It was an open secret that Madam An disliked Ye Shaohua.
When news of Madam An’s arrival spread, a young man came panting over—the only soldier in the army who wasn’t afraid of An Tingyun.
His mecha ranked second in the entire military, making him the sole individual capable of rivaling An Tingyun.
“Su Yanzhe!” For the first time, the usually composed General An swore through gritted teeth, veins bulging on his clenched fists. “Get the hell away from her!”
Seeing An Tingyun’s reaction, Su Yanzhe sighed regretfully, realizing divorce was off the table. As he left, he even politely nodded to Madam An. “Madam, if you ever reconsider and want Ms. Ye to divorce him, do let me know first.”
“Scram!” An Tingyun hurled a cup at him.
Only after Su Yanzhe reluctantly departed did An Tingyun turn to his parents. “That was Su Yanzhe, pilot of the second-ranked mecha.”
Madam An flinched under her son’s icy gaze.
Ye Shaohua was shrewd. Knowing her time in this world might be limited, she ensured balance by creating two mechas—even if An Tingyun wouldn’t target the Lü family, whoever controlled these machines in the future would dominate.
Her brilliance terrified even the Zerg.
Madam An’s lips trembled. Regret was undeniable. She had schemed relentlessly to force their divorce, and though An Tingyun never signed the papers, Ye Shaohua never returned to the An residence either.
Watching her son withdraw into work with frosty detachment, Madam An smiled bitterly. If only I hadn’t been so arrogant back then.
Meanwhile, Ye Junwei remained in the military but was a far cry from the formidable figure in the original timeline.
Ye Shaohua’s multidimensional mecha revolution rendered old models obsolete. While she reformed the military system, she was no saint—despite the system not demanding revenge, Ye Junwei had threatened her family during the chaos.
So Ye Shaohua did nothing. Watching weaker peers surpass her was torture enough for Ye Junwei.
When Ye En couldn’t endure the humiliation and begged Lü Xiang for help, Ye Junwei snapped. She stormed to confront Ye Shaohua, expecting rejection.
To her surprise, Ye Shaohua granted the meeting.
With gentle eyes, Ye Shaohua said, “Ye Junwei, look at you—an S-grade psychic, yet inferior to a B-grade like me. How pitiful. And keep your parents away from my mother.”
Every word that had once cornered Lü Xiang to death was now returned to Ye Junwei.
The latter stood frozen, her face draining of color.
[Ding! Main Quest “Protect the Lü Family” completed! Reward: 1000 points! Additional reward: Brain Domain Expansion ×1!]
As Ye Shaohua observed An Tingyun and Su Yanzhe’s tense exchange, instinct screamed danger—System 008 hadn’t tricked her in years. “Wait—”
A searing blast engulfed her before she could finish.
After three years of plotting, the Zerg finally breached her defenses.
Ye Shaohua died at twenty-five.
Perishing between the two strongest warriors of Mo Planet, her legacy lived on. Su Yanzhe relinquished his mecha to his clan and vanished—some claimed he died; others said he grew vegetables on a barren world.
An Tingyun never left Mo Planet but became a recluse. His life narrowed to two purposes: slaughtering Zerg and guarding the Lü family.
Imperial Palace – Night
The golden halls blazed with light despite the late hour. Crystal lamps cast shimmering reflections off the dragon-carved eaves, but the celebratory decorations clashed with the suffocating tension.
Eunuchs and maids kept their heads bowed, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Physician Liu set down his medical kit. After checking the pulse of the young woman in plain palace attire, he sighed discreetly and addressed the figure in imperial yellow robes.
“Your Majesty, the concubine has lost excessive blood and suffers from dual depletion of qi and vitality. Her rage-induced coma is life-threatening.”
He chose his words carefully.
The current emperor, formerly the Third Prince, had usurped the throne from the Crown Prince three days prior after the late emperor’s death.
Rumors said he doted on Ye Shaohua, daughter of General Ye and his only consort for two years—no concubines, no mistresses. She was every woman’s envy.
Yet upon his ascension, his first decree wasn’t her coronation as empress. It was her banishment to the cold palace.
His second act: consolidating power.
His third: appointing Qu Huashang, granddaughter of the Grand Tutor, as empress.
The court reeled. Even Physician Liu, uninvolved in politics, had heard the uproar.
Tonight was Qu Huashang’s coronation.
Out of the corner of his eye, Physician Liu glimpsed a crimson-gowned woman near the emperor—the Grand Tutor’s granddaughter, now the most exalted woman in the realm.
But a physician couldn’t gaze upon the empress. He pressed his forehead to the floor.
A voice like a nightingale broke the silence, laced with hesitation yet melodious. “Your Majesty, if Consort Ye perishes, General Ye’s faction might…”
Only one person dared speak during the emperor’s fury: Qu Huashang, the woman who held his heart.
