How can I bow my head and serve the powerful officials?

When the soul incense was first lit, Cao Qingran felt a little uneasy.

Until she discovered that the "Xie Chengze" with a changed soul seemed to have Xie Chengze's memory. His behavior was no different from usual. He still loved to laugh and was gentle to everyone.

It seems like nothing has changed.

God really favors this body. Even if the soul is replaced, it is still such a pure soul.

Everyone thought he was still Xie Chengze. Emperor Jian did not believe in the existence of souls, and the concubines rarely had contact with Xie Chengze because of her, and could not distinguish between the two. Even Xie Jinyu, who had always relied on him, thought, after repeated memory tests, that Xie Chengze had heard the remarks in the court and was deliberately hiding his ignorance so as not to embarrass himself.

Except Hua Ning.

She firmly believed that "Xie Chengze" was not her son and that Xie Chengze's body had been taken over by someone else.

"Qingran, they don't believe me! They don't believe me!"

The once bright and generous girl in red, with a stunning face that was unrivaled in the world, is now haggard, like a broken dead tree stuck in a quagmire. She looks at herself with a strong and only hope, hoping to get the final salvation. "Qingran, you are the person closest to Ze'er besides me and His Majesty. You have also noticed it, right?"

The gentle and bright woman lay in her arms, her eyes red and moist, revealing all her vulnerability. It was then that Cao Qingran realized that just a few words from her could save this woman.

It could also easily destroy this woman.

She felt a shameful secret excitement in her heart.

The lost feeling of control and dominance returned.

"Yeah..." She gently lifted up the woman's messy hair and suppressed the dark tide in her eyes, "I also feel that Ze'er seems to be different in some way."

She listened patiently as Hua Ning recounted the differences between Xie Chengze and "Xie Chengze", but was troubled by the fact that the soul occupying her son's body did not seem to be a bad person. The child always looked at her with forbearing and sad eyes, and tried to please her carefully, making the kind-hearted Hua Ning unable to say a word of resentment towards the other party.

"He always gives me the feeling that he didn't occupy my place voluntarily, but I just want my Ze'er back... He's still so young..."

Noticing that Hua Ning's mood was gradually calming down, Cao Qingran stroked her hand and paused, saying lightly, "If it was not his own will, why didn't he dare to admit that he was a fake?"

"He even used Ze'er's memory to deceive everyone. He has such a skill. Maybe the feeling he gave you can also be faked?"

She seduced Hua Ning with every word she said, and seeing Hua Ning becoming anxious again, she felt both happy and ashamed.

The person who once stirred up all kinds of emotions in her eventually became her pawn, at her disposal.

When no one believes Hua Ning, she can choose to say "believe her" to calm her down, or she can choose to say "maybe you're just thinking too much" and let her hysterically provide evidence in front of her and crave recognition.

She gradually became addicted to the pleasure of belated revenge.

This is not enough.

In order to maintain this pleasure and prevent the gentle and kind "Xie Chengze" from reaching a reconciliation with Hua Ning, she secretly sent her own insiders to alienate and intimidate "Xie Chengze".

"The reason why Concubine Hua wants to retrieve her son's soul is because his soul was revealed by the Heavenly Decree to be a lucky star, and this title of lucky star can protect you, a son who is not of royal blood!"

"Once the royal family knows that you killed Fuxing, the only thing waiting for you is death!"

"You'd better disguise yourself well! You are Xie Chengze! You are the lucky star!"

She succeeded.

The frightened "Xie Chengze" became increasingly distant from Hua Ning, and as Hua Ning's condition deteriorated, the relationship began to deteriorate.

Hua Ning resented him for pretending to be her son.

He blamed Hua Ning for hanging an innocent soul like him in the frying pan of public opinion and refusing to give him a chance to live.

Hua Ning eventually fell seriously ill. When she was dying, Concubine Rou gave her a life-saving pill which allowed her to live for a few more months.

But he still passed away.

Upon learning the news of Hua Ning's death, Cao Qingran was unable to recover for a long time.

She should have felt relaxed, but what Cao Qingran felt was endless loneliness and confusion.

Like a fish that suddenly lost its direction, not knowing where to go, she wandered in the water. At night, Hua Ning's sad face would always appear in her mind, questioning her grimly and disappointedly.

"Qingran, are you satisfied now?"

Cao Qingran's mood suddenly sank to the bottom, and she lost her desire for everything. She suddenly realized that to her, Hua Ning was no longer poison, but the breath she exhaled and the salt she ate.

She destroyed her.

Also ruined himself.

It destroyed the self that should have been pure, flawless, and free.

Cao Qingran lost desire for everything. The position of queen, the Cao family, and freedom seemed to have lost their meaning. She stepped into the Buddhist temple and wanted to cut off the soul incense, but then she vaguely thought, even if Xie Chengze came back, what could she do?

Hua Ning is dead.

Should Xie Chengze come back and endure the pain of losing his mother, and then the blame will be put on her?

Cao Qingran is a cowardly person. She dares not face the real Xie Chengze, and is then treated with questioning and resentful eyes by his pure and flawless eyes.

She replaced the wooden table and Bodhi tree with peach wood, hoping to reject the mother and son's questioning in her dream.

Her life returned to the beginning. The meaning of her life was to become the queen and then let Xie Jinyu become the crown prince and the future new emperor.

Originally thought that "Xie Chengze" was mediocre and would definitely lose to Xie Jinyu, but unexpectedly she accidentally discovered Sheng Shihuai's ambition.

Sheng Shi Huaiqi was one step away from success and accidentally bribed her insider, instilling in "Xie Chengze" the idea that he would die if he did not fight for the throne, saying that he was just a polishing stone for Emperor Jian to cultivate the prince, and wanted to support "Xie Chengze" to fight for the throne.

"Xie Chengze" believed it, or maybe he didn't.

At that time, Cao Qingran had already noticed that "Xie Chengze" seemed to particularly hate Long Yang's good relationship, so he became increasingly repulsive and disgusted with Xie Jinyu's dependence, and the relationship between the two became increasingly cold.

"Xie Chengze" seems to want to escape from the capital, so he becomes "extremely greedy for money". Wuhen and Wuji do not allow him to leave the capital, so he becomes irritable and easily angered. "Xie Chengze" wants to win over Shen Yuan to become his own person, but Shen Yuan always manages to step on his tail with every word.

Perhaps Sheng Shihuai persuaded him, or perhaps he wanted to take revenge on Xie Jinyu and Shen Yuan. She realized that the real battle for the throne had begun.

She witnessed this ten-year battle and thought that Xie Jinyu and Shen Yuan could defeat "Xie Chengze" and Sheng Shihuai, but she didn't expect that Xie Jinyu almost lost. If she hadn't acted in time to let Cao Que support Shen Yuan, Xie Jinyu might have really been killed by "Xie Chengze".

"Xie Chengze" is no longer the original "Xie Chengze".

Everyone has changed beyond recognition.

Cao Qingran finally decided to end this farce. She told Xie Jinyu the truth about the soul swap and explained the matter of the soul incense. She then turned around and secretly arranged for Shen Yuan to kill Xie Chengze and put the blame for Xie Chengze's death on Shen Yuan.

Shame on her indeed.

In the end, she didn't dare to let Xie Chengze come back.