I was reborn as my archenemy.
I wanted to enter the palace to tell my loving husband that I wasn't dead.
But I found that I had already become my husband's white moonlight,
while my stand - in stood behind him.
## Chapter 1
When I opened my eyes again, I found that I had become my archenemy, the emperor's cousin, the current prime minister's wife, Cheng Wanwan.
A woman with a head full of jewels and pearls stood in front of me, her eyes full of pride. "Cheng Wanwan, I didn't expect you to survive this. Well, you can just watch me and the prime minister be in perfect harmony and deeply in love."
I couldn't help but find it funny. Cheng Wanwan, throughout our lives, we've been at odds. Who would have thought that you would die at the hands of such a fool.
A stupid woman who shows all her emotions on her face would have died a thousand times over in the palace.
As for who I am, I'm the current empress, Xie Huanyu. I died on the same day as Cheng Wanwan, but unexpectedly, I was reborn in her body.
The noisy woman in front of me was giving me a headache. Years of being in a high position had made me lose all interest in dealing with such a fool.
"Beat her to death!" I pointed at the woman in front of me and ordered.
The woman who had been chattering just now seemed unable to react to my words and stood there stunned.
"Baizhi!" I winked at Cheng Wanwan's personal maid. I knew this maid was no ordinary person. When she followed Cheng Wanwan before, she had given me a lot of trouble in front of me.
Sure enough, Baizhi immediately stepped forward with several old women and subdued the woman.
"What are you doing? She's just an unfavored concubine. How dare you listen to her? The prime minister won't let you off when he comes back!" the woman struggled and shouted at the old women.
"Does the mistress of the house need to get the permission of Yuan Shaohua to deal with a concubine? I'll go to the palace tomorrow and ask His Majesty which rule this is." Cheng Wanwan was the emperor Chu Heng's cousin and was very much in the emperor's favor. During the time I was the empress, this elder sister - in - law had given me a lot of trouble.
If she went to the palace to complain to Chu Heng, I think Yuan Shaohua's days as prime minister would be numbered.
After hearing my words, the old women didn't hesitate anymore. Screams like ghosts wailing came from outside the door.
My already muddled head started to hurt even more. I rubbed my temples. "Gag her!"
The screams outside the door finally stopped. I didn't expect that the servants under Cheng Wanwan's management didn't even understand such basic rules.
"Madam, how should we explain this to the prime minister when he comes back?" Looking at Baizhi, who was trying hard to suppress her panic, it seemed that because I had been in a high position for a long time, relying on my achievements and Chu Heng's favor, I had been a bit too willful in doing things.
But this concubine really deserved to die. After all, the crime of killing the mistress of the house was enough for her to die ten times.
"I know how to deal with the prime minister. You can go down first. I'm tired. I'll take a short nap." I waved away all the servants.
Sitting in front of the mirror and looking at Cheng Wanwan's face, I fell into deep thought. I died on the same day as Cheng Wanwan, and now I was reborn in her body. So what about me?
Was I dead? Or had my soul swapped with Cheng Wanwan's?
It seemed that I really had to enter the palace tomorrow. Just thinking about facing Chu Heng with another face made my heart inexplicably nervous.
I first met Chu Heng when we were both in humble positions. When I first traveled through time, I was just a little maid in the palace, and he was an out - of - favor grandson of the emperor.
He helped me deal with the maids and grannies who bullied me in the palace. I helped him plant corn and sweet potatoes to solve the people's food and clothing problems, helped him develop gunpowder and muskets to wipe out the enemy troops, helped him establish schools to win the hearts of the people, and finally helped him ascend to the throne.
He also fulfilled his promise. He promised me the position of empress and a lifetime of being just the two of us. Chu Heng and I supported each other and had a deep affection for each other.
## Chapter 2
Just as I was deep in thought, the door was pushed open.
I turned around and saw the current prime minister, Yuan Shaohua, standing at the door.
I had no previous intersection with this prime minister. I only knew that he came from a poor family. He was gentle and polite in dealing with others, but in private, his methods were quite extraordinary.
It made sense. To be in such a high - ranking position under Chu Heng and me, his methods naturally couldn't be simple.
I sized up this young prime minister. He was different from Chu Heng. His eyebrows were gentle, and his skin was very fair.
He didn't look like someone from a poor family. Instead, he looked like a noble young master from some family.
Chu Heng had been unpopular since childhood. He had struggled in the palace for many years and had also been on the battlefield to kill the enemy. There was a sharp and aloof aura around him. Only when he faced me would he show a hint of tenderness.
"The prime minister is back. Come into the room quickly." I stepped forward with a smile.
A look of shock flashed in Yuan Shaohua's eyes, but he still followed me into the room.
I brewed a pot of tea for him and pointed to the door, still smiling. "I killed your concubine."
I could still faintly see a pool of blood in the yard. Under the sunlight, it looked extremely dazzling.
Yuan Shaohua must have seen it when he passed by there just now.
He didn't turn his head to look at the dead concubine. His eyes still stared at me deeply, and the emotions in his eyes were hard for me to understand.
The prime minister Yuan, known as the jade - faced fox, really lived up to his reputation. Even when his beloved concubine died miserably in front of him, he could still be so calm.
"I haven't seen you smile for a long time." He didn't pay attention to my words but said to himself. His voice was very soft, but I still heard it.
"The prime minister is joking." I restrained my smile a bit.
I felt a bit uncomfortable under his stare, so I changed the topic. "I'm going to the palace tomorrow."
As soon as I finished speaking, the sound of a teacup shattering rang out.
The teacup in Yuan Shaohua's hand fell to the ground, and the scalding tea splashed all over him, but he didn't seem to care at all. "What did you say?"
Yuan Shaohua gradually approached me, and his tone suddenly became sharp. The face that had just been so gentle and pleasant instantly turned gloomy.
As someone who had been in a high position for a long time, I hadn't felt such pressure for a long time. I frowned, a bit puzzled by Yuan Shaohua's reaction, but going to the palace was urgent, so I repeated what I had just said. "I said I'm going to the palace tomorrow to..."
Before I could finish my words, I was grabbed by a big hand.
The force on my neck made me lose my voice instantly. I opened my eyes wide and looked at the ferocious - looking Yuan Shaohua in front of me. I couldn't believe that this was the usually gentle and jade - like prime minister.
Just when I felt that my neck was about to be broken by him, the force on my neck suddenly loosened.
I fell to the ground and instinctively coughed violently.
I only knew before that the prime minister and his wife were on bad terms. I didn't expect that the usually well - behaved Cheng Wanwan in the palace had a husband like this crazy man. Her life must have been really hard.
"You've already killed Xiaofu. Why do you still want to go to the palace?" Yuan Shaohua's voice sounded like it was coming from hell.
The Xiaofu he mentioned was probably the concubine I had just beaten to death. I didn't dare to answer him for fear that he would find out that I wasn't Cheng Wanwan.
If he knew that his wife had changed, I didn't know what crazy things he would do.
"What do you want to do in the palace? Do you think that just because the empress is dead, you have a chance? Cheng Wanwan, stop dreaming. Chu Heng doesn't like you at all. He'll never like you in his life!" His tone became more and more intense.
## Chapter 3
Yuan Shaohua's words contained a lot of information. Did he mean that I didn't swap souls with Cheng Wanwan and that my physical body was really dead?
Also, I always thought that Cheng Wanwan's actions were because she was jealous of the harmonious relationship between Chu Heng and me, while it was well - known in the capital that she had a bad relationship with the prime minister.
If Cheng Wanwan had always been in love with Chu Heng, that's why she often went to the palace to please him and was at odds with me. Then it all made sense.
But why didn't I notice it before?
That's right. Although Cheng Wanwan tried to please Chu Heng everywhere, I never saw any admiration in her eyes. A woman's sixth sense in this regard was very accurate, so I never thought in that direction.
Was it really because Cheng Wanwan was too good at pretending that I didn't notice?
Just as I hadn't figured it out yet, Yuan Shaohua seemed to have calmed down a bit. His voice wasn't as sharp as before, but it was still much colder than usual. "Servants, the madam is not feeling well and needs to rest. From today on, she is not allowed to go out."
He wanted to confine me. This wouldn't do!
My death must have been a great blow to Chu Heng. He must be very sad. Just thinking about Chu Heng being heart - broken because of my death made my heart ache.
"You can't confine me. I must go to the palace!" I was very anxious. I must go to the palace to tell Chu Heng the truth. I couldn't bear to leave Chu Heng alone in the palace grieving for a single moment.
My eagerness was seen by Yuan Shaohua. He closed his eyes. I saw that his fingertips were turning white as he clenched his hands, which obviously showed that he was trying hard to control his emotions.
When he opened his eyes again and looked at me, his eyes were full of emotions that I couldn't understand. "When the servants came to report to me that you had killed Xiaofu, I was extremely happy."
This time his voice was even softer, so soft that only the two of us could hear it.
After saying that, he turned around and left. His back looked a bit lonely. The door was closed, and I heard the sound of a lock being put on.
...
I had been confined by Yuan Shaohua for almost a month. During this month, I tried all kinds of methods to escape, but to no avail. I originally thought that with my modern life experience and the experience of living two lifetimes, it would be easy to escape.
I was too overconfident. All the skills I brought from modern times were exposed when I helped Chu Heng seize the throne. As Chu Heng's confidant, Yuan Shaohua was fully aware of these things and naturally had ways to deal with them.
Now the prime minister's mansion was like an iron bucket. Not even a fly could fly out. Yuan Shaohua had really gone to great lengths to stop me from going to the palace.
During this month, I could hardly eat or sleep well. Just thinking about Chu Heng alone in the cold palace made my heart ache as if being stabbed by a knife. I wished I could fly to his side immediately, give him a big hug, and comfort him.
I really didn't know if this fool had been eating and resting well in the palace. He definitely hadn't. He must have lost a lot of weight and looked much older.
Yuan Shaohua would come to sit with me from time to time. Sometimes he would sit there silently, just staring at me, and sometimes he would chatter on and on.
After being confined for these days, I probably understood Yuan Shaohua's feelings for Cheng Wanwan. He was just infatuated with her, while Cheng Wanwan's heart belonged to Chu Heng.
That day, when I killed his concubine and greeted him with a smile, he probably thought I was jealous. After being happy, when he heard that I wanted to go to the palace, he went crazy like that.
One day, Baizhi told me that the prime minister had taken in two more concubines. For several consecutive days, Yuan Shaohua didn't come to see me.
I knew that this news was deliberately revealed to me by Yuan Shaohua through Baizhi. His purpose was just to make me jealous again and take action against these two concubines.
It was really funny. The real Cheng Wanwan had already been killed by the concubine he brought back with his own hands.
Not knowing how to let go, tying someone by his side but not treating her well, and just torturing each other sickly like this. Was this really love?
## Chapter 4
On this day, Yuan Shaohua came again. He seemed to be in a good mood today and had returned to his usual gentle self in front of me.
"There will be a celebration in the palace in a few days. The emperor will also show up. I'll take you with me." His eyes were calm, and there seemed to be a hint of expectation in them.
The great joy made me not care about the meaning behind his eyes. I also didn't care why the palace was holding a grand celebration after the death of the empress. I only knew that I was about to see Chu Heng, whom I had been missing so much.
On the day of the celebration, I specially dressed up carefully. I used thick powder to cover up my haggardness these days. Although I would be facing Chu Heng with Cheng Wanwan's face, I still wanted him to see me looking good.
Yuan Shaohua sized me up and let out a soft snort. Then he strode towards the carriage. I had no choice but to follow behind.
In the carriage, listening to the sound of the wheels slowly rolling on the ground, the closer we got to the palace, the faster my heart beat. It was pounding so hard that it seemed about to jump out of my chest, and there was also a hint of nervousness.
I wondered how Chu Heng was after not seeing him for a month. When seeing him with this face, would he be surprised or shocked?
My restlessness was noticed by Yuan Shaohua. He said coldly, "What? Are you so happy to go see Chu Heng?"
I was too lazy to pay attention to his sarcastic remarks. I just lifted the curtain and stared straight at the palace gate that was getting closer and closer in the distance.
There was loud music and noise at the official banquet. I kept staring at the dragon throne, looking forward to Chu Heng's appearance.
Finally, Chu Heng slowly walked towards the main hall under everyone's expectant eyes.
As soon as Chu Heng's figure appeared, my eyes were glued to him. He still looked as serious as ever, and the exhaustion between his eyebrows was hard to hide. He had lost a lot of weight, and the already big dragon robe looked even more empty on him.
As he got closer, my eyes swept over the woman behind him.
When I saw the woman's appearance clearly, my heart seemed to stop for a moment.
That woman looked seven or eight parts similar to the dead Xie Huanyu, that is, me.
The main hall was so stuffy that I could hardly breathe.
"I heard that this Concubine Yu not only looks extremely similar to the late empress, but she also knows everything about gunpowder that the late empress knew. In fact, her abilities are far beyond those of the late empress." Yuan Shaohua whispered in my ear.
It turned out that during the days when I had been missing Chu Heng day and night, there was already a new person by his side. All the sleepless nights and tossing and turning these days seemed like a joke.
Concubine Yu? Which Yu? It was really ironic.
My hand holding the wine cup was a bit shaky, but Yuan Shaohua beside me didn't intend to let me go. "Look, our emperor only likes women with that kind of appearance and abilities. He'll never like a woman like you who stays in the inner courtyard."
Yuan Shaohua had known about today's conferment ceremony for a long time. He deliberately brought me here, aiming to make Cheng Wanwan give up hope and also to make me, Xie Huanyu, give up.
Yuan Shaohua's words were meant for the dead Cheng Wanwan, but also for me, Xie Huanyu.
Yes, maybe Chu Heng just liked my appearance and abilities.
I never thought that one day, the cliche of the white - moonlight stand - in that I hated would happen to me. I never thought that someone who looked for a stand - in could really love the white moonlight. If they really loved, there wouldn't be a stand - in.
I forced myself not to look at the two people sitting on the upper seats, but my heart still couldn't help looking in that direction.
The two people on the upper seats were sitting shoulder to shoulder, looking like a perfect match. I seemed to see myself and Chu Heng in the past.
It was really ridiculous. I had only been dead for a month, and my body was still warm. Chu Heng was already so eager. All these years of love and time meant nothing to him. It seemed that anyone could replace me.
Chu Heng was smiling gently at that Concubine Yu. He only smiled gently at her.
It turned out that I wasn't the only one who would be treated like this by him. Anyone could.
My vision became a bit blurred, and I could only pour myself wine one cup after another.
## Chapter 5
In a blur, I seemed to see when I first traveled to this place. I knew nothing and could do nothing. Chu Heng taught me everything bit by bit. As a grandson of the emperor, he secretly did