Chapter 1
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“Young Master! Young Master—!”
“Master, please spare the Young Master! Please, I beg of you, the Young Master is frail, spare him…”
The sharp cries carried a hint of sobbing. Jiang Juan suddenly woke up from his dream, but before he could react, he was roughly pulled and fell to the ground.
It hurt, it hurt so much.
Jiang Juan’s hazy consciousness barely cleared up a bit.
“Jiang Juan, whether you like it or not, the person sent from the Minister Residence to Prince Li Residence is you,” a middle-aged man in official attire said with disgust, “Don’t forget, you’re the one who pushed Xiao Nian into the lake.”
Prince Li Residence? Xiao Nian? What was he talking about?
The more Jiang Juan listened, the more familiar it sounded, and a sense of unease rose in his heart.
After a pause, the middle-aged man glanced at the tear-stained maid and said to Jiang Juan, “As long as you obediently marry into Prince Li Residence, the matter between you and Xiao Nian will be forgotten.”
His tone was disdainful, and his posture was haughty, as if allowing Jiang Juan to marry into Prince Li Residence was a great favor.
Jiang Juan: “…”
He seemed to understand now.
Wasn’t this the novel his cousin shared with him last night, “After Rebirth, I Became the Center of Attention”?
At that time, he was about to undergo a heart repair surgery with only a 10% success rate. Jiang Juan joked about taking a risk, but deep down, he was still nervous. He tossed and turned in bed all night, unable to sleep. His cousin, who was accompanying him, said, “Hey, bro, I read this novel. There’s a character with the same name and surname as you. Do you want to read it together?”
Since Jiang Juan couldn’t sleep anyway, he let his cousin share the novel with him. In the first chapter, the cannon fodder was already full of hatred. Jiang Juan joked, “Should I memorize the whole text now in case I transmigrate tomorrow?”
His cousin couldn’t stop laughing, and Jiang Juan flipped through a few more chapters.
“After Rebirth, I Became the Center of Attention” was a sweet and indulgent BL novel. The protagonist shou was reborn and became the center of attention. In his previous life, Marquis Anping had fallen in love with him, but the protagonist shou didn’t care. Later, he was married off to Prince Li*, and his story ended tragically. On the other hand, Marquis Anping became an emperor due to turbulent times.
Note: Prince Li, the title here refers to a conferred title for princes who leave the palace and bestowed some lands outside to reign but the Emperor. So he’s not in same position as princes in the palace.
Starting from scratch, the protagonist shou Jiang Nian actively changed the storyline and successfully pursued his adoptive father, the Minister of Rites, his classmate who was the son of an official, and even a prince, becoming the ultimate beloved character.
This time around, the protagonist shou Jiang Nian accepted Marquis Anping’s confession and decided to take a different path.
This protagonist shou is Jiang Nian, also known as Xiao Nian.
As for the cannon fodder with the same name and surname as Jiang Juan, Marquis Anping had a fiancé in his previous life, and that was him.
Since the protagonist Jiang Nian refused to marry Prince Li, someone else had to marry in his place. In the original plot, it was at this moment that Jiang Juan’s fiancé requested to annul their engagement. Out of anger, Jiang Juan pushed the protagonist shou Jiang Nian into the lake, so it was up to him, this unlucky fellow, to make amends.
Jiang Juan thought about it seriously, his eyelashes drooping, and he even had a sense of obedience.
Minister Jiang looked at him in surprise, then frowned.
This Jiang Juan may look obedient, but his thoughts are truly malicious.
Minister Jiang had never held his son in high regard. His birth mother passed away early, and he was raised in the countryside by his maternal grandfather. He was always meek and submissive, unable to hold his own in social situations. If it weren’t for his severe heart condition requiring medical treatment, Minister Jiang would never have brought him back to the capital. This son of his only made him feel ashamed.
With this in mind, Minister Jiang became even more disgusted with him. He continued, “By the way, the Marquis just visited. Since you’re about to marry into Prince Li Residence, he couldn’t meet you again. He asked me to smash your token in front of you and pass on a message.”
As he spoke, he threw a jade pendant at Jiang Juan and said.
“——You and Jiang Nian are worlds apart. The engagement is annulled, and there’s no need to keep this jade pendant anymore. Take care of yourself.”
As the jade pendant was about to hit the ground, Jiang Juan hastily pressed it against his body, intercepting it urgently—breaking off the engagement was one thing, but the jade pendant was innocent. Its beautiful water-like color would be a pity to shatter.
Minister Jiang mistakenly thought he hadn’t given up yet and warned, “Jiang Juan, regardless of the jade pendant, you’ll be Prince Li’s Royal Consort from now on. Don’t cling to Marquis Anping anymore.”
Jiang Juan was too busy inspecting the jade pendant. Seeing him clutching it in silence, Minister Jiang asked again, “Jiang Juan, do you have any grievances?”
Jiang Juan held the jade pendant tightly, showing no signs of discontent. But for the Jiang Juan in the novel, there were too many grievances.
Leaving aside what would happen with Marquis Anping later, there were rumors in the palace about this Prince Li. Despite being a sickly child, he was said to be cruel and unpredictable, behaving outrageously. There were even rumors that he personally killed his own mother!
Furthermore, in the book, Jiang Juan came to the capital from the countryside precisely because of his engagement to Marquis Anping. He valued this fiancé very much, to the extent that he was willing to feign illness and travel to the capital.
Yes, he actually didn’t have a heart condition; at most, he just had some congenital deficiencies, far from needing to seek medical treatment in the capital.
According to the plot, out of fear of Prince Li, coupled with being jilted by Marquis Anping and hearing such heartless words, the Jiang Juan in the book ended up biting his tongue and committing suicide under the successive blows.
But he didn’t know that on the second day of the wedding, Prince Li passed away.
This was still the plot from the previous life of the protagonist Jiang Nian. With the absence of His Highness in the residence, Jiang Nian enjoyed freedom every day. The noblewomen in the palace thought that since he married into the family for the wedding celebration, he deserved some credit even if he didn’t have any achievements. They took care of him daily. However, Jiang Nian didn’t enjoy this kind of life. He was unhappy all day long, which eventually led to his illness and gave him the opportunity for rebirth.
When Jiang Juan read this part, he found it absurd and soulfully questioned his cousin, “How could anyone not want to be a salted fish?”
His cousin replied, “The protagonist should have ambition. How could they waste their life?”
Jiang Juan sincerely said, “If I transmigrate, I’ll obediently follow the plot. If I outlast His Highness, I’ll be the saltiest fish around, living carefree like an immortal.”
And now…
He had truly transmigrated.
Jiang Juan fell into contemplation.
“Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang—!” The servant hurried over, beaming with joy. “The auspicious time is approaching, and the Third Young Master needs to be sent to Prince Li Residence.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Juan suddenly lifted his eyes, his gaze startlingly bright. The servant, seeing his face, was taken aback.
The young man’s appearance was extraordinarily handsome, and even in plain, subdued attire, he couldn’t conceal his allure. Perhaps due to the earlier commotion, his hair was disheveled, cascading over his shoulders. His complexion was exceedingly pale, his lips too faintly colored, accentuating his fragility. He seemed as if a gust of wind could scatter him away.
They all said that the Third Young Master of the Minister Residence hailing from the countryside, was imbued with a rustic charm, no different from a rural bumpkin. Yet today, upon seeing him, how could he appear so… ethereal and refined?
Could it be true that such a celestial Young Master had pushed the Second Young Master into the lake?
These thoughts gnawed at the mind of the servant. Not to mention her, even Minister Jiang himself seemed somewhat stunned, feeling that Jiang Juan’s gaze was exceptionally clear and bright, unlike his usual gloominess.
But Jiang Juan didn’t take it to heart. He just gave a cold snort. “What? Do you have something to say?”
Struggling, Jiang Juan grabbed his clothes and finally uttered his first words since transmigrating. “Quick, help me up. Don’t delay the auspicious time.”
Minister Jiang: “???”
He lifted his clothes and took a step back, as if Jiang Juan was something filthy, wishing to keep his distance. Minister Jiang thought Jiang Juan’s mind had been affected too heavily, causing him to talk nonsense. Disregarding him, he ordered, “Someone, escort the Third Young Master to the sedan.”
.
The twenty-first of March was auspicious for weddings.
At Prince Li Residence, lanterns were hung, decorations adorned the place, and firecrackers resounded, creating a lively atmosphere.
Inside the bridal sedan, Jiang Juan sat, grasping at straws, desperately trying to recall relevant plot points.
In the novel, there weren’t many descriptions of this Prince Li, except that he was described with two words: disregarding human relations and tyrannically violent.
As for this wedding, in the novel, Jiang Juan bit his tongue and died before he could be delivered. However, the protagonist shou had a memory before his rebirth.
——“Prince Li is an unfathomable man, he is intimidating, and even more terrifying. Jiang Nian remembered that as soon as he got off the sedan, he lowered his head and dared not look up, walking with fear and trembling. What’s even more frightening is that halfway through, he suddenly fell ill. Jiang Nian witnessed Prince Li killing many servants, and the blood flowed like a river.”
Seems quite terrifying.
Jiang Juan encouraged himself inwardly.
There are no difficult tasks, only brave dogs.
No big deal, he wouldn’t survive past three chapters, Jiang Juan, you can do it.
“The newcomer arrives—!”
The matchmaker called out loudly, and the people from Prince Li Residence hurried forward to greet him. Jiang Juan took a deep breath as he was helped off the sedan chair. Just as his feet touched the ground, the sound of arrows whistling through the air reached his ears, and arrows flew towards him.
Jiang Juan froze in place, as the long arrow narrowly missed his earlobe, cutting off a strand of his hair and embedding itself in the sedan chair behind him.
Jiang Juan’s face turned pale—he was terrified. Instinctively, he looked up, only to hear the sound of arrows flying towards him once again. His mind was filled with one thought.
There are troublemakers trying to assassinate me!
In his panic, Jiang Juan locked eyes with a pair of smiling eyes.
The man was slender and tall, akin to bamboo or a crane. His complexion was pale, yet his lips were a deep red. Dressed in a black and gold robe, a combination that should have exuded arrogance, he instead emanated an elegant aura, effortlessly suppressing any hint of frivolity, which only accentuated his nobility.
His identity was unmistakable.
Prince Li, Xue Fangli.
Seeing Jiang Juan looking his way, Xue Fangli casually nodded in acknowledgment, drew the bowstring, and released another arrow towards Jiang Juan.
“Swoosh—!”
“Your Highness, that’s enough, that’s enough!” whispered the steward of the Prince Residence. “Three arrows determine fate; three arrows are sufficient.”
Xue Fangli stopped, handing the bow and arrow to the steward, then slowly approached Jiang Juan.
“I’ve heard that it’s customary to shoot arrows at the bridal sedan to dispel bad luck when the bride steps out,” Xue Fangli said gently, “but I haven’t practiced archery in a long time. My aim was off just now.”
“Did I startle you?”
Jiang Juan remained silent, staring blankly.
Is this Prince Li?
The one who disregards ethics and is cruel and unbridled?
After a pause, Xue Fangli spoke earnestly again, “Third Young Master, I apologize for my suddenness.”
Jiang Juan: “???”
After a long while, Jiang Juan shook his head slowly and said, “Oh, it’s fine.”
Xue Fangli, seeing Jiang Juan’s reaction, still wore a regretful expression. “It’s good that Third Young Master is fine. I should have informed you beforehand, considering your heart condition and sensitivity to shock.”
As he spoke, he smiled, exuding an air of elegance and grace.
Jiang Juan: “…”
Something doesn’t seem right, does it?
Jiang Juan remained silent, looking bewildered, while Xue Fangli continued in a deliberate manner, “Speaking of which, I heard that Third Young Master’s marriage to the Li Residence was not entirely voluntary. If you truly do not wish…”
Jiang Juan immediately snapped out of his daze, hastily replying, “I don’t have any objections, I volunteered!”
He truly volunteered to be the salted fish, more genuine than pearls!
Xue Fangli was taken aback, lowering his gaze to Jiang Juan. The youth’s tone was resolute, his eyes shining brightly, showing no hint of reluctance but rather excitement and anticipation.
Excitement and anticipation?
Was this Third Young Master from the Minister Residence not afraid of him?
Xue Fangli’s eyebrows raised slightly.
After a while, Xue Fangli extended a hand to Jiang Juan, with a smile that seemed to contain both amusement and sincerity, “Third Young Master, shall we proceed to the wedding ceremony?”
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