TGPSAC – Chapter 1

It was the twelfth lunar month, the dead of winter, and snow was falling heavily.

In the heated chamber of the Princess’s Residence, a captivating, unusual fragrance filled the air. It was similar to the crisp scent of snow outside, but mingled with a certain purity, like a camellia in the snow, retaining its pride even in the severe cold—a unique charm all its own.

This pleasant fragrance, with its cool, detached sensuality, lingered at the tip of Chi Wan’s nose. The air gradually grew thick with an amorous tension, and she felt an urge to seek out the source of the scent.

She suddenly remembered—wasn’t she supposed to be on her way to the national traditional Chinese medicine conference right now?

Forcing her eyes open against the throbbing pain in the back of her head, Chi Wan reached up with difficulty to touch her forehead. The sticky, wet sensation startled her.

She quickly glanced at her palm. It was covered in bright red blood. Who had struck her hard enough to draw blood?

The next moment, her attention was captured by the antique-style room before her. Her eyes fell upon a bed made of golden nanmu wood, where a woman with a flushed face lay. Dressed in a white robe, she possessed an ethereal temperament.

If not for the loathing for her in the woman’s eyes, Chi Wan might have remained lost in a daze.

In today’s world of advanced internet, all kinds of beauties could be found online, but someone as elegant, unconventional, and exquisitely beautiful as the woman on the bed was still a rare sight.

Mainly, her powerful aura was tinged with a scholarly, Zen-like quality. She should have been a flower of worldly riches, yet she seemed to have endured all the hardships of the mortal realm.

Looking at such a woman, Chi Wan’s heart ached. But why was she here?

The pain in her forehead made it clear this was no dream; it was all real.

Chi Wan hesitantly approached the woman, who immediately watched her with caution, as if she were some kind of rogue about to force herself on someone.

She could only say in a gentle voice, “Don’t be afraid, I’m not a bad person. Can you tell me where this is?”

The woman’s brow furrowed, her expression growing more pained. The coldness in her eyes was enough to freeze Chi Wan to death. Aside from hatred, she could see nothing else. Those bloodthirsty eyes looked as if they wished to slice her into a thousand pieces.

“Get out!” the woman rasped, her voice filled with malice.

Chi Wan shook her head. She felt the fragrance in the air growing stronger. The crisp, pure scent lingering at her nose should have been refreshing, yet it was making her feel somewhat intoxicated. A desire for the woman surged within her.

She quickly took a step back, beginning to understand why the woman didn’t want her near. The fragrance in the air was laced with a medicinal scent capable of arousing desire.

Chi Wan fought to suppress the discomfort in her body. It was only thanks to the pain in her forehead that she could maintain her clarity of mind.

Just then, a voice came from outside. “Prince Bao’an has presented his visiting card and is waiting outside the Princess’s Residence. Where has Her Highness the Princess gone?”

Hearing this, Chi Wan jolted. Prince? Princess? Had she transmigrated?

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through her head, and a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her appeared in her mind. Her eyes widened in shock.

The woman before her was Yu Jiuzhou? Wasn’t that a character from the ancient ABO novel she was reading on her way to the medical conference?

The male lead of the novel was that very Prince Bao’an, and Her Highness the Princess, Yu Jiuzhou, was the villain—though in truth, their stances were simply different.

In the book, the emperor was childless, with only one daughter, Yu Jiuzhou. His final edict made Yu Jiuzhou the Regent Grand Princess, while the throne was passed to a close relative from the imperial clan—Prince Bao’an.

The Grand Princess was a peerless beauty, the number one Kun Ze in all of Great Zhou. She disliked power struggles and initially did her utmost to assist the new emperor. That was, until the new emperor went back on his word, refusing to honor the late emperor’s will or respect him as a father. Thus, the Grand Princess and Prince Bao’an began a perilous and tragic struggle for the ultimate control of Great Zhou’s political power, where the loser would face eternal damnation.

Unfortunately, the Grand Princess was ultimately not ruthless enough, nor did she possess the luck of a protagonist. In the end, she was plotted against and died a miserable death.

The first to backstab the Grand Princess was her cannon fodder Fuma. Chi Wan had despised this character while reading the novel. This person was the second legitimate daughter of a declining marquis house, a typical profligate living off her ancestors’ legacy. She was insidious and foolish, and despite her good looks, she was a despicable Qian Yuan. She coveted the Grand Princess’s beauty, and when her sycophantic advances failed, she schemed to ruin the princess’s reputation with rumors. To silence the gossip, the emperor had no choice but to decree a marriage between them.

After the wedding, the Grand Princess refused to let the scumbag Fuma near her, and they lived in separate quarters. The scumbag, however, used her status as Fuma to cause trouble everywhere, tarnishing the Grand Princess’s name. On one occasion, while drunk and goaded by her degenerate friends, her predecessor attempted to force the deed, even drugging the Grand Princess. This caused the princess to immerse herself in a cold spring during the dead of winter, damaging her glands and leaving her with a lifelong disability, a fate worse than death.

From that point on, the gentle and sincere Grand Princess became ruthless and decisive, slaughtering all who had harmed her with bloodthirsty and vicious methods. The scumbag Fuma was the first to face her retribution; the princess had her carved into a human swine, pickled in a wine jar, and tortured to death.

Even though she was a villain, Chi Wan had been very fond of this strong, intelligent woman who loved and hated so clearly. She believed the novel had merely defined Yu Jiuzhou as a villain when, in reality, she and the protagonist simply had different standpoints. It was just that Prince Bao’an happened to be the protagonist and had an extra bit of luck.

But the thought that she was now among those Yu Jiuzhou would kill in the future sent a shiver down Chi Wan’s spine. Who else’s body could she have ended up in but that of the scumbag Fuma?

What was worse, she had transmigrated at the worst possible time. Feeling the aphrodisiac in her robes, Chi Wan froze completely. A chill crept up her back. Thinking of her predecessor’s eventual fate, she felt like she was about to shatter.

Chi Wan cautiously raised her head to see Yu Jiuzhou raising a hairpin, about to plunge it into her own thigh in an attempt to stay conscious.

She lunged forward. The hairpin stabbed into her arm. Her forehead was already killing her, and now she had another wound.

Yu Jiuzhou’s expression changed. She raised the hairpin to strike again, but Chi Wan quickly snatched it away. In her current state, Yu Jiuzhou had little strength and was easily pressed back onto the bed.

Yu Jiuzhou was the Grand Princess of Great Zhou, a woman of noble imperial blood. No one had ever dared to treat her this way. But Chi Wan was her Fuma, and her predecessor had counted on this fact. Even if force was used between a loving couple, the emperor wouldn’t be able to punish her for it. Any punishment would only damage the royal family’s reputation.

Humiliated in such a way, Yu Jiuzhou’s eyes turned to ice. If she had even a sliver of strength, she would kill Chi Wan without hesitation.

In truth, Chi Wan wasn’t faring much better. Yu Jiuzhou was a top-tier Kun Ze, and her scent was more potent to a Qian Yuan than any aphrodisiac. The desire within her was boiling, and it was incredibly difficult to bear.

Thankfully, the pain from blocking the hairpin for Yu Jiuzhou had cleared her head a little.

Ignoring the pain, Chi Wan quickly took out the packet of medicine and sniffed it. It was a common aphrodisiac, but her predecessor had given Yu Jiuzhou far too much, making it increasingly difficult for her to resist.

She tossed the aphrodisiac aside and knelt on one knee by the bed, saying sincerely, “I can cure the aphrodisiac you’ve been given. I really can.”

But Yu Jiuzhou remained cold, her bloodthirsty eyes filled with hatred as she stared fixedly at Chi Wan. She didn’t believe her, and she certainly wouldn’t let her get close.

Moreover, dark red finger marks were visible on her fair neck, clearly left by her predecessor. The tragic, broken Grand Princess still stood proud against the wind and snow, showing no fear before the vicious scoundrel in front of her.

Only then did Chi Wan remember that her predecessor had angrily choked Yu Jiuzhou when she was pushed away. She was getting closer and closer to death.

Furthermore, Prince Bao’an was visiting outside. When the princess’s maids couldn’t find her, they would surely become suspicious and launch a full-scale search. Of course, she couldn’t do anything to Yu Jiuzhou, but she couldn’t do nothing either. Otherwise, only death awaited her.

Especially Yu Jiuzhou’s gaze—pained and chillingly cold. She was silently telling Chi Wan: I will kill you!

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Footnotes:

1. ABO Types (乾元 Qián Yuán, 坤泽 Kūn Zé, 和元 Hé Yuán): A social and biological classification system adapted from ABO fiction. Qian Yuan are analogous to Alphas, often possessing dominant traits and strength. Kun Ze are analogous to Omegas, characterized by fertility and often experiencing a cyclical “heat” (雨露期). He Yuan are analogous to Betas, representing the common, neutral population without extreme cyclical biological drives.
2. Fuma (驸马 Fùmǎ): A historical Chinese title for the official husband or consort of an imperial princess. The role was one of high prestige but often came with restrictions, preventing the holder from holding certain powerful political offices to avoid conflicts of interest and the potential for external influence on the imperial family.