Character Index
Zhou Xianchun: The Seventh Prince and former main character, Kayla comes to see the actual consequences of his canonical ruthlessness in her vision of the future.
Yu Bianfu: A female General who is Xianchun's childhood friend and left-hand woman. In the original story, she was also his love interest.
Liu Hongyu: Former Secretariat Director and an ally of the Grand Duke, he starved to death after being sentenced to solitary confinement with no outside contact for the crime of lese-majeste. Since no one was allowed to bring him food or water, he died while under house arrest.
Hu Qing/Liang Hongfei: Younger half-brother of Minister Liang and rightful heir to the Liang clan. He is Kayla's retainer and remains her close friend after she loses her position in the future.
Wei Guang: The Imperial Edict Bearer who was the teacher of the previous generation of princes and princesses, he is now Kayla's godfather. He previously sent Kayla away from the capital so he could deal with the palace until they managed to launch an all-out investigation into the Ministry of Revenue, which would make Kayla important enough that the palace wouldn't press the matter of her altercation with the Grand Duke and the attempted burning of his study.
Zhou Kuang: The Third Prince and primary contender for the throne. In the future, he loses to Xianchun's ruthlessness.
Zhou Yunqi: The Fifth Prince, supports Zhou Kuang.
Chujiao/Jing Shuyou: Formerly Wenyuan's personal serving maid and love interest, she is in truth an undercover spy sent by the Xiang clan. Her cousin is Xiang Daozong.
Lady Lin: A blind divination mage who worked with Wenyuan's mother. Summoned Kayla to warn her about the future.
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“Well, go on then. What are you waiting for?” Xianchun demanded. “Drink it!”
Kayla took the goblet hesitantly and the serving maid backed away.
“The words of a snake like you can’t be trusted. If you don’t want to drink the truth potion, get out!”
Kayla looked down at the drink again. She knew what he was referring to by truth potion–it was a drug that loosened one’s inhibitions. It was used for investigations but didn’t suffice unless corroborated by other evidence. It took effect almost immediately upon consumption. A small amount, diluted in water, was more than enough to get the job done. From what Kayla could tell, the goblet was full of the undiluted drug.
“I don’t believe you need this much,” Kayla said carefully.
“If you don’t want to drink it, then leave and never appear before me again!” From the glint of Yu Bianfu’s blade that Kayla saw from the corner of her eye, she took it to mean that “leaving” Xianchun's sight meant “leaving this world”.
Not having any other choice, she took the goblet from the serving maid.
Yu Bianfu stepped forward, brandishing her blade. Ignoring Kayla’s squeak of alarm, Yu Bianfu lifted the tip of the sword to press against the bottom of Kayla’s hand, the sharp edge drawing blood upon contact.
Kayla gulped nervously as Yu Bianfu moved the sword upwards, pushing Kayla’s hand to lift the goblet to her lips. She was forced to empty the cup, a small amount of the viscous liquid dripping onto her robes.
Satisfied, Yu Bianfu stepped away but didn’t sheathe her blade. Kayla handed the goblet back to the maid and approached the elevated platform Xianchun was standing on, stopping before the stairs. A strange heat slowly spread through her body as she knelt before Xianchun, her mind growing fuzzy.
“Your Highness,” Kayla bowed her head. “Thank you for having me today.”
“Skip the pleasantries. What did you return to the capital for?” Xianchun demanded, intent on squeezing answers out of her under the drug’s effects.
“To see Uncle before he passed away,” Kayla replied, her mental filter no longer working. “And he wanted me to save your brothers.”
“Save them? From who?” Xianchun asked.
“From you, of course,” Kayla said. “Uncle feared you would kill them, so he called me back.”
Xianchun gave her a look of disbelief, almost as though he was looking at an idiot. “That’s it? You came back just for that?”
“I mean I didn't know what I was getting into, but yes.”
“Father’s mind must have grown addled with illness!” Xianchun hissed. “And what in the heavens does he think you can do?!”
“He thinks I can take the brunt of your rage and is probably hoping that you would kill me and calm down a bit,” Kayla replied. “I'm upset about it as well, but what can I do?”
Jesus Christ, Kayla.
She kind of wanted to slap herself, but the lowered inhibitions meant that she actually did smack herself in the face. Thankfully, Xianchun ignored that.
“Then why did you come back?!” Xianchun sprang to his feet, a strange look on his face that Kayla couldn’t make sense of.
“I don’t know,” Kayla replied honestly. “If I were any smarter I would’ve turned around and run across the border the second I heard there was a messenger. I was already on horseback, I could’ve made it. But I just went along with the flow and received the edict, and then I just didn’t have any chances to leave, so I’m here now. You can do with me what you want, and I’ll try to do the impossible for Uncle’s sake.”
Xianchun sat down again, thoughtfully evaluating Kayla.
“Fuck it,” Kayla cursed under her breath. It came out much louder than she had expected. Xianchun shot her a glare.
“You’re willing to die for my brothers' sake?”
“I really have no other choice. Uncle has asked it of me, so I can only give it my best,” Kayla replied.
“He’s a fool for thinking of you as family,” Xianchun said with perhaps less venom than expected.
“Indeed, His Majesty still views me as his nephew, because he is capable of discerning between right and wrong, the guilty and the innocent,” Kayla boldly shot back. “After all, good judgment and differentiation are necessary qualities for rulers, not that you would know.”
Oh my god, Kayla you fucking idiot! It was too late to take the words back now, that was for sure.
Xianchun’s face twisted, going through several different shades of red. He looked as though he wanted nothing more than to rip Kayla’s guts out.
“How dare you?!”
“If I could, I would have advised Uncle against choosing you. Your Highness is a man who would gladly harm his own brothers in order to spit in my face, which must be the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard of,” Kayla said. “They’re your siblings, not your enemies. Venting is fine and all, but you should do so within reason.”
“Not my enemies? They’ve sent you to plead for their lives!”
Kayla bowed her head. “Your Highness, this one’s life will end in your hands sooner or later. Your and your brothers are like limbs that grow on the same body, are you really willing to gain a reputation of fratricide just to spite a decision your father made on his sickbed?”
Xianchun stepped closer, glaring down at her.
“Sooner or later?! If I could, I would cut you down right here!”
"Dude, seriously?" Kayla voiced her thoughts out loud before she could stop herself. She hastily continued before Xianchun could react to the remark.
“If killing me would soothe Your Highness’ rage, I won't have any...no, I mean I will have complaints, but what the hell could I do about it?” Kayla replied. “Confucius has said that a great man does not promote a man solely based on what he said, nor does he reject advice solely because of the man who said it. Have you no thought for your reputation?”
Xianchun scoffed. “And you would have it sound as though you’re doing it for my reputation rather than for their sake!”
“I would do it for both, if that would please you,” Kayla replied. To the surprise of both Xianchun and Kayla, she actually meant it.
Xianchuns' glare softened, falling silent for a moment before speaking in a voice bitter with resentment. “My father shows the short-sighted kindness of a woman!”
“The kindness of a woman is rooted in the heavens’ virtue of nurturing life,” Kayla replied, ignoring the insult in Xianchun’s words. “I’m glad that Your Highness is able to understand the Emperor’s merciful benevolence, and humbly beg you to choose wisely. Starting your reign with bloodshed and fratricide will only make the court more uneasy and uncooperative. It is my sincere hope that you will choose to do the right thing.”
Xianchun laughed in disbelief. “Sincerity? Since when the hell did you have any to speak of?!”
Kayla bowed her head slightly. “I can’t lie to you right now, did you forget that already?”
Xianchun considered the words for a moment and actually seemed to accept her words. Kayla felt a spark of elation as she watched his expression.
Good, he can still be reasonable! Her hopes were immediately dashed as Xianchun creased his brow, a look of suspicion sparking anew.
Liu Boyue. It sprung upon her as Kayla's mind finally pieced everything together. He's the only one who hasn't shown up all this time, but he's played a hand in all of this. Was he the one egging Xianchun on with all this?
The realization had come too late for Kayla to do anything about it, and she silently cursed herself for being unable to see it sooner.
“If you’re sincere, then prove it,” he ordered. His gaze grew colder by the second.
Kayla gave him a look of confusion. Xianchun reached into his robes, taking out a small dagger. He took it out of its sheath and tossed it to the floor, kicking it forward. The blade clattered down the steps, skidding over to Kayla.
Are you kidding me? Xianchun had foregone torture, the classic method of proving that someone was telling the truth, but this was hardly any better.
She looked at the knife, a strange sensation sweeping over her. It felt like she was being peeled apart like a sticker from its film. Two halves of her simultaneously inhabited the moment, one that reacted with horror and trepidation, and a drug-addled one that was alight with a desperate fire and unable to restrain herself. The first wanted to run, but it was the latter that took charge, reaching out to grab the blade with shaking hands.
The traditional method of protesting false charges was to cut off an ear, a finger, or an arm, but Kayla had neither the guts nor the willpower to do so. Kayla took in a deep breath, the part of her that wanted to run getting shoved further and further back, screaming all the while.
No girl don’t do it! That knife just clattered all the way across the fucking floor can you imagine how much bacteria there are on that fucking thing oh my god you fucking idiot just cut off your hair or something!!! Oh my god, I can't watch this–
“If that is what you want, then I have no choice but to comply,” Kayla said in a trembling voice. She plunged the knife into her left eye.
“Stop him!” Xianchun shouted. Overwhelmed by the pain, Kayla let the knife drop to the floor and clasped her hands over her eye. She had been too nervous to aim properly, and ended up blinking on reflex at the last second, the knife going through her eyelid.
Strong hands forced Kayla’s arms away from her face, ignoring her cries of protest. A cold feeling washed over her face, and the pain dulled. Kayla vaguely recognized the use of a healing talisman.
“What should I do, my prince?” Yu Bianfu asked. “Do I kill him?”
“No!” Xianchun said tersely, an edge of panic in his voice. “I didn’t expect him to have the guts to do it! Damn it!”
Why did you kick over a knife then?!!!
After a moment of silence, Xianchun audibly drew a deep breath, collecting himself as he spoke coldly. “Take him back to his quarters, he’s not to leave or contact anyone without my permission.”
An armored hand curled into Kayla’s collar and yanked her back.
Kayla winced as her back connected with the floor and found herself lying on the ground in an unfamiliar room. It was larger than the room she had been confined in during the other timeline, but Kayla couldn’t muster her attention to observe. The pain in her left eye was now penetrating deep into her skull.
How long has it been?
The answer emerged from a pit of despair somewhere deep in her mind. Kayla had been confined alone in the room once her eye was bandaged, and it had been days since. Kayla suddenly understood how Liu Hongyu must have felt while he was dying.
She couldn’t help but wonder if Xianchun even knew that this would be the result, if the prince had purposefully chosen the slowest and cruelest way to kill her, or if he had simply been ignorant of the implications the way Kayla had been.
After who knows how long, the door to the room opened. Light spilled in. Kayla mustered the last of her strength to lift her head and take a look, the simple action sending pain throughout her skull and down the back of her neck.
A guard tentatively stepped into the room, a candle in his hand.
“Y-Your Grace,” the guard said, the surprise evident in his voice. He moved closer, looking at her with an expression that Kayla instinctively recognized.
He can’t believe that I’m still alive. The guard wasn’t here to help, he was here to check if she was dead yet.
He stepped back again, wordlessly backing away from her with a look of discomfort. The door closed, and she was left alone again. The searing pain in her eye seemed to intensify, spreading to the rest of her head as well.
What the fuck?! Seriously?! The pain grew unbearable, the vision in her remaining eye blurring as well.
Kayla was physically yanked out of the vision, the mage’s wrinkled hands firmly gripping either side of Kayla’s face. The pain faded, and Kayla gasped for air, blinking furiously as she tried to adjust between realities. She was staring up at the ceiling, the hard rock of the cave cold beneath her.
“Kayla!” The sound of her real name yanked Kayla into the present. Lady Lin frowned at her, patting Kayla’s face. “The resonance was much stronger than I expected…I thought it would be better once you had gotten used to it. It must be because your soul is from another world, the magic is not supposed to cause such a strong reaction.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
The mage continued talking, but her voice faded, drowned out by the rushing sound in Kayla’s ears. White spots swam in her vision, blurring into a painfully bright mass that engulfed her. Kayla writhed, trying to escape or scream, but no sound would come out. Her breath came in panicked gasps until she sank into nothingness.
After what felt like forever, there was a small voice at the edge of Kayla’s consciousness that grew louder and louder.
“What the hell did you do?!”
“Calm down, he’s physically fine. It’s just that the magic took a larger toll on him than I expected.”
“A larger toll? Are you kidding me?! Look at what you've done! How the hell will you take responsibility if anything happens to him?”
“He came to me of his own volition!”
The voices grew louder and shriller around Kayla until she suddenly regained control over her body.
“Fuck!” Kayla shot upright, immediately feeling the repercussions. Her head swam from the sudden movement, her vision going black for a moment. Hu Qing reached out to steady her.
“Thank heavens! Are you alright?!” Hu Qing asked.
The static faded from her vision, but the cave remained dark. After a moment, Kayla realized it was already deep into the night. As the dizziness ebbed, a growing sense of panic replaced it.
“I-” Kayla began, Hu Qing’s question already fading from her mind. She whirled towards the mage in disbelief. “That was the best scenario?!”
“Yes.”
“No, no way,” Kayla said, a hysterical note in her voice. “The fucking best case scenario and that’s what happens?!”
“Unfortunately, you do not avoid your demise,” the mage replied. “You are not the one who benefitted from your actions, but be assured that it greatly improved the lives of those who-”
“You’re kidding me, right?” Kayla demanded, her voice shaking. “You’re seriously telling me that no matter what I fucking do, there’s no way out?”
The mage hesitated, falling silent.
“Fuck,” Kayla snapped. Her tirade was cut short by a sharp pain in the back of her neck, followed by a warm trickle from her nose.
“Take it easy,” Hu Qing said in alarm, gently pushing Kayla back onto the ground to lie on her side.
“Good grief,” he muttered under his breath, glancing at the mage in annoyance. “Go wait outside, there's nothing to see here.”
The mage silently complied, leaving without bothering to grab her eye covering.
“Wait! Make sure she doesn’t disappear on me,” Kayla ordered.
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t let her go anywhere,” Hu Qing assured her. “But maybe we should leave, this really isn’t doing you any good.”
“Fuck,” Kayla groaned, ignoring his words. “I’m so screwed.”
“She must be a kook,” Hu Qing hastily replied. “You shouldn’t buy into it.”
“She's the real deal. She worked with my mother,” Kayla said in response. Hu Qing fell quiet.
“Hey, they say that heavenly fate can still be changed by the efforts of men,” he said encouragingly after a moment of silence. “Why don't we just go back? You don't need to torment yourself like this."
“You don't get it. The Grand Duke killed the Seventh Prince's mother. Once he finds out, he'll think I helped to cover up the crime...and with everything that's happened, it's not too hard to prove that.”
Hu Qing paused for a moment. “Damn.”
“Exactly.”
“No, I meant that in a good way,” Hu Qing said unconvincingly.
“It’s fine,” Kayla said flatly. “Nothing she’s said so far is even a little bit helpful to me. All I’ve heard is a bunch of different ways in which I die. I don’t even make it to age thirty!”
“There’s definitely a way out of this,” Hu Qing assured her. “Divinators like to string you along in order to make more money, they’ll tell you there’s great danger in your future and make it sound extremely terrifying and convincing, and then they make you feel worse and worse until you throw down a huge sum to buy a ‘solution’ from them.”
“She’s doing this for free,” Kayla pointed out.
Hu Qing shrugged. “So? She’s been a divinator for a long time now, it’s probably in her bones by now. Occupational habit, if you will.”
“You think so?” Kayla asked.
Hu Qing nodded. “Yeah, don’t torment yourself over something like this, it’ll be fine. But just what the hell did you see? You look terrible.”
Kayla shook her head slightly. “Don’t even ask.”
“Let me take you back, you should get some rest,” Hu Qing said.
Kayla relaxed a little. "Alright."
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The next morning, Kayla trudged into the cave for what she hoped would be the last time, her limbs feeling as heavy as if they were stone.
“You came back,” Lady Lin said, sounding a little surprised.
“You haven’t told me how to get out of this alive yet,” Kayla pointed out sarcastically. “As nice as it is to learn about various ways of dying, this doesn’t really help.”
“Very well, then allow me to tell you this: As things stand now, the best possible future for you is the one you saw yesterday,” Lady Lin said bluntly. “You may die, but you preserve your dignity and reputation posthumously.”
“You can’t be serious! Can’t I just…not go back to the capital then?”
Lady Lin nodded. “You prolong your life somewhat by doing so, but it doesn’t save you. In one future, you are killed by bandits while fleeing to the Khaganate.”
“Great,” Kayla said flatly. “What happens if I don’t go to the Khaganate or to the capital?”
Lady Lin somehow managed to convey her disdain without moving a single muscle on her face.
“Escape can only lead to a temporary reprieve,” Lady Lin replied. “Events proceed as they do in the original timeline, and you don’t last long after the Third and Fifth Princes die. You’re either killed by those who seek to curry favor with the Emperor or killed in the wars along the Northern border. In either case, it’s a pathetic death not so different than that of a stray dog.”
And what, is that my fault? I didn’t come here to be a hero, I didn’t even come here of my own choice. Kayla chose to keep her thoughts to herself.
“So I can’t outlast Xianchun no matter what?” Kayla said in disbelief. “Isn't there anything I can do to avoid all this?”
“The future is tied to the present. All of these paths are present because of who you are and how you act, not because of anything else,” Lady Lin said gravely. “If you want to change the future, you must first change yourself. Your current approach can only lead to disaster.”
“Then should I not kill the Grand Duke?” Kayla asked in confusion.
“That would not change things. As I said, the external factors matter less than the internal factors,” Lady Lin let out a sigh. “Perhaps the magic chose the wrong soul.”
Kayla shot to her feet, overturning the low table.
“Fuck you! It’s not like I asked to be here!” Kayla shouted.
“But you’re here.”
Kayla stared at Lady Lin for a moment before her temper exploded.
“Then what the fuck do you want me to do?! You guys dragged me into this!”
Lady Lin softened her words. “Do not despair, young foreigner. I will not deny that this has placed you in a difficult predicament, but you were brought here for a reason,” the mage said, in a familiar tone somewhat between comforting and paternalistic, one that Kayla knew all too well from her childhood.
“Fuck off,” Kayla snarled. “There were so many things I didn’t do because I thought I would have a chance to do them later, and now I'll never have a chance!”
“You were not destined for greatness within your own world, whatever payoff you’d hoped for would likely have been long in the coming. Here, at least you have power and prestige, you have the means to control your fate.”
Kayla groaned, clapping her hands over her face. “You don’t get it at all! That was my life, there were so many things I wanted to do! If I’d known it would be like this, I would’ve called my mom and apologized or something! Fuck!”
The mage let out a soft sigh and fell silent, not having words to comfort Kayla with. After a moment of trying and failing to collect herself, Kayla heaved a sigh.
“Now what?” Kayla asked in a small voice.
“The answer lies with you, and you alone. Every decision you’ve made so far has opened multiple paths while closing countless other possibilities, and so it will be going forth as well,” Lady Lin said. The vague answer was anything but helpful, and the mage picked up on Kayla’s discontent.
“Change your current approach,” Lady Lin advised her. “You must not be expelled from the capital or the court. That is what is most important, even the destruction of the Zhao clan does not matter compared to the magnitude of the crisis you face.”
“Is that really it?” Kayla asked, her voice taking on a pleading note.
Lady Lin nodded. “Return to the capital, young foreigner. Your godfather has finished covering up for the mess you made, it is now safe for you to go back. Use your role as Zhao Wenyuan to pave a new future for yourself and the country.”
Seriously?! I would rather just have the option of surviving peacefully!
Kayla waited another moment but saw that Lady Lin really didn’t have anything more to say. Resignedly, Kayla bowed her head.
“Thank you,” Kayla said, forcing her tone into a vague mockery of politeness. “I will take my leave of you now.”
This fucking fraud! Are you kidding me?! Silently seething, Kayla got up and left the cave. Hu Qing stood up from where he had been sitting at the cave’s entrance, instantly picking up on Kayla’s emotional turmoil.
“We’re heading back to the capital,” Kayla said. Hu Qing nodded, complying without question. They descended the mountain in silence to where the carriage was waiting for them.
“We’re heading back, everyone get ready!” Hu Qing shouted. Kayla wordlessly entered the carriage, blankly staring into the distance.
Do I even have a chance?
Hu Qing opened the carriage door to hand her some water.
“My lord, we’re ready to move,” Hu Qing said. Kayla nodded, and Hu Qing closed the carriage door again, accurately sensing that she needed to be alone for a while.
The carriage pulled off, the mountain slowly growing smaller and smaller behind them as the procession headed back toward the capital. Inside the carriage, Kayla's face twisted into a look of grim determination as she ran through the events Lady Lin had shown her.
The only outcome is dying, at least if things keep going the way they're headed right now....but that means the problem is my approach, isn't it? The more I try to minimize damage, the more things lead to disaster.
Kayla looked out the window toward the direction of the capital city, her eyes narrowing.
If that's the case, I'll have to stop playing nice.
Kayla tried to think of a concrete plan, but couldn’t keep her thoughts from flitting about, latching on to the different fragments she had been subjected to.
What kind of bullshit is all this?! So in the future, Xianchun really just becomes the stereotypical murder-happy protagonist in male-oriented power-fantasy novels, doesn't he? Kayla shook her head in disgust.
Or the emperor who’s corrupted by revenge and then finds redemption after gaining a harem of peerless beauties and ends up dying for the country or some bullshit–that might be more accurate. God, I used to like those archetypes, and now I’m going to die because of them!
To be fair, reading a novel and experiencing a novel were completely different things, especially when you weren't the protagonist. Kayla frowned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Looking at it in retrospect, the future Xianchun was acting just like someone who had been crushed underfoot for too long and finally gained power, exacting ruthless and overwrought revenge upon everyone who had slighted him, regardless of whether the slight actually existed or not.
What is he? The male version of Empress Dowager Lu? And did Qu Boyong convince Xianchun that I was helping the Grand Duke cover things up? I mean, that is what I’m doing, but why did he trust Qu Boyong’s words so easily? I’ve helped him a bunch of times! And why the hell didn’t the Emperor stand up for me?
More likely than not, Liu Boyue had played a role in convincing Xianchun, and the Empress Dowager had a hand in Kayla’s exile, tossing aside a chess piece in order to appease the court. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’d done so.
What a cold-blooded old woman, Kayla let out a sharp sigh. Seriously, your only daughter’s only son, and you’re so quick to toss him away.
But there was still far too much that didn’t make sense. Was Sun Ruhui still alive in the future? Chen Jian had evidently been fine. Hopefully, Sun Ruhui had only been demoted out of the capital rather than executed on some bull charges.
And Caichun married Feng Yi…God, who would’ve thought? Feng Yi was a good guy, sure, but he was more than two decades older than Caichun. Marrying a decent guy is better than dying, I would certainly take that option if it were available to me. But Caichun had ambition, would she really be alright with that?
It wasn’t as though Kayla could help Caichun when she herself couldn’t even survive past the three-year mark. Kayla forced herself to stop frowning. It was worsening her headache.
And what the fuck was up with Xianchun's mood swings? Was someone drugging him or was that just his revenge persona? Or was it Liu Boyue's bullshit? Even if he wanted me dead–no, did he even want me dead? Kayla rubbed at her throbbing temples, trying to recall the details of their interactions.
He was angry when I said I only came back for Kuang and Yunqi, and he was upset when I stabbed my eye. Kayla stopped her movements, coming to a realization.
He wanted me to play the part of a bad guy, didn’t he? Xianchun had finally gained the power he dreamed of and wanted to feel righteous and powerful in using it. He wanted to feel that he was justified in exacting revenge. But Kayla was technically his benefactor. Sure, in the original novel, he managed to build up his support base without any help from Wenyuan, but the Xianchun of this timeline evidently didn’t know that.
Did he feel conflicted because I wasn’t acting all villain-like the way he wanted me to? Kayla made a wild guess. If that were true, it meant that even the revenge-driven version of Xianchun still had some conscience. Not a lot, certainly, but maybe just the tiniest bit. She could work with that.
And the way he is now…could I work with that? Kayla ground her teeth together. Fuck dignity. She wanted to live. It would be a waste of effort if she had gotten through all this just to die a dog’s death.
Fuck that old bitch, why didn’t she just show her knowledge to Wei Guang ahead of time and have him save Wenyuan and deal with this mess? Or just straight up tell Wenyuan himself ahead of time? She said all this happened in the future of the novel's events, whatever the hell that means, doesn't that mean she knew all this way ahead of time? She had so many fucking options, and she chooses to drag in a fucking cashier from Brooklyn!
But it had been the Imperial Princess who set up the magic.
Kayla felt ice rush through her veins. The Imperial Princess...
That made even less sense. Why would the Imperial Princess choose to use soul magic to drag in a stranger, instead of finding a way to save her son? Kayla simply couldn’t wrap her head around the Imperial Princess’ choice.
She loved Wenyuan, didn't she? So why was this the path she chose?
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Cultural Notes
Truth Serums: Did not actually exist in Ancient China, but there are records of using alcohol or drugs to lower a suspect's inhibitions in order to get a confession. In most cases, those confessions needed to be corroborated by evidence, but some of the more corrupt officials would just go ahead and use them to decide a case.
无偏无倚/No biases no favorites: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to judge fairly.
是非对错/Just and unjust, right and wrong: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
残害手足/Harm one's hands and feet: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to harm one's siblings. One's brothers were often described as one's 手足/hands and feet, (this usually did not apply to sisters, who were expected to marry out of the household) meaning that your siblings are just as important as parts of your body.
依法不依人/According to the laws not according to the person: An Ancient Chinese saying that means you should ignore right and wrong, whether to protect or to punish a person, regardless of your feelings about them.
子曰：君子不以言举人，不以人废言/Confucius said: A great man does not promote a man solely based on what he said, nor does he reject advice solely because of the man who said it: An Ancient Chinese proverb that essentially means to think critically about what is said, and not be blinded by who said it.
妇人之仁/The kindness of a woman: An Ancient Chinese proverb often used in a disdainful/derogatory fashion to say that someone is acting short-sightedly or without the bigger picture in mind. This was often used to silence women when they had differing opinions, regardless of whether they were right or wrong.
上天好生之德/The heavenly virtue of nurturing life: An Ancient proverb referring to the marvels of nature as well as the ability of life to persevere regardless of environment. It is also often used to persuade Emperors/rulers to be merciful as the heavens are.
惶恐不安/Fearful and uneasy: An Ancient Chinese proverb.
大肆动刑/Using executions/punishments on a large scale: An Ancient Chinese proverb used to describe the fear and horror that this behavior evokes in bystanders.
中国古代直诉中的自残/Self-harm in remonstration in Ancient China: It was not common but nor was it rare for officials to demonstrate extreme dissatisfaction or to declare their innocence through self-harm, to show how serious they were. Usually, this ranges from cutting off one's hair (you weren't supposed to cut your hair in Ancient China since your body was gifted to you by your parents, and thus it would be unfilial. Also why the hairstyle common to men in the Qing dynasty was initially met with strong resistance), cutting off one's ears (actually happened during the Tang Dynasty), mutilating one's face (again in the Tang Dynasty), driving a nail through your hands (recorded in the Song Dynasty), chopping off your arm (Song Dynasty), and stabbing/gouging out one's eyes (again the Tang Dynasty, are you guys alright?).
扭转乾坤/Twist the heaven and earth: An Ancient Chinese proverb meaning to change one's fate or the fate of a group or country.
丧家犬/A dog that has lost its home: An Ancient Chinese saying that compares someone who has been abandoned by their family/friends or has lost their support network to a stray dog.
Empress Dowager Lu/吕太后: First Empress Dowager of the Han Dynasty, she was treated quite badly by her husband, the first Emperor of the Han Dynasty. He essentially abandoned her behind enemy lines multiple times while building up a harem of younger and prettier women. In retribution, Empress Dowager Lu mutilated and murdered her husband's favorite concubine after his death. She also went on a killing spree against most of his other sons and was generally known for being an extremely vengeful woman. However, she was pretty decent to the populace, her malice being directed primarily within the ruling class.