Chapter 182 -

Chapter 182: Chapter

Yimei opened her eyes to find herself standing in a huge, dark void. There was no sound, no floor, and no light, only endless blackness around her.

"Nine? Nine, where are you? Where am I?" Yimei called out, looking around the empty space.

Suddenly, a heavy, cold feeling filled the dark space. A deep, loud voice, far stronger than Nine spoke from everywhere at once.

[HOST AN YIMEI. YOU ARE IN THE SYSTEM REALM. SINCE YOU TOOK OVER THIS BODY, YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CHANGED TOO MANY THINGS. THE REST OF THIS STORY IS OUT OF ORDER. YOU MUST FIX THE PLOT AND PUT THE NOVEL BACK ON THE RIGHT PATH.]

Before Yimei could ask anything else, the dark void shattered into pieces.

Yimei sat up fast on the bed, gasping for air. Her heart was beating hard, and cold sweat covered her skin.

Bright morning sunlight filled the bedroom. She turned her head, the spot next to her on the bed was cold and empty. Zhengyu was gone.

Yimei wiped her forehead and called out in her mind, Nine! What was that?

Nine’s voice popped up, trembling with fear.

[H-Host! That was the High Command System! What you just saw was a System Audit! Because you act so differently from the original Yimei, you changed the whole story!]

Yimei leaned back against the bed. Explain.

[In the original story, after Yimei came back to life and married Zhengyu, she focused on her business and slowly won his heart,] Nine explained quickly. [She taught An Yulan a lesson along the way, making her regret marrying Bai Wenliang. But you focused on your business and destroying the Bai family one by one! In the original book, Old Madame Bai didn’t even send the family to the south!]

Yimei smirked coolly. And what do I need to fix?

[The system won’t stop you from taking revenge on others,] Nine said. [But your actions must not ruin Zhengyu’s main storyline! In the original book, Zhengyu traveled out of town, suffered a bad accident, and fell off a huge cliff. A physician found him at the bottom and cured his legs completely.]

Nine paused before continuing.

[Right after he got his ability to walk back, soldiers came to that village to force men into the war. Zhengyu was taken to the army! He disappeared for three years, built up his rank, won over the Crown Prince, and became a feared warrior! When he returned, he became General Wu, got an army and a grand estate, disowned the Bai family, took his revenge, and lived happily ever after with Yimei!]

Nine’s voice sounded panicked again. [But now, there is no way for Zhengyu to travel, fall off a cliff, meet that physician, or get cured before joining the army!]

Yimei sat quietly for a moment, thinking. A cold, wicked smile spread across her face.

"In that case," Yimei said smoothly, "we’ll just have to get him to fall off a cliff with or without plot armor. Even if I have to push him down myself."

Yimei tilted her head slightly, her gaze sharp as she questioned Nine in her mind.

Where exactly did Zhengyu travel and have that accident in the original plot?

[Host! It happened in a neighboring mountain village not far from here!] Nine answered quickly. [He was supposed to be traveling through the high mountain trail when the carriage went off the edge!]

Yimei heard that and nodded calmly to herself, a cold, calculating look entering her eyes. "Alright then."

If the mountain trail was just a short journey away, staging an "unfortunate accident" during an out-of-town errand wouldn’t be difficult at all. She would handle her New Year’s Eve revenge first, completely ruining Third Uncle Chenghao and An Yulan, and then make sure Zhengyu took that fateful ride along the cliff path.

She threw off the blanket, stepped out of bed, and dressed in her crisp daily robes.

Stepping out of the bedchamber into the sunlit courtyard, Yimei immediately spotted Zhengyu. He was sitting in his wooden wheelchair near the side stone pavilion, a blanket covering his lap. Bai Kang stood beside him, holding a wooden practice sword, while Zhengyu calmly instructed him on stance and balance.

Hearing her footsteps, Zhengyu stopped mid-sentence.

His face went completely cold and expressionless. He didn’t look up to meet her eyes, nor did he greet her with his usual soft teasing. Instead, he simply ignored her presence entirely, turning his posture away and speaking to Bai Kang in a distant, indifferent tone. "Again. Shift your weight to your back foot."

Yimei stopped near the edge of the pavilion, watching him as a sigh escaped her lips.

[Host, look at him! He seems to completely hate you now!] Nine whimpered frantically in her mind. [His favorability is at negative thirty! How are you even going to convince him to take a carriage ride with you to that mountain village later? You need to rebuild your relationship with him first!]

Yimei completely ignored Nine’s noisy whining, her expression calm as she walked straight toward the pavilion.

"I didn’t know sword practice was part of the Imperial Academy curriculum," Yimei said smoothly, stopping right near the wooden pillar.

Bai Kang, seeing his sister-in-law approach, almost lost his balance and shook in his stance. He quickly lowered his practice sword and stammered nervously, "N-Not really part of it, Sister-in-law... but I really just wanted to learn, and Brother Zhengyu—"

Zhengyu let out a sharp, cold cough from his wheelchair.

Bai Kang froze, correcting himself immediately as his cheeks flushed red. "I-I mean, Master said he could teach me."

Zhengyu still didn’t turn to look at Yimei. His eyes remained fixed on the stone floor, his face carved from ice. He smoothed down the blanket on his lap with stiff fingers, his silence thick and heavy.

"Bai Kang, since you’re practicing a fight or a spar, or whatever they call it, you need a proper opponent," Yimei said casually.

She glanced toward the side of the pavilion, spotting a sturdy wooden practice stick leaning against the wall. Walking over, she picked it up, testing its weight with a light, effortless flick of her wrist.

In her past life, Yimei had mastered fencing, combining its quick, lethal precision with the advanced martial arts skills she had unlocked through the system store.

Bai Kang looked at her in total disbelief, his mouth slightly open. How could a delicate young lady know anything about sword fighting?

He turned his eyes frantically toward Zhengyu, hoping his brother would tell Yimei that a lady shouldn’t engage in such rough play.

Instead, Zhengyu let out a dry, cold exhale. "She has a point," he said, his voice flat and distant as he refused to look directly at Yimei. "I’ve been teaching you for an hour now. Do some actual practice."

With a flick of his hands, Zhengyu wheeled himself back a few paces, giving the two of them space in the middle of the stone courtyard.

Just then, Bai Wenliang stumbled out of his room across the yard, his hair untidy and his robes loosely tied. He slouched down onto the wooden stairs, clutching a small porcelain jar of wine. Even though it was early morning, he was already taking heavy sips, watching them with bleary, drunk eyes.

Yimei held the wooden stick in one hand, her posture relaxing into a loose, dangerous stance as a small, wicked smirk appeared on her face.

"Come on, Bai Kang," Yimei said smoothly, tapping the stick lightly against the stone floor. "Show me what your master taught you."