TFRLTOP Chapter 53 Part 2

On the way, Ming Ming shrank into the corner like a quail, secretly observing her two elder sisters.

“There won’t be palace drama, right? I don’t know how to do that,” Ming Ming asked nervously.

“Never eaten pork, but you’ve seen pigs run, haven’t you? You’ve read all those books. What’s there to be scared of?” the system said coolly.

Ming Ming gave a dry laugh. “Don’t get it twisted. My ‘reading widely’ just means I know more positions. Who the hell reads smut for the plot?”

She asked the system, “So, who do you think is the heroine between the two?”

“You’re the one who’s read everything. What do you think?”

Ming Ming rubbed her chin. “Hard to say, honestly.”

At that moment, Jiang Ruotian and Jiang Fuling, apparently bored with the journey, started chatting.

Their relationship didn’t seem good—every word was barbed.

First, Jiang Fuling. She slipped a ring off her finger, then put it back on, over and over, admiring herself. Once she was satisfied, she shoved her hand under Jiang Ruotian’s nose. “Sister, look at my slender jade fingers. Aren’t they just perfect for rings?”

Ming Ming curled her toes in secondhand embarrassment.

Jiang Ruotian couldn’t be bothered to answer. Jiang Fuling didn’t care, kept going: “This ring’s just jadeite of the lower kind, nothing special. Doesn’t really deserve me. When I become the emperor’s favorite consort, I’ll have him commission me a full set of jewelry in icy jadeite.”

“A woman as beautiful as me stands out anywhere. I can already picture it—standing before His Majesty, I part my cherry lips, and he falls for me in minutes.”

Ming Ming’s pupils quaked.

Who the hell describes themselves as parting “cherry lips” in first person?!

My toes are cramping from secondhand embarrassment!

Wait—did she just say “in minutes”?!

Jiang Fuling shot Jiang Ruotian a provocative look. “When I’m the emperor’s one true favorite, sister, don’t get jealous. If you want pretty jewelry, then, don’t be polite with me—I’ll have His Majesty spare you a little affection too.” She half-hid her face, giggling.

“Who wants that man’s affection?” Jiang Ruotian snapped, frowning at her sister’s ridiculous airs. “Can you try having some ambition? You think the Wanqian Emperor is someone easy to deal with? Dreaming of becoming his savior—where do you get that delusion? He’s a tyrant who kills on a whim!”

Rumor had it that Wanqian Emperor killed without blinking. Ming Ming had read enough novels to know—this was all fluff. In the end, the heroine would still end up on his pedestal. Not scary, not scary.

“I get it. He just needs a unique woman like me to walk into his heart. I was sent by heaven to heal him,” Jiang Fuling said solemnly.

Ming Ming nodded silently. Yep, that’s exactly how novel heroines talk.

Wait… Jiang Ruotian just said “delusion filter”? Did they even have that word in ancient times?

Jiang Ruotian delivered her verdict: “You’re brain-damaged.”

“Alright, alright.” Jiang Fuling waved lazily. “Then you can be the empress. Being empress is thankless work anyway—you have to be generous, manage all three palaces and six courts. Perfect for you, with all your boundless energy.”

“Me, I’ll settle for being a pampered consort.”

She sighed dramatically. “But what if His Majesty clears out the entire harem just for me? Wouldn’t that be too much of a sin?”

…Self-absorbed, yes. But maybe that really was the intended plot.

Ming Ming was embarrassed to admit—she kind of liked these kinds of plots.

If only she weren’t cannon fodder in this kind of story.

Jiang Ruotian frowned. “Where did you even get such feudal nonsense?”

Jiang Fuling blinked innocently. “That’s how they do it in the dramas.”

Ming Ming’s head buzzed—she quickly looked down to hide her expression.

She screamed inwardly: What the hell?? Are they transmigrators too??? What is going on???

The system pretended to lose signal. “Huh? What? Can’t… hear…”

“Quit faking it!”

Maybe Ming Ming’s frantic glances were too obvious because Jiang Fuling caught her. She dropped her voice, dripping with disdain: “What are you scheming about?”

“Jiang Zhelan, you’re just illegitimate. Don’t even think of riding our coattails. A bastard will always be beneath us. Once illegitimate, always illegitimate. That’s the rule.”

She looked Ming Ming up and down with disgust, unwilling to waste another glance. “Just behave yourself in the harem. With that face of yours, you’re barely fit to be a maid. I don’t know what Father was thinking.”

Ming Ming shrank back.

Her face—Jiang Zhelan’s face—had nothing to do with her!

Jiang Ruotian wasn’t having it. “By your logic, half the officials in court should pack up and go home. Don’t flatter yourself. You’re here to be someone’s concubine too.”

“How is that the same? A consort isn’t the same as some random household concubine.”

Jiang Ruotian threw another bucket of cold water. “If not for Father sending us to the palace, he already had you lined up with a marriage to the illegitimate son of another family.”

Jiang Fuling was floored. “Impossible! A legitimate daughter paired with an illegitimate son? No way!”

“Oh, you didn’t know? Back in the late emperor’s reign, legitimate princesses marrying ministers’ illegitimate sons was normal. And this current tyrant? He’s illegitimate himself.”

Jiang Fuling looked like her worldview had collapsed. She really seemed to think her legitimacy was a golden ticket. Furious, she demanded, “If you’re so high-minded, then why are you going into the palace? Wouldn’t it be better to go live freely?”

Jiang Ruotian folded her arms, refusing to answer directly. “I have my own reasons.”

Then her gaze flicked to Ming Ming, as if only just remembering she existed.

To Jiang Ruotian, Jiang Zhelan was probably the only “native” of this world. She scowled at Ming Ming’s timid quail-act. “You. Sit up straight. Stop curling in on yourself like a damn bird.”

Ming Ming: “…”

What did poor Ming do wrong this time? She hadn’t even said a word.

Once in the palace, they weren’t taken by stern tutors to learn rules, nor bullied by arrogant consorts. Instead, they were escorted straight to their assigned quarters.

Passing through the imperial garden, they overheard voices. The young eunuch guide tensed, hurriedly trying to lead them away.

But Jiang Fuling’s sharp eyes caught sight of the emperor himself. At once, she slipped the eunuch some silver and angled herself closer.

From the way she moved, Ming Ming figured she’d even planned out the perfect angle to trip and fall at his feet.

Just then, a strange sound came from the emperor’s direction. Curious, Ming Ming looked—only to see a severed head roll to their feet.

“…”

“Ahhhh—!” Jiang Fuling screamed.

Jiang Ruotian recognized the head—it belonged to a censor from the Imperial Office.

Her scream caught Wanqian Emperor’s attention. He glanced their way, bored, and said, “Since you’re here, bring them in too.”

There was no room to refuse. Trembling, Jiang Fuling was practically dragged inside by the eunuchs.

Ming Ming and Jiang Ruotian walked in on their own, though Ming Ming’s legs were shaking.

Maybe because he had an audience, Wanqian Emperor seemed more cheerful. He swung his sword, and in an instant, the other trembling officials were dead.

Blood everywhere, the ground slick with gore.

The young emperor raised his sword, blood dripping slowly. Tilting his head back, his long neck and sharp, sculpted face were lit with a cruel, bloodthirsty joy.

Ming Ming: AHHHHHH—

Damn it, where’s the gore filter when you need it?!

The system quickly hit “enter,” activating protection.

Ming Ming: Whew. Alive again.

The emperor’s gaze swept over the three of them. Seeing their faces—some terrified, some barely holding composure—he was all the more satisfied.

Casually, he said, “Those who oppose me meet no good end.”

Jiang Ruotian narrowed her eyes, thoughtful.

Ming Ming, safe behind her gore filter, was no longer afraid. She started analyzing which sister’s behavior would catch the emperor’s eye.

One was delicate and pitiful, a damsel who inspired sympathy.

The other was cool, composed, heroic.

Ming Ming thought, If I can’t compete directly, I’ll just see which one the male lead vibes with. That’s how you identify the heroine.

Help me out, male lead. Let me know whose thigh I should cling to.

She sneaked a look at the emperor—only to lock eyes with him.

Panicking, she looked away immediately.

What direction is this even going? Should I be acting more scared? If he thinks I don’t respect him and cuts me down, I’m dead.

I’m not the heroine—I really could get chopped…

Sob.

Even the system lowered its voice, wary of the atmosphere. “So… which transmigrator do you think is the heroine?”

Ming Ming said blankly, “I think this transmigrator—me would make a great heroine.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We already said the heroine is legitimate. You, the illegitimate one, don’t butt in.”

Ming Ming: “…”

She forced herself to think rationally.

And thought. And thought.

And still got nowhere.

“Anyone could be the heroine!” Ming Ming wanted to throw this stupid system out the window. “Jiang Fuling is clearly the pampered-romance type of heroine, Jiang Ruotian is the strong-woman heroine, and the male lead is a tyrant—either way, the pairing works! Don’t you think so?”

System: “Not my problem. I’ll never understand your Earthlings’ brain circuits.”

The emperor stared at her for a while, then said nothing. He waved them away.

Walking back, Ming Ming’s mind drifted. She was full of gloom.

The future looked bleak, so bleak. She felt like she’d aged years in just one day.

Ugh. So exhausting.

 

This novel will continue on 9 Oct 2025.