What do you do when you transmigrate into the heroine-centered wish-fulfillment novel you just read, only to discover you've become the scumbag who's going to be punished for his crimes?
Xie Ningwu: Thanks for asking. She chooses to lie flat.
In "The Good-for-Nothing Young Lady Makes a Comeback," the troublemaking supporting character Xie Ningwu steals the credit for the heroine Xie Ninglan saving the emperor. She uses it to vie for his favor and stir up trouble in the palace.
Not long after she rises to the position of Imperial Noble Consort, the heroine returns and exposes her. Xie Ningwu is exiled to a palace outside the capital and placed under house arrest, where she dies of sorrow in less than six months.
When Xie Ningwu first transmigrates, she discovers that her predecessor has already stolen the credit and won the emperor's favor.
It's a small matter. Stay calm and you can win.
The palace beauties are a feast for the eyes, and the emperor is tall and handsome. All she has to do is follow the plot until she's banished from the palace, then make a few arrangements and change things just a tiny bit...
No palace intrigue. She can raise cats, dogs, flowers, and plants, live in a mansion by the water, and never have to serve that awful emperor again.
Wouldn't she wake up smiling from that dream?
Thanks to the excellent work ethic of a seasoned wage slave, Xie Ningwu follows the plot without getting emotionally invested, all the way to the final act.
Once the heroine returns, she'll expose Xie Ningwu for taking credit for her achievement and discover that she faked a pregnancy to compete for favor. Then Xie Ningwu can make her graceful exit.
But she waits and waits, and the heroine still hasn't shown up. Instead, she gets the news that the awful emperor plans to make her empress.
Little scene:
Xie Ningwu racks her brain for an excuse to refuse. As if she'd want to stay in the palace.
"I am unworthy of my position. Your Majesty should choose someone else." She hurriedly tries to think of a way to cause trouble so the emperor will despise her once and for all.
"At least my beloved consort knows her place." The emperor glances at her, casually turns a page in his book, and says calmly, "You're only relying on my favor, and on your child to elevate your status."
Theme: Keep a kind heart and strive to grow stronger
