The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 119 : His Heartache

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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Trigger Warning: use of date rape drug, intention to rape while under the influence of drugs, mention of suicide.

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No one could clearly see what Jiang Ruan had done, they only saw a guard's body going rigid and falling to the ground. There was no sign of a wound anywhere on his body, but a thin line of blood slowly trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Upon seeing this, the remaining guards turned pale with fright and glared at Jiang Ruan warily. The seemingly ordinary maidservant turned out to be so vicious when in action, and even this Junzhu, who appeared unarmed and defenseless[1], had skilled tricks up her sleeve. Who knew what else she was capable of.

[1] 手无寸铁 (shǒuwúcùntiě) – lit. not an inch of steel (idiom); unarmed and defenseless.

Jiang Ruan steadied herself and turned the Blood Moon bracelet on her wrist around. Inside, there were only a total of nine needles, and each one of them was highly poisonous. This item was indeed light and handy; once activated, it was completely irreversible. However, there was also a fatal disadvantage- the poisonous projectile could only be aimed to shoot forward.

Her moment of desperation just now caused her to recall a past event. In her previous life, the political career of Zuo Langzhong, Zuo Jiang, had been smooth sailing in Great Jin, and he had managed some affairs for the Emperor beautifully. In that life, it had been neither Jiang Dan or Jiang Li who had been married to Zuo Jiang, but a younger female cousin from Imperial Consort Chen's family.

It was as if there was a thread tying all the events together. When she thought about it this way, everything suddenly became clearer. Of course, Xuan You did not have the power to incite the entire Langzhong fu, but what if he were exchanged for the currently formidable and untouchable Imperial Consort Chen? In her previous life, Xuan Li had spoken of Zuo Jiang's amazing talent, and if Zuo Jiang had thrown his lot in with Xuan Li's faction, doing Imperial Consort Chen's work would be a natural progression of events.

If this were in fact the case, then both Xuan You and Jiang Li had been used by Imperial Consort Chen. But, why would Imperial Consort Chen bear such a deep animosity towards her? Even if she (Imperial Consort Chen) wanted to make a move, it should not be at this time, and she had even used such a cruel method. Taking all this into consideration, it would seem that Imperial Consort Chen actually wanted to completely ruin her reputation and cause her to fall from grace irredeemably, even to the point of death. It was similar to Jiang Su Su and Xia Yan's style of doing things, and if someone had told her that this was done by them she would believe it, but Imperial Consort Chen's way was even more effective.

However, Imperial Consort Chen and Xia Yan were two different people. Once Imperial Consort Chen made a move, she would definitely have a series of follow-up measures, so how could she easily escape today. Imperial Consort Chen had no qualms using the entire Langzhong fu to ensnare her, which caused her to have an entirely new level of respect for the woman.

The more critical the situation, the more relaxed Jiang Ruan's expression became. She stood, ramrod straight, in the empty space in the garden of Langzhong fu while smiling charmingly.

Before they knew it, more and more guards arrived and split into two groups. One group surrounded Tian Zhu, and even though she was highly skilled, she was still heavily outnumbered. Moreover, these guards had been sent by Imperial Consort Chen, and would surely not be a gaggle of idiots. The other group surrounded Jiang Ruan and slowly closed in on her, but when they saw her smiling out of the blue, some of them could not help but feel suspicious, and did not dare to advance further. Their comrade's tragic death just now made them realise they should not underestimate this Junzhu, or they might find themselves the target of some concealed weapon.