Chapter 054

Chapter 54: No Chance to Make a Move

Yu Zhi Yi only wanted to slack off and watch from the sidelines in this life. She did not want to get dragged into other people’s love and hate.

But her identity itself was a crime in others’ eyes.

She was not afraid of petty trouble. She could handle those things with ease.

Only one thing truly disgusted her.

Those nobles liked to force people to bow and kneel. They even tried to make her kneel for a long time to embarrass her, which made her very upset.

One may kneel to Heaven and Earth, the sovereign, parents, and teachers; but what was Prince Xiao Yao to her?

He was a hypocrite and a love-struck fool.

In her past life, she helped Zhang Tian Shun cut down enemies on every side. After he took real power, his status was higher than that love-obsessed Prince Xiao Yao.

As a princess consort of a different surname and a First-Rank titled lady, she had a special right: she did not have to pay respects to anyone except the emperor and empress.

[If the rules ever forced me to kneel to that man, I would puke.]

A disciple of the Heavenly Secret Sect never yields.

She refused to kneel to that hypocrite, no matter what.

In this era, there was only one way to avoid constant kneeling: raise her status until she stood equal with him.

Rubbing her chin, Yu Zhi Yi remembered that the emperor’s birthday feast would be next month.

In her last life she had not been in the capital at that time, but she knew a big event happened there: assassins appeared on the day of the feast.

She also knew that You Bing Yue was rewarded for saving the emperor. Breaking precedent, the emperor appointed her as a female officer in the Capital Halberd Guards, serving as Capital Halberd Guard Inspector.

That post was only in name. She could come on duty if she wished, or stay home and still collect the monthly pay.

A century ago, Jia Luo, the Eldest Princess Protector of the Nation, had opened the way for women to serve as officials. Since then, more and more women had entered the Court Hall.

But no woman had ever served in the Capital Halberd Guards, and no female official had ever received such a nominal honor.

People complained about it, and some tried to copy it, but none could succeed.

It was simple: she had earned it by risking her life.

You Bing Yue had blocked a fatal blow with her body.

The emperor was deeply moved, so despite the Inner Palace and many ministers objecting, he insisted on giving You Bing Yue this honor and power.

He even created the inspector post just for her. It had never existed before.

This seat ranked only below the Capital Halberd Guard Commander. The Capital Halberd Guard Deputy Commander, once the second in command, slipped to third.

Because of this status, Chancellor Du and his wife changed how they saw her. But the old grudge was too deep to fix quickly, so they still did not allow her to be with Du Zi Heng in name.

Later, Du Zi Heng proved himself and won the right to set up his own residence. Only then did the old couple give in and stop opposing them.

Yu Zhi Yi had no interest in taking a blow for the emperor.

She remembered those assassins were desperadoes. When the plot was exposed, their sharp fangs showed.

Their targets were not only the emperor but also the high officials and nobles in the capital, including their families.

The emperor and those nobles had protection and reacted in time. Sadly, many women, children, and the elderly did not, and they were killed.

If the attack was stopped from the start, those people would not die.

[With merit that great, the emperor should grant me a First-Rank lady’s title, right?]

She did not ask for much. She did not need hundreds of shi of stipend each year or any real power. She only wanted the title.

As for taking You Bing Yue’s credit:

You Bing Yue had no shame about taking others’ credit and often came to disturb her peace. Yu Zhi Yi felt no burden at all.

[That title is mine.]

At the same time, Yu Jiao Jiao was also thinking about the assassination.

She had been there in her past life.

But she was too far from the emperor. Even if she had found an excuse to sit near him, she had neither the guts nor the skill to shield him with her own body.

So that cheap woman You Bing Yue picked up the advantage.

Even if You Bing Yue was no longer her love rival in this life, the grudges from the last life did not fade.

She hated Yu Zhi Yi for stealing ten years of her life. She hated You Bing Yue even more for making her a joke and causing her death in the past.

She swore to grab the credit for saving the emperor no matter what.

She could not understand what had gone wrong in this life. So much time had passed, but Zhang Tian Shun still had not dismissed the women in his back courtyard. Two of those shameless women even got pregnant before her, and Zhang Tian Shun took their side to bully her.

Worst of all, Zhang Tian Shun showed no sign of wanting to rise at all.

When she told him to build merit and make a name, he just looked confused, as if sending a well-known wastrel to the battlefield was the most ridiculous thing.

On top of that, her mother-in-law was strange and had an extreme need to control Zhang Tian Shun, even meddling in the couple’s bedroom matters.

But in the last life, when Yu Zhi Yi married in, it was not like this.

She could not count on Zhang Tian Shun for now, so she would count on herself.

She had already decided that once she succeeded, she would ask for ten thousand taels of gold and a gold pardon medallion.

[Then let’s see who dares act wild in front of me. Yu Zhi Yi, You Bing Yue, and those shameless women who got pregnant before the legal wife, I will kill them all. Kill every last one!]

Someone else had the same idea: You Bing Yue.

She was a book-transmigrator and remembered this save-the-emperor plot very well.

After all, it was the turning point of the life of Du Zi Heng’s so-called vicious wife.

Before the rescue, that “vicious wife” was protected by Du Zi Heng and cherished by Chancellor Du and his wife, yet the Yu Clan did not value her. The capital laughed at her.

After the rescue, the powerful people of the capital looked up to her because she was “the emperor’s lifesaving benefactor,” and they praised her and Du Zi Heng as a perfect couple.

Pah.

It was just dumb luck.

Saving the emperor?

She would take that credit.

After Duke Ding Guo left the capital city, Yu Zhi Yi’s days returned to peace.

She was even happier when Madam Yao came back from the country estate. She finally handed back the job of keeping Du Zi Heng in line.

Then she shut the doors of Windward Pavilion and announced she had a serious cold. To avoid spreading it, she refused all visitors.

So when Prince Xiao Yao rescued You Bing Yue and then turned to make trouble for Yu Zhi Yi, Zi Yuan met him with red eyes and a grief-stricken face and said: “My young madam is truly ill.”

As if to prove it, a heartbreaking cough rang out from the courtyard.

Du Zi Heng, who had hurried over to block Prince Xiao Yao from causing trouble and who also wanted to know why Yu Zhi Yi had given the wrong address the first time, fell silent.

Prince Xiao Yao also fell silent.

He could not afford a reputation for bullying a sick woman.

He did not believe that the woman who had been lively that very morning was now dying, but he could not force his way in.

He cared about his reputation.

He said, biting down on the words “rest well”: “Since your young madam is sick, let her rest well.”

Thinking of how Yue’er had almost been bullied by those scum, he wanted to skin the real culprit alive.

Next time they met, he would not be so easy to talk to.

Prince Xiao Yao never imagined that Yu Zhi Yi could lie low so well. By their next meeting, he would have no chance to make a move at all.