Simultaneous Transmigration: The Re-merging of 99 Selves

Chapter 116 Night Raid on the Imperial Palace

After Lin Hongyu left, Zhao Yu stepped forward and took Lin Chaoying's hand.

"Take off the mask. Looking at my own face, I feel like something's off."

Lin Chaoying nodded, raised her hand and removed the human skin mask from her face, revealing her beautiful and extraordinary appearance.

His face was pale, and his eyes showed deep fatigue.

Zhao Yu felt a pang of heartache when he saw her haggard appearance.

He proudly pulled out the sheet music for "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" from his pocket and handed it to Lin Chaoying: "Sister Lin, look, this is a gift I brought for you."

"What is this?" Lin Chaoying asked, taking the sheet music with a puzzled look.

"This piece is called 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer,' and it was composed by two great masters of music with the painstaking effort of their entire lives. It is absolutely a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages."

Lin Chaoying flipped through a few pages of the score, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. She had been proficient in music since childhood and could naturally see the value of this score.

"It is indeed a good piece of music." Lin Chaoying closed the sheet music and put it aside.

Then, without changing her expression, she asked, "Did your trip go smoothly? Did you really find a way to handle the money and supplies?"

Zhao Yu was completely unaware of the unusual tone in Lin Chaoying's voice: "Sister Lin, don't worry. I'll take care of something else tonight, and the first batch of provisions will arrive in less than a month. Then, there will be hope for the Northern Expedition."

Lin Chaoying gave a faint "hmm" and didn't say anything.

She picked up a memorial from the table and handed it to Zhao Yu.

"By the way, you're back just in time. These past few days, Old Master Huang has handled most of the other matters. Only this matter is beyond his and the cabinet's control. Why don't you take a look?"

Zhao Yu then snapped out of his excitement and noticed that Lin Chaoying's expression was off. He took the memorial and looked at it, and realized why.

The memorial was covered with the names of officials at all levels.

The message contained only one thing: to earnestly request the Emperor to expand the imperial harem and recruit more concubines in order to ensure the continuation of the imperial line.

Zhao Yu understood; Lin Chaoying was jealous.

He stepped forward and pulled Lin Chaoying into his arms.

Lin Chaoying struggled for a moment but couldn't break free. In the end, she leaned softly against Zhao Yu's chest.

"What's wrong? Are you jealous?" Zhao Yu asked softly, close to her ear.

"I didn't," Lin Chaoying said softly, her voice tinged with bitterness. "Your Majesty is so wealthy, with three palaces and six courtyards, it's only natural. How could I dare to be jealous? I wonder if Your Majesty has any women you fancy? Please bring them into the palace as soon as possible, so I can meet my sisters."

Zhao Yu was taken aback. What did this mean?

Lin Chaoying glanced at him: "Your scent hasn't dissipated on the way back, and you still won't admit it?"

Zhao Yu suddenly realized that Lin Chaoying thought he had rushed back from out of town and had been traveling for a long time, yet the fragrance on his body had not yet dissipated.

It's clear he was constantly with a woman, which explains why the taste lasted so long.

But only Zhao Yu knew that he could travel between the two realms with a single thought, so the fragrance of the blue phoenix on his body could not possibly dissipate so quickly.

"Who is she?" Lin Chaoying looked up, her eyes filled with a hint of grievance.

Zhao Yu quickly explained, "She's a friend of mine. I only asked her for help. Besides, she's a Miao woman, and I don't want to get involved with any love potions or anything like that. How could I possibly provoke her?"

Lin Chaoying was startled upon hearing this: "A Miao woman? What exactly are you planning?"

Seeing her nervous expression, Zhao Yu felt a warmth in his heart.

He tightened his grip on her arm and said with a smile, "Don't worry, I can definitely handle everything. Even if it's a dead end, I can solve it. Besides, we're far from being in a dead end yet."

Zhao Yu whispered in her ear, "Sister Lin, don't worry. In this world, you are my only empress. There will never be another woman. Once this matter is resolved and the provisions are in place, I will immediately announce to the world that I will marry you as my empress. Establishing the position of empress as soon as possible will also bring peace to the hearts of the people."

"At that time, we'll invite my parents-in-law as well. They'll never guess that their son-in-law is actually the Emperor of the Song Dynasty."

"You're such a smooth talker." Lin Chaoying gave him a reproachful look and lightly punched him.

After a long period of tenderness, Zhao Yu finally released Lin Chaoying and began to deal with the backlog of memorials.

Before we knew it, the sky was gradually darkening.

After finishing the last memorial, Zhao Yu stood up and stretched.

"I have to go now; I still have things to take care of over there."

Lin Chaoying nodded and helped Zhao Yu straighten his clothes: "Be careful in everything."

Zhao Yu waved his hand: "Don't worry, wait for my good news."

With that, he flashed out of the window again and disappeared into the night.

The Ming Dynasty, Beijing, Yuelai Inn.

Zhao Yu's figure appeared silently in the room.

He changed into a blue Taoist robe and tied his long hair up, making him look quite like a Taoist immortal.

When the two met again, Lan Fenghuang was stunned when she saw Zhao Yu's attire.

"Pfft!"

She couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you doing?" Lan Fenghuang pointed at Zhao Yu, laughing so hard she was shaking. "You traveled all the way to Beijing just to become a Taoist priest?"

Zhao Yu shook his head: "Of course not, I have another purpose for wearing these clothes."

Then, he looked Lan Fenghuang up and down and said, "You need to change your clothes and take off all these silver ornaments, otherwise the jingling and clanging will make it hard to hide your tracks."

"I know, I know." Lan Fenghuang glared at Zhao Yu irritably. "You're such a busybody."

After saying that, she turned and went back to her room.

A moment later, Lan Fenghuang came out wearing a simple blue cloth dress.

She had removed all her silver ornaments, and her hair was simply tied into a bun, making her look less charming and more elegant.

"Is this alright now?" Blue Phoenix spun around.

"Yes, almost done." Zhao Yu nodded. "Is everything ready?"

Lan Fenghuang patted a small pouch at her waist and said smugly, "I've already prepared everything. I have all kinds of Gu here, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"That's good, let's go."

The two pushed open the window, and in a flash, disappeared into the night.

Before long, the two arrived at the moat of the Forbidden City.

Looking at the brightly lit and magnificent palace complex before her, Lan Fenghuang finally showed a look of shock.

"This...this is the imperial palace?" Blue Phoenix murmured to herself.

"Not bad." Zhao Yu looked at the Forbidden City before him, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.

He had been here before before he traveled through time.

Back then, this place was teeming with people and tourists everywhere. Now, however, it is the heart of the Ming Dynasty, heavily guarded and off-limits to outsiders.

"You...you're going to harm the Emperor?" Lan Fenghuang suddenly turned her head.

Zhao Yu glanced at her and said with a smile, "What? Scared?"

"Afraid? When have I, Lan Fenghuang, ever been afraid?" Lan Fenghuang immediately puffed out her chest. "At worst, if things are exposed, I'll just go back to Miao territory. I just didn't expect you to be so bold as to dare to touch even the emperor."

"Don't worry." Zhao Yu waved his hand. "With me here, we won't be exposed. Let's go, today we'll sneak into the palace at night."

Having said that, he took the lead in using his lightness skill to cross the moat and land silently inside the palace walls.

Lan Fenghuang watched Zhao Yu's retreating figure, a smile of interest playing on her lips.

"Such a bold Han Chinese man is quite interesting."

She whispered something, then used her lightness skill to follow closely behind, disappearing into the layers of palaces.