After being reborn, I stole the female lead's cheat ability and raised the empress.

Chapter 178 Awakening

The next day.

Xia Li was still fast asleep in bed.

She felt someone shaking her body, and a voice softly calling her name: "Li'er, Li'er, wake up, wake up..."

It was Zhao Jihua's voice of concern!

She was forced to sit up and open her eyes, and a wave of dizziness immediately washed over her.

Xia Li clutched her head in her hands. "My head hurts so much... Sister? What are you doing here? Didn't I say I'd bring Xiao Yu back once I found her? How did you get here? Wait, how could a mere mortal like you get here? Am I dreaming?"

Thinking this, Xia Li slumped back onto the bed. "It must be because I miss my sister that she came to me in my dream. I'm not fully awake yet, I'll sleep a little longer."

"Oh dear, get up! You've been sleeping for so long." Zhao Jihua helplessly pulled her hands up and yanked her up. "It's time to take your medicine."

"Take medicine? Sister! Stop it, I'm really sleepy."

Xia Li lay back down, still muttering to herself.

"Get up, take your medicine and then go back to sleep. The medicine won't taste good if it's too cold."

Zhao Jihua gently rubbed her cheek.

The texture feels so real!

Xia Li's mind cleared instantly.

"Sister! Is that really you? What brings you here?"

"What nonsense are you talking about, child? You've been delirious with a high fever for three days and three nights." As he spoke, Zhao Jihua called out, "Imperial Physician! Imperial Physician, come quickly and take a look at Princess Anping."

"The imperial physician?!"

Xia Li then looked up and surveyed her surroundings, only to find herself in the Prince Jin's Mansion on the Vast Ocean Continent.

"What...what's going on?"

Xia Li couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Was my return to the modern world just a dream?

Is this a hysteria I developed because I couldn't accept Yu Yang's departure?

But those past experiences, those feelings, were so real.

She was thinking for so long that she didn't even notice what the imperial physician said to Zhao Jihua when he came and left.

Xia Li asked, "Sister, what time is it now?"

"Noon."

"No, I'm asking what year and month it is now."

"What's going on? It's almost New Year's Eve."

"what?"

"Have you forgotten? We orchestrated the incidents that led to the deaths of the Empress and the Second Princess, which allowed His Majesty to take advantage of the situation to attack the Empress's maternal family, the Bai family. The Third Prince, in desperation, is now gathering troops and planning a coup during the New Year's Eve palace banquet!"

"..."

Xia Li jumped in surprise: !!

New Year's Eve? Rebellion?

"Who knows about the Third Prince's rebellion?"

Thinking of this, Zhao Jihua chuckled: "...Those who need to know probably already know."

Xia Li: ...

Then the Third Prince's rebellion was doomed to fail!

"That's right. Many of the Third Prince's subordinates have secretly pledged allegiance to His Majesty and the Crown Prince. Only the Third Prince himself believes it to be true, thinking that he can really become king!"

"Wait! The Crown Prince?"

“Yes, the Bai family has fallen, and the Third Prince has lost his position as Crown Prince. Now the Crown Prince is the First Prince.” Zhao Jihua said with a worried look, “Li’er, have you really lost your mind?”

"Sister, please stop teasing her. She's just been under a lot of pressure and working too hard to save me these days, that's why she's been sleeping longer. It's nothing."

Just then, Yu Yang walked in with the medicine. "Let's make her drink this medicine now."

Upon seeing him, Xia Li's eyes filled with shock, and tears instantly welled up: "?! Yu Yang! Weren't the three divine artifacts beyond saving? How are you still alive?"

Yu Yang placed the medicine on her bedside table, smiled, and playfully pinched her nose: "Of course I'm alive, but my dear girlfriend went through a life-or-death ordeal to save me."

Zhao Jihua tactfully withdrew.

Yu Yang sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the medicine, blew on it, and then handed it to Xia Li.

But seeing him crying so hard, he felt heartbroken and quickly put down the medicine bowl to hug him: "Ali, I'm so sorry, it's all because of me that you've suffered... But I'm really touched. Before, I thought you didn't like me, or that you didn't like me that much, but this time I really feel that I'm very important to you..."

He kept talking on and on.

Xia Li took her medicine while organizing her thoughts.

The current time should be after I used the three divine artifacts to heal Yu Yang.

But unlike before,

Yu Yang was saved by her.

Three days later is Lunar New Year's Eve.

That is, during the Third Prince's coup.

The only variable is the old emperor's poison.

There is still no solution.

……

Zhou Xianya arrived that evening.

Seeing that her eyes were red,

Xia Li asked, "What happened?"

"I..." Zhou Xianya didn't want to say more.

Zhao Jihua quickly pressed on, "Aren't we still best friends for life? We were both betrothed to the Third Prince back then, but that didn't break us up. Now you're not talking to me about it? Have we become estranged?"

Under repeated questioning from the two men, Zhou Xianya finally stammered out the answer:

"Ever since I became engaged to the Third Prince, he hasn't come to see me. I originally thought he was afraid of my parents' wrath, after all, my eldest brother kicked him out of the manor after the engagement with His Highness. But later I refused to accept my fate and wanted to go and talk to him. But... but on the way, I saw him coming out of a brothel, and watched him get into a carriage with several women..."

He refers to Zhang Rui, the man Zhou Xianya likes.

Xia Li said, "Didn't you go up and ask why? To avoid any misunderstandings..."

Zhou Xianya cried, "I thought I would chase after him and ask, but in fact, he saw me in the carriage. Just one glance, and I froze. I watched him turn and walk away without hesitation. I didn't want to ask then. Because he didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't want to see me at all. Why should I chase after him and ask why? I just wanted to find a reason, a reason to forgive him, to forgive myself for continuing to love him. But why did I have to be so pathetic? Why did I make myself so humble? I was spoiled by my parents growing up, I don't care about him at all!"

Towards the end of her story, she looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, forcibly holding back her tears.

But his nose was still twitching.

Zhao Jihua was also angry after hearing this: "Zhang Duan is such a scoundrel! How could he betray you like this!"

Zhou Xianya quickly replied, "He didn't betray me."

"Isn't this betrayal?"

"When the news of my engagement to the Third Prince reached me, he immediately came to me and asked for my opinion. I told him that although I didn't want to marry the Third Prince, as a daughter of a prominent family, this was the only path left—an arranged marriage. At the time, he said that since I didn't want to marry him, he could elope with me, which made me angry. How could I abandon my family and elope with a guard without any regard for the consequences?"

Zhao Jihua was speechless: "Well... how should I put it? He just wanted to take away the woman he loved, and you were doing it for the sake of your family's fate."

"No!" Xia Li interrupted, "That's pure selfishness and irresponsibility. He's neither reliable nor respectful to you. When there are difficulties, he tries to stop you. Instead of thinking about how to solve the problems, he only thinks about making you sacrifice yourself and elope with him. Has he considered you or your family?"

“After all, Zhang Duan is just a guard, and there’s not much he can do,” Zhou Xianya argued. “After we had a big argument that day, my brother found an excuse to kick him out, and he took the opportunity to leave.”

She sniffed, then casually tugged at Zhao Jihua's sleeve to wipe her nose.

Zhao Jihua: ...

This scene seems familiar.

However, she still comforted the other person, "Okay, let's not talk about those sad past events."

Xia Li also said, "Come on, we'll go out with you to clear your head."

"But Xia Li, I heard you're sick..."

"No, I'm completely fine now." Xia Li smiled, pulling Zhao Jihua up with one hand and her with the other. "Let's go for a walk, or if we really can't, we can go inside and listen to some music to relax."

"..."

After a while, three handsome and dashing scholars arrived in front of Chunfeng Tower.

It was Zhou Xianya and two others disguised as men.

Zhou Xianya hesitated for a moment: "Do...do we really want to go in?"

Zhao Jihua stammered, "Li'er, isn't this a bit too unconventional for a girl?"

"Go in! Why don't we go in? Zhang Duan was able to bring back a few beauties from here back then, so can we!" Xia Li pushed Zhou Xianya forward.

She nudged Zhao Jihua again: "Hey sister! You're about to seize power, why do you care about deviating from the orthodox path or betraying the faith?"

Zhao Jihua had no choice but to follow them into Chunfeng Tower: "Alright, but we must be careful."

The madam at the door saw them and immediately came forward with a beaming smile, saying, "Gentlemen, please come in. The girls at our Spring Breeze Pavilion are all the best in the capital; we guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Xia Li took a deep breath and went inside first.

Zhao Jihua and Zhou Xianya followed closely behind.

Upon entering the building, one can hear melodious piano music and the cheerful laughter of women.

Inside the hall, the girls were drinking and chatting with the guests, creating a lively atmosphere.

The three of them found an empty seat, ordered a pot of wine and some snacks.

Xia Li looked around curiously, her heart filled with wonder.

At this moment, a girl dressed in brightly colored clothes stepped forward and said in a sweet voice, "Gentlemen, this is Cui'er, here to pour you some wine."

Xia Li quickly stood up to thank him, took the wine glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

Zhao Jihua and Zhou Xianya also drank a few cups.

After a few drinks, they gradually became bolder and started chatting with the people around them.

Just as they were having a pleasant conversation, a tall man walked in with several attendants.

This man was Zhang Rui. He worked for the Third Prince and had considerable influence in the capital. He was arrogant and domineering, and no one dared to provoke him.

Most importantly, he also had homosexual tendencies!

As soon as Zhang Rui entered the room, he saw Xia Li and the other two.

He was immediately attracted by Xia Li's beauty, thinking she was some young master from a wealthy family, and a wicked thought arose in his mind.

He strode over, sat down next to Xia Li, and reached out to touch her face.

Xia Li was startled and quickly dodged, angrily saying, "What are you doing? Show some respect!"

Instead of getting angry, Zhang Rui burst into laughter: "Young master, you've got quite a stubborn temper. In this capital city, no one has ever dared to speak to me, Zhang Rui, like that."

Seeing this, Zhou Xianya stood up, pointed at Zhang Rui and said, "How can you be so rude? Apologize to us right now!"

Zhang Rui glanced at her disdainfully: "Apologize? Don't you even know who I am? If you don't play along with me today, don't even think about leaving this Spring Breeze Pavilion."

Xia Li never expected that her trip would lead to such trouble.

She forced herself to remain calm and said, "Don't go too far. We may not be high-ranking officials or nobles, but we won't be bullied by anyone."

Zhang Rui's face darkened: "Hmph, they won't listen to reason, so they'll have to suffer the consequences. Men, give these reckless brats a good beating."

His entourage immediately surrounded him, all eager to fight. Xia Li and his two companions also stood up, ready to resist.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out: "Stop!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw a man in a blue robe walk in.

This person was Zhang Duan.

Zhang Duan walked up to Zhang Rui, frowned, and said, "Zhang Rui, you're causing trouble again. These gentlemen are my friends. If you keep acting recklessly, don't blame me for being impolite."

Zhang Rui looked surprised: "Brother, what brings you here? They're just a few ordinary young masters, why are you standing up for them?"

Zhang Duan glared at him: "I told you, they are my friends. If you dare to bully them again, I will tell my father and he will teach you a lesson."

As he spoke, he leaned close to Zhang Rui's ear and said, "The Third Prince has an important matter at hand. It is not advisable to cause any trouble at this time, just in case."

Although Zhang Rui was unwilling, he dared not disobey Zhang Duan's orders.

Although the other party had just returned home, the old man valued him highly, and he had recently gained the favor of the Third Prince.

He glared at Xia Li and the other two and said, "Consider yourselves lucky. My brother is here today, so I'll let you off the hook for now."

After saying that, he left with his entourage.

Xia Li and the other two breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked Zhang Duan.

Zhang Duan smiled slightly: "Gentlemen, there's no need to be so polite. I see you're all new here. This Spring Breeze Pavilion is a mixed bag, so it's best to avoid it in the future."

Xia Li nodded gratefully: "Thank you for reminding me, young master. If it weren't for your help today, we would have been in serious trouble."

Zhang Duan's gaze swept over the group of people, then he suddenly stopped.

He felt that although the "young master" in the middle was dressed in men's clothing, his eyes revealed a kind of liveliness and charm, as well as a sense of familiarity, which made people unable to help but take a few more glances.

He smiled and said, "May I ask how you gentlemen are addressed? If you need any help in the future, please feel free to come to me."

Xia Li quickly prepared to introduce them: "My name is Xia Tian, ​​and these two are my good friends Zhao Di and Zhou..."

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xianya spoke up irritably: "Why are you talking to him!"

Xia Li: ?!

She looked at Zhao Jihua, her eyes asking what was wrong.

The other person quickly leaned close to Xia Li's ear and told her, "This is the one who betrayed Zhou Xianya."

What?!!!