18 Request

Shi Nian never expected him to say such a thing. She was so shocked that her eyes widened, her face full of bewilderment.

Seeing her like this, Liu Che actually smiled. He remembered late last night, in the silence of his room, hearing her voice—so soft, yet it felt like a sharp blade piercing his ears.

At that moment, he had been just as bewildered.

She had said that Wei Zifu would become his empress and bear his firstborn son.

So, was this the reason she had been desperately trying to bring them together?

He had stood by the window from the dark of night until dawn. When the morning sun first rose and the entire Weiyang Palace was bathed in a rosy glow, he suddenly thought: perhaps he had been wrong all along. She was not a spy, nor was she an assassin sent by anyone.

That girl had come from the moon, descending from the sky to fall into his arms. She understood his thoughts, ignited his fighting spirit, and helped him achieve what he had once abandoned.

Perhaps she truly did not belong to this mortal world. Only then could the mysteries surrounding her be explained.

"Your household register says you are from Zhongshan and sixteen years old, but I have already checked—there is no such person in Zhongshan. So, where are you actually from? And you are not sixteen this year, are you?"

Nonsense, of course she wasn't sixteen! When she entered the palace, she needed identification. Nie Cheng had managed to forge a fake registry, and since the Emperor was only nineteen, she had to brazenly list herself as sixteen. At the time, Nie Cheng had said, "Be thankful for the productivity of the Han Dynasty. Most commoners lead hard lives, and girls look sallow and thin, making them appear older. If you apply a few more face masks, you can pass for an underage girl."

She knew it! Trying to use a fake ID in the Han Dynasty was a dead end!

Shi Nian’s mind was in total chaos, but Liu Che gently stroked her cheek. "But none of that matters. I will not ask about your origins or your motives. You only need to promise to stay by my side."

She froze. He said, "Little fairy, believe me, I will treat you very, very well. You will never regret it..."

Shi Nian stared at him in a daze. She had heard the term "little fairy" many times, but at this moment, it was as if her meridians had been cleared, and she suddenly understood.

Could it be that he truly believed she was a fairy from heaven? And that was why he was so afraid of her leaving...

He looked at her. This time, the man did not hide his feelings. In those dark, ink-colored eyes was a clear and unmistakable plea.

This emperor, who held the world in his hands, was begging her to stay.

The silence stretched on for so long that, just as the light in his eyes seemed about to fade, she suddenly said, "I promise."

She spoke so quickly that Liu Che was stunned. Then, a look of joyful surprise bloomed on his face, as if he could not believe his own ears. "What did you say? Shi Nian, what did you say?"

Shi Nian looked at his expression, slowly pursed her lips, and offered a smile. "I said, I promise you..."

Before she could finish, he pulled her into a tight embrace. The man’s kisses fell upon her hair as he murmured, "I am so happy. Little fairy, I am so happy..."

She was held passively, her eyes gazing into the distance. The trees were lush and bathed in sunlight; such a bright, beautiful day reminded her of that afternoon when the young man had sat by the window, tossing a peach and flashing her a grin, looking so dashing and carefree.

*I promised you.*

*But I’m sorry, I lied to you.*

The situation had become dire!

Shi Nian rolled off the bed, consumed by anxiety.

She didn't know how Liu Che had come up with such a whimsical idea, but the situation was that he believed he had captured a fairy. To an ancient emperor, this was the ultimate romantic encounter; Shi Nian could fully understand why he was clinging to her so tightly.

But this was not a good thing for her. Even if she didn't want to stay, Nie Cheng and the others wouldn't allow it. Besides, she still had her mission; if she kept interfering like this, it would be even more impossible for him and Wei Zifu to end up together! Nie Cheng would kill her!

Just as she was on the verge of a breakdown, the window was pushed open. This time, it wasn't the monarch who appeared, but the very person she had been thinking about.

Nie Cheng stood outside in his black robes. Shi Nian asked, "Why are you here?"

She couldn't hide the guilt in her tone. Nie Cheng had actually come to see her in the middle of the night—should she tell him about what happened today? But how could she explain it? She had previously boasted about being an excellent employee...

"Have you been exposed by Liu Che?" Nie Cheng asked suddenly.

"Eh, how did you know?!" Shi Nian exclaimed.

"Since this morning, no matter what Lu Zhiyao and I do, there have been people watching us from the shadows. Based on my observations, they are undoubtedly the Emperor's men. Other than you, I couldn't think of anywhere else that could have gone wrong."

Shi Nian felt a bit indignant, as if they were incapable of making mistakes, when in fact she had contributed the most so far!

"Well, Liu Che found out my household registry is fake, so he likely knows I was recommended to Tian Fen by you. He just isn't sure yet what our relationship is." Shi Nian bit her lip, hesitating. "Do you know? He actually thinks I'm a fairy..."

Nie Cheng raised an eyebrow, his expression peculiar. Shi Nian immediately said, "What does that look mean? What do you want to say? Don't you dare hold back!"

Nie Cheng smiled and flicked her forehead. "Nothing. Don't be so defensive, little fairy."

Shi Nian covered her forehead, her face burning. She regretted telling Nie Cheng; she knew he would mock her!

After calming down for several seconds, she said as if nothing had happened, "You said you were being watched, so is it okay for you to come here? Won't you be discovered?"

"I wouldn't have come if I hadn't made arrangements."

"Impressive." Shi Nian pouted. "Then, Captain, do you have any way to bring Liu Che and Wei Zifu together? We can't keep going on like this."

Nie Cheng replied, "I came to inform you that the strings are returning to calm."

Shi Nian didn't understand. "What?"

"We just detected it. The amplitude of the strings in this spacetime is gradually decreasing, which proves that the deviated history has been corrected and returned to its place. Soon, the strings will be completely calm."

After expecting this for so long, now that it was actually happening, Shi Nian felt bewildered. "If the strings are calm, what happens then?"

Nie Cheng looked at her and smiled suddenly. "When the strings return to calm, our mission is complete. So now, prepare to evacuate."

Shi Nian didn't leave her room for the entire next day. Since they were evacuating, there was too much to handle. Nie Cheng had said that anything that shouldn't exist in this era must be taken away. She focused on checking Su Geng's backpack; if something like a Kindle were left behind, it would be quite a mess if it were dug up in thousands of years.

She was busy until nightfall, forgetting even to eat, until an uninvited guest arrived, forcing her to stop.

Wei Zifu said with a smile, "Am I disturbing you, Lady Shao?"

She wore a pale blue dress and remained slender and delicate, but her eyes were much more vibrant. Having escaped the fate of being sent away for a marriage alliance, she seemed reborn.

Shi Nian smiled. "Not at all. I haven't congratulated you yet."

"Please, don't say that. I should be the one thanking you. If not for you, I would surely be in Xiongnu by now..." As she spoke, her eyes turned red.

Shi Nian felt a sense of melancholy. She had actually wondered why the strings were starting to calm down even though Liu Che hadn't married Wei Zifu yet. Nie Cheng had said, "Perhaps the key to the problem was always just that Wei Zifu was going to be sent to Xiongnu. Now that she has stayed, she and Liu Che will follow the inertia of history and end up together."

So, they were people destined to be together.

She said from the bottom of her heart, "You don't need to thank me; it is all your fate. Zifu, your blessings are yet to come."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zifu’s expression changed, as if she had thought of something. Wringing her hands beneath the table, she said, "Actually, I came here for another matter."

"What is it?"

"His Majesty... His Majesty asked me to invite you over."

Liu Che actually asked Wei Zifu to invite her? Shi Nian was surprised. Wait, was he going to confess his feelings to her in front of Wei Zifu? Or perhaps, honor his promise from the day by marrying Wei Zifu in front of her? Then which one of them was the "other woman" to the other?!

Oh, it seemed that to the current Empress, they were both other women...

Sorry, Ajiao!

An imperial summons could not be ignored. Shi Nian followed Wei Zifu out. The night was deep, and it had been a long time since dinner; there was no one around the palace. The two walked through the flowers and willows until they saw a white jade bridge spanning the waters of the Cang Pond.

Wei Zifu suddenly stopped. Shi Nian asked, "Are we here? Where is His Majesty?"

She didn't speak. From the shadows behind them, two tall eunuchs emerged. One of them smiled at Wei Zifu and said, "You have done well."

The other grabbed Shi Nian without a word. She struggled instinctively, but her hands were immediately twisted behind her back, the pain bringing tears to her eyes. "Who are you people!"

The eunuch said with a sinister tone, "We are acting under the Empress Dowager's orders to see Lady Shao out."

W-what did that mean?

She looked at Wei Zifu, only to see her face had turned pale, with tears shimmering in her eyes. "I'm sorry... The Empress Dowager forced me, she used my younger brother's life to force me... I had no choice..."

Shi Nian suddenly understood—it was the Empress Dowager! It seemed her recent behavior in the palace had caught her attention, especially her encouraging Liu Che to resist the Xiongnu. She had tolerated her grandson's actions, but she could no longer tolerate her!

Her heart sank, yet she tried to maintain a final shred of composure. The eunuch added, "Be careful. This Lady Shao of ours is hiding secret weapons on her."

As soon as he finished speaking, the eunuch holding her pulled out her anti-wolf stun gun.

Shi Nian's heart finally hit rock bottom.

What did they want? The Empress Dowager wanted to "see her out"—did that mean she was going to kill her?

The eunuch pulled out a rope and tied her hands. Shi Nian suddenly said, "It was right here. Zifu, this is where we met."

Wei Zifu paused. Looking at the flowing water and the long bridge, she realized this was the very spot where she had once tried to drown herself. That night, she had been in complete despair, wanting only to die, but she had been pulled back from the gates of hell by this woman, changing her life forever.

Shi Nian’s mouth had been gagged, but her eyes, still looking at her, were so dark they reminded her of the night sky. They made her afraid to look back.

The next moment, the eunuch struck her shoulder, and Shi Nian’s head slumped as she lost consciousness.

The eunuch said, "Alright, go back. Keep your mouth shut, and obey the Empress Dowager's orders, and your brother will be safe and sound."

Wei Zifu watched helplessly as they stuffed Shi Nian into a sack, hoisted her onto their shoulders, and vanished quickly into the night.

She stood frozen like a statue. After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly turned and ran in the opposite direction. She was running so desperately that when she realized someone was in front of her, it was too late, and she collided head-on with them. She fell to the ground. Looking up, she saw Yang Deyi holding a palace lantern, looking surprised. "Wei... Princess, why is it you?"

Wei Zifu looked behind her. Liu Che, surrounded by a crowd, was also looking at her. The man, in his black robes and jade crown, saw it was her, and his expression turned strange, as if he did not want to see her.

The next instant, without saying a word, he turned to leave.

Wei Zifu suddenly snapped to her senses, lunging forward as she cried, "Your Majesty, Lady Shi... Please, save Lady Shi! If you don't go now, she won't survive!"

Liu Che turned abruptly, his expression turning terrifyingly cold. "What did you say? Shi Nian, what happened to her?!"