Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl

"Look, doesn't it resemble a lot?" Cheng Qingli said excitedly as she passed her phone over, "This piece of calligraphy was written by Princess Yongning in the 58th year of the Qianhe period. At that time, she was twelve years old, and Ning Zhaozong praised her for her astonishing brilliance and beauty, possessing the style of the Sage of Calligraphy, not inferior to the Grand Ancestor of yore."

Historical records show that, to nurture Princess Yongning, Ning Zhaozong mobilized the entire Daning's civil and military officials as her faculty, establishing an unprecedentedly formidable team to teach her The Six Arts of a Gentleman, The Art of Sovereignty, Strategies of Governance, and The Way of Being a Monarch, assisting her to ascend the throne.

In addition to this, Princess Yongning was also proficient in Zither, Go, Calligraphy, and Painting.

But before she could ascend to the throne, she who was originally frail and frequently ill, succumbed to overexertion and died in a great plague at the age of only seventeen.

"My dead, perfect, enchanting moon-like ancestor…" Cheng Qingli's eyes brimmed with tears.

Just as she was about to make a meticulous comparison of the handwriting, she saw that Ye Wanlan had already torn the rice paper into pieces, lifted her hand, and thrown it into the trash bin.

Cheng Qingli panicked, "Sister Lan, why did you throw it away?"

Ye Wanlan described it indifferently, "It was poorly written, not interesting."

Cheng Qingli was dumbfounded, "Poorly written?"

What then would be considered good?!

Although she was a layperson, she had seen enough to understand a little.

Those twelve characters seemed casually written, but the foundation was extremely profound, undoubtedly the work of a master.

"Let's not talk about the calligraphy anymore." Ye Wanlan smiled, "Qingli, I'm glad that you believe in me. I'm well aware of how others have seen me these past four years."

The Transcendent Woman had done too many things in her body that destroyed her own dignity, and together with the oppression from several noble sons of the Jiang Circle, she was almost driven to a dead end.

The Transcendent Woman can just flit away lightly and go on to find another body to continue living a carefree life, but she can't.

Cheng Qingli was taken aback and stammered, "I'm not good with words, but Sister Lan, from the first moment I saw you, I felt you were inexplicably commanding respect!"

Ye Wanlan raised an eyebrow.

Cheng Qingli cleared her throat with a light cough, "But Sister Lan, I am still very curious about you and Young Master Zhou..."

"The stand-in agreement is real, and sending him several essays pleading for peace is also real." Ye Wanlan said unhurriedly, "But in the life that will belong to me alone in the future, he will have no part in it."

Cheng Qingli did not expect her to speak so candidly and was stunned, "Sister Lan, you..."

"Enough gossip for now. Let's meet on time at seven-thirty tomorrow. Don't be late." Ye Wanlan glanced at the time, "I'll be leaving first. If you like the calligraphy, I'll write another piece for you when I have time."

Cheng Qingli's eyes sparkled, "Sister Lan, I adore you!"

"Rein in a bit, don't love too much." Ye Wanlan stood up and walked out the door.

She didn't leave immediately but leaned against the wall at the corner, took out her mobile phone, and searched for "Princess Yongning," which brought up countless related results.

She hadn't expected that she could return to Shenzhou, let alone Shenzhou three hundred years later.

Seeing the former version of herself on the encyclopedia entry was a curious feeling.

Within the 999 years of the time loop, she had read all the books written about her, watched all the films and variety shows featuring her.

Some said she, as a woman, entered the East Palace and acquired the position of Crown Prince, deserving of the epithet 'unmatched under the heavens.'

Others said it was fortunate that she died early; otherwise, how chaotic would it be for a woman to govern the world?

There were praise and criticism alike, but she didn't care.

With an indifferent expression, Ye Wanlan drove off, quickly disappearing into the night.

**

At this time, at the Zhou Family Old Residence.

Zhou Hechen had just returned from the company, his brows and eyes revealing a deep weariness, "Mom."

"Hechen, I know you're busy, but President Quan will arrive in Jiangcheng the day after tomorrow. This cooperation is very important to us, you must secure it," Madam Zhou sighed, "You have to show the other party our sincerity."

Zhou Corporation was involved in numerous business sectors, mainly the entertainment industry and healthcare.

But business was becoming increasingly tough, and Zhou Corporation had entered a stagnant phase, urgently needing to find a new breakthrough.

"Don't worry," Zhou Hechen said with a faint smile, "I understand the importance of this matter. I've prepared all the materials for the negotiation a long time ago."

Madam Zhou said indifferently, "That's what you said last time, too. And what happened? You changed plans at the last minute and ran off to the Starman Federal Empire to celebrate someone's birthday!"

She wasn't averse to Sheng Yunyi—in the Jiang Circle, if Sheng Yunyi was the second to none, no one dared claim the first place.

The Sheng Family had been flourishing in the past few years and was nearly on par with the Zhou Family.

If the two families could be joined through marriage, it would be a powerful alliance, something Madam Zhou was very willing to see. However, she truly disliked that Zhou Hechen could neglect his responsibilities just because of Sheng Yunyi.

"Mom, didn't we still secure that contract in the end?" Zhou Hechen said helplessly, "How could I possibly miss Yunyi's twenty-fourth birth year anniversary?"

Madam Zhou huffed softly but said no more.

"Young Master, Mr. Xu Lu and Mr. Xu Li have come to see you. It seems to be an urgent matter," Steward Zhou hurried over.

Zhou Hechen came to his senses, "Let them come in directly."

Steward Zhou hesitated but did as he was told.

"Zhou Hechen, you've really done it this time!" Xu Lu walked into the hall, his voice booming through the room, "See my nose? This was smashed by that knock-off product you're keeping. I offer her a job out of kindness, and she turns around and quits on me. What kind of manners have you been teaching her?"

Zhou Hechen frowned, his tone cold, "What are you raving about?"

"Me, raving?" Xu Lu scoffed with a laugh, "Knowing how busy Second Young Master Zhou is, so impossible to contact on the phone, I had no choice but to visit in person. Now tell me, how will you compensate?"

"Brother Hechen, my brother is very angry today," Xu Li carefully explained, "During the day, Ye Wanlan entered his private room and nearly broke his nose with her high heels, and she also tricked my brother out of four hundred thousand."

Madam Zhou's smile finally vanished, "Hechen, what is this all about?"

Zhou Hechen pressed the center of his forehead and exhaled slowly.

He truly didn't know where Ye Wanlan got the audacity to provoke the Qin Family first and now the Xu Family as well.

Xu Lu was known for being wild in their circle, drinking and fighting, never missing out.

He had even smashed a wine bottle over someone's head for offending him once, settling the matter afterward with just money.

Even Zhou Hechen would not confront Xu Lu directly.

"Mom, I'll handle this," Zhou Hechen said, his expression sour.

Madam Zhou responded with a faint acknowledgment.

"Alright then, I'd like to see how you handle this," Xu Lu sneered, "Aunt Zhou, I won't disturb you any longer."

He pulled Xu Li along with him to the study with Zhou Hechen.

"Madam, it was the young master's little lover who caused this trouble," Steward Zhou spoke softly, "Now Miss Yunyi has returned, yet she seems oblivious. She doesn't really think she can enter the Zhou Family's door, does she?"

Sheng Yunyi was like the moon in the sky; how could the light of a firefly compete?

Madam Zhou elegantly sipped her tea, "I know, that girl with the surname Ye, beautiful but empty-headed, yet easy to manipulate."

She was used to seeing women like Ye Wanlan, who belonged to lower social strata but foolishly dreamed of entering high society through marriage.

Zhou Hechen was to inherit the Zhou Family in the future—he might play around, but marrying was absolutely impossible.