Ever since the Emperor decided to establish the Night Owl Guard, the political winds at court had begun to shift.
Now, Prince Wu Zhang held all the power, and the Emperor remained in a coma. If this continued, the throne would inevitably fall into Prince Wu Zhang’s hands.
To the uninformed, it seemed as though Prince Wu Zhang’s luck had finally turned.
But Bian Ziming had a nagging feeling that these events were more like the result of someone’s long-premeditated plan.
Hua Manman’s silence was a tacit admission to his guess.
Bian Ziming lowered his voice and asked.
"Should I have someone deliver this letter from the Empress Dowager to Prince Zhao now?"
Hua Manman replied, "Let’s wait a little longer."
Bian Ziming was confused. He didn’t know what the Princess Consort was waiting for.
Hua Manman reminded him, "You should prepare more provisions and weapons recently, just in case."
Although he didn’t know what the Princess Consort was planning, Bian Ziming still nodded.
"I’ll see to it."
Hua Manman said, "If military supplies are insufficient, you can come to me. I have some money on hand."
Bian Ziming quickly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. The provisions in the camp are currently sufficient. We’ll come to you for help when we truly need it."
After they finished their discussion, Bian Ziming took his leave.
Si Yun helped the Princess Consort to her feet and asked in confusion.
"Your Highness, why didn’t you let General Bian send the letter to the Prince? Isn’t it better to let the Prince know about the changing situation at court as soon as possible?"
Instead of answering, Hua Manman posed a question. "If the Prince knew there was danger in the Capital City, he would surely rush back regardless of the consequences."
Si Yun was still perplexed. "Wouldn’t that be a good thing? If the Prince comes back sooner, he can be reunited with you sooner."
Hua Manman sighed softly.
"Of course I want to see the Prince soon, too.
But the current situation at court is very unfavorable for him.
Even if he rushes back, he might not gain any advantage.
The only possible outcome is armed conflict.
Shangjing City isn’t small, but it isn’t massive either. If a war were to truly break out, who knows how many people would die.
Even if the Prince wins in the end, what would he really gain?
Think about when he led his troops to attack Xiliang. The Prince nearly gave his life to bring Xiliang to its knees.
In the end, the Saint took away his military authority with just a single sentence."
Even though the Emperor seemed to favor Li Ji in every way on the surface, he was secretly always on guard against him.
The Emperor didn’t trust Li Ji.
To be precise, the Emperor didn’t trust anyone but himself.
Risking one’s life for an emperor like that simply isn’t worth it.
Si Yun said hesitantly, "What you’re saying makes sense, but the Prince still has to come back, right? Otherwise, once Prince Wu Zhang takes the throne, the Prince’s situation will surely become even more difficult."
Hua Manman said, "Of course the Prince will return. But before he does, there’s something I need to do."
Si Yun grew more and more confused. "What is it you need to do?"
"You’ll find out when the time comes."
Hua Manman decided to go back to her room to rest for a bit. Just as she reached the doorway, a long-unheard system notification suddenly rang in her mind.
"DING! Your system is now online!"
Hua Manman’s lips curved into a smile. ’Right on time.’
She walked into the room, sat on the soft couch, and casually picked up a book. While pretending to read, she began to communicate with the system in her mind.
’Tong’er, what did the main brain say?’
The system replied in its unique, mechanical voice, "The main brain says the three options will not be changed. You must choose one of them."
The smile on Hua Manman’s face vanished instantly.
Sensing her spirits sink, the system hurriedly sped up.
"Don’t be anxious yet. Let me finish. After performing its calculations, the main brain determined that the error this time was not your fault.
You were an implicated party. To compensate you, the main brain has offered to grant you one wish."
Hua Manman asked, ’Any wish at all?’
The system replied, "Yes."
She stated without hesitation, ’My wish is to stay in this world.’
The system reminded her, "If you choose to stay in this world, the main brain will still erase Li Ji’s memories to prevent information about the system from being leaked."
An idea struck Hua Manman. ’Then I choose the first option. I’ll stay in this world, and then I’ll make a wish. My wish is that you cannot erase any of Li Ji’s memories.’
’That way, it’s the best of both worlds!’
The system immediately poured cold water on her idea.
"Don’t even think about it.
The reason the main brain gave three options was precisely to solve the problem of the information leak caused by Li Ji’s Mind Reading Technique.
If you do that, it means the information leak problem will still exist.
Everything will go back to square one, and the main brain will not allow that."
’Plan to exploit the loophole: failed.’
Hua Manman flew into a rage out of humiliation. ’In the end, you just want to break us apart! Haven’t you ever heard that it’s better to demolish ten temples than to ruin a single marriage?!’
The system tried to placate her. "Even if you are separated from Li Ji in this life, you can wish to be reunited with him in the next."
Hua Manman shot back, ’This life is this life, and the next life is the next life! I can’t control what happens in the next life. All I want right now is for my family of three to be together, happy and whole, in this life!’
The system said miserably.
"I’ve really done my best. The main brain offering a wish as compensation is already a huge concession.
You should know that no one has ever been able to make the main brain concede before."
Hua Manman cut straight to the point. ’That’s because you’ve never encountered an information leak problem before!’
The system was speechless.
It had indeed never seen a cheat like the Mind Reading Technique before.
It was truly out of options, and finally, it could only say, almost shamelessly,
"Anyway, it is what it is. I’ve done all I can. It’s useless no matter how much of a fuss you make."
Hua Manman was so angry she started cursing up a storm. ’You [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP] [BEEP]!’
The system played dead and said nothing, letting her curse as much as she wanted.
Only after Hua Manman had exhausted every curse word she could think of did she finally quiet down for the moment.
She took a deep breath. ’Isn’t it just about making me choose? Fine. I choose the second option.’
The system was very surprised. "You’re choosing to return to modern society?"
It had thought this woman would choose to have Li Ji’s memories erased.
After all, even if his memories were gone, as long as Hua Manman could make Li Ji fall in love with her again, it was still possible for them to rekindle their romance.
But if Hua Manman chose to return to modern society, she and Li Ji would be separated by worlds, never to see each other again.
Hua Manman gritted her teeth, looking extremely unwilling.
’But I have a condition.’
The system replied, "Name it."
Hua Manman stroked her belly. ’I have to give birth to the child before I leave.’
She wasn’t sure if the baby in her womb would disappear if she transmigrated back to the modern world. To be safe, she had to give birth to the child first.
The system hesitated.
The main brain’s intention was to resolve this issue as soon as possible.
However, Hua Manman’s due date was a month away.
In other words, the system would have to wait another month to complete the task assigned by the main brain.
The system was worried the main brain would blame it.