“Speak! Who is the mastermind behind your assassination attempt on this prince?!”
The moment Shen Wan opened her eyes, someone pressed her arm down hard, and with a smack, her face hit the floor.
Hiss, that hurt! Had her afternoon nap scrambled her brain?
But the pain wracking her body and those painfully familiar lines stirred up a terrifying suspicion in her heart.
There was no way she was this unlucky—transmigrated into the cannon fodder from the novel she’d been reading recently, right?
The original Shen Wan was an assassin who had lurked in the Regent’s manor since childhood. Thanks to years of effort, at sixteen she was finally assigned to the Regent, Pei Changli, as his chamber maid. On the very night their marriage was to be consummated, she was to assassinate Pei Changli.
But her assassination failed. Pei Changli had her cut by a thousand blades and tortured for a confession, and she ultimately died in agony in the water dungeon.
Perhaps because they shared the same name, Shen Wan still clearly remembered how the original novel described that scene.
The cold blade pressed against her thigh, slicing off layers of flesh as if paring mud, the shorn pieces piling into a small mound beside her. Blood flowed in streams, and gleaming white bone was already showing through.
Pei Changli only callously sprinkled a handful of salt on top, his long eyes brimming with bloodthirsty killing intent.
“Still won’t talk?”
Shen Wan’s agonized screams nearly lifted the roof off the entire Regent’s manor. Cold sweat soaked through her thin shirt, yet she still gritted her teeth and spoke with difficulty through a mouthful of blood.
“The Regent is debauched and tyrannical, tormenting the common people. If I cannot kill you, someone else surely will!”
That scream seemed to travel through time and space into Shen Wan’s mind, and those cold, bloodthirsty eyes before her made her shudder violently.
No, no, no—the original owner had backbone, but she didn’t!
But who was the mastermind??
“I—I—I don’t know!” Shen Wan wanted to cry but had no tears.
Slender fingertips seized her chin viciously, a cold blade pressed to her neck, drawing a thin line of blood. “Say ‘I don’t know’ one more time, if you dare.”
Savage fury burned in Pei Changli’s eyes. Shen Wan’s neck throbbed with pain, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. She was genuinely about to cry—the world went dark before her eyes, and her entire life turned black.
Good heavens, being a nine-to-six office drone was already hard enough—why did she have to be served a special-bloodied Americano instead!
[Ding! Save-Load System activated.]
[Please choose whether to load a save.]
A voice suddenly rang out in her mind, and a progress bar appeared at the same time. Before Shen Wan could even think it through, her hand had already swiped up.
[Detected that the current account is a new-user account with no custom Save Points. Automatically loading save to return to the initial point in time.]
The scene before her eyes sped backward like a zoetrope.
“How dare you, assassin! You dare attempt to assassinate this prince?!”
A sharp pain shot through Shen Wan’s wrist. She spat out a mouthful of blood with a “wa” and was sent flying backward.
Pain—so painful. She thought she understood what this Save-Load System was now: the essential golden finger for anyone transmigrated into a book!
But big brother, couldn’t you rewind the timeline a bit further?! She didn’t want to carry the fatal crime of assassination!
Shen Wan cried out in pain, “I’ve been wronged! I really didn’t want to assassinate you!”
“Still denying it? Guards! Drag her away!” Pei Changli roared.
No, no, no—quick, load the save, load the save!
“How dare you, assassin, attempt to assassinate this prince!”
The familiar pain came again, and Shen Wan was on the verge of tears. “My lord, won’t you really hear me out and let me defend myself?”
Pei Changli sneered. “This prince never listens to the sophistry of the useless. Guards, drag her away!”
Drag her away, drag her away—couldn’t she get one chance? Quick, load the save, load the save.
“How dare you, assassin—”
“How dare you, ass—”
“How dare you…”
Repeating it over and over again, Pei Changli couldn’t suppress the violence in his eyes. Red bloodshot threads filled his dark pupils, the veins on his forehead throbbed violently, and his head ached as if it were about to explode.
It was as if he’d been struck by some Demonic Art. That damned assassin had clearly already crashed to the ground, yet the next moment she was being thrown out again by him—over and over.
Strangely, everyone around seemed completely unaware.
Who was secretly casting Demonic Arts?
His hawk-like eyes suddenly locked onto Shen Wan’s face. His slender fingers clamped around her throat, his gaze fixed dead on her, his voice as cold and venomous as a serpent.
“It’s you?”
But Shen Wan assumed he was talking about the person being assassinated—her. Every time he loaded a save, she crashed to the ground once more.
In her past life, sure, she’d been an office worker, but she’d never suffered this kind of physical pain! After being thrown dozens of times, her whole body felt like it was falling apart, and she was trembling so hard her lips chattered.
Fine. Just fine. Throwing me dozens of times? This lousy book, this lousy chamber-maid role—I quit!
She spat fiercely at Pei Changli, her face flushed red as she cursed him out.
“You damned villain, if you’re sick then go get treated! All that’s in your head is killing, killing, killing. A donkey does nothing all day except kick your skull—don’t you know you’re a dung beetle in office, your stench known far and wide? Someone assassinating you is practically ridding the world of a pest, and I’d applaud with all my might. Go to hell!”
Warm spittle splattered onto Pei Changli’s face. He closed his eyes, the veins on his hand throbbing along with it.
Very good. Pei Changli’s knuckles tightened.
The next moment.
“‘Touching scene’—the only two words that fit you are ‘beast’!” Shen Wan crashed to the ground, glaring at him furiously.
Pei Changli’s breathing grew heavy, his lips trembling with rage.
Confirmed. It was this demoness who dared to cast Demonic Arts on him.
With a swift shing, he drew his long sword, its tip pointed straight at Shen Wan’s throat: “Demoness…”
The next moment, Shen Wan crashed to the ground again: “A tiger fallen on hard times gets bullied by dogs, you dog of a thing! You stick two chicken feathers on a bat and really think you’re a bird?”
Pei Changli drew his sword to stab her.
“Now I see it clearly—of all the weapons out there, the only one you’ve mastered is being a jerk!”
Shen Wan crashed to the ground yet again.
This time there was no cursing. Shen Wan had cursed herself hoarse, utterly dead inside. She just lay peacefully where she’d fallen.
Amen. If the save couldn’t be loaded back, at least let her rest.
Pei Changli didn’t even draw his sword back. Expressionless, his heart pounding madly, he waited for the inevitable stream of curses.
But one second. Two seconds.
The woman sprawled on the ground didn’t even lift an eyelid.
Pei Changli’s face grew darker and darker, and without warning, he knocked over the weapon rack beside him.
Dammit!
The guards nearby all dropped to their knees with a thud, breaking out in cold sweat, feeling that the Regent was growing ever more unpredictable today.
The assassin had already been caught—what was he throwing a tantrum about now?
“Throw this worthless sword away for me!” Pei Changli’s voice was sinister as he strode forward two steps and roughly seized Shen Wan’s shoulder.
“Go on then, make your excuses. I’m listening. Plead well, and I may spare your life.”
A sharp pain shot through her shoulder. Shen Wan stared blankly at the handsome face looming before her.
Listening?
This black-hearted bastard was willing to hear her out?
Shen Wan immediately grabbed his hand with practiced smoothness, her eyes brimming with deep affection, nonsense spilling right out: “My lord, I… I’m actually deeply in love with you…”
However, the next moment, pain shot clearly through her neck, warm blood gushing out, and she felt a sudden chill in her throat.
That damned beast, actually launching a sneak attack while she wasn’t paying attention!
Load a save, ahhh!
[Newbie bonus: one advanced Load granted. This Load allows you to return to any point in time before your initial Save Point. Please choose whether to load.]
Return to before she was captured? That would be perfect!
Whatever it was, load the save first—!
The world spun around her, and the blurry voices in her ears gradually became clear.
“Xiao Wan, would you be willing to become the Prince’s chamber maid?”