TFRLTOP Chapter 53 Part 1

Chapter 53: The Tyrant’s Beloved (Part I)

◎ Three Transmigrated Girls, One Stage ◎

Ming Ming sat in the void, sulking with resentment.

Hugging her knees, she muttered under her breath, “He actually left before me… he really left before me…”

“That liar!”

“I just wanted to see him cry once. In the end, not even once… boo-hoo-hoo, you big liar!”

The system drifted lazily around her. “Relax, relax. None of this is real. Get ready for the next world.”

“If it’s all fake anyway, then why didn’t you let me leave first, so he’d cry for me?” Ming Ming grumbled.

The system sounded baffled. “Why are you so hung up on him crying?”

Ming Ming peeked sideways, muttering sheepishly, “I just… just think he’d look really good crying…”

The system rolled its eyes dramatically.

“Ah!” Ming Ming suddenly yelped.

The system startled. “Huh?”

“Where’d he go?”

Ming Ming vanished right before its eyes.

And then, in the blink of an eye, she was back again.

The system was puzzled. “Did the program bug out? Where did you just go?”

“I—I don’t know,” Ming Ming answered guiltily, then leaned over and whispered, “Did you… give me some kind of cheat code? Like… a ‘whatever I say comes true’ power?”

The system was full of question marks. “What the hell is that supposed to be?”

Ming Ming’s expression turned panicked.

“What’s wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?”

“Nothing,” Ming Ming shook her head furiously like a rattle-drum. In a barely audible voice, she added, “…I think I might’ve done something really shady.”

She pressed the system for reassurance. “You just said those worlds are all fake, right? That the people in them are fake too, right?”

“Mmm—” The system started to agree, but then remembered the strange incident after the first world ended, and suddenly wasn’t so sure.

Ming Ming took it as a definite yes and relaxed a little.

“Okay then, let’s move on to the next world.” She made a wish without guilt: “May there be no more ‘period novels’ in heaven. Please let the next world be a modern setting. I love modern tech, modern tech loves me, let me be surrounded by modern tech!”

The system was still lost in thought, but it pressed confirm anyway. Ming Ming was instantly transported.

Just then, something strange happened.

In the void lingered the faint silhouette of a man, hunched in the corner with his back to the system.

Unable to resist, the system cloaked itself and drifted closer.

As it neared, it heard the man muttering in a daze: “She doesn’t love me. She doesn’t love me…”

In front of him was a glowing panel. A line of text appeared, seemingly to comfort him: “She does love you, of course she does. Why else would she only want to see you cry, and no one else?”

“See? You’re special.”

The “comfort” carried a strangely mocking tone.

The man clearly wasn’t comforted. He kept whispering, “She doesn’t love me. Why doesn’t she love me?”

“Don’t be so upset. When the next world starts, you won’t remember any of this.”

Suddenly, the man’s figure vanished. After he disappeared, another line of text slowly formed on the panel:

“But resentment… might follow you there. Heehee~”

“Will you still recognize her?”

A chill ran down the system’s spine.

Heehee, my ass! What the hell is going on??

And that guy just now—could it have been…the Main Brain?

In the new world, Ming Ming opened her eyes full of anticipation. What greeted her was an ancient-style courtyard. Looking down, she saw herself dressed in simple old-fashioned clothes—not fancy, but unmistakably traditional.

Ming Ming stood frozen for two seconds, then suddenly jumped up and began searching everywhere for an outlet.

“System, tell me I’m just at a Hanfu cosplay event, right?”

The system stayed silent.

“I don’t believe it. There has to be a socket in some corner, proof of this is the modern world with electricity!”

The system remained mute.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh—!”

Ming Ming broke down. “Why? Why are they ancient times? I could deal with those rural-era stories at least—you suffer a bit, but eventually you catch up to modern tech. But ancient times? What do ancient times even have? You want me to live a thousand years like some turtle just to wait for modern times??”

The system tried to soothe her. “Actually, at first this world was designed to be modern…”

Ming Ming wasn’t soothed at all. She asked coldly, “And then? You hit the wrong button?”

“No, it was scrapped because the plot was too outrageous and didn’t meet the guidelines.”

Ming Ming: “…”

Her attention shifted instantly. “How outrageous are we talking?”

The system sighed. “Extremely outrageous.”

It refused to say more.

“Fine. Then tell me the story setup for this world.”

The system went quiet again.

“…Don’t mess with me, bro,” Ming Ming warned.

Finally, the system gathered its words and said seriously, “Here’s the thing. In the last world, because of your personal demands and my… kindness, we overdeveloped the cheat function. So in this world…”

“Speak human words.”

“…It bugged out.”

Ming Ming stared in disbelief.

“Ahem,” the system cleared its throat, trying to sound calm but failing. “As of now, all I can tell you is—the male lead is the emperor, and the female lead is your elder legitimate sister. The rest… you’ll have to figure out yourself.”

Ming Ming breathed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t completely in the dark.

Like before, if she just helped the female lead reach the peak of life, she could scrape by with a passing grade, dodge the abusive plotline, and live freely in this world.

She braced herself mentally, ready to step out the door—only for the door to swing open first.

A mama (matron) bustled in, flustered. “Oh my, Third Young Lady, how can you be so calm? Look at the time! If you delay any longer, you’ll miss the auspicious hour!”

Ming Ming blinked. “What auspicious hour?”

The mama gave her a look. “Still pretending to be clueless? Today is the day the three daughters of the Jiang family enter the palace!”

She fussed with Ming Ming’s clothes, sighing fondly. “In the blink of an eye, our Third Young Lady is getting married. Soon you’ll be a consort. Remember this: the harem is full of women, and fighting for the emperor’s favor brings endless strife. You must watch your tongue and tread carefully. Always consult your two sisters. Even if you’ve quarreled at home, in the palace you’ll be each other’s closest allies.”

Three daughters?

Wait a second—what respectable family sends three of their girls into the harem at once?

This storyline was nuts.

Ming Ming followed the mama out, taking in the surroundings. The Jiang estate was sprawling and lavish—ponds, pavilions, rock gardens—clear signs of wealth. Lord Jiang was a third-rank official, not some minor bureaucrat. He should’ve been smarter than this.

But sending three daughters into the palace at once? Aside from the female lead, the other two were basically cannon fodder. What kind of stupid plot was this?

After a long walk from the back courtyard to the front, Ming Ming spotted two girls about her age.

One had sharp, striking features. Even in ornate dress and hairpins, her aura was fierce and commanding—definitely not someone easy to mess with. The other looked delicate and sweet, smiling as she admired a jade-and-gold ring on her hand.

Both were dressed far more extravagantly than Ming Ming—their outfits richly embroidered, their jewelry plentiful.

By comparison, Ming Ming’s plain clothes made her look more like a maid than a young lady.

Before departure, Lord Jiang gave the three sisters a stern lecture.

Ming Ming kept wondering which of the two was her legitimate sister.

Catching her distracted, Lord Jiang barked, “Jiang Zhelan! Don’t you dare ignore my words. Once you’re in the palace, don’t make decisions on your own. Do as your two elder sisters instruct. And never forget—you are daughters of the Jiang family.”

“Oh.” Ming Ming lowered her eyes and answered meekly.

Wait a minute…

What?

Two legitimate older sisters?

Then who’s the heroine???

Ming Ming’s brain froze.

Damn! So this was a setup waiting for me?

From the old nurse, Ming Ming gathered some intel. The Jiang family had three daughters in total. The eldest, Jiang Ruotian, and the second, Jiang Fuling, are both legitimate. Jiang Zhelan—aka Ming Ming—was the only illegitimate one, her birth mother unknown.

Their so-called “entry into the palace” wasn’t any kind of official selection or conferment. It wasn’t even the draft of the court ladies. Their scheming father just wanted to use his daughters to curry favor with the emperor. Afraid one wouldn’t suit His Majesty’s taste, he sent all three.

One carriage hauled three untouched girls straight into the deep palace, sealing the rest of their lives.