Chapter 2

"Quack..." A slightly mournful cry startled Mo Wujie. He raised his head and saw a solitary crow flying overhead, quickly disappearing along with its piercing cry.

Where am I? Mo Wujie suddenly felt something was odd. He seemed to be sitting on a newly piled low mound, with seven or eight children kneeling in front of him, swaying. A girl in a blue floral dress stood beside him, holding a bamboo basket.

Just as Mo Wujie was in a state of shock and confusion, he suddenly heard the girl speak softly, "Everyone has been so good. There are no more candies today, so let's stop here. Remember to come back and play tomorrow."

Is this a game of the emperor's court? Why does this scene feel so familiar?

Mo Wujie was greatly alarmed. Isn't this exactly like the ending of the novel where Murong Fu ends up? Murong Fu went mad in his quest to restore his kingdom, his childhood sweetheart Wang Yuyan ran off with someone else, and in the end, only the maid Ah Bi remained by his side. This scene is precisely when Murong Fu, having no hope of restoring his kingdom, went mad, and Ah Bi gathered many children to play the game of the restored kingdom with him.

"I wish my king ten thousand years, my king farewell, come back tomorrow for more candies..." After a chaotic chorus of words, the children dispersed.

Mo Wujie's gaze fell on a group of young men and women walking by not far away. When his eyes landed on the girl in a purple dress, he momentarily forgot his situation, marveling at her beauty.

The girl in the purple dress also looked at Murong Fu, her eyes revealing a complex expression of sympathy and a hint of disappointment. The other young men and women seemed to discuss him for a moment before laughing and gradually walking away.

No, that's not right...

Mo Wujie suddenly thought of a terrifying possibility. Could it be that after I died, I was reborn into Murong Fu's body? Is soul transmigration real?

And why did my soul transmigrate? What was I doing before this?

At this thought, Mo Wujie felt a sharp pain in his heart. He finally remembered that after he developed a liquid to open meridians, his lover Xia Ruoyin, for whom he would have given his life, stabbed him from behind. The memory of Xia Ruoyin's stab filled Mo Wujie with sorrow...

A severe headache prevented him from thinking further, and his mind was filled with chaotic information. It took him over an hour to understand what was happening.

This was not the Song Dynasty, and he was not reborn as Murong Fu.

This was not even Earth. He was in the capital city of Raozhou in the Chengyu Kingdom, and his original identity was a prince of the Beiqin Principality named Mo Xinghe. His father named him Mo Xinghe because the Chengyu Kingdom was a vassal state of the Xinghan Empire, and the name was inspired by a longing for the Xinghan Empire.

Mo Xinghe had no concept of how vast this region was. He only knew that the Xinghan Empire was not the only empire, and each empire had many vassal states, and each vassal state had many principalities.

His original home, the Beiqin Principality, was a vassal state of the Chengyu Kingdom, which in turn was a vassal state of the Xinghan Empire.

Nineteen years ago, the ruler of the Beiqin Principality, Mo Xinghe's grandfather Mo Tiancheng, went to the capital of the Chengyu Kingdom, Raozhou, and never returned. The Beiqin Principality could not be without a ruler, but a new ruler needed to be recognized by the king of the vassal state.

If Mo Tiancheng had not suddenly disappeared, he could have directly passed the throne to his descendants and then reported to the vassal state. Now that Mo Tiancheng had disappeared without passing the throne, the next heir to the Beiqin Principality had to personally go to the vassal state and be recognized by the king.

For this reason, Mo Xinghe's parents brought the newly born Mo Xinghe to Raozhou, partly to investigate Mo Tiancheng's disappearance and partly for Mo Xinghe's father, Mo Guangyuan, to gain recognition from the Chengyu Kingdom and inherit the throne of the Beiqin Principality.

What was originally a simple succession was unexpectedly obstructed by many parties. Mo Xinghe's parents spent countless fortunes and endured over a decade of hardship but still failed to inherit the throne of the Beiqin Principality.

Mo Xinghe's parents eventually died of illness in Raozhou, and Mo Xinghe inherited his father Mo Guangyuan's obsession, determined to inherit the Beiqin Principality. However, with the death of his parents, the Mo family's influence in Raozhou was exhausted. After several more years of fruitless efforts, Mo Xinghe learned that the Beiqin Principality had been taken over by the Chengyu Kingdom and went mad, only to be reborn as Mo Wujie.

Mo Wujie also recognized the girl in the purple dress. She was Wen Manzhu, whose father was a marquis in the Chengyu Kingdom and a close friend of Mo Xinghe's parents. When Mo Xinghe's parents first came to the Chengyu Kingdom, they still had a certain status. Therefore, the two families were very close, and Mo Xinghe and Wen Manzhu grew up together, though they were not formally betrothed, everyone assumed they would be together when they grew up.

As the Mo family's chances of inheriting the principality disappeared and Mo Xinghe's parents died, and Mo Xinghe went mad, the Wen family forgot about Mo Xinghe. Wen Manzhu, as she grew up, gradually distanced herself from Mo Xinghe and became close to other young noblemen.

Two tears fell on the back of Mo Wujie's hand, which was resting on his knee. Mo Wujie looked up and saw a girl with a tear-streaked face, younger than his current body.

This girl was not Ah Bi but Yan'er, the only person who had stayed by his side, a mere maid. If not for Yan'er, the original Mo Xinghe would have died long ago before Mo Wujie was reborn.

Yan'er, besides the scar on her face, was pale and had sparse, yellow hair, clearly malnourished.

Something still didn't add up, Mo Wujie shuddered. The Mo family, being a princely family, even if Mo Xinghe's father failed to inherit the principality, they should not have been so destitute and died of illness in Raozhou. Why didn't they leave Raozhou and return home? Or why didn't anyone from the Beiqin Principality come to protect or send money?

There must be something wrong here.

Seeing Mo Wujie look up at her, Yan'er wiped her slightly red eyes and said softly, "Your Majesty, can we adjourn the court?"

Mo Wujie looked down at the mound of yellow earth beneath him, feeling a deep sigh for Yan'er and for his predecessor. This childish game required Yan'er to get his approval to leave each time.

But Mo Wujie quickly put aside his sigh. What he should be sighing about was himself. He didn't know whether to be relieved that he survived such a betrayal, or to be sad that his betrayer was his most important lover, or to be sad that he could never return to Earth.

"Your Majesty, it's already dark..." Seeing that Mo Wujie had not spoken for a long time, Yan'er, standing beside him, said cautiously.

Mo Wujie looked at the setting sun, not sure if he was thinking of the previous Mo Xinghe or lamenting his own fate, and sighed, "Let's go back..."

He saw Yan'er's surprised gaze and, with no mood to explain, sighed again, "Let's adjourn the court..."

He tried to stand up and brush off the yellow earth, but his legs, numb from sitting for so long, made it difficult. Fortunately, Yan'er was there to help him up.

As Yan'er helped him slowly walk out of the sparse forest, Mo Wujie organized the few remaining thoughts in his mind.

"I wonder what kind of world this is..." After a few minutes of silent walking, Mo Wujie muttered to himself.

"Your Majesty, what did you say just now?" Yan'er, who hadn't understood Mo Wujie's words, quickly asked.

Mo Wujie shook his head, "Yan'er, don't call me Your Majesty anymore. Just call me by my name."

Since he would be living with Yan'er, he would eventually have to explain.

"Master, are you feeling better?" Yan'er, holding the bamboo basket, grabbed Mo Wujie's hand in surprise, her eyes welling with tears and her fingers trembling, showing how excited she was.

Mo Wujie hesitated for a moment and smiled, "Maybe not completely better yet. I've forgotten a lot of things. But I won't be having those foolish dreams anymore."

Mo Wujie was afraid of giving himself away, so he said he wasn't completely better.

"Then..." Yan'er's voice trembled, as if she wanted to say something but was afraid to.

Mo Wujie naturally understood Yan'er's meaning. She wanted to ask if he would still come to play the children's game tomorrow but was afraid that mentioning the court might trigger his madness again.

Patting Yan'er's hand, Mo Wujie smiled, "I've already been the king, and it wasn't very interesting. We don't need to come back tomorrow. Let's think about how to survive instead."

Yan'er suddenly dropped the bamboo basket and knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, clasping her hands and murmuring to the distance.

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