I Transmigrated Into a Female-Oriented Novel Where the Female Lead Hates Me and the Villainess Torments Me - Chapter 9:

Chapter 9: The Plot Has Changed, She Has Been Reborn

After only a few exchanges, the zither player was pierced straight through the body by Lu Ming’s sword and died on the spot.

…

Lin Moran frowned slightly. The two people she had sent were so utterly useless that it displeased her. What irritated her even more was the sudden appearance of Lu Ming. She naturally knew that he was Ye Qingyan’s personal guard, yet he had come here to ruin her plans. It was infuriating.

Ye Qingyan stood in the corridor, still holding a cup of fine wine. When she noticed the change in Lin Moran’s expression, a hint of playful amusement appeared on her face.

Soon after, officers from the Heavenly Mandate Division rushed in.

“Marquis.”

The officers greeted Su Jinyan respectfully.

Su Jinyan’s gaze fell on Lin Moran as he said calmly, “Princess, I am quite satisfied with this performance you arranged. However, next I have official matters to handle. I hope Your Highness will stay and watch.”

He had already finished watching the show Lin Moran prepared. Now it was time for the Heavenly Mandate Division to search for the person involved.

“Search.”

Su Jinyan gave the order.

The officers immediately began searching the premises.

After a short while, the officers came downstairs, escorting a young man dressed in luxurious robes, his face flushed with drunkenness.

…

When Lin Moran saw the man, her eyebrows lifted slightly. This man was Feng Chu, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, one of her own people. Why was he here?

“Marquis, the item has been found.”

An officer handed a blueprint to Su Jinyan.

Su Jinyan took it and glanced at it. It was the original design blueprint of the Sky Crossbow.

“Where was this found?” Su Jinyan asked.

“Reporting to the Marquis, it was found on his person.”

The officer pointed at Feng Chu.

“Minister Feng!”

Su Jinyan stared coldly at Feng Chu, then ordered someone to bring a cup of wine and splashed it directly onto Feng Chu’s face.

Feng Chu sobered up instantly. Seeing himself being restrained, he hurriedly said, “I am Feng Chu, Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War. What are you doing?”

“What are we doing? Do you recognize this item?” Su Jinyan asked as he held the blueprint in front of him.

“I…”

The moment Feng Chu saw the blueprint, his face changed drastically, fear flashing in his eyes. Hadn’t he slipped this blueprint onto Ye An, the Left Assistant Minister, while drunk? Why was it now on him?

“Marquis Su, I’ve been wronged!” Feng Chu dropped to his knees in panic.

Su Jinyan sneered coldly and said, “I haven’t even said where you were wronged, yet you’re already crying injustice. That means you aren’t truly innocent.”

Feng Chu’s body trembled. He happened to see Lin Moran upstairs and hurriedly pleaded, “Princess, save me!”

…

Lin Moran looked at Feng Chu indifferently, deep killing intent spreading through her eyes. She knew that the Northern Yan spies would exchange the blueprint at the Lichun Opera House and that Su Jinyan would certainly come tonight, which was why she deliberately arranged this assassination scene. What she did not expect was that Feng Chu would also appear here, and that the Sky Crossbow blueprint would be found on him. Everything was simply too perfect, as if someone had carefully prepared it for her.

…

Not far away, the smile on Ye Qingyan’s face grew even deeper. Ye An, the Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War, was her cousin and had been in the opera house earlier. In her previous life, Ye An had been invited here by Feng Chu to drink. After getting drunk, a Sky Crossbow blueprint mysteriously appeared on him, directly bringing disaster to the Ye Prince’s Residence. Without question, this was most likely Lin Moran’s doing. Feng Chu was Lin Moran’s man, so framing Ye An was naturally inseparable from her involvement.

Ye Qingyan knew all of this and naturally would not allow the plot to repeat itself. She quietly had Lu Ming switch the blueprint onto Feng Chu, which led to the scene before them.

…

Xiao Luocheng happened to notice Ye Qingyan’s expression. Doubt rose in his heart, along with a strange suspicion. The plot he knew was not supposed to unfold this way. According to the original plotline, the blueprint should have been found on Ye An, Ye An would be thrown into prison, and the Ye Prince’s Residence would be implicated.

But now, the plot had changed.

And the person who caused all of this was very likely Ye Qingyan. But how did she know Feng Chu would plant the blueprint on Ye An? And how did she manage to switch it onto Feng Chu so quickly?

At this moment, there was only one possibility.

If that was the case, then the plot would definitely become far more unpredictable.

Su Jinyan glanced at Lin Moran and said calmly, “I suspect there is still someone here meant to receive the blueprint. Continue searching. Before the receiver is found, no one is allowed to leave the opera house.”

The blueprint had been found, but it was meant to be smuggled out of Tianqi Imperial Capital. There must be someone here to receive it, and that person was most likely inside the Lichun Opera House.

As long as the person was here, no matter how deeply they hid, the Heavenly Mandate Division would find them.

…

At that moment, a pale-faced man on the upper corridor sensed something was wrong and turned to leave.

“Stop him,” Su Jinyan ordered immediately, pointing at the man.

A group of officers rushed forward.

However, the pale-faced man was clearly a skilled fighter. With a single move, he repelled several officers.

“Lu Ming, stop him,” Ye Qingyan said.

Lu Ming leaped forward and blocked the man’s path, slashing out with his sword.

“You’re courting death,” the pale-faced man said grimly as his aura exploded outward. He was a 9th Grade early-stage expert, and he threw a punch straight at Lu Ming.

Boom!

The sword and fist collided.

Lu Ming was blasted off the balcony, blood spraying from his mouth.

Killing intent surged in the pale-faced man’s eyes as he charged straight toward Ye Qingyan. He felt that this woman was an obstacle and decided to eliminate her immediately.

“Miss, be careful,” Lu Ming shouted anxiously, but it was already too late to stop him.

Lin Moran had a chance to intervene, yet she chose not to act.

Just as the pale-faced man reached Ye Qingyan, she casually pointed a finger, and a streak of starlight shot out, instantly piercing through his body.

Puff!

Caught off guard, the pale-faced man’s body trembled as blood spurted from his mouth.

“9th Grade peak!”

Lin Moran’s pupils shrank. She looked at Ye Qingyan with shock and suspicion. When had Ye Qingyan reached the 9th Grade peak?

The pale-faced man steadied himself and flung his hand, sending several silver needles shooting toward Ye Qingyan.

“Heh.”

Ye Qingyan lightly flicked her sleeve, releasing a profound force that sent the silver needles flying aside, redirecting them toward Xiao Luocheng instead.

“Hm?”

Seeing the needles flying toward Xiao Luocheng, Lin Moran’s brows lifted and she immediately moved. She knocked away most of the needles, but one still shot toward Xiao Luocheng’s forehead.

…

Xiao Luocheng extended his hand and tilted his head, grabbing toward the needle. The silver needle slipped past his fingers and embedded itself into a nearby wooden beam, stained with a trace of blood.

“The silver needle is poisoned,” Lin Moran realized and immediately took out a bottle, pouring out a pill and handing it to Xiao Luocheng.

Xiao Luocheng took the pill and swallowed it. To him, this level of poison posed no real threat.

“You’re asking for death.”

Lin Moran’s eyes turned icy as she struck the pale-faced man with a palm.

Boom!

The man was caught completely off guard. His chest was shattered, his heart meridian destroyed, and his body was blasted down to the first floor.

…

Xiao Luocheng looked at Ye Qingyan with tightly furrowed brows. The move she had just used was the Star-Picking Finger. According to the original novel’s plot, Ye Qingyan would only obtain this technique three years later. Yet now she could already use it, and with such proficiency that it was clearly not newly acquired.

The eunuch novel and the female lead had already ended, yet there was still an unfinished continuation. Combined with Ye Qingyan’s attitude and tonight’s events, Xiao Luocheng could almost be certain that Ye Qingyan had been reborn.

The situation now was that he, a transmigrator, and Ye Qingyan, a reborn individual, both held similar scripts.

Of course, he possessed a complete observer’s perspective and the full memories of the original body, so he knew more than Ye Qingyan.

Some plotlines in the novel were extremely complex. Even the people involved could not see through them clearly, and readers would miss them without careful analysis. This was his greatest advantage.

The key issue was that Ye Qingyan had been reborn and he had transmigrated. The original plot was bound to change.

So how much certainty did the scripts they held still have?

The overall direction might not change, but certain plotlines would definitely slip out of control.

Moreover, Ye Qingyan had been reborn. In the original plot, although she took the antidote to the Heart-Devouring Poison, she never saw that small note. Then why did she still die?

In Xiao Luocheng’s view, it was likely because she was already gravely injured before being poisoned and then recklessly transferred true essence to the dying Zhou Qingyuan, which made it impossible to save her even after taking the antidote.

Therefore, Ye Qingyan harbored extreme hatred toward the original Xiao Luocheng.

That was troublesome.

If Ye Qingyan had not been reborn, he could have controlled the overall situation using his knowledge of the entire plot. But now that she was reborn, possessed part of the script, and held deep hatred toward him, the problem became far more serious.

“This is troublesome,” Xiao Luocheng thought to himself, though he did not panic.

“Hm?”

Ye Qingyan seemed to sense something and immediately looked toward Xiao Luocheng, only to find him looking at Lin Moran. She did not think much of it.

Downstairs, Su Jinyan checked the pale-faced scholar and confirmed he was dead. He looked at Lin Moran coldly and said, “Princess, are you silencing him?”

“That’s quite a heavy accusation, Marquis Su. Xiao Luocheng is my person. He was injured, so naturally I must seek justice for him,” Lin Moran replied coldly.

“Heh.”

Su Jinyan sneered. He still had Feng Chu in custody, and there would be plenty to extract from him.

Lin Moran ignored Su Jinyan and looked calmly at Ye Qingyan. “I didn’t expect you to step into the 9th Grade peak so quietly. That surprised me. Xiao Luocheng was once your childhood sweetheart. Even if you no longer love him and have someone new, there’s no need to be so ruthless. Today, I truly witnessed a performance. Ye Qingyan, you are even more ruthless than I am. But let me make one thing clear. From now on, Xiao Luocheng is mine. Aside from me, no one else has the right to lay a hand on him. Anyone who dares will face my wrath.”

“Xiao Luocheng, let’s go.”

She stepped forward, grabbed Xiao Luocheng’s hand, and left directly.

…

Ye Qingyan watched Lin Moran and Xiao Luocheng’s retreating figures, her expression completely calm.

Earlier, she truly had wanted Xiao Luocheng to die from that pale-faced scholar’s silver needle. A single life meant nothing to her.

In her previous life, after learning of Xiao Luocheng’s sinister nature, she had initially been unwilling to act ruthlessly and had tolerated him time and again.

And what was the result?

Her entire clan was wiped out, and she lost everything.

In this life, how could she possibly feel pity for Xiao Luocheng?

“Take Feng Chu back to the Heavenly Mandate Division,” Su Jinyan said with a light wave of his hand.

The officers immediately escorted Feng Chu away.

“Miss Ye, your skills are impressive. I will remember tonight’s matter. I owe you a favor,” Su Jinyan said as he cupped his fists toward Ye Qingyan, then left with his men.

Ye Qingyan watched Su Jinyan’s departing figure and thought silently, “Su Jinyan, do you know? If the plot followed its normal course, your end would also be death at Xiao Luocheng’s hands.”

In her previous life, Su Jinyan had protected her everywhere, and Zhou Qingyuan had supported her in silence. In the end, both of them died to Xiao Luocheng’s schemes.

“Miss.”

Lu Ming stepped forward.

Ye Qingyan said softly, “Lu Ming, leave this place to you to clean up. I’ll head back first.”

“As you command.”

Lu Ming bowed respectfully.