After the Eldest Princess Lost Her Memory

Ming Lan transmigrates into a melodramatic tragedy novel.

She's not the heroine, but the wicked supporting woman who forces herself on the male lead.

As a princess with immense power, she doesn't have to sneak into his bed or drug him. Someone will wash the male lead and deliver him straight to her chambers.

The frail, beautiful man lies trapped in a golden cage.

The emperor's esteemed tutor, Grand Tutor Xiao, is powerless to struggle or resist. All he can do is press his lips together in humiliation.

His long hair falls around him, red silk ribbons intertwined across his chest. Like red plum blossoms against snow, like a lone moon beneath a frosty sky. Beautiful, yes, but vicious too: a black lotus who never lets a grudge go unpunished.

The moment Ming Lan sees him, her head starts to ache. All she can remember is the original story's gruesome ending for the princess, who had her eyes gouged out and hands chopped off. How could she feel anything else? She turns to run. No way. Absolutely not. He's not my type.

The System chides her, exasperated: You can't tell if you like a man just by looking at him. How will you know unless you try?

Ming Lan is at a loss for words. I think you just want me dead.

Though she wants nothing to do with it, Ming Lan must follow the plot diligently to stay alive and get home, playing the role of a lust-addled, self-destructive fool to perfection.

Every day, she checks off the routine tasks of kissing, hugging, and teasing the male lead.

Day after day, she shows up before him right on schedule.

After three years, Ming Lan successfully clears the story. She calculates the date she'll be able to make her exit and go home, then acts quickly to step in front of Xiao Xingshu and calmly accept her death. As the gleaming blade descends, she smiles with relief.

But she doesn't die.

When she opens her eyes again, everything has already been decided. Chancellor Xiao is regent, and all the princess's followers have been thrown in prison. Ming Lan is instantly at a loss, so she keeps lying in bed pretending to be unconscious, ready to flee at any moment. She doesn't see the shifting darkness in Xiao Xingshu's eyes, or the possessiveness roiling beneath it.

The cool, aloof minister holds her tight against his chest. His embrace is burning hot, his voice low. His trembling sigh brushes her ear as he asks, "Your Highness, don't you want me anymore?"

Terrifying. When in doubt, there's always the amnesia trope.

For now, she'd better keep pretending...

Theme: Wherever you are, live a bright and determined life!