AEGA CH6

“Wang-ge, the eunuch said we shouldn’t wander around the palace before our official ranks are bestowed. What if we run into a noble personage… We should really head back quickly.” A youth clad in green followed fearfully behind another dressed in yellow, glancing around nervously with an anxious expression.

They were both newly selected male concubines who had just entered the imperial palace. They were supposed to stay inside the Qingfeng Mingyue (Clear Wind and Bright Moon) Tower, and only after serving the Emperor and receiving an official rank could they walk freely through the palace. However, the Emperor had not summoned anyone the previous night, leaving the newly arrived young masters deeply disappointed.

The Emperor was notorious for lingering in the inner palace night after night, yet last night, against all precedent, he chose to sleep alone. Could it be that not a single person among this new batch had caught his eye?

Despite the Emperor’s poor reputation—often labeled as foolish and lustful—he was still the supreme ruler, a figure of unimaginably high status in the eyes of these youths. Furthermore, rumors whispered that the Emperor was young and strikingly handsome, which was far better than him being an old man. Many secretly hoped to win his favor.

At home, Wang Yiming had been a profligate young master who spent his days climbing walls and skipping school. Seeing that his son was not cut out to study or become an official, but possessed a rather handsome face, his father had thrown him into the palace. If he managed to win the Emperor’s favor, he could bring glory to the clan. Little did the father know that with Wang Yiming’s audacious temperament, it would be a miracle if he didn’t stir up trouble and implicate the entire family.

Accustomed to running wild at home, Wang Yiming couldn’t sit still for even a single day in the Mingyue Tower. He had slipped out in secret, dragging along Lin Chanzhi—the most timid, fearful, and easily swayed of the group—to keep him company.

“I know, I know. Aren’t we taking the most remote path?” Wang Yiming replied nonchalantly. “Have we run into a single soul along the way? This young master has lived this long and never seen the imperial palace. Now that we’re here, don’t you want to see what it looks like?”

Lin Chanzhi wanted to cry but had no tears left. We can see it anytime in the future, why risk our heads for it right now?

“The beautiful places are where the high-ranking consorts live. We’re walking along such a secluded path, we won’t see any grand scenery anyway,” Lin Chanzhi urged, trying his best to convince Wang Yiming to abandon his sightseeing tour.

“You make a good point,” Wang Yiming said, but before his voice could fade, his eyes suddenly lit up. “Hey, look at that building ahead! Even my family estate isn’t this grand. Isn’t this a hundred times—no, ten thousand times better than our Mingyue Tower?”

Lin Chanzhi followed his gaze and saw a magnificent, breathtaking palace in the distance.

It featured vermilion pillars, intricately carved rafters, walls adorned with gold, and steps crafted from white jade. Flying pavilions and flowing crimson corridors connected pavilions to overwater walkways, while swimming fish circled the lotus leaves stretching toward the sky. Various flowering trees filled the courtyard, ensuring blooms in all four seasons. At this moment, the crabapple trees in the yard were in full bloom, a riot of purple and red, beautifully breathtaking.

It looked exactly like a golden house built by an emperor to hide a beloved mistress.

Lin Chanzhi’s eyes filled with awe.

“Is this the palace of some favored consort?” Wang Yiming gasped, stunned. “Could it be Noble Consort Liu, the most favored one in the palace?”

As if suddenly finding a life goal, he slapped Lin Chanzhi on the shoulder. “Xiao Lin, you must strive to win favor. Hurry up and bring your big brother to live in such a grand house!”

Lin Chanzhi: “…”

Lin Chanzhi: “Wang-ge can strive for it himself.”

“I can’t,” Wang Yiming replied with a face full of agony. “I was forced into the palace by my father; I don’t want to serve the Emperor at all. You don’t understand—I am actually a Gong (top).”

Lin Chanzhi: “…”

Lin Chanzhi offered sympathetically, “Wang-ge, you’ve suffered.”

As the two conversed, a gust of wind suddenly blew past, gently pushing open the palace’s already half-closed window a fraction more.

Both of them froze simultaneously, holding their breath, completely struck dumb by the sight before them.

It was an exquisitely beautiful painting of a sleeping beauty amidst spring crabapples.

Inside the high tower, a peerless beauty lay resting. His long eyelashes were lowered, and a slender, jade-like hand propped up his head. His skin was as white as porcelain snow, and his ink-black hair fell in a beautifully disordered cascade as he reclined lazily on the couch, half-asleep. The crabapples outside the tower were in their full, magnificent glory, yet they could not match even a fraction of the breathtaking radiance of the beauty within.

Wang Yiming and Lin Chanzhi drew in a sharp breath.

Those selected to enter the palace were all blessed with extraordinary appearances. Wang Yiming and Lin Chanzhi had been praised for their good looks since childhood, yet seeing this person, they instantly felt utterly eclipsed and ashamed.

“It must be Noble Consort Liu! With such a peerless beauty, it’s no wonder the Emperor favors him so deeply,” Wang Yiming declared with absolute certainty, before immediately falling into self-doubt. “But I remember the Cuiwei Palace where Noble Consort Liu lives is to the south. Weren’t we walking north all this time… Could I have walked the wrong way?”

“He is not Noble Consort Liu,” Lin Chanzhi said.

“What? You know him?”

“Because this is the Cold Palace.”

“Huh?” Wang Yiming looked entirely incredulous. “Are you kidding me? What kind of Cold Palace looks like this—”

His words died in his throat. They had been too far away to notice earlier, but stepping a few paces closer, he could clearly see the large characters carved on the plaque: Cold Palace.

Wang Yiming was stunned.

Was the standard of living for concubines in the Great Changli Kingdom really this high? Even a discarded consort in the Cold Palace got to live in such a magnificent palace?

This was entirely different from the desolate, bleak Cold Palace he had imagined! Furthermore, what kind of blind emperor would have the heart to banish such a peerless beauty to the Cold Palace? Was this some kind of lovers’ roleplay?

While the two were struggling to comprehend the situation, the beauty in the tower suddenly opened his eyes.

The moment he opened his eyes, it was as if the painting had come to life. His appearance was cold and detached, resembling a winter plum blooming in the frost, yet his aura was incredibly pure, elegant, and lofty—like a gentleman of pine and bamboo, or a lonely orchid in a deep valley. The glint in his eyes shifted, and his lip color was alluring; if he were to compete with the crabapples for brilliance, he would not lose in the slightest.

Heaven must have favored him excessively to grant him such a flawless countenance.

The young man’s gaze suddenly turned sharp as an arrow, shooting straight toward Lin Chanzhi, who was concealed behind the tree, carrying a cold scrutiny and a flash of killing intent.

Lin Chanzhi’s scalp went numb, and a shudder rippled through his very soul.

What a terrifying gaze.

Had they been discovered? But the place they were standing was so well-hidden, and he didn’t recall ever offending the other party…

Soon, however, the young man seemed to lose interest. He lazily closed his eyes again and returned to his slumber, as if that fleeting flash of killing intent had merely been an illusion.

With lingering fear, Lin Chanzhi whispered, “He seemed to be looking at us just now… It’s getting late, we should head back quickly.”

“Ah? Really? You’re just too timid and nervous, it must have been an illusion.” The thick-skinned Wang Yiming hadn’t noticed anything at all. However, they had indeed been out for quite a while; if the head eunuch discovered them and punished them, it wouldn’t be good. He agreed to the proposal to head back.

On the way back, Lin Chanzhi was visibly distracted. Suddenly, Wang Yiming spoke up: “Xiao Lin, how about we work hard and strive to get thrown into the Cold Palace instead?”

Those living conditions were honestly making him very envious.

Lin Chanzhi: “…”

–

Inside the tower, Lu Xuechao kept his eyes half-closed, his expression serene.

A brief afternoon nap had caused him to awaken once more.

The word “once more” implied that this was far from the first time. In fact, he had awakened countless times across numerous lifetimes.

…

Lu Xuechao and Xie Chongjin had been inseparable since childhood. They were youthful confidants; it could be said that no one in the world understood each other better than they did.

Furthermore, Lu Xuechao was exceptionally intelligent. As early as the very first lifetime, he had noticed something amiss with Xie Chongjin.

In that lifetime, Xie Chongjin had doted on him exclusively. Yet, Lu Xuechao’s mind was as sharp as a needle. Throughout their decades of shared life, he could still discern subtle inconsistencies in Xie Chongjin’s behavior that differed from his past self.

He had tested him a few times but received no direct answers, leading him to surmise that Xie Chongjin was harboring some unspeakable, agonizing secret.

He played the part of an oblivious fool, pretending for an entire lifetime, until finally, on his deathbed, he asked him: When we were seventeen, was that the last time we truly shared a lifetime together?

After the age of seventeen, was that person still you? Or rather, was it completely you?

He never received an answer before he drew his last breath.

In the second lifetime, Xie Chongjin distanced himself from Lu Xuechao and began to exclusively favor a male concubine named Lin Chanzhi, growing increasingly dissolute and neglecting the affairs of the state.

Lu Xuechao did not possess the memories of his previous life at that time. Initially, he truly believed that Xie Chongjin had betrayed him, and he grieved deeply for a long time.

But later, he reconsidered. Even if Xie Chongjin had grown to loathe him, he would never abandon the kingdom and its people. Such absurd behavior resembled being possessed or afflicted by a curse. The male concubine named Lin Chanzhi was highly suspicious.

Just as he was preparing to investigate, Lu Xuechao himself was struck down by a mysterious curse and met an untimely death.

He didn’t manage to uncover anything in time.

In the third lifetime, Lu Xuechao awakened the memories of his previous two lives. It was also from this lifetime onward that every time he reincarnated, he would suddenly awaken on a certain day after turning seventeen, dreaming of all his past memories.

He immediately launched an investigation into Lin Chanzhi, only to find that Lin Chanzhi was inherently timid and cowardly, never having committed a single misdeed. He possessed no suspicious qualities whatsoever. In this lifetime, Lin Chanzhi behaved himself perfectly, caused no trouble, and did not hold Xie Chongjin’s favor. He was entirely different from the ruthless, blood-soaked Lin Chanzhi of the previous lifetime.

Yet, Xie Chongjin still amassed a vast harem, indulging in sensory pleasures.

Lu Xuechao began to despair, suspecting that perhaps Xie Chongjin really had changed—that he no longer loved him and would carelessly summon anyone to his bed. If it wasn’t Lin Chanzhi, it would be someone else.

With Lu Xuechao’s unyielding pride, when a lifetime of pure devotion was betrayed, he would typically kill the unfaithful lover, preferring to see the jade shattered than the tile preserved. However, Xie Chongjin had not completely abandoned the court affairs. He was a terrible husband, but he remained a good sovereign.

Lu Xuechao felt that he must leave a ruler for the Kingdom of Changli; he could not become a sinner condemned for eternity.

In that lifetime, he died by his own sword.

In the fourth lifetime, history repeated itself, and to make matters worse, Xie Chongjin lost even the redeeming quality of being a diligent ruler.

Lu Xuechao suspected that Xie Chongjin had been possessed or replaced by an imposter. During casual conversations, he would casually test him, bringing up childhood memories to observe his reactions, or deliberately preparing dishes that Xie Chongjin disliked. Every test proved that the soul within was still the original Xie Chongjin.

Lu Xuechao then reasoned that perhaps the person was still the same, but his actions were being controlled by some external mechanism—what he said and did was completely contrary to his actual thoughts and desires.

He exhausted every means, secretly searching for monks and Daoist priests, trying every method under the sun, yet all to no avail.

After long deliberation, he finally brought a sword to find Xie Chongjin, seeking a mutual release in death.

…

In the many lifetimes that followed, Lu Xuechao roughly deduced a pattern.

In some worlds, the one being controlled was Lin Chanzhi.

In other worlds, the one being controlled was Xie Chongjin.

When Lin Chanzhi was controlled, Xie Chongjin would become inexplicably infatuated with him. When Xie Chongjin was controlled, Lin Chanzhi played no significant role, yet Xie Chongjin would still scatter his affections everywhere.

Lu Xuechao had also developed a system of responses. After each awakening, he would swiftly determine whether the primary puppet of that world was Lin Chanzhi or Xie Chongjin.

If it was the former, he would devise a way to remove Lin Chanzhi from the palace before Xie Chongjin could fall under his spell, or uncover evidence of his wrongdoings when he tried to harm others, ending his narrative role early so they could regain their freedom for the rest of that lifetime.

If it was the latter, his only recourse was assassination, so that Xie Chongjin would not have to endure a lifetime of torment.

However, the mastermind behind the curtain soon noticed Lu Xuechao’s defiance. In many subsequent lifetimes, Lu Xuechao would die very early on from witchcraft or be executed by Xie Chongjin’s decree, sometimes even before he could manage to awaken his memories.

Within this endless cycle of reincarnation, Lu Xuechao could no longer remember how many times he had died. Even with his sharp intellect, he could think of no way to break this fatal deadlock.

In this current lifetime, he had just awakened, dreaming of everything that had transpired across his countless existences.

For some reason, he hadn’t died on the very first day of Xie Chongjin’s ascension to the throne. Such an indecisive mastermind was rare indeed.

When he woke up moments ago and saw Lin Chanzhi’s terrified expression in the distance, Lu Xuechao knew instantly—this was another world where Xie Chongjin was the one being controlled. Consequently, he lost all interest in Lin Chanzhi.

They were all merely pitiable puppets caught in a fate beyond their control.

Having just woken from a grand, exhausting dream, Lu Xuechao’s head still felt somewhat heavy. The dream had been exceedingly unpleasant. Toward the end of those cycles, he was always dying in various horrific ways, to the point where he had grown utterly weary of death itself.

As a result, even when he heard hurried footsteps approaching and saw the familiar yet strange features of the person pushing open the door, he showed little reaction.

Lu Xuechao tilted his head slightly. After a long pause, a lazy, mocking smile curved his lips.

“Is Your Majesty here to bestow death upon this minister again?”