Chapter 1: Reborn as the Spoiled Supporting Character

Seated at the table was a stunning young woman.

At sixteen or seventeen years old, she wore a light lotus-colored outfit, her gold-threaded shawl loosely draped over her shoulders. Crimson tassels swayed by her cheeks, her skin fair as snow and her face as lovely as a flower.

She had been sitting there absentmindedly for a full half-hour.

The maids couldn’t help but grow worried, clutching their handkerchiefs. One finally spoke up cautiously, “Miss, are you feeling unwell again?”

Her voice snapped Xue Qingyin out of her daze.

“I’m… fine,” Qingyin managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

As she spoke, she pinched the flesh of her thigh lightly.

Hiss.

It hurt.

So, it wasn’t a dream.

That’s right—she had indeed transmigrated.

To be more precise, she had entered the world of a novel.

Here’s what happened:

Before going to sleep, her coworker had recommended a book titled The Emperor’s Exclusive Love: The Imperial Consort. The male lead was devoted to his grand ambitions, abandoning the female lead repeatedly. Annoyed, she kept reading, determined to see when the male lead would finally suffer. This determination carried her through until 3:30 a.m.

The phone screen’s light had grown painfully bright.

Exhausted, she closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them, she was in a completely different world.

Her new identity? Xue Qingyin.

A supporting character in the book who happened to share her name.

Born frail and slightly poisoned from the womb, Qingyin’s body was so delicate that rough clothes caused rashes, and the wind brought on fevers. Thus, she had been spoiled and pampered by her family from birth.

Because of this, she became insistent on getting whatever she desired.

At fourteen, she fell in love with her foster brother, He Songning, the male lead of The Emperor’s Exclusive Love.

Declaring she would marry no one but He Songning, she stubbornly refused all other suitors, dragging things out until her current age. Little did she know, He Songning was utterly fed up with her.

He Songning was the illegitimate son of the current emperor, born to a woman of low status. The emperor refused to acknowledge him, so he was raised in the Xue household as a substitute for their deceased eldest son, earning the name “Xue Ning.”

To outsiders unaware of the truth, he appeared to be Xue Qingyin’s biological elder brother.

Qingyin eventually discovered the truth by accident, thanks to the author’s plotline.

But for now, the entire household still treated He Songning as Qingyin’s real brother.

And naturally, Qingyin’s original self adored this “brother” more than anyone else.

At that moment, another maid burst through the door, her voice filled with excitement. “Miss, the young master is back! He’s in the flower hall giving out gifts. He even asked about you, wondering why you weren’t there.”

The “young master” she referred to was none other than He Songning.

The substitution of Xue Ning for the deceased son had been orchestrated by Lord Xue himself and kept so secret that even Lady Xue didn’t know her real son had died. The servants were even more clueless.

Hearing this news, Xue Qingyin curled her lips in disdain.

…Annoying.

“Miss? Are you unhappy?” the maid asked timidly, stopping in her tracks.

Qingyin didn’t reply.

She glanced down at the object in her hand—a sachet embroidered with the character “Ning.”

Raised in luxury, Qingyin hadn’t been skilled in needlework but had forced herself to learn just to make this sachet.

To ensure He Songning appreciated her efforts, she had burned the midnight oil making it, pricking her fingers countless times in the process.

She had even read romance novels and imagined coughing up blood while stitching it, thinking her heartfelt effort might move him.

Now, looking back at the original Qingyin’s actions, she rolled her eyes.

The sight of the sachet disgusted her even more.

Reaching for a pair of scissors, she snipped off the tassels hanging from the sachet.

The maids were horrified.

“Miss, what are you doing?”

“Has something upset you? Quick, someone call Lady Xue!”

Qingyin paused.

It was just a sachet; was all this fuss necessary?

Oh well.

It was something the original Qingyin had painstakingly made.

With a thought, Qingyin considered reworking the sachet, changing the character “Ning” to something else to repurpose it as a gift for someone else…

And just as she was thinking, Lady Xue hurried in.

“Yinyin, my precious Yinyin, is your chest tight again?” Lady Xue lifted her skirt and was by Qingyin’s side in just a few steps.

Qingyin hid the sachet and threw herself into Lady Xue’s embrace, muttering, “I woke from my nap and missed you, Mother.”

Lady Xue chuckled and stroked her hair. “Next time, just have someone call me. Why sit here sulking on your own?”

Qingyin said nothing, her eyes misting.

She had parents in her past life, but they favored her brother over her.

Compared to them, Lady Xue, who pampered her daughter to the point of blind indulgence, was the kind of mother she could only dream of.

Too bad the original Qingyin had been so selfish. When she discovered the truth about He Songning, she had focused solely on marrying him, never revealing the truth to Lady Xue.

Lady Xue, oblivious, still treated He Songning as her own son, while he harbored nothing but disdain for her.

“Your brother is back and brought you many gifts,” Lady Xue said, helping Qingyin to her feet. “Shall we go see?”

Qingyin replied, “No, I’m going to sleep.”

“Alright, alright, you sleep. I’ll fetch your gifts for you,” Lady Xue cooed, tucking Qingyin back into bed before leaving.

In the flower hall, Lady Xue’s voice rang out coolly as she entered: “If the gifts are from Songning, then they should go to Yinyin.”