Time travel, quick transmigration

After that dance performance, the previously listless Emperor Li Longji seemed to have found a new anchor and a new comfort. Every few days, he would send Gao Lishi out of the palace to summon Shi Yan to the Pear Garden to discuss music and watch dances. Or he would invite a group of royal relatives and nobles to play polo, and Li Heng and Shi Yan were naturally among the invitees.

Although Li Longji was already in his forties or fifties, he was strong, tall, and imposing. He was skilled in riding and archery, and had an extraordinary appearance and many talents. Even without the noble status of a monarch, he was still very charming among the men. Moreover, he was indeed very handsome.

On the field, the valiant emperor scored several goals in a row. Whether it was because everyone was mindful of his status and deliberately let him win, or because the emperor himself was more skilled, the emperor was in a very good mood after scoring in several matches and looked very spirited.

Shi Yan recalled the scene when she watched the game before, which seemed like Li Longji's personal show. Li Longji was riding his horse and would occasionally cast meaningful glances at her. Shi Yan knew what he was trying to say, but she felt no emotion at all.

The scenes from movies and TV dramas were unfolding before her eyes, leaving Shi Yan with more questions than anything else. She wondered if Yang Yuhuan had truly been moved by Li Longji's special treatment and frequent sidelong glances. Or were the scenes depicted in movies and TV dramas merely the imaginations and speculations of later artists?

But she wasn't Yang Yuhuan and didn't understand Yang Yuhuan's true feelings; they were from different cultures. The favor shown to a king, the pursuit and entanglement disguised as love, the exclusive affection—it's hard for Yang Yuhuan not to be moved.

After Shi Yan was summoned to the palace several times to serve the emperor, and after the turmoil surrounding the selection of the crown prince, Li Chang was summoned to the palace for several days to learn about filial piety. The emperor, still unwilling to give up after being rejected by Shi Yan at Huaqing Palace in Lishan, tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep. Finally, the emperor, feeling increasingly anxious, found a plausible reason to force his son, Li Chang, to request that his queen be sent to a Taoist temple to cultivate herself and pray for the emperor and the Tang Dynasty.

Even the slow-witted Li Heng finally realized his father's hidden intentions. He was shocked and furious, but faced with supreme imperial power, he had no courage to refuse or resist. As a son, the emperor was not only his father but also his monarch. As the saying goes, "When the emperor commands a subject to die, the subject must die." What could he do?

The emperor's elaborate scheme was merely to ensure that his queen would sever all ties with him and with her past life and identity. The emperor's heart was as deep as the sea; he had already lost his chance at the crown prince position, and after his mother's death, he was gradually neglected. He was just a prince with little real power; where did he find the strength or resources to challenge his father, the emperor?

When the imperial decree came down, Shi Yan heard the eunuch delivering the decree that Yang Yuhuan would be ordained as a female Taoist priest, given the Taoist name Taizhen, and soon enter the newly established Taizhen Palace in the Daming Palace to cultivate herself. She felt utterly absurd.

The day has come. She cannot change the predetermined course of history. She will definitely have to enter a Taoist temple to cultivate, but she will not go to the Taizhen Palace in the palace to cultivate.

She planned to have some peace and quiet for a while before making a decision. Staying in the palace would inevitably make it easier for Li Longji to see her, and she certainly didn't want to see that man.

Shi Yan glanced at Li Heng beside her and saw his gloomy expression and furrowed brows, feeling speechless.

After receiving the imperial decree and watching the eunuchs and palace servants leave, Shi Yan looked at the silent, dejected man. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Li Heng looked up at Shi Yan, a dull ache rising in his heart. A myriad of emotions swirled within him, making his throat feel choked with turmoil.

"Yuhuan...we..."

He struggled to utter even those four words; he didn't know how to begin. He feared he would unleash his frustration at being powerless against the imperial authority, and his deep resentment, onto the quiet person before him. He was afraid of saying something hurtful. But now, facing Shi Yan's question, he could no longer suppress his emotions.

"What do you want me to say? Should I blame my princess for being too attractive, causing my father to disregard human ethics and defy the world, or should I reprimand you for being restless and arousing the emperor's improper thoughts?"

"Tell me, Yu Huan, what do you think I should say?"

Shi Yan curled her lips into a mocking smile. She looked at Li Xiang's expression, which was sometimes bright and sometimes dim. Her eyes were filled with anger, sometimes with extreme pain, and sometimes with a struggle. Suddenly, she had nothing to say to him.

Yes, she really had nothing more to say to Li Heng.

But she is now Yang Yuhuan, living in the Tang Dynasty as Yang Yuhuan, so she should say something to Li Heng from Yang Yuhuan's perspective.

“From beginning to end, I, Yang Yuhuan, am the most innocent. His Majesty issued an edict ordering me to become a nun and cultivate myself. I don’t believe you don’t understand the hidden meaning behind it. Before, His Majesty summoned me to the palace several times, and you were even complacent, thinking that His Majesty valued your wife. You thought that His Majesty intended to make you the crown prince. Even if you discovered something unusual, you deliberately ignored it, only convincing yourself that His Majesty loved you because of you. In the end, you are nothing but a hypocritical and selfish person. No matter how much you are dissatisfied, how can you have the nerve to blame your own wife?”

"Do you still remember that you, Li Chang, and I, Yang Yuhuan, were husband and wife who swore an oath of marriage and bowed to heaven and earth? Although the emperor's decree is hard to disobey and the emperor's authority is immense, have you ever fought for me or argued for me even once before His Majesty? Hmph, I am your Princess Consort, Prince Shou, and now, just because of the monarch's selfish desires, you want to become a nun and cultivate yourself. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"You can't even protect your own wife, Li Heng, I despise you."

"Has anyone ever cared about my wishes, Yang Yuhuan? As Yang Yuhuan's husband, you didn't have the slightest courage to defy your own father, the Emperor. If you had been more assertive, or had the courage to take a desperate gamble, His Majesty might have had some reservations. Even if you couldn't persuade His Majesty to abandon his decision to make me a nun, at least you fought for me. That would at least prove that you truly cared for me, Yang Yuhuan, and that I, Yang Yuhuan, hadn't entrusted myself to the wrong person. I would feel that even in death, I would have lived a worthwhile life because I had such a loving and righteous husband as you."

Every word Shi Yan uttered struck Li Heng's heart like a hammer blow, leaving him utterly ashamed.

"Yu Huan, please don't say any more..."

"Do you know that if your words fall into the ears of someone with ulterior motives and are heard by the Emperor, neither you nor I, nor the entire Prince Shou, will have a good end?"

"Aren't there enough examples of emperors causing millions of corpses and rivers of blood to flow when they are angry?"

"Yu Huan, it is I, Li Heng, who have wronged you. If you have any grievances, blame me. If you want to blame someone, then blame me."

“I am cowardly, but I am not only my father’s son, but also his subject. I, Li Chang, cannot bear the consequences of disobeying and rebelling against my father.”

"The entire Prince Shou's mansion depends on me to survive."

Shi Yan understood that everyone has their own constraints, but Li Heng failed to fulfill his responsibilities as Yang Yuhuan's husband and could not be forgiven for not taking the necessary steps. As a husband, he abandoned Yang Yuhuan, betrayed her, and even though Li Heng's words were righteous, they could not change the fact that he had sacrificed his wife.

Yang Yuhuan was young and in the prime of her life. As a princess, she was carefree and happy. How could she possibly willingly enter the palace to be with a man so much older than her, who was originally her father-in-law? Soon after Yang Yuhuan entered the palace, Li Heng took a new princess, had children, and lived a happy life. No one could understand the cold loneliness Yang Yuhuan experienced in the deep palace. If the love of a king was truly believable, why did he order her death and abandon her in the face of life and death?

Therefore, Shi Yan would not forgive Li Heng on Yang Yuhuan's behalf; she wanted to speak up for Yang Yuhuan.