Un corazón puro en una vasija de jade

Capítulo 58

While writing this story, I wanted to create a somewhat unconventional female protagonist. The concept of past and present lives has a pseudo-time travel element. However, it's not time travel; it's reincarnation.

What kind of female protagonist should we write about? In her past life, she was a man, an assassin. An accident prevented her from fading her memories after reincarnation. So, what should she be like in this life? She will be conflicted, a complex mix of contradictions due to her different gender. For example, she might possess a natural male attraction to beautiful women, decisiveness, and rationality. Her past life as an assassin would give her accurate judgment, a calm mind, and even the ability to disguise herself. In this life, she is a beauty (this is a bit of a quirky quirk; I like beautiful women and handsome men, so please ignore it). What kind of love will she experience? As mentioned in the text, she understands men's thoughts and tricks, making it very difficult to win her over. I'm also very curious about this; I really want to know what kind of man can win her over. How will she overcome her psychological barriers to fall in love with a man?

In the chapter "No Way Back to the Past," there's a small detail: Yuepo gently lifts her chin with her hand. Yongye finds this strange—a man lifting her chin? In her past life, she was the one who habitually lifted other people's chins. So, how will the male protagonist win her heart in the future?

Some readers felt the change was sudden. That's not true; the foreshadowing began in the very first chapter. In the first chapter, 99 angrily tells Li Lin, "Look at your face! You'll be in big trouble if you go to the Peony Courtyard!" Actually, when I posted the story, the line was 99 roaring, "Beauty is a curse!" I changed it because I didn't want everyone to know too early.

The opening line of the chapter "Blind Men and an Elephant" reads: "He lay quietly in the darkness, finally able to get a good night's sleep. He had hardly had a peaceful night's sleep during the year in the valley. His curiosity about his body, his curiosity about the world, and his vigilance that did not allow him to relax his guard."

This is a very double entendre, and its meaning can only be understood later when the truth of Yongye's female identity is increasingly revealed. Curiosity about her body and the inability to sleep soundly are the reasons why Yongye dared not reveal her gender after becoming a girl.

"For six years, Shadow stayed with him in the valley for one year. Star Soul can guarantee that Shadow absolutely did not know the secret of the soles of his feet during that year, and he never took a bath. The people in the valley knew that not many of these thousand children would survive, and they were too lazy to build public facilities like bathhouses. But what about five years ago? Where did he live? Didn't anyone search him thoroughly? Star Soul doesn't believe it." — This sentence explains why Wandering Valley didn't know that Eternal Night was a girl.

The Shadow escorted her into the valley, knowing about the Wandering Valley's plan, and also to return Yongye to Prince Duan and his wife. The Shadow had been protecting her all along, as explained in Chapter 44 regarding the words the Shadow had whispered in her ear. Yongye entered the valley when she was a little over five years old and stayed there for nearly a year. During that year, she didn't bathe and carefully made her way through everything. A dirty child, coupled with the Shadow's special protection, she successfully smuggled herself out.

So in the dark stone chamber, I wrote: "With his excellent assassin skills from his previous life, he lived a carefree life in the darkness. Xinghun walked leisurely in his straight line, from one end to the other, thinking about his future life again and again, telling himself that he was no longer Li Lin."

The master in blue realized that this mission was to take the place of the crown prince. Yongye was a girl, which was why he repeatedly refused.

As they left the valley, at the beginning of the chapter "My New Identity is a Bit Arrogant," when the man in blue was saying goodbye, "The man in blue looked at Xinghun, whose eyes were clear and bright, with a complicated expression, and reached out to button up his collar. 'Only disreputable people expose their necks in winter and their chests in summer. Don't go out there and learn bad habits.'"

This was a reminder to him to be mindful of his identity and to flee if discovered; the world was vast, and there was more than just one Anguo. With Yongye's martial arts skills, she was more than capable of protecting herself.

In the chapter "Even a Small Husband Has His Days," when Yongye heard that Lancui was going to marry Li Yannian, he felt very uncomfortable. I wrote: "When Yongye woke up, why had he become so soft-hearted, even willing to protect a maid? These unexpected changes instantly made him lose all his other thoughts." This soft-heartedness was something she was born with as a woman in this life. Yongye was still adjusting.

"Oh dear, in a few years, the young master will be an adult. I wonder what kind of woman will be worthy of him!" Yin'er cleverly noticed Yongye's unpleasant expression and quickly changed the subject. Yongye's reaction was: "He suddenly stood up and strode out."

Once in the courtyard, she looked at the plum blossoms and recited two lines of poetry: "The physical form has long since changed, but what does it matter if the heart remains?" These are lines from Tao Yuanming's poem "Drinking Alone in the Continuous Rain," meaning that as long as the spirit remains, what does it matter if one's appearance and physique have changed?

Next, she tried to think of fun and exciting things: "There's always a way out, and things will work themselves out. This Prince's mansion has endless secrets, so treasure hunting would be a kind of fun. Besides, being the most powerful heir in Anguo and the most dashing young master in the capital would be quite an experience."

Therefore, the reason she was given the memories of her past life as an assassin was to make her mentally stronger and able to adapt faster than ordinary people.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered writing that prologue.

Next came the most obvious moment: the family reunion. She absolutely refused to take off her pants to be beaten. After the beating, knowing that the imperial physician would immediately recognize her, in the chapter "The Scheming Begins," Yongye was willing to gamble. She figured that if she got any older, she wouldn't be able to hide it anymore, so she figured it was better to gamble that she was indeed Prince Duan's biological daughter. If she lost, she would become Prince Duan's inside man. "Father, let's go home!" Yongye said softly, her eyes filled with longing, yet she couldn't take a single step.

Such a gaze almost conveyed the deep connection between father and daughter, which made Prince Duan flustered and panicked.

The chapter "Father and Son's Deceit" is written even more bluntly.

He turned his head to look at his body covered by the white sheet, his face instantly turned red, and he felt very uncomfortable.

"Yongye recalled the dark stone chamber, the words of his master in green before their parting, and the years before Shadow sent him into the valley. He said in a muffled voice, 'Those who know choose not to speak. I… the person who sent me here doesn't know, and hasn't even considered it.'"

Prince Duan burst into loud laughter, which made Yongye turn around angrily and glare at him: "What's so funny? I was just a child then, I didn't see anything strange. I spent three years in the stone chamber, in complete darkness, who knew what my body would look like, who knew I had a flower on the sole of my foot!"

"I only let you see how hard you hit me, otherwise, how could I let you see...see that flower!" Yongye's face flushed again. "Seeing the ellipsis, the content should be filled in as 'saw my body'... Yongye blushed because she was too embarrassed to say it, and instead talked about the flower."

The princess turned around and scolded angrily, "What are you thinking?! You're so young but so precocious, who knows who will be able to control you in the future!"

Seeing the princess cover her mouth and laugh at him, Yongye snorted and said, "If I could slap someone and be as thick-skinned as Father, then I'd be convinced!" As he spoke, he blushed and pounded the bed—a clear display of a daughter's shyness.

He was still embarrassed to face this female identity, and secondly, it was to explain that apart from Shadow and Master Qingyi, no one in Youli Valley knew about it.

As for the question from friends about what to do when her period comes? If Yongye is normal, it should start after she's twelve. By then, she's already acknowledged her mother, so there's no need to go into detail. —Good heavens, I already wrote in Chapter 44 that Shadow told her to drink less water while she was urinating and defecating! I simply can't go into detail about how she uses the toilet. I've arranged for her to stay in the dark stone chamber of Wandering Valley for three years, where no one can see her.

A friend asked why the princess claimed the baby was a boy when she gave birth to a daughter.

“At that time, the Chen army was pressing in on the border, and Father was defending against the enemy at Sanyu Pass. I never expected that the Chen Kingdom would send people to enter the country, sneak into the capital, and kidnap you.” Prince Duan looked at his princess with guilt as he recalled this.

“When my older cousin gave birth, I went to see her. I made up my mind and treated her son as you. My older cousin was also a woman of bad luck. She originally wanted to wait until this period of time before slowly looking for you, but she passed away. So she simply treated Yongye as you. Your maternal grandfather really loved you. You are both his grandsons, and in his eyes you are no different.”

"Your mother wanted a son back then, but what difference does it make whether it's a son or not? You did everything that was expected of you."

The princess wished for a son but gave birth to a daughter instead. With the Prince absent, she kept quiet, and Yongye was abducted. His abductor wasn't Shadow; Shadow was also involved in the affair. This will be discussed later.

I've said so much just to clarify that Yongye didn't suddenly turn into a woman. The reason I'm revealing this now is because the incredibly perceptive readers have figured it out and are debating it fiercely. If I didn't explain, I'd be being unfair and insulting everyone's intelligence. That's why from now on, the narration will be done by her instead of him. Actually, it hasn't been made public yet.

I hope everyone understands; I wanted to write the story from a different perspective, and I also hope it will be more engaging. That's all. The original plan was to reveal this only when Yongye was about to marry the princess. It wasn't much earlier than planned.

That's all for now. Thanks to everyone who supported me. If you find it offensive or even cheesy, please leave and find another story you like. I won't say more.

I'll update a little later today. I haven't written the next chapter yet, so I'm going to write this now.

A person is not lonely

Prince You's Mansion was built on Baokang Street outside the Zhuque Gate, backing onto the Qin River. Water from the Qin River was diverted into the mansion and flowed around it before exiting. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful. At night, large red lanterns hung at the mansion's entrance. Inside the vermilion gates, only scattered lights illuminated the darkness.

Countless nights have come, but never have they brought such unease as today.

The attendant led her to the waterside pavilion.

From afar, a row of lanterns could be seen hanging on the corridor of the waterside pavilion, and octagonal palace lanterns were hung at the four corners of the pavilion in the middle of the lake, reflecting on the shimmering water.

Yongye strolled along the winding corridor, glancing at the armed guards stationed every five or ten steps on either side. Li Tianyou had clearly put a lot of thought into this setup. She sensed at least eight men lying in ambush around the waterside pavilion and even on the rooftops of the corridor. This didn't even include the archers positioned between the rear garden and the front hall of the mansion.

Under the warm lamplight, Li Tianyou, dressed in a lake-blue silk robe, sat facing the pavilion in the middle of the lake. His robe seemed to blend seamlessly with the water and the night, like a gentle melody. Those unaware of his background would only perceive him as an elegant gentleman with impeccable taste. He was currently enjoying tea and appreciating the spring night view. They awaited the opening of the pavilion's carved wooden doors, the sound of gongs and drums, the entrance of actors in their costumes, and the commencement of song and dance in the night.

Yongye glanced at the pavilion in the middle of the lake. The carved wooden door was closed, but a sliver of light shone through the gaps in the wooden lattice. Was Yuepo inside?

Seeing Yongye arrive alone, Li Tianyou smiled and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time. A thief came to my manor the other day. He didn't steal anything, but he vented his anger by destroying my study, so I had to move to the waterside pavilion for a short rest. I'm sorry to have troubled you, Yongye."

"Oh? Who is so bold as to cause trouble in the Prince's mansion?!" Yongye bowed, lifted his robe, and sat down, his face showing surprise.

Li Tianyou pointed to the pavilion in the middle of the lake across the water and said, "Your retainers have colluded with foreign traitors and committed such a treacherous act!"

Yongye's heart skipped a beat; Yuepo was indeed at the pavilion in the middle of the lake. Li Tianyou had made her sit here precisely to watch the play. A mocking glint appeared in her eyes. The pavilion in the middle of the lake was originally a place where opera troupes performed; how fitting.