The Transmigrator

Taiji Hall.

It had been nearly half a month since the emperor returned to the palace. The third round of the selection had concluded, and the palace selection would be held tomorrow.

Zongzheng Heng finished reviewing the last memorial, set down his vermilion brush, and rose to leave.

Li De hurried after him, not daring to ask questions. He simply followed at a distance, hands at his sides.

The beginning of summer was fast approaching, yet the peonies in the imperial garden bloomed in regal splendor, magnolias held up snow-white cups of flowers, and tree after tree of flowering crabapple blazed red.

All of it was thanks to the gardeners' meticulous care.

Zongzheng Heng walked slowly along the bluestone path, his gaze sweeping over the flowers and trees, but the furrow between his brows only deepened.

When he reached a flower bed, he suddenly stopped.

"Li De, why do the flowers in this imperial garden look so... ordinary to me?"

Li De was taken aback. He hurried closer and said with an ingratiating smile:

"Your Majesty, the flowers and trees in the imperial garden have all been tended with the greatest care. These are Yao Yellow and Wei Purple peonies, and those are magnolias, crabapples, peonies, and osmanthus, symbols of wealth and honor. And over there-"

"I am asking you," Zongzheng Heng interrupted, his gaze settling on a cluster of roses in glorious bloom in the distance, "does the imperial garden have any yesterday-today-and-tomorrow?"

Li De opened his mouth, then shook his head blankly.

"What about weeping crabapples? Chinese snowball viburnums? Crimson bottlebrushes? Jacarandas? Golden chain trees?"

He listed several names in succession. Sweat beaded on Li De's forehead as he listened, unable to answer a single one.

"Your Majesty, these flowers... this old servant has never even heard of them."

He had served His Majesty for so many years. When had His Majesty developed a love of flowers?

Zongzheng Heng's expression darkened further.

He started forward again, but after a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the row of newly planted magnolia trees in the distance.

"Li De, why are there no fringe trees in the palace?"

Li De was utterly bewildered.

Fringe trees?

He had heard of them. They grew in Jiangnan and bore white flowers in late spring, covering the trees like snow. They were beautiful, certainly, but the capital was in the north, where the trees were rarely seen.

Unless a wealthy household happened to favor them and had them specially transplanted from Jiangnan, where could one ordinarily find them?

He stammered, "Well... this old servant will have the gardeners look into it later..."

Zongzheng Heng said nothing more.

He stood beneath the row of magnolias, gazing at the hazy gray horizon, his expression rather gloomy.

He had never made a point of remembering the flowers in the garden.

Yet now their names surfaced in his mind one by one, perfectly clear, every one of them correct.

Li De scarcely dared to breathe, silently lamenting his plight.

What was wrong with His Majesty?

In the half month since his return to the palace, he had reviewed memorials, met with his ministers, and handled affairs of state, everything in perfect order, no different from before.

But every so often, he would suddenly fall silent and stare absentmindedly into the distance...

Zongzheng Heng suddenly said, "Don't follow me. I'm going for a walk."

He left Li De behind and wandered aimlessly.

When he finally stopped, he realized he had come to the edge of Taiye Pool.

Moonlight spilled like water over the tranquil surface of the lake.

The lanterns in the pavilion at the center of the lake were still lit, hazy and indistinct, as though veiled by a thin mist.

A woman stood in the pavilion.

Her back was to him. She wore a pale yellow gown, her black hair arranged in a simple fallen-horse bun and adorned with a white jade magnolia hairpin.

Zongzheng Heng stopped in his tracks.

Su Yunyan.

He recognized her.

The candidates for the selection had been staying in the palace these past few days, and the palace selection was tomorrow. It was no surprise to find her here.

He had thought that seeing her again would surely stir something different in his heart.

But at this moment, he found himself thinking of someone else.

That person would never have stood quietly. She was always laughing and making a fuss, pestering him with nonsensical chatter, either sitting on his shoulders to reach the fringe tree blossoms or leaning close to his ear to ask questions that made his face burn and his heart race.

Zongzheng Heng's gaze abruptly darkened.

Why was he still thinking about her?

She was dead.

She had fallen from such a high cliff and been devoured by jackals and wolves, leaving not even an intact corpse behind.

He was thinking of her now only because she had been his first woman, only because she had been so different from other women-too mad, too ruthless, too infuriating.

After tomorrow's selection, his harem would be full of beauties of every shape and size. What kind of woman would he not have?

Could he really be unable to forget one Qiao Shuyi?

Besides... there was still Su Yunyan, a woman he had chosen long ago.

He lowered his eyes and turned to leave.

"Your Majesty-"

But the woman's voice suddenly rang out.

Su Yunyan turned around, and their eyes met.

She hurried over to him in small steps and gracefully bowed.

"This subject's daughter greets Your Majesty."

"Rise."

It had been a long time since he had seen her.

The last time had been at Brahma Sound Temple. She had knelt before the Buddha in prayer, saying that she already had someone in her heart and would not marry another.

That day, he had stood outside the door, and his heart had warmed as he listened to her finish.

But only now did her appearance seem to come truly into focus-

Her features were gentle, her manner serene and unassuming, like a secluded orchid blooming in a deep valley, quiet and still, neither contending nor grasping.

Good.

This was the woman he ought to want.

Gentle, quiet, sensible. She would not drive him mad or make him lose control. She would not make him stand at the edge of a cliff in the dead of night, drenched by a downpour, searching for a corpse gnawed beyond recognition by jackals and wolves.

Su Yunyan rose, an ambition to win at all costs concealed beneath her lowered lashes.

She was not the original owner of this body.

She had transmigrated here.

Three years ago, she had opened her eyes to find that she had become an unfavored concubine-born daughter of the Su Family. It had taken her three whole days to digest that fact.

The original owner was the heroine, but she was also a dodder vine, frail and delicate, clinging to Zongzheng Heng to survive.

He hid her in the harem and protected her in secret, but she still suffered a great many grievances and was hurt both in body and in spirit.

Later, she became empress and enjoyed his exclusive favor, but it was all merely a splendid facade-

Zongzheng Heng had little interest in women, and most of his attention was devoted to affairs of state. When he had no need to favor other consorts for the sake of heirs or to maintain balance at court, he could not be bothered to deal with the orioles and swallows of the harem, so he simply put on the guise of a man whose love was as deep as the sea.

The original owner had been moved beyond words.

But what about the extra chapter?

Who knew what madness had seized the author? In the extra chapter set five years later, Zongzheng Heng traveled south to Jiangnan and fell in love with a courtesan.

The book said he had "never met anyone so vibrant," that he was "deeply drawn to her unrestrained, flamboyant spirit," and that for her sake he lingered in houses of pleasure night after night, nearly missing the morning court.

She had been so angry that she threw the book to the floor.

The self-restrained, cold-hearted emperor's characterization had shattered to pieces.

So much for being cold and loveless, so much for keeping away from women. In the end, what he liked was nothing like the original owner's bland, insipid manner.

He liked excitement, vitality, and the kind of woman who made him lose control.

After her fit of anger, she had transmigrated here.

It had been three years.

She had knelt before the Buddha at Brahma Sound Temple and prayed, knowing he was standing outside the door, so every word she said was meant for him to hear.

She had known he would be moved.

She had played the devoted woman for three years, until even she was almost convinced.

Next, she needed to see which way the wind was blowing.

If Zongzheng Heng liked purity, she would be pure; if he liked allure, she would be alluring.

In the beginning, she was the only one in his heart. That was her stake, and her greatest chance of winning.

She lifted her eyes slightly, and a handsome face came into view.

Sword-like brows, starry eyes, a high, straight nose, and thin lips pressed lightly together. An air of noble reserve and cool detachment surrounded him, just as the book had described.

She believed in the author's early portrayal of this character: a wise emperor who kept away from women and yearned for genuine love.

The extra chapter had broken character. It was the author making things up and ruining the character, not how Zongzheng Heng was supposed to be.

She would certainly be able to set his characterization straight again.

Even if he had no choice but to favor other women over the next two years, once the dust settled and everything was back on track, they would be an emperor and empress as devoted as mandarin ducks and inseparable as paired flounders.

If the book had not given her a perfect ending, she would claim it herself!