Yes, Emperor Kangxi had passed away!

Almost everyone was caught completely off guard, even the imperial physicians could not determine the cause.

Only An Ning and the system within her consciousness knew the truth—this was likely the female lead’s last move, and the real reason Zhang Jia Shi had to die.

Only the dead could never be suspected.

Huansheng, a pill recorded in the pharmaceutical records, ostensibly meant to revitalize life but actually drained energy. Today’s health was essentially purchased by sacrificing future lifespan.

At this point, the Fourteenth Prince had grown up and was just the right age to enter court politics. With a strained relationship with his elder brother and no backing, this younger brother was undoubtedly the perfect candidate for the new emperor’s favor.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the original body’s grudges and the other party’s prior covert attempts to sabotage her, An Ning greatly admired the female lead’s ruthless decisiveness in eliminating all enemies without hesitation.

That’s exactly why she was the female lead.

However, An Ning guessed that the other side didn’t have many pills of that caliber; the fact that Lady Wuya was still barely hanging on until now was proof enough.

But the timing of the emperor’s death was so sensitive that the crown prince was undoubtedly the prime suspect. For a long time, everyone would pin the blame on the crown prince.

“So what if I am alone as the crown prince? As long as I am not deposed, I am the rightful heir to this empire.”

Inside Yuqing Palace, Crown Prince Yinreng said dismissively.

In fact, no matter how much the Eldest Prince and his faction raged, without any evidence, the crown prince’s accession was set in stone.

At Prince Zhuang’s manor, An Ning lived leisurely as usual—relaxing daily, training her skills, occasionally riding horses on the estate, and soaking in hot springs.

As an iron-cap prince’s manor that had stood for years, honestly, the regime change had little to do with them. Especially since their own son, the future heir of Prince Zhuang’s manor, had an obviously good relationship with the crown prince.

At this time, the crown prince had not yet been driven to madness by his father, and his relationships with loyal followers and close associates were still good.

The greatest advantage of the heir apparent, the legitimate son of the empress, was his generosity and confidence. Yinreng could look down on his brothers while generously bestowing titles and even delegating authority.

His trusted Fourth Beile jumped two ranks at once, becoming a prince and nearly controlling the entire national treasury. The other brothers were each promoted one rank, including the Eldest Prince. Of course, promotion was one thing; real power was another.

Men of the Aisin Gioro family often loved someone so much they wanted them to live, or hated them so much they wished for their death. At such times, Yinreng surprisingly did not forget his closest younger cousin.

Unfortunately, the iron-cap prince title had no higher rank to grant.

But after the first marriage granted following filial piety, the match was given to his own cousin—a direct cousin from the empress’s family.

This clearly showed everyone in the Forbidden City the status of Prince Zhuang’s manor. Boguo Yi even petitioned for abdication the second year after his son’s grand wedding. With this, An Ning’s future life as the empress dowager was more secure.

Especially for many years after, the current Prince Zhuang, Mingyu, was the closest person by Yinreng’s side, now Emperor Taian.

As for the Fourth Prince Yin Zhen, as head of finance and a recognized anti-corruption expert, as well as a pioneer of Qing reforms, he was always busy. Constantly debating with conservative ministers, his originally icy face grew even colder.

Yinreng openly admitted that his fourth brother was becoming increasingly boring; given the time spent facing that cold face, he would rather look at his younger cousin who was much more pleasant to the eye.

In short, An Ning’s later life was extremely peaceful. Mingyu clearly inherited his father’s talents—highly gifted in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Thanks to a leisurely life, he often indulged in refined hobbies.

Knowing his cousin’s interests, tribute chrysanthemums from Jiangnan, precious treasures from Guangdong, even Western stained glass paintings, Emperor Taian always sent them promptly to the manor.

By then, the Qing had frequent contact with the West. Because An Ning often liked these “exotic crafts,” Mingyu inevitably came into contact with more foreign items, and as a close person, Emperor Taian also gained much understanding.

Clearly, Yinreng was more tolerant of foreigners.

When An Ning was in her sixties, she was still excited to ride boats with her son, jointly painting a riverside sunset scene. She would discuss with the child’s father which colors were best for glass in the flower room, and occasionally gossip a little with Wanqing, who was also an elderly lady.

As for the many grandchildren below, An Ning was somewhat kind but not overly so. She would tease them a little, give some rewards when she met them, and that was it.

Only her own children truly tugged at her heartstrings. Well… her husband was barely counted, but honestly, no matter the reason, this man had treated her very well these years.

It could be said that, except for the early days when she first arrived at the Plum Garden, An Ning had hardly suffered any grievances.

As the closest son, Mingyu naturally could perceive his mother’s thoughts. He not only felt no discomfort but was in high spirits about it.

In fact, no one disliked being favored, even someone like Mingyu, who had been spoiled since childhood.

Their close mother-son relationship later even made Prince Yong, who often visited to relax, envious.

***

Upon waking again, An Ning found herself in a misty space. Her banner uniform had disappeared at some unknown time, and her body had reverted to that of Shen Anning before the car accident.

Before An Ning could react from her memories, a sharp mechanical sound came swiftly to her ears.

“Congratulations, Host 666, you have passed the assessment. You may now sign the formal agreement.”

“Assessment?” An Ning instinctively narrowed her eyes. Sure enough, her guess was correct. During the mission, the system had been hesitant and evasive, clearly with issues.

“Yes, the quick transmigration bureau doesn’t keep slackers!”

If this was an assessment, then what about the previous people?

Just as she thought this, the mission data of previous taskers quickly appeared beside her.

In fact, although this mission was not complicated, just looking at the long list of failures told how brutal it was.

Due to plot restrictions, most taskers did not know that Zhang Jia Shi was also a transmigrated woman and a major boss with a powerful golden finger in the harem.

Therefore, most were inexplicably cannon fodder halfway through the palace struggle.

A few smart ones tried to interact with Zhang Jia Shi via the spirit spring, but the consequences were worse. Wherever in the harem, the two’s mutual schemes always exposed them both.

Knowing the nature of the ruler, one could imagine their fate.

There were some, like An Ning, who tried other paths—marrying future officials—but some died in the wife and concubine struggles. Others were exposed and swiftly eliminated by the female lead, or after their husband’s rise to power, the humble wife was sent away.

Among them were sisters from the chemical engineering department who wanted to build a career, but because the original body had already seen the end, they were suspected on the spot of being White Lotus cultists or even fiends.

Looking at these failure records, An Ning was not surprised. She wondered whether the system reset after mission failure.

Lowering her gaze, she kept that question in her heart and began to review the storyline: in fact, she had already guessed most of this world’s main plot—a palace maid gradually rising to become a concubine, then a noble consort, and eventually empress dowager.

However, on the original timeline, An Ning’s body had died from untreated high fever. Because of the original’s death, the female lead Zhang Jia Xiuyun, out of guilt, quickly realized the palace’s cruelty and became more cautious.

Yes, out of guilt. Because as An Ning had guessed, the wish granter’s death, although not directly caused by the female lead, was deliberately instigated by her to cause trouble for the niece in charge, all to gain the opportunity to enter the harem.

So the original was truly a big scapegoat. An Ning was speechless—she not only lost her life but was used as the female lead’s reminder tool to be cautious.

In the original story, without An Ning as the “contrast group” who lived well, and with a death at the start, the female lead grew more cautious. Even holding the rank of noble consort, she did not recklessly use cowpox vaccine but waited for her son’s entrance to court as political capital.

Although progress was slow and, aside from the main rival Consort De, no major external enemies arose, the female lead naturally did not reveal too many schemes.

“See, I told you, in the original world they were true lovers? The female lead finally favored the harem exclusively, raised her banner and became noble consort! In the end, Emperor Kangxi abdicated in favor of the Fourteenth Prince, becoming the Grand Emperor.”

But this time, because of the host’s interference, the good fellows instantly turned bitter enemies.

The system was speechless at this operation.

True love? Scanning the timeline, An Ning couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Exclusive favor? Exclusive favor for someone over sixty?”

“After abdicating, was the female lead very moved and extended Kangxi’s life?”

“Isn’t that a fair trade?” Compared to true love, An Ning was more inclined to believe that a forty-year-old Kangxi still dared to be ruthless through concubine schemes, but a dying emperor would not gamble with other possibilities.

The throne was important, yes, but without life, nothing mattered.

So, the timing of discovering the golden finger changed everything.

Still, in a way, these two in the previous life had mutually fulfilled each other! Thinking like this, the world was somewhat bittersweet.

While An Ning was still pondering, the familiar mechanical voice sounded again:

“Host 666, do you wish to apply for settlement and proceed to the next world?”

Without hesitation, An Ning pressed the switch.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep