It was the height of summer in Yujing.

The streets were wide, with restaurants and shops lining the streets, and the locals and vendors were enjoying themselves, creating a bustling scene.

Who could have imagined that ten years ago, this Jade Capital, this Great Phoenix Dynasty, was beset by internal and external troubles, teetering on the brink of collapse, and already on the verge of its demise!

All of this is thanks to the Crown Princess, Junxi.

The Fengyang Bell rang out, a full eighty-one times.

Its mournful cry, like a phoenix falling from the heavens, startled the entire capital city.

News came from the palace that their revered emperor had passed away!

"Empress Xihe has passed away!"

A swift horse galloped from the Phoenix Palace straight out of the palace, spreading the news of Emperor Junxi's passing.

Soon, the news of Junxi's death spread throughout the city.

All the people, regardless of age or gender, wore expressions of grief, and tears welled up in their eyes.

They knelt down in unison, facing the direction of the Phoenix Palace, placing their right hands on their hearts to express their sorrow and respect.

Without the empress, they would have long since become wronged souls under the iron heel of the enemy, humiliated slaves of a conquered nation.

Such a wonderful empress, it's truly a case of heaven being jealous of talent!

"Heaven is unjust! May Empress Xihe live forever!"

"Heaven is unjust! May Empress Xihe live forever!"

"..."

The cries of anguish echoed throughout the capital city, rising and falling, reaching the heavens as if they were praying to the heavens to return the emperor to them.

On the Star-Picking Tower, Jun Mingyue held Shen Changqing, Jun Xi's beloved and the current imperial consort, in her arms. She looked at the scene in the capital with an inscrutable expression, but a flash of jealousy and hatred quickly crossed her eyes.

"Sister, oh sister, you really win the hearts of the people!"

Even though Junxi is dead, so many ignorant people are still weeping for her!

What does it matter how sincerely she cried? What does it matter that Empress Xihe's holy name will last for eternity? What does it matter that Junxi was confident in his unparalleled literary and military achievements?

In the end, wasn't Jun Mingyue the winner?

Jun Mingyue was extremely pleased. The poor, ignorant people didn't know that the empress they admired and worshipped was still alive.

Junxi's martial arts were unparalleled, and she was invincible on the battlefield. So she crippled Junxi's martial arts and severed her tendons in her hands and feet!

Junxi was unparalleled in appearance, so she ruined her appearance with boiling water!

Junxi's phoenix eyes attracted the fervent pursuit of handsome men all over the world, so she gouged out Junxi's eyes!

Junxi could speak eloquently, so she poisoned Junxi's voice, leaving her with no way to seek justice!

Junxi, the supreme ruler, considered himself of high status, so she threw him into a pile of beggars to die!

She would destroy everything that Jun Xi was praised or flattered about! She, Jun Mingyue, was the true ruler of the Great Phoenix Dynasty!

"Mingyue, I have done what I promised you. When will you marry me and make me your husband?"

The man in her arms offered himself as her bedmate; he was fickle and promiscuous. If it weren't for dealing with Junxi, she wouldn't have demeaned herself by sleeping with a slut like him!

Jun Mingyue felt utterly disgusted with Shen Changqing, but on the surface she was all tenderness and affection.

"Changqing, you are the one I love, and I will never wrong you."

Shen Changqing felt relieved after receiving the woman's promise, but he didn't realize that Jun Mingyue hadn't given any substantial promises from beginning to end.

"Bright moon, I also admire you."

"Changqing, the guards have reported that my sister might not make it through the night. We were sisters after all... I'm going to see her off on her final journey. Do you want to come with me?"

Hearing Jun Mingyue's high-sounding words, Shen Changqing was deeply moved. What a kind woman she was! This was the kind of wife he had always dreamed of.

Junxi treated him well, presenting him with all the rarest and most precious treasures in the world, allowing him to choose freely.

However, Shen Changqing despised Junxi's hypocrisy, her imperial power tactics, and even more so her ruthless and decisive methods.

Therefore, he always felt empty inside.

It wasn't until he met the gentle and noble Jun Mingyue that Shen Changqing felt he had a soul.

Previously, he was nothing more than a walking corpse, numbly submitting to Junxi's pleasure.

Shen Changqing turned his head, his eyes sparkling, and looked at Jun Mingyue with deep affection.

“Mingyue, you are just too kind-hearted, that’s why you were bullied by Junxi before.”

"Since Mingyue wants to go, I'm willing to go with you."

Jun Mingyue smiled slightly and casually kissed Shen Changqing on the cheek.

"Changqing understands my heart best."

Yujing, West Street.

A disheveled woman huddled in a corner, her limbs hanging limply, her eyes sunken, with traces of blood around them.

Junxi was wise all her life but foolish for a moment. She seized power over the world and enjoyed great glory and freedom.

However, she was betrayed by her closest sister and the man she loved most. One led away the Phoenix Feather Army, while the other silently poisoned her.

Junxi wanted to laugh, laughing at the fact that people's hearts are hidden from their minds, and laughing at her own utter foolishness!

She forgot the art of rulership she had learned since childhood, and forgot that only men and petty people are difficult to deal with!

She dismissed the harem for Shen Changqing and divorced the nine husbands who had followed her when she was in the Eastern Palace.

Of all the waters in the world, I only need a single sip.

Her self-righteous devotion only moved herself.

She favored her own sister, giving her honor and power, which led to her current predicament!

But Junxi couldn't laugh; she had been given a potent drug to make her mute, and her throat was completely rotten.

Even if one hates someone to the extreme, even if one grinds their throat bones to pieces, all they can make is a hoarse and unpleasant "hoarse" sound.

She cursed herself in her heart.

Junxi, you deserve it!

You rejected three thousand beauties in the imperial harem, and now you've turned over a new leaf and are blind to favor only one man!

You deserved such a miserable end, and you deserved your magnificent first half of life to end so abruptly!

Snap, snap...

Junxi's martial arts were crippled, and her meridians were torn apart with pain. Under the intense pain, his five senses became dulled.

Her eyes were gouged out, so she couldn't see the dark clouds overhead or the crowds seeking shelter from the rain.

The raindrops started falling sparsely, but soon a torrential downpour began.

The corner where Junxi was staying offered no shelter from the rain. The torrential rain soaked the disheveled woman, and the yellow dust and sand were mixed in with the rain, turning the area into a muddy mess.

The sudden downpour caused people to rush to find shelter. As they passed by Junxi, their footsteps splashed mud and dirty water all over him.

For Junxi, whose tendons and ligaments were all severed, even the act of dodging was a luxury.

Amidst the chaotic scene, a luxurious carriage, completely out of place in the disarray of West Street, slowly approaches.

The servants thoughtfully laid out a thick red carpet so that the distinguished guests in the carriage would not get muddy.

Shen Changqing wore a moon-white brocade robe, and the silver lotus flower-shaped decoration between his eyebrows made his already aloof and cold beauty even more striking.

He nestled in Jun Mingyue's arms, covered his nose with a handkerchief in disgust, looked down at the extremely disheveled Jun Xi, and frowned as he questioned her.

"Junxi, your current predicament is entirely your own fault. Now that things have come to this... do you regret humiliating Mingyue? Do you regret taking me into the palace?"

regret?

The word "regret" doesn't exist in Junxi's dictionary!

Even if she dies a tragic death today, she will only hate herself for not being ruthless enough and for not being cold-blooded enough, giving them the opportunity to cause trouble.

The victor is king, the loser is villain. She didn't lose to Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing, but to herself!

She opened her lips to speak, uttering each word slowly, so that Shen Changqing could clearly see her silent lip movements.

"Shen Changqing, when you stripped naked and knelt before me, using all sorts of tricks to seduce me, you were so pitiful and despicable!"

"As expected of the number one young master of Yangzhou, his figure is very supple, and his oral skills are also quite good. I am very satisfied."

Shen Changqing and Jun Mingyue understood Jun Xi's lip reading. The man was so angry that his face turned red, while the woman held him in her arms to comfort him.

"Changqing, everything you have done is for me and for the common people. You don't need to mind your elder sister's nonsense."

After being comforted by Jun Mingyue, Shen Changqing raised his tearful eyes and gave a wronged "Mmm".

After comforting the man, Jun Mingyue turned to look at Jun Xi, who was silently cursing them as "dogs and dogs".

"Eldest sister, you've always been stubborn, and you'll never admit your mistakes."

Jun Mingyue, dressed in a black python robe and holding an umbrella, coldly watched Jun Xi's miserable state.

"As sisters, today Changqing and I will see you off on your final journey, thus fulfilling our sisterly bond in this life."

"Don't worry, after you leave, I will take good care of Changqing and govern the Great Phoenix Dynasty well. Eldest sister, you can go in peace."

Junxi could only sneer in her heart. How could she have been so blinded by such laughable blood ties before?

Jun Mingyue's true intentions are as clear as day; she only sees them now that she's stepped outside the situation.

If there is an afterlife...

(Guys I wanted to ask if you want this novel 18+ or not coz original author did write much about it so tell if you want I'll add myself.)

Junxi had no afterlife; she lost too much blood and died in Yujing City on a stormy night.

The body was wrapped in a straw mat by a "kind-hearted person" and thrown into a mass grave, where it was devoured by wild dogs.

Junxi had a splitting headache, and only then did she realize that she was currently in a soul state.

The sun is shining brightly; today is the day of her funeral.

The officiant, with a solemn expression, recited the eulogy.

"On the third day of the sixth month in the tenth year of Xihe's reign, Empress Xihe passed away."

"Heaven and earth grieve together, and all people weep blood. The late emperor pacified the Xiongnu in the west and campaigned against the Manchus in the north..."

Junxi had a complicated expression. Being able to witness his own funeral would certainly be a topic of conversation in the underworld.

On either side of the enormous and ornate coffin, civil and military officials, dressed in mourning clothes, stood as a court band played funeral music, and the suona horns rose, their high-pitched and resonant notes filling the air.

The people, dressed in white, lined the streets, weeping as they saw them off.

"spread!"

White paper money rose and scattered in the air, falling softly like goose feathers in a snowstorm.

Junxi's soul body has returned to its peak state. She is dressed in a black dragon robe, her black hair is tied up high, she wears a purple-gold crown and cloud-stepping boots, showing her imperial majesty.

The long funeral procession resembled a desolate white dragon, its body occupying the wide streets of Yujing, a sight that evoked deep sorrow.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, lifting Junxi's dark robes.

Just then, the coffin moved to the side, and the white silk cloth fluttered up.

Junxi and her own coffin passed each other by.

"Jun Mingyue is a traitorous minister! Shen Changqing is a wicked and disastrous husband who brought ruin to the country! His Majesty died unjustly!"

"I beg Heaven to open its eyes and clear the name of my wife who serves me!"

Before the coffin, nine handsome men, each with their own unique charm, knelt in neat rows. Dressed in white mourning clothes, with tears in their eyes, they cried out in unison for Junxi's innocence.

This is not...

The nine husbands she divorced?

Junxi suddenly burst into laughter. It turned out that not everyone in the world was unfaithful; there were people who were truly sincere to her, and more than one at that!

Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing are both scheming against each other and are not good people, so how can they be sincere?

Her life, Junxi, wasn't too much of a failure.

She stepped forward to help them up, but her transparent soul passed right through them.

"As long as the world knows the injustice done to my wife, that Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing were adulterers, having an affair in the harem and poisoning the Emperor, I am willing to die to prove my innocence!"

Gu Jingxing took the lead, and the remaining eight husbands echoed in unison.

"I am willing to die to prove my innocence!"

The nine people had clearly planned it in advance; their movements were remarkably synchronized. The daggers slashed across their necks, and blood gushed out, staining the white paper money red—a horrifying sight.

Junxi wanted to stop it, but he was powerless to do so.

She could only watch helplessly as her nine husbands, who had truly loved her, died on the spot, sacrificing their lives to seek justice for her.

Perhaps it was the scene of the nine people resolutely facing death that was too shocking, and Junxi regretted for the first time that she had chosen Shen Changqing and abandoned her nine husbands.

She looked up at the sky, but she couldn't stop her tears from flowing.

The people were outraged, and the civil and military officials were in uproar, leading to a period of chaos and disorder.

"Was His Majesty truly killed by Prince Mingyue and Young Master Changqing?"

"Your Majesty, I will certainly investigate the truth and give you an explanation!"

"Your Majesty—"

The noisy and chaotic sounds seemed far away from her, and Junxi's consciousness began to sink into darkness and become blurred.

Perhaps because the emperor was unjustly killed and the people were outraged, snow began to fall on a sunny June day!

Snowflakes fluttered down, falling on Yujing, on the streets, on the funeral procession, on the coffin, and on the nine deceased husbands.

The scalding blood cooled, and the white banners fell to the ground in disarray.

Snow in June, a tragic injustice throughout the ages.

Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing were quickly exposed. Jun Mingyue's dream of becoming empress shattered like a phantom as soon as it began. Shen Changqing was executed by the angry people and officials, and died a gruesome death.

However, Junxi did not see any of this.

After death, consciousness falls into darkness, and many memories from life will flash before one's eyes.

Junxi saw that she had consolidated power and the empire was secure...

The scene shifts, and we see handsome men surrounding us, amidst a magnificent and prosperous world...

Finally, the image condensed, and she saw herself as a child.

Five-year-old Junxi looked up at her, her face showing a maturity beyond her years.

"Junxi, if you were given a second chance at life, would you be willing to be kind to others, punish Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing, and kill them over so they would let you go?"

Junxi gazed at her tiny self, a slight smile playing on her thin lips.

"willing."

She was willing to commit even greater evils, to utterly crush the vassal state under her feet, and to tear Jun Mingyue and Shen Changqing to pieces.

She relentlessly squeezed their living space, forcing them to be crushed into the mud, and told them this.

"I am the supreme ruler, and you are the inferior ones."

"Thunder and rain, all are the Emperor's grace; why don't you quickly accept the decree and express your gratitude?"

Junxi and her younger self exchanged a smile, a smile that was both gloomy and insane.

"Your Highness, please have mercy and spare her life, considering that the Grand Tutor is old and has worked hard for the Great Phoenix Dynasty for most of his life."

A clear yet gentle male voice rang out, awakening Junxi from her slumber.

As soon as Junxi opened her eyes, a sharp pain shot through her head. With difficulty, she raised her hand and immediately realized that she had returned to ten years ago, when she was still the Crown Princess in the Eastern Palace.

There's no other reason than that her hands have very delicate skin, and moreover, she possesses all five senses, which are essential for martial arts.

After figuring out the current situation of her rebirth, Junxi looked toward the source of the sound.

Behind the screen, a man with a straight posture, as upright as a bamboo or pine, knelt upright. He bowed his head and kowtowed deeply, then continued to plead for mercy with earnest words.

"Your Highness, please have mercy. The Grand Tutor is also Your Highness's teacher. Killing the Grand Tutor will only tarnish Your Highness's reputation. Even if Your Highness is thinking of yourself, you cannot kill the Grand Tutor."

Grand Tutor?

Junxi thought back carefully and realized that Grand Tutor Li Moyan had been her teacher for three days.

She remembered that ten years ago, her cousin tricked her into taking large amounts of Wushi San (a type of traditional Chinese medicine), which caused her to go crazy from time to time.

When the illness strikes, the person becomes ruthless, cruel, and bloodthirsty, showing no regard for family or friends.

Li Moyan pointed at Junxi's nose and cursed her for being tyrannical, unfit to be the crown prince, and unworthy of being the Crown Princess...

For so long, the people have revered and the officials have praised Empress Xihe, and they have almost forgotten that ten years ago she was a complete tyrant who treated human life as worthless.

Junxi leaned against the headboard, her right leg bent, her right hand resting on her knee. She frowned and thought for a moment. The person kneeling in front of the screen seemed to be her husband, Gu Jingxing.

Thinking of the scene in her previous life where Gu Jingxing and his nine husbands committed suicide together, Junxi's heart softened, and she said gently:

"Come to the bed."

Upon hearing this, Gu Jingxing trembled, his lowered eyes filled with humiliation.

In the end, can she still not escape the fate of having her body forcibly taken?

Gu Jingxing is the eldest son of the current Prime Minister Gu Li. He has a noble and aloof appearance, but is actually gentle and refined at heart.

Junxi brought disaster to the country and disrupted the government, persecuting loyal and virtuous officials. The people of the world were filled with resentment and suffered unspeakable misery.

Gu Jingxing didn't think he was that great, willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of all living beings.

However, the Grand Tutor had been kind enough to teach him, so he couldn't refuse to save him!

In today's world, women are superior to men, and the Great Phoenix Dynasty establishes itself through military might.

Women are naturally better at martial arts than men, and for hundreds of years, a policy of "keeping the people ignorant" has been implemented, which promotes the idea that a man's virtue lies in his lack of talent and that a man's purity is his destiny.

For Gu Jingxing, the fact that the Grand Tutor was willing to teach him the classics, history, philosophy, literature, and the Six Arts of the Gentlemen-Ladies in such an environment was like a second birth.

Therefore, even at the cost of his life, he would plead for the Grand Tutor.

Junxi waited a while, but seeing that Gu Jingxing made no move, she said impatiently in a cold voice:

"Are you deaf?"

Gu Jingxing was startled, snapped out of his thoughts, and knelt down to Junxi's bedside.

"Your Highness, please forgive me."

Junxi glanced down at Gu Jingxing. It was the dead of winter, and although her bedchamber was warm as spring, it was freezing cold outside.

Gu Jingxing went to great lengths to plead for the Grand Tutor, wearing only a simple blue robe, his black hair half-tied up, his eyebrows and eyes clear and refined, like a blue lotus quietly blooming in a secluded valley, untouched by worldly strife.

"Oh? You want me to forgive your sins?"

She was very interested.

"Why don't you think carefully about how to please me? Once I'm in a good mood... I naturally won't hold a grudge against you, a man in my backyard."

Gu Jingxing's straight back slumped, his head hung low, and he seemed lost in thought.

Soon, Junxi knew what Gu Jingxing was thinking.

The man's movements froze for a moment as his pale hand rested on the waist belt. His long eyelashes brushed against his eyelids for a fleeting instant, and Gu Jingxing concealed the humiliation and resentment in his eyes.

With a finger movement, the ties are untied.

Junxi made no attempt to stop him, her gaze unabashedly fixed on the man's pectoral muscles.

I never would have guessed that Gu Jingxing, who looks so slender, is actually so well-endowed.

She raised an eyebrow and finally made a move.

She sat neatly on the edge of the bed, her bare feet pressing against the man's chest.

"continue."

Gu Jingxing had already made up his mind and stopped being coy. In no time, the thin blue robe fell to the ground and piled up at the man's feet.

He was only wearing a pair of fur trousers to cover his body, his chest was bare, his well-defined abdominal muscles were clearly visible, and his sexy V-line disappeared into the white fur trousers.

Junxi's foot slid down the man's chest and landed right in the middle.

Gu Jingxing's breath hitched, but his eyes met Jun Xi's condescending gaze without flinching.

“As long as Your Highness spares the Grand Tutor, Jingxing is willing to serve Your Highness without any regrets.”

The man tilted his head back, making his jawline even more clearly visible. The veins on the side of his neck snaked upwards, and his Adam's apple bobbed. His cool expression made him appear even more ascetic.

Junxi then realized that Gu Jingxing did indeed have a handsome face that could bring misfortune to men, even more so than Shen Changqing.

How could she have been bewitched by Shen Changqing after eating such chaff in her past life?

Junxi was completely baffled, feeling as if her heart had been scratched by a cat's paw. She lowered her eyes, placed her hand on the top of the man's head, and gently stroked it like she was petting a cat.

"Get into bed and serve me well."

Junxi always kept his word, and Gu Jingxing dared not disobey him.

The man's movements as he climbed onto the bed were slightly stiff; Junxi could tell from his actions that he was unwilling, but...

So what?

What's the point of doing it willingly? The thrill is doubled when it's taken by force!

Moreover, she was confident that she could make Gu Jingxing fall in love with her just like in her previous life.

Looking back on these seemingly humiliating scenes, Gu Jingxing will only think of them as nothing more than marital fun.

Junxi leaned closer, near the man's taut neck, and took a light sniff, seemingly able to smell the delicate fragrance of lotus.

"My dear husband, you seem very nervous? Is this your first time?"

Gu Jingxing's long eyelashes trembled slightly. Junxi was indeed a madman, asking meaningless questions.

He was favored by Junxi and forcibly taken into the palace. She knew perfectly well whether it was his first time or not, so why did she deliberately flirt with him?

The wife is the head of the household, and now that he has entered the Eastern Palace and become the legitimate husband, Gu Jingxing had long expected this day to come.

However… Gu Jingxing had never experienced romantic love, so naturally he was nervous.

"Your Highness, this is indeed my first time serving you. I hope Your Highness will be kind to me."

Junxi then remembered that all men entering the Eastern Palace had to undergo rigorous screening, with chastity being the first requirement.

When a boy is born, a small red dot is placed three inches below his navel to mark him as a symbol of purity. This tiny dot represents a strict constraint on the boy.

Any man who loses his virginity before marriage will suffer a terrible fate.

Unless the prime minister is tired of living and wants to play a game of elimination with her, he would never send a man who has lost his virginity into the Eastern Palace.

She propped her head up on her side, and with her other hand lowered the apricot-yellow bed curtains. The dim candlelight couldn't penetrate the thick fabric, and although the bed was wide, it created a closed space.

Junxi clearly sensed that Gu Jingxing's body trembled, his abdominal muscles tensed, and he seemed even more nervous.

Her delicate hand first traced the man's handsome features, then moved down, across his Adam's apple... finally resting on the bright red freckles.

"Your Highness..."

Junxi stopped drawing circles with her index finger around Shoujie Sand, raised her eyes, and her expression was unreadable.

"Is this how Gu Zhengjun serves me? Before you entered the Eastern Palace, didn't they teach you the rules for serving the Crown Princess?"

Gu Jingxing turned his head away in embarrassment, his lips moving slightly, his voice barely audible.

"Your Highness, They have taught me "

"Since you've been already taught ..."

Although the woman's voice was soft, it carried the imposing authority of someone who had long held a high position, leaving no room for doubt.

"My beloved husband, please me."

Gu Jingxing never expected that Junxi would treat him as a male concubine who used his looks to serve others. He was the eldest son of the Prime Minister's mansion, with a noble status and an unyielding spirit, yet he was humiliated to this extent!

Love between a man and a woman should naturally lead to a relationship between two people who are mutually attracted.

Junxi, however, repeatedly forced herself on him...

Gu Jingxing pressed his tongue firmly against his back teeth, already contemplating suicide.

Just as Junxi and Gu Jingxing were having a great time playing, a report came from nearby.

"Your Highness, Princess Qingrong requests an audience."

Princess Qingrong?

Isn't this just a way to trick her into taking Wushi San for a long time and spread rumors that she's a ridiculous, cruel, and heartless "good cousin"?

In her previous life, Princess Qingrong was executed by her, torn apart by five horses and her bones were crushed and scattered to the winds.

...

Outside Jiyue Palace.

Jun Qingrong's face was gentle and generous, as if bathed in holy light, but his tone was anxious.

"Cousin, Gu Zhengjun only offended you because he was anxious to save people. Grand Tutor Li is loyal to the country and incorruptible; he can be considered your mentor..."

Jun Qingrong hesitated at just the right moment, seemingly helpless against Jun Xi's tyrannical actions.

"Qingrong kneels down before her cousin. Qingrong has no other request but to ask that her cousin spare the lives of Gu Zhengjun and Li Taifu."

A daughter's knees are worth their weight in gold; Jun Qingrong's kneeling has truly put Jun Xi in the eye of the storm.

This further damaged Junxi's already precarious reputation.

Jun Xi narrowed her sharp phoenix eyes. Jun Qingrong was indeed no pushover; she had just returned and was already setting a trap for her.

If Junxi remembers correctly, Princess Qingrong is ambitious and wants to seize power. Today is the first step she has taken.

After Qing Rong's energetic performance, Empress Junlan would arrive late.

Jun Qingrong had a clever plan. He first knelt down, claiming it was for her own good, but in reality, he was confirming the fact that Jun Xi had "murdered her master."

Gu Jingxing will remember this favor; she might need it in the future.

Junxi secretly raised an eyebrow, thinking of killing two birds with one stone?

She wanted to show Jun Qingrong what it meant to be utterly destroyed.

Speaking of which, her reputation for being tyrannical and cruel, and for harming loyal and virtuous people, spread throughout the country, and her "good cousin" Jun Qingrong certainly played a significant role in fueling this behind the scenes.

Junxi's murderous intent surged, and her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

"Dark Moon, please invite Princess Qingrong to come in and kneel."