Chapter 1

Who wouldn’t want to mess with someone like that?
“Tomorrow is the day Miss Ling will be executed. Looks like there’s no chance to save her. Poor thing…”

“Shh! Don’t forget where you are. Do you want to lose your head?”

“The Eldest Princess has been unconscious for two months now. She probably won’t wake up. Even His Majesty might give up on her…”

Wen Yu had just regained a bit of consciousness when she heard people whispering nearby. It was obvious they were gossiping.

Her throat felt as if it had split in two — painfully dry and uncomfortable.

She was about to ask for water when, like a movie playing fast in her head, a flood of memories that weren’t hers flashed before her eyes.

Having drawn comics for years and being very familiar with all sorts of story tropes, the “mentally stable” Wen Yu quickly realized — she had transmigrated.

From the fragmented memories, she learned that the body’s original owner was also named Wen Yu, the Eldest Princess of the Dasheng Dynasty, the emperor’s full-blooded older sister. Her status was high and her identity was noble.

The emperor treated his elder sister with great closeness, making her position one of extreme power — second only to him.

But this princess’s actions didn’t match her title at all. She was known throughout the capital as a brainless beauty — a useless pretty face.

Even the daughter of a fifth-rank official had better knowledge and manners than her.

Compared to the wise and capable emperor, you’d never think they were siblings.

To make things worse, she became obsessed with the powerful minister Lin Yuzhi. She would intercept him on his way to and from court every day. Even after being rejected in countless ways, she refused to give up.

In front of the entire court, she even declared that she would definitely win Lin Yuzhi’s heart and spend her whole life with him.

Two months ago, because she was jealous of Lin Yuzhi’s childhood friend who was close to him, she deliberately picked a fight.

But instead of succeeding, she fell into the frozen winter lake and died instantly.

When she opened her eyes again, her soul had been replaced by the transmigrated Wen Yu.

After understanding the situation, Wen Yu’s comment was: Girl, you took the wrong path.

You’re already the Eldest Princess — second only to one person in the empire — yet you ignored the whole forest and hung yourself on one crooked tree.

Why not live freely and collect as many men as you like?

Thinking this, Wen Yu’s lips curled into a smile.

“Eh? Did… did the princess just move?”

“You must be seeing things.”

Hearing the maid’s surprised voice, Wen Yu immediately hid her smile, opened her eyes, and croaked with her unused-for-two-months voice, “Water…”

“She’s awake! The princess is awake!”

“It’s a miracle!”

“Go call the imperial doctor!”

“Go to the Prime Minister’s manor!”

“Inform the palace at once!”

In an instant, everyone scattered like startled birds and beasts.

Wen Yu: …

Wait, is no one going to take care of her? Was the title of Eldest Princess this worthless?

Footsteps sounded, and four maids surrounded her, eyes red with tears. “Princess, you’ve finally woken up.”

The last time she saw this kind of scene was when Tang Monk’s three disciples surrounded him.

“Princess, have some water to soothe your throat.”

She was helped to sit up and took several sips from the maid’s hand. The dryness in her throat eased a lot.

As she tried to recall the scraps of memory in her mind, wondering who these people were and what she should say to avoid being found out, the buzzing voices started again.

“Princess, we’ve already sent someone to inform the Prime Minister’s manor.”

“Princess, looking so frail, the Prime Minister will surely feel sorry for you.”

“Princess, don’t worry — the Prime Minister will definitely be touched by your deep feelings and fall for you willingly!”

“Princess, when the Prime Minister comes, just keep this pitiful look — you’ll win him over for sure.”

Hearing “Princess” and “Prime Minister” over and over made Wen Yu’s head hurt.

Four people chanting around her — was no one going to stop them?

With an expression hard to describe, Wen Yu said, “A handsome man in my bed? That would make me laugh.”

The four maids fell silent, looking at each other in confusion, unsure what the princess meant.

Wen Yu lazily touched her face. “Bring me a mirror.”

One maid handed her a beautifully crafted bronze mirror.

The moment Wen Yu saw herself, her gloomy mood vanished, and she smiled brightly.

Not only did she share the same name as the original owner, they looked exactly alike.

Even after lying in bed for two months without makeup, she was still this beautiful. As expected of herself.

With such an extraordinary face and such a high status, what man couldn’t she have?

Yes, she was a bit of an airhead — but sometimes ignorance was bliss. People often made life too hard by being too smart.

Besides, as a modern woman in ancient times, she was technically illiterate. Not being able to compose poems or write essays just made her role more believable.

“Princess, the Prime Minister will be here soon…”

Wen Yu casually replied, “Will his coming make me live longer?”

The maid froze. “Uh… no, Princess.”

“Then will he make me more beautiful?”

“Princess, you’re already the most famous beauty in Shengjing — how could you be more beautiful?”

“Then will he make me rich enough to live without working?”

“You’re already the Eldest Princess…”

Wen Yu looked at her seriously. “If he can’t do any of that, then what does his coming have to do with me?”

The maid was stunned.

Just then, a voice came from outside: “Reporting to the Princess, the Prime Minister requests to see you.”

Wen Yu put down the mirror. Looks like their chanting worked — he arrived quickly.

“Let him in.”

She wanted to see what kind of man could make the original owner so obsessed.

A moment later, the door opened, and a tall figure walked past the screen.

“This humble servant greets the Princess.”

Lin Yuzhi bowed with neither humility nor arrogance.

Wen Yu raised her brows.

Lin Yuzhi was tall and slender, with a handsome face and cold eyes. He wore a white fox-fur cloak, a compass pendant at his waist, and carried an air of untouchable elegance — almost loftier than the princess herself.

Seeing him in person, Wen Yu could fully understand the original owner. Such a high mountain flower — who wouldn’t want to pluck it?

But understanding didn’t mean she would follow the same path.

Lin Yuzhi was in love with his childhood friend. She had no interest in getting involved — she had an entire forest waiting to be explored.

So Wen Yu withdrew her gaze and asked lazily, “What is it?”

Standing five meters away, Lin Yuzhi kept his head lowered, never looking at her. “Princess, please clear Ling Yunshi’s name.”

Wen Yu was surprised. Ling Yunshi — wasn’t that his childhood friend’s name?

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

A maid quickly explained, “Princess, you don’t know since you just woke up. After you fell into the lake and went into a coma, His Majesty was furious. He accused Miss Ling of trying to harm you, and she was thrown into prison. She will be executed tomorrow.”

Wen Yu blinked, dumbfounded. The memories she got only went up to the original owner’s death.

Apart from the love drama between Lin Yuzhi and his childhood friend, everything else was blurry and fragmented, like a rushed movie recap — impossible to fully understand.

So she really had no idea what happened after the original owner died, and even before that, she didn’t know much beyond the romantic entanglements.

Clearly, the original owner had her mind completely filled with Lin Yuzhi — and the childhood friend she saw as a rival. She must have really liked him.

Wen Yu had to admit she felt awkward.

That childhood friend was unlucky — she hadn’t actually done anything, yet now she was about to lose her head.

When Wen Yu didn’t speak, Lin Yuzhi added, “Princess, Ling Yunshi is just an ordinary woman. She would never dare harm you…”

Wen Yu touched her chin. “So?”