Chapter 1

Changhua Palace.

The young palace maid Baor carried a tray and had just reached the palace gate when she heard a mournful cry from the west, a mixture of weeping and lamenting, extremely sorrowful. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when no one was looking.

It had been over half a year, yet the tears of Consort Li seemed endless, like the waters of the Yangtze River.

Intermittent crying came with the wind: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, your concubine is wronged... wronged!"

Baor paused, looking back at the distant glazed tiles, and sighed.

This deranged Consort Li, who cried all day, seemingly unaware... that her beloved Emperor had already passed away.

The Crown Prince had already ascended to the throne.

Thinking of this, Baor quickened her pace towards the main hall.

Baor was young and hadn't been in the palace for long. Just a few days after her arrival, she was assigned to Changhua Palace - a place once considered a prime posting, as it was the residence of the legitimate Empress.

The former Emperor had been famous for his romantic exploits since his youth, yet, throughout his life, he only had one child, the five-year-old little prince who ascended the throne a few days ago.

The prince was born to a low-ranking concubine. When he was just a few months old, that woman, for some unknown reason, hanged herself out of fear of punishment. The Emperor then had the child brought to the Empress for upbringing.

Until seven months ago.

With an imperial edict, the Emperor confined the Empress to Changhua Palace, condemning her to a life of isolation, equivalent to being banished to the cold palace, leaving her with nothing but an empty title.

In her time at the palace, Baor had hardly ever heard anyone mention the Empress.

She was like a taboo in the palace, deeply avoided by everyone. If not for seeing her and serving her every day, Baor might have imagined this fallen Empress as a fearsome creature.

Yet, her mistress... was clearly an ethereal beauty, the epitome of gentleness and kindness.

Jiang Wanqing was reading in the side hall.

Ever since the decree, only Baor and a new eunuch, Rong Ding, were left to serve here.

The veterans of Changhua Palace had either passed away or been reassigned, leaving none behind.

Despite Baor and Rong Ding's efforts to tidy up, the vast palace inevitably appeared somewhat dilapidated due to their limited capabilities.

Jiang Wanqing, dressed in a simple white gown, her black hair neatly tied in a bun secured with a pale jade pin, her face bare of makeup, sat leisurely on the couch, leaning against the window in a languid posture, her pale and delicate fingers slowly turning a page.

The mournful cries of Consort Li faintly echoed from outside the window.

Baor, worried that the Empress might be saddened by this, hurriedly put down the tray, intending to close the window: "Your Highness, please have your meal. Look, today's dishes are quite delightful."

Jiang Wanqing gently held her hand, smiling: "I'm reading 'The Injustice to Dou E'. Leave the window open. Consort Li's heartfelt crying adds to the atmosphere."

Baor was startled: "…Your Highness?"

Jiang Wanqing shook her head without elaborating, glanced at the dishes served, and smiled again: "Thoughtful as always, all my favorites."

This invigorated Baor: "Exactly! Even when the former Emperor was here, our palace's meals weren't too bad, but they can't compare to these past few days!" After a pause, she grinned, her round eyes curving: "Everyone below has their eyes open, knowing that His Highness the Crown Prince has ascended the throne and you will soon leave here. After all, you raised the Crown Prince, you should rightfully be the Dowager Empress—"

Jiang Wanqing listened, not delighted but rather surprised: "Why?"

Baor stammered: "Because, because you raised the Crown Prince…"

Jiang Wanqing smiled wryly: "I am not his birth mother; I only raised him for a few years. Besides, the Crown Prince is just a child, what decisions can he make?"

Baor's mouth slowly closed, and her crescent-moon eyes also clouded over with disappointment.

Jiang Wanqing picked up her chopsticks and began to eat some dishes.

After a while, Baor spoke up: "Then it must be the Regent who decides."

Jiang Wanqing lowered her gaze, noncommittal.

As Baor served tea and water, she murmured, "If the Regent wishes, he might bring you to Cining Palace—"

Jiang Wanqing paused with her chopsticks, then suddenly laughed.

Baor, puzzled, asked, "Your Highness, what's the matter?"

Jiang Wanqing looked up: "Baor, you entered the palace too late. It's fine if you're unaware of the palace affairs, but do you also not know about the rumors that were once rife in the streets and alleys of the capital?"

Baor's face flushed: "My family is from Qiongzhou, and my father is an official in a small place. I really don't know much about the capital."

Jiang Wanqing spoke gently: "I'm not blaming you."

After the meal, as Jiang Wanqing saw Baor preparing to clear the tableware, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "How is Rong Ding? Has he recovered from the beating he received earlier?"

Baor thought for a moment and replied, "I saw him a few days ago, he seemed almost recovered, just complained of dizziness—I think he's just being lazy and doesn't want to get up. I'll go check on him later."

Jiang Wanqing nodded.

Only after Baor had left did the person on the couch let out a sigh of relief and reveal a smile.

Finally… it's almost over.

It hasn't been easy.

Jiang Wanqing was born in the 21st century, a modern-day individual who lived peacefully until the age of 17, a beautiful age like a blooming flower. Yet, due to a car accident, her soul transmigrated into a palace intrigue novel she had read, becoming a milk baby girl character with the same name and age of three years old.

This character in the original story never appeared, always living in the memories of others.

——Mainly in the memories of the male protagonist.

The male lead, named Ling Zhao, was a young and accomplished prince. From a young age, he led troops into battle, achieving countless military honors over the years and was conferred the title of Prince Yan. However, he was a man of few words, extremely reserved. His father, the emperor, favored him less than his prematurely deceased elder brother, Crown Prince Ling Xuan, the son of the late Empress Yuan.

Ling Xuan was frail and indulged in pleasure, hardly suitable to be an emperor.

Yet, the old emperor was adamant about Ling Xuan succeeding the throne.

Ling Zhao's mother and the female character's mother were close friends, making the two childhood sweethearts who harbored feelings early on.

The male lead was a heroic young prince, and the female character, a beauty from childhood, grew even more stunning, becoming renowned in the capital for her beauty. A seemingly perfect match, but fate had other plans.

Once, Ling Zhao led troops to a perilous victory, suffering severe losses and personal injury.

Upon returning to the capital, the old emperor chided him for repeatedly disobeying orders in the field, leading to a rare confrontation where Ling Zhao sternly criticized his father for heeding the counsel of mediocre court officials and making strategic military errors.

This resulted in a complete fallout between father and son.

Due to Ling Zhao's unyielding stance and refusal to admit fault, the old emperor almost stripped him of his title and imprisoned him.

The female character, terrified, begged her father, Minister Jiang, to intercede on Ling Zhao's behalf, but being a seasoned court official, he wisely refused.

Surprisingly, Crown Prince Ling Xuan offered to intervene, with a condition.

He proposed to the old emperor to grant him marriage to the female character as a reward.

Out of desperation, she reluctantly agreed.

With Ling Xuan's intercession, the old emperor allowed Ling Zhao to redeem himself by being stationed at a crucial frontier garrison.

Released from prison, Ling Zhao, without even time to freshen up, rushed to confront the female character about her betrothal to the crown prince, appearing utterly haggard and disheveled.

He questioned whether she agreed to the marriage for his sake and if she was coerced by the crown prince.

With tears, the female character denied it and heartbreakingly turned him away.

In the second year of Ling Zhao's frontier duty, the old emperor passed away, and Ling Xuan ascended the throne.

Though the female character became the new emperor's queen, dignified in status, her heart remained with Ling Zhao. She reluctantly shared the imperial bed, often secretly weeping in sorrow.

Ling Xuan, unwilling to force her but troubled by her lingering feelings for his brother, often ended their encounters in discord.

Several years into the marriage, they had never consummated it.

Eventually, something pushed Emperor Ling Xuan to his limits. Although he didn't depose her, he confined the female character to Changhua Palace, estranging the emperor and empress.

Ling Xuan, frail and sickly, died as emperor after less than seven years. Bizarrely, before his death, he recalled Ling Zhao from his distant post, appointing him as Regent to assist the young emperor in his will.

The female character, burdened with guilt, felt she wronged both emperors and chose to end her life with a white silk noose. In her suicide note, she asked the Regent, out of past affection, to spare her family and take care of the young emperor.

Ling Zhao was deeply affected and learned from his mother that the female character had indeed married his brother for his sake.

Hence, she became his unattainable love, until two years later, a girl resembling her, the novel's protagonist, entered the palace, triggering the main palace drama.

In the original story, the female character was genuinely kind and beautiful, loved by two emperors and admired by the original protagonist.

Alas, her life was full of romantic struggles and a tragic end.

This made Jiang Wanqing's situation difficult.

Unlike many transmigrators, she had a happy life in the modern era, with loving parents and a comfortable middle-class life—owning a car, a house, and recently receiving a significant sum from old house compensation, indicating even better days ahead.

Suddenly transmigrating into a noble girl from a Minister's family, she struggled to adjust.

She missed her family and the advanced, convenient life of the 21st century.

Suffering as a mild phone addict and internet user, she found every day in the ancient world torturous, missing her parents and modern comforts like air conditioning and internet.

One day, a dream informed her that her transmigration was a clerical error in the underworld. She could return to modern times by completing the original novel's plot.

Her real body lay in a coma from the car accident, with each year in the ancient world equating to only a day in the modern world. Completing her role would reunite her with her body.

So, Jiang Wanqing endured.

From the Minister's sheltered daughter to the lonely palace, she dutifully played her role as the tragic female character.

To her, male lead Ling Zhao and her nominal husband Ling Xuan were like NPCs, helping her complete her mission and earn rewards.

Only the young emperor, known affectionately as Fufu, was different for her.

According to the original plot, soon after becoming Regent, Ling Zhao coerced the young emperor into abdicating, seizing the throne for himself.

He always remembered the female character's last words. He didn't trouble the young emperor, granting him a princely title and allowing him to temporarily reside in the palace.

This decision nearly led to a disaster later.

As the young emperor grew, under the manipulation of a scheming eunuch, he developed hatred towards Ling Zhao and repeatedly tried to harm him, but never succeeded.

Eventually, the young emperor's true identity was revealed.

It turned out he wasn't of royal blood at all, but a child born from an affair between a palace concubine and another man, leading Ling Zhao to order his death by beating.

After transmigrating, Jiang Wanqing was cautious around others, but she had a soft spot for the little baby and couldn’t bear to see him meet such a fate.

So, one night, she bargained with a ghost in her dream to take Fufu back to the modern era with her.

The ghost agreed, but there was a condition.

In the original story, the female character hung herself, but if Jiang Wanqing wanted to take Fufu with her, she had to be sentenced to death by Ling Zhao.

Jiang Wanqing agreed without hesitation.

In this era of feudalism, in this palace of intrigue and helplessness, it's not easy to live a dignified life but easy to seek death.

This condition seemed too simple.

Jiang Wanqing smiled slightly, picked up her book, and turned another page.

It was almost time...

She just needed to sit here calmly, waiting for her 'first love', whom she hadn't seen in years, to visit her uninvited for a reunion.

— The drama had already ended; it was just waiting for the final curtain call.