“By imperial decree: Su Niao, a bewitching beauty who brings calamity, guilty of harming innocents, unforgivable. She is granted a cup of poisoned wine…”
In the desolate side courtyard, Su Niao writhed in agony as the venom coursed through her, her body convulsing, consciousness slipping away.
She had already guessed this ending. That sovereign of spotless virtue, exalted above all, had once wandered the mortal world in amnesia—only to suffer her humiliation and cruelty. How could he not kill her?
Whenever she recalled that moment—Xie Chenyan bound before her in disgrace, tormented by aphrodisiac and her hand, his eyes bloodshot with rage—Su Niao felt a twisted satisfaction even through the pain. To have shamed and toyed with such a lofty, untouchable ruler… even if she died, she had won a round.
But gods, it hurt so much.
In the haze, she seemed to hear chaotic voices echoing deep within her mind:
“Wow, the cannon fodder’s been written off!”
“Such a waste of that pretty face.”
“Seriously? She’s gorgeous but just cannon fodder, while the heroine with her plain looks wins everything? Too fake.”
“Must be some average girl’s self-indulgent fantasy—‘I may be ugly, but I’m kind, so everyone loves me.’”
“Poor Su Niao. Born with beauty and status, but no brains…”
“Paper-thin cannon fodder characters exist only to make the heroine shine. Is this cliché still not outdated?”
“The higher her cannon-fodder value, the brighter the heroine’s halo. Interesting setup, shame the author’s writing is weak.”
Amid the din, she thought she heard the courtyard gate crash open, felt herself lifted into someone’s arms. Sight was gone, only a faint voice calling her name, mad with desperation. She whispered one word: “Hurts…”
The scent of dragon musk lingered faintly as her consciousness faded.
Suddenly, Su Niao’s eyes flew open. Her breath came fast and uneven, her head buzzing.
“Niao-niao, what’s wrong? Why won’t you speak?” A gentle, smiling voice, tinged with concern.
She blinked, dazed, and saw two noblewomen in splendid robes beside her, a palace hall’s grandeur surrounding her. Her heart pounded wildly. She had died—so why was she here?
Her mother had disowned her. How could she look at her with such warmth now?
“What’s gotten into this child, turning silly all of a sudden?” said Madam Liu Ruyu, wife of Duke Ding. With a helpless smile, she shook her head. “Ah, daughters grow up and can’t be kept.”
The familiar words jolted Su Niao. Then, catching sight of Xie Qinglan in his cloud-patterned brocade across from her, she realized with a shock exactly what had happened.
She had been executed with a cup of poisoned wine—yet when she opened her eyes, she was back on the day she was betrothed to the Fifth Prince, Xie Qinglan.
Su Niao stared blankly at him. He looked a few years younger than in her memories, still carrying the sharp, untamed air of youth. Xie Qinglan gave a cold snort and turned his face away, clearly sulking.
She remembered now. On this very day, she had quarreled bitterly with him because he gave the luminous pearl meant for her to her elder sister, Su Xuan.
Xie Qinglan had been furious, saying: “Su Xuan’s plain looks—do you truly suspect I harbor feelings for her? She is your sister, and the only noblewoman at the banquet without a gift. I merely wished to spare you the shame of her pitiful appearance.”
He pitied Su Xuan, gave her the pearl, and later pitied her more and more, finding her delicate and weak, while Su Niao became, in his words, a domineering, venomous shrew.
Su Niao jolted awake inside. Was she blind or mad in her past life, insisting on marrying this ill-starred man—even as a concubine? Utterly absurd!
At the head of the hall, Xie Qinglan’s mother, Noble Consort Rong, chuckled and shook her head. “Look at these two youngsters, still exchanging glances.”
Liu Ruyu covered her mouth and laughed.
Su Niao nearly choked at being accused of “exchanging glances.” Realizing the situation was turning against her, she spoke at once:
“Your Ladyship, forgive me. I cannot marry His Highness the Fifth Prince.”
The cheerful atmosphere froze instantly.
Xie Qinglan, who had only been sulking, thought she was still angry about the pearl. He flared up: “You would use our marriage to vent your temper?”
Su Niao’s spoiled antics had long given him headaches, but today was different. His face hardened. “Think carefully. To say such words before my mother means there is no turning back.”
He was certain she longed to marry him, and would never dare to truly break the match.
But Su Niao met his gaze with absolute sincerity. “I will not regret it.”
Then she turned to Noble Consort Rong and declared: “It is not ingratitude, but there is more to this matter. His Highness favored me because he believed I had once saved him at Taiye Pool. In truth, the one who saved him was my elder sister, the Duke’s eldest daughter, Su Xuan.”
She bowed. “When I first met His Highness, I did not know he mistook me for his savior because of the pendant I wore—one my sister had given me. Later, when I learned the truth, I explained it to her. She said it might be fate between His Highness and me, and she was willing to step aside. That is why I concealed it.”
Su Niao raised her head. “Yet when Your Ladyship spoke of this marriage, joy warred with unease in my heart. After much thought, I cannot keep it hidden. I beg Your Ladyship to judge fairly.”
The grand hall fell into dead silence.
Xie Qinglan froze, unable to process it. “So the one who saved me was Su Xuan?” That timid, pale young lady who never dared meet his eyes?
Su Niao nodded. “Yes.”
Xie Qinglan grew angry. “Why reveal this only now? Why not earlier?”
Seeing him shift blame, Su Niao sneered: “Did you tell me at the start that you approached me for a debt of life? By the time I learned, the whole capital already believed we were inseparable. Was your life-saving grace more important than my reputation?”
Xie Qinglan snapped: “And you still dare argue?”
Su Niao pressed: “Tell me—am I wrong?”
Xie Qinglan: …
She turned away from him and addressed Noble Consort Rong again: “By speaking the truth today, I show my sincerity. Your Ladyship can see for yourself—His Highness values a life debt above all. If so, then let this marriage be set aside.”
She wanted nothing to do with this ill-starred man.
Noble Consort Rong rubbed her temples, already weary of their quarrel.
Su Niao added softly: “Your Ladyship, I have confessed honestly. Please see that I admit my fault and amend it—do not hold it against me.”
Noble Consort Rong laughed helplessly. “I haven’t even spoken, and you’ve already excused yourself?”
Su Niao quickly replied: “Your Ladyship’s heart is clear as a mirror. You know this matter cannot be blamed on me alone.”
The truth was, Su Niao knew that even if she stayed silent now, her “gentle and timid” elder sister would soon speak up in front of everyone, nailing her to the pillar of shame as nothing more than cannon fodder.
That was exactly what had happened in her previous life. Su Xuan had told her she was willing to step aside, urging her not to reveal the truth to Xie Qinglan. Yet the moment the imperial betrothal decree was announced, Su Xuan stepped forward in tears, declaring herself the Fifth Prince’s true savior—and Su Niao became the target of scorn.
Almost immediately afterward, her mother’s attendant revealed another devastating secret: Su Niao, the Duke’s second daughter, was not her mother’s biological child. In a single night, she fell from pampered daughter and prince’s fiancée to a scheming impostor who had stolen her sister’s credit. Publicly denounced, she was demoted to a mere concubine, while the “gentle and virtuous” Su Xuan became the Fifth Prince’s proper consort.
In her past life, blinded by folly, Su Niao accepted the role of side consort—and became a laughingstock. From then on, her seemingly fragile sister plotted against her step by step, ruining her reputation until she was branded a poisonous woman who harmed her sister’s unborn child. Cast into a remote courtyard, she was treated with cruelty. Her foster parents severed ties, choosing their “kind” biological daughter over the “vicious” adopted one. Thus began her endless struggle against Su Xuan, mistake after mistake, until she met her end with a poisoned cup.
Thinking of her past life’s madness, and of those chaotic voices she heard as her consciousness faded, Su Niao clenched her fists. Was all this because she was doomed to be cannon fodder? The more miserable she became, the luckier Su Xuan grew? The more she was crushed, the brighter Su Xuan’s heroine halo grew? Nonsense! This was Su Xuan deliberately crushing her.
Glancing at Xie Qinglan across the hall, Su Niao nodded inwardly: yes, a pair of ill-starred creatures.
Noble Consort Rong sighed and turned to her son. “Fifth, what do you say? If you value Niao-niao herself, then who saved you has nothing to do with marriage. But if you wish to wed your savior, now you know—it was another.”
Xie Qinglan fell silent. At first, when he believed Su Niao had saved him, he was delighted. She was famed for her beauty, and though spoiled and willful, she could laugh and play with him, and they seemed well matched.
But over the past half year, he had grown weary of her arrogance. Somehow, his gaze began to linger on her plain-faced sister, Su Xuan.
Ordinarily, such a woman would never have caught his eye. Yet because Su Xuan often accompanied her sister, he began to notice her. Compared to the dazzling, domineering younger sister, the elder seemed gentle, yielding, and kind. She was always overshadowed by her younger sister’s brilliance, hiding in the farthest corners of the crowd, ignored by everyone—a sight that stirred pity. This time, when the luminous pearl meant for Su Niao was given to Su Xuan instead, it was only because Su Xuan had received no reward. Forgotten by all, shrinking behind the crowd with such a pitiful look, he could not help but feel compassion. Yet who would have thought that the timid, fragile girl was the very one who had saved his life?
Now, when his mother asked whether the woman he wished to marry was truly Su Niao, or rather the benefactor he held in his heart, Xie Qinglan instinctively turned his gaze toward Su Niao, kneeling there.
Su Niao’s heart leaped in alarm, fearing this ill-starred man might still want to wed her. She deliberately shot him a fierce glare, provoking him with practiced ease.
As expected, Xie Qinglan flared with instant fury. He could already imagine—if he yielded to Su Niao today, she would forever act haughty, claiming he had begged to marry her. The thought left him both angry and stifled.
By contrast, before Su Xuan, he was always gentle and pliant, basking in her admiring gaze and appearing considerate and kind.
Raising his voice, Xie Qinglan declared: “I always believed Su Niao was the one who saved me, and that is why I tolerated her and drew close.”
The implication was clear: his kindness toward Su Niao, even his intent to marry her, was only because he thought she was his savior. If the benefactor had been someone else, he would have wanted to marry that person. With a single sentence, he nearly erased their two-year bond.
After speaking, he glanced at Su Niao with a silent sneer, waiting for her to flare up, to quarrel, to storm away in pride. That proud little peacock surely could not swallow such humiliation—he wanted to see her regret.
But to his surprise, Su Niao showed no anger at all. Instead, she looked relieved, then feigned courtesy: “Since fate does not bind me to Your Highness, I sincerely wish you joy and a happy marriage.”
Xie Qinglan: …
At the head of the hall, Noble Consort Rong sighed. “So be it. Today let us treat this as a reunion in the palace, and speak no more of other matters. What say you, Ruyu?”
Noble Consort Rong and Liu Ruyu were close friends. Knowing the marriage had changed course, and that her own daughter was at fault, Liu Ruyu readily agreed. She shot her younger daughter a sharp look: “We’ll settle this at home.”
Su Niao lowered her eyes. She knew that after today, such warmth and intimacy would never appear on her mother’s face again.
As the marriage seemed about to be dissolved, Xie Qinglan’s expression tightened. He wanted to speak, but seeing Su Niao’s calm demeanor, he swallowed his words. Why did he always have to be the one to yield? He had already explained that the pearl was given away casually, yet she refused to believe him, forcing matters to this point. Better to choose the gentle Su Xuan than endure endless quarrels after marriage. Su Niao would regret it in time.
Just then, a eunuch announced the arrival of Emperor Jia Heng, with Duke Su Xun waiting outside.
“I heard Madam has not yet returned home, so Minister Su came to escort his wife and daughters back. My dear consort, why do you still linger in conversation?”
The emperor entered cheerfully, pale-faced but in good spirits. Noble Consort Rong hurried forward with the others to greet him. According to the original plan, she would have mentioned Su Niao’s childhood bond with the prince, and the emperor would have sealed the marriage. But now, with matters changed, she held her tongue, and Liu Ruyu wisely withdrew.
Everything proceeded smoothly, without disturbance—until a sudden voice, trembling with tears, rang out beyond the hall doors: “Your Majesty, Noble Consort, this humble daughter Su Xuan has a matter to report.”
At once, the faces within the hall shifted.
Su Niao lowered her eyes, lips curling faintly. She had already revealed the truth earlier, telling the emperor and the noble consort that Su Xuan had claimed she wished to yield. If she had said she would yield, then exposing the truth now would do no harm—there was no formal betrothal yet. When her scheming sister realized this, Su Niao wondered what expression she would wear.