LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 1:
Chapter 1: Is This… Rebirth?:
“Is this… rebirth?”
Qin Yu woke up from the chaos.
What he saw was the familiar, magnificent golden hall. He instinctively touched his chest. The wound that had ended his life had completely disappeared without a trace.
The scene before him made him suck in a sharp breath.
In the hall, a beautiful woman was holding a five-year-old girl.
The little girl’s face was deathly pale; she was barely hanging on.
This child was none other than Princess Yong’an, the beloved daughter of the late Emperor, and she was once considered a strong candidate to inherit the throne!
As for the beautiful woman, she was Consort Xiao, a surviving concubine of the late Emperor!
After the late Emperor passed away five years ago without a male heir, all the childless concubines were buried with him. Only Consort Xiao, who was pregnant at the time, survived.
“Damn it, isn’t this the day when Princess Yong’an was poisoned?”
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes as memories flooded back like a tide.
After the late Emperor of the Great Yuan Empire passed away, there was no successor. Empress Yun Moxian was pushed onto the throne, becoming the first Empress Regnant in the history of the Great Yuan.
This absurd precedent instantly planted the seeds of chaos into the already unstable political landscape.
The Empress’ relatives, powerful ministers, and even eunuchs began forming factions, each with their own ambitions, scrambling for power!
If the Empress could ascend to the throne, then surely a Princess like his daughter could as well…
Qin Yu, as the Eighth Prince who had been summoned back to stabilize the court, also had two brothers-in-law who commanded strong military forces.
Naturally, he started harboring ambitions of his own.
Thus, in his previous life, he did everything he could to help his daughter seize the throne.
Not only did he repeatedly send assassins after Yun Moxian, but he also cultivated his own faction in secret, preparing to overthrow the court.
Nearly every other restless faction in the court had been ruthlessly dealt with by him.
Ironically, when he failed his final attempt at forcing a coup, the daughter he had fought so desperately to crown turned against him and personally delivered the fatal blow.
All because he had killed the lowly scholar who tried to elope with her.
At the moment of his death, he finally realized.
The daughter he cherished like a precious jewel never truly cared about him at all.
“Tsk, for such an ungrateful wretch, the evil things I did in my past life were really something.”
Qin Yu sneered coldly as he looked at Princess Yong’an in Consort Xiao’s arms. But as he stared at her adorable little face, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Wait, he remembered now—Princess Yong’an’s death had nothing to do with him!
Yet in his previous life, both the Empress and Consort Xiao insisted it was his doing.
From that moment on, his relationship with the Empress was completely ruined.
Now reborn…
He was tired!
He no longer wanted to sell his life for that ungrateful daughter. Wouldn’t it be much better to live as a carefree idle prince?
But to achieve that, the most important thing was to maintain a good relationship with the Empress and retreat safely.
Thus, saving the dying little Princess before him was his top priority.
“Hand the child over to me!” Qin Yu said in a deep voice.
He could see that the little Princess’s breath was getting weaker. If they delayed any longer, she would surely die.
However, Consort Xiao only hugged Yong’an tighter and glared coldly at Qin Yu. “Eighth Prince, you haven’t done enough harm to Yong’an—what more do you want? Guards! Protect Her Highness!”
“Insolence!” Qin Yu’s fury burned.
As the Eighth Prince, he wielded immense power throughout the court. Everyone treated him with the utmost respect; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to linger in the palace after court sessions.
Yet this Consort Xiao not only disrespected him but dared to summon the imperial guards against him?
Several guards hesitantly rushed into the hall, hands resting on their sword hilts, but none dared to act recklessly.
They all knew that in the Great Yuan Empire, only Yun Moxian stood above the Eighth Prince in status.
“Stand down!”
Qin Yu shouted harshly. “A mere concubine dares to be so disrespectful to this Prince and even tries to mobilize the guards without authorization. Do you know your crime?”
But Consort Xiao showed no fear, shielding the nearly lifeless Princess in her arms. “If you want to kill Yong’an, how can I just sit and watch? Even if I have to give up my life, I will protect my daughter!”
Qin Yu sighed inwardly. If it had been the old him, he would have struck Consort Xiao down without hesitation.
But now, saving lives came first.
His eyes turned cold. He suddenly stepped forward and struck Consort Xiao’s shoulder with a palm.
Although the strike seemed fierce, he carefully avoided her vital spots, merely making her arm go numb.
Taking advantage of this moment, Qin Yu quickly snatched Princess Yong’an from her arms and pulled out a crystal-clear pill from his sleeve.
This was one of the royal Qin family’s three lifesaving pills, said to cure all poisons and save people from the brink of death.
Even Qin Yu himself only had one.
“Stop!” Consort Xiao staggered forward to block him. “You’ll kill Yong’an! Guards, stop him!”
The guards exchanged looks but didn’t dare move.
Qin Yu ignored the commotion and directly fed the pill to Princess Yong’an.
He knew very well that only by saving this child could he mend his relationship with Yun Moxian.
At this moment, hurried footsteps approached from outside the hall.
Accompanied by the majestic sound of ceremonial bells, Yun Moxian, dressed in bright yellow dragon robes, rushed in with the imperial physicians.
Though already over thirty, Yun Moxian was still stunningly elegant, radiating imperial majesty with every move.
Upon seeing the scene, her brows furrowed sharply as she glared fiercely at Qin Yu.
In her heart, she had already determined that Qin Yu was responsible for poisoning the Princess.
Over the years, he had used such underhanded tactics more than once to pursue his ambitions.
But now saving Yong’an was the priority; she could settle scores later.
Before Qin Yu could even explain, the imperial physician had already taken Princess Yong’an’s wrist to check her pulse.
He closed his eyes to concentrate. After a moment, he opened them, revealing a look of disbelief.
“Princess Yong’an is no longer in danger.”
“What?” Consort Xiao and Yun Moxian exclaimed in unison.
The anger and worry in Yun Moxian’s heart were instantly replaced with surprise. Her gaze toward Qin Yu grew more complicated.
Consort Xiao looked utterly confused. Just moments ago, she was convinced Qin Yu meant to harm Yong’an, but now the Princess was safe and sound.
Qin Yu finally let out a sigh of relief. To be honest, he had been quite nervous earlier.
Although he trusted the lifesaving pill’s miraculous effects, it was still his first time using it on someone else. He had been terrified something would go wrong.
Now that the little Princess was safe, the tension that gripped his heart finally eased.
“Before I arrived, did anyone else administer a lifesaving pill to the Princess?” asked the imperial physician.
“This poison was supposed to be incurable, but now it has been completely neutralized.”
His voice was filled with awe, clearly amazed by the miraculous detoxification.
“This is the lifesaving pill bestowed by the late Emperor,” Qin Yu explained calmly. “Its effects are naturally extraordinary.”
At his words, the atmosphere in the hall froze.
A trace of confusion flashed through Yun Moxian’s eyes.
The lifesaving pills of the Qin royal family were world-renowned treasures, and only three existed.
She had believed Qin Yu came to harm Yong’an, yet he had used such a priceless treasure to save her. This contradiction left her utterly puzzled.
Consort Xiao’s face was filled with guilt.
Just moments ago, she had righteously accused Qin Yu of trying to kill Yong’an, even saying she would risk her life to protect her daughter. Now, it seemed she had completely misjudged him.
Then again, given Qin Yu’s track record of scheming over the years, her suspicion wasn’t entirely baseless.
Consort Xiao gave Qin Yu a complicated look, her heart a mix of emotions.
She felt guilty for her earlier disrespect but still harbored lingering doubts about his past actions.
Still, for Yong’an’s sake, she suppressed her resentment and said, “Thank you, Eighth Prince, for saving Yong’an.”
“Heh.” Qin Yu chuckled coldly. “I don’t deserve such gratitude from Consort Xiao. Just now, didn’t you firmly believe that I was trying to harm Yong’an?”
Although Qin Yu was no longer obsessed with seizing the throne after living a second life, he still held immense power, with deeply rooted influence.
If he tried to pull back all at once, it would only bring disaster.
Thus, he had to retreat step by step.
Yun Moxian watched this scene and, after a moment of silence, said, “The Eighth Prince has saved Yong’an, and for that, I am grateful.”
Qin Yu simply waved his hand. “It was only what I should do.”
He wanted to say more, but seeing Yun Moxian lost in thought, he decided it was better to leave now.
Sometimes letting people think things over themselves would be more beneficial.
Thus, Qin Yu directly excused himself and left the palace.
After he left, Yun Moxian narrowed her phoenix-like eyes.
Always shrewd, she couldn’t help but ponder carefully.
Over the years, Qin Yu had indeed used many underhanded tricks behind the scenes.
Yet he held immense power, and his two brothers-in-law commanded significant military forces. Even if he acted against her, there wasn’t much she could do…
But today, not only did he not harm Yong’an, he even used the royal lifesaving pill to save her. This strange behavior was truly hard to figure out.
“It seems someone might be secretly trying to drive a wedge between me and the Eighth Prince,” Yun Moxian said, glancing meaningfully at Consort Xiao.
Perhaps someone wanted to use Yong’an’s incident to spark conflict between her and Qin Yu.
“However, it’s also possible that the Eighth Prince orchestrated this whole thing.”
After all, Qin Yu was always deep and unfathomable. Perhaps saving Yong’an was just part of his grand scheme.
“Pass my decree,” Yun Moxian said in a deep voice, “send spies to investigate this matter thoroughly.”
Whether it was someone else manipulating things behind the scenes or Qin Yu plotting something deeper, she had to get to the bottom of it.