After I died, my soul drifted through the imperial harem for decades, watching Zhen Huan rise step by step to become empress dowager.
Only then did I understand that I was nothing more than an insignificant supporting character in a book.
In this life, I hated no one and blamed no one. I simply could not accept it:
I could not accept being ignored, or never having been truly loved.
If I could live again, I would never be anyone's foil.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back three months before the palace selection.
This time, I would no longer lower my head, bend over backward to please others, or lose myself just to survive.
I helped my mother reclaim control of the household and used my embroidery skills to improve our family's fortunes. After entering the palace, I moved cautiously, never harming anyone first, but never letting anyone bully me either.
I faced every hardship in turn, from Consort Hua's provocations and the Empress's schemes to the political storms beyond the palace, and found a way to overcome them all.
I also found a few friends who genuinely cared for me, so I was no longer all alone.
I had never intended to compete for the emperor's favor.
Yet that supposedly cold-hearted emperor kept coming to me, again and again.
He said, “An Lingrong, the voice I want to hear is your own.”
He said, “In this life, you will never again be anyone's substitute.”
