The Female Alpha Consort Mistakenly Marks the Empress - TFACMME Chapter 4

Qi Yingzhu stared at Mu Lanshi in a daze.

Since traveling all the way from Jiangnan, she had heard many things about this young lady.

At only seven years old, she had been praised by the famous scholars of the day for her graceful demeanor.

Clear and refined, leaving an unforgettable impression on all who met her. And indeed, upon seeing her today, she was exactly as described.

If she were to speak selfishly, the young miss was truly beautiful—her eyes reflected the mountains and rivers; her charm was radiating.

Her father had asked her to introduce herself.

Since childhood, Qi Yingzhu had been taught to greet others properly, and so she bowed respectfully to Mu Lanshi. “I am Qi Yingzhu, twenty in age, and completed the Blooming Ceremony earlier this year.”

Becoming an omega and Blooming were a sign of adulthood.

Mu Lanshi quietly listened to her and then repeated her introduction: “I am Mu Lanshi, now eighteen… Today is my Awakening Ceremony.”

She was the Mu family’s heiress, and the Qi family were guests. It wasn’t proper to repeat the guest’s words. She should have invited them in instead.

Lord Qi didn’t notice anything unusual and, after exchanging courtesies with Mu Lanshi, followed her into the residence.

“Young Lady personally welcomed us. We truly appreciate it.”

Mu Lanshi merely smiled faintly. “No problem.”

This time, as they walked back, the servants had a much easier time following her.

‘Ah, the young lady isn’t walking as fast as before! But… isn’t she walking too slowly now?’

***

Mu Lanshi arranged for everyone to sit.

She didn’t notice any particular change in Qi Yingzhu’s gaze—something that would explain the actions taken after her death in her previous life.

She still didn’t know the answer.

What she was waiting for was to figure out where the wine she drank had come from—

Mu Lanshi had a hunch. In her previous life, she had been drugged and, by coincidence, ended up with Meng Yan, and her education didn’t allow her to abandon Meng Yan.

Coincidentally, Meng Yan had repeatedly told her about that night, and Mu Lanshi naturally felt responsible for her.

But now, she realized there were many things off about it.

The direct beneficiary of this incident was Meng Yan.

Mu Lanshi was thinking the one who drugged her was Meng Yan. It was natural to think so. She had seen Meng Yan in the crowd just now, which only strengthened her belief.

There were still many things she had to do, and many enemies hiding in the shadows. She needed to expose them one by one.

But for now, it wasn’t time to make a scene.

Mu Lanshi instructed Ah Chen to monitor everything, and to report to her if there was any movement.

The wine she had drunk was specially served to the Mu family. The one who drank with her was none other than her older brother.

This was where things became suspicious.

Mu Lanshi waited patiently.

***

Qi Yingzhu sat at the ceremony, still excited from seeing the differences of the capital.

She had never seen so many rare things in Jiangnan, and this was also her first time leaving home…

Of course, there was also the matter of meeting the famous Mu Lanshi.

Though she had been seated for a while, Qi Yingzhu still couldn’t stop thinking about how Mu Lanshi had briefly paused, seriously copying her introduction.

She should have only nodded to show that she understood, right?

Mu Lanshi was an alpha, what would her omega husband be like?

She couldn’t quite figure it out.

The afternoon sunlight reflected off the silver trays in front of them, and before long, it was as though the light merged with the sky.

But her thoughts were soon interrupted.

Lord Qi took a sip of his wine and suddenly said, “Yingzhu, speaking of which, you’re not young anymore. You’re at marriageable age.”

‘Marriage?’ This was exactly in line with her previous thoughts.

She froze, holding back her emotions, and asked, “Father, what are you thinking?”

Her older sister hadn’t married yet, so why was it her turn?

She was an omega, and her marriage partner would naturally be an alpha. She had never had much contact with alphas, so while waiting to get married, she had imagined what it might be like.

Those youthful fantasies were vague since she had never seen an alpha. But her father reminded her that he was one himself.

But Qi Yingzhu quickly thought of Mu Lanshi.

What kind of omega would Mu Lanshi marry?

She had an inkling of the answer, but it was immediately extinguished.

Lord Qi suddenly lowered his voice and said, “Yingzhu, the reason we came to the capital is to find a good match for you, and also to help our family.”

Qi Yingzhu was stunned: “A good match for who? Me?”

Her mind exploded with confusion, unable to believe her father.

Before they left, her father, mother, and sister had all told her clearly that they were only coming to the capital for the ceremony.

How had it changed to finding her a good match?

At this moment, she still held on to hope.

After all, they were here for the Mu family’s ceremony.

***

“No, no! I don’t want to!” Qi Yingzhu panicked as she pushed open the door to the room, lifted her skirt to not trip herself, and looked around. She rushed toward an unknown spot, ignoring the anxious cries behind her, calling out to her. As she walked hurriedly, she muttered to herself, “I don’t want to marry that old emperor…”

That old emperor was already one foot in the grave. To speak nicely, becoming the queen was nothing more than becoming a widow.

She was only twenty, barely old enough, and now she had to become a widow?

What hurt Qi Yingzhu the most wasn’t this matter but how her entire family had colluded to deceive her: saying this trip was just for fun, but when they got to the capital, they made her marry that old emperor in her sister’s place.

They knew she wouldn’t agree, so they had deliberately set her up.

“Yingzhu, you’ve been learning the Qi family rules since childhood. You should know what our family’s women are expected to do. The Qi family’s influence in Jiangnan is no longer as powerful as before. We need a marriage alliance with the royal family to maintain our status. Didn’t you always say you couldn’t repay our kindness? Well, now is the time to repay us.”

Qi Yingzhu bit her lip and said, “The kindness of life, I can never repay, but…”

She really didn’t want to marry that old emperor.

Aside from this, she would do anything.

“Little sister, can you help your sister?” The ever-quiet older sister, Qi Nian, spoke up.

It was pitiful.

Qi Yingzhu held back her words.

Her family, seeing their efforts hadn’t been enough, continued to add fuel to the fire.

Her father spoke first: “Without us, you would have died long ago. And we’ve given you the best of everything—food, clothing, and education. You’ve learned so much; don’t you know you have to repay us? Now is the time we need you the most. Yingzhu, it’s the empress position. There are so many people who would beg for it!”

Qi Yingzhu, with tears in her eyes, looked up. “Then why doesn’t sister go instead?”

Her family had indeed entertained the emperor before, but back then, Qi Yingzhu was at school and had never seen him.

—But her father said, the emperor had already taken a liking to the Qi family’s daughter.

“Yingzhu, stop throwing a tantrum,” her usually kind mother spoke, “You should listen to your father. Right now, we need you. All those books you’ve read, it’s time to use them. You are the daughter of the Qi family. Didn’t you say before that you would shoulder the family’s responsibilities?”

In the past, her straightforward mother had often said that she was a good daughter of the Qi family and would certainly contribute to the family.

Her mother had smiled, her eyes curved into a crescent shape.

Her father and sister had been the same.

Qi Yingzhu lightly bit her lip and spat out another sentence: “What if I were an alpha? Would my sister enter the palace then?”

She would never forget the day she bloomed, when the Qi family had celebrated her, happy that their family had produced another omega.

…When her sister had become an omega, there had been no such commotion, yet they had been so concerned about her, their adopted daughter. At that time, Qi Yingzhu had thought that her foster parents simply favored her.

It was obvious now that they had been proud of their successful gamble.

Her father, however, grew even more severe: “Enough, Qi Yingzhu. No matter what, you’ve come to the capital. His Imperial Majesty might have already made a decision. Tomorrow, we’ll go to the palace to meet the emperor.”

His tone was commanding, not allowing any room for discussion.

Qi Yingzhu’s face was full of tears. Muttering “no,” she rushed out of the small room.

She wanted to escape.

She would never stay here; she did not want to go to the palace and become the wife of that emperor, who was about to die!

This was the Mu residence, and her father had not brought anyone with him. If she hid, he would only search for her quietly, without alarming other guests.

She ran around like a headless fly.

Looking around, the golden light was as if the light was reflected off jades.

The celebration was theirs, not hers.

Qi Yingzhu felt uneasy, stumbling and running, completely abandoning the composure expected of a noble lady.

What noble lady? She didn’t want it!

She would rather be a commoner than spend her life as a widow in that lonely, deep palace!

Behind her, her parents and sister’s voices were not loud, for fear of disturbing the Mu family and other guests, so they searched for her quietly.

Fortunately, their relationship with the Mu family wasn’t close. Otherwise, the whole family might have come together to force her into the palace.

Qi Yingzhu felt despair as she continued to run through the large Mu residence.

She didn’t know how long she had been running or where she had gone.

Qi Yingzhu barged into a room that hadn’t been closed. The flickering candlelight was just enough to draw her toward it.

The footsteps behind her grew quieter and fainter.

It seemed like things had settled down.

Only then did Qi Yingzhu relax. She noticed a tray on the sandalwood table, on which lay a sky-blue wine pot.

Qi Yingzhu had never drunk alcohol in her life. She thought it smelled strong, and once drunk, it could drive one mad, or make them fall into a stupor, annoying others.

But at this moment, Qi Yingzhu desperately wanted to drink until she couldn’t wake up, or to go crazy and scream that she would never marry that dying emperor.

She had thought about what kind of wine this was, whether it might be dangerous.

But no matter what the danger, even death was better than marrying that old emperor!

There was even a saying that a drink could solve a thousand worries, so Qi Yingzhu didn’t think much more and tipped the wine pot, drinking it quickly, choking slightly, her face flushed.

…But she quickly realized something was wrong:

What was sweeping over her wasn’t drunkenness, but something sensitive, something that sparked a heat within her body.

Qi Yingzhu suddenly realized her naivety.

This feeling was one she only had during her heat period.

In other words, there was something strange in the wine.