The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

"Miss Miaoyin has been rescued by General Shen, so you can rest assured," Yinque said.

But Ruan Xianrong was stunned, her gaze fixed on the direction where General Shen and his group had left.

"Girl, what's wrong?"

"girl?"

Ruan Xianrong's thoughts returned, and looking at the person who had already disappeared, she turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"

"The person is gone."

The person is gone...

Oh right, they've already left.

"Then let's go back too."

Throughout the journey, Ruan Xianrong appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly she was experiencing a turbulent storm, with a red tsunami warning in effect.

She's stupid, she's so stupid, how could she be so stupid?

Why didn't we discover it sooner?

She asked why her older brother and parents had been acting strangely these past few days, and why Xie Chengli had suddenly come to her to inquire about Miaoyin.

It turns out the female lead had already appeared so early on.

In this way, everything makes sense.

In the scene on the street just now, it wasn't Zhao Xuelan who made things difficult for Miaoyin in the book, but her.

Because she missed the Crown Prince, she was depressed all day long, so Yinque took her out to cheer her up.

On the way, he ran into Miaoyin, who had already entered the Eastern Palace. He bumped into her while going out on business and was punished by her to kneel in the street for two hours.

Shen Qinglian happened to be passing by, scolded her, and rescued Miaoyin.

She said that when she met Miaoyin at the night market that day, the scene seemed so familiar. Wasn't that the scene where the male and female protagonists reunited in the book?

The male protagonist saved the female protagonist in the north. By a twist of fate, the female protagonist came to the capital again, only to be deceived as soon as she arrived. She was then seen by the crown prince, who saved her once more. From then on, the female protagonist stayed by the male protagonist's side.

But on that day, the female protagonist encountered her.

This resulted in Miaoyin not reuniting with the male protagonist and instead ending up in the Yong Prince's mansion.

She closed her eyes.

That's it, she's taken the male lead's path, leaving him with nowhere to go.

I didn't know what to say for a moment.

That's absolutely outrageous.

The main storyline has begun, but the Crown Prince hasn't returned yet.

First Xie Chengli, then Shen Qinglian—your home is about to be raided, male lead!

At that moment, the carriage suddenly jolted, and her mind instantly cleared.

She's just cannon fodder. What does the male and female leads' story have to do with her? All she needs to do is stay alive.

The female lead is destined to be the male lead's, no matter how hard the second and third male leads try, it's useless, so... it shouldn't be a big problem, right?

When she got home, she ran into Ruan Zhaolin. Seeing that her clothes were wet, she quickly took off her coat and put it on her.

"What happened? Why are you all wet? Go back and change your clothes."

Ruan Xianrong stared at him blankly. "Brother, I want to discuss something with you."

"you say."

"It's not a good idea for Miaoyin to stay at Prince Yong's residence indefinitely. She has no relatives or friends in the capital. Why don't we bring her here and have her stay at our house?"

Ruan Zhaolin was taken aback. "You...you're going to bring Miaoyin here?"

"Yes, it will be easier to take care of her in the future. I like her quite a bit, and I think my parents also like Miaoyin. Why don't we let her live in our house?"

Ruan Zhaolin nodded. "Since you put it that way, then let's bring them over. Mother also said last time that she wanted to bring them over, but she didn't know how to bring it up."

The Ruan family, out of consideration for her, couldn't directly bring the person back, so she had to bring it up herself.

Perfect timing, now that the female lead is back, she can leave.

Thinking back to how she had previously tried to matchmake her older brother and Miaoyin, she realized she was worrying for nothing.

"Then we'll have to get the place ready today. Please tell my elder brother and mother about this as well."

"Don't worry, I'll go find Mother right away."

After seeing Ruan Zhaolin off, she returned to her own courtyard.

When she came out after changing her clothes, Yinque returned from outside. "Miss, Madam asked Granny Kong to clean up Qiulan Courtyard. That's the best courtyard in the manor."

My biological daughter is coming back, so I can't treat her badly; I have to treat her the best.

She glanced around the house and thought to herself that her courtyard was the best in the entire Prime Minister's residence. She would move in when the formal family reunion took place.

She took the initiative to bring the female lead back, but did not intend for her to break the ice. The more she did, the more deeply she would get involved.

Afterwards, she would find a suitable opportunity to leave the Ruan family, get away from Kyoto, and live a carefree life.

The Prime Minister's residence made preparations, and the person was brought over in three days.

Ruan Xianrong personally showed her around the Prime Minister's residence.

Miaoyin tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Miss Ruan, can I really live in the Prime Minister's residence from now on?"

"Of course, the courtyard has been prepared for you. From now on, you will be a young lady of the Prime Minister's residence."

"So, does that mean I can talk to you every day from now on?"

Ruan Xianrong did not answer immediately. It was okay for now, but not after she left.

"Of course, you can come anytime you want."

After introducing the courtyard, she asked a question that had puzzled her for a long time, "Miaoyin, was this name given to you? It's quite a nice-sounding name."

Miaoyin's expression brightened. "Miss Ruan also thinks it sounds nice? This was given to me by His Highness Prince Yong. My original name was Cuilan, but His Highness didn't like it, so he changed my name."

Calling her Cuilan is correct; that's what women used to call themselves when they were away from home.

There was a mishap in the middle, and the name was changed, which is why she didn't recognize it.

It's her fault; she stole the male lead's credit.

Looking at those eyebrows and eyes now, they resemble Madam Ruan's very much.

No wonder everyone says he looks familiar.

She recalled the day Miaoyin learned to write. Normally, it should have been a male teacher who taught her, but she found that Miaoyin could learn quickly. Gradually, she discovered her special talent: a strong learning ability.

Whatever she does, as long as she wants to do it, she can do it to the best of her ability.

This skill is also of great help to the male protagonist later on.

Later, practicing calligraphy became a source of fun between the male and female protagonists, and a daily little interaction that helped them deepen their relationship.

Tsk.

She no longer seems like the female lead's rival in love; instead, she has become the male lead's rival.

Back in her own courtyard, Ruan Xianrong remained silent for a long time. Yinque thought she was unhappy and was about to comfort her when she saw her young lady collapse onto the low couch, her lips curving upwards as she gradually began to laugh.

Although she stole the male lead's credit, I must say, it felt pretty good.

Xie Chengyan has oppressed her all these years, so it's not unreasonable for her to steal his leading man spotlight; it's just reciprocity.

Why not take advantage of the male lead's good fortune?