Chapter 1: Wear

“How pitiful…”

The bitter cold turned dripping water into ice.  

Snow blanketed the ancient, towering palace, concealing every trace of decay and ruin beneath a silent, pristine white.  

A slender young eunuch in an indigo-blue robe trailed behind an elderly eunuch, carrying a food box in his hand. His lively, bright eyes darted around curiously, widening at every little thing he saw.  

The old eunuch walked with a slightly hunched back, his steps steady and soundless, his gaze fixed only on the ground before him. The young eunuch, however, moved like a grasshopper that had just taken human form, barely restraining the urge to hop around, his posture stiff and awkward.  

This was the third time today the young eunuch had passed by the gates of the Full Moon Palace.  

And once again, he saw the child kneeling in the snow in the side courtyard, clad only in thin sleeping robes despite the freezing cold.  

The midday sun reflected off the snow, blindingly bright. The child’s frail figure seemed on the verge of dissolving into the silver-white palace walls.  

He looked no older than five or six—pitifully thin and small.  

“It’s been over two hours. If he keeps kneeling like this, he’ll die…”  

“Shut your mouth!” The old eunuch snapped, turning to glare at him with sharp, venomous eyes.  

Scolded, the young eunuch immediately hunched his previously upright back and grinned obsequiously. “Godfather, I was just saying it to you. You dote on me, after all…”  

“Brat, if you keep acting so recklessly, you’ll bring disaster upon yourself sooner or later!” The old eunuch shot him another sidelong glance and snorted. “You won’t even know how you die! Keep up!”  

The young eunuch feigned obedience, quickening his steps, though inwardly he scoffed.  

Little did you know—I know exactly how I’ll die.  

The script spelled it out clearly: he would be executed by hanging after delivering poisoned pastries to Consort Jia, the Emperor’s new favorite, resulting in the death of the Dragon Child.  

This would be Wei Tingchun’s fifth death, so she was no stranger to dying.  

Yes, *she*, not *he*. Or rather, while this body belonged to a man, Wei Tingchun’s soul was undeniably female.  

But this wasn’t her first time wearing a man’s skin. Last time, she’d been a burly bandit. Aside from the awkwardness of having to hold “it” while peeing standing up, everything else had been fine.  

Actually, peeing standing up wasn’t so bad.  

This eunuch’s body didn’t even require that, so Wei Tingchun adjusted even more easily.  

Soon, they arrived at the servants’ quarters. Wei Tingchun followed the old eunuch into his room, bracing herself for another lecture.  

Her skill at playing the obedient underling was well-honed—hands tucked in, neck slightly bowed, face plastered with an ingratiating grin. It was shameless but effective.  

The old eunuch, Ruyi, was a minor overseer in charge of meals for a few imperial concubines. Wei Tingchun strongly suspected he’d stolen the name from some maidservant—how else could a stout, barrel-shaped eunuch with triangular eyes and a waddling gait be called “Ruyi” (meaning “as one wishes”)?  

Though Ruyi only managed a few concubines’ kitchens, he still held some standing in the palace. And now, he was Wei Tingchun’s freshly minted godfather.

“Godfather, your son knows his mistake.” Wei Tingchun smiled. With a fair and delicate appearance that was rather pleasing, his smile was quite charming.  

But in the harem, the servants weren’t supposed to smile so brightly. They were expected to move silently, remain expressionless, and act like wooden props—only then could they serve their masters well.  

Eunuch Ruyi was about to scold Wei Tingchun, but as he opened his mouth, he looked at this “son” of his, who had only been sent into the palace a couple of days ago, and let out a sudden chuckle instead.  

He waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it.”  

“These days, don’t go wandering in front of the masters. Stay in this courtyard and learn the rules first.”  

Eunuch Ruyi’s tone wasn’t harsh. After all, this boy was the child of a distant relative from his hometown. If not for being implicated in a rebellion and having his entire family exiled, this well-bred young man wouldn’t have been punished and sent into this devouring palace.  

Eunuch Ruyi was quite satisfied with the boy. Mainly because he had grown up pampered, with soft, delicate skin. Even after several days in the palace doing rough work, he hadn’t complained. Aside from lacking proper etiquette, he was rather endearing.  

Just as Eunuch Ruyi was thinking this, Wei Tingchun dutifully went to massage his plump legs.  

Seeing this, Eunuch Ruyi gave a satisfied hum, growing even fonder of him.  

Wei Tingchun was genuinely happy too. After all, this was her first time being assigned to a proper ancient world, and her first time seeing a real eunuch up close.  

Put another way, she was utterly fascinated by everything in this world.  

Wei Tingchun was a transmigration agent for the Three Thousand Worlds—not a protagonist, not even a supporting character, but an extra.  

Still, she was more than content. After all, being able to live again after death, with a decent job, paid leave, weekends off, and most importantly, immersive experiences across countless worlds—where else could one find such a good deal?  

How was this any different from a paid vacation? Not only was the engagement top-notch, but she even got a line or two occasionally!  

Wei Tingchun threw herself into the role with enthusiasm. As for experiencing death, the main system was quite humane—to prevent extras from developing PTSD, it even provided pain suppression.  

Honestly, with pain blocked out, who cared about dying or not?  

As long as she followed the script and completed her role as described, she’d earn system points. Accumulate enough, and she could even choose her next role—one with lines, a backstory, or even a love interest!  

But Wei Tingchun didn’t like staying in one place for too long. Plus, her rank was still low, so she usually opted for a lottery-style assignment.  

Wherever the draw took her, whoever she became, she’d play the part. After all, as an extra, there were no strict acting requirements.  

Who could understand the thrill of opening a mystery box like this?  

Drawing a cross-gender role even came with system bonuses. For instance, this eunuch disguise earned her 3,000 points. In her last world as a kidnapper, because it was thrilling and involved carrying a hostage, she got a full 5,000 points!  

The mission in this world wasn’t hard either. She just had to wait for the right moment in the plot, show up at the designated spot, be tricked by Noble Consort Gao’s maid into delivering some pastries, and then wait to be strangled to death.

Before that, she still had a few days of freedom, and she didn’t plan to stay cooped up in the courtyard. Even if she couldn’t leave the palace, she could at least explore its various corners.

So she diligently massaged her thighs while sweetly calling him “godfather” at every turn.

In the end, she managed to coax Eunuch Ruyi into agreeing to find a young eunuch to show her around the palace while also teaching her the rules.

During the evening meal distribution, Wei Tingchun dutifully followed the others to fetch her portion. As she passed by the Full Moon Palace, she saw a group of palace maids and eunuchs chattering noisily in the courtyard, carrying a small figure away with much fuss.

Someone whispered urgently, “Call Imperial Physician Chen to take a look. The Eleventh Prince’s body is ice-cold.”

Another voice chimed in, “If Her Ladyship finds out, she’ll punish us. Just wrap him in blankets first. It’s not the first time he’s knelt like this—it’s not like he’s that delicate…”

Wei Tingchun overheard this as she passed by, and her heart clenched in shock.

This child still hasn’t frozen to death?

And it sounds like this isn’t the first time. How tragic.

She wanted to linger and hear more, but the young eunuch escorting her quickly pulled her away.

The eunuch’s name was Chunxi, about the same age as Wei Tingchun’s current body, but he was already a seasoned veteran in the palace—meticulous and strictly adherent to palace rules.

Still, he was a young man at heart and took a liking to Wei Tingchun, who, despite being a young master who had suffered punishment, was neither gloomy nor sullen. Instead, she was cheerful and talkative, making her easy to get along with. The fact that both their names contained the character “Chun” added a sense of familiarity, and they quickly became friends.

Because of this, Chunxi was willing to share a few extra words with her.

“Don’t look, don’t get involved,” he said, pulling Wei Tingchun along as they carried their food boxes swiftly through the long palace corridors.

Chunxi explained, “That’s Consort Qing’s child, the Eleventh Prince. He kneels like that often.”

Wei Tingchun couldn’t help but ask quietly, “Why? Is she his stepmother?”

Chunxi shuddered at her bold words as if someone had stuffed a handful of snow down his collar.

“Don’t talk nonsense!” he hissed.

“Let’s talk when we get back,” Chunxi said, quickly leading Wei Tingchun back to their quarters.

Since they got along well and Eunuch Ruyi had specifically instructed Chunxi to look after Wei Tingchun, they shared a room at night. Unable to resist Wei Tingchun’s persistent questioning, Chunxi finally relented and whispered the story to her under the covers.

The matter was relatively simple. Consort Qing, who resided in the Full Moon Palace, had a peculiar flaw—she utterly despised her own son. No matter the season, she found all sorts of ways to torment him, and everyone in the palace knew it.

But none of the imperial consorts would report this to the emperor. Those who had borne princes secretly hoped Consort Qing would drive her own son to death. Those without princes also wished the same.

When Consort Qing first entered the palace, she enjoyed a brief period of the emperor’s favor—enough to conceive a prince. After giving birth, she should have been promoted, as not every consort could bear a prince.

But for some reason, she had displeased the emperor, and his favor vanished in an instant. Though she was granted the title of a palace consort, without imperial grace, her grand residence became a prison—one where even servants could trample over her.

Perhaps because her life was so unbearable, Consort Qing developed the habit of tormenting her own son.

Logically speaking, a prince shouldn’t be bullied by a consort—after all, he’s a Dragon Child. There are only a dozen or so princes in the palace, each precious in their own right.  

But strangely enough, the emperor paid no attention to this Eleventh Prince, treating him as if he didn’t exist, even deliberately skipping over him when inquiring about his studies.  

As a result, not only did Consort Qing suffer, but the Eleventh Prince became someone everyone could step on.  

Abandoned by his birth mother, ignored by his father, bullied by his brothers—anyone could order him around.  

Chunxi whispered into Wei Tingchun’s ear, “The Eleventh Prince is often punished by kneeling, sometimes for an entire day. It’s bearable in summer, but in winter when it snows, it’s pure torment. His legs must be ruined by now, but before the emperor summons the princes, Imperial Physician Chen comes to treat him, at least enough to let him stand temporarily. I heard from Xiao Fuzi, who served in Full Moon Palace for a while, that he often crawls on the ground…”  

Wei Tingchun’s heart ached at the words.  

This was too pitiful.  

In the modern world, a child this young would never suffer like this. Parents wouldn’t even let them step outside in winter, afraid the wind might make them catch a cold.  

Still, after hearing this, Wei Tingchun could only sigh and move on.  

After all, she was just an extra—a passerby in this world.  

Disrupting the plot without permission would lead to soul exile. She had heard that some people couldn’t even last two days in soul exile before having to sever their system binding.  

And though Wei Tingchun pitied the Eleventh Prince, to her, he was just another tragic story carved on a stone tablet during her journey.  

The only difference was that this world made it all the more vivid and real.  

The next day, Wei Tingchun went about as usual, carrying a food box with Chunxi and wandering through the palace.  

Over the next few days, she explored nearly every corner of the palace, even asking her system to take commemorative photos in front of some particularly grand and ancient halls.  

On the night before her plot point arrived, Wei Tingchun reviewed her role again.  

Simple.  

All she had to do was hand a food box to Consort Jia’s maid—she didn’t even need to step into Consort Jia’s courtyard.  

When the water clock showed the right time, Wei Tingchun immediately set off to loiter along the designated palace path.  

The task was easy, so she strolled absentmindedly until she noticed the side hall of Full Moon Palace not far away.  

Through the dim glow of palace lanterns, she saw several maids dragging a thinly dressed child out of the room.  

They pointed to an empty spot beside him, and the child obediently crawled over and knelt down.  

The maids and eunuchs said something, but it was too far for Wei Tingchun to hear. Soon, they left, leaving the child alone in the courtyard.  

Like a wooden puppet, he knelt rigidly, unmoving.  

Wei Tingchun watched him under the sparse lantern light for a long time, even wondering if he had died there.  

She sighed softly, tucking her hands deeper into her sleeves. It was freezing outside—even bundled up, she was cold, so she paced back and forth to keep warm.  

Before long, the maid from Noble Consort Gao’s palace—the one looking for a scapegoat—arrived.  

The maid’s face was dark, brows furrowed. When she spotted Wei Tingchun, her eyes widened, and she immediately beckoned her over.

Wei Tingchun withdrew his gaze from the side hall of the Full Moon Palace, hunched his back, and stepped forward with the meek and obsequious demeanor of a real eunuch—to meet his doom.