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The height of summer in July. The sky was a vast wash of azure without a single wisp of cloud.
In the Xiang Manor, at the rear Courtyard of the Breeze Pavilion.
Dressed in a light, short cyan tunic for ease of movement, Gu Sui’an was squatting in a corner of the yard, tending to the winter melons she had planted. Beside her stood two maidservants: one fanning, the other weeding the patch of lush green vines.
Looking at this thriving little plot, Gu Sui’an felt an indescribable satisfaction. Before long, she would be able to eat them.
Heaven knew—she had been craving winter melons to the point of madness!
The so-called “winter melon” was none other than watermelon in modern terms.
Modern watermelons were crimson-fleshed, juicy, and sweet. In contrast, the ones in ancient times were bland, watery, even tinged with bitterness.
The small patch she had planted had been specially cultivated by her through her own methods.
Thinking about it, she had already been in this world for almost ten years, and even now she still felt somewhat dazed.
In her former life, she had been engaged in agricultural research. Just a moment before, she had been conducting a field survey in a remote ancient village. The next moment, after a flash of lightning, she had awakened in the Great Yong Dynasty as a newborn infant.
At that time, despair had overwhelmed her. What made her even more despondent was the discovery that this world belonged to a novel she had once read—a supposed “strong male, strong female” story, but in truth only a male-centered, old-fashioned, dog-blooded, and grotesque tale.
The male lead was the Great Yong Crown Prince, Li Chongyan, ambitious and power-hungry, with nothing in his heart but authority and the throne.
The female lead, Ruan Liuzheng, had been a corporate executive in the modern era, who by accident transmigrated into this world as the long-lost daughter of the Marquis of Jingyuan.
While suppressing bandits outside the capital, the Crown Prince had been injured and fainted, only to be rescued by the female lead.
People always said you should never pick up strange men from the roadside—at best you would end up heartbroken, at worst it would bring ruin to your whole family. Clearly, the female lead hadn’t read enough novels.
While the male lead was recuperating, Ruan Liuzheng was harassed by the son of the Prefect of Jizhou, who wanted to take her as a concubine.
Naturally, Ruan Liuzheng was unwilling. At that time, she had not yet been acknowledged by the Marquis’s household. Though her small business had begun to see some success, in a world where the hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant prevailed, merchants ranked at the bottom. In this ancient society where commoners had little to no rights, it was impossible for her to resist the power of officials and nobles. Thus, she planned to escape Jizhou.
In order to repay her kindness, the male lead uncovered her true identity and personally brought her back to the capital to recognize her ancestors and return to her family. As luck would have it, that family’s surname was also Ruan—so she did not even need to change her name.
Afterward, in the capital, the female lead advanced step by step, defeating one malicious male or female supporting character after another.
Her unique character and extraordinary bearing soon attracted the admiration of the city’s young noblemen, who revered her like a goddess.
She even used her modern knowledge in countless ways to aid the male lead—helping him in the early stage to contend for the throne, and later assisting him in unifying the realm.
If the story had ended there, it would have been the perfect ending.
But in truth, the male lead Li Chongyan was nothing more than a deeply suspicious, top-tier, old-fashioned scoundrel.
In the early stages, he never truly trusted the female lead and ceaselessly used her.
After tormenting her for hundreds of chapters, the female lead finally decided to leave him in sorrow. Only then did the male lead realize her importance. After dozens more chapters of his desperate attempts to win her back, the story concluded with a so-called happy ending.
Gu Sui’an could only sigh: being obsessed with love was never in fashion.
Still, the female lead, though abused along the way, ultimately achieved a good ending.
As for herself, she was far less fortunate.
She had transmigrated into the body of Li Chongyan’s cousin, who bore the same name as her—Gu Sui’an. Known as the number one beauty of Great Yong, she appeared delicate and pitiable, a fragile flower easily bullied, but in reality she was a master manipulator hiding behind a facade of innocence.
Since childhood, she had secretly adored her Crown Prince cousin, dreaming of marrying him when she came of age. Yet the Crown Prince had always regarded Gu Sui’an as nothing more than a younger sister.
After the female lead appeared, Gu Sui’an became terrified that her Crown Prince cousin would be stolen away. She resorted to every means—slander, traps, and schemes—to torment the female lead, making her suffer endlessly before the male lead came to recognize his own heart.
Later, once the male lead awoke to his true feelings, he naturally sided with the female lead and together they turned the tables on Gu Sui’an, the so-called vicious supporting character.
Watching her cousin grow more and more attached to Ruan Liuzheng, Gu Sui’an finally snapped.
She colluded with the antagonists to stab the male lead in the back, determined that if she could not have him, then no one else would either.
In the end, she brought about the downfall of the Gu household, their property confiscated and the family exiled. Gu Sui’an herself perished on the road to exile.
Thinking about her counterpart’s ending in this book, Gu Sui’an let out a long sigh.
Standing nearby, the maid Sishi, who had been fanning her mistress, noticed her Young Lady’s troubled expression and couldn’t help but ask, “Young Lady, why did you suddenly sigh? Is it because of the heat? This servant will fetch some ice to place by your side.”
“No need. Your Young Lady was simply lamenting the tragic fate of being cannon fodder.” Gu Sui’an nudged one of the watermelons in the field—already grown to the size of a football—and shook her head.
Sishi’s round little face filled with confusion. “Ah? What do you mean, Young Lady? This servant doesn’t really understand.” Her mistress often spoke in ways she could not quite follow.
“Because there’s a generation gap between us.” A gap of time itself.
Sishi nodded vaguely, half understanding. Truthfully, she had no idea what “generation gap” meant, but anything her Young Lady said must be right.
“Young Lady, I’ve already cleared away all the weeds here.” The other maid, Chunlan, held a fistful of wild grass and, after tossing it into the bamboo basket, spoke up.
“Good. Chunlan, you’ve worked hard. Go rest for a while.” With that, Gu Sui’an bent down again to check the field for pests.
“This servant is not tired.” Chunlan could only smile helplessly. Her Young Lady was always so polite. She glanced at the patch of melons and added, “Young Lady, in this sweltering summer weather, perhaps this servant should water the melons?”
Gu Sui’an waved her hand. “No need, no need. These melons are already about sixty percent ripe. If we water and fertilize them too much now, they’ll be prone to splitting.”
Sishi stopped fanning, pressed her little hand against one of the melons, and asked curiously, “Young Lady, these melons are so bitter and astringent. Why would you bother growing them?”
Back when she first planted these cold melons, her young mistress had even gone out of her way to fetch a pile of soil. Sishi couldn’t understand it—wasn’t all soil the same?
“Sishi, whatever my lady chooses to plant, she has her own reasons. You mustn’t ask too many questions.” Chunlan’s face was stern as she spoke.
Hearing this, Sishi lowered her head, pouting as she muttered sulkily, “Fine.”
Gu Sui’an glanced at the two of them and let out a soft laugh. These two maids had been with her since childhood—one was so strict and proper she seemed like a little old lady, while the other’s eyes always carried a kind of innocent foolishness that made her feel quite fond of them.
“These cold melons have been specially cultivated by me. The ones that grow will be big and sweet. In ten days or so, when they ripen, you’ll see for yourselves when you taste them.”
At that, Sishi’s head snapped up, her eyes shining as she grinned wide. “Really?”
“Really. When has your mistress ever lied to you?”
Sishi pursed her lips at that—as if you haven’t lied to me plenty of times before. Outwardly, her lady might look quiet and well-behaved, but in truth…
Once Gu Sui’an was satisfied there were no problems with the melons, she stood and stretched out her limbs, numb from crouching too long, and walked over to the stone table beneath the grape trellis.
She had planted these grapevines a few years ago. Now the bunches of purple grapes hung heavy, glistening like crystal, and their taste was incomparably sweet and refreshing.
She thought about how the wine she had brewed in past years was already down to the last few bottles, and decided that in a while she would ferment another batch from these grapes.
After all, in this ancient world with no cell phones or television for entertainment, this was the only way she could pass the time.
The two maids followed her to the stone table. Chunlan took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Gu Sui’an’s face, while Sishi busily poured a cup of cooling summer tea and handed it over.
“You two sit down and rest a while as well,” Gu Sui’an said, taking a sip of tea and rubbing her sore neck.
TN: Sorry I was sick for a few days and was not able to post and update. I’ll make it up to you guys