Chapter 66

Du Luoling arrived aboard the Wanfu vessel and stood on the deck, quietly sizing up the two people before her.

She had not expected the emperor in the portrait to be even half as handsome as the real person. With his striking appearance and bearing, combined with his status as the supreme ruler under heaven, this man was worthy of becoming the other half of her, Du Luoling!

Du Luoling shifted her gaze to the simply dressed yet undeniably beautiful woman. Her eyes flickered.

Yun Yaoyao, Yun Yaoyao… After the palace banquet, you became like a completely different person. You introduced museums, spread the story of Hua Mulan… You’re a transmigrator too, aren’t you?

At that thought, Du Luoling’s breathing grew heavier.

Vigilance, danger, excitement, exhilaration—various emotions churned in her heart before finally settling into an expression of calm.

She smiled generously. “I apologize. I misspoke just now. Your words have been very enlightening, Brother. May I ask what I should call you?”

Yun Yaoyao maintained her persona and answered indifferently, “My surname is Jin.”

“Brother Jin.”

Du Luoling naturally struck up a conversation with her. Her words and actions showed not the slightest concern for the customary distance between men and women, and she deliberately left Tu Shanjin standing behind them.

Du Luoling possessed excellent social skills. She spoke neither obsequiously nor arrogantly, and her words were pleasing to the ear. After chatting for a while, a faint smile had already appeared on Yun Yaoyao’s face.

When Du Luoling turned to look at the rippling surface of the river, Yun Yaoyao hurriedly began frantically signaling to Tu Shanjin.

You jerk! Have you forgotten what we just discussed? Hurry up and act!

Tu Shanjin wavered between embarrassment and hesitation. In the end, he steeled his heart and cast his dignity as a ruler aside.

He bit his lip, nervously twisting his handkerchief with his dainty fists, and spoke in a delicate voice. “Young master, the scenery along the northern canal is wonderful. Puyang County is nowhere near as beautiful. Why don’t you accompany me and continue touring the canal~”

Yun Yaoyao deliberately put on an unhappy expression and said in a low voice, “I’ve already made my decision. There’s no need to say anything more.”

Tu Shanjin obediently nodded and did not dare speak again. He merely shot Du Luoling a secretly hostile glance.

Seeing this, the corners of Du Luoling’s lips curled upward.

So this was why there had always been such a strange atmosphere between His Majesty and Yun Yaoyao. They appeared to be a loving couple, but in reality, they were merely together in name!

Since the two of them did not love each other, her intervention could not be considered an act of mistress-like interference.

Du Luoling shed the last bit of psychological burden she carried as a modern woman and became even more intimate with Yun Yaoyao.

It was only when someone came over to report a matter that Yun Yaoyao hurriedly left.

The only people left on the deck were Du Luoling and Tu Shanjin.

The river breeze swept past, sending their hair flying wildly.

The expressions on both their faces changed the instant Yun Yaoyao disappeared from sight. Their eyes met, and an invisible smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Du Luoling spoke first. “We’re the same kind of people, aren’t we?”

Tu Shanjin’s gaze was cool. “What kind of people are you referring to?”

Du Luoling let out a scoff. “There are only the two of us now. Why bother pretending?”

Just to be safe, she decided to test him anyway. “The fighter jet among roosters?”

Tu Shanjin did not react at all.

Du Luoling continued, “Odd changes, even no changes?”

Tu Shanjin’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Du Luoling confidently threw out her final line. “Dinosaurs resist wolves?”

Tu Shanjin: “…”

What nonsense was she spouting? He could not understand a single word.

Seeing this, Du Luoling became completely certain that the other woman was also a transmigrator. If she had been a native of this ancient era, she would certainly have looked puzzled upon hearing those words.

Yet the other woman had shown no reaction at all. She had remained as calm and composed as ever, as though victory were already in her grasp. Clearly, she was very familiar with those phrases.

This woman’s scheming was terrifyingly deep!

Du Luoling turned her head toward the undulating surface of the river and said quietly, “Stop pretending. Let’s be frank with each other.”

“What was your purpose in entering the palace? Your reputation among the common people is extremely high now, and you’ve carried out one measure after another to benefit the people. Do you want to become empress?”

Mist rose from the river, blurring the emotions in Tu Shanjin’s eyes. “And what is your purpose in deliberately approaching His Majesty?”

“Let me guess. Prince Ze is useless, so the Du family has decided to turn to His Majesty instead. And you, as the eldest legitimate daughter of the Du family, entering the palace as a consort would be the best way for the Du family to bind itself to the imperial family, wouldn’t it?”

Du Luoling gave a derisive laugh. The golden hairpin in her hair swayed, and her tone was filled with arrogance. “I like dealing with clever people. It seems our ultimate goals are the same.”

“You have an uncle who is the Minister of Rites, but you cannot even begin to imagine how powerful my family is. I am a commandery princess with a death-exemption plaque to protect me. Behind me stands the entire Du family, and my father is the Minister of Personnel. What do you have to compete with me?”

Tu Shanjin thought about it, then answered seriously, “Beauty and a figure you can never match.”

Du Luoling was left speechless by his sincere answer. Her arrogance was joined by a trace of annoyance. “His Majesty readily agreed to visit my fief, Puyang County, just now. He must have recognized me as Commandery Princess Danling and gone along with it. My entry into the palace is only a matter of time. Men are always fickle. When the time comes, let’s see what you’ll have to compete with me!”

Tu Shanjin thought of something and added, “Besides beauty and a figure, there’s also intelligence you can never match.”

“You!” Du Luoling was so furious that she laughed. “You really are shameless!”

“Reforming the government and appointing worthy officials, resolute and decisive, generous toward others, quick-witted and perceptive…” As he spoke, the corners of Tu Shanjin’s lips lifted, and his eyes glimmered like scattered stars. “She possesses a powerful spirit, yet also carries compassion in her heart.”

Only after saying this did he come back to himself. He glanced at Du Luoling beside him and gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

“Ten of you together couldn’t compare to a single strand of her hair.”

Du Luoling’s expression froze in place.

The mockery and contempt in his words were simply too intense. What was even more infuriating was how calmly and seriously he had delivered them, as though he were merely stating an established fact.

The damage was absolutely devastating!

Her lips trembled. For a moment, she could not think of anything to say in rebuttal. In the end, she could only throw out, “You’re crazy!” before leaving in a furious huff.

Tu Shanjin returned to Yun Yaoyao’s room and told her everything that had just happened in detail.

He also asked about a question that had been puzzling him for some time. “What kind of chicken is ‘the fighter jet among roosters’?”

“And what does ‘odd changes, even no changes’ mean?”

“And what is the meaning of ‘dinosaurs resist wolves’?”

Seeing how seriously he was asking, Yun Yaoyao almost failed to hold back her laughter.

“Hmm… let me put it this way.”

The master deceiver, Yun Yaoyao, began another performance.

“After I consulted the Book of Life and Death and looked into Du Luoling’s past, I discovered that her records became a complete blank after she turned ten.”

“Why?”

“There is only one possible explanation. The real Du Luoling died when she fell into the water at the age of ten. The Du Luoling who exists now is a soul from a different era.”

“So the things she said are probably expressions from her era.”

Tu Shanjin nodded in understanding. He felt as if his entire worldview had been shaken once again. “There are actually people from other eras…”

Even after experiencing the Book of Life and Death and a soul exchange, Tu Shanjin still found the idea astonishing.

Meanwhile, Yun Yaoyao analyzed the new information she had just obtained. She felt that there was something contradictory about Du Luoling.

After transmigrating at the age of ten, Du Luoling had done everything she could to improve her circumstances. Once she had obtained a death-exemption plaque and the title of commandery princess, she had holed up in the small county of Puyang. This suggested that she was a person with a strong sense of danger—but not an ambitious one.

And despite facing pressure from all sides, she had remained unmarried at twenty-one. That meant either she had never met the right man, or, as a modern woman, she simply couldn’t accept the idea of ancient men taking multiple wives and concubines.

Yet now she was actively trying to get close to the emperor, willing to compete with a whole group of women—and even vying to become empress?

No. Yun Yaoyao had a feeling there was more to it than that.

Aside from the pressure exerted by the Du family, could Du Luoling be harboring some other motive?

Seeing Yun Yaoyao once again absentmindedly tugging at her hair while pondering the matter, Tu Shanjin’s lips twitched. In the end, he simply turned his head away, deciding that what he couldn’t see couldn’t bother him.

He took out several letters and quietly began dealing with them on the other side.

Before long, Yun Yaoyao slapped her thigh, her face lighting up. “I’ve got it!”

Regardless of Du Luoling’s true purpose, Yun Yaoyao had only one principle when dealing with people: could the other party be of use to her?

Was it possible to win Du Luoling over to her side?

Yun Yaoyao leaned close to Tu Shanjin’s ear, a sly smile spreading across her face. “Once we reach the commandery princess’s residence, you’ll need to put on an act. You’ll do this, then that…”

After listening, Tu Shanjin wore a complicated expression. “Would something this simple really work?”

Yun Yaoyao smiled smugly. “The quickest solutions often require nothing more than the simplest tricks of deception.”

The next day, the Wanfu vessel reached the middle section of the Northern Grand Canal.

The group disembarked, and Du Luoling enthusiastically played the host. She had arranged for carriages to wait by the river well in advance, and they transported everyone to the commandery princess’s residence.

After taking a brief rest, Yun Yaoyao left the residence with Zhou Siren and the others, using the excuse that they wanted to experience the local customs and culture.

Du Luoling couldn’t sit still. After thinking it over again and again, she went alone to the small courtyard where Tu Shanjin was staying.

When the guards at the gate saw Du Luoling, they were about to bow, but she waved them off and stepped inside.

Her ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‍gaze swept across the courtyard. When she saw the woman sitting alone in a pavilion in the distance, an arrogant smile appeared on her face. Clutching the sachet in her hand, she strode forward.

Yun Yaoyao, Yun Yaoyao… You have something on you now. Let’s see what you can do!

But when she drew closer, she discovered that the other woman seemed to be speaking to thin air. Du Luoling stopped in her tracks and hurriedly slipped behind a nearby artificial hill, pricking up her ears to eavesdrop.

Who would have thought that the very first sentence she heard would make all the blood drain from her body? Her pupils contracted violently.

“Damn system, I’ve already repaired half of this corrupted novel world. Once I’ve completely fixed it, I’ll be able to return to the modern world. You didn’t lie to me, did you?”