Disguised as a man, she became the biggest villain in the book.

Inside a private room at the most prestigious Zuixiang Tower in the capital, a man dressed in luxurious clothes with an androgynous face sat by the window, gazing at the scenery outside and listening to the opera music coming from inside the tower, surrounded by a group of guards.

This person is Zheng Luoqi. Zheng Luoqi is already twenty-three years old, which means she has been in this world for twenty-three years. Because she has been exercising, she has grown quite tall, standing at 1.78 meters. When she is dressed as a man, there is no difference between her and the person in the story.

Zheng Luoqi sat for a while, then got bored, got up and walked out, only to bump into someone as she turned around.

The man quickly bowed his head and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, young master. I'll clean it for you right away." Then he pulled out a knife from his sleeve and stabbed it at Zheng Luoqi's face.

Zheng Luoqi remained calm, pinching the blade tip that was coming at her face with two fingers, and kicked the person away. Then, a group of men in black rushed in from around the inn.

"Oh, is that all the people you have? You look down on me, huh?" Zheng Luoqi said with a provocative smile, waving her fan.

"Enough with the nonsense, Zheng Gou! You're just like your father, a scoundrel! Prepare to die!" said the leader of the men in black. Then, the men in black swarmed forward and engaged the guards in a fierce battle.

Zheng Luoqi then found a quiet spot, leisurely poured herself a cup of tea, and casually said, "Leave some alive, don't kill them all."

Soon, the men in black were all captured by the guards.

"Reporting to Young Master, we have captured them all. Some of them committed suicide by poisoning, and we didn't have time to remove their jaws. Please forgive us, Young Master," Boyu reported, bowing.

Boyu is Zheng Yuxiang's bodyguard for Zheng Luoqi, and has been with Zheng Luoqi for many years.

"Alright, go down and receive your five lashes. This time, I'll punish you for not disciplining your subordinates properly and for being too slow. Go down!" Zheng Luoqi raised an eyebrow and looked at Boyu, who had his head down.

"Yes, young master!" Boyu then left.

After Zheng Luoqi left, many people gossiped about it behind her back.

"Who was that? Who was that just now? What a big commotion!"

"Who else could be assassinated by so many people? It has to be the prime minister's son!"

"Ah, is that the son of the powerful and arrogant prime minister?"

"Yes, I've heard that the Prime Minister's son is extremely licentious, with countless concubines in his household, and he doesn't discriminate between men and women!"

"Alas, these days, treacherous officials are in power!"

When Zheng Luoqi returned home, she immediately went to the study to find Zheng Yuxiang.

At that moment, Zheng Yuxiang was talking to the housekeeper. When he saw Zheng Luoqi arrive, he dismissed her. He then asked Zheng Luoqi, "What is it?"

“Father, we caught a group of people today. Some of them committed suicide by poisoning, but a few survived,” Zheng Luoqi’s eyes darkened.

"You don't need to inform me about such a small matter; you can handle it yourself." Zheng Yuxiang then went to his desk, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

“My son was found out from this group of people, and this matter is related to the Yang family,” Zheng Luoqi said. Ever since Zheng Yuxiang asked her to dress as a man, she has always referred to herself as a man, both inside and outside the company.

"Oh, the Yang family? Young Master Yang?" Zheng Yuxiang raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise.

“Yes, Father,” Zheng Luoqi replied.

"Hmph, a mere junior official dares to assassinate you? He's overestimating himself. He wouldn't dare even if he had ten lives. There must be someone behind him. Go find out who's behind this and chop them off," Zheng Yuxiang said with disdain.

"Yes, Father!"

Zheng Yuxiang looked at Zheng Luoqi, then at his grown-up daughter, and suddenly remembered something. His words carried a hint of guilt as he spoke.

"Is it your father's fault?"

Zheng Luoqi quickly realized what Zheng Yuxiang was talking about. She had been disguised as a man for so many years that she was used to it, and what did it matter whether she was male or female—as long as she was her father's biological daughter—she replied nonchalantly, "Father has his reasons for doing this, and Qi'er will listen to Father."

"Yes, your father is indeed sorry for this. I've picked out a group of people for you this month. Go and choose. If you like any of them, you can keep them. Just be clean afterward and don't expose yourself. Don't worry, they're all clean and haven't been involved in any affairs," Zheng Yuxiang then picked up his tea and took a couple of sips, speaking nonchalantly.

“Father, I don’t need it yet,” Zheng Luoqi said, not expecting his father to be so open-minded.

“Don’t be shy. You’re getting on in years. Don’t hold back. Your mother passed away early, and I can’t bear to see you get married. Even if you become a woman again, I will only allow someone else to marry into your family,” Zheng Yuxiang said earnestly.

“Understood, Father,” Zheng Luoqi knew that Zheng Yuxiang would send a group of people over from time to time so that Zheng Luoqi could spread false information and better catch those hiding in the shadows.

"Oh, by the way, remember to attend the spring banquet in a few days," Zheng Yuxiang reminded him.

Zheng Luoqi had almost forgotten that after so many years of transmigrating into the book, the male lead had finally appeared, but the female lead wouldn't appear until a year after the emperor ascended the throne. They met at the Spring Banquet.

Zheng Luoqi himself will be a stumbling block on the path of growth for the male and female leads. There is also a second male lead, who seems to be Ye Churan, the newly appointed top scholar in the imperial examination this year. There is also a third male lead, Wen Yichuan, the eldest son of Wen Taiwei and the son of the current Empress Dowager's younger brother. Together they will work to get rid of Prime Minister Zheng and then share a common hatred. There is also a love quadrangle among the four of them.

Zheng Luoqi thought to herself, if it were before she transmigrated, she might have sided with the protagonist. But now, after experiencing so much with her father, she wouldn't allow that to happen. The book only described how powerful Zheng Yuxiang was and how he used his power to oppress others, but it never wrote about his past. The so-called good guys and bad guys were just different stances. I won't offend others unless they offend me. Whoever has the last laugh will have to rely on their own abilities.

[Here's an explanation of why Zheng Luoqi didn't eliminate the male lead before he ascended the throne: it's because the male lead was the most useless of all the princes. Although he was the male lead, he lacked the power of his maternal clan and the power he had cultivated himself, making him the best candidate to be a puppet. The reason she didn't kill him was because he was still useful.]

Zheng Luoqi tried hard to recall the plot. The female lead, Chen Xianlin, was the daughter of Chen Tongyu, the Imperial Censor of the current dynasty.

Chen Tongyu is a member of the emperor's faction, while the current court is divided into three factions: the Wen family, the Zheng family, and the emperor. The Zheng family has the greatest and widest influence in the court.

If Wen Yichuan also falls for Chen Xianlin, the Wen family might join forces with the royal family, which would put the Zheng family in danger. Zheng Luoqi absolutely cannot allow this to happen, so the Spring Banquet needs to be prepared carefully.

The Spring Banquet was reserved for officials of the fifth rank or higher. Many noble ladies and gentlemen from prominent families attended, and numerous men would try to find a match. The female lead, after being harassed by other noble ladies, suddenly became famous and caught the attention of the male lead and supporting male characters.

Zheng Luoqi, however, planned to go and ruin this beautiful encounter.

.................................

On the day of the Spring Banquet, many officials and their wives, along with their children, had already arrived at the banquet in front of the palace gates.

One of the carriages slowly approached, and a woman dressed in elegant attire with an exceptionally beautiful face stepped out. This woman was none other than Chen Xianlin.

"Miss, we've arrived." Chunxiao helped Chen Xianlin down from the carriage and into the palace gate.

This was Chen Xianlin's first time attending a banquet. Previously, because of her mother's death, rumors spread that her mother had contracted an illness and died because of her birth, and that she was a jinx to her mother. As a result, she was sent to live outside the city until she came of age and was sent back.

When she returned home, she discovered that her father's beloved concubine had been elevated to the status of his legal wife. She was heartbroken and disillusioned with her father, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Just as Chen Xianlin was about to go in, she heard a mocking voice.

"Sister, why are you dressed so plainly for this banquet? If word gets out, people will say that our Chen family has mistreated you and can't even afford a decent outfit!"

Chen Ruoyao's provocative tone attracted the attention of some onlookers.

"It was clearly you!" Chunxiao was about to say something when she was stopped.

"Spring Dawn!" Chen Xianlin shouted.

"Miss," Chunxiao said, instantly feeling wronged, but she didn't say anything more.

"My sister is joking. I just got back not long ago and hadn't found a good style yet, so it looks a bit plain," Chen Xianlin said lightly.

“Sister, you should have told me about this difficulty sooner. I have plenty of nice clothes. Just pick one. There’s bound to be something that suits you. If you find something you like, just take it,” Chen Ruoyao said, feigning surprise.

"Oh, right, don't blame me for not reminding you, everyone here today is a family member of an official of the fifth rank or above. Don't embarrass our father."

After speaking, Chen Ruoyao gave Chen Xianlin a disdainful look and then left.

Chunxiao watched Chen Ruoyao walk away and said angrily, "Miss, it was clearly the Second Miss! The Second Miss broke all the seams of the clothes we were given, otherwise why wouldn't we have clothes to wear today?"

"Alright, Chunxiao, she's still the second young lady. Without evidence, she won't admit it no matter what. Besides, we already sent someone to buy the clothes. They'll arrive soon. It's fine; she'll be there before the banquet." Chen Xianlin gestured for Chunxiao to stop talking, as there were too many people around.