The Female Psychology PhD Who Time Traveled to the Royal Harem

Mu Qianqian's face had turned ashen from the loss of blood, with blood flowing from her mouth through her nostrils, down her cheeks, and behind her ears.

At the junction of her dark hairline and pale skin, the skin began to wrinkle, then swell due to the onset of death, until it finally cracked and fell off, unable to withstand the pressure.

"Ah! Is that the legendary face-swapping technique?"

"Heavens! The face-swapping technique? Doesn’t that involve peeling skin from a living person? How cruel!"

"I know now, that’s Mu Qianqian, the palace maid who once stole the Empress's favor."

"This is unbelievable. She actually wore a face so similar to the Empress’s just to gain the Emperor’s affection?"

Zhu Qianyi, standing on the imperial carriage, noticed the Emperor frowning as he looked at Mu Qianqian’s corpse. He immediately stepped forward, took out a plain handkerchief from his sleeve, and wiped the bloodstains from her face.

The woman’s real face bore some resemblance to Jiang Xinyue, but only by two or three parts, not enough to truly deceive anyone.

Someone had crafted a mask for her, allowing her to impersonate Jiang Xinyue, all in an attempt to win the Emperor’s favor and sow discord between him and Jiang Xinyue.

What a grand scheme!

If the Emperor hadn’t coincidentally chosen her as Jiang Xinyue’s stand-in, no one would have discovered that her face was fake.

No wonder Jiang Xinyue had said Mu Qianqian’s face looked strange, as if her eyes and face didn’t belong together. It turned out the face wasn’t her own after all.

Jiang Residence—

"What did you say? Sister Yue… the Empress was attacked?"

Lady Ruan stood in the main hall, having just bid farewell to her husband. She was preparing to go to Sheng'an Temple with Concubine Lin to pray for the safety of the Seventh Prince and Third Princess, but before she could leave, a servant stopped her.

Her body suddenly swayed backward, and her vision went dark.

"Mother!"

"Madam!"

Jiang Xinyan and Lady Lin exclaimed in alarm, rushing to support her. In an instant, Lady Ruan’s vision cleared.

Gasping for breath, she leaned weakly on her younger daughter’s shoulder and asked the servant, "What… what did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly. Say it again… please?"

"Madam…"

The servant’s face was grim. "Today, the Emperor took the Empress and the court officials to the Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleum to pay respects to the ancestors and the late Emperor. For some reason, the Empress wasn’t originally on the list, but the Emperor specifically added her. Just now… on Tiansheng Street, the Empress was attacked. There was so much blood… When I passed by, I heard the assassins shouting that the Demon Empress was dead. I… I rushed back as fast as I could."

If the Empress had been killed by the assassins, the Jiang family would be in deep trouble. Over time, the Emperor would forget about them.

Without the Emperor’s protection, the Jiang family’s rise would slow significantly, making it difficult to secure the Crown Prince’s position for the Sixth Prince.

"No, no…"

Lady Ruan was on the verge of fainting. Jiang Xinyan shook her head desperately, tears welling in her eyes. "The Emperor loves Sister dearly. He would definitely protect her. How could she be attacked? You must have heard wrong."

Concubine Lin also stammered, "That’s right! This is the Emperor we’re talking about. If the Emperor wants to protect someone, who could possibly harm them?"

The servant slapped his thigh. "I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears, Madam. There’s no mistake… ah!"

"Thud!"

The servant was kicked hard in the rear, causing him to fall face-first onto the ground.

Turning around, he saw a slender, pale young man with exquisite features and deep, striking eyes, his face filled with anger. "You fool! What nonsense are you spouting? You’ve frightened my mother and sister."

"Junze…"

Lady Ruan, as if finding her anchor, rushed toward her son. Summoning all her courage, she asked, "You said you were going to watch the procession today. What about your sister? Is she safe? Is she… is she still alive?"

Even if she was injured, as long as she was alive, that was all that mattered.

"Mother, what are you talking about? Sister is in the palace, recovering from childbirth. She wasn’t part of the procession!"

Sister was the Empress, after all. The palace was her domain. What could possibly happen to her there?

Of course, she was safe.

"Huh?"

The servant thought his young master was trying to comfort Lady Ruan and the young lady, unsure whether to continue.

Lady Ruan glanced at him, then slapped Jiang Junze’s arm. "Tell me the truth. What happened to Sister Yue? Was she badly injured? Don’t lie to me."

"Ouch!"

Jiang Junze rubbed his sore arm. "Mother, this fool misheard and didn’t see the whole thing. It wasn’t Sister who died, but her stand-in. The Emperor had arranged it all in advance. Sister is perfectly fine."

"Really?"

"Absolutely. I swear I’m not lying."

Lady Ruan burst into tears, but not from sorrow—it was the relief of surviving a close call. "It’s good that she’s safe… it’s good. You scared me to death, really scared me."

Jiang Xinyan also let out a sigh of relief.

A person’s mouth might lie, but their eyes wouldn’t. If something had really happened to her sister, Jiang Junze’s eyes would have been red.

The servant, having been kicked twice by Jiang Junze, quickly ran out in shame.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He had rushed back hoping to be the first to deliver the news and earn some credit, but instead, he had caused a misunderstanding.

Eastern Mountain Imperial Mausoleum—

"Ha ha ha ha…"

A group of dirty children surrounded a cleanly dressed, solemn-looking child, pointing and making faces at him. "Come and see, everyone! The orphan with no parents is out again."

"Ha ha ha… Why does he look so strange? Let’s fix him up a bit."

Stones and mud were hurled at the three-year-old boy, and within moments, his clean clothes were covered in filth.

The little boy cried loudly, but no one cared. Then, someone threw a larger stone, hitting him squarely on the forehead, causing blood to gush out.

"Oh no, we’re in trouble now. That ugly woman will come after us again. Let’s run!"

"You brats, bullying our little Sheng again! Get out of here!"

A woman with an ugly scar on her face rushed out, chasing after the misbehaving children like a madwoman.

"Ah ah ah… The crazy woman is losing it again! Run! Ha ha ha ha…"

"Nyah nyah… The orphan has no parents. We’re not scared of you, crazy lady. We’ll keep bullying you, nyah nyah…"

Exhausted and panting, the woman could only watch as the children scattered like slippery eels.

The Fifth Prince’s wound was still bleeding, so she could only glare in frustration before carrying him back to tend to his injury.