Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The first year after I transmigrated into the body of a palace maid.

I saw the Emperor, and I saw the Empress.

I promptly crossed the option of “Becoming a Favored Consort” off my list.

Unless an Emperor is truly desperate, he isn’t going to pick a palace maid with merely plain features to be his favorite. Taking someone like that out in public would practically scream that the dynasty is on the brink of collapse.

The second year of being a palace maid.

I crossed off the option of “Toiling until I become an Auntie.”

Aunt Zhou, the woman who trained me, lost a power struggle within the palace. She was dragged off to the Punishment Bureau; she went in on her feet and came out in a coffin.

I was the one who begged around to buy a cheap pine casket to give her a proper burial.

Now, only one option remains: “Toil until I’m twenty-five and leave the palace.”

But even this path is difficult. Low-ranking palace maids can’t even get a hot meal. I suspect I might die in this palace before I ever reach twenty-five.

However, in my third year as a palace maid, things took a turn.

I met a little princess.

Floating above her head were four words: Villainess Supporting Character.

At that moment, I realized that my golden finger-three years late-had finally arrived.

I found a way to get transferred to Funing Palace and became a maid for the Sixth Princess.

On my first day there, the Sixth Princess beat someone.

A maid was dragged out of the inner hall, her face covered in blood.

The manager, Aunt An, let her gaze roam between me and another maid.

I hurriedly lowered my head, chanting internally: *Don’t see me, don’t see me.*

Then I heard Aunt An say to the other maid, Qiushuang, “You, go in and clean up the mess.”

Qiushuang shot me a subtle glare.

I pretended not to see it. If she hadn’t been chosen, she would have been just as happy as I was.

Not long after the maid went in, there was a series of crashes and bangs, followed immediately by the Sixth Princess’s scream.

“Get out! All of you, get out!”

Qiushuang was chased out, looking both humiliated and indignant.

Aunt An glanced at me. “You go in.”

Me: “…”

Is everyone hard of hearing? The Princess clearly doesn’t want to be disturbed right now.

Aunt An’s expression darkened. “Well? Get moving.”

I gave a soft word of assent and crept inside with light steps.

Once I turned the corner and was out of sight, I stopped and cautiously poked my head out to peek into the inner chamber.

The Sixth Princess was throwing a tantrum. She had overturned a display shelf and smashed several porcelain pieces. Having vented her emotions, she was now crouching on the floor, clutching a shattered pink jade rabbit to her chest and sobbing.

She cried bitterly, and the words “Villainess Supporting Character” above her head glowed even brighter.

I watched quietly, waiting until she had cried herself out and fallen asleep before I crept forward.

When she was awake, she was all claws and teeth. Only in sleep did she look like a child, her tender little face flushed from crying, looking exceptionally pitiful.

I gently pried the jade rabbit from her arms.

Fearing that picking her up to put her in bed would wake her, I took a blanket from the bed and draped it over her instead.

Anyone who has raised children knows that while putting a child to sleep is hard, waking them up is effortless. The best approach was to leave her where she was.

After finishing that, I gathered the rest of the jade rabbit’s shards from the floor and went to find Aunt An.

Aunt An frowned, her expression turning grim.

“This was the Princess’s favorite item. It was left behind by Consort E.”

Consort E was the Sixth Princess’s birth mother. She had committed an offense and was sent to the Cold Palace, where she eventually died.

The Sixth Princess was very young when she passed, so she had very few mementos of her mother. This pink jade rabbit was one of them.

Aunt An said, “If we send this to the Artifact Repair Workshop, who knows how long it will take?”

The Artifact Repair Workshop prioritized items for the Emperor, the Empress, the Noble Consorts, and other high-ranking figures. A little rabbit belonging to the unfavored Sixth Princess would be stuck at the back of the line indefinitely.

I examined the fragments, thought for a moment, and said, “If I can get some fish glue, I can try to fix it.”

Aunt An gave me a long, searching look but said nothing more before heading out.

Before long, she actually returned with a box of fish glue.

“If you can’t fix it, you won’t be staying in Funing Palace anymore.”

I understood. Aunt An might tolerate me, but the Sixth Princess certainly wouldn’t.

Still, I had confidence.

Before I transmigrated, I was a part-time handicraft creator. I made clay figurines, dolls, doll clothes, and various crafts… all to film videos and make some extra money. But I met an untimely end in the middle of my entrepreneurial journey… and accidentally ended up here.

I said to Aunt An, “The Princess is asleep. I’m afraid too many people will wake her. I’ll serve her in here alone. I’ll call for you once she wakes up.”

I gathered some bamboo picks and the fish glue, and began carefully piecing the rabbit back together.

Time slipped away unnoticed.

Suddenly, a sinister voice rang out from behind me.

“You’re just going to let me sleep on the floor?”