Chapter 1
Xiao Chuchu woke up and was stunned.
She discovered that her hands and feet were all tied up, wrapped tightly in a yellow cloth bag.
Her head simply could not be raised, she could only glare at the hibiscus flower canopy over her head.
As soon as she opened her mouth, a wailing cry emerged from her body, "Wahhh!"
Xiao Chuchu was scared out of her wits.
Where on earth had she transmigrated to?
Just as she was thinking, someone walked over and picked her up.
"Yes, the young miss has woken up."
Xiao Chuchu struggled uncomfortably.
But as soon as she was picked up, she saw the room's antique decorations, the pear wood desk, the bed... they were all made to look old, like antiques. If they were placed in modern times, they would be worth a lot of money.
"This slave will first serve the young miss water to drink."
Young miss?
Had she heard wrong?
Xiao Chuchu did not expect that she had transmigrated into ancient times and become a princess.
Before she transmigrated, she loved to read novels about the fight for power in the imperial palace.
She especially loved female protagonists who could defeat scheming concubines in the imperial harem, uncover plots and false accusations, and train the dog emperor to become a loyal dog who doted on the beauty of the six palaces.
Just as she was thinking this, Xiao Chuchu looked around the room.
The desk and chairs in the center of the room were obviously 50-60% worn, with some of the vermilion lacquer missing from the desktop, and the legs of the table had a chipped notch.
On the right side near the window was an imperial concubine's long couch, covered by a half-new brocade quilt.
Other than that, in this cold winter month, there was not even a blue and white vase with winter plum blossom branches in the room...it was empty.
If this room was placed in modern times, one could say there were some valuable antique wooden furniture, but placed in a novel about fighting for power in the imperial palace, this was clearly a sign of an unfavored status!
Could it be, could it be that she had transmigrated as an unfavored young miss?
After Xiao Chuchu drank the water, she was carried by the wet nurse to a gentle beauty in a half-new sky-blue satin gown.
This beauty had specially taken off her gold ring and washed her hands clean in the water basin beside her before going to greet her.
"Chuchu, mommy will carry you."
This young miss was also called Chuchu?
Was this her mother?
Xiao Chuchu blinked.
Looking at this beauty's clothes and jewelry, they were half-worn, so she probably did not have a high status.
Moreover, it seemed like someone had called her "Lower Concubine"?
"Yes" was the lowest ranking concubine in the imperial harem.
In many novels, even if the female lead was a low-ranking concubine, she could still eat and drink well with her monthly allowance.
But if she was only an "Lower Concubine" concubine, the monthly allowance would not even be enough for her own food and drink, let alone raising a milk-fed baby.
"Lady Lower Concubine, last night the young miss cried out once, was fed milk and went back to sleep."
The beauty responded, "Thank you for your hard work."
Her voice was clear and melodious, very gentle, as if a spring breeze that carried a hint of fragrance.
However, what she said next made Xiao Chuchu's heart jump out in fright.
"Lower Concubine, Consort Min is reciting sutra recently, do not carry the young miss to disturb her."
"The Gold Festival will be celebrated soon, and the palace has several happy events continuously, the Empress Dowager is returning to the palace first, followed by Noble Lady Fu Cha being honored. There will surely be grand celebrations held. Be careful these few days not to let the firecrackers scare the young miss."
The Empress Dowager.
Noble Lady Fu Cha.
Consort Min...
Xiao Chuchu felt her mind exploding.
This was precisely the novel "The Doomed Country's Noble Consort was the White Moonlight" that she had read before!
The female protagonist was Noble Lady Fu Cha of now, she would be established as Queen in the future by the leader of the Yuan State that would doom and destroy Chu State, and would receive the greatest favor despite her age.
And her, Xiao Chuchu and her whole family were just cannon fodder in this book.
Her father, the King of Chu, would be poisoned to death by Noble Lady Fu Cha after three years, and his edict would be changed to pass the throne to his third prince.
However, the third prince lacked ability, was suspicious and jealous.
Her own elder brother the fifth prince was exceptional in both civil and military skills, and loved by the people, but he was hated and feared by the new emperor, and eventually killed in suspicious circumstances at the borders.
Her maternal grandfather's whole family were all clean and loyal ministers, but were wrongly accused of six crimes and exiled a distance of three thousand li to their deaths.
Her mother Lower Concubine Liu was made to be the dead king's accompaniment in death by the female lead's edict.
All of Xiao Chuchu's family suffered a tragic death.
Moreover, they were just one of the victims. After the third prince ascended the throne, worried about being questioned for killing his father, he put to death countless loyal ministers. Most generals at the borders were imprisoned as well.
In less than ten years, the lives of the people deteriorated, and the borders were lost. The army of Yuan marched straight in unobstructed.
In the end, Chu Dynasty fell swiftly.
And the female lead that became the tragic empress dowager of the fallen nation, was recognized by the King of Yuan State as the Chang'e who had been promised to him since young, and the two started a shameless journey of strong conquest of the empress dowager literature, and finally attain happiness by being together.
Only the entire people of Chu Country suffered bitterly!
Only her family that became cannon fodder suffered bitterly!
Xiao Chuch recalled everything and her face turned ugly.
The Chu young miss that she had transmigrated into, having the same name as her, was just a cannon fodder character that was only mentioned in a line in the book - the young miss that died in infancy from catching a chill before she was even 1 year old!
Xiao Chuchu: "..."
Oh my god.
Her small face turned pale without a trace of blood color.
"Yes, Lady Lower Concubine, this slave will be careful to look after the young miss." The wet nurse lowered her head, but in her lowered face there was a trace of contempt that only Xiao Chuchu saw.
Xiao Chuchu took a deep breath.
【Ding, as the host loves novels about fights for power in the imperial palace, the system of fights for power in the imperial palace has been bound to the host successfully. 】
【Collect points for fights for power in the imperial palace, points can be exchanged for lucky draws.】
Fights for power in the imperial palace? Please, this was a falling country, what use would fights for power have!
But as Xiao Chuchu retorted in her mind, a lottery spinner appeared in front of her eyes quickly.
Inside were all sorts of rewards.
【The technique to dredge waterways, Art of War, formation of the Silk Road, whip reforms in taxation...】
【Unlocking the inner voice of the Yuan imperial family, unlocking the inner voice of Japanese pirates on the seas...】
Xiao Chuchu's eyes lit up.
It seemed like she could still have hope!
With the system, there was still a bit of future prospects.
Just as she was thinking this, her mother Lower Concubine Liu in front of her had already warmed her hands over a charcoal stove.
"Cough..." She coughed once.
The charcoal in the basin was obviously the lowest quality wood charcoal, with a strong smell of smoke.
Alas, her own mother was really a honest person that could not even use silver silk charcoal!
Xiao Chuchu saw Lower Concubine Liu turn and walk a few steps quickly to disperse the smoke, only then did she carefully take her swaddled form from the wet nurse's hands.
Looking closely to observe up front, Xiao Chuchu only realized what was real beauty without the aid of technology.
Lower Concubine Liu had standard goose egg face, skin fair like lard, lips as red as peaches, eyebrows green like a mountain. A pair of phoenix eyes were like a stretch of spring waters, reflecting the sunlight, the ripples as if countless stars. Just looking once would make one feel as if sinking within...
【Wow what a great beauty!】
【Novels simply cannot describe this!】
Lower Concubine Liu was gently hugging her daughter well, wanting to lower her head to look at her daughter's rosy pink and tender little face.
Suddenly, she heard a soft cute voice and was so shocked that she tightened her arms around her child and quickly looked up.
Who was speaking?
There was only her, the wet nurse and palace maid in the room.
But not one of them had opened their mouths!
【Is this the beauty that I can see? Ah, she takes my life when looking down, takes my heart when looking up!】
【My mother looks so naturally beautiful like a fairy, yet the emperor only let her be an 'Yes' concubine, the lowest rank. I don't understand!】
How could the emperor be mentioned? Walls have ears!
Lower Concubine Liu looked around anxiously.
Confirming there was no fourth person, she quickly looked at the wet nurse and palace maid beside her, only to see them with normal expressions, seemingly not having heard anything.
【What is mother looking at? Why doesn't she look at me?】
【Could it be that she is very disappointed that I'm a daughter and not an imperial prince, and does not like me?】
It was her daughter speaking?
Lower Concubine Liu was given a huge shock, and hurriedly lowered her head.
Then she saw her embraced infant daughter, soft and plump, face chubby. Her large eyes were round like grapes, clear and extremely clever, staring at her seriously.
Lower Concubine Liu felt her heart almost melting.
She simply could not be bothered by her daughter's strange voice, and immediately hugged Xiao Chuchu's soft little body tightly.
"Chuchu is mother's life. As long as Chuchu is healthy, mother is willing to do anything. Mother loves Chuchu the most."
Xiao Chuchu promptly narrowed her eyes in happiness, 【Rubbing intimacy with mother~ Such bliss~】
What did rubbing intimacy mean? This silly child.
Lower Concubine Liu hugged her daughter tightly, unwilling to let go.
But Xiao Chuchu quickly recalled her ending, and could not help but pout:【Alas, but in this novel, this young miss is supposed to die from illness before reaching one year old.】
Lower Concubine Liu who was hugging her daughter preciously like a treasure, instantly had her face turn ominous.
What?
Novels, did it mean storybooks?
[Mother was heartbroken due to the premature death of her child, and having caught a chill, she also developed a chronic illness. Even until the death of my father, the emperor who consumed alchemical elixirs, and the new emperor issued an edict commanding her to hang herself with a white silk scarf as a form of burial, she was never cured!]
Lower Concubine Liu felt as though she had fallen into an ice ravine, suddenly chilled throughout her body.
"My lady," the wet nurse stood in Lower Concubine Liu's simple, unadorned bedchamber and lowered her eyes, her voice interrupting the mother and daughter's thoughts.
"Today is the young miss's one-month celebration. In this old servant's hometown, mothers would sleep in the same bed as their babies on this day, which could suppress evil spirits and bless the child to grow up safe and sound from then on."
Lower Concubine Liu instantly returned to herself, forcing down the alarm welling up inside as she seized this lifeline. "Is that true?"
As long as her daughter didn't catch a chill and die prematurely, she was willing to do anything!
She already couldn't bear to be parted from her little one, often holding the young miss in her arms and personally feeding her at night.
"It was what this old servant's grandmother taught me," the wet nurse smiled with a nod. "And my children are all hale and hearty."
Color finally returned to Lower Concubine Liu's face. "Good, tonight my daughter will sleep with me. Wet nurse, you can rest in the outer room."
It didn't matter if a mother sleeping beside her child on the full moon could dispel evil spirits or if the mother would suffer torments from ghosts in the child's place, Lower Concubine Liu was willing.
She wished she could sacrifice herself to protect her daughter.
But as soon as she had finished speaking, the blood drained from Lower Concubine Liu's face again.
[Ah, letting my mother sleep with me on the full moon? This wet nurse is wicked!]
[I caught a chill and my mother became unhealthy after childbirth, all because on my full moon celebration that day my mother was persuaded to stay with me at night, and then the evil Nurse Wang deliberately opened the window in the middle of winter. Both my mother and I incurred lasting damage to our health from that frigid December night!]