I Quit Being This Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 35

The snow fell, stopped, and then started falling again.

This persistent, scattered snowing lasted for a full week before it finally ceased.

The red walls and green tiles, blanketed in white snow, acquired a unique charm—quiet and composed, much like a chronicler rich with historical sediment, calmly recounting its life.

The palace chamber was as warm as spring. Mang Ke sat before her dressing table, attending to her hair. A warm body pressed up behind her, encircling her waist.

Mang Ke instinctively shivered. The comb slipped from her grasp and fell directly onto the dressing table, making a noticeable sound. She knew that now, whenever she saw Xun Fangyun approach, her legs started to feel weak.

The woman sensed Mang Ke’s nervousness and chuckled softly, then pulled back to create some distance between them.

“Let me help you comb your hair,” Xun Fangyun said, picking up the fallen sandalwood comb and gently drawing it across Mang Ke’s scalp.

Mang Ke looked at the woman in the bronze mirror. Although her appearance was different from that Xun Fangyun, she knew this person was indeed the one she was looking for.

“Speaking of which,” Mang Ke looked at Xun Fangyun’s reflection in the mirror with some confusion, and asked, “Why do you have memories? Aren’t you a character from the book?”

Xun Fangyun’s hand paused. Her downcast black eyes flickered with unease, and it was a long while before she slowly replied, “I don’t know either.”

“I’ve known since before that this is a book, and that everyone around me is fake,” Xun Fangyun continued to comb Mang Ke’s hair.

She still remembered crying for a long time in the previous book’s world after realizing that her teachers and classmates were all fake. But no matter how much Xun Fangyun cried or fussed, they all maintained a placid expression, speaking the same words they had repeated for lifetimes.

At that time, Xun Fangyun was truly frightened. She locked herself in a cabinet, feeling as if she were trapped in a horror movie where the kind and familiar faces were actually monsters. Even though they never hurt Xun Fangyun, it didn’t change the truth: they were just paper people.

Gradually, she stopped crying and ceased her tantrums because Xun Fangyun suddenly realized a despairing truth:

She had no way to escape this world.

Whenever this thought struck her, Xun Fangyun felt as if she had been tossed into icy cold seawater, the despair drowning her from head to toe.

She couldn’t break free, nor could she stop them from getting closer.

Night and day became indistinguishable, and growing up or learning no longer seemed important. Xun Fangyun didn’t even know why she should continue to live.

But she couldn’t say these words aloud because of her damned self-respect.

“So, do you also know the subsequent plot development?” Mang Ke felt this was novel. However, when she thought about Yue Yin and Jiang Chun’er both being people who had entered from the outside world, she wasn’t so surprised by Xun Fangyun’s ‘awakening.’

Xun Fangyun calmly replied, “I suppose so.”

“Knowing is knowing, and not knowing is not knowing,” Mang Ke swung her feet in confusion. “What do you mean, ‘suppose so’?”

Xun Fangyun glanced at her dangling feet, maintaining that same faint expression as she patiently smoothed out Mang Ke’s tangled, long hair.

Seeing that Xun Fangyun seemed reluctant to discuss the topic, Mang Ke stopped pressing and let out a lazy yawn.

She had stayed up too late the previous night, which was why she was still very sleepy after waking up early.

After finishing a huge yawn, Mang Ke closed her eyes, wanting to rest for a bit. She said languidly, “I want to doze for a while…”

‘Clack—’

Xun Fangyun tapped Mang Ke’s small head with the comb. “You’re already out of bed, why are you dozing off? Don’t sleep; I’ll take you to see the snow scene later.”

Mang Ke touched her tapped scalp, initially intending to get angry, but upon hearing about going out to see the snow, she shivered. “It’s so cold outside, why go out?”

Wasn’t it better to stay inside, warm and cozy, where she could do whatever she wanted?

“It’ll be good to get some fresh air,” Xun Fangyun held Mang Ke’s long hair and began weaving it into a flower pattern. The ink-black strands were incredibly obedient in her hands; they wound around without tangling. A neat, low flower bun was formed on the back of Mang Ke’s head, looking plump and rounded. A hairpin was threaded through the knot, securing it firmly.

Xun Fangyun dressed Mang Ke in a fluffy long skirt and robe, and then helped her put on a large hooded cloak. The puffball-like hood covered half of Mang Ke’s face, leaving only a pair of light-colored eyes visible, like a small pet hiding in a pile of cotton, staring intently at Xun Fangyun.

Finally, Xun Fangyun reached out, patted the little pet’s head, and smiled. “Is it still cold now?”

Mang Ke held both hands to her head, saying a little shyly, “It’s not cold, but I feel like I look very silly.”

Clumsy and foolish, and dressed so thickly. She would probably walk like a penguin later.

Xun Fangyun also changed into a new set of clothes. Black and gold fabric enveloped her entire body, with only a black fur scarf wrapped around her neck, making her look much lighter than Mang Ke.

The eunuchs had already swept the bluestone path clean. To prevent the stone slabs from being slippery, they had sprinkled coarse salt and plant ash on them. When Mang Ke stepped on it, she could feel the sensation of tiny granules rubbing the soles of her feet, which felt both strange and fascinating.

The morning sunlight slowly rose from the east, refracting many beams of light off the white snow covering the roof tiles and pavilions, making the Imperial Palace look brighter than usual.

“Your Majesty, Empress.” A person dressed in a dark eunuch’s uniform stood behind Xun Fangyun and said to her, “It’s cold. Please take the hand warmers.”

Mang Ke leaned forward and saw the two small, silver-embroidered silk hand warmers he was holding. She took one and hugged it to her chest. The warm feeling made her feel alive again.

“Where are we going?” Mang Ke walked forward step by step, saying a little bored, “What is there to wander in the palace? I’ve seen enough of it these past few months.”

Xun Fangyun laughed. “Weren’t you in the Cold Palace these past few months? How did you get tired of seeing it?”

Mang Ke was speechless. She turned and glared at Xun Fangyun. “How dare you bring that up? You kept me locked up for so long, aren’t you going to apologize?”

Xun Fangyun blinked. “It was a plot setting. Why do I need to apologize?”

Mang Ke was quite upset. “What plot setting? You clearly locked me up for so long!”

“But haven’t you been let out now?”

“That’s not good enough.”

Mang Ke seemed to remember something and asked, “Speaking of which, was my family really executed by you?”

“No,” Xun Fangyun said lazily. “They have all gone south to be bandits now. You might even run into them if you leave the palace someday.”

Mang Ke stood still, looking at her with an expression of contempt.

Xun Fangyun laughed, pulling Mang Ke’s hand. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Mang Ke stamped her foot. “You are too boring! I’m going back to the palace today. You can forget about keeping me here!”

After saying that, she ran off like a small rabbit. Xun Fangyun didn’t even react in time. Watching her run away, she finally smiled helplessly and said to the person behind her, “Keep an eye on the Empress. Don’t let her fall.”

It would be difficult to coax her little wife if she fell and cried.

The Empress and her Imperial Consort’s seemingly inseparable closeness had long spread throughout the palace.

In the E Cui Palace, Jiang Chun’er was slouching over a table, idly plucking at rose petals. The more she plucked, the more annoyed she became, and the more annoyed she was, the more she wanted to pluck. She finally deforested an entire pot of winter roses before slumping back down listlessly.

The palace maids exchanged glances. They didn’t dare say a word, not only because of how difficult it was to cultivate and plant winter roses but also because of the Pure Consort’s look of utter despair.

“Oh, dear…”

Jiang Chun’er sighed. She changed her position, leaning her head on the table. She hadn’t been down for long before a little palace maid woke her up.

“Pure Consort, please don’t sleep yet. Lady Luo has come to see you.”

Jiang Chun’er rested her chin on the table and asked, bewildered, “Who is Lady Luo?”

The maid replied, “She is His Majesty’s Cabinet Advisor and the teacher who instructs the Imperial Musicians.”

“Oh.” Jiang Chun’er seemed to recall her. She had indeed seen the woman a few times, but her mind was completely preoccupied with Empress Sister, and she had no interest in any Lady or Madame. She immediately turned back and continued to lie on the table, saying, “Just tell her I’m tired. I won’t see anyone who comes looking for me, except for the Empress.”

“Yes…”

Seeing her mistress looking utterly distracted, the palace maid said nothing, retreated from the room, and relayed the message to Lady Luo, who was standing at the entrance.

“Lady,” the maid curtsied. “The Pure Consort has been unwell these past few days and cannot receive you for the time being. Please don’t take offense.”

The woman, draped in white fur, looked at her with a pair of peach blossom eyes, smiled, and said, “It’s quite alright. Since the Pure Consort is not feeling well, I won’t disturb her. However, please relay a message for me.”

“Please tell me, Lady.”

Lady Luo pursed her lips and paused before speaking. “Tell the Pure Consort that if she wants to be the Empress, she can come to me anytime.”

With that, she turned and left.

Watching the white figure disappear from her sight, the palace maid nervously ran back into the room and spoke to Jiang Chun’er, who was still tossing and turning. “Mistress.”

She repeated everything Lady Luo had told her and concluded by asking, “What does Lady Luo mean by this?”

Jiang Chun’er was now wide awake. She sat upright and looked at the palace maid, suddenly realizing that the story she had transmigrated into was a palace intrigue novel!

This is bad, this is bad. The NPCs are seriously engaged in palace intrigue, while she and Empress Sister are lovingly cooing at each other (which they weren’t). If this continued, Jiang Chun’er could already foresee a scenario where a group of bewildered paper people sat in a row and the entire world crashed.

“No, I must go find Sister.”

Jiang Chun’er propped herself up with her hands on the table and said to her little palace maid, “Where is Empress Sister now? I have something I need to tell her.”

The plot, or lack thereof, didn’t matter. She had figured it out now: instead of an online romance, she should make it a real-life meeting!

“The Empress has been with His Majesty recently,” the maid said carefully. “I heard His Majesty hasn’t attended the morning court for seven days.”

Jiang Chun’er: “…Huh?”

My lover stole my romantic rival?

Why is the plot so wrong…