I remember to this day the icy touch of the blade against my throat as I died.
[Reborn + everyone’s favorite + political intrigue + satisfying revenge] [Timeline: reborn after Xie Wei and Yan Lin besiege the city] [Characters: Jiang Xuening, Xie Wei, Zhang Zhe, Yan Lin]
In my previous life, I schemed and clawed my way to the highest throne, stepping over countless corpses to become empress. I thought I had won, but in the end, the palace fell, and the blade I had used to protect myself was one I had placed in my own hands. Zhang Zhe stood before me, his gaze still clear and upright, but deep in his eyes was a pity I couldn’t understand. He said, “Jiang Xuening, you were wrong.”
He was right. I had been wrong to believe political scheming was the foundation of a woman’s survival, wrong to think that the cold phoenix throne could offer me even a shred of warmth. I schemed with all my might, only to be abandoned by everyone and end up taking my own life in Kunning Palace.
And Xie Wei, the man I had hated and feared all my life, ultimately claimed the empire. He didn’t kill me, but gave me a dagger. In my final moments, as consciousness faded, I saw Yan Lin, the young man I had pushed away with my own hands, charging in at the head of his troops. His eyes were bloodshot as he held my cooling body and wept like a child. They had all loved me. I had simply gone about it the wrong way.
When I lived again and awoke on that cold prison bed, hearing the battle cries of “Clear the emperor’s side!” outside, I suddenly burst out laughing.
Tears slid from the corners of my eyes. This time, they weren’t from fear, but from bone-deep... excitement.
I, Jiang Xuening, had returned.
