Chapter 84 – The Plot Has Changed

Shen Qing sat in front of the mirror, staring at her own reflection, her mind churning with thoughts.

This wasn’t right. Why would the Second Prince be dead?

She had finished reading the original novel The Legend of Linglong. Although the entire plot revolved around the female lead, she remembered clearly that the Second Prince was supposed to be schemed against during the later stages of the conflict between the female lead and Consort Yu. He was supposed to break his leg, and later, when the female lead helped her own son ascend to the throne, the Second Prince, due to his disability, posed no threat. He ended up becoming an idle prince without power.

Consort Yu did die at the hands of the female lead, but the Second Prince… he definitely didn’t die.

And now, the Second Prince was dead?

The plot had changed?

Was it only the Second Prince’s storyline that had deviated? Or had everything already gone off-track and couldn’t be salvaged?

Shen Qing didn’t have the habit of deceiving herself. She had to admit, from the moment she heard the news of the Second Prince falling into the water, a voice in her heart had already told her that the plot had changed—and possibly more drastically than she could imagine. It might already be beyond saving. After all, without the Second Prince, could Consort Yu still act as arrogantly as before? Could she still brazenly provoke the newly entered female lead?

Impossible. The plot had clearly veered off course, and there was a real chance it might never return to the original storyline.

Now she had no idea where the plot would go. Would the female lead still enter the palace? Would the Emperor still die young due to the plague? Would Consort Yu still die? Would the Empress still battle the female lead until she fell ill and died?

Consort Ru and Consort Chun, though they didn’t have much presence in the later parts of the original novel, still had roles to play. Shen Qing remembered that the final victors of the palace struggle included three women: the female lead, Chu Linglong; Consort Chun; and Consort An. Everyone else was utterly defeated.

As for Consort Chun and Consort An, as far as Shen Qing knew, both kept very low profiles. She had hardly ever seen them and barely interacted with them.

But now there was no point thinking about all that. From the looks of things, the plot she knew could no longer be trusted. She would have to take it one step at a time to avoid being misled by the original storyline.

At this point, what else could she do? It was what it was. She could no longer treat this as transmigrating into a novel—more like she had arrived in an unfamiliar world. At most, when the original female lead showed up, she’d avoid her a little. And if she truly needed to cling to someone powerful for survival, she’d have to weigh her options carefully.

Having figured this out, Shen Qing let out a long sigh, then tugged at the corner of her mouth helplessly. Damn it, wasn’t she the most miserable transmigrator ever?

Others transmigrated too. They held the script in hand and stormed through the plot like a whirlwind. She? She transmigrated at the wrong time—two years before the story even began. Now, the plot had changed. Who knew what would happen next? This was complete and utter nonsense.

Her thoughts turned back to the incident of the Second Prince falling into the water.

There was no way the Second Prince had fallen into the water for no reason.

To identify the culprit, one had to look at who benefited most from the situation.

And the one who stood to gain the most was the Empress.

But regardless of whether this was the Empress’s doing, given Xuanyuan Ling’s distrust of her, he likely already suspected her—just like with the contraceptive incident before. The Empress had swallowed that loss silently. This time, she would definitely find a way to distance herself.

Thinking this far, Shen Qing called out, “Chunhua.”

Chunhua had been standing outside, sensing that something was wrong with Shen Qing’s mood. She immediately entered. “What are your orders, My Lady?”

“Go ask Wang Lu to close the main gates of Zhaohua Palace. The Second Prince’s death hasn’t been fully investigated yet. Until then, we’re not going out.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

At a time like this, the Empress could pin the blame on anyone. Shen Qing was actually in a relatively safe position. After all, the contraceptive incident was still unresolved, and the Empress still needed her. As for whether she might get implicated in this mess, she’d just have to wait and see. Running around now would only increase suspicion—better to stay quiet.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Ling was comforting Consort Yu while ordering others to handle the Second Prince’s affairs. The Third Princess had also been frightened after falling and seeing everything, and now seeing Consort Yu in such distress, she couldn’t stop crying either. Only when Consort Yu held the Third Princess in her arms did she snap out of her intense grief slightly.

She couldn’t hold back her tears as she clutched her daughter.

Once the Third Princess cried herself to sleep, Consort Yu still refused to let go. She had already lost one child. Now, without this one in her sight, she felt like she would lose her too.

Xuanyuan Ling immediately gave orders: “From now on, the Third Princess must not be left unattended. Add six more guards to her side. Consort Yu, get some rest, or your health will collapse.”

But how could Consort Yu rest?

Only when Xuanyuan Ling gave the order did she finally hand the Third Princess over to the waiting nanny. Then she turned and knelt before him.

She said, “I have been arrogant and have made many mistakes. Even if I died, it would be deserved. But the Second Prince… he was still so young. He was innocent. For him to die such a terrible death today, someone must have done it. Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly and avenge him!”

“I know. The Second Prince was my son. I won’t let him die without answers.”

Grief and sorrow twisted tightly in Consort Yu’s chest—she was emotionally shattered. She stood up again, unable to stop herself. She had not seen Xuanyuan Ling for a long time and had feared he would never see her again after growing angry with her. Now, during such a tragedy, he was still here. At this moment, what she needed most was companionship and support. She couldn’t hold back and threw her arms around Xuanyuan Ling.

“Your Majesty, our child…”

Xuanyuan Ling instinctively frowned at her sudden embrace. But seeing her tear-streaked face and how she had fainted multiple times, he did feel a pang of pity. He didn’t push her away. “Go rest. I will not let the Empress investigate this matter.”

That was a reassurance for Consort Yu.

Hearing that, tears streamed down her face again. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

That night was full of unrest.

No one in the palace slept well.

Zhao Hai didn’t dare slack off. After all, the inner palace was sealed. As long as they checked thoroughly, they were bound to find some clues.

And sure enough, trouble arose when they reached Noble Lady Fang’s palace.

One of her eunuchs was missing.

At such a critical time, a eunuch going missing was incredibly suspicious.

After all, it was a eunuch who had pushed the Second Prince into the water.

Zhao Hai was in a difficult position. Noble Lady Fang was pregnant. It wouldn’t be appropriate to confront her directly. So, for now, he suppressed the news and continued investigating. In his heart, he was scared. If it really turned out to be Noble Lady Fang…

And as luck—or misfortune—would have it, someone reported that Suqiu had been burning something in her room.

At this point, it was better to risk catching the wrong person than letting the real one go. Zhao Hai immediately had Suqiu brought in for questioning.

Noble Lady Shen hadn’t expected this at all. She thought everything had been taken care of, and the scapegoat planted in Noble Lady Fang’s palace had already been dug out. Yet somehow the problem arose from the matching knot. All she did was order Suqiu to burn it, and now that had drawn attention.

How could it be such a coincidence?

When she sent someone to gather information, she heard news that shocked her: one of the patrolling guards had suddenly disappeared that night and was caught. In his room, they found a eunuch’s uniform.

The moment Noble Lady Shen heard this, her mind went blank. Then she realized something was wrong—someone had their eye on her.

Just as she grasped this, two unfamiliar palace maids suddenly entered her room.

Noble Lady Shen immediately sensed danger. “What are you doing?”