Volume One, Chapter 2: Change One Word, Refuse to Be a Helpless Pawn

Fu Xiaolian glanced at Fu Chun'er and then, with feigned intimacy, cooed to Madam Lin, “Mother, I heard that as soon as my younger brother was admitted to the Imperial Academy, Young Master Shangguan praised him for his scholarship. Now that my brother’s birthday is almost here, Young Master Shangguan is surely coming to offer congratulations, too. This year’s birthday banquet will certainly be most splendid!”

Madam Lin broke into a radiant smile. Her own son not only excelled at his studies but had also made connections with a man of consequence. How could she not be delighted? Even the look she gave Fu Xiaolian grew gentle.

After currying favor with Madam Lin, Fu Xiaolian turned triumphantly toward her sister from the countryside.

So what if Fu Chun'er was the legitimate daughter? Their mother clearly liked her better, and the birthday banquet would bring many young men from noble families. By then, she would understand what it meant to be unworthy of one’s position and meet with disaster!

Fu Chun'er lowered her eyes slightly. Hearing those two names again, she felt as though she had been cast back into another lifetime.

In her previous life, when Yin Lingxiao had confined her, her younger brother, Fu Heng, had done everything he could to save her. She could not help feeling grateful. As for Young Master Shangguan, he was the son of the chief minister of the present court, named Shangguan Hao, and also the man Yin Lingxiao had once said she would marry in the future.

She still remembered the young man, as bright and clear as wind and moon, and the steadfast way he had said he wanted to marry her. Though she had not felt the shy delight of a young maiden, she had still been moved.

The page gave off a faint glow, interrupting her thoughts. Seeing that the words upon it matched reality exactly, Fu Chun'er finally understood everything.

Beside her, a floating writing brush waited, poised to be taken up so destiny could be written.

The next passage read: [A dark glint flashed in Fu Xiaolian's eyes. With deliberate grace, she lifted her teacup, inhaled the rich fragrance, and said in rapt tones, “The foam on this tea is white as snow. How lovely it is. Since my elder sister has always lived in the countryside, she probably knows nothing of the tea-tasting etiquette only noble ladies learn. Why don't I teach you?”]

A thought stirred in Fu Chun'er’s mind, and the brush moved at once, carrying out her intention on the page. She struck out the character for tea in “tea fragrance” and replaced it with one meaning “fart.”

After that, everything proceeded naturally.

Fu Xiaolian lifted her cup with elegance. After uncovering the lid, she drew in a deep breath. “The foam on this tea is white—”

A pungent stench of fart rushed straight into her nose.

“—Ugh!”

Fu Xiaolian’s face turned green. She retched at once, flinging the teacup to the floor, where scalding tea splashed all over Madam Lin.

For a brief moment, the air seemed to freeze.

Only the system laughed in Fu Chun'er’s mind, along with the prompt of [Permission activated successfully].

Madam Lin’s shrill cry rang out, and a great swarm of maids and matrons hurried in from outside. They were just about to ask what had happened when all of them pinched their noses with pained expressions.

There was no helping it. The smell was far too strong.

Everyone looked at mistress and daughter with complicated expressions, each wondering who on earth had released such a vicious fart.

Madam Lin endured the burn and turned a ferocious glare on Fu Xiaolian. “Xiaolian, how dare you fart in public and make such an indecent display? Where is the slightest trace of a proper young lady’s manners!” She absolutely could not allow anyone to think it had been her.

Fu Xiaolian had borne the brunt of the stench and suffered the worst of the damage.

At that moment, she felt so sick she could almost vomit up last night’s supper. Her refined manners were nowhere to be found as she cried in panic and humiliation, “Mother... it wasn’t me, I—”

A matron beside them suddenly cried out, “Madam, your face has been scalded and is blistering!”

“What?” Madam Lin was both shocked and furious. “Hurry and bring the burn salve!”

Fu Xiaolian burst into aggrieved tears. “Mother, it really wasn’t me...”

Chaos broke out all around them, the scene growing ever more out of control. Then, all at once, a cool and captivating voice sounded. “So that’s how it is.”

Fu Xiaolian, deflated, looked toward the source of the voice. Her eyes widened abruptly.

At some point, Fu Chun'er had already moved to the window, standing in the place where the air flowed through, as though the foul smell had not touched her at all. A breeze lifted the hair at her brow, revealing a pair of eyes bright and sparkling as stars, luminous with life.

“So this is the tea-tasting etiquette of a noble lady? I have learned something.”

“...”

Fu Xiaolian collapsed onto the floor, utterly ruined.

Soon, all of the Fu household was spreading the tale: Miss Lian had let out a heaven-shaking fart so foul that even the mistress nearly fainted from the stench. People asked in wonder: then wouldn’t Madam Lin herself have been stained by the fart’s odor as well?

After hearing the rumor, Madam Lin’s face turned an ugly shade of blue, and she ordered the household never to discuss the matter again, or they would face the family discipline.

The rumor died down a little, but only in the open; in secret, it merely moved elsewhere. Everyone understood without saying so...

The moon had climbed to its zenith, and the hour of the rat was nearly past.

The clamor of the Fu residence settled into silence. Its people sank into sweet dreams, while Fu Chun'er bent over her desk and memorized her lessons.

After the system was successfully activated, it issued its first task: to recite the entire Classic of Filial Piety from memory. Ever since returning to her room, Fu Chun'er had been reciting it without pause.

Though the text was rather difficult to pronounce, it was less than two thousand characters in its entirety. She ought to be able to memorize it in one night.

“Confucius was at home. Zengzi was attending him. The Master said: In former times, the sage kings...”

Holding the brush in hand, Fu Chun'er copied the Classic of Filial Piety, stroke by stroke, onto the paper conjured by the system, all the while reciting it under her breath.

After a very long while, the system could not help reminding her, [Take a break. You have been studying for a long time.]

Fu Chun'er shook her head, massaged her aching wrist, and then opened another annotated edition to sort through the meaning of the text in its entirety.

Now was not the time to rest.

She had once read tales before and knew that the characters inside them were never masters of their own fate, like puppets fitted into shells and manipulated at will. But now, so long as she completed the tasks issued by the system, she could seize control of her own destiny, and even that of others. Merely thinking of it was astonishing.

In this life, she would never again become Yin Lingxiao’s thing to keep in the palm of his hand.

When dawn broke, she would go to White Deer Academy to study. To be safe, she had to finish tonight’s task and unlock the next page of the plot so she could change her destined fate.

Fu Chun'er had not cared for scholarly pursuits in her previous life, but from the age when peaches and plums bloom, Yin Lingxiao had kept her at his side and forced her to learn the six arts of the gentleman: ritual, music, archery, chariotry, calligraphy, and mathematics. She was no longer the ignorant rustic girl she had once been. Still, the imperial examinations did not cover these subjects, so she had to begin again; fortunately, she already knew how to study, and learning afresh was not difficult.

Candlelight swayed over the desk, and the only sound was Fu Chun'er’s earnest recitation and copying. As dawn drew near, sounds of servants moving about drifted in from the corridor. Fu Chun'er, weary, set down her brush and finally let out a long breath.

[Congratulations, Host. The task of reciting the Classic of Filial Piety has been completed. Reward: single-character modification, one use. Would you like to unlock the next page of the plot?]

“Unlock it!”

The glowing book and brush appeared once more out of thin air. As the page turned, Fu Chun'er felt both nervous and expectant.

[Location: White Deer Academy. Characters: Fu Chun'er, Yin Lingxiao, Fu Xiaolian, and other students]

[The sky is overcast, and wind and rain are approaching.]

[Many ornate sedan chairs have already stopped before the gates of White Deer Academy. Now and then a few poor scholars in haste pass by, casting envious glances at the prestigious students of the top class.

Suddenly, a horse’s neigh splits the darkened sky. Everyone turns to look, and the figure of a young man in fine clothes and astride a spirited horse is already near at hand.

Yin Lingxiao dismounts in one smooth motion. His sharp brows and eyes reveal a glint of edge and brilliance. Dressed in black robes that accentuate his tall, upright bearing, he casually tosses the reins to the attendant behind him and strides into the academy...]

In between was a long stretch describing the reactions of others, with the classmates from the top class either envious or admiring, making the male lead stamped and certified by the system seem peerless beneath heaven and above it all. Fu Chun'er had no patience to read further, so she skipped straight to the next passage.

[Suddenly, a lovely laugh rang out. Yin Lingxiao’s gaze was drawn over involuntarily. He saw a strange young woman looking this way, and he froze.

The girl was breathtakingly beautiful. A pale yellow floral ornament adorned her forehead; rouge painted delicate marks on her cheeks; matching ribbons from her tasseled hair bun draped over both shoulders, making her appear both sweetly pretty and bright. She carried a distinct wild, unrestrained charm, as though born of the open hills and fields...]

Fu Chun'er drew in a sharp breath. In her previous life, when she had first gone to the academy, afraid of disgracing the Fu family, she had clumsily dressed herself for a very long time before daring to step out, never imagining it would draw Yin Lingxiao’s attention.

The scene from those years was still vivid, yet she had never noticed when Yin Lingxiao had appeared.

Could it be that this fleeting glance had lodged itself in Yin Lingxiao’s memory for so long, leading to all those unbearable events later on?

Fu Chun'er sighed and continued reading.

[Yin Lingxiao stared for a long while. Even after he looked away, his heart remained unsettled. He thought: What an ugly face paint.]

Fu Chun'er finished reading that line: “...”

The system could no longer endure it and let out a smothered laugh in her mind.