Volume One: A Baby's Brush with Death, Awakening in the Inner Palace (Chapters 1–30)
Main Plot
The shock of transmigrating into a book: After modern office worker Lin Wei, the heroine, finishes watching “Yongzheng Dynasty,” an accident sends her into a book. She wakes to find herself a swaddled baby named Yun Shu. Her birth mother is Su Wanyi, a discarded concubine in Yongzheng's harem who was thrown into the Cold Palace after her family was convicted. Faced with a hard wooden bed and rough swaddling clothes, she desperately longs for modern cars, homes, and conveniences, falling into despair and confusion.
Surviving in the Cold Palace: In her infant body, Yun Shu observes her surroundings. The Cold Palace lacks food and clothing, the maids and eunuchs are neglectful, and her birth mother, Su Wanyi, is depressed and frail. Yun Shu uses her cries to attract Su Wanyi's attention and signal that she needs care, gradually rousing her mother's instincts. At the same time, she quietly memorizes the Cold Palace's daily routines and the comings and goings of its people.
Their first crisis: The eunuch in charge of distributing supplies to the Cold Palace deliberately withholds grain and rice, and Su Wanyi is powerless to resist. When the eunuch comes to inspect the rooms, Yun Shu suddenly spits up milk and soils his clothes. The other maids gather to watch, leaving the eunuch humiliated but unable to take his anger out on a baby. This briefly intimidates him and buys the mother and daughter a short reprieve in their supplies.
Gathering information: Through the chatter of Cold Palace guards and maids, Yun Shu pieces together the timeline: Yongzheng has only recently ascended the throne, Nian Gengyao's power is on the rise, and the Eighth Prince's faction is still active in secret. She confirms that she is at the heart of the plot of “Yongzheng Dynasty” and begins thinking about how to use her knowledge of the story to protect herself.
The bond between mother and daughter:
