Everyone at court knew that Chen Ruan was the most favored woman in the imperial harem.
People in the palace were divided in their opinions of her. Some called her gentle and generous, while others said she was affected and artificial.
But everyone agreed that if there weren't already a legitimate empress above her, Chen Ruan would eventually be made empress.
Chen Ruan believed it too. Even though the emperor's blatant favor had cost her three children and left her unable to conceive again,
whenever she thought of the moment she first met the emperor as a young woman and all the care he had shown her over the years, she forgave him.
She thought that since they had no children and he was ten years older than her, when the day came that he passed away, she could simply follow him.
But she died at the age of twenty-five, in the prime of her life.
She saw the never-favored empress rush into the emperor's arms in tears. His face was filled with tenderness and affection unlike anything Chen Ruan had ever seen. Even when she had lost her children, the emperor had merely offered her a few words of comfort with a stony expression.
She heard the emperor say that Prince Li had fallen, and now he could finally favor whoever he pleased.
The empress wept and scolded him without holding back, saying she had thought he had truly fallen in love with Chen Ruan. The emperor only laughed more heartily.
The empress was the complete opposite of her.
As Chen Ruan watched them embrace, she suddenly understood why so many women had copied her gentle manner without ever winning his favor.
It turned out he had never loved her.
Her consciousness began to fade. She heard the emperor mockingly console the empress, saying that he was sick of women like Chen Ruan, all cut from the same dull cloth. He didn't know what Prince Li saw in her, that he'd even trade hidden troops for her. Even if she were dead, he would never let Prince Li have her.
Prince Li, the boy she had once saved, had loved her?
If she had another life, she would thank him properly instead of running away, frightened by his obsessive gaze.
When Chen Chen opened her eyes again, she saw a boy with a face smeared in mud. His voice was hoarse as he stubbornly asked,
"Who are you?"
[Obsessive, sickly prince x soft and sweet reborn beauty]
[Lighthearted, lively story with daily comeuppance for the villains and plenty of pampering]
Theme: Kindness is the foundation of a person's character
