Chapter 199 Day 1 of Transmigrating into a Rebirth Novel

Chapter 199: The First Day of Transmigrating into a Rebirth Story

When An Yi came to, he opened his eyes and the familiar scene was gone.

Instead, he was in an ancient palace—carved beams, painted rafters, blazing with lanterns and splendor.

He sat up high on the second floor, on a wide brocade-cushioned seat, looking down at a banquet scene with clinking goblets, mingling perfumes, and twinkling shadows.

Soft strings and flutes played languidly, and the air was thick with the smell of wine, meat, and heavy perfume.

An Yi instantly understood: he had transmigrated again, right when his life had ended once more.

Must be another novel, he figured.

He just didn't know what kind this time.

Without changing his expression, he lowered his eyes and quickly sorted through the memories flooding into his mind from this new body.

After a moment, An Yi thought: ...Good, very good!

This time, his new identity was actually a pretty good fit—a perfect job match.

This time, he had become the State Preceptor of Great Ming.

Of course, it was not the historical Great Ming from his original world, but a fictional dynasty that happened to use the name "Great Ming."

An Yi figured the author couldn't be bothered to come up with a historically plausible and catchy name, so they just went with Great Ming.

As for the original State Preceptor—the guy he'd replaced—he was quite a character.

A con artist who specialized in fooling the emperor.

Adopted as a kid by the previous old State Preceptor, he learned tricks like pretending to talk to spirits, alchemy, and prayer. When the old guy passed away, he naturally took over.

His job was basically cooking up immortality elixirs for the emperor, reading the stars for omens, and hosting imperial ceremonies.

In this dynasty, the State Preceptor's status was way higher than you'd expect.

Because the old emperor on the dragon throne was a total fanatic for alchemy and immortality.

Didn't he ever stop and think?

If the State Preceptor had the power to make people immortal, why had the old State Preceptor died?

And how high was it?

An Yi squinted slightly. According to his memories, it was so high that even on a matter as big as naming the crown prince, he had a say—and the emperor was pretty likely to listen.

That didn't exactly sound like a well-run dynasty that would last long.

Just as he was thinking, a troupe of dancing girls from the imperial music bureau, colorful and graceful, glided out.

An Yi's gaze wandered, and he spotted a figure somewhere in the hall.

She was a young girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen, in a somewhat lively pink dress, not really standing out among all the finery.

But her face was full of a coldness and faint gloominess that didn't fit her age.

At the same time, a strange question popped into his head.

According to protocol, a banquet like this in the main hall should be an "outer court banquet"—men and women sit separately.

The emperor should be feasting the officials here, while the empress or dowager hosted a separate banquet in the inner palace for the womenfolk.

That broke all the rules.

As if on cue, the sound of a comment section echoed in his ears:

"Here we go! Classic palace banquet right off the bat!"

"Something bad's gonna happen soon, I can feel it."

"I saw it's tagged as 'wife-chasing crematorium'—the FL was treated so cruelly in her past life in the first few chapters. She's not gonna forgive that emperor later, is she?!"

"Probably not, she'll switch MLs, right? @Author?"

"Yep, she will~"

"Wait, the person above is the author?"

"Yup~ (blush)"

"Oh~ the plot thickens! That State Preceptor the FL is staring at—could he be the ML? So much buildup, and described as so hot?! (Glasses glare.jpg)"

"...Oh, so he's not—he's a villain, the accomplice of that bastard crown prince in the past life! (Epiphany.jpg)"

"???? He's not really an accomplice, is he? (Chin stroke.jpg)"

"What can you do? He just stood by and did nothing last life. (Dog head.jpg)"

An Yi: "..."

I see.

That made sense.

Right after, he saw a gorgeously dressed middle-aged woman at a table, and beside her a pretty young girl rose gracefully, bowed deep toward the throne, and said sweetly: "Your Majesty, your subject's daughter, Mu Yurou, wishes to present a dance in celebration of Great Ming!"

An Yi was internally speechless.

If he remembered right, these officials' daughters were future noble ladies. Dancing in public like this was a disgrace to their families.

In ancient times, they were supposed to be super strict about that.

But the Old Emperor, sitting on the dragon throne with an unhealthy flush on his face, clearly didn't see it that way.

He stroked his beard, a murky smile in his eyes, and nodded: "Approved."

So the girl, Mu Yurou, walked gracefully to the center, bowed again, and started dancing as the music resumed.

Her dance was graceful—actually really pleasing to watch.

An Yi: "..."

He picked up the wine goblet beside him and took a sip of the imperial wine.

Alright, then.

Just then, the whole original novel flooded into his mind.

This time, he had transmigrated into a story about the female lead's rebirth... a satisfying power fantasy?

And right now, it was the start of the story, the moment when the female lead had just been reborn.

The female lead was the girl he had just glimpsed, dressed in pink with a cold, sullen expression. Her name was Ran Zhuyu, derived from the idiom "as precious as pearls and jade," reflecting her parents' wish for her to enjoy wealth, honor, and a perfect life.

She was just fifteen years old, the legitimate daughter of the current Right Grand Chancellor.

Before her rebirth, she was deeply infatuated with the Crown Prince Qi Haocang, successfully married into the Eastern Palace, bore him children, and even drained her family's resources to help Qi Haocang secure his position and eventually ascend the throne.

However, after only a few years on the throne, Qi Haocang grew tired of her and, fearing the growing power of the Ran family, not only deposed her as empress but also framed her family, causing the ruin and death of her family.

And that wasn't enough; after imprisoning her in the cold palace, even the son she had given birth to (the prince) was not spared, and he was put under house arrest on some pretext.

Meanwhile, Qi Haocang promptly installed a new empress.

An Yi looked up, his gaze landing on Mu Yurou, who was dancing gracefully in the hall.

Indeed, this was the woman Qi Haocang later made his empress, the so-called "Number One Beauty in the Capital."

An Yi: "..."

In the original novel, Ran Zhuyu died of resentment in the cold palace, hating Qi Haocang for his fickleness and herself for her foolishness.

When she opened her eyes the next time, she found herself back at the age of fifteen, before any of those events had occurred.

She wept bitterly and then vowed revenge!

None of those who had hurt or betrayed her would get off easy.