Chapter 1: Recovery

“How is Wan Daying’s condition?”

“Reporting to Xuan Zhuzi, Wan Daying’s illness is extremely severe. If her fever does not subside today, I fear…”

Even in her sleep, Wan Anran could still hear the murmuring of conversations.

She struggled to open her eyes, but all she could see was a hazy ball of light and swaying shadows. Wan Anran tried to move her fingers and opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was so dry and hoarse it hurt, making it difficult to even utter a sound.

“The little mistress is awake—the little mistress is awake!”

“Silence! Haitao, quiet yourself! Imperial Physician Zhao, I must trouble you to carefully examine Wan Daying.”
First came a sharp rebuke, but the woman’s voice soon softened, speaking gently.

“This humble servant will do my utmost…”

Wan Anran forced herself to listen, but the voices grew fainter and fainter, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier until she could no longer resist and closed her eyes once more.

Before she drifted off, only one question echoed in her mind:

Who…? Who is Wan Daying?

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A few days later.

From being so ill she couldn’t get out of bed to now, Wan Anran could finally sit up. With nothing to do, she gazed out at the snowy scenery, unable to stop herself from recalling the events during her coma.

Back then, she hadn’t realized.

This “Wan Daying” — wasn’t that referring to herself?
In her previous life, Wan Anran had been a food content creator, an up-and-coming influencer. Aside from her busy schedule of studying, researching, and filming videos, her only remaining pleasures were sipping soda, munching on chips, and binging novels and dramas.

Take, for example, the last book she had been following.

There was a joke online that if a character in a novel happened to share your name, you should memorize it carefully — lest one day, whoosh, you transmigrate into the book. Wan Anran had, of course, never believed such a thing would happen to her. Even more absurd was the reason she ended up transmigrating.

In that Qing dynasty novel, Wan Daying was merely a minor character who appeared early on. She was beautiful and quickly favored upon entering the palace, but her fate was tragic. Afflicted by a severe illness, she was soon forgotten by the emperor, enduring scorn and neglect.

After recovering from her illness, Wan Daying became fixated on gaining favor and climbing the ranks. However, despite her efforts, she remained a low-ranking Daying for over forty years, becoming a pitiful spectacle in others’ eyes.

Pitiful, lamentable, and pathetic.

Wan Anran hadn’t been able to resist complaining in the comments section.

The replies were filled with laughter, and many kind-hearted people advised her to thoroughly study the book, just in case she ever transmigrated.

Who would’ve thought their words would become prophetic?

Not long after, Wan Anran collapsed from exhaustion while filming a cooking video. The next thing she remembered, she had woken up as the ailing Wan Daying. At the same time, a sentence echoed in her mind:
“If you wish to return, you must dispel the original soul’s resentment.”

The only way was: to become the foremost woman in the harem.

Easy to say, but that was akin to becoming the CEO of a company, with the entire harem as the corporate battlefield. If she truly had such abilities, she wouldn’t have been a rookie influencer in her past life — she’d have made it to the top 100 by now.

This was simply an unattainable goal!

Just as Wan Anran was sinking into despair, a spark of inspiration flashed through her mind. Though she didn’t know how the novel ended, her limited knowledge of Qing dynasty history told her that Wan Daying — Wan Liuhashi — would become the longest-living consort in Qing history.

Rather than fighting for power, why not retire early in the Forbidden City? Compared to risking her life in palace intrigues and dying young (without even being certain she could return home), living to ninety-nine seemed like a much more practical plan.

Having settled on her new goal, Wan Anran felt quite satisfied overall. As her thoughts concluded, the room’s door creaked open, and a gust of cold wind laden with snowflakes swept inside. A young palace maid hurried in, carrying a food box.

She wore a jacket that was neither new nor too worn, her cheeks flushed red from the cold. The maid stamped her feet at the doorway, rubbed her hands together, shook off the excess snow, and quickly made her way inside.

The maid placed the food box on the table.

She then deftly helped Wan Anran sit up, stuffing a soft pillow behind her and tucking the quilt securely at every corner. Finally, the maid brought over a small table and set it on the bed. “Little mistress, please don’t be upset anymore. That Binglu is just a heartless wretch — she’ll regret it one day.”

There were two maids assigned to serve Daying.

The other, named Binglu, had found a way out during Wan Anran’s critical illness and had left without even a word a few days ago.

“Haitao, don’t talk nonsense. I’m not upset.”

“Yes, yes, of course, little mistress isn’t upset.” Haitao replied as if coaxing a child. She placed the food box on the table and hurriedly brought over a bowl of bitter medicinal soup that had been warming on the stove. “Little mistress, please have this.”

Wan Anran: …

This bitter medicine upsets me even more.

The decoction was so bitter it was terrifying, but with a body this frail — panting after just a few steps — how could she afford not to drink it? Wan Daying lowered her eyes, accepted the bowl, and downed it in one gulp.

The bitterness spread from her tongue all the way down to her stomach.

The faint flush on Wan Daying’s face vanished completely. She couldn’t help but clench her fist and lightly pound her chest, frowning and coughing several times.

Haitao was so anxious that sweat beaded on the tip of her nose. “Little mistress!”

She quickly opened the food box and took out a plate of red date cakes. “Little mistress, hurry and have a bite to get rid of the bitterness.”

The red date cake was sweet and soft. With one bite, the sweetness filled her mouth, quickly overpowering the bitterness of the medicine.

Wan Daying’s brows relaxed, and she let out a long, satisfied sigh. Then she lowered her gaze to the red date cake and couldn’t help but say, “I remember there wasn’t supposed to be… this in a Daying’s ration?”

Why did the palace consorts all scramble to climb the ranks?

One major reason was the stipends — for instance, Wan Daying’s daily ration only covered basic food. Everything else had to be purchased separately: the stove cost money, firewood cost money… Honestly, for someone as out of favor as her, life was even harder than that of the noble ladies’ maids.

No wonder history books often recorded that the maids of titled families lived better than ordinary young ladies.

These past days, aside from bitter medicine, she’d only had porridge.

Wan Anran had initially wanted to request some sweets to counter the bitterness, only to find out… there was no sugar in a Daying’s ration!

In the Qing palace, even eating sugar required a quota. 🙂

So now, seeing this plate of red date cakes, Wan Anran was so excited her eyes welled up with tears. Of course, before eating, she had to make sure.

Haitao responded softly.

After a pause, she added, “This was sent by Xuan Pin Niangniang.”

Xuan Pin was the mistress of Xianfu Palace.

She bore a prominent surname — Borjigit. Technically, she and Consort Tong were both imperial cousins of the emperor. Upon entering the palace, she was granted the title of Xuan Pin and became the mistress of Xianfu Palace. Naturally, given that Consort Tong was a Guifei while Xuan Pin remained a mere Pin, it was clear that the emperor had little affection for Xuan Pin and treated her with indifference.

Xuan Pin, however, was content with this arrangement.

To Wan Daying, who had been relocated to Xianfu Palace due to her illness, Xuan Pin was gentle and kind. Not only did she not neglect her, but she also frequently summoned imperial physicians to treat her. Frankly speaking, if it weren’t for Xuan Pin, Wan Daying might not have survived long enough for Wan Anran to transmigrate into her body.

Wan Anran suddenly understood.

The red date cakes were soft and fragrant. She finished two pieces in quick succession, only reluctantly stopping afterward — they were so much better than the bland porridge she’d been having!

Today, Haitao was especially quiet.

Wan Anran lifted her gaze to the maid’s tense face, smiling as she held out the plate. “What’s wrong, Haitao? Here, have a piece of red date cake! When you’re in a bad mood, you need something sweet.”

Haitao responded softly.

Seeing her unusual reaction, Wan Anran caught on. “Did someone outside say something again?”

Haitao shook her head. “No such thing.”

Wan Anran glanced at her, reached out a finger, and poked Haitao’s forehead. “Do you really think you can fool me? Hurry up and tell me.”

Haitao forced a smile.

Soon, faced with Wan Anran’s stubborn expression, Haitao finally conceded, sighing, “The rumors outside are getting more and more exaggerated. Just hearing them makes me want to tear their mouths apart! Obviously, the imperial physicians have already said that as long as you rest and recover properly, you’ll be fine. Yet, they keep saying that, that you…”

By the end, Haitao’s nose turned red, and tears nearly spilled from her eyes.

It wasn’t hard to guess what they were saying.

Most likely, they were once again claiming that she wouldn’t live long, right? Wan Anran groped around for a handkerchief but couldn’t find one, so she could only use her fingertips to gently wipe away the tears from the corners of Haitao’s eyes. “Let them say what they want. Once I’ve recovered, we’ll go out and see who still dares to talk nonsense. By then, this young mistress will take Haitao and parade around in front of them a few extra times. How about that?”

Haitao broke into a teary smile.

Looking at her young mistress chirping away about how they would ‘show off their might,’ the sourness in her heart finally faded away for the most part.

What her mistress said was right!

The most important thing now was to rest and get better. With a sweet smile, Haitao nodded vigorously. “Yes, this maid believes mistress will surely recover! Oh, right, mistress, we’ve been living in Xianfu Palace for over two months now, and you haven’t yet paid respects to Consort Xuan because of your illness. Why don’t we go and greet Consort Xuan tomorrow?”

If the inner palace were likened to a company.

Then the Six Palaces would be like departments under that company, with Consort Xuan being the department manager, while Wan Anran was just a small employee under her jurisdiction. Now that the superior had already shown goodwill, as an employee, Wan Anran should naturally reciprocate. “Indeed, you’re right.”