Сhарtеr 1: Тhe Jinx
Сhаnсеllоr’s Manor.
Тоnight was Old Мadam Jiаng’s siхtiеth birthdау bаnquet.
Тhе еntirе Jiang residеnce was deсоratеd with lаntеrns аnd strеamеrs. Тhе front hall wаs fillеd with guests, сreating a livеly аnd bustling atmosphеre.
Yеt, a соurtyard оvergrown with weеds оutsidе а wall in the innеr rеsidеnсe remаined nеglectеd. Dilapidаted and dеsolate, it sееmеd as if it hаd bеen forgottеn.
Twо mаidservants аpprоaсhеd сarrуing food bоxes, grumbling disсоntеntedly: “On such a grand ocсаsion, we’re the unluсkу ones, having tо dеliver food to this jinx.”
“I really don’t understand. Since the Second Young Miss was sent to a temple for ten years, why bring her back to the Chancellor’s Manor? She’s not skilled in any of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, or painting—and her looks and bearing can’t compare to the Eldest Young Miss.”
The other maid curled her lip: “Who told her she’s the only legitimate daughter of our Chancellor’s Manor? Even though her mother committed that disgraceful affair…”
“It’s only because Concubine Zhou is kind-hearted. Even though she’s under house arrest, she doesn’t allow the Second Young Miss to go short of food. But this Second Young Miss eats more and more lately; one meal is almost enough for three people.”
After all, she grew up in a temple and never had much good food.
Eating so much rich meat and fish every day, who knows how fat she must have become.
The Second Young Miss was already plain-looking, dull, and timid. If her figure becomes obese and bloated, she’ll surely earn even more disgust from the Old Madam and the Master.
The two wore expressions of disdain. As they spoke, they reached the outside of the courtyard. They consciously fell silent, shoved the food box through a hole at the base of the courtyard wall, and left.
A figure stirred among the weeds.
Front Hall. Amid the banquet with clinking cups and flowing wine, Chancellor Jiang Bingrong and Old Madam Jiang beamed with joy, accepting congratulations from the guests.
Not far away, Concubine Zhou, dressed in a gown of woven gold and embroidered flowers, her hair elegantly coiled and adorned with pearls and jade, carried herself with the air of a proper wife.
A monitoring maid came to report that there was no movement from Plum Fragrance Courtyard, and that the Second Young Miss had again requested a large amount of food. Concubine Zhou’s eyes shifted.
At least this Jiang Chuji is behaving.
Under house arrest, she doesn’t dare show her face even at her own grandmother’s birthday banquet.
But now, even if she were allowed to appear at this banquet, she probably wouldn’t have the face to show herself. Nearly three months—who knows how repulsive the little girl must look by now.
Thinking this, Concubine Zhou glanced at her own daughter, who was basking in the Old Madam’s favor and glowing with radiance beside her, feeling quite pleased.
Plum Fragrance Courtyard.
Moonlight streamed down like silk, a gauzy night covering this quietest, most remote corner of the Chancellor’s Manor.
Inside the room, candlelight flickered. A young woman with a languid posture sat leisurely in a wooden bathtub.
A waterfall of jet-black hair cascaded over the edge of the tub, contrasting with the color of the water. Warm steam curled upward, intertwining with the faint, natural fragrance emanating from her body.
The exposed skin, nourished by the medicinal bath, grew increasingly delicate and smooth, like flawless white jade with a luminous sheen. Between her slender, jade-white fingers, she toyed with a small porcelain vial.
Yet, its contents would make anyone gasp.
It was a worm, the size of a grain of rice, wriggling inside.
The maidservant Fuling brought a food box from outside and spoke respectfully: “Young Miss, the people from the courtyard have delivered the meal.”
The young woman’s expression was indifferent: “Leave it there. First, come help me with my hair and makeup.”
Fuling immediately nodded. Moments later, the young woman stood up naked from the bathtub.
Her slender figure was as light as a willow, her posture graceful and soft, truly astonishing. Showing no trace of shyness, she dried herself and casually pulled on an undergarment from nearby.
Barefoot, she stepped out of the tub and sat before the dressing table, looking at her reflection in the bronze mirror.This was Jiang Chuji’s third month transmigrating into this book world. Three months ago, her agent had handed her a script, saying this story depicted the tragic life of an ancient woman destroyed by the feudal system.
The female lead, Jiang Chuji, was the legitimate daughter of the Chancellor’s Manor, yet her father favored concubines over his wife. At age five, her mother Chen Shi was framed by a concubine for adultery. The Chancellor’s Manor publicly claimed Chen Shi needed to recuperate from illness, but in reality, they sent her to be imprisoned in an old estate outside the city.
As for the female lead, the concubine hired a master who claimed her “heavenly calamity” fate would bring misfortune to the Chancellor’s Manor, persuading the Jiang family to send her to a temple. She wasn’t brought back until after her fifteenth-year coming-of-age ceremony.
Having been bullied for years, the female lead returned to the Chancellor’s Manor timid and insecure, disliked by both her father and grandmother. Not long after, she was falsely accused of stealing her grandmother’s bracelet and punished with three months of confinement.
However, on the very first day of her confinement, that Concubine Zhou secretly mixed a Western Region Gu Insect into her food. Once this Gu Worm entered the body, it would cause a drastic increase in appetite—the more one ate, the more one craved—eventually making the person bloated and obese as a pig.
On the day of the palace coming-of-age ceremony, the moment the female lead appeared, she became the laughingstock of the entire capital and the shame of the Jiang family.
Meanwhile, the Jiang family’s illegitimate daughter, Jiang Luowei, caught the Crown Prince’s eye with her outstanding beauty and became his concubine.
When Crown Prince Xiao Qian ascended the throne, Jiang Luowei rose to the prestigious position of Imperial Consort, enjoying boundless glory. With a single remark about “not wanting to part with her sister,” the female lead was summoned to the palace by Xiao Qian and given the highly ironic title of “Beauty.” In reality, Xiao Qian treated her as a plaything for his amusement. Her half-sister treated her like a foot-washing maid, humiliating her daily.
The female lead endured torment day after day. It wasn’t until that day at the hunting grounds when a black bear went berserk that Xiao Qian grabbed her and used her as a shield, finally leaving her to collapse in a pool of blood.
The female lead died, only to be wrapped in a straw mat and hastily buried. When news of her death spread outside the palace, no one cared. Only her mother, worn down to skin and bones from years of suffering, died of grief upon hearing the news.
Could this even be considered a female lead?
After reading the script, Jiang Chuji felt this was some screenwriter she had offended, deliberately writing such a script to torment her, with the female lead even sharing her name.
In her view, the female lead’s tragic ending wasn’t due to the destruction of the feudal system but because the screenwriter treated her as a tool to be deliberately tormented.
Having grown up in such a harsh environment, the female lead could never muster the courage to resist, nor did she have the means to do so. She could only be harmed, lacking even the ability to protect herself and her mother.
However, the moment she thought this, she transmigrated into this world, arriving on the very night the original host was falsely accused of stealing the bracelet and confined.
Under the shocked gaze of her maid, she narrowed her eyes, extended her chopsticks into the food, and searched until she found that tiny, barely noticeable wriggling worm.
Holding the worm up under the candlelight, she curled her lips coldly.
Even if the names were the same, they were completely different people.
She, Jiang Chuji, was born not knowing how to write the words “submission to adversity.” Those who wanted to harm her would only receive tenfold, a hundredfold retribution.
…
“Young Miss, let me help you comb your hair.”
Fuling stood behind Jiang Chuji, picking up the wooden comb from the table.
Seeing her young miss’s breathtaking beauty in the mirror, Fuling still couldn’t quite tell whether this was a dream or reality.
Fuling’s mother had been the Madame’s accompanying maid, and she herself had grown up by the young miss’s side, enduring ten years of hardship with her in the temple.
Returning to the Chancellor’s Manor, she had witnessed firsthand how unwelcome the young miss was by everyone in the Jiang family.Regarding the jade bracelet incident, the young lady herself had no idea how the bracelet ended up in her bedroom, yet she was confined without any explanation by the master. Unexpectedly, after crying herself to sleep that day and waking up, she seemed like a completely different person.
The next day, she had Fuling arrange for someone to take all her valuable belongings out of the estate to pawn them, using the money to buy a large quantity of medicinal herbs that Fuling didn’t even recognize.
From that day on, the young lady exercised for several hours every morning and evening without fail, rain or shine. As for the meals delivered from the kitchen, she only picked and chose what to eat each time. Additionally, she used the herbs to make various medicinal bath packets, facial masks, hair masks, hand masks, foot masks, and beauty-enhancing soups.
She meticulously and diligently cared for her body.
They had been confined in Plum Fragrance Courtyard for nearly three months.
The young lady now was almost unrecognizable compared to the one with rough skin, sallow complexion, and emaciated appearance from before. She was breathtakingly beautiful, like an ethereal fairy untouched by the mortal world.
If it were anyone else, they might not even recognize her as the young lady.
“Young lady, are you really going to defy the master’s orders and go out without permission?” Fuling asked with concern as she combed her hair.
“Today is Old Madam’s birthday banquet. I heard Concubine Zhou and the eldest young lady are dressed up to receive guests. The master and Old Madam probably… don’t want to see you.”
A mere concubine, yet she could appear in the main hall to show her face.
If it weren’t for what happened to the madam, Concubine Zhou wouldn’t have gained such status.
Jiang Chuji didn’t seem worried about this at all. She casually handed over the book in her hand and said, “Take a look. What does this book say?”