“Pfft!” Wu Ying spat out a mouthful of fruit juice right in the middle of breakfast. “Paralyzed from a stroke??”
Jiang Qing handed her a few tissues, then pulled out some more to wipe the juice off his own clothes. His mind raced. Here it comes, he thought. Whatever their real objective is, we’re about to find out.
That morning, countless people across the world were just as dumbfounded as Wu Ying.
Madam President had been pacing her office with a furrowed brow since early morning, tied up on one phone call after another.
“Is this news confirmed?”
On the other end of the line was the diplomatic team sent to the Kingdom of Pymeshire to negotiate details following the initial agreement with Hualan. Since this was a secret partnership, no head of state could personally attend to sign the documents.
Not long ago, the contract signed with Emperor Orpheus had served as a down payment. Queen Cecilia was escorted back to Pymeshire yesterday, and today was supposed to be the day they finalized the rest of the deal with Orpheus.
Yet right on cue, Emperor Orpheus suffered a crippling stroke??
It was too sudden, too absurd. It was almost impossible not to suspect that Orpheus was simply reneging on his promise after getting what he wanted, playing dead to dodge his obligations.
“Madam President, we sent people to investigate immediately. Emperor Orpheus… seems to actually be paralyzed…” The diplomat’s voice sounded strained on the line, clearly finding it hard to digest as well.
“How could this happen?”
The diplomat couldn’t offer an answer either. The royal palace in Pymeshire was in total chaos, and gathering reliable details would take time.
The entire world found the news preposterous, and discussions exploded across forums both domestic and foreign.
Royal family members from all over the world rushed back to Pymeshire that morning, desperate to learn the truth.
When they arrived, Queen Cecilia kept her doors firmly shut, Prince Ferri remained unconscious, and only the Empress Dowager was screaming in rage. Having been dragged out of the palace in disgrace the night before, she had stormed off in a fury, only to rush back upon hearing about her son’s collapse. She spent the entire night cursing Queen Cecilia as a curse on the family, and once the other royals arrived, she tried to lead a mob to denounce the Queen.
“Set that aside for a moment—where is the healer?” a senior royal demanded. He meant the rare atavist with healing abilities. While very scarce, the royal court did employ one. With a high-tier healer present, what was a mere stroke?
“The healer requested leave just a short while ago and has vanished without a trace.”
“Find him immediately!”
Right at that moment, Prince Ferri woke up. Everyone rushed over to ask what happened.
Instead of answering calmly, the young prince flew into a rage. “It’s all because of the Empress Dowager! She brought Noriana to say those awful things to Mother, driving Mother to demand a divorce! Where is the Empress Dowager? Arrest her!”
The Empress Dowager was completely caught off guard. She had already forgotten all about Noriana, and being accused like this left her stunned.
“W-What? What does this have to do with—”
“It’s your fault! You brought that vile woman! Mother had lost her memory, and we could have started over! But the woman you brought brought up the past, making Mother remember everything and demand a divorce! Father got so angry and panic that he collapsed!”
The royal family members turned their glare toward the Empress Dowager, eyes burning with anger. “What on earth were you thinking?!”
“I… I…” The Empress Dowager panicked, her face pale with guilt. She actually bought the prince’s story. After all, she really had brought Noriana into the palace, and the scenario described by the prince sounded entirely plausible.
Thanks to Emperor Orpheus’s belated display of devotion, he had planned every detail to make Lolita accept her role as Queen Cecilia again. Aside from the prince and the four weather guardians, almost no one knew that the Queen had never lost her memory, nor did they know the real reason behind her five-year disappearance. Even the four guardians only knew snippets.
To the Pymeshire royal family, such a scandal was humiliating beyond words. A senior prince with silvering hair immediately ordered a complete blackout on palace news, forbidding anyone from leaking a word.
Yet whether because years of power centralization by Emperor Orpheus had stripped his brothers of authority, or due to other behind-the-scenes forces, the story leaked out anyway.
Before long, people all over the world—whether truly worried or just looking for some excitement—heard an even crazier version of the story.
Emperor Orpheus had not suffered a random stroke. Shortly after bringing Queen Cecilia home, the Empress Dowager had barged in with his first love and mistress, Noriana, to cause trouble. Furious, Queen Cecilia threatened divorce, and the sudden shock and rage drove Emperor Orpheus straight into a paralyzing stroke.
Prince Ferri had lashed out in anger, stabbing Noriana in the abdomen, sending her to the emergency room for surgery.
[This is so dramatic. It sounds really fake.]
[Who is Noriana? What first love?? What mistress???]
[Why does the royal court sound like a trashy soap opera? If you’re going to make up stories, at least make them believable. Emperor Orpheus loved Queen Cecilia to death!]
[Love at first sight, absolute devotion, aging years in her absence—how is that not love?]
Because the rumors sounded so far-fetched and contradicted the romantic narrative pushed earlier, most people refused to believe them. Besides, the Pymeshire royal family had operated without major scandals for centuries. Faced with this sudden wave of filth, the public’s default reaction was skepticism.
When two senior princes officially denied the rumors, everyone felt relieved at first, but that quickly turned into anger toward the gossip spreaders. People started tracking down where the lies came from, and even well-known hackers joined the hunt.
The royal family felt a moment of relief, though deep down they knew the storm wasn’t over. “Is the Queen still refusing to come out?”
The maid shook her head. “Her Highness still insists on a divorce.”
“The house of Pymeshire will become the laughingstock of the world!”
“There has never been a royal divorce in our history. This is an absolute disgrace!”
Having grown up viewing themselves as divine rulers, the royal family held dignity above all else, clinging strictly to the ancient doctrines laid out in the Pymeshire Scripture.
“If she refuses to step out, let her stay locked in there forever!”
They stormed off in a huff.
The maid stepped inside to report to the Queen before curtsying and retreating, closing the heavy doors behind her.
Lolita sat inside her familiar cage. Heavy bandages covered several wounds on her body that had yet to heal. Her gaze rested on the spot where the indoor fishpond used to be—a pond Emperor Orpheus had filled in during a fit of rage, unaware it was once her secret passage to meet her lover.
“Your Highness, it is time to move,” said the male Nightmare Atavist, stepping out from behind the heavy curtains alongside two fellow atavists from the Republic of Punia.
They had been sent to help Lolita. She had just come back and really needed support, and their help made a big difference—including making the royal healer suddenly disappear.
Of course, their help came at a price.
Lolita took a deep breath. “I almost forgot what it felt like to be Queen Cecilia. I had to dig deep into my memory just to remember how she spoke, how she smiled.”
The woman beside the Nightmare Atavist spoke softly. “Once this is over, you can be whoever you wish to be.”
“You’re right. That information broker helped me to this extent. If I ended up trapped as the old Queen Cecilia again, I’d have no one to blame but myself.”
She stood up slowly. Five years of life on the run had come to an end. This was a new beginning. Lolita would remain a memory; now, she was stepping back into the role of Queen Cecilia.
In an instant, her entire demeanor shifted. Gone was the free-spirited mercenary girl who pulled out a broadsword at a moment’s notice. In her place stood an effortless sovereign, radiating authority and grace.
“Let’s go.”
The public’s anger at the rumor spreaders didn’t last long. As people online dug deeper to find where the rumors started, they found some troubling truths instead.
First, they made sure Noriana was a real person by finding her graduation photos with Emperor Orpheus. They also confirmed she was in the hospital with a knife wound in her stomach.
A flood of matching details left the public stunned.
Over the next two days, an avalanche of leaks flooded the internet from anonymous insiders. They revealed that as soon as Orpheus claimed the throne, he moved Noriana into the royal palace, housing her in the southwest tower. She ran amok with impunity, and Orpheus turned a blind eye, even re-gifting diplomatic presents from foreign nations to her.
Photo evidence accompanied the claims, showing Noriana wearing distinctive jewelry presented to Queen Cecilia by foreign heads of state.
Some said Noriana wasn’t the only mistress; Orpheus had a series of affairs during his reign. Even though he cheated all the time, he was oddly paranoid that Queen Cecilia was being unfaithful. He kept her under constant watch for years but never found any proof.
People really wanted to not believe it, but the proof was too strong. Then it hit them—why hadn’t Queen Cecilia shown up in public even once all this time? Was she just busy taking care of her sick husband, or was someone keeping her quiet?
The final blow landed during an interview with a Hualan diplomat. When asked about the rumors, the official replied cautiously:
“We are not in a position to comment on those matters. However, during our efforts to assist Pymeshire in locating and escorting Queen Cecilia home, our team was indeed targeted by assassins on two separate occasions.”
The diplomat didn’t mention Noriana by name, but the statement provided undeniable validation. Public sentiment erupted.
[Holy shit!! I just joined the Royal Couple ship a few days ago, and now I feel like throwing up!]
[I didn’t want to believe it, but how can I ignore this?!!]
[Reality really has no logic. The more absurd a story sounds, the more likely it’s true!]
[A gold-digger really has no conscience! Without the Queen, could he have jumped from third in line to designated heir?]
[No wonder the Queen’s smile faded after giving birth! He had the nerve to claim it was postpartum depression! What a cheating bastard—he deserves that stroke! Anyone who tries to heal him deserves bad luck too!]
[I always thought those two kidnapping attempts sounded fishy. It wasn’t bandits—it was his mistresses trying to eliminate her to take her place!]
[Trying to play the tragic devoted husband after ruining her life? Too late, you scumbag!]
#EmperorOrpheusCheatingScumbag #PymeshireRoyalScandal
Foreign netizens had no respect for the Pymeshire royals and hit them with a wave of harsh criticism. Inside Pymeshire, public anger hit a boiling point. The people loved Queen Cecilia way more than Emperor Orpheus; during her fourteen years as princess and queen, she held much more influence than he did.
People wept over the suffering she endured behind palace walls, heartbroken by how she had maintained a serene, loving demeanor in public despite her pain.
[Emperor Orpheus is dragging the name of Pymeshire through the mud!]
[Is a man like him truly fit to represent our deity?]
[No! Queen Cecilia is the true divine presence! Orpheus only took the throne by riding her coat-tails!]
[I regret ever supporting him back then!]
[Orpheus has done nothing but disappoint us! The Queen was the one who gave this nation strength! How could he treat her like this for a woman who isn’t worth a fraction of her?]
[We demand to see the Queen! Let Her Highness speak!]
No one cared about Orpheus’s condition anymore. Crowds gathered at the foot of Buddha’s Hand Mountain, suspecting the royal family had imprisoned the Queen, demanding her immediate release.
The royal family tried to calm things down, but since they had already lost trust with their earlier denials, no one believed them. Caught off guard by the fast-moving scandals, the royals panicked.
To make matters worse, several foreign nations issued formal condemnations. These were the countries that had gifted treasures to Queen Cecilia. They declared that those gifts were intended solely for the Queen, not Orpheus, and he had no right to bestow them upon a mistress. They demanded a formal explanation from Pymeshire.
At the same time, the Hualan diplomatic team pushed them to follow through on big partnership deals made earlier with Orpheus. These were important projects that needed top-level approval to move forward.
Facing domestic uproar, international pressure, and severe loss of face, the royal family felt crushed. The two senior princes, having spent years in hedonistic luxury under Orpheus’s rule, possessed neither the skill nor the willpower to manage the crisis.
“This cannot continue. We must bring the Queen out. Regardless of her personal feelings, she remains the Queen of this nation. This is her duty!”
In the end, the princes begged the Queen to come out. Giving in to public demand, she appeared before the crowds, looking frail with a tense smile as she announced her return. She said nothing about Noriana or Orpheus, which meant the rumors were all true.
Her restraint infuriated the senior royals, who stormed off, dumping the entire mess onto her shoulders.
Yet Queen Cecilia stood firm. Backed by overwhelming public support and willing allies, she brought order to the chaotic state affairs within days.
Her dignity only deepened public admiration—and heightened their rage at Orpheus’s blind cruelty.
“Everything is going well—almost too well,” the Hualan President said as he looked over the latest news from Pymeshire. “It feels less like a sudden crisis and more like a long-planned strategy. Every move shows the clear touch of that information broker.”
“Regardless, the outcome works entirely in our favor.”
The President nodded. “Indeed. In that night’s gamble, we came out on top.”
They were referring to the high-stakes meeting days prior.
“What should we do now?” the Hualan diplomatic team in Pymeshire had asked two days earlier, sensing trouble. “Emperor Orpheus shows no sign of waking up.”
“Is there really no healer in Pymeshire who can treat him?”
“Should we request a high-tier healer from home?”
They felt sympathy for Queen Cecilia, but international diplomacy left no room for sentiment. Their priority was Hualan’s interests. Had Orpheus signed the final contracts, his fate wouldn’t matter to them; but the deal remained incomplete.
They hadn’t traveled all this way and risked elite teams to rescue the Queen only to leave empty-handed. Failure was not an option.
Just then, a knock sounded on their hotel suite door.
A waiter stood outside. “Guests, a distinguished figure requests a meeting.”
The diplomats exchanged surprised glances.
Moments later, they were ushered into a private lounge, greeted by an elegant figure in a striking red gown adorned with gold jewelry. She turned around, revealing a mature, beautiful face with golden hair pinned back and deep blue eyes like the ocean.
“Queen Cecilia?!”
“My friends from Hualan, please sit,” the Queen said with a warm smile.
“The diplomats sat down carefully, unsure of what she wanted.”
“Thanks to Hualan’s assistance, my secondary identity remained hidden, allowing me to return home safely and execute my plans.”
“Which means…?” The lead diplomat narrowed his eyes.
“I know about your deal with Orpheus. I understand you’re worried, but the Emperor probably won’t wake up. Instead of making you wait, why don’t I sign the rest of the contracts for him?”
“As experienced politicians, they quickly understood what she meant. The Emperor hadn’t just had a convenient stroke; a quiet coup had happened behind the palace walls.”
“Can Your Highness make such decisions?”
“With the Emperor paralyzed and the prince too young, the nation cannot remain leaderless. Regent Queen is the logical path.” Queen Cecilia reached behind her, receiving a pen and the imperial seal from an attendant. She looked at the delegation. “Bring out the contract.”
Diplomacy required more than empty promises, so the lead diplomat hesitated.
Queen Cecilia smiled, accepting a folder of documents and sliding them across the table. “This is my added incentive.”
Opening the folder, the lead diplomat’s expression turned serious. The terms were very generous. While Orpheus‘s agreement benefited Hualan‘s economy, Cecilia‘s addition offered massive military advantages.
Pymeshire seemed blessed by fate—rich in resources and populated by formidable atavists, giving them both immense wealth and the power to defend it.
Yet accepting her offer meant siding with her in this coup.
“Hualan has a strict policy against interfering in foreign internal affairs,” the lead diplomat said firmly, pushing the folder back.
Cecilia pushed it back with a smile. “Rest assured, I won’t ask you to meddle. What I require is completely standard on your end. Take a gamble with me—see who emerges victorious between Orpheus and myself.”
Now, Queen Cecilia held absolute power in Pymeshire.
Just as Orpheus had ruled without restraint, the Queen now commanded the realm, and no one dared oppose her.
During the weekly court meeting, ministers stood in neat rows inside the grand palace hall.
A knight’s voice called out, “Her Majesty, the Regent Queen, is here!”
Ministers turned as the Regent Queen walked slowly up the aisle in a striking red-and-gold gown. The royal crown glittered atop her head, yet its jewels paled beside the intensity of her dark blue eyes. Walking half a step behind her was Wind Rider, her newly appointed chief guard.
Cecilia had pardoned Wind Rider and promoted her. When Wind Rider pleaded for the lives of the other three weather guardians, Cecilia reassured her that she had no intention of executing them; instead, she reassigned them from palace guards to city guardians.
“Power like yours should protect the people, not serve palace schemes,” Cecilia had told them. Ashamed and grateful, the guardians now guarded the capital with absolute loyalty.
Cecilia ascended the golden steps and sat upon the throne, resting her slender arms gracefully on the armrests.
The ministers knelt in unison. “Greetings, Regent Queen.”
This grand salute used to be only for the Emperor. Now, it belonged to the Regent Queen.
She looked down at them with a faint, cool smile in her blue eyes. “Rise.”
“Queen Cecilia has taken full control as Regent Queen. Hualan gained several big mining and farming deals, boosting both their economy and defense. Surprisingly, she also signed good treaties with the Republic of Punia, lowering trade barriers and offering technical help. It’s clear Punia had a hand in this coup…”
Jiang Qing sat before a chessboard, fingering a smooth black piece. The game had reached a tense climax, a few moves away from victory.
Yet his brow remained furrowed. “Queen Cecilia, Hualan, and the Republic of Punia all walked away as winners. So what did the information broker gain?”
He had expected to discern her motives quickly, but the deeper he looked, the more enigmatic she became.
“A master schemer who invests ten million expects at least a billion in return. She orchestrated the cooperation of nations and handed a kingdom to another—what is her price?”
Queen Cecilia had asked Jing Pei that very question.
At the time, Jing Pei stood before a whiteboard, sketching lines and shapes as she chuckled. “I’ll let you know when the time comes.”
“What about Caspian? Give me a timeline,” Cecilia had asked, missing her lover dearly.
“I’ve already sent Caspian back by sea. By the time the ship arrives, his body should be fully regenerated.”
Cecilia froze. “You sent him back? Aren’t you keeping him as leverage?”
A light laugh came through the phone line. “Did I ever say he was a hostage? He is your lover—he belongs by your side.”
Cecilia’s heart skipped a beat. “What kind of person are you? You make no sense! If you don’t hold him as leverage, aren’t you worried I won’t fulfill my promise? Soon, my status as a wanted criminal won’t even matter!”
“Don’t worry, I won’t threaten you. When the time comes, you’ll agree to my request on your own.”
The call ended there.
Jing Pei had looked at the whiteboard, covered in intricate lines and dots that all converged on a single point.
Queen Cecilia got her lover and her throne; Punia gained the resources to build their nation; Hualan upgraded its economy and military. So what did I get?
Tapping her chin with a marker, a small smile appeared on her face. The process was risky, but it was also exciting.
Still, it’s not enough. Far from enough.
Jing Pei wrote two final words on the board, murmuring softly, “I still have to kill you first, my friend.”
“The four weather guardians are loyal, but their loyalty belongs to me now,” Queen Cecilia said, sitting beside the Emperor’s bed while peeling an orange.
“Back then, you used my ability to uncover the ministers’ secrets while hiding my power from the world. Now, that same power allowed me to grasp their weaknesses once more, bringing every single one of them to heel.”
“My deal with Hualan went smoothly. They officially announced the capture of the wanted criminals Lolita and Isaac, revoking the international arrest warrants.”
“Punia helped me immensely, and I signed several agreements to aid their development…”
“The personality surgery I arranged for Ferri worked wonders. He’s so obedient now, though he’ll never have the chance to inherit this throne.”
As Cecilia spoke, Emperor Orpheus lay motionless, his eyes darting wildly beneath his eyelids. Intense fury surged within him, yet his body refused to move.
“Why so agitated? Don’t I read the public insults to you every day? Haven’t you built up an immunity yet?”
Orpheus’s eyes moved frantically, his face flushing crimson.
He hadn’t suffered a natural stroke. Cecilia had damaged specific brain nerves, leaving his five senses intact while rendering his body paralyzed.
She didn’t plan to keep him alive for long. She kept him alive just to savor his suffering—forcing him to feel the agony of losing everything.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the room. The firm click of leather shoes sent a wave of dread through Orpheus’s heart.
“Oh, sweetheart!” Cecilia stood up and threw herself into the newcomer’s arms.
“My love, sorry to keep you waiting,” Caspian whispered, embracing her tightly.
They shared a passionate kiss, lost in each other’s embrace. And as Orpheus lay trapped in his motionless body, listening to his wife and her lover beside his bed, the sheer humiliation pushed him past his breaking point.
When the two finally separated, they noticed Orpheus foaming at the mouth, his face twisted in violent spasms. At this rate, his own rage would claim his life before long.
Noriana wrapped a scarf tightly around her face, sneaking out like a thief to retrieve a package from a delivery locker before hurrying back to the small apartment Orpheus had given her.
Opening the box, she tore into the bread inside, shoving large pieces into her mouth until she choked, washing it down with water. Overwhelmed by her wretched state, she burst into tears.
Her life had been an emotional rollercoaster. First, she thought Prince Ferri would kill her; then she woke up in the hospital, only for her affair with Orpheus to be exposed alongside her scheme to hire assassins against the Queen. She expected execution, yet the Queen pardoned her citing insufficient evidence.
At the time, she felt relieved and smug, thinking Cecilia was as stupid and merciful as ever.
She couldn’t have been more wrong. The Queen’s pardon was merely the beginning of her punishment.
“Noriana is here! She’s Noriana!” The moment she stepped out of the hospital, someone recognized her. The crowd turned hostile instantly, attacking her without mercy.
“The Queen might be forgiving, but we aren’t!”
“How dare you make Her Majesty suffer!”
“Beat her!”
She was sent straight back to the hospital. When police arrived to take her statement, they treated her with cold disdain. She wept, claiming she never spoke to Cecilia that night and had nothing to do with Orpheus’s collapse.
The officers merely stared at her coldly. “Weren’t you his mistress? What were you doing in the palace with the Empress Dowager?”
No one cared about her defense. People spat at her on the street, her parents disowned her, and her friends abandoned her. She became a pariah.
“Sob…” She wept as she ate. “Cecilia, you fake saint… Just wait, I’ll get revenge on you one day…”
She still had money. Over the years, she had amassed wealth and gifts from Orpheus, hiding them in secret accounts. She loved Orpheus, but she loved his wealth just as much.
She planned to wait for the scandal to blow over, withdraw her fortune, emigrate abroad, and publish a tell-all memoir slandering the Queen.
Just as she was plotting, a key turned in her front door.
She looked up in terror.
The door creaked open, and several strangers stepped inside.
“Please… don’t hurt me… The Queen pardoned me…” Noriana collapsed to the floor, begging.
“Madam, you have a short memory,” said one of the men, a brown-skinned Pymeshire local. “When you make deals with tigers, you should expect to get bitten.”
Noriana froze. “What… what deals?”
“Did you forget? We told you we were taking your wealth.”
Noriana’s eyes widened. “It was you…”
After Queen Cecilia was shipped off, the illegal organization decided hunting her down was too troublesome. Shifting their focus to robbing Noriana was far more lucrative.
“I’ll give it to you… everything… just spare my life…” she pleaded.
She tried to play smart, assuming they didn’t know the full extent of her wealth. But the organization had investigated every detail. A sharp slap sent her spinning, knocking out two teeth.
“At least leave me something to buy food… please…”
“Fine then.”
A single one-yuan coin tossed onto the floor clinked near her feet like a handout to a beggar. Noriana stared at it, seeing her bleak future reflected in its metallic sheen.
She broke down, sobbing in genuine despair and regret.
Hualan.
Night fell, and Jing Pei drifted into a peaceful sleep.
On the whiteboard, all the lines and notes had been erased, leaving only a single name—the person she intended to kill.
Liu Yin.
