The Villain Recognizes the Female Lead as His Master [Transmigration] - Chapter 8

At this moment, Chi Jinnian could only feel a throbbing headache. She cleared her throat and said, “Ahem, well, I’m tired today. You all, can go back and rest for now. No need to attend to me.” With that, she tried to dismiss the four pretty boys.

Hearing this, everyone present, including Caiwei and Caiyue, was stunned.

“What happened to you after going out?” Caiwei tilted her head in confusion.

“Changed your nature?” Caiyue added.

Chi Jinnian:

“I’m not a three year old child anymore; I can’t be thinking about playing all day,” Chi Jinnian said, coughing lightly into her fist. As she raised her hand, her bare wrist was exposed.

“Where’s the thing you always wore on your wrist?” Caiwei grabbed Chi Jinnian’s arm. Caiyue chimed in, “Yeah, the one you never took off, even when bathing or sleeping!”

“That, I didn’t like it anymore, so I sold it! I’m tired, I need to bathe!” Chi Jinnian pulled her arm back, waved her hand, and quickly slipped into her room under everyone’s bewildered gazes.

Soaking in the hot water, Chi Jinnian felt the exhaustion of the day slowly melt away. She rubbed her temples, trying to process the earth-shattering changes that had occurred in just one day.

She had transmigrated into a book. As a villain, she had acknowledged the female protagonist as her master and then hidden her away like a “secret lover,” keeping her in a gilded cage.

Now, not only did she have to help the female protagonist regain her powers, but she also had to ensure that once those powers were restored, she wouldn’t be killed… Ugh, what a mess!

On top of that, there was the debt of several thousand spirit stones. Chi Jinnian felt like her already struggling situation had just gotten worse.

Just then, Caiyue pushed the door open, carrying a bucket of hot water, which she poured into Chi Jinnian’s tub. “Young Mistress, is the water temperature alright?”

Chi Jinnian murmured an absentminded “Mm,” but her mind was preoccupied with how to solve her mountain of debts.

“Caiyue, how much stuff do we have left in the small treasury? How many spirit stones is it worth?” Chi Jinnian asked.

“Small treasury?”

“Yeah, doesn’t Peach Manor have a little vault or something?” It couldn’t be possible, she was a young mistress, practically equivalent to a crown prince. What kind of crown prince didn’t have a stash of private funds?

“A while ago, you heard some news that Young Master Su had fallen for someone else. In a fit of rage, didn’t you smash everything? Three pearl vases, five agate bowls, a pair of crystal flower vases…” Caiyue counted off the treasures Chi Jinnian had destroyed on her fingers. With each item listed, Chi Jinnian felt another stab to her heart.

“Oh, right! There was one set of Eastern pearl jewelry left,” Caiyue suddenly remembered.

“Where is it? Go get it, quick!” Chi Jinnian clutched at this last lifeline.

“You took it out, saying you wanted to exchange it for some kind of pill.” Caiyue rested her chin on her hand. “Young Mistress, what kind of pill could be that expensive? That set wasn’t cheap!”

The answer flashed in Chi Jinnian’s mind, and her heart ached again. What kind of pill could be that expensive, the Heart-Losing Pill! The root of all evil!

Chi Jinnian scooped up a handful of hot water and splashed it over her face. Heaven was out to get her!

After her bath, Chi Jinnian stood in front of the mirror, twisting a towel around her chestnut-brown hair.

Perhaps because she was part of the demon race, Chi Jinnian’s hair wasn’t black but a shade similar to chestnut husks. The color was incredibly even, far more natural than anything a salon could concoct.

Due to her demonic heritage, her eyebrows and eyes were more pronounced than before, giving her a distinctly mixed-race appearance. With a delicate jawline and lively eyes, though not as tall as Yuan Shao, she had a charming cuteness. With such a lovely face, why did she have to antagonize the female lead?

Now, not only had she reset the female lead to factory settings, but she was also saddled with a pile of debts out of nowhere.

Her home was bare, and creditors were about to come knocking. Was she supposed to wait for Chi Jinnian’s father, the Demon Lord, to settle his daughter’s debts? But in the original story, the Demon Lord was hell-bent on harming Yuan Shao. If he found out she had saved her and even turned her into a “kept woman”

A sudden flicker in the sky behind the house caught Chi Jinnian’s attention. Logically, that area should still be part of the Demon Palace.

“What’s that?”

“It’s almost the Qixi Festival. There’ll be a fireworks display that day, and today they’re testing the effects in the Demon Palace’s back garden.”

Qixi Festival… Chi Jinnian looked at the tasseled mask she had casually bought on the street earlier. The streets were filled with couples, most wearing masks and chatting happily.

Seeing their joy only made Chi Jinnian feel worse, alone in a world where she knew no one.

Speaking of which, Yuan Shao, seemed pretty miserable too. Freshly memory-wiped and left alone in that big mansion, Who knew how her cultivation was going? Any progress?

If Chi Jinnian had slowed down back then, maybe Yuan Shao would have been strolling hand in hand with the male lead like those couples on the street.

Annoyed, Chi Jinnian pushed these thoughts aside. She lay down in her clothes, trying to empty her mind.

Qixi Festival… couples, pawnshop…

As another burst of light streaked across the night sky, Chi Jinnian suddenly sat up in bed.

She knew how to repay her debts!

The next day, Chi Jinnian rose early and arrived at Yi Hui Hall before the shop assistant had even opened the doors.

She marched straight to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper, bleary-eyed, yawned. “Young Mistress, here so early to settle your previous debts?”

“Not exactly.”

The shopkeeper’s smile froze, his left cheek twitching twice.

First, she bought things without paying, and now she was tormenting him mentally? Couldn’t even let him sleep in peace!

But Chi Jinnian was brimming with excitement. “Shopkeeper, show me your storeroom!”

Though inwardly reluctant, the shopkeeper, mindful of her status as the Young Mistress, fetched the storeroom key and led her inside.

The small room was packed with dazzling jade artifacts and magical tools, especially in the corner, where five full baskets of bracelets sat on the floor.

“You measure bracelets by the basket?!” Chi Jinnian was stunned.

The shopkeeper stroked his beard. “Which is why, Young Mistress, the bracelet you sold me really wasn’t worth much.”

Chi Jinnian:

When Chi Jinnian returned to Taoyuan, she carried a stack of books. She gathered everyone in Taoyuan four men and two women,lining them up in the courtyard.

She paced back and forth in front of them like a drill sergeant during military training. “You four,” Chi Jinnian pointed at the four men first. “What are your names? Go back inside and take off those robes and hairpieces, then tie your hair up neatly. Walking around with your hair loose all day, you’re starting to look like those cookie-cutter xianxia dramas! Look at how your hairlines are being pulled back by those jade crowns, they’re practically receding into the heavens!”

“Young Mistress!” Caiwei interjected. “Back then, it was you who insisted that Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei dress like this. Why don’t you like it now?”

Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei were the names of the four stand-ins. They each had their own original names, but the original Chi Jinnian couldn’t be bothered to remember them, so she simply renamed them all.

“Ahem!” Chi Jinnian cleared her throat. “People’s tastes naturally change as they grow older. When you reach my age, you’ll realize that not everyone can pull off those billowing white robes!”

“Young Mistress!” This time, it was Caiyue who spoke up. “But you’re the youngest among us!”

Chi Jinnian:

“Am I talking about age? I’m talking about your attitudes!” She mimicked the tone her female coworkers used when arguing with their boyfriends, which finally shut them up.

Once the four men had changed and returned, Chi Jinnian distributed the books she had just brought back, one to each person.

“Ooh, new picture books?” Caiyue grinned. “One for each of us, how generous! Scripts, is this a new play?”

Chi Jinnian wasn’t sure how to explain it to them. After some thought, she said, “I’d like to ask you all to help me act out a play.”

She first pointed to the most handsome-looking man. “You, you’re the male lead. You’re the second male lead. And you two are extras.” Then she walked over to Caiwei and Caiyue, deliberating for a moment. “Caiyue, you’ll play the female lead. Caiwei, you’re the second female lead.”

“Why do I have to act opposite A-Xi? He stutters, I don’t want to work with him,” Caiyue pouted.

“Since when do you get to make demands? Nowadays, even ugly men can star in historical idol dramas. So what if we stutter? How bad could it be?” Chi Jinnian glanced at the man. At the very least, he was thin, far better than those actors in dramas who couldn’t even land steadily after jumping from a second-floor balcony!

“Th-th-th-thank you, Y-young M-mistress.” The man named A-Xi bowed slightly at the knees, as if in gratitude.

Without another word, Chi Jinnian walked up to him and swapped his script with one of the extras. “You’ve been promoted. You’re acting opposite Caiyue now.”

The man seemed about to say something but didn’t get the chance. Instead, his gaze shifted toward the entrance. At the same time, the others all turned their attention to something behind Chi Jinnian.

But Chi Jinnian thought they were just staring blankly at her and grew impatient. “What are you looking at? Do I have words written on my face? Read your scripts!”

“Ahem!”

A man’s cough sounded from behind her, and only then did Chi Jinnian realize someone was there.

Interrupted, she snapped irritably, “Who is it? Can’t you see we’re doing a script reading?”

When she turned around, she finally saw the newcomer. Dressed in black brocade robes edged with gold thread, he exuded an air of seasoned authority despite not a single white hair on his head. The crimson-gold belt at his waist and the dragon-cast crown on his head left no doubt about his identity…

“Honored Master,” the six behind her greeted in unison.

Leaving Chi Jinnian standing alone in a daze. The revered master? Could this be the legendary Demon Lord?

Chi Jinnian tentatively spoke up: “Father?”