WBSGVS Chapter 191 V1

Upon coming into contact with the story’s characters, previously inaccessible plotlines began to unfold.

This story is set in a chaotic dynasty.

The ruling family of the Jin Dynasty is the Sima clan. The current emperor, Sima Heng, is the fifth in line to the throne. Unfortunately, he is not a capable ruler—more of a foolish and indulgent monarch with a weakness for beauty and little aptitude for governance.

When the previous emperor fell gravely ill, he entrusted the young Sima Heng to several trusted ministers and Prince Zhou, a powerful noble from outside the imperial bloodline.

However, the late emperor underestimated Prince Zhou’s ambition. After the emperor’s death, Prince Zhou helped the ten-year-old Sima Heng ascend the throne. With Sima Heng too young to rule, Prince Zhou took control of the military and quickly seized power, becoming regent. For the next thirty years, he wielded near-absolute control over the imperial court.

Under his rule, the other loyal ministers either died or fell ill. Although many court officials remained loyal to the emperor in name, few could rival Prince Zhou’s dominance.

But the protagonist of the story isn’t him—it’s the emperor’s fifth daughter, Princess Sima Qinghe.

Her mother was Consort Wan. From a young age, Qinghe was different from other girls. She was intelligent and, even as a baby, instinctively attached herself to those who would protect her, especially her father, the emperor.

Despite the emperor’s lack of authority, he still ruled over the inner palace. As such, all the palace women sought his favor. With such a clever daughter who delighted him, he naturally adored her, and his affection extended to Consort Wan as well.

Though Consort Wan never bore another child, Qinghe used her charm to win over several imperial princes, allowing her mother to rival the long-standing dominance of Consort Shu.

The first half of the story centers on palace intrigue and the princess charming her way into various alliances. But as Qinghe grew up, problems followed.

As a natural heart-stealer, Sima Qinghe grew into a stunning beauty with many admirers. Her fame as the most beautiful woman in the Jin Dynasty spread far and wide.

The ruler of the neighboring Chu Kingdom, a man as lascivious as he was power-hungry, used this as a pretext to demand a political marriage, requesting the famed Jin beauty.

But how could the many men who loved Qinghe agree to such a thing?

Prince Zhou’s authority was built entirely on his military power. But he was getting old, with numerous lingering battlefield injuries that left him unable to fight again. If the empire refused the marriage, war would be inevitable. And if there were a war, the military command would have to be handed over to someone else. Between losing the princess or losing his power, the choice was obvious. So, he agreed to the marriage.

That’s when an assassination attempt took place during a banquet.

The man who had snuck into Qingli Palace the night before was none other than Fu Cheng, the son of the previous princess’s consort and one of Qinghe’s admirers.

In a desperate bid to prevent the marriage, Fu Cheng and a few allies planned the assassination. They partially succeeded—the regent was injured, but not killed.

But the regent wasn’t someone to take lightly. He immediately launched a palace-wide search. Fu Cheng managed to hide during the first half of the night, but got lost while sneaking around and accidentally ended up in the Cold Palace.

Had Qingli not shown up, the original host would have remained utterly alone.

After completing her task, Nanny Dai left the Cold Palace. Xiling remained behind to keep watch. With Prince Yan now dead, Consort Shu no longer felt threatened. Life was still bitter for them, but at least it was peaceful—until Fu Cheng’s sudden appearance.

The original host saved Fu Cheng that night, helping him evade the search. The next day, he left and gave her a jade pendant, promising he would repay her someday.

She had lived in the Cold Palace for ten years. Naive and kind-hearted, she helped him simply because she wanted to, never expecting anything in return. But once he said he’d repay her, she was filled with hope.

A few days later, a beautiful woman arrived with a group of eunuchs and maids. She claimed to be her sister and officially reinstated her identity as a princess, taking her out of the Cold Palace.

The original host believed this was the repayment Fu Cheng had promised, and was overjoyed.

But almost immediately, a royal decree arrived—she was to be married off to the King of Chu in a political alliance.

It turned out that although the regent had survived the assassination, it enraged him. While he couldn’t find Fu Cheng during the initial search, he pieced things together from the clues left behind and marched troops to confront the Fu family. He demanded that Sima Qinghe agree to the marriage, or else the Fu family would be destroyed.

While everyone else was caught in a dilemma, Fu Cheng offered another solution: “There’s still a princess in the Cold Palace. She’s a bit thin and frail, but with proper care, she could become quite beautiful.”

The men who adored Qinghe lit up at the idea. She brought the original host out, pleaded with the emperor to recognize her as an official princess, and used her to bring down Consort Shu—avenging the original host in the process. After that, the original host became the perfect tool for the political marriage.

With the marriage arranged, the regent was willing to back down, and a temporary truce was reached.

The original host, raised in seclusion, was meek and timid—nothing like a proper princess. To ensure the King of Chu wouldn’t see through her real identity, they assigned etiquette instructors to train her.

But she didn’t want to go. She had just escaped one prison only to fall into another. She would have rather stayed in the Cold Palace.

She resisted in the only way she could—passive refusal. Already weakened from years of abuse, her health declined further, and she fell ill. With no progress, the trainers reported up the chain, and Fu Cheng came personally to teach her and take her out into the world.

The original host was already a little smitten. Now she was completely dazzled. She believed Fu Cheng truly liked her, but was only going along with the marriage out of duty. So, she accepted her fate willingly.

But everything changed the moment she saw him kneeling to help Sima Qinghe put on her shoes.

That was when she realized: she had only ever been a pawn—a tool Fu Cheng used to protect Qinghe.

The original host snapped. She began scheming against Qinghe, sowing discord between her and her admirers.

Ironically, her actions helped Qinghe see who she truly loved—she chose the male lead, Yi Han, the heir of a prominent military family.

Fu Cheng, enraged by the chaos the original host caused, imprisoned her. He used the promise of posthumously honoring her dead brother to threaten her into submission.

When the Chu Kingdom’s envoy finally arrived, she was sent away. But given her past behavior, no one fully trusted her.