"Your Highness, Your Highness?"

Wen Chan awoke to a series of soft calls, the suffocating sensation of near-death still lingering in her mind, making her cough uncontrollably. Someone hurriedly came over to help her sit up and soothe her breathing. Then, a cup of warm tea was brought to her lips. The fragrant steam of the tea quickly calmed her cough. Wen Chan looked up and saw two young, pretty faces, as delicate as flowers, and was startled once more.

"Didn't I tell you to leave...?"

The maid, Feixing, drew back the bed curtains, securing them with golden hooks. She asked in surprise, "What is Your Highness talking about? Where would we servants go?"

Wen Chan dazedly raised her wrist. Her eyes fell upon smooth, unblemished skin, with no burns and not a hint of pain.

How can this be?

Her heart suddenly leaped as an incredible thought rose in her mind. She turned to Xianyun, who was supporting her, "What day is it today?"

Xianyun was taken aback by her solemn question. She paused for a moment before replying, "The seventh of the twelfth month. Is something wrong? Does Your Highness wish to prepare for the Laba Festival?"

Wen Chan looked around at the furnishings, then glanced down at her own figure, and asked, "Where is Huiqing?"

Feixing quietly shrank back, glanced out the window, and then answered mysteriously in a low voice, "Earlier, when Your Highness got into a fight with that person surnamed Fu at the temporary palace, there wasn't a single person who stepped up to help. After Palace Manager Di heard about it, she summoned everyone from Roufu Palace to the Department of Prudent Conduct overnight last night to be taught the rules."

Just as I thought...

Roufu Palace was the Empress's residence, where Wen Chan had grown up. In her memory, after Empress Chu passed away, although the Emperor shifted his favor to Noble Consort Fu, the position of Empress remained vacant. Roufu Palace was always kept for Wen Chan, who was away observing a period of mourning. In the ninth month of the Eleventh Year of Yanshou, after her mourning ended, Wen Chan lived in the palace for a short period until the Twelfth Year of Yanshou, when she was married into the Pei Clan. She never returned after that.

The familiar palace furnishings, the familiar old faces, and her unharmed body... A soul that should have perished in the fierce flames of a mountain temple was now lying perfectly fine in a bed in Roufu Palace.

Everything that had happened over the past thirty years—the achievements and disgraces, the shocking storms and turbulent waves—all felt like a long dream.

All clues pointed to a single answer. Though incredible, it was not hard to guess—she had been reborn on the seventh day of the twelfth month of the Eleventh Year of Yanshou, in the winter when she was sixteen, the year before her marriage.

Seeing Wen Chan sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought, her expression vastly different from usual, Xianyun worriedly reached out to check the temperature of her forehead. "What's wrong, Your Highness? Are you unwell? Are you perhaps tired from the days of travel? I shall have someone summon an imperial physician to take your pulse, all right?"

Wen Chan gently pressed her hand down and said casually, "It's nothing. I just slept too long and am not quite awake."

Although she had met a tragic end, Wen Chan held no regrets about her past life. Every path had been one she had carved herself, all to weave a great net that could ultimately overturn the entire game. Her death was the final move to draw that net closed. Wen Chan had willingly thrown herself into the flames; even if given countless chances to do it all over again, she would make the same choice.

Since she had no lingering attachments, why was she reborn?

Could it be that her plan in her past life did not succeed, that a mistake occurred somewhere she couldn't see?

Though Wen Chan claimed to be groggy, her gaze was clear and bright. She was simply lost in thought, pondering something unknown. She had even forgotten to release Xianyun's hand, holding it loosely in her palm, which in turn made Xianyun afraid to move, lest she disturb the princess's thoughts.

Xianyun had served the Princess since she was ten. Their bond was deep after so many years, yet she had rarely seen her be so "clingy" with anyone. The Princess was naturally intelligent and independent, always measured in her dealings with others. But today, her disposition was subtly different. As the Princess held her hand like this, Xianyun couldn't help but feel her face flush.

She cast a pleading look at Feixing. Feixing pursed her lips in a smile, went to fetch a robe, and draped it over Wen Chan's shoulders. She then reminded her with a smile, "It's getting late, Your Highness should get up and have your meal. Otherwise, if Palace Manager Di finds out, I'm afraid she'll drag us out to learn the rules too."

Wen Chan snapped back to reality and composed herself. She knew that since things had come to this, there was no use in overthinking. She placed Xianyun's hand back on her own lap. "I understand. Go to the Department of Prudent Conduct and ask the Palace Manager to come speak with me. The new palace staff are inexperienced, it must have been troublesome for her. There will be plenty of time to teach them slowly in the future."

Feixing knew the princess was showing extra grace, giving the Palace Manager an easy way out of the situation and not wishing to make things difficult for those servants. So, she smiled, curtsied, and left to carry out the order.

After Xianyun helped Wen Chan dress and do her hair, just as she was having her meal, Feixing returned, accompanying a female official in a light crimson robe who was requesting an audience. Wen Chan put down her chopsticks, rinsed her mouth with tea, and gestured for the maids to clear the table, all while saying, "Huiqing, please sit. Xianyun, bring a hand warmer for the Palace Manager."

Di Min, who had worn a stern and formal expression, relaxed slightly at these words and said softly, "Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Your Highness. The weather is quite mild today, I am not cold."

Di Min was originally the daughter of a minor official from Binzhou and was quite renowned for her talent. At eighteen, she was selected to be a female official in the palace. However, the Late Emperor Suzong's favored consort, Lady Tang, was fiercely jealous and secretly suppressed her on multiple occasions, not wanting any newcomers to dilute her favor. Because of this, Di Min languished in the Bureau of Palace Attendance for several years. It was not until the current Emperor ascended the throne that Empress Chu recognized her literary talents, promoting her and entrusting her with great responsibility, putting her in charge of all written memorials and documents for the central palace. One could say that she had watched Wen Chan grow up; as a child, Wen Chan had studied many books with her. Thus, Wen Chan did not treat her as an ordinary palace staff member, but addressed her by her courtesy name, "Huiqing," just as Empress Chu had.

In her past life, when Wen Chan left the palace, she had only taken a few personal attendants like Xianyun and Feixing. Di Min had been unable to accompany her. However, she was already firmly labeled as "the Empress's person," so no other consorts dared to employ her. Di Min was forced into obscurity once again, only to be reinstated after Wen Chan returned to the palace. From then on, she devoted herself to serving Wen Chan, and Wen Chan, in turn, regarded her as a trusted confidante and right-hand woman. The two remained together until the very end of their lives.

At this particular moment, the two had been reunited but were not yet familiar with each other again, each harboring their own thoughts. Wen Chan had accompanied the Emperor on a northern inspection tour to Songyang, and to train new staff, she had specifically brought along a batch of palace maids and eunuchs newly assigned to Roufu Palace. Their poor performance was within her expectations, and she had no intention of making an issue of it. What Wen Chan hadn't anticipated back then was that while she found no promising talent among the newcomers, she had unexpectedly stirred up Di Min, who had been quiescent for many years.

Di Min had taken the initiative to discipline the palace staff, which was both a declaration of her stance to Wen Chan and, to some extent, a test.

Before Wen Chan could even ask, she took the initiative to confess her fault. "Your Highness returned to the palace only yesterday, weary from the journey. This servant did not dare to disturb your peace. I only summoned those who accompanied you to inquire about the situation and learned that Your Highness had no capable helpers while away. Therefore, I took the liberty of overstepping my duties and sent the attending staff of Roufu Palace to the Department of Prudent Conduct. I do not expect them to be able to ease your burdens, but at the very least, they must understand loyalty."

Wen Chan waved her hand. "Although the duties of the central palace do not currently fall to Roufu Palace, this is, after all, the Empress's residence. There must be rules. I have lived outside the palace for a long time and am inevitably neglectful in some matters; I must rely on Huiqing to attend to things for me. To be blunt, from now on, everyone in Roufu Palace will be in your care, Palace Manager."

Di Min hurriedly stood and bowed deeply. "Your Highness is wise and principled. This servant is humbled. I will certainly do my utmost and not dare to fail the trust Your Highness has placed in me."

Wen Chan smiled and reached out a hand to help her up. Di Min felt a force that was gentle yet persistent, lifting her back to her place like a soft breeze. She couldn't help but look up at the Princess. "Your Highness..."

Wen Chan acted as if she didn't understand the implied meaning in her tone and simply gave a faint smile. Di Min made a mental note of this, and her attitude became even more respectful. The two had only just exchanged a few more words when a maid outside the hall announced that someone had been sent by the Emperor to summon her to Chunxi Palace for an immediate audience.

The summons was so sudden, and with her memories of so long ago being hazy, Wen Chan couldn't think of why she had been called. She was still pondering it when she arrived at Chunxi Palace to pay her respects to the Emperor. The Emperor, however, seemed to be in a very good mood. "Ah Tan, you're here. No need for ceremony, come and sit. I have something to discuss with you."

Wen Chan had not yet fully shifted her mindset from her past life, so she assumed he was going to ask about official matters and began mentally reviewing recent court affairs. Then she heard the Emperor say, "You've grown up. With the Empress gone, it is difficult for others to broach this topic, so I will ask you myself. Have you had any thoughts about marriage?"

Wen Chan: "Ah?"

She quickly calculated the date in her head, only then remembering that in her past life, it was at this very time that she had decided she wanted Pei Rusong to be her Prince Consort.

This was the Emperor's reward for her meritorious service in quelling a mutiny. In her past life, Wen Chan had seized upon this exact opportunity. Even though her choice would offend two great families at once, the Emperor had still granted her wish.

In the face of absolute power, the idea of a "match made in heaven" was a joke. But Wen Chan also knew that this forced marriage was the true joke in the eyes of the world. While she didn't care about her reputation, Pei Rusong must have heard his share of gossip. Over the years, they were apart more than they were together; they didn't even see each other one last time. To her dying day, Wen Chan never knew how he truly regarded her, or anything to do with her.

Now that everything had been reset and the question was laid before her once more, Wen Chan was suddenly curious. If she were to let go this time, if Pei Rusong's life—a blank sheet of paper—were no longer stained by the inkblot of her presence, what kind of ending would fate have in store for him?

"Your child is still young and hasn't given it much thought. I can't think of anyone at the moment." Wen Chan then asked, "For Imperial Father to raise this so suddenly, do you perhaps already have an arrangement in mind?"

The Emperor hadn't seen her in three years, and after the incident at the temporary palace, he didn't find the subtle changes in her tone and demeanor strange. He simply assumed she had grown up and become more composed. Moreover, she now possessed a certain persuasive quality, which made him voice some of his deeper thoughts. "The Military Governor of Wuyuan, Xiao Dingfang, submitted a memorial the day before yesterday. He said that the king of the Chuohan Tribe, Saiyin, recently died of illness. The new king, Jian Yuduo, has taken the throne. This new king is brave and fierce, but also young and arrogant. I fear that once his power is consolidated, he may recklessly provoke a border conflict. Therefore, Xiao Dingfang has petitioned the court to discuss a marriage alliance. It would be best if we could send a Princess to appease the Chuohan Tribe without shedding any blood."

Wen Chan frowned upon hearing this. "The Chuohan Tribe borders the Tongluo, positioned right at their throat. It is true their location is strategically vital. However, in all these years, to defend against the Tongluo, the court has done everything to win over the Chuohan, giving them money and supplies. We have given more than enough. If this continues, I fear we will have raised a second wolf before the first one is dealt with."

The Emperor sighed. "Be that as it may, a marriage alliance is still more feasible than a full-scale war. I am reluctant to send you for such an alliance. What do you think of Lu Shuo?"

"Hmm?" Wen Chan misheard. "Send Lu Shuo for the marriage alliance?"

The Emperor suddenly broke into a laugh and chided, "What nonsense is this? I meant that I want to settle your marriage soon. What do you think of Lu Shuo? Would he be a worthy Prince Consort for you?"