Su Niyue was awakened by a burst of suona music, followed by dizziness. The piercing suona and booming gongs and drums made her so irritated she wanted to curse, “Damn, are funerals this lively nowadays? I mean, this tune doesn’t sound like a proper funeral at all!” She even thought she was at her own funeral.
She struggled to open her eyes. All she saw was bright red—turns out she was inside a bridal sedan chair. As it swayed, sensation gradually returned to her body. At the same time, countless fragments of memory surged into her mind with sharp pain, quickly merging into a complete set of memories.
After rapidly skimming through memories that did not belong to her, Su Niyue confirmed it—she had transmigrated into a novel. Not only that, it was a book she had read before that had been discontinued. Perhaps because she shared the same name as the female lead, she had always felt deeply immersed in the story. Every time she saw the heroine being mistreated, she would think about what she would do in her place. And now—her wish had come true.
The original host was the concubine-born daughter of the Prime Minister’s residence in the Great Yun Kingdom. Because her mother was merely the daughter of a merchant, she had never been favored since childhood. After her mother’s death, her legal mother openly abandoned her in the backyard. She lived in worse conditions than even the servants—starving, poorly clothed—the goal being to let her fend for herself and die unnoticed. Yet against all odds, Su Niyue still grew to sixteen, blossoming into a graceful and beautiful young girl.
The vicious legal mother was still not satisfied and schemed to marry her off, hoping to earn some bride price. The greedy Prime Minister readily agreed. At this time, the male lead, War King Nangong Yunteng, had just returned to the capital to report on his duties. The emperor, wary of Nangong Yunteng’s military power, plotted to bring him down under the guise of legitimacy. After discussions with several trusted old ministers, they decided to arrange a marriage for him: first, to lower his guard; second, to plant someone by his side for easier manipulation; and third, if necessary, to use that person to poison him.
But when it came time to recommend a candidate, none of the ministers spoke. Prime Minister Su directly offered up his own troublesome concubine-born daughter.
Thus, when Nangong Yunteng received the imperial decree, he immediately understood the emperor’s ulterior motives. Meanwhile, when Su Niyue received the decree, she was so excited she could barely speak—she was finally leaving that hellhole.
“Damn it, why did I transmigrate at this moment?! I was just about to awaken my abilities!” Su Niyue felt utterly frustrated.
“Bang!” The sedan chair hit the ground, and she was jolted hard onto her backside.
Swish! The curtain of the sedan was pulled open.
Su Niyue was dragged out by a rough old hand. “Are ancient people always this hot-tempered?” Just as she was about to flare up, a hoarse voice shouted, “Imperial decree arrives! Nangong Yunteng, receive the decree!”
A flurry of footsteps followed, and everyone dropped to their knees. Through the red bridal veil, she saw everyone kneeling—wouldn’t she stand out too much if she remained standing? Suddenly, someone tugged at her sleeve. She turned and saw a younger hand—fair-skinned but slightly rough, likely a maid’s. Taking advantage of her wide bridal gown to conceal herself, she half-squatted down. She was already annoyed with that damned emperor—no way was she going to kneel to him, especially not to a piece of cloth with words on it. Since she was at the back, she tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible.
“By the emperor’s verbal decree, War King Nangong Yunteng is to immediately enter the palace…”
Su Niyue quickly analyzed the current situation alongside the novel’s plot. Today was the wedding day of the male lead Nangong Yunteng and the female lead Su Niyue. According to the story, the emperor urgently summoned him because he had received fabricated evidence accusing Nangong Yunteng of treason. After severe torture, Nangong Yunteng would be carried back to the War King’s residence the next day—followed immediately by the confiscation of his family’s property and exile.
In the original story, the War King’s family had accumulated immense wealth through generations of military merit, long coveted by the emperor. Coupled with Nangong Yunteng’s overwhelming achievements and control over the army, the emperor wanted him dead even in his sleep. However, the Nangong family had always been loyal, and executing him outright would provoke public outrage—not to mention the threat from neighboring enemy states. After weighing his options, the emperor decided to strip Nangong Yunteng of his status and exile him to the barbaric lands of Lingnan. The emperor’s abacus was precise—keeping him alive meant he could still be sent back to the battlefield if war broke out again.
Before he could even complete the wedding ceremony, Nangong Yunteng, still dressed in bright red wedding robes, followed the eunuch into the palace.
When he heard the decree being announced, he felt an ominous premonition. He had just returned to the capital and gotten married. The emperor had granted him a month-long wedding leave, yet after only a few days, he could no longer restrain himself. Nangong Yunteng knew the emperor would not kill him outright—after all, the border truce had been secured under his deterrence. If he died, the enemy would have no more scruples. The emperor simply wanted to make his life miserable. Though he had always been cautious, injury was inevitable.
Su Niyue was escorted into a room by a maid. After the door was shut, she lifted her red veil and glanced around the wedding chamber. Red candles flickered, casting dancing shadows. She felt another wave of frustration—after living two lifetimes, she hadn’t even managed to complete a proper wedding ceremony.
Suddenly, a flash of golden light appeared before her eyes, and her heartbeat quickened. “Is it awakening?”
She immediately thought of her spatial ability. With a thought, a small mirror appeared in her hand. She patted her chest instinctively. “Good, the space is still here. No worries.” The face in the mirror resembled her own by about sixty percent, but years of malnutrition made it look less attractive. Before she could admire herself further, a golden light flickered at the center of her brow, gradually turning brown.
“Brown… must be an earth-type ability.” She felt a bit disappointed. She preferred psychic abilities—or at least water-type.
Still, she was happy. Better to have an ability than none. Though a girl manipulating dirt every day didn’t sound very elegant, thinking carefully—if she had possessed an ability during her last mission, maybe she wouldn’t have died.
She tried to use her power. Perhaps because it had just awakened, there was little response at first. Walking to the window, she saw a potted plant on the sill and attempted to control the soil. The dirt bulged slightly. With a flick of her hand, the raised clump flew into her palm and merged with her body.
“Hey, this ability is actually pretty good for tunneling—perfect for escaping. As long as there’s soil, who can catch me?” In this world without reinforced concrete, there was dirt everywhere—perfect for storing supplies.
Before transmigrating, Su Niyue had been passing by a bonded warehouse zone when a car explosion occurred. In her final moments, driven by her greed, she had instinctively absorbed the entire bonded warehouse into her space.
Thinking of this, she immersed her consciousness into her space. Looking at rows of arched warehouses and the supplies she had stockpiled over the years, she patted her chest in relief.
“Good, good… everything I saved is still here. I’m safe, I’m safe! This death was worth it! Hehe! Transmigrating into a novel isn’t bad. Even if there’s famine, it’s still better than the apocalypse—at least there’s hope!”