Chapter One: Reborn in a Farming Family

Page 1

The crimson canopy and warm bed gleamed with gold and jade, dazzling in their splendor. Flickering candlelight danced along the red curtains, a sultry atmosphere thickening in the air. Beneath the translucent drapes, two figures entwined endlessly; at the edge of the canopy, Jiang Qianyao was clad in a vibrant red bridal gown—a sight so utterly ironic.

"Your Majesty, you... you're hurting me!" The voice from within the red drapes was coy and alluring, while the heart of the woman outside was pierced with agony.

"Little enchantress, don’t you enjoy this? Aren’t you savoring it? Hmm? So, do you like it? How about this? Hmm?"

"Your Majesty, today... today is your wedding day with my sister. If... if she finds out, she will surely... surely be furious." The woman's tone was tender, laced with a hint of mockery and lament.

"Heh! Her? What does it matter to me if she’s angry?"

"But if Your Majesty doesn’t like my sister, why... why marry her and make her Empress?" Though her words carried grievance, the man showed no displeasure.

"Marrying her as Empress? Ha! It’s merely a matter of expediency, a ploy to lure wolves into the fold. With a pack of wolves, the best strategy is to defeat them one by one."

As they spoke, sinister laughter rippled between them.

"So that’s how it is. If my sister discovers Your Majesty’s intentions, will she—?"

"Rest assured, she won’t have the chance. Everything is under my control; my plan is flawless. Little enchantress, let’s get serious." A sharp sound snapped through the air, and the woman teased, "Oh, Your Majesty is so wicked."

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"Don’t you like me wicked? Hmm?"

"Hehe! Fei’er loves Your Majesty most!"

Laughter and seductive murmurs filled the canopy, voices swirling in a spellbinding symphony. Jiang Qianyao stood there, her fists clenched so tightly her nails cut into her palms without her realizing. In her dim eyes, tears fell ceaselessly.

Yes, that man was the one she married today. Yet on the night of their wedding, he was entangled with the woman she trusted most.

Meanwhile, the entire Jiang family was destroyed in an instant because of her foolishness, and what awaited her was a cup of poison...

"Sister! Just die already! This position was always meant for me. You never had the right, nor the strength, to sit here. The victor is king, the loser is nothing. Rest in peace! Hahaha..."

Those words were forever etched into Jiang Qianyao’s heart.

In that moment, she secretly vowed—even as a ghost—she would drag that woman, and even all of Nanyue, down with her.

...

In the fourth month of Nanyue’s founding, in a mountain village on the border, the infamous Qin family, known for their demon-faced son, was holding a wedding.

The jostling red bridal sedan made Jiang Qianyao feel utterly repulsed. No, more accurately, she was no longer Jiang Qianyao. The owner of this body was named Hua Qinci, though she didn’t much care for that surname.

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In her mind, dreamlike visions echoed ceaselessly.

She had been the Empress Xuan of Nanyue, Jiang Qianyao. When she awoke, her new father had drugged her and bundled her, then shoved her into the bridal sedan.

Hua Qinci sighed. Now, tied up like a twisted rope, she couldn’t move—escape was impossible.

After a long while, the sedan stopped. Amid laughter and the matchmaker’s auspicious words, someone lifted the curtain. That person paused, then reached in to untie her bonds.

Because of the drugs, her legs were weak, and she let the person carry her out.

During the wedding rites, Hua Qinci was like a puppet on strings, guided and pressed down to kowtow.

"I forbid you to proceed with the wedding!" Outside, a girl of fifteen or sixteen burst in.

Just as Hua Qinci regained a little feeling, she smiled. Someone causing trouble—excellent.

If only she had a bit more time, she could neutralize the wretched drugs they had forced upon her.

"Ignore her, continue the ceremony." A rough woman’s voice shattered the tense silence.