Her Entire Court Reborn with Her in the Modern World

Chapter 75: Chapter 74: The Strife Among Courtiers Has Always Been Like This!

Ming Chengli did indeed intend to meet this descendant of the Linsu Xie family, so upon receiving the invitation just now, he accepted it without hesitation.

Qingyuan glanced at Shi Changying before asking, "That musician?"

"Yes, him," Ming Chengli nodded. "Miss Lu is also in the industry. You must have crossed paths with Maestro Xie Lin, right?"

"No," Qingyuan denied quickly. "Uncle Ming, I’m used to keeping to myself. I don’t really have any friends."

"True enough. I’ve been spinning my wheels in the history circles for so long, and I still don’t know everyone," Ming Chengli chuckled. "I was just thinking, what if he’s a direct descendant of Xie Qingshi?"

Qingyuan was slightly taken aback. "Didn’t he remain a solitary bachelor until his death, never starting a family?"

Surprised by her question, Ming Chengli said, "Miss Lu has studied Xuan History as well? Some things aren’t necessarily recorded in the history books, which is why we need to slowly dig for them."

"I’m not going." Shi Changying shifted her posture as she leaned against the window. "Dad, when you go meet him, remember to ask for his autograph."

"Sure, no problem."

"Ask for ten thousand of them."

Ming Chengli wondered if he had misheard. He stared at her, dumbfounded. "How many?"

Shi Changying had a natural gift when it came to calculating money. "Xiao Mi said his autograph can sell for a few thousand yuan a piece. If I have ten thousand of them, I could easily make tens of millions..."

"Hold on, stop right there!" Ming Chengli had to interrupt her. "Changying, that’s really not acceptable. Your old man will help you get a few autographs to share with your classmates, and that’ll be that."

"Why?" Shi Changying shot him a glance. "Is asking for an autograph illegal?"

Ming Chengli choked on his words. "It’s not illegal, but... you’d be treating him like an autograph-signing machine. That’s really not right."

Qingyuan immediately chimed in, "You can treat me as an autograph-signing machine! Never mind ten thousand, I’ll sign a hundred thousand! I could sign for the rest of my life."

Ming Chengli stared blankly at Qingyuan. Word had it that she was currently the top-tier female star. The price of her autographed photos definitely wasn’t low either. How could she spoil his daughter like this? Was this even reasonable?

"Miss Lu, Changying is just joking around," Ming Chengli said. "I’ll step out first. You two take your time."

The door clicked shut, leaving only the monarch and her subject in the hospital room once again.

Qingyuan spoke up, "A sovereign’s word is her bond. If you want me to sign autographs, I’ll start right now."

"There’s no need," Shi Changying replied. "Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, and you still have filming to do. I can’t hold up your career."

Qingyuan’s heart trembled. She lowered her head and rested it on Shi Changying’s lap, just as she used to do in the past.

The passage of time was rarely this peaceful. Outside the window, the chirping of birds sounded like a cheerful song.

"If Lord Zhuge saw me like this, she’d scold me for lacking proper etiquette again," Qingyuan blinked gently. "Good thing she can’t see me now."

Shi Changying, who was busy memorizing vocabulary words, said casually, "Ming Yue wouldn’t do that."

Qingyuan fell silent. She thought to herself, "She’s only well-behaved in front of Your Majesty! When you’re not around, Lord Zhuge is an absolute terror in the capital!"

Qingyuan changed the subject. "Did Your Majesty also retain memories from a past life?"

"I don’t know. I only woke up recently." Shi Changying revealed a rare hint of bewilderment. Even when she teetered on the brink of life and death, she had never felt so lost and without direction.

Qingyuan was slightly taken aback. "Your Majesty?"

"I don’t have this body’s memories from before, but it feels like my own body. Everything feels incredibly familiar." Shi Changying looked at her own hands, her voice soft. "But why is that?"

"Perhaps some answers won’t reveal themselves until much later," Qingyuan smiled. "Your Majesty’s name in this life is also very beautiful."

"Changying was originally my courtesy name, and it is also my true name." Shi Changying snapped out of her daze and said faintly, "However, only Ming Yue and my Teacher knew this name. It’s perfectly normal that you didn’t know."

Her surname was Shi, her given name Yaoguang, and her courtesy name Changying.

Qingyuan knew that the "Teacher" she referred to was the Grand Secretary who had held immense power over the court and country at such a young age. The head of the civil servants looked refined and gentle, always with a smile in his eyes, but Qingyuan had always been somewhat afraid of him.

"So that’s how it is. When I first heard your name, I only noticed the surname Shi," Qingyuan said softly. "If I hadn’t decided to take a gamble, I almost would have missed you."

Shi Changying wore a languid expression. "Compared to the name Yaoguang, I prefer Changying. I also like my current dad; he’s very knowledgeable."

"I once heard that Your Majesty’s name was given by a monk," Qingyuan laughed. "He said you ranked seventh, and that you were an innate fiend, so only the name of an ominous star like Yaoguang could suppress you."

Yaoguang—the seventh star of the Big Dipper, also known as Po Jun.

Shi Changying laughed coldly. "A mere name could suppress Us? How absurd. When he chose that name, did he ever imagine that We would one day sit upon the highest throne?"

A sudden, piercing sharpness flashed in her eyes, as if granting a glimpse of the Emperor who had once swept across Youzhou.

Qingyuan was slightly dazed. "Your Majesty..."

"Stop calling me ’Your Majesty’," Shi Changying said.

Qingyuan gasped in alarm. "Did I do something wrong—"

"If word gets out, I don’t want to be called a remnant of feudalism," Shi Changying interrupted. "What era is this? There are no more emperors, and there’s no throne."

"Ah," Qingyuan murmured. "That’s true, but you are indeed—"

Shi Changying interrupted her again. "I am a firm practitioner of the Socialist Core Values."

Qingyuan was utterly speechless. Who was she? Where was she? What was she supposed to be doing again?

When Shaoyuan arrived, he only caught the very last sentence. Leaning against the doorframe, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "Alright, Miss Practitioner, it’s time to eat."

Qingyuan then watched as Shi Changying immediately put down her phone and sat up straight, obediently waiting to be fed.

Shaoyuan placed the lunchbox on the small overbed table. He opened the lid and took out a pair of chopsticks. Seeing that he was actually about to feed Shi Changying, Qingyuan couldn’t sit still any longer. "Let me do it."

Shaoyuan didn’t let go of the chopsticks. "Miss Lu’s phone has been flashing non-stop," he said casually.

Qingyuan frowned and glanced at it, noticing it was a number from Xingyi. She rejected the call and blocked the number. "Just ignore it."

She knew exactly what Xingyi wanted without even answering the phone. They just wanted her, the victim, to reconcile with the perpetrator, urging her to consider the company’s stock price and Bai Shuyi’s reputation. But why should she? She absolutely would not agree to it.

As soon as Qingyuan looked up, she saw that Shaoyuan had already fed a piece of meat into Shi Changying’s mouth.

Qingyuan smiled, maintaining her dignified posture, but her fists clenched tight in anger. She thought to herself that she actually had a very good temper. If Zhuge Mingyue had seen this scene, or the Great General, or Marshal Gu, they definitely would have already thrown punches.

Then, suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit Qingyuan. Could that Xie Lin actually be Xie Qingshi?