The Entire Harem has Transmigrated - Chapter 5

Yu Yunfei didn’t sleep a wink all night. She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling she had about the girl named Ruan Qingqing, nor could she suppress her worry about the girl’s mental state.

As dawn began to break, she finally managed to get the phone number of a college director and inquire whether any nineteen-year-old girls had gone missing from their institution. The answer was negative.

Yu Yunfei inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, unable to articulate exactly what she was feeling.

Exhausted and weary, she hung up the phone and collapsed onto her pillow, falling asleep instantly. This time, she dreamed of the scene she had glimpsed earlier that day on the film set.

She danced gracefully in a palace illuminated by dazzling lanterns. It was nearly midnight, and dark clouds obscured the moon outside, yet the palace interior glowed as brightly as day.

As her dance concluded, the gentle-voiced Emperor helped her to her feet and led her to a seat nearby. He then instructed a maid to bring amber wine in a jade cup.

“Why not try some? Though it can’t match the crispness of the wine from your homeland, it has its own distinct flavor,” the Emperor said from his high seat, his face soft and his voice clear as he sat in casual imperial robes.

Yu Yunfei raised her cup in a daze, taking a small sip. As the clear wine slid down her throat, countless fragmented memories flooded back.

She remembered now.

In that lifetime, her name hadn’t been Yu Yunfei. She had been a beauty offered as tribute from a small, wine-rich foreign kingdom to the Qian Dynasty. Because her mother was from the Central Plains, she had inherited her mother’s features, making her foreign origins less obvious. Yet her delicate, alluring appearance, tinged with a hint of exotic charm, still captivated men, leaving them utterly infatuated.

Many called her a fox spirit.

Before she was sent to Great Qian, countless people had told her that since she possessed such a face, she must use it to her advantage. She must scheme to win the Emperor’s favor, lower herself to cater to his every whim, as if she were not a living person but merely a lowly tool for securing benefits.

But the Emperor never spoke to her that way.

He never summoned her to his bedchamber, yet he remained gentle and kind, showering her with gifts.

He gave her a new name and told her not to be so cautious, that she was free to express her own joys, sorrows, and passions.

He treated her with sincerity and respect, even hiring tutors to teach her the language and knowledge of the Central Plains, helping her integrate into her new life.

She had said to her, “If you love to dance, then dance. Life is short. Do what your heart desires. Why hold yourself back?”

Yu Yunfei jolted awake, sitting up unconsciously. Only when she regained her senses did she realize her face was drenched in tears.

“Your Majesty…”

How could she have forgotten? That person had been so kind to her in the past. How could she have forgotten everything?

Yu Yunfei pushed open the door, intending to apologize to Ruan Qingqing, to say, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted you.” But when she rushed out, she discovered that the person she had been longing for had already left, leaving behind only a petulant note before vanishing without a trace.

“Your Majesty!”

Yu Yunfei was consumed by regret. She frantically chased after her, checking neighborhood surveillance footage and searching everywhere, but it was too late. Ruan Qingqing had left before dawn, and by now it was afternoon. There was no way she could catch up.

She had lost her Majesty.

A hollow ache settled in Yu Yunfei’s heart. When she returned, she found her manager and assistant had arrived. Her manager immediately launched into a furious tirade.

Hearing those words, Yu Yunfei felt nothing. Her heart was filled only with boundless regret and self-blame.

“Bai Qiaoying’s side said that if you publicly apologize on Weibo, they’ll let you rejoin the team. Think about it.”

“Yu Yunfei, are you even listening to me?”

“I heard you,” Yu Yunfei replied, lowering her gaze and clenching her fists. I must get Your Majesty back, she thought.

After delivering his instructions, the manager left, leaving only her assistant, Shen Huan.

“Sister, I understand you not answering that old hag’s calls, but why didn’t you pick up mine either?” Shen Huan asked. “Did you even see the messages I sent?”

Yu Yunfei replied absently, “What messages?”

“The ones about how I avoided a car accident thanks to that girl with you. Speaking of which, where is she? I need to thank her properly. Even if I can’t repay such a great kindness, at least treating her to a meal is necessary…”

Yu Yunfei suddenly stood up, gripped Shen Huan’s shoulders, and demanded to know exactly what happened, urging her to explain in detail.

Although the assistant didn’t understand why Yu Yunfei had suddenly become so agitated, she recounted the entire sequence of events in detail.

Yu Yunfei froze, suddenly recalling two sentences Ruan Qingqing had said to her the previous day:

“Besides all this, I’m also a divine fortune teller now…”

“Though I’ve made up some nonsense before, everything I just told you is true.”

Overwhelmed, Yu Yunfei burst into tears again. “She really wasn’t lying to me… It’s my fault, all my fault…”

After a long while, Yu Yunfei finally calmed down.

She gazed at the note Ruan Qingqing had left behind, thinking, If Your Majesty can write modern characters and has gained mystical abilities, then she must also understand modern technology, right?

With this thought, Yu Yunfei opened Weibo. Instead of apologizing to Bai Qiaoying as her manager had instructed, she posted three consecutive missing person notices. After that, she used her remaining savings to buy herself a trending search.

At this point, all she could do was pray in her heart: Ruan Qingqing will see this, right? Your Majesty will definitely see this, won’t she?

The truth was, Ruan Qingqing still didn’t know about the trending search.

After finishing her studies, she asked Li Qianxuan for her phone.

Li Qianxuan tucked the phone away, her eyebrow twitching. “What do you want it for?” she asked.

“I just finished reading The Evolution of Communication Methods from Ancient to Modern Times,” Ruan Qingqing replied. “I’m curious about these ‘smartphones’ people use now, so I’d like to take a look.”

“Oh,” Li Qianxuan said.

Ruan Qingqing frowned. “What does that mean, Noble Consort? The thing you were holding earlier—that was a smartphone, wasn’t it?”

Without hesitation, Li Qianxuan instinctively smashed the phone against the wall. “This one’s broken,” she said. “I’ll buy you a new one tomorrow.”

Ruan Qingqing stared in silence.

How violent!

Watching the shattered phone, Ruan Qingqing couldn’t help but shudder.

“Alright then,” she said.

After all, this wasn’t the Qian Dynasty anymore, and the Noble Consort was acting fierce, no longer treating her with the same reverence as before. It was best to be pragmatic.

But after reading for so long, Ruan Qingqing inevitably grew thirsty. She licked her lips and couldn’t resist looking at Li Qianxuan with pleading eyes. “Sister, could I have another cup of taro boba milk tea?”

That fawn-like gaze melted Li Qianxuan’s heart. She wanted to give Ruan Qingqing everything—everything except her phone.

Outside, the bustling commercial street beckoned. Li Qianxuan went out to buy Ruan Qingqing a milk tea and pick up a new phone, installing the SIM card before heading back. As she returned, she overheard murmurs and whispers around her. Glancing up, she saw Yu Yunfei’s three missing person posts cycling on the prominent LED display screen.

The location was perfect, highly visible, and, worst of all, directly in view from the floor-to-ceiling windows of their apartment.

“Yu Yunfei!” Li Qianxuan gritted her teeth, her pupils constricting.

She rushed back, her breath coming in ragged gasps and her heart pounding wildly. Yet she found Ruan Qingqing sitting obediently in the corner, reading a book where she couldn’t see the night view outside. When Li Qianxuan returned in such disheveled condition, Ruan Qingqing asked, puzzled, “Noble Consort, what’s wrong?”

Li Qianxuan quickly stopped her. “Stay there. Don’t move.”

Though confused, Ruan Qingqing replied, “Okay.”

“You haven’t been outside, have you?” Li Qianxuan probed, waiting for her breathing to steady.

“No,” Ruan Qingqing said.

“Or near the window?”

Ruan Qingqing shook her head, her expression blank. “No, why? Is there something at the window?”

As she started to get up to look, Li Qianxuan quickly pulled her into a hug, turning her body to block the view outside and pressing her tightly against her chest.

“There’s nothing there,” Li Qianxuan said firmly. “Really, there’s nothing. Don’t go over there.”

“Fine, I won’t go,” Ruan Qingqing said, pushing her away with a finger, still a little annoyed. “But can you let go of me first? You’re squeezing me too tight, and you smell sweaty.”

Li Qianxuan immediately released her.

“Where’s my taro boba milk tea?” Ruan Qingqing asked, holding out her hand.

Li Qianxuan handed her the milk tea that had been swaying along with her all the way. After taking a sip, Ruan Qingqing’s face lit up again, and she no longer cared about her Noble Consort’s strange behavior.

Later, Li Qianxuan found an excuse to take Ruan Qingqing to a room where the large screen outside the window couldn’t be seen. While Ruan Qingqing was engrossed in reading, Li Qianxuan quietly locked the door.

After completing these preparations, she took a shower before calling Yu Yunfei.

After a few rings, Yu Yunfei answered, “Hello?”

Li Qianxuan’s tone was assertive and cold. “Do you realize how much trouble your actions have caused my wife?”

Yu Yunfei paused, then sneered, “Your wife?”

Li Qianxuan replied matter-of-factly, “My wife, Ruan Qingqing. Is there a problem with that?”

Yu Yunfei scoffed, “Does Qingqing even know you’re calling her that? And let me remind you, she’s not of legal marriage age yet. You can’t get married.”

Li Qianxuan improvised, “It’s not unusual to call your girlfriend ‘wife’ these days, is it? I just wanted to tell you to stop what you’re doing and stop hitting on other people’s girlfriends. Do you understand?”

Yu Yunfei paused for a long moment. Then, as if remembering something, her laughter turned softer and more seductive. “Impossible,” she purred before hanging up.

Yu Yunfei had recognized the voice on the other end—it was none other than Noble Consort Li Qianxuan.

“With your one-track mind, you think you can monopolize His Majesty?” Yu Yunfei scoffed softly. After a moment’s thought, she dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly, the voice on the other end slightly hurried. “Miss Yu, I saw your Weibo post. I was just about to call you.”

Yu Yunfei cut to the chase. “Professor Ye, I’ve remembered everything. I understand now why you were testing me before.”

She chuckled lightly. “You called to ask about His Majesty, right? Yes, I saw her recently, but now she’s been hidden away.”

“By whom?”

“Your childhood friend, my dear Noble Consort sister, Li Qianxuan.”