Reborn as the Crown Prince's Little Ancestor - Chapter 5

After Chu Yao was imprisoned, I left the palace and returned to the duke’s residence.

My father was the Duke of Dingguo, a man of illustrious military achievements. My mother was a physician who saved the sick and dying. My eldest brother was the court’s most valiant general. My elder sister was a strategist whose brilliance had made her famous throughout the capital.

They were extraordinary people. Yet in that catastrophe, a moment of the God of War’s anger had reduced them all to ash.

“Our Tangtang is home.”

Mother lifted me down from the carriage. I clung to her, felt the warmth of her embrace, and burst into tears.

The moment I cried, the whole family came to soothe me.

Father produced a little cat-shaped rattle drum he had made himself. He was still trying to coax me as if I were a baby. I cried even harder.

Alarmed, he sent my eldest brother to turn somersaults for me.

When we were little, Brother had once fallen during a somersault and sent me into peals of laughter.

Ever since, whenever I was unhappy, this fearsome General of Swift Cavalry had to turn somersaults in the courtyard for his little sister.

Sure enough, after a few flips, he made a great show of crashing into a tree. His martial skills were excellent. He was only making a fool of himself to make me laugh.

My sister kissed my little hand and asked whether the tutor at the palace had struck my palms. She would settle the score for me. The young Imperial Tutor was her fiancé, and the two were very much in love.

I could not stop looking at them. I was afraid that if I blinked, they would become dust and scatter on the wind.

For those thousand years, I had seemed alive, but my soul had long since broken into pieces. Even after ascending, I still missed home.

I missed my family so, so much.

I wanted to stay beside my parents, to cheer and clap for my brother’s victories, to tease my sister and the Imperial Tutor in their bridal chamber on their wedding night.

They should never have met the end they did in my previous life.

I would give the people dearest to me full, happy lives. I would.

Three days later, I slipped into the imperial prison.

Chu Yao and Mingjue shared a cell. The jailers said she had spent all three days trying to coax them.

“Your life may not be worth as much as the crown prince’s, but if you give up a hundred years, you can revive the God of War.

“Once he wakes, he’ll make sure you have a wonderful next life!

“I’m the Divine Maiden. Believe me!”

The people of Qi revered gods. Had she said this from an altar, some follower might really have sacrificed their life.

But now she was a prisoner, and her supposed god looked like a dying mortal.

The jailers were not fools. They simply thought she had lost her mind.

Later, she had tried spells to escape. Her cultivation was too weak. Every attempt failed.

By the time I visited, she was in a sorry state.

“Why are you here?” she demanded furiously. “Where’s the crown prince? Tell him to come see me!”

“He isn’t coming. Haven’t you heard? Her Majesty has ordered your exile in three days, witch.”

“What? Impossible! The crown prince would never let her do that!”

“What mother could tolerate someone trying to take fifty years of her son’s life?”

“I’m Qi’s Divine Maiden! Even the throne has no right to kill me!”

“You still don’t understand? She’s sending you into exile so you can be killed on the way.”

Smiling, I waved the imperial decree in my hand. “Besides, His Majesty has already stripped you of your title. I’m Qi’s new Divine Maiden. You have nothing left.”

“What? Why you?”

“Because I’m cute, sweet, and clever. I told you: whoever the imperial family likes gets to be Divine Maiden.

“You were only an orphan, Chu Yao. They trained you to help the crown prince. Instead, you want fifty years of his life to revive an outsider. Even an ungrateful wolf would have more decency!”

“He’s not an ordinary mortal. He really is the God of War!”

“I believe you.”

That stopped her short. “What?”

“I know he isn’t a monster. He’s the heavenly God of War, High God Mingjue, worshipped in temples all over the country.”

“Then you should save him!”

“If I save him, I’ll be the God of War’s savior. Where does that leave you?”

It was only a hypothetical question, but she stamped her foot in panic.

“I’m the one who saved him! I’m his savior! No one is stealing my credit!”

“You only found him first and carried him to the palace. He’s still half-dead. And now you’ve dragged him into prison with you.”

“Big Sister Chu Yao.”

I put on a child’s curious, eager expression, easing her hostility.

“You’ve cultivated alongside the crown prince for years,” I asked innocently. “You have plenty of spiritual power too. Fifty years of your life could save the God of War, couldn’t they?”

“I’d grow old and ugly at once! And giving up your lifespan means cutting out your heartblood. I’m terrified of pain. What does a brat like you know?”

“But that’s the only way you can truly become his savior!”

I laid it out for her. “Everyone knows you want the crown prince to give his lifespan. Suppose he really gives fifty years and wakes the God of War. Everyone can testify that His Highness saved him. Then it has nothing to do with you, Big Sister.”