"Your Highness, she... last night she went to... the male entertainment house."
"And what kind of place is that?"
"It's... a male brothel..."
"That wretched girl!"
I am He Qiuer. In my past life, I was infatuated with Prince Ye Tianjin. I was used, hurt, and ultimately destroyed, dragging my entire family down with me.
In this life, I swear I will protect my family at all costs and fight the evil forces to the bitter end!
I was just thirteen when I was reborn. At that time, Ye Tianjin was not yet the Regent Prince.
That day, Ye Tianjin returned with He Zhen to celebrate my birthday. Perhaps coveting my beauty, he kept stealing glances at me, saying to He Zhen, "I truly envy you having a Meimei as fair as a snowball."
Heh. Just wait a couple more years—I'll show you how high I can rise.
The very next day, I begged my father to allow me to enter the imperial selection as a candidate.
I thought becoming Ye Tianjin's sister-in-law might change many things.
My father looked at me as if I were a fool.
Of course I knew the Emperor was about my father's age—and due to overwork, looked even twenty years older than my father.
But after my dramatic tantrums—crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide—my father finally rushed to get me into the palace for the selection just in time.
I was disqualified—given a flower to signal rejection—for "improper conduct" in front of the Emperor.
The illegitimate daughter of the Vice Minister of Rites was so ugly, yet even after falling down, she was still given a jade tablet. Could it be that the Emperor discovered the source of the foul smell at the selection was my own silent fart?
Heh. Should've eaten one less sugar-coated sweet potato at lunch.
Returning home from the palace, I began contemplating what to do next.
Ye Tianjin appeared at my doorstep again, holding a stick of candy hawthorn. Playing at chance encounters? I'm not falling for it this time, old man.
I performed a proper curtsy to him, then turned to my maid.
[Translator's Note (T/N):] The story begins with a classic rebirth trope. The protagonist, He Qiuer, is determined to change her tragic fate by avoiding the Prince who ruined her previous life.
* * *
"Your Highness is likely here to see He Zhen. Please show him to the main hall immediately."
After giving instructions, I retreated to my own courtyard, choosing to eat dinner in my room. Anyone watching might have thought I was devastated over failing to marry the old Emperor, but in truth, I was simply avoiding Ye Tianjin, who would likely find some excuse to stay for the meal.
I don't know why, but I have memories of my past life—fragmented and scattered, like broken shards of a mirror.
In my previous life, during the latter half of my thirteenth year, the Emperor passed away. No one expected the thirty-something ruler to die so young. Perhaps wearing the dragon robes is truly an exhausting burden.
Shortly after, the imperial edict was issued: the eight-year-old Crown Prince ascended the throne, and Ye Tianjin—the only Prince of the Blood—was appointed Regent Prince to assist the young Emperor. This move balanced the imperial power against the growing influence of the young Emperor's mother, Consort Xiao, and her family.
But ever since Ye Tianjin became the Regent Prince, he opposed my father at every turn.
When floods struck the south, my father proposed reducing taxes and opening the granaries to aid the starving victims. Ye Tianjin argued that the borders were unstable—taxes could not be reduced, and granaries could not be opened. When a severe drought hit the north, driving refugees toward the capital where they turned to banditry to survive, my father proposed suppressing the bandits to secure the peace. Ye Tianjin dismissed it as a minor issue, preferring a policy of conciliation to fill the army ranks.
My father aged ten years from the sheer frustration of dealing with him.
I hid in my room, sending my maid out several times to spy on the situation. I heard that Father had indeed kept the Prince for dinner. They chatted and laughed in the front hall, and later, the Prince and He Zhen whispered in the corridor for a moment before Ye Tianjin finally departed in his carriage.
Only then did I run out to the main hall. I poured tea for my father and massaged his shoulders, speaking with determination. "That Prince is truly wicked. While he hasn't become the Regent Prince yet, why don't we hire an assassin to kill him?"
My father looked at me with that same expression again—as if he were looking at a fool.
I thought perhaps I was being too blunt. So I rephrased it, trying to sound more sophisticated. "Let's hire an assassin to ensure he never sees tomorrow's sunrise."
The next day, Father summoned a physician. Publicly, he claimed it was to help tune Mother's health, but in reality, the doctor spent the entire afternoon taking my pulse.
The physician was baffled, humming and hawing for a long time before finally concluding there was nothing physically wrong with me. Then, he whispered to my mother that perhaps the problem wasn't medical—they might need to find a Taoist priest instead.
I was so angry I slammed the table.