The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

A place to store the brain.

Ruan Xianrong felt like her chest was about to explode, and she couldn't breathe.

But the person behind her was relentlessly chasing her, and she really wanted to shout, "Why are you chasing me?"

But the person behind him walked slowly and deliberately, yet he couldn't shake them off no matter what he did.

She was too exhausted to run any further, so she stopped and looked at him, panting, "Your Highness, please don't chase me... I really can't run anymore."

The man before her wore a black robe embroidered with gold, his dark hair hanging down. His stunningly handsome face was close at hand, his eyes dark and inscrutable, yet with a hint of a smile in them.

"Haven't you always wanted to get close to me? Why are you running away?"

Her voice was clear and melodious, like a sound from another world, making her scalp tingle.

He instinctively stepped back. When did she get close to him? She was clearly already far away.

The person in front of her chuckled and pinched her chin. "You like me and want to seduce me."

Ruan Xianrong was utterly wronged. "What nonsense are you talking about? When did I seduce you?"

"No? For my sake, you have framed your sister at every turn, used Prime Minister Ruan and his wife, and even used your elder brother. Even the Empress advised me to take you as a concubine."

"Every time you see me, you cling to me, offering purses and snacks, and even secretly placing your undergarments in my bedchamber. What is that if not seduction?"

Ruan Xianrong was startled. Wasn't this the plot of the book?

It was the original owner who seduced him, it was the original owner who did those evil things, not her!

Why would a mere cannon fodder like her seduce the male lead? Has she lost her mind?

After a long silence, he spoke again in a low, hoarse voice: "I will grant your wish."

Ruan Xianrong chuckled dryly, his voice trembling, "Your Highness, could you... could you please put down your knife before saying such things?"

The knife was so bright it could blind her, but his smile was as warm as a spring breeze. "Niannian really likes me. Look, she's so touched she's crying."

So what if I'm moved?!

Was she moved? Or was she too afraid to move?

After all, the knife was less than a meter away from her...

"I'm right here. You can do whatever you want."

No, no, that won't do!

The man leaned closer to her. "Scared?"

The smile on his lips grew increasingly sinister, and Ruan Xianrong was horrified. "Your Highness, let's talk this out. Could you please put your knife away?"

"I didn't seduce you, I really didn't seduce you."

She explained in a trembling voice, but the man wouldn't listen at all.

Gone was his usual gentle politeness; instead, he was a chillingly gloomy expression, his lips curled into a smirk.

"Why? Haven't you always liked me? I'm granting your wish, why aren't you happy?"

Happy my foot! With a knife to her throat, who can be happy?

Xie Chengyan looked down at her, then suddenly grinned menacingly. Before she could even feel afraid, a hissing sound rang out.

A sword pierced his chest, blood splattered everywhere, and all sound ceased abruptly.

"Holy shit..."

She cried out in pain, but before she could finish, she added, "I already told you... I didn't seduce you..."

He said in a sinister tone, "Ruan Xianrong, this is what happens when you go against your sister."

"This hairpin in your hair was a gift from me to your sister. Why is it on your head?"

"No...this isn't..." She wanted to say that this wasn't the one he gave her, but her own, her travel expenses for leaving Kyoto in the future!

Before he could finish speaking, the sword in his chest went even deeper, piercing right through him.

"Miss, young lady?"

The maid's voice pulled her back to reality. She opened her eyes abruptly, gasping for breath, her fingers trembling.

Upon waking, her first reaction was to touch her hair bun, and when she touched the hairpin that Xie Chengyan had been eyeing in her dream, she immediately pulled it out and threw it away.

Seeing that she had even thrown away her favorite hairpin, Yinque asked worriedly, "What's wrong, Miss? Did you have a nightmare?"

Ruan Xianrong gulped down a cup of cold tea, finally suppressing the palpitations in her dream.

"Indeed, one shouldn't know too much about the script." Ruan Xianrong leaned back in her recliner, covering her face with a round fan, her voice muffled. "The more you know, the more ways you'll die."

Yinque was confused: "Did you have a nightmare, young lady? Dreams are always the opposite of reality."

Ruan Xianrong twitched the corners of her mouth; the pain in her dream was real.

Her fate in the book was written in black and white without any contradiction.

She hadn't had nightmares in the past few years, but now that the main storyline is getting closer, she's becoming more and more uneasy.

The feeling of being pierced through the heart by a sword in a dream was truly unbearable; her chest felt tight and suffocated.

Yinque was still worried. "Should we call a doctor?"

She let out a long sigh, slumped back in the recliner, looking listless. "It's nothing, I'm just feeling hot and groggy."

In Kyoto, the summer heat is so intense that it makes you feel dizzy and lethargic.

One second he was hit by a car, the next he was here. More than ten years have passed, and he has no hope of going home.

It's bad enough that I transmigrated, but I ended up transmigrating into the body of a villainous cannon fodder fake heiress in a novel about real and fake heiresses.

Even worse, he died a gruesome death, leaving no trace of his body.

So, when the time was right, she left the capital and went far away.

He had wanted to leave for a while, but his parents disagreed, so he had no choice but to wait for the female lead to come back.

"Miss, have you been bored since you haven't left the manor for several days?" Yinque asked.

As she spoke, she took a mahogany box from inside the house. "These were all delivered yesterday. If you're bored, why don't you pick one from these posts?"

Ruan Xianrong instantly got excited.

The original owner of the book was infatuated with the crown prince, but she could only look at him and not have him. So she searched everywhere for someone who looked like Xie Chengyan.

From courtesans to noble sons of marquises, she would flirt with anyone who resembled Xie Chengyan in any way.

Gradually, his reputation for being lecherous spread.

After Ruan Xianrong transmigrated, she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "This fine tradition cannot be lost!"

She just wouldn't dare date someone who resembled Xie Chengyan; she only dated good-looking people.

As the saying goes, having more friends means having more options, so it's not unreasonable for a cannon fodder like her to find more backers.

For over a decade, I've been sustained entirely by this simple hobby.

Ruan Xianrong's gaze swept over. The talented scholar from the capital city did write good poetry, but the last time they met, he recited poetry to the lotus flowers on the lake for half an hour, almost making her fall asleep.

next.

The son of the Vice Minister's family... Although he is renowned for his poetry, he is aloof and arrogant, and cannot be of any help in crucial moments. No good.

The second son of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, whose family background was decent, was easily influenced and his household was in chaos, making him prone to trouble, so he was also unsuitable.

...The eldest son of the Marquis of Yong'an, he is a skilled painter, good-looking, and popular.

It's been a few days since we last met. He handed the invitation to Yinque and said, "He's the one. Let's invite him to our estate in the west of the city for tea tomorrow."

The female lead hasn't returned yet, so she can still take advantage of her status to see more handsome men. But once she loses that status, she won't be able to reach them anymore.

After browsing through the posts, the fear I had in my dream vanished completely.

He waved his round fan, his mind racing with calculations.

If you're just cannon fodder, don't bother trying. Learn a skill, earn more money, and prepare for running away in the future.