Chapter 1: Strange Dreams

"I refuse to accept it, I refuse! Even if I become a ghost, I will curse you for generations to come. May you be separated like mandarin fish and flounder, may the round mirror shatter, and may the mandarin ducks fly apart!" The second female lead spat blood and let out a long howl to the sky.

"You wretched servant, plotting against the crown prince, scheming against Wen Wan, your heart is wicked. Today, I, the male lead, will order your death by giving you three feet of white silk to end your own life!" The male lead waved his hand coldly.

"A Xuan, don't!" The kind-hearted female lead pulled the male lead's sleeve and pleaded bitterly, "Don't take a life!"

"I, Nie Sangyu, may be unbearable, but it's not your place to plead for me!" The second female lead laughed to the sky, tears streaming down her face.

"It's just that I refuse to accept it... I refuse to accept it... I refuse to accept it..."

This was an extremely melodramatic book. If it weren't for being bored at home on the weekend, Ji Man wouldn't have flipped through the mobile book app of Ruo Chu Literary Network. But upon reaching this point where the second female lead met a tragic end, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity.

According to modern standards, the second female lead married the male lead first, so the female lead should be the third party. But because the male lead loved the female lead and not the second female lead, the second female lead became the third party. After various conspiracies and schemes to harm the female lead, the male lead finally ordered the death of the second female lead.

Ji Man shook her head and muttered, "This is really destroying one's sense of morality."

Her eyes were tired from reading, so she simply turned off the phone screen. There was no need to think about the ending of this book. With the second female lead gone, the male and female leads would live happily ever after. The only slightly interesting part was the second female lead's interference, but now that she was dead, there was nothing much left to look forward to.

Yawning, Ji Man turned off the light and covered herself with the blanket, ready to sleep. But before falling asleep, she couldn't help but think, Nie Sangyu was really foolish, wasn't she?

"In this lifetime, Sangyu only loved Lord Hou, but what about Lord Hou?"

"Her life is her own, but isn't mine also? Don't forget, I, Nie Sangyu, was once carried in on a sedan chair through the main gate by you!"

These lines kept echoing in her mind. Ji Man laughed at how foolish and stupid this woman was, while slowly drifting into a dream.

"I refuse to accept it..."

A voice came from the depths of the dream.

Ji Man furrowed her brows slightly and looked into the endless darkness, surprisingly remaining calm as she asked, "What difference does it make if you refuse to accept it?"

"Help me... help me... my wish is difficult, I can't reincarnate..."

"Whether you reincarnate or not, what does it have to do with me?" Ji Man rolled her eyes.

The boundless darkness surged and engulfed her. Ji Man widened her eyes, feeling like she was losing her breath. The world spun, and everything turned into chaos. It was as if she had fallen into a black hole, endlessly descending.

As she lost consciousness, Ji Man felt that she must be having a nightmare.

"At fourteen, I became a lord's wife, my face never showing shame."

"At fifteen, my eyebrows first appeared, wishing to be dust and ashes."

"At twenty, what kind of mood should I be in? Watching him marry someone else, I can't cry, should I still smile?"

A woman's mournful and resentful voice drifted from afar, lingering in her ears without a source.

"Madam..." a timid call, and suddenly all the voices in Ji Man's mind seemed to fall into place. She found herself facing a bronze mirror.

In the mirror, a woman with a pale complexion, wearing a white wide-sleeved robe and a light pink shawl, with only two plain hairpins and a small white flower on her cloud-like hair bun, appeared. She looked as pale as if she had just lost her father.

Ji Man blinked, and the person in the mirror blinked too. The previous sorrow and resentment on her face were replaced by astonishment, and her entire face relaxed, becoming much more pleasant to look at.

"Madam?" The maid kneeling beside her seemed to be taken aback, watching her mistress with a look of bewilderment, her whole body trembling.

Ji Man stared at the person in the mirror. She must be dreaming, the woman in the mirror had rosy lips, a mole on her eyebrow, and a pair of narrow phoenix eyes that seemed to hide malice. This appearance was quite similar to the character Nie Sangyu in the book.

Looking at the maid kneeling beside her, she remembered that the book also mentioned Nie Sangyu's weak and timid maid named Clover.

She must be dreaming, and now she had to help Nie Sangyu deal with the female lead? Forget it, she had to go to work tomorrow, she didn't have the energy for this.

"Don't disturb me, I want to sleep."

Clover's hand trembled, and she knelt by the dressing table, not daring to speak again. Ji Man happily rolled back into bed to catch up on her sleep.

But this dream felt so real, she could even smell the fragrance in the room, making it easier to fall asleep.

Just as she was about to drift off, she heard a loud noise, and the door was pushed open. A maid stood at the door, wearing a blue jacket and trousers, and announced loudly, "Madam, Lord Hou wants you to go to the front hall quickly. The new madam has arrived, and it's not good for you to hide away, is it?"

The voice was really annoying, and Ji Man was forced to open her eyes and saw the maid at the door. She remembered this maid, she seemed to be the one appointed by the queen to take care of Lord Hou's daily life, and her surname was Liu.

Rubbing her head, Ji Man said unhappily, "Is there a need for a servant to shout at the mistress like this?"

Just a dream, and she had to help Nie Sangyu deal with the female lead? Forget it, she had to go to work tomorrow, she didn't have the energy for this.

"Don't disturb me, I want to sleep."

Clover's hand trembled, and she knelt by the dressing table, not daring to speak again. Ji Man happily rolled back into bed to catch up on her sleep.

But this dream felt so real, she could even smell the fragrance in the room, making it easier to fall asleep.

Just as she was about to drift off, she heard a loud noise, and the door was pushed open. A maid stood at the door, wearing a blue jacket and trousers, and announced loudly, "Madam, Lord Hou wants you to go to the front hall quickly. The new madam has arrived, and it's not good for you to hide away, is it?"

The voice was really annoying, and Ji Man was forced to open her eyes and saw the maid at the door. She remembered this maid, she seemed to be the one appointed by the queen to take care of Lord Hou's daily life, and her surname was Liu.

Rubbing her head, Ji Man said unhappily, "Is there a need for a servant to shout at the mistress like this?"

Even in her dreams, she was not someone to be trifled with. Nie Sangyu was really a failure as a person. Just as she was humiliated by someone, there was someone else who added insult to injury. It was evident how unpopular she was in her daily life.

The nanny at the door was momentarily stunned, then a hint of disdain appeared in her expression. "Madam Sang, if I may call you that, I still respect you for once being a member of the Marquis's household. But now, you are nothing more than a lowly concubine. Do you still need to maintain such a high and mighty attitude?"

Ji Man squinted her eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed, lost in thought for a moment.

Nie Sangyu had become a concubine? It seemed like that was the case. She quickly skimmed through half of the book and remembered that the male lead married the female lead, and the jealous and narrow-minded second female lead was demoted to a concubine.

So why was she now this unlucky second female lead, sitting here lost in thought?

She pinched her thigh, feeling the pain. Ji Man decisively snapped out of her daze, opened her eyes, and looked at the scene in front of her. She seemed to have vaguely discovered something extraordinary.

She had really become Nie Sangyu.

She slapped herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. After a few minutes of reaction, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Why did she have to become this doomed second female lead? What should she do? Should she just end her life early with a knife?

No, such a negative approach was not something she could do. As a 21st-century career woman, she could struggle like a dog for a house. Why couldn't she fight for her own life now?

"Help me... I refuse to accept this..."

The voice echoed in her ears again. Ji Man sighed. It must be Nie Sangyu's strong attachment that had drawn her, an innocent reader, into this. Heaven help her, she was just reading a novel to pass the time!

"Madam." The nanny at the door, seeing her lack of response, couldn't help but impatiently urge her again.

"I understand. Wait for me to change into a different outfit. This is unacceptable." Ji Man stood up, made an effort to smile at the nanny at the door, then turned to the little maid on the ground. "Clover, get up and help me change."

Like this? Like the way people in ancient times spoke? She hadn't read that book too carefully, but it shouldn't be difficult to imitate the speech habits of the people here, right? She couldn't afford to slip up.

The little maid on the ground listened to her words, raised her head in surprise, but didn't dare to look directly at her. She stammered a response and then ran to the wardrobe to find clothes.

Ji Man followed and glanced at the clothes. The Nie family was a prominent family, and Nie Sangyu was naturally very wealthy. Although she had been demoted to a concubine, her previous clothes were still there, grand and magnificent in bright red and purple.

Since such an unbelievable thing had happened, she decided to play the role of Nie Sangyu until everything returned to normal. Ji Man thought seriously about what she should do now to avoid ending up like Nie Sangyu in the end. God willing, she still planned to go back and collect her year-end bonus!