I’m trying to keep things neat and minimize the display of side content. So far I’ve got the footnotes and comments out of the way by putting them in a drop down. They only come out if you actively click on them. From now on any minor notes or thoughts I have on the story will also be placed under the comments section. I used to put them up here but I think the only content I’ll leave here from now on will be the credits, date of posting and maybe a summary if it’s been a while since the last update. I’m leaving the credits in the hopes it will stick when it gets posted on aggregator sites - sometimes it shows up, sometimes it doesn’t. As for the date... as a reader seeing the date just makes me feel better. Yeah I know it’s odd but I design the site based on my own reading preferences and those are my preferences, while the summary will be for those who just need a quick memory jog. I may put in a link to the comments section too... not sure yet. For those who comment: does it make it more convenient to navigate after submitting a comment? I don't intend to use AJAX so live comment updates won't happen. Links are the best I've got.

Of course none of this matters if you are using Internet Explorer as it doesn’t support the “details” and “summary” tags. I’m sorry I don’t use IE so I’m not coding for it. For you guys everything is just one long list of text. But hey! At least there’s a [close panel] link at the bottom of each panel, so you can close at the bottom instead of having to scroll back to the chapter t.i.tle.

Oh yeah, there is also an RSS feed link. It’s at the top of the page in blue. Whenever I ran the script through the RSS validator it gave me a s.h.i.+t load of errors. It seems to work though and shows up fine on Feedly and on Firefox so I’m not sure what impact the errors have on the functionality. If you guys run into errors let me know. I’ll try to figure it out, but I think it should work.

And also for those that haven’t noticed there is a Google Docs version of each story. The link is below at the very bottom of the page. So if you just want the story without notes or if you use a screen reader, try that out instead.

Let me know if you guys have any site improvement suggestions. I may not neccessarily act on it but I’ll make a note of it.

That’s all. Thanks for bearing with me and reading through all this. As compensation I'll try to get a few extra chapters out in August.

[Translator/Editor: otwentyfirst]

[Host: justreads.net]

[August 3, 2018]

The Eldest Imperial Princess Chu s.h.i.+yu was the daughter of Lord Chen Gui, who in turn was Chenyun Shu’s maternal nephew. Chenyun Shu was Xiao Yurong’s father so it made Chu s.h.i.+yu and Xiao Wan once removed cousins. The Chen House and the Xiao House had always had good relations with each other. Therefore it was no surprise to anyone when the Xiao House, through Xiao Yurong as a representative, formally expressed their support of her when she gained the t.i.tle of Crown Princess.

In her previous life Xiao Wan and Chu s.h.i.+yu had had an OK relations.h.i.+p. It wasn’t until Chu s.h.i.+yu became Crown Princess and took up nearly all of Xiao Yurong’s attention that Xiao Wan became jealous causing the cousin’s relations.h.i.+p to sour. She felt that Chu s.h.i.+yu was too serious and proper and was using her status to pressure other people. Chu s.h.i.+yu even got Xiao Yurong to scold Xiao Wan. At that point Xiao Wan viewed Chu s.h.i.+yu as an annoying busybody and only felt animosity towards her.

However after having experienced all the sorrow and pain from her previous life, Xiao Wan’s feelings towards this older cousin of hers changed. Seeing that bright smile on Chu s.h.i.+yu’s face made Xiao Wan feel a deep sense of guilt and shame and her heart became uneasy.

If not for her, if not for the Xiao House, then Chu Muqing would probably have not been able to frame Chu s.h.i.+yu. She would not have been stripped of her t.i.tle and sent to the Imperial Prison. I have to find an opportunity to warn her about that treacherous Chu Muqing s.l.u.t! 　　

Chu s.h.i.+yu saw Xiao Wan’s eyes darting around like she was looking for an escape route. Chu s.h.i.+yu was a clever girl and realized that her cousin had to be bitter about something. It was a misunderstanding though! She definitely had not ratted Xiao Wan out to Xiao Yurong... recently.

The guidance and care Xiao Yurong had given Chu s.h.i.+yu had deeply influenced how she felt about Xiao Wan. Unlike the loathing Xiao Wan felt for Chu s.h.i.+yu, Chu s.h.i.+yu actually wanted to look after Xiao Wan and treat that spoiled cousin of hers well.

She knew Xiao Yurong dedicated her life to serving the nation and the people, reducing the time she could spend with her children. Inevitably Xiao Wan grew up without the attentions of a mother or father. This resulted in Xiao Wan being spoiled with material things and becoming more rebellious as she got older. 　　

Chu s.h.i.+yu had been under Xiao Yurong’s care since she was a child.[--] Because of this she felt that it was her responsibility to look after her cousin.

So when she saw her cousin going into the capital and making friends with people of questionable character, she couldn’t help but remind Xiao Wan to be careful - although it came out more as a lecture then as advice. She warned Xiao Wan these types of friends.h.i.+ps were shallow and could not to be relied upon. Xiao Wan would silently listen to her but it was clear she didn’t really understand. It seemed like this cousin of hers just enjoyed playing in the city and taking liberties with beautiful men, stirring up trouble wherever she went, leaving others to deal with the aftermath so she wouldn’t be bothered by it and bring trouble to the Xiao House’s front gates.[--]

It wasn’t until Xiao Wan met Ji Shumo that she curtailed her philandering. It seemed love had found a way. The always solemn and earnest Xiao Yurong[--] displayed a rare genuine smile that day. In fact, of the guests there her wishes and congratulations were the most sincere.

Standing beside Chu s.h.i.+yu was a tall woman in elegant dark clothing. Her hair was piled high atop her head and her facial features were bold and stern, giving off a strong and unyielding courageous air, as though she was a soldier coming off the battlefield. It was quite a contrast when compared to Chu s.h.i.+yu’s gentle scholarly air. This person was in fact the Second Imperial Princess Chu Morong the daughter of Feng Hou.

Lord Chen Gui giving birth to a daughter changed Feng Hou’s blood lineage.[--] Chu Morong had no choice but to give up her spot as the Crown Princess,[--] narrowly missing a great opportunity. Chu Morong didn’t particular care about it, but her father was a brooding soul who tended to worry a lot and he had really wanted Chu Morong to ascend the throne. 　

As a result of this the two had been secretly competing with each other. So long as they didn’t overstep their bounds the Empress turned a blind eye to their shenanigans. She didn’t seem to favor one over the other in choosing an heir designate.

The two didn’t normally cross paths because Chu Morong was stationed at the borders and only returned to the capital a few months out of the year. She spent her spare time either studying military law and tactics or training her body in martial arts. She was quite unlike Xiao Wan who whiled away her idle time by spending money frivolously and carousing all over the place eating and drinking with scoundrels.

It truly was an example of “people with different desires followed different paths.”[--] The rumors Chu Morong heard about Xiao Wan were not complimentary. Her image of Xiao Wan was one of a rich spoiled hedonistic person who only knew how to take and demand. To someone like Chu Morong who believed that a woman should defend her home and should strive to always better herself, someone like Xiao Wan who only damaged her own House’s reputation by being extravagant was someone she looked disdainfully upon.

The only reason she was here at Xiao Wan’s wedding ceremony at all was because her father wouldn’t stop nagging her about it, incessantly warning her to behave appropriately and cozy up to Xiao Wan. Basically he was hoping to gain the support of the Xiao House through Xiao Wan. Ay… this kind of thing… making friends with such a hedonistic fool… I’d rather go to h.e.l.l!

Chu Morong groaned inwardly while trying to stretch her face out into a smile. She cupped her hands and said, “Salutations Miss Xiao, I wish Miss Xiao and her young husband an enduring and lifelong love.”

The perfunctory praise and false flattery was incredibly obvious. However Xiao Wan’s heart filled with guilt when she remembered how she had caused the death of this Second Imperial Princess. Because of this her reaction to the Princess’ tone was polite, “Second Imperial Princess, thank you for joining this ordinary woman in her wedding celebration. Please --”

Xiao Wan stretched her hands out in a welcoming gesture filled with respect and courtesy. The two Imperial Princesses were rather startled by this kind of reaction from Xiao Wan. This elegant and magnanimous att.i.tude was so unlike the Xiao Wan they knew...could marrying change a person’s temperament that much?

The young girl beside them, Chu Morong flashed a pout before saying in a mischievous tone, “Hey! Miss Wan[--] you greet two elder sisters and go so far as to clasp hands but you don’t even say h.e.l.lo to your good friend? I even prepared a great gift.”

The trees cast a shadow on Xiao Wan’s face making it appear unusually pale. Her fingers became stiff and awkward and an intense hatred twisted up from her gut. She hid her fingers in the sleeves of her red robe and clenched them firmly in order to suppress the hatred from erupting.

Indeed it was a huge gift I really want to return to you you b.i.t.c.h!

Xiao Wan breathed deeply a few times through her mouth while looking at Chu Muqing’s smiling face. She was deeply impressed. 　

“Miss Qing[--], how could I forget you? You’ve helped me a lot over the years, giving me all kinds of ideas to win over Shumo!” Xiao Wan, while holding her murderous urges in check, stepped closer to Chu Muqing and cheerfully patted her on the shoulders. She did it all while maintaining a brilliant smile on her face. “This type of kindness, I’d never forget even if I died. What kind of gift did you prepare I wonder?! Indeed! You truly are my biggest supporter!”

Xiao Wan and Chu Muqing first met about a year and a half ago while playing in the city. They hit it off right away and became fast friends. Chu Muqing was born from an unimportant father and had never received any care or attention from the Empress. She didn’t seem interested in the politics of the royal palace and pa.s.sed her days being an idle loafer. Looks were deceiving though, for although Chu Muqing had an innocent and sweet face her heart was corrupted long ago. She had survived as a child because of her ability to read people’s expressions, and at that moment she could tell that Xiao Wan’s expression was off. Her heart sped up and she became uneasy. But then Xiao Wan patted her on the shoulders like she usually did, treating her as a good sister. With a calmed heart she said, “Good! Then Miss Wan will treat me to drinks till I get totally smashed!”

A burst of firecrackers went off in front of the gates as the two of them were chatting. The loud pitapita sounds caused the birds to cry out and fly off in surprise while the crowd in front came to life. Xiao Wan looked up and saw the top of a festively decorated sedan chair coming forward.

The matchmaker,[--] noticing that Xiao Wan had yet to make a move towards it, walked over to her and urged her, “Miss Xiao, the sedan chair is here! Kick it open to invite your husband inside!” He spoke with a face beaming with pleasure.

In the previous life Xiao Wan hadn’t even waited for the matchmaker to speak. She had been so excited she had rushed out ahead to pick up Ji Shumo, wanting to proclaim to the entire world that Ji Shumo was hers.

But now she was really conflicted!

Originally she wanted to make him lose face by not greeting him at all and leave him hanging in the sedan. The shame would definitely follow him all the way to the capital. But the amount of officials and influential people at the ceremony was no small number. It wouldn’t just be Ji Shumo who would lose face, she would too! She already had a reputation for being a spoiled good for nothing. She would surely get the added reputation of “that sc.u.m woman who abandoned her husband at the gates.” Her mother wouldn’t be able to lift her head in public and the Xiao House’s reputation would also plummet. Now that her head had cooled she realized she had to be careful and not act rashly.