the ground, her heart pounding as if it was about to burst from her throat.

Was he dead?

She stiffly turned around and looked at the bed, only to meet a pair of ink-black eyes, deep and cold, carrying the desolation and fierceness of time. It was as if an ancient beast from a primordial cave had been stirred from its slumber.

It was the Crown Prince.

He was half-leaning against the head of the bed, his face still pale. He held a thin, long golden thread between his fingers, obviously pulled from the golden-threaded peony embroidered quilt covering him.

“Your… Your Highness?”

As she spoke, Qin Zheng realized her voice was trembling.

The Crown Prince didn’t respond. His gaze towards her was unfamiliar, full of royal authority but also with a hint of confusion.