According to the original owner’s memories:
The aristocratic circles of the Imperial City basically all knew—
The current Emperor Taiyong was a general by origin, the God of War known to every civil and military official in the Shangyi Kingdom!
He was naturally capricious, irritable, aloof, and defiant. His methods were ruthless, and he was notoriously cruel and merciless. He prioritized results above all else, caring nothing for schemes or the risk of being cursed by history.
He was opinionated, tyrannical, and overbearing.
If anyone dared to cross him or make him feel slighted, the Emperor would make sure they paid the price.
At best, blood would be spilled; at worst, if they managed to keep their lives, it was considered a stroke of immense luck.
He was, through and through, a total “Great Tyrant”!
Despite having such a tyrant for a husband-to-be, the original owner had gritted her teeth and entered the palace for the selection. Aside from her desire to defy her primary mother’s intent to marry her off as a second wife to a thirty-year-old widower of the imperial clan, there was another reason:
“Only by having my placard kept and becoming a consort in the harem will I have the confidence to ensure my mother’s future health and prosperity, and protect my young brother so he can grow up safely!”
“I can no longer remain obscure and helpless, watching that old hag harm my mother and brother while I can do nothing!”
Fu Lingxi slumped on the bed and sighed silently, seriously summarizing one key point:
Madam Qi, the wife of the Duke of Jingwei, naturally loathed Madam Chu with a passion.
She hated the house and everything in it!
Just think—the existence of Madam Chu and her daughter, and their entry into the manor, had not only ruined Madam Qi’s reputation for being virtuous and generous, but Madam Chu also had the means to capture the heart of the Duke, who was usually cold and disliked entering the inner quarters. He had repeatedly broken rules to show her favor.
Was this not like stabbing thorns into Madam Qi’s heart?
How could Madam Qi not hate? How could she not be jealous?
The more favored Madam Chu was, the more Madam Qi’s dignity as the primary wife was trampled upon!
Whether it was for her dignity, her husband, or her own biological children, it was impossible for Madam Qi not to fight back!
The original owner, whose soul had now vanished, was merely a piece of “cannon fodder” caught in the struggle between these two women.
As for the fact that this situation benefited the original female lead, Ruan Zhenjun—well, that was just a win-win situation. Ruan Zhenjun wasn’t stupid; why wouldn’t she add fuel to the fire?
After all, she had transmigrated into an old-school palace intrigue and child-bearing novel!
Fu Lingxi carefully touched the back of her aching head and complained internally:
“You can’t choose your birth! The original owner was truly miserable.”
“Clearly, the girl worked so hard to improve herself, and in the end, she still died…”
It was truly frustrating!
Since childhood, the original owner had hoped for just a little bit of fatherly love.
Unfortunately, her biological father was a total scumbag!
He was truly blind, giving all his fatherly love to those high-level “green tea” pieces of trash!
Having finally reached the age of fifteen, the original owner had entered the palace selection to save herself.
Throughout the process, she had been cautious and meticulous, successfully passing the preliminary screening and the second round of reviews.
Who could have known that during today’s final round of selection, Empress Dowager Que would bring along Noble Consort Qi and the First Princess to observe…
And they had run straight into the Emperor!
That was asking for trouble.
Who among the nobility in the Imperial City didn’t know that His Majesty disliked his primary mother, Empress Dowager Que, intensely?
They could barely even maintain basic civility!
It was only due to the imperial laws and etiquette that Emperor Taiyong adopted an attitude of ignoring Empress Dowager Que.
He treated her like a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue placed in the harem.
Seeing Empress Dowager Que forcing Empress Dowager Yi to come along, Emperor Taiyong swept a moody gaze across the main hall. After a two-second silence, he had no choice but to offer a perfunctory and distant greeting to his primary mother. He then personally supported his biological mother to her seat at the head of the hall before sitting down beside her.
As for Empress Dowager Que, who had been treated with such rude negligence, she simply nodded with a smile as if nothing were wrong and sat firmly on the other side of the Emperor.
Noble Consort Qi and the First Princess, who had also been ignored by the Emperor, reacted differently: one gave an awkward smile, while the other tilted her innocent little head and cutely greeted her Imperial Father.
The First Princess, Her Highness Tong Huan, fared better; the Emperor at least gave her a slight nod.
Noble Consort Qi, however, was left standing awkwardly in a half-bow. Just as she was caught in that embarrassing position, Empress Dowager Que smiled kindly and said, “Noble Consort, you may rise,” giving her a way out.
Immediately, Noble Consort Qi scurried behind Empress Dowager Que and sat there with a forced smile, not daring to utter another word.
Noble Consort Qi gritted her teeth and lowered her head.
She knew she had long ago incurred the Emperor’s disgust and was deeply loathed by him. Even Empress Dowager Yi disliked her, her son’s original wife…
All because during her three years as the Princess of Li, she had failed to produce an heir!
If not for that, given her status as the original wife from the Emperor’s time in the Li Manor, she wouldn’t have been denied even the title of Imperial Noble Consort, let alone the position of “Empress,” the master of the harem.
Now, she only hoped that the Emperor would show some lingering affection for their past marriage and give her a chance: to let her cousin, Miss Sun, enter the palace so she could “borrow a womb” to have a child.
Fortunately, the candidates were still waiting outside the hall; otherwise, Noble Consort Qi would have died of shame and indignation!
Although the First Princess was young, she was clever and had very sharp senses.
The elders clearly all had bad moods, and their faces were tinged with displeasure.
Even though the First Princess was born prematurely, she had grown up in the palace and, under the subtle hints of her wet nurse, understood the principle of self-preservation.
Knowing she couldn’t win, she decided to hide!
Using the excuse that Chuxiu Palace was connected to Yilian Lake, where the lotuses were beautiful and the garden was in full bloom with butterflies fluttering about, the First Princess pretended she wanted to play. She took the opportunity to leave the high platform of the main hall and went outside to pick flowers and catch butterflies.
Then, the accident happened.
While playing, before even an hour had passed, there was a “plop.” The little girl, barely over six years old, accidentally fell into Yilian Lake.
She sank into the water without even being able to cry out for help.
As everyone knew, Emperor Taiyong struggled to produce heirs. From his marriage at age twenty until now, eight years had passed, and he still only had two daughters.
The Emperor simply had no interest in women!
It was no wonder that Empress Dowager Yi, who usually didn’t interfere with the harem, was also anxious!
Following the officials’ requests, she had teamed up with the previously discordant Empress Dowager Que to hold the first imperial selection of the Taiyong era in the names of both Empresses Dowager.
Seeing that the Emperor was being perfunctory about the selection, she ignored his dislike and came to Chuxiu Palace with Empress Dowager Que to participate in the final selection of candidates!
That aside, the original owner had initially only wanted to ensure her placard was kept during the final selection!
To earn this merit, the original owner had risked her life and jumped into Yilian Lake to save the First Princess!
While all the other candidates and palace maids stood frozen, she had jumped into the lake without hesitation and pushed the First Princess toward the shore. She hadn’t expected Candidate Wen—
“Oh, Candidate Wen, the beauty in palace attire who was just hacked to death by the Emperor!”
“Ugh, this Wen Congwu was actually the concubine-born daughter of the original owner’s primary mother’s half-sister!”
At the selection site, most people’s attention was on the main hall.
Seeing the original owner push the First Princess to the shore, the wet nurse, Madam Fang, immediately rushed over to scoop up the princess and run off. The surrounding palace maids also anxiously and chaotically swarmed around the unconscious princess.
No one noticed that Fu Lingxi was still struggling in the lake!
Wen Congwu immediately collaborated with those around her. Taking advantage of the fact that her companions were blocking the view from behind, she used a bamboo pole to strike and push down the exhausted original owner, driving her deep into the lake!
Inside the main hall of Chuxiu Palace, the Emperor, having sharp ears and eyes, heard the commotion and the scattered screams from Yilian Lake. He immediately halted the selection and used his movement techniques to rush over, naturally catching Wen Congwu in the act of her murderous deed!
“Right, in the original story, the original owner had already stopped breathing and sunk to the bottom of the lake at this point, so no one discovered the malicious actions of Wen and the others…”
The original owner had already been exhausted from the rescue. After being struck into the lake by Wen Congwu, she lost her breath, swallowed a large amount of water, and sank to the bottom. Later, startled by the Emperor’s actions, the palace maids who could swim finally jumped in to save Candidate Fu.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The original owner’s breath had already ceased, and Fu Lingxi’s soul had taken over in rebirth…
In the original story, the original owner was destined to die.
This was why the first thing Fu Lingxi saw upon opening her eyes was the Emperor’s brutal and murderous behavior!
“…”
At the thought of the spray of blood she saw before fainting, Fu Lingxi’s body instinctively shuddered.
“Ugh, I really shouldn’t have listened to Grandpa Clan Leader’s coaxing and become a pure cultivator!”