ITVCFITB CHAPTER 103

Chapter 103 – Between Dream and Daylight

Luo Shuyu and Li Mingjin both noticed it: after that spectacular blow-up, the Fourth Prince and Shen Mingyun… went quiet. Too quiet.

By Shen’s temperament, he should still be flipping tables. Two, three days later, he folds? Luo Shuyu puzzled over it until the answer clicked, of course. The only thing that can leash Shen is the system. He’d let the triangle drama fog his brain and almost forgot the true opponent.

Given Shen’s modern values, the Fourth’s affair equals betrayal. If the emperor forbids separation, Shen would normally flee in private. But he hasn’t. He’s swallowing it. Which means: the system intervened.

Shuyu told Mingjin his read, Shen will pour himself into “the mission” and help the Fourth to the throne.

How? The Eldest tried the blunt coup and failed. The Crown Prince hitched himself to the entrenched Yan clan and still fell. Li Mingjin has never shown a public appetite for the crown; the Fourth has, constantly, with Shen as his engine. Even if their marriage iced over, the goal hasn’t.

With the emperor’s life burning low, everyone waits. No one will move first and give the other an opening. Ministers angle and count heads: civil officials mostly lean Fourth; the military leans Third. The edict, one name, will decide.

Both sides probe while stockpiling strength. Mingjin’s private troops are ready to march at a word. The Fourth and Shen draft terms: he tolerates; Shen demands. They grieve, briefly, for what their marriage could’ve been then keep the machine running.

And Shen, finally, starts questioning his “golden finger.” The tasks have always nudged him to lift the Fourth, not himself. He asks why.

A long pause.

System: “Because both you and the Fourth are my remit.”

Shen: “Feels like I’m optional, he’s the goal.”

System: “You’re essential. Without you, he won’t ascend.”

Shen: “Then why not crown me?”

Silence. The truth is simple: the system wanted an obedient executor, not a rival planner. Forced quest accepted, Shen is boxed in. No system, no power; he can’t even step out of the residence without eyes on him.

They’re all one step away now, Mingjin, the Fourth, and that unseen program.

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Every couple of days, Mingjin and Shuyu visit the emperor. They return grim: Mei Consort says His Majesty can’t stomach food; he’s wasting away. Shuyu suggests Doctor Lin; Mingjin shakes his head, palace physicians won’t change the end.

Back home, cicadas scream. Shuyu checks on Chongchong; the boy’s growing fast, all bright eyes and soft cheeks, rarely fussy. He wakes, demands cuddles, downs his milk, kicks happily.

In the study, Mingjin and Chen Rong finalize contingencies: Chen Rong will slip out with the token to link up with their men. If the city trembles, they move.

For now, Mingjin chooses to be a father. He lifts Chongchong high, peals of baby laughter until Shuyu brings chilled jelly and murmurs, “Don’t spoil him.”

“He’s my son. Of course I spoil him. He’s getting heavy, should be called Zhòngzhòng instead of Chóngchóng.” The baby “mm-hm”s twice. Diaper off, efficient pee rescue; Mingjin is a practiced hand.

“If there’s a Best Father award, it’s yours,” Shuyu says.

“Get peed on a few times and you’ll qualify too.”

“He refuses to pee on me,” Shuyu sighs.

“Last life he had a grudge, only targeted me,” Mingjin grumbles.

“No,” Shuyu smiles, soft. “He loved you more.” The shadows of their past grow thinner by the day.

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Whether they like it or not, the throne will be fought over by Third and Fourth. The only one still dodging the decision is the emperor.

Then came the dreams.

In the first, he wasn’t old. The Eldest and Crown Prince lived, Lin Noble Consort still gentle, the court glittering. A memorial arrived accusing the Third of treason with witnesses. Orders were barked; the Third’s mansion searched; “evidence” found. Prison. Even the Third’s consort and infant son were seized. The baby died on the fourth day in the damp. Mei Consort received a white silk cord. New Year still came; the emperor ate anyway.

On Lantern Festival, the Third broke out to rescue his spouse. A rain of arrows pinned a family to white snow, turning it red.

The emperor woke soaked in sweat.

The next night, the dream continued: Eldest and Crown Prince gone; the Fourth ascended; foreign princes offering congratulations.

He woke again, cold, shaken. The line between dream and daylight blurred. If dreams invert reality, why did it feel like memory?

He stared into the dark, heart hitching on a name: the Third and little Chongchong.

Who should inherit?

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Author’s Note

Fourth Prince: Father, me me me! Handsome, clever, plus a spouse with a system!
Li Mingjin: My spouse is literally reborn.
Fourth Prince: …

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