Reborn with Amnesia, I Became the Nation's Darling

Also known as: After Being Reborn and Losing My Memories, I Successfully Drove a Wedge Between My Family by Letting Them Hear My Thoughts, and They Spoiled Me Even More

Short Synopsis: Chao Jinrong is the legitimate daughter of the Minister of Rites. But her true identity is a princess born outside the palace to the Empress Dowager and her former husband.

So when she wakes up one day, unable to remember how she died in her past life, she suspects everyone of having a hidden agenda.

Her birth mother, the Empress Dowager, dotes on her, but she assumes it's a trap.

Her younger half-brother, the emperor, cares for her, but she assumes he's up to no good.

Her fiance, the mighty general, showers her with affection, but she assumes it's all an act.

Everyone except her is plotting against her.

Birth Mother, Younger Brother, and Fiance: "..." We're innocent! What a raw deal!

Long Synopsis:

1. Chao Jinrong has been reborn, but she's also lost her memories. The memories she's lost are from the time after her coming-of-age ceremony in her previous life. Her ceremony is still a year away, and only two stubborn thoughts remain in her mind, impossible to shake:

First, she really did die once, but she can't remember exactly how.

Second, she doesn't know who killed her, but it was probably one of her own relatives...

Just thinking about the list of suspects gives Chao Jinrong a headache.

Because there are far too many!

To begin with, her identity is unusual. She's the daughter of the Minister of Rites, but everyone privately calls her Princess Jinrong.

That's right, she's not the biological daughter of the couple who raised her. Her birth mother now sits securely on the throne as Empress Dowager, and the emperor is her younger half-brother, born to the same mother but a different father.

Before her mother remarried the late emperor and was brought into the palace, she had Chao Jinrong with her former husband.

Chao Jinrong: "..."

So after being reborn, she picked up a new habit. Not only did she start reading bloody court-intrigue stories full of palace secrets, she also became suspicious of everyone around her.

What she doesn't know is that her innermost thoughts are somehow leaking out. Anyone she suspects can hear exactly what she's thinking.

2.

So this is what Princess Jinrong's daily imaginings look like:

The Empress Dowager summons her to the palace for a private mother-daughter chat. Then, completely out of the blue, the Empress Dowager hears Chao Jinrong's thoughts for the first time:

"Was I killed in my previous life by my own birth mother, the Empress Dowager? It's possible. I'm a dark secret she left behind outside the palace, after all. No wonder she's been stuffing me with gifts lately. Is my birth mother trying to fatten me up for my last meal?"

The Empress Dowager had been gazing lovingly at her only biological daughter across the table. With food in her mouth, more in her hands, and a bundle tucked in her arms, she was feeling quite content. At those words, she nearly dropped her teacup. Shock and anger surged in her heart. "!!! What's going on?!"

The emperor, her younger brother by just over a year, also invites her over to show her some gentle concern. Chao Jinrong's knees start shaking:

"Oh no, oh no. Maybe my younger half-brother killed me in my previous life, too."

"Makes sense. Your mother basically put a green hat on your father with me, so how could you just sit back and put up with it for your entire life? Sniffle. This is obviously the calm before the storm. He's getting ready to chop me into pieces."

The emperor is reviewing memorials about the Li family, who recently tried to marry his sister through despicable means. He is ordering the whole clan exiled, with some of the ringleaders to be executed outside the Meridian Gate. At her words, his breath catches.

His brush slips, and the number of people marked for execution doubles. The young emperor's brows knit, his expression murderous. "Who dares harm my imperial elder sister!"

3.

Then her fiance, a famous general who had been betrothed to her by imperial decree long ago, suddenly returns to the capital. He comes to see Chao Jinrong as soon as he arrives.

He is tall, handsome, and graceful. He has seized cities with his spear, then conquered kingdoms with it. The world heaps praise upon him, and he is the man most women in the capital secretly admire. Yet he has always smiled tenderly only at Chao Jinrong.

But after seeing him this time, Chao Jinrong thinks: "Fine, maybe the person who killed me in my previous life wasn't my mother or my younger brother. It could have been him."

"Someone of his standing probably wouldn't want a troublesome woman with a complicated background, or someone who might become a liability, marrying into his family. He could pretend to be nice in public, then secretly take care of me later without arousing suspicion. It makes perfect sense."

Feng Jingxiao, who has also been reborn and is the only person in the world who knows how his little wife died in her previous life: "???"

This is beyond ridiculous. I don't even know what to say.

Later, the Empress Dowager and the young emperor start growing suspicious of one another over the matter. They don't doubt Chao Jinrong's absurd claims about her past and present lives, but they know they didn't kill her. Could it be that her son or her mother has always resented the fact that she existed outside the palace?

Feng Jingxiao, who understands the unspoken barbs: "??? Are you two all right?"

Then, when either of them, or both together, turns a suspicious gaze on him: "..." Ah, now I'm even more exhausted.

The two most powerful people in the realm begin spoiling Chao Jinrong more and more each day, hoping to win more of her trust.

Feng Jingxiao, swept up in the competition: "!!!"

I have to keep up. I absolutely have to keep up!

Original synopsis: August 26, 2019. Revised synopsis: November 14, 2023.

Theme: Life is fun, all thanks to acting skills.