Transmigrated Leftover Woman in Rural Style

Wei Yu watched Li Xiaonuan and Prince Jing's game of wits, his heart clenching with every move she made. He explained his own unusual behavior to himself: it was simply because he felt indebted to her.

After weighing the pros and cons, Prince Jing said with a hint of murderous intent, "It would be best if what you said did not harm the country or the people. Otherwise, I will not let your clan off lightly."

Li Xiaonuan met Prince Jing's gaze calmly and said with unusual firmness, "This is something that benefits the people and the country, so how can it be harmful? If there is any harm, it is that I overestimated myself and dared to negotiate with the royal family. In the end, I was too naive and short-sighted, which is why my clan was implicated."

Prince Jing had somewhat anticipated Li Xiaonuan's behavior today. Normally, she was always aloof and unconventional, never feeling inferior because of her commoner status. She treated everyone equally, including the servants.

However, Li Xiaonuan's words, tinged with doubt and self-deprecation regarding the royal family, somewhat angered Prince Jing. Therefore, he gritted his teeth and said, "What do you mean by that? Do you not trust the royal family, or do you think my words are unreliable?"

Compared to Prince Jing's anger, Li Xiaonuan was much calmer and more composed. She was angry too, but what could she do when the other party wielded so much power? Therefore, besides remaining calm, she couldn't even talk back. She was afraid that if she accidentally provoked him to the point of exploding, he might take revenge on her clan.

"No, that's not it. I'm just angry at myself for not thinking things through, which led to this situation. If I had known it would turn out this way, I would rather starve to death than reveal a single word about the nautical chart."

Even Wei Yu, who was watching the show, was puzzled by this. Prince Jing asked directly, "Why not reveal it?"

Li Xiaonuan gave a self-deprecating laugh and said, "There are countless talented and extraordinary people in this world. Not to mention nautical charts, there are other more astonishing things that people know about. It's just that others are better at assessing situations and analyzing their own circumstances than I am, so they haven't taken the risk."

Li Xiaonuan believed that she and the founding emperor were not the only transmigrators on the Qi Song Continent. Therefore, there must be people who could read nautical charts, and many who could draw them. The fact that no one had stepped forward indicated that the matter was too risky for them to bear.

Li Xiaonuan, in her eagerness to save her father, didn't consider anything else. She thought that was the only stepping stone to his survival. Looking back now, she realized she lacked experience and understanding of that era.

Unlike Li Xiaonuan, who displayed complex emotions, Prince Jing was instead intrigued by the extraordinary individuals she mentioned. Therefore, he completely overlooked the fact that Li Xiaonuan referred to herself as "I."

Wei Yu listened from the side, growing increasingly worried for Li Xiaonuan. First, there was Li Xiaonuan's desperate gamble, and then her astonishing words; everything about her was weighing heavily on his mind.

"How do you know that there are many people in this world similar to you?" Prince Jing asked with great interest.

Li Xiaonuan took a deep breath and repeated the same lie she had used to convince her family. As Li Xiaonuan recounted it, Prince Jing and Wei Yu were first shocked; then incredulous; and finally, completely dumbfounded.

Li Xiaonuan was quite satisfied with the chaos she had created. Leaving aside how absurd her topics were, even the way she feigned fear and worry while lying was flawless.

After a long while, Prince Jing finally came to his senses. Although he was very reluctant to believe Li Xiaonuan's words, she had mentioned the founding emperor. He had to admit that Li Xiaonuan and the founding emperor were remarkably similar in some ways.

"Among those wandering souls, are there any who will never return?" Prince Jing couldn't help but ask.

Li Xiaonuan pondered for a moment and replied, "Yes. Those people either reincarnate on the spot or are taken to the underworld by the underworld officials and then arranged to be reincarnated. Of course, there are also those who neither want to enter the underworld nor like to be reincarnated, so they just hide and become wandering souls." Anyway, it was all made up, so she just picked some things that were easy for people to accept.

Prince Jing's expression was solemn, and his imposing aura lessened considerably. With the pressure lessened, Li Xiaonuan immediately felt the room was quite cool. Wei Yu was still in shock; according to his investigation, Li Xiaonuan had indeed fallen into the water and remained unconscious for several days. It was truly unbelievable that she could learn so much in another world in just a few days.

While Wei Yu was lost in thought, Prince Jing muttered to himself, "In the twenty-third year of the Taikang era of the Qi Song dynasty, a child appeared in the household of Minister Li Yao, who could compose poetry at the age of three and was a master of chess and painting at the age of five. When that child was seven years old, he exposed his father's concubine for poisoning his mother, and was then accused of being possessed by a demon. Because he could not provide evidence of why he suddenly knew medicine and pharmacology, he was eventually burned to death in front of the Taihe Gate."

Wei Yu received the message as if in a dream: "The boy, bound to the firewood rack, smiled eerily at the Li clan members who came to watch him being burned and said, 'He really is a hopeless case. He can't even recognize his own blood relatives and still wants to continue to be the prime minister. Just wait, a great disaster is coming.'"

Prince Jing continued, "The boy was burned, but he never uttered a single scream or begged for mercy. There was only a sudden gust of wind, lightning, and thunder, followed by a torrential downpour. His maternal family managed to rescue him, but it was too late."

"The torrential rain lasted for three days and three nights without stopping, completely flooding Lady Ru's hometown. Almost all of Lady Ru's family members disappeared in the flood. Lady Ru was frightened and bribed a high monk at the royal temple to confirm the boy's identity as a demon."

At this point, Prince Jing seemed reluctant to continue. However, his regretful expression revealed that he no longer believed the boy was a demon. Therefore, Li Xiaonuan asked curiously, "What happened to the Li family members afterward?"

Prince Jing remained silent, still lost in thought. When Wei Yu saw Li Xiaonuan turn her gaze to him, he couldn't help but speak up: "Then the Li family, fearing retaliation from the boy's maternal family, conspired with the boy's maternal grandfather's political enemies to frame him and imprison the entire clan."

Li Xiaonuan opened her mouth slightly, feeling that the family was truly a pity. At the same time, she deeply regretted her recklessness. They were powerful and influential, yet they still couldn't escape the fate of being wiped out. Where did she get the courage to reveal her entire past to others?

Li Xiaonuan's expression shifted unpredictably, and Wei Yu somewhat anticipated her thoughts. Knowing her worry and fear, he slowly said, "His Majesty the Emperor at that time was a rare wise ruler. He secretly ordered the royal guards to investigate that matter. In the end, they uncovered the truth. Just as His Majesty was about to exonerate my maternal grandfather's family, the incident occurred in the prison."

"That upright maternal grandfather and his eldest son left behind a ten-thousand-word letter written in blood before committing suicide by striking their heads against a wall. That night, a muffled thunderclap shattered the ancestral hall of the Li family. The eldest son of that concubine died on the spot in a brothel from an overdose of banned drugs. The next day, the emperor ordered the exoneration of the maternal grandfather's family. The Li family and their political rivals' families had their homes confiscated. The confirmed crimes that implicated their clansmen were also punished."

"During the escort of the prisoner, the concubine went mad and revealed the inside story that her two sons were actually the children of outsiders. At that time, the head of the Li family was filled with remorse. He strangled the concubine to death and then hanged himself with a knife."