Chapter 1
Chapter 1
The day my Empress Mother left, my Imperial Father was holding a grand ceremony to confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort upon Consort Wan.
I asked my Empress Mother if she had any regrets.
Her expression was indifferent, her brow etched with the loneliness of one who had seen through the world.
“I loved boldly and I can let go freely. There is nothing to regret. The only one I have failed is you.”
She was a transmigrator who had come here to save my Imperial Father.
She gave birth to me when their passion was at its peak. But in the years that followed, that passion cooled into indifference, and then into a silence where they had nothing left to say to one another-all in the span of a mere three years.
Three years later, my Imperial Father broke his vow of “one husband and one wife for life” and brought Consort Wan into the palace.
That was the day my Empress Mother truly gave up on him.
She did so because Consort Wan bore a striking resemblance to the Princess Consort of Anyang.
Prince Anyang and the Princess Consort of Anyang were the original male and female leads of this “book.” My Empress Mother had fought tooth and nail to defeat them and place my Imperial Father on the throne, believing she had achieved success in both her career and her love life.
In the end, my Imperial Father showed her through his actions that her efforts were a joke. Although the Princess Consort of Anyang had been banished to Lingnan, never to return to the capital, she lived forever in her husband’s heart.
From then on, my Empress Mother and Imperial Father were at odds.
She no longer paid him any mind, focusing all her heart and soul on raising me.
She told me that a woman must never lose herself in love. She told me not to be assimilated by this society, not to act like some “strong female lead” or a “career woman,” but to live like a man. She said that everything considered normal for a man should be normal for a woman too, and that I must not let my own thinking bind my steps.
“You are a princess. You were born with more resources than others. If you cannot stand at the highest peak, then no other woman can. You are not just yourself; you are hope, you are the future.”
I grew up listening to her teachings and her stories about her original world.
It was a fantastical world.
People could fly in the sky, and powerful carriages moved faster than thousand-mile steeds. People were well-fed and well-clothed, and thus understood etiquette and virtue. Places of education were everywhere. Civil rights replaced imperial power, and the law no longer bypassed the nobility.
It was truly a world worth yearning for.
I asked her, “Can I go there?”
My Empress Mother fell silent.
After a long time, she said, “I will find a way.”
I knew it would be difficult, but I truly looked forward to it.
However, bad news always arrives a step ahead of hope.
In my tenth year, she told me in a panic that she could no longer delay. The System had given her a final deadline: either stay in this ancient world forever or return to her original world.
Her eyes were filled with sorrow, her face etched with grief.
I understood then. She hadn’t found a way; she had no way to take me with her.
“Let’s stay here together. Actually, after staying for a long time, it’s not so bad here.”
My Empress Mother was lying.
There was nothing good about this place.
Desolation permeated every corner. The deep palace courtyards clipped everyone’s wings, leaving their hearts a barren wasteland.
The only person whose life was colorful was my Imperial Father.
I said softly, “Empress Mother, it is enough for one person to be trapped in the mire. There is no need for another to suffer. If suffering can be avoided, it should be. That is what you taught me.”
That day, my Empress Mother broke down in tears.
She had rarely shown sadness since breaking things off with my Imperial Father, but that day, she wept bitterly for me and for herself.
After she finished crying, she began making all sorts of preparations for her departure.
She handed many things over to me: treasures, land deeds, connections, and hidden guards.
She then used her points to exchange for more information regarding my plotline, only to receive devastating news:
I, Song Yufu, was destined to be the villainous female supporting character in the side stories. I would fall in love with the son of the Princess Consort of Anyang, Gu Qinglan. For him, I would cast aside my dignity and pride, wagging my tail for his affection, begging for just one look.
And when my love went unrequited, I would turn to hatred and frantic revenge, eventually bringing about my own destruction. After my death, my body would be tossed into the wilderness.
My Empress Mother couldn’t believe what she saw.
I couldn’t believe it either.
How could I be so absurd!
“That isn’t me.”
“I know. Ah Fu has always been a good child with self-respect and self-love. I can change fate, and so can you. Just remember, before your wings are fully grown, do not act rashly. Staying away from Gu Qinglan is the way to protect yourself. Sometimes the plot is incredibly powerful. Please, you must-again and again, time after time, without end, and without a moment’s hesitation-save yourself from the fires of this world. This was said by a great scholar from my world, and I give it to you.”