Chapter 1: The Big Boss Transmigrates into a Story
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao had died.
To save the world and protect its people, she, as the Old Ancestor of the Cultivation World, had sacrificed her divine soul.
When she opened her eyes again, she felt as though she was submerged in warm water. Ahead, faint light shimmered, and distant voices reached her ears:
“Breathe in… now breathe out…”
“Madam, push harder! The child’s head is almost visible.”
Before Lu Chao Chao could react, she was swept out with the warm current. A piercing white light stung her eyes, forcing her to squint. Her tiny mouth moved slightly, only for her to feel someone clamp her throat.
With a rustling sound, the room erupted as everyone fell to their knees.
“Madam, it’s a daughter, but…” The midwife’s voice faltered, filled with hesitation.
A sigh followed. “The child has no breath. She’s stillborn!” Trembling, the midwife knelt on the ground, her hands firmly covering Lu Chao Chao’s nose and mouth.
“The labor must have taken too long. The child suffocated,” the nanny sobbed from behind the midwife, tears streaming down her face.
On the bed, Madam Xu turned pale, her eyes wide with shock and grief. “Stillborn? I don’t believe it! Bring her here; let me see!”
The head maid, Deng Zhi, sobbed with reddened eyes. “Madam, don’t look. Once you see her, you’ll never forget, and you’ll never recover.”
“I’ve let Yuan Ze down. I’ve failed the Marquis Manor…” Madam Xu wailed, her heart breaking. “Every day, the Old Madam prays in the Little Buddha Hall for this child’s safe birth.” She had three sons but only one daughter.
Madam Xu’s tears flowed uncontrollably, her heart aching beyond words.
Lu Chao Chao’s breathing quickened as the hands choked her. Her tiny face turned crimson.
[Yuan Ze? Marquis Manor?]
[Lu Yuan Ze?!]
This wasn’t just any name; this was the character from a hua ben she had read in her leisure time! According to the story, the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor was home to three sons and one daughter, the youngest of whom died young.
The Marchioness, believing herself in a happy marriage with a harmonious family, was unaware that her entire life had been a monumental deception. Her husband, Lu Yuan Ze, had been in love with his cousin since childhood. However, due to her lowly status, she was unsuitable for his ambitions.
Instead, he married the noble and influential Xu Family’s legitimate daughter, Madam Xu, to advance his career. They had three sons and one daughter. Behind the facade of marital bliss, the Marquis and his family used Madam Xu’s connections while isolating her from her own family.
The youngest daughter, born of Madam Xu, was drowned at birth. The Marquis then brought his illegitimate daughter from his mistress into the household, raising her under Madam Xu’s care. This adopted daughter framed Madam Xu for treason, resulting in the annihilation of the Xu family—over a hundred lives executed.
The Marquis’s family, rewarded for their loyalty in reporting the ‘treason,’ remained unharmed. In the end, the Marquis married his cousin, legitimized their children, and recorded them as the rightful heirs. The adopted daughter inherited all of Madam Xu’s wealth, married the male protagonist, and lived happily ever after.
Lu Chao Chao: [Oh, so I’m the ‘daughter who died young.’ Born just to die!]
“Madam, stillborns don’t enter the ancestral tomb. Shall I take her away to handle it? It’ll spare you the sorrow,” the nanny said as she retreated toward the door with the lifeless-looking infant.
Lu Chao Chao struggled, but her tiny body was bound tightly. Her face turned blue and purple as she fought the suffocating grip, her strength waning.
Her thoughts screamed: [Stillborn? You’re the stillborn! Your whole family’s stillborn! I’m breathing!]
[Mom…]
A faint, babyish voice startled Madam Xu, her eyes snapping open.
[Was I hearing things?]
She scanned the room, her gaze landing on the only infant present.
[Mother, help me! They’re killing me here!]
Lu Chao Chao was on the verge of being taken out of the birthing chamber.
“Wait!” Madam Xu cried out sharply.
“Bring the child to me,” she commanded, sitting up with a look of fierce determination, her tears still wet on her face.
The nanny and midwife exchanged uneasy glances, their movements stalling.
“Madam, stillborns are inauspicious. They could bring harm to you,” they said, kneeling.
“Deng Zhi, bring her here!” Madam Xu’s heart pounded with dread, an overwhelming sense of unease gnawing at her. It felt as though something precious was slipping away.
Overcome with urgency, she tried to rise from the birthing bed. Her legs gave out, and she nearly collapsed.
The head maid, Deng Zhi, hurried to retrieve the child. “Madam, please lie down. You barely survived; you can’t move recklessly.”
When she picked up the infant, Deng Zhi froze. The child was warm.
Lowering her head, she saw the tiny girl’s face marred with blue and purple bruises, finger marks glaringly visible around her neck.
“Madam!”
“The little miss is alive!”
Deng Zhi let out a piercing scream and quickly embraced the little mistress, cradling her protectively.
Madam Xu lowered her head, her gaze meeting her daughter’s tear-filled eyes, which glistened with unshed droplets. Her expression was fragile and distraught. The little ancestor from the Cultivation World, though just a baby, alternated between sobbing and coughing.
[Oh, such bitter fate… sob, sob… my miserable fate. Strangled from birth… cough, cough.] The little one coughed weakly.
But the strangling wasn’t the most terrifying part.
No, the worst was that her entire family had been massacred!
Even if she survived now, death would inevitably claim her sooner or later. Hanging above her head was an invisible blade, ready to wipe out her nine familial ties.
[Bah! My fate is bitterer than a bittermelon!]
Perhaps because she had been reincarnated, her temperament seemed to have reverted to its origin. She now truly resembled a baby.
Madam Xu’s hands trembled, her body stiffening with shock and lingering fear.
“Who gave you the audacity to lay hands on a child, you wretched thing?” Madam Xu, though frail to the extreme, couldn’t suppress her anger. With a surge of rage, she kicked Nanny Lin squarely in the chest.
“Drag them away! Investigate! Make sure the interrogation is thorough!” she ordered harshly.
“Our young mistress was barely born and already faced such calamity! Madam, we must find out who sent that vile woman! Madam Xu has always lived without enmity towards others, yet someone dared to be this vicious!” Deng Zhi quivered with rage, her body trembling uncontrollably. Just the thought of how close they came to losing the young mistress made her shiver from head to toe.
The two culprits were dragged off, wailing and pleading.
Lowering her gaze to the baby in her arms, Madam Xu couldn’t help but marvel. Among her three children, none had been as pure and exquisite as this little one. Her large eyes brimmed with water-like clarity. When the baby caught her mother’s gaze, she broke into a toothless grin, her little gums on display, her brows arching in delight.
This was her child—her precious baby—who had nearly been killed right under her nose.
[Mother is such a beauty… so lovely. Mother, kiss me!]
The voice she heard… was it just her imagination?
The sound was faint, intermittent, almost as if she were hallucinating. Madam Xu couldn’t tell whether it was real or not. No one else seemed to hear it, their expressions unperturbed.
[Thank goodness Mother saved me. Otherwise, you’d have ended up raising your nemesis’s daughter… and then been angered to death by her.] Lu Chao Chao blew a tiny bubble.
In the original timeline, Madam Xu gave birth to a stillborn and succumbed to grief. The Marquis, Lu Yuan Ze, then adopted the novel’s heroine, raising her as Madam Xu’s daughter. This same heroine later framed the Xu family for rebellion and dealt Madam Xu the cruelest blow of all.
Madam Xu barely caught the phrases “nemesis’s daughter” and “angered to death,” and nearly dropped her baby in shock. She strained her ears to hear more, but no further sounds came through.
Lifting her head, Madam Xu asked, “Why hasn’t the Marquis returned yet?”
One by one, the maids brought in ginseng soup, others prepared a bath for the young mistress, but Madam Xu remained uneasy. She refused to let the child leave her sight, so the baby was bathed in a small basin within the room.
Deng Zhi offered a reassuring smile. “When the labor pains began, someone was sent to inform the Marquis. He dotes on Madam more than anything, but he’s likely been delayed by state affairs.”
In the capital, who didn’t envy the grandeur of the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor?
The Old Marquis had died heroically in battle long ago, leaving the Old Madam to raise the children alone. Though the manor had nearly become an empty shell, Lu Yuan Ze’s outstanding achievements revitalized the family, securing the title’s inheritance. The only anomaly was the distant female cousin who had sought refuge with the Lu family. She had supposedly harbored feelings for Lu Yuan Ze for years and had even attempted suicide to demand marriage. Yet, at the time, Lu Yuan Ze was already betrothed to Madam Xu and had arranged for the cousin to be married off to a distant place.
This incident became the talk of the town.
Madam Xu, the daughter of a prominent family, brought her own dowry and connections, aiding in the swift resurgence of the Marquis Zhongyong’s Manor. Her harmonious marriage with Lu Yuan Ze was renowned throughout the capital for their affection and mutual respect.
However, over the years, Madam Xu had distanced herself from her family, influenced by her husband’s disdain.
Madam Xu nodded, smiling faintly. “You’re likely right. The Marquis must have been detained by pressing matters.”
“Our young mistress must be destined for blessings in the Lu family. With the Marquis and Madam’s deep affection, a harmonious household, even the proud Little Aunt—such a headstrong person—treats Madam with genuine care.” Deng Zhi’s tone brimmed with pride. Her Madam was likely the most envied woman in the entire capital.
After her bath, little Lu Chao Chao began waving her tiny hands, grumbling as if she were fuming.
[Deceiver! Deceiver! Father is a liar!]
[Father has been deceiving Mother all along. Poor Mother…]
[Father is a villain! He’s in that hidden courtyard at the very end of Green Rain Alley, waiting for his mistress to give birth!] The baby’s voice carried a sobbing note.
Madam Xu froze mid-motion.
Green Rain Alley? Waiting for a mistress to give birth?!!
She had been teetering on the edge of life and death, yet her husband was waiting elsewhere for another woman to deliver his child?
The love she had cherished for years cracked wide open, revealing the truth underneath.
[His beloved is giving birth to his child as we speak…]