It’s well-known that the Lotus Pond is the classic setting in countless novels for a girl’s accidental fall.
The typical trope goes like this: a young woman slips into the water, and when she climbs out, her clothes cling wetly to her body—her purity, gone.
People say the Lotus Pond is perpetually haunted by male water spirits, lurking and waiting for girls to fall in. Once they do, these spirits strip away their innocence—without fail.
Whoever rescues the girl must marry her and take responsibility.
But most men don’t want that responsibility. Lu Meng’s understanding? They just don’t want to be the ones left holding the bag.
Still, how does wet clothes clinging to the body mean a girl’s purity is lost? Do clothes dissolve in the Lotus Pond?
If that were true, maybe the Lotus Pond should be renamed the “King’s Water Pond.”
No matter how much Lu Meng scoffed at this illogical notion, the Lotus Pond appeared everywhere in novels, with several girls falling in one after another like dumplings dropping into boiling water—struggling, crying for help, and losing their purity!
Now, with her maids all abducted, two eunuchs—though not particularly burly, their faces twisted into terrifying grimaces—were closing in on Lu Meng step by step. Behind her was the infamous Lotus Pond, the very place where novels ruined a girl’s purity.
In a flash, Lu Meng realized their intent.
They weren’t just trying to make her fall into the water and lose her purity—they wanted her to drown in the Lotus Pond.
But everyone knows the Lotus Pond in the palace isn’t deep enough to be a real death trap. Even if you flail, you can still grab the edge. The well is the real place to drown someone.
If their goal was to drown her, they wouldn’t bother with such elaborate schemes or abduct her maids—just grab her and toss her straight into the well.
So, in a lightning-fast deduction, Lu Meng figured this was about those water ghosts trying to steal her purity!
This matched perfectly with the lines the system had assigned her to memorize.
In other words, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the emperor was hosting a grand banquet for his ministers, the schemers behind the scenes dared to cause trouble to disgrace her. But with the Southern General and Zhangsun Xianyun present, they wouldn’t dare kill her outright on such an important day.
Cold sweat soaked Lu Meng’s back in an instant. She saw the two eunuchs charging at her fiercely, and just a step behind her was the Lotus Pond.
Without hesitation, Lu Meng summoned the resolve she had learned from military training during those grueling drills.
Like a wild dog snatching food, she threw herself to the ground. If her drill sergeant saw this move, she’d definitely be pulled out to be made an example of!
But this move also let her anticipate the eunuchs’ attack.
They came at her full force, determined to shove her in. When Lu Meng suddenly dropped down, they were caught off guard—too late to pull back.
One of them splashed straight into the water with a “plop,” while the other flailed his arms forward, sticking his butt up, trying to steady himself.
At that moment, Lu Meng rolled twice and a half right there, landing behind the eunuch who was just regaining his footing with his rear in the air. She lay flat on the ground and kicked him hard, sending him tumbling in too.
“Plop!”
But Lu Meng didn’t feel any relief inside. She wanted to flip upright like a carp jumping out of water, but her heavy clothes and elaborate hairpieces made it impossible to get back up.
The bad news was that the second eunuch who fell into the water could swim. He had already reached the shore, not far from Lu Meng, and the look in his eyes was even more vicious!
At this moment, the safest option for Lu Meng would have been to call for help or run away. But fate was cruel—this was a plot twist. She hadn’t spoken her lines within the required time, so now she could only say her scripted words to Wu Linxuan, unable to utter anything else!
Moreover, she was unfamiliar with palace life and had no idea who was lurking behind her, ready to strike. If she rashly ran out without being able to speak, she might end up right in the arms of her unseen enemies. If one plan failed, they might drag her to the next trap, tie her up, and force her to share a bed with other men. At that point, even jumping into the lotus pond wouldn’t clear her name.
So Lu Meng’s mind raced. These people wouldn’t dare cause a death here. Compared to being caught and dragged to the next scene, this was actually better!
But she absolutely could not let that eunuch climb up!
Then Lu Meng did something she had never done in her life before—she pulled the pearl hairpin from her head and clenched it tightly in her hand. Instead of running away, she crawled toward the eunuch climbing up.
She wanted to be graceful, after all. Elegance never goes out of style.
But right now, grace was out of the question. She could only crawl like a rolling dragon, awkward and desperate. Then, right in the stunned eunuch’s line of sight, she summoned all her strength and swung her arm in a wide arc, stabbing the hairpin deep into the hand he was using to grip the shore.
“Ah—!” The eunuch let out a sharp, piercing scream as the hairpin pierced through his palm.
Lu Meng couldn’t call for help or speak, but the eunuch’s shout startled her—half frightened that he’d call his comrades, half hopeful that someone would come to her rescue.
Either way, she could not fall into the lotus pond—the water was far too cold!
The wounded eunuch quickly withdrew his hand. Lu Meng hurriedly pulled several more hairpins from her head, her face fierce as she glared at the two eunuchs struggling in the water, not uttering a single word.
Mainly because she simply couldn’t.
Her neatly pinned hair was half undone from removing so many hairpins, and her robe was dirty and rumpled from rolling on the ground. The night breeze stirred her long hair wildly around her, making her look like Mei Chaofeng, the infamous martial artist who had gone mad practicing dark arts.
Though disheveled, Lu Meng’s eyes were resolute. She planned to hold out until someone came for her, which she guessed wouldn’t take long.
Once the banquet started, her dear sister would surely come looking for her if she wasn’t found.
Lu Meng pinned all her hopes on Zhangsun Xianyun. Even though they had only met once, Lu Meng felt an inexplicable trust in her.
The two eunuchs stared at Lu Meng from a distance. One of them wasn’t a strong swimmer and had to be supported by the other to stay afloat; he had already swallowed quite a bit of water.
The stronger swimmer was the one Lu Meng had stabbed.
As he tried to climb ashore again, Lu Meng held several hairpins tightly between her fingers in both hands and showed them to the eunuch. At this moment, she felt as if she had been forced to transform into Wolverine.
She thought to herself, "You two little eunuchs, today this lady is going to give you a fight! With my elegant and noble hairstyle, I’m guessing there are at least twenty or thirty hairpins stuck in it. If I don’t turn you two into a beehive of coal briquettes, my surname isn’t Lu!"
Of course, Lu Meng was also scared. In this lifetime—no, even counting her past life—she had never done anything that could harm another person's physical safety.
At her core, Lu Meng was a law-abiding, model citizen with a sound character and plenty of empathy. But having landed in this world full of “malice,” she had no legal weapons to wield. So she had no choice but to defend herself with the weapons she naturally carried.
The two eunuchs tried to come ashore, but Lu Meng swung her “claws” like a giant crab, warning them fiercely.
“I’ll stab you right away! Today, I’m the ancient palace nanny from another world, ready to discipline you!”
The two eunuchs dared not approach. One, who couldn’t swim, was coughing uncontrollably, nearly losing his senses.
Lu Meng neither fled nor spoke. The eunuch who could swim looked from sinister to panicked.
The tricky part was that the eunuchs in the water dared not shout for help. They were desperate men risking their lives to cause harm—basically, death-seekers. There weren’t many of them in the palace without connections, just these two.
The concubine who ordered them would never get involved or provide any assistance.
The standoff dragged on. Human strength is limited, especially under extreme tension.
In the cool water of mid-autumn, already deep into the fall season, energy was being drained exponentially.
As the saying goes, “Golden autumn brings refreshing breezes and the scent of osmanthus.” Before long, Lu Meng was chasing the two eunuchs around the lotus pond, stabbing at them so much she was sweating.
The eunuchs’ faces turned from panic to pale as they were about to drown.
That damn system didn’t help at all from start to finish, but now at least it popped up to say something human.
“Hold on, host. Our reinforcements are arriving at the battlefield.”
Hearing this, Lu Meng finally exhaled. Her undershirt was soaked and clinging to her back—she finally understood how hard it was to be a superhero saving the world.
After all, these days, even saving yourself is tough.
She already heard footsteps and the clanking of armor from palace guards running nearby. Hastily, she shoved the hairpins back into her hair in a messy rush, then “collapsed” by the lotus pond, lying down on the ground and playing dead with all her might.
System: “...You really switch between crazy lady and Lin Daiyu in a split second.”
“Here!”
When the footsteps and the glow of palace lanterns flooded in, Lu Meng lay still on the ground.
She thought the next second she would fall into the strong, graceful arms of her beloved sister, Zhangsun Xianyun—but instead, someone grabbed her from the ground and pulled her into an embrace. Lu Meng’s heart sank cold.
That faint, lingering scent of sandalwood incense was the same as the one on Wu Da Gou’s body—she had caught it in the carriage this morning, and it had only just begun to fade after getting off.
Sure enough, classic ancient stories are classic ancient stories: no matter how much of a jerk the male lead is, when the heroine is truly in danger, the one who comes to her rescue is always him. This also laid an unbreakable foundation for his later redemption.
Wu Linxuan arrived swiftly with a group of guards and immediately took control of the scene, restraining two drenched eunuchs who looked even more pitiful than Lu Meng, having just crawled out of the water like drowned rats.
But Lu Meng didn’t care anymore—the hero had arrived just in time.
She weakly opened her eyes, her eyelashes trembling. She had always thought of herself as delicate, but after a night of frantically stabbing and struggling, now, bathed in the soft glow of the palace lanterns beside Wu Linxuan, her rosy cheeks complemented the scene perfectly.
The beauty’s disheveled hair only added to her tender charm.
When Lu Meng opened her eyes and saw Wu Linxuan, she reached out, grabbing his collar weakly, and said in a trembling voice, “My Prince, I am innocent with him, you have to believe me…”
A system prompt dinged in her mind, signaling that the scripted lines had been completed.
Hastily, Lu Meng continued, “I didn’t fall into the lotus pond, I’m innocent, I swear it… They wanted to ruin my purity… boohoo…”
Her frantic stabbing had stirred her blood into action, but now that she was told to cry, she found it hard to let the tears flow. So her sobbing was more like a thunderstorm with little rain—loud but hardly convincing, like a false fire alarm.
Footsteps approaching from this direction grew louder and more numerous, the noise becoming sharp and grating.
Wu Linxuan felt like her screams were about to deafen him.
Still pretending to be terrified, Lu Meng snuggled closer into Wu Linxuan’s arms, trembling as she murmured, “I didn’t fall into the lotus pond, I swear I’m innocent…”
For once, Wu Linxuan didn’t doubt her words. Without hesitation, he lifted Lu Meng into his arms, his heart burning with possessiveness and fury over what had been done to “his” woman.
At that moment, Zhangsun Xianyun and her entourage, along with Consort Jia’s people, rushed over in a flurry.
Consort Jia glanced at this “Dream Lady” in her disheveled state, then at the two soaking wet eunuchs pinned down by Wu Linxuan’s men. Though she knew things hadn’t gone as planned, she wasn’t overly alarmed.
Inwardly, she cursed those two useless eunuchs—unable to handle even a fragile woman.
Feigning concern, she stepped forward and asked, “Oh my, how did this Dream Lady end up here? Where are the maidservants? This…”
“Step aside.” Wu Linxuan, holding Lu Meng, looked down coldly at Consort Jia. “Don’t block the way.”
Consort Jia was, after all, one of the Emperor of Yan’an’s consorts, yet Wu Linxuan didn’t even deign to call her by name, barking orders like a dog. It was clear he gave her no respect whatsoever. In truth, Wu Linxuan already had a clear idea of who was behind all this.
Consort Jia had hurried over, and with the earlier incident of the palace guards beating the eunuchs and scaring Dream Lady into fainting, Wu Linxuan’s mind was sharp as ever. He even recalled the matter of his Dream Lady competing with the Second Prince over the sinking iron sword.
Tonight’s chaos was undoubtedly Consort Jia’s doing.
Zhangsun Xianyun stepped closer, her heart aching as she saw her sister buried in Wu Linxuan’s embrace. She reached out to gently stroke Lu Meng’s hair, her thoughts drifting to the nonsense Consort Duan Su had said to her before the banquet began.
Her expression darkened.
She turned to go stand before the Emperor and defend her sister, but Lu Meng suddenly reached out, grabbing Zhangsun Xianyun’s hand, crying, “Elder Sister, I’m scared, please stay with me…”
Zhangsun Xianyun had no choice but to follow closely behind Wu Linxuan as the group hurried toward the grand ceremonial hall where the banquet was being held.
Along the way, the people of Wu Linxuan and Zhangsun Xianyun worked together seamlessly and soon found Lu Meng’s maid, who had been knocked unconscious and left in a corner of the palace.
In truth, Lu Meng wasn’t seriously hurt at all, but she lay there like a lifeless corpse, her head and limbs drooping in complete relaxation, allowing Wu Linxuan to carry her effortlessly.
When she tilted her head back, she could see a woman not far behind them—resplendent and dignified, flanked by a retinue of attendants.
Zhangsun Xianyun had already told Lu Meng that this was Consort Jia.
The very same palace consort who had struck Yun He with a cane earlier that day.
Lu Meng watched as Consort Jia pinched a silk handkerchief in her hand, occasionally bringing it close to the tip of her nose to cover the lower half of her face. Though they were far away, Lu Meng could tell she was smiling.
That kind of smile that comes from being utterly confident and holding all the cards.
Judging by Wu Linxuan’s attitude toward this woman and by her sister’s cold glare, Lu Meng had already guessed that she was the mastermind behind today’s incident—the one who had tried to throw Yun He into the lotus pond.
And knowing Wu Linxuan’s stubborn nature, since she was his woman, she was also his face. No matter how insignificant a toy a dog might be, no other dog was allowed to snatch it away or chew it up.
He hadn’t lost his temper on the spot, surely because there was no evidence to prove that Consort Jia was behind it all.
Evidence...
Lu Meng didn’t want to think too hard. She was shaken but unharmed, her whole body limp, still feeling palpitations from the scratch inflicted by that eunuch’s hand.
But the culprit was smiling.
If this matter wasn’t made a big deal of, in the end it would only be those two young eunuchs confessing their guilt. If they dared to act and show their faces, they would never dare to implicate a palace consort.
Perhaps at the trial, they would even try to pin some vague, unspeakable slander on Lu Meng.
Even if it was harmless, it would be enough to disgust and humiliate her.
Lu Meng lay in Wu Linxuan’s arms, her head tilted back as she gazed up at the unusually full moon that night. All she wanted now was to completely relax and get a good night’s sleep, vowing never to wander around this palace that devoured people alive again.
But... why should she?
Even if she wanted to stay out of the fray, her lifelong dream was to lie low and live as a carefree person, but that didn’t mean she could allow herself to be trampled on.
And this time, it was only her reputation that was being destroyed. She didn’t care much about that, so despite the scare, she wasn’t very angry.
But if these people thought she was weak and easy to bully, if they looked down on her and decided to take her life in the future?
There was only one life to live, and the system had already said that ancient literary heroines had no special protagonist’s aura.
Besides, even a couch potato has its thorns.
They had now reached the side courtyard of the ceremonial hall. By bypassing the crowd gathered in the courtyard to admire the Mid-Autumn moon, they could finally enter the hall.
The guards were about to investigate the incident that happened tonight, then lightly turn the page on this matter. After all, it was just a side consort of Prince Jian’an who had been frightened. Once the involved eunuchs confessed, this unpleasant loss would have to be swallowed.
At this moment, the banquet in front of the ceremonial hall had already begun. After all, with only one side consort of Prince Jian’an absent, the court officials and their ladies-in-waiting, along with the current Emperor of Yan’an, would not wait for her to arrive before starting the Mid-Autumn celebration.
Wu Linxuan was holding Lu Meng as they moved away from the ministers’ banquet, taking a small path not far from the feast toward the grand ceremonial hall.
Through the scattered greenery, Lu Meng could even catch glimpses of the court officials merrily raising their cups and chatting.
Lu Meng thought to herself, under tonight’s moonlight, she might as well play the role of a grand performer and spice things up with a classic, famous scene — the “Salted Fish’s Sudden Attack.”
What proof did palace intrigues really need?
Lu Meng had seen countless dramas, and this was as good a pretense as any.
Suddenly, she struggled in Wu Linxuan’s arms. After landing on the ground, she didn’t even bother to get up. She brushed away Zhangsun Xianyun’s hand when she came to help, then flopped on the floor and started yelling at the top of her lungs.
She put all her energy into making a mournful scene — not a single tear shed — shouting directly toward the emperor’s side, separated only by the bushes.
“Prince, I know I shouldn’t say this, but I just remembered — the ones who wanted to harm me tonight were none other than those eunuchs who publicly beat palace servants to death along the palace path!”
Of course, that wasn’t true. Lu Meng didn’t even remember what the eunuchs looked like at noon. But the art of language was vast and profound — never mind the details, just drag someone into it first.
The Mid-Autumn banquet had just begun; the music and dance performances hadn’t started yet.
The ministers and princes were all quietly chatting, so Lu Meng’s shout through the greenery silenced the entire feast instantly.
She continued, “In broad daylight, in front of the women of the court, they dared to brutally flog palace servants to death, staining the palace path with blood. The women who entered the palace were all terrified and nauseous, but no one dared to ask whose men they were or what crime the flogged servants had committed. How outrageous is that?”
“Today is Mid-Autumn, the day the emperor holds a grand feast for his ministers, yet they dare to be so brazen. I was just a little too close. Because I was so frightened, I stumbled into a flower bush together with Ao Bingxia, the daughter of the Minister of Works, breaking the flogging punishment…”
Lu Meng’s voice grew sharp and mournful: “But then, at night, they dared to knock out my maidservant and tie me up in a deserted place — they wanted to kill me!”
“They wanted to kill me!”
“Before they even started, they deliberately called away my eldest sister, so my sister skilled in martial arts couldn’t accompany me…”
Half-lying on the ground, her face oddly calm, Lu Meng twisted the attempt to take her chastity into an attempt on her life.
Though pitiful, Lu Meng understood that in the hearts of these corrupt men, a woman’s purity was worth less than nothing — but a life was more serious.
Her sudden outburst left both Wu Linxuan and Zhangsun Xianyun dumbfounded.
Lu Meng went on, “Prince, I am truly terrified. By the emperor’s bedside, they dare to wantonly harm your consort. Who stands behind them? What’s next — will they dare to move against the emperor himself and usurp the throne?!”
Every word that followed was like a hammer striking down with crushing weight. The quiet banquet was shattered as the Second Prince, Wu Linzhou, shook the cup in his hand, spilling the wine.
His eyes narrowed, his gaze sharp as a venomous snake’s, flicking back toward the bushes where the voice had come from.
“Shut up!” he snapped.
Wu Linxuan quickly stopped Lu Meng, but his eyes were dark and unreadable as he looked at her. His consort’s nerve was truly audacious — how dare she say such things!
But now that things had come to this, in the blink of an eye, Wu Linxuan devised countless plans to use this incident—and to use Lady Meng—to achieve certain goals.
Zhangsun Xianyun, seeing Wu Linxuan being harsh to her sister, was about to step forward, but was stopped by Lu Meng’s glance.
Wu Linxuan made a swift decision. He immediately crouched down, grabbed Lady Meng’s hand, pressed it against her belly, and mouthed the word, “Child.”
At this moment, the reason Lu Meng dared to cause a scene was because, no matter how cruel the Emperor was, he wouldn’t trouble a woman who had lost her mind and was babbling nonsense.
The current Emperor of Yan’an, Lu Meng had learned from the last time she fainted before the Empress Dowager’s chamber, causing the Emperor to storm off in anger, that the Emperor was a man who cared greatly about his dignity.
Since he cared so much about his pride, even if the banquet’s atmosphere was ruined, he would only punish Wu Linxuan—perhaps scold him harshly or impose some penalty—but he wouldn’t publicly humiliate the woman connected to him in front of the court.
So, even if Lu Meng’s words had no effect, at worst she’d be dismissed as a madwoman. Angering Wu Linxuan wasn’t a big deal either. Zhangsun Xianyun was there, and the Southern General was there too—she had support. Wu Linxuan wouldn’t dare to do much to her, at most confining her.
Confinement? Fine by me.
Wu Linxuan was even less afraid now. He crouched down and uttered the word “child” as if tossing Lady Meng a lifeline—a guarantee that she wouldn’t be punished or questioned, a trump card that also intensified the gravity of the situation.
Between them, before trust was even established, they had already begun a messy alliance for the woman’s sake.
Lu Meng caught Wu Linxuan’s meaning, placed her hand on her belly, and after a moment, cried out in pain, “My lord, please don’t be harsh with your servant. My belly hurts so much.”
“My belly really hurts!”
“They pulled and dragged me just now, trying to shove me into the lotus pond. They said that if they threw me in, even if I didn’t die, my purity would be ruined—and the lord would no longer want me.”
“But my lord, I cannot die—I am carrying your child!”
“I struggled with all my might, but I was still kicked in the belly. It hurts so much… My lord, this is our first child. Will it be lost?”
Lu Meng’s expression was at odds with the words she spoke.
She relied on the cover of the trees and flowers by the pond, hidden from the view of the neighboring banquet guests, and secretly cast a flirtatious glance at Zhangsun Xianyun, signaling her not to worry.
Then, clutching her belly, she moaned, “Ouch, ouch…”
She kept asking Wu Linxuan, “My lord, what about our child? Will it survive? How dare they!”
Finally, Lu Meng let out a piercing scream and immediately “fainted” into Wu Linxuan’s arms.
Satisfaction flashed in Wu Linxuan’s eyes. Pretending to be flustered, he ordered those nearby, “Quick, summon the imperial physician!”
Then he lifted Lu Meng and strode swiftly toward the Hall of Ritual Music.
The group seemed to be performing a staged radio drama behind a “curtain,” then quickly exited the scene.
The Emperor of Yan’an sat at the head of the table, his gaze sweeping across the assembled ministers, lingering especially long on several princes.
Though the ladies were seated far away, they had heard the commotion and sat in stunned silence.
The Emperor of Yan’an wanted to maintain his dignity, but in the end, the words “the Son of Heaven acts recklessly beside his bed” and “what’s next, harming His Majesty, plotting to usurp the throne!” were like two sharp pins, piercing deeply into the Emperor’s heart.
An emperor, especially one of advanced age, tends to grow paranoid. That’s how a man like Wu Linxuan, with his delusions of persecution, came to be—his mind filled with nothing but schemes and suspicions.
With so many sons, each one brewing secret alliances and factions, after the legitimate Empress and Crown Prince were killed, the Emperor, pressured by court officials, delayed naming a new Empress. He feared that whoever he chose, her son would be all too eager to eye the throne beneath his feet.
The prolonged hesitation to appoint an heir was, naturally, because the Emperor was not yet ready to give up being emperor. History shows this is always the case.
Lu Meng seized upon this very mindset of the Emperor. He could tolerate the reckless behavior of consorts and the Empress Dowager, but he would never allow anyone to cross his bottom line or disgrace him.
Especially not those coveting the position beneath his throne.
Having lost both face and reputation today, the Emperor restrained himself for a moment but ultimately could not hold back. He rose, swept his sleeves, and left. The Grand Eunuch by his side received orders to deploy the Emperor’s men to thoroughly investigate the matter.
The palace was thrown into turmoil. Especially Consort Duan Su and Consort Jia, who never imagined that the concubine of Prince Jian’an—who had been so terrified by the punishment of flogging that she vomited and fainted—was such a formidable figure. Those few words were tantamount to dragging everyone down into the mud!
But how they chose to stir trouble was none of Lu Meng’s concern.
She lay in bed, being examined by a court physician.
Then, strangely, after the physician’s pulse diagnosis, he knelt before Prince Jian’an and said, “Your Highness, please accept my condolences. The concubine’s child... is gone.”
But if Lu Meng wasn’t mistaken, this physician was the same old doctor who had taken her pulse the day after her wedding—when she had feigned unconsciousness and fooled him. Lu Meng had previously thought this old doctor was loyal to the Empress Dowager. Now it seemed he was actually working for Wu Linxuan.
So her earlier pretense of fainting, pretending to suffer abuse in bed, might all have been “going with the flow” under Wu Linxuan’s influence.
Well, well, the male lead truly lives up to his role.
Lu Meng shifted her legs comfortably beneath the covers, her hand dangling weakly as the physician took her pulse.
But the other hand beneath the quilt instinctively touched her belly—there was nothing there anymore...
Three intestines emptied, two and a half gone—no more child!
Not far from Lu Meng, Wu Linxuan put on a display of “deep sorrow” right in front of the physician.
Meanwhile, Zhangsun Xianyun took Lu Meng’s words at face value. She hadn’t witnessed the brief moment when Lu Meng and Wu Linxuan “joined forces” behind the scenes. She truly believed her sister had lost her child and was so furious she wanted to go to the Emperor to petition him.
“This matter must be thoroughly investigated! I will find the culprit!” Zhangsun Xianyun’s delicate temple veins bulged with anger.
Lu Meng realized just how much her elder sister cared for her.
The physician left the room, and Wu Linxuan followed, ordering his men to stir up trouble. Lu Meng quickly called out to Zhangsun Xianyun, who was about to stand up and defend her.
“Elder sister, come here.”
Zhangsun Xianyun hesitated at the door for a moment, then stepped to the bedside, only to be met inside by...
Weak and trembling, Lu Meng grabbed her wrist, pulling her up to sit on the bed, then held her tightly.
Lu Meng whispered into her ear, “Sister, don’t worry. I’m not pregnant.”
“W-what?” Zhangsun Xianyun’s eyes widened in shock.
Leaning on her shoulder, Lu Meng chuckled softly and said, “I was just trying to scare those who tried to harm me tonight. Maybe by frightening them, they’ll slip up and reveal their true intentions.”
“But…” Zhangsun Xianyun recalled how Prince Jian’an had shown genuine pain when he heard the child was gone.
Lu Meng calmly murmured, “The prince has seen many plays; he’s already become a character himself.”
Zhangsun Xianyun’s expression flickered several times, but her thoughts ran deeper than Lu Meng expected.
She gently stroked Lu Meng’s head and quickly accepted her sister’s “nonsense” to the emperor, feeling a pang of sympathy. “This time, it’s definitely the handiwork of Consort Jia and Consort Duan Su. It’s good to make them tremble a little.”
“Blame me for letting you go alone,” Zhangsun Xianyun said, still worried about tonight’s events but believing Lu Meng’s words that those two eunuchs meant to kill her.
Lu Meng thought for a moment but didn’t explain further, letting Zhangsun Xianyun’s concern linger. This sister—she was hers to keep.
In the story, this sister ultimately died for the original character.
The cause of death was learning that the original had been kidnapped by villains. With no one to turn to, the original wrote a desperate plea for help addressed to Zhangsun Xianyun.
Zhangsun Xianyun abandoned her post, bringing her guards to rescue her sister, but in the end, she fought until only she was left standing—pierced by countless arrows, dying before the original’s eyes.
Only then did the two sisters truly “let go of their grudges.”
The original finally understood that her sister’s martial training and going to the battlefield were not in vain. Just before her death, Zhangsun Xianyun apologized for all the misunderstandings she had held against her.
Zhangsun Xianyun’s death was tragic and heroic. Lu Meng still remembered it because Zhangsun Xianyun’s character was that of a heroine in ancient classical novels.
For a time, stories about female generals transmigrating and reincarnating were very popular.
Lu Meng would never let Zhangsun Xianyun die for her. Even if the plot was unchangeable, as long as she didn’t ask for help, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
Not long after, Zhangsun Xianyun and the Southern Pacifying General were summoned by the emperor.
Lu Meng warned, “Sister, please don’t mention what happened tonight. I’ll leave everything to Prince Jian’an to handle. You’ve earned your military merits, but if you say even one word too many, His Majesty might think you’re trying to coerce him.”
Zhangsun Xianyun had intended to speak to the emperor, but moved by her sister’s concern for her future, she felt touched and also marveled at how much her sister had grown.
“All right, I won’t say a word. Don’t worry. You must be shaken up tonight,” Zhangsun Xianyun said. “Rest a little longer. Soon, we’ll have to take the carriage out of the palace.”
After Zhangsun Xianyun left, Lu Meng’s maid and Xin Ya came over. Xiuyun and Xiuli, tearful and beautiful, embraced Lu Meng and wept, while Xin Ya was much calmer. She had seen many such nights and had even done similar things with her own hands.
So she gently comforted Lu Meng, “Lady Meng, those two ruffians tonight couldn’t kill you.”
Xin Ya was well-versed in the schemes of the imperial harem, but when she heard about Madam Meng’s tactics, she had to admit—even though Madam Meng wasn’t physically present in the palace and wasn’t an official consort, her tearful accusations, though lacking concrete evidence, were an effective counterattack.
Tonight, even Consort Duan Su, who had managed the Six Palaces for years without being shaken, would likely find it hard to sleep peacefully.
At the Mid-Autumn banquet, with the entire court present, the emperor had lost face so badly—it was hard for him not to lash out at the imperial consorts.
Who could have imagined that the timid and cowardly secondary consort of Prince Jian’an would dare to spout such wild accusations right into the emperor’s ear—and not be punished for it?
From this battle, Lu Meng’s name rose to fame.
But that was a story for later. Not long after, Prince Jian’an sent someone to the Music and Ritual Hall to escort Lu Meng out of the palace.
Lu Meng, delicate and frail, was helped out, while Consort Duan Su and Consort Jia, who were responsible for sending these women out of the palace, already had their smiles frozen stiff. Now, seeing this secondary consort of Prince Jian’an, their eyes practically shot flames.
When Lu Meng arrived, she had walked in on her own, but now she was carried on a palanquin—after all, she had just suffered a miscarriage.
Panting heavily, Lu Meng settled onto the palanquin, and Consort Duan Su pinched her nose as she stepped forward to “comfort” her.
But as soon as she and Consort Jia got close, Lu Meng immediately let out a “ugh” sound.
The two consorts’ faces stiffened as if they had been dead for ages.
Lu Meng quickly waved her hand and said, “Your Highnesses, please forgive me, it’s just that tonight…” She touched her belly.
Then she broke down again, covering her face and pretending to cry into her arm, too tired to pay any mind to these two cruel old women.
She really wasn’t doing it on purpose—it was just that seeing Consort Jia genuinely made her want to gag.
Carried along the palace path on the palanquin, once out of the prying eyes, Lu Meng relaxed completely and slumped back.
The steady, rhythmic up-and-down motion was actually quite amusing—those eunuchs’ legs were incredibly steady and perfectly synchronized!
Lu Meng thought maybe she should hire a few palanquin bearers herself; after all, the distance from her Lishu Courtyard to the prince’s mansion was quite far.
But she quickly dismissed the idea—such steady eunuchs were probably hard to find, and besides, she wouldn’t be going out that often.
At the palace gate, Lu Meng was helped down from the palanquin and then helped up into a carriage.
Inside the carriage, Wu Linxuan sat upright in the same seat he had taken that morning.
The moment Lu Meng entered, his eyes scanned her face like X-rays, as if he wanted to see through her skin and count the number of needles hidden beneath her bones.
Once Lu Meng settled, the carriage slowly turned and headed toward the prince’s mansion. She knew Wu Linxuan was watching her, but she refused to speak first.
Leaning against the swaying carriage wall, she gave him a half-smile, half-smirk. Tonight, the two of them had been a perfect team—“a match made in heaven.” Most importantly, that big dog Wu had actually found a physician brave enough to diagnose her with a “miscarriage pulse.”
That was impressive.
Lu Meng waited for her big boss’s praise. She knew she had done well tonight because if she had caused trouble, Wu Linxuan would already be yelling and making a fuss.
Come on, praise me—don’t be stingy with your compliments for your good employee… huh?
Lu Meng’s arm was yanked, and soon her body stumbled forward. Her waist was gripped tightly, and before she realized it, she found herself straddling Wu Linxuan once again.
He really did enjoy being ridden, Lu Meng mused.
Wu Linxuan held his beloved wife’s waist with one arm, while his other hand gently pinched her chin. Their eyes locked in close proximity, and after a few seconds, Lu Meng blinked, feeling as if her eyes were about to cross.
Wu Linxuan kept gazing at her, scrutinizing her carefully, as if he needed to reevaluate exactly whose woman she was.
After tonight, Consort Duan Su, who had long held the dominant position in the harem, would no longer be able to maintain her grip. And although Consort Jia, out of respect for the Second Prince’s face, wouldn’t be demoted, she would certainly be confined.
Based on Wu Linxuan’s understanding of his cold and indifferent father, these two women wouldn’t just lose favor in the short term—they would likely be despised whenever they appeared before him.
Tonight marked Wu Linxuan’s official declaration of war against the Second Prince, who could no longer sit idly by from a lofty height.
All of this was because of the little woman he held in his arms.
Wu Linxuan tilted his head back slightly, looking at his concubine with unprecedented seriousness. His mind was tangled with schemes and plots when Lu Meng suddenly lowered her head and pressed her lips to his.
Wu Linxuan’s mind went blank. He grabbed the back of Lu Meng’s neck and pulled her away, squinting as he asked, “What are you doing?”
“You’re looking at me so tenderly, my prince. Isn’t it only natural for me to kiss you?” she teased.
What’s with the act? Such a little virgin.
Wu Linxuan chuckled softly, offering no rebuttal. Instead, he asked, “I’ll give you a chance.”
He then asked, “Whose woman are you really?”
Lu Meng almost laughed out loud. She was so done with these little virgin tricks. Her ex-boyfriends had also liked to ask about “ownership.”
So she clicked her tongue and said, “Yours, yours, yours, yours… enough already?”
Then she kissed him again. Wu Linxuan’s jaw was easily pried open, and Lu Meng’s tongue skillfully swept across the roof of his mouth. He shuddered all over.
And just like that, all the scheming in his mind surged down with his blood, rushing toward a different destination—
