Chapter 1

Shen Yao had only just regained consciousness when she was surrounded by complete darkness. All she could hear was the howling wind and the heavy breathing of a man and a woman running. The air was dry and rough, as if it contained sand.

The ground was difficult to walk on, and her legs wouldn't obey her commands. After running several steps, she finally felt a sharp pain in her feet.

Shen Yao stumbled and fell to the ground, causing the man who was holding her to fall as well.

"What are you doing! Get up and run!" the man shouted urgently.

Are they being hunted down?

This was Shen Yao's first reaction.

But she was still a little annoyed. She had been a CEO for many years, and this was the first time someone had dared to speak to her like that.

Shen Yao frowned slightly. The man's handsome appearance couldn't appease her. She retorted directly, "Who gave you permission to speak to me like that?"

This palace?

Is this how you pretend?

The next second, the original owner's memories swept over her like a sudden blizzard. After a few seconds of headache, she suddenly realized that she had transmigrated.

She had been working at a high intensity for more than ten days in a row, and was under great pressure and severely lacking sleep. So after the meeting, she wanted to relax and randomly clicked on a male-oriented novel called "Ordinary Man: I Became Emperor in the Prosperous Dynasty".

The female supporting character who was cannon fodder at the beginning of the book shared the same name as her, and she also really liked a certain male supporting character in the book, which is why she kept reading.

I was so angry at this damn plot point that I died halfway through reading it.

The original owner of the body, Shen Yao, was the eldest princess of the Sheng Dynasty and the daughter of the empress.

However, the Empress committed a grave error in the palace, attempting to murder the only prince of the dynasty, born to Consort Lan. Enraged, the Emperor banished the Empress to the Cold Palace, and her daughter, Shen Yao, was also implicated.

However, the emperor's fatherly love was as strong as a mountain. He did not immediately demote the princess to a commoner, but instead wanted to find her a husband.

No noble family dared to marry the daughter of a disgraced empress, so the emperor was furious and issued an edict to marry the original owner of the body to Lan Yunyi, the younger brother of a concubine in the far northwest.

The northwest frontier is a harsh and cold place. The original owner, who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, was unwilling to be demoted. Moreover, she heard that Lan Yunyi was a treacherous, cunning, hypocritical, and pretentious pretty boy who was not presentable. Therefore, she immediately expressed her resistance to the marriage.

But the emperor's command was hard to disobey, and the original owner was still tied to the carriage despite her reluctance.

Along the way, she cried and wailed, feeling hopeless about life and the world. Then, an adjutant surnamed Zhao comforted her like a spring breeze, and she was also moved by his ambition to "never underestimate the potential of a young man."

Unbeknownst to them, the two developed feelings for each other. The original owner was moved by Zhao's grand ambitions and decided to elope with him after arriving in Xiliang City and escape back to the capital.

The princess said she was willing to be a rustic woman in the countryside, to support men's lofty ambitions;

Zhao, the adjutant, vowed, "Never underestimate a young man's potential," and that he would surely rise above others after becoming the prince consort.

Actually, Shen Yao wanted to curse as soon as she got to this point, but she forced herself to continue reading, hoping that the following plot would be a little more righteous.

Unexpectedly, the princess died of fright during their elopement, while Zhao, the adjutant, fled all the way to the Gobi Desert.

He discovered a peerless military treatise in the Gobi Desert, and with various cheat codes, he successfully turned the tables, gaining both fame and fortune, and embarking on a shameless legend of overpowered success and building a harem of three thousand beauties!

And now, she has transmigrated into the body of that love-struck cannon fodder character with the same name.

The thought of the original owner's absurd and nonsensical statement, "I am willing to be a country bumpkin," sent chills down her spine.

She painstakingly tries to please her neurotic boss every day, working herself to the bone to earn money, all for the sake of "power." Meanwhile, the female lead, born a princess, simply throws away such a powerful identity!

Shen Yao was furious.

Since the original owner discarded it like trash, she would serve this incomparably noble status.

After regaining her senses, Shen Yao finally realized that her current script was "elopement," a turning point in the original owner's fate.

Shen Yao's memories and emotions surged, and the original owner's earth-shattering, love-struck emotions were still infecting her, causing her irritability to reach its peak in an instant.

So when Zhao Chong reached out his hand, she slapped it away without hesitation.

Shen Yao's series of reactions made Zhao Chong feel something was off, but the situation was urgent, and he couldn't think about that too much. He continued in his harsh tone, "Now is not the time to throw a tantrum. Get up quickly. If someone finds out, neither of us will be in good shape!"

After saying that, Zhao Chong stood up and grabbed Shen Yao's arm roughly again, trying to pull her up from the ground.

Shen Yao was a cold and aloof beauty, and when she was expressionless, she appeared even more imposing. Zhao Chong was suddenly a little scared, but when he thought of how this woman usually depended on him so much, he immediately regained his confidence and lifted Shen Yao up like a rough man, even dragging her along as he ran before she could even stand properly.

"No!" Shen Yao stood rooted to the spot and pulled back with all her might, refusing to take another step forward. "I will never elope with you."

The situation was urgent, and eloping was a serious matter; being discovered was no laughing matter. When Shen Yao first brought up this, Zhao Chong was initially hesitant, but without risk there was no reward, so he made a great decision to take the plunge. He never expected that Shen Yao would suddenly pull this stunt when they were almost out of the city.

Zhao Chongyan glared angrily at Shen Yao, and roared in a low voice, "What's wrong with you?"

His expression told Shen Yao that if he hadn't yet obtained an official position, he would have slapped her across the face right now.

Shen Yao felt a sudden sharp pain somewhere in her heart. Zhao Chong probably realized that he had made a mistake, and his expression changed rapidly.

He quickly calmed himself down, grabbed Shen Yao's shoulders, and gently comforted her, "Don't be afraid. Although the journey is dangerous, I will protect you. Once we reach the capital, we can live a good life and won't have to suffer from the harsh winds and scorching sun of this frontier region..."

Before he could finish speaking, Shen Yao grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.

Zhao Chong's eyes widened in shock. He had never known that Shen Yao was so strong, let alone that she would attack him!

"you……"

"Protect me?" Shen Yao retorted coldly. "If I stay in Xiliang City, I will be protected by iron cavalry guards around the clock. Why would I need you?"

Zhao Chong stared at Shen Yao in astonishment.

He had long been accustomed to the original owner's blind dependence on him, so when Shen Yao suddenly showed a side that didn't depend on him, it made him very flustered.

He paused, then suddenly gave a mocking laugh, belittling himself: "Yes, you are a princess, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, so your status is naturally noble. I am just a commoner, who has worked my way up through hard work and struggles. I am not good at flattering my superiors, so I only managed to get the position of adjutant in the Prince Jing's mansion."

If the original owner heard these words, she would surely feel pity and realize that her excessive arrogance had made the man unhappy.

But Shen Yao sneered and couldn't be bothered to speak to Zhao Chong anymore.

Right now, the most important thing for her is to get back to being a noble princess as soon as possible; everything else is secondary.

So she immediately turned around and set off, heading straight back towards the Prince Jing's residence.

Seeing her turn her back, Zhao Chong thought she was panicked. While secretly observing her expression, he continued, "I know you can't take hardship, sigh... but who told me to be so unlucky? I swore to be good to you for the rest of my life."

Shen Yao: "?"

As far as she knew, this was a feudal dynasty, and many people were eager to please the princess. How come Zhao Chong was considered "unlucky"?

In contrast, the villain Lan Yunyi, after receiving the imperial decree to marry the princess, spent seven days and seven nights worshipping his ancestors, burning incense every day to thank them for the auspicious smoke rising from their graves and for his good fortune.

Putting everything else aside, the villain's actions made the princess feel quite proud.

“…I know you must be worried about the long and arduous journey, so how about this, we…” Zhao Chong didn’t notice Shen Yao’s unpleasant expression. He was still struggling with his decision. After thinking for a long time, he said with difficulty, “We could rent a donkey.”

Shen Yao suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as she turned to look at him.

"I asked you to rent a horse before, but you said it was too expensive. Now... you've finally decided to rent me a donkey?" Her voice trembled slightly.

Seeing Shen Yao so excited, Zhao Chong smiled and said reproachfully, "Isn't it all because you can't stand hardship? I'm just being a good father to you."

When he laughed, the bundle on his shoulder jingled with metallic clanging; it was full of Shen Yao's gold jewelry.

Because Zhao Chong said that only gold could be pawned, she took some gold... just some. Zhao Chong didn't know that compared to all of Shen Yao's assets, that little bit of money was a drop in the ocean.

Thinking of the original owner's inexhaustible wealth, Shen Yao was even less willing to waste any more time on that scumbag. She quickened her pace and hurried back, but Zhao Chong, oblivious to her impending doom, followed her, saying as they walked, "Is this the road to rent donkeys? Sigh... Princess, you're so precious. Back in my poor days in the countryside, I couldn't even ride a dog, let alone a donkey..."

Shen Yao: "..."

"...But I, Zhao, have always had lofty ideals. Are kings and generals born with a special destiny? How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan? ...Don't underestimate a young man's potential!"

"The humiliation I suffered back then will be repaid a hundredfold in the future!"

Normally, Shen Yao loved hearing him say such things, praising him as an ambitious and promising young man. But now, Shen Yao found these words only annoying. If hitting someone wasn't a waste of time, she would definitely strike hard, slapping this womanizer who was like a broken record into the wall, so hard he wouldn't be able to pry him out.

Seeing that Shen Yao remained silent, Zhao Chong also fell silent, recalling the grudge he had just suffered by being thrown against the wall. He straightened the bundle on his shoulder, deliberately keeping a distance from her to show his aloofness, and stared at her with a venomous gaze.

When he looks at the original owner like this, the original owner becomes anxious and insecure, and tries even harder to please him.

Zhao Chong: "Actually, the princess wouldn't be at a disadvantage by following me. After all, you're already quite old and have a marriage contract. I'm afraid no one but me would be interested in the princess."

Zhao Chong went on to say many more of these kinds of PUA tactics, but Shen Yao pretended not to hear them at all, her mind filled with thoughts of "I want to be a princess, I want to be a princess."

As long as she doesn't elope, even if she's demoted, she'll still be the most prestigious "person" in the entire Xiliang City.

Regardless of gender or age.

The whole city must bow down to her.

Just thinking about it is awesome.

They hadn't left the city yet, and Shen Yao, clinging to a sliver of hope, wished she could get back in time. But when they were still some distance from the Prince Jing's residence, she suddenly heard the rapid sounds of soldiers and horses.

Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the fiery shadow, as bright as day, approach. She abruptly stopped and slipped into a corner.

A dozen or so cavalrymen carrying torches rode along the street for a while, then stopped a dozen meters away from her. The firelight illuminated the solemn expressions on their faces.

A narrow path led through the cavalry. The sound of a horse's hoof striking the ground echoed as it approached, slowly stepping into the midst of the cavalry.

The horse is a pure black Akhal-Teke, with an oily coat and no unnecessary embellishments, which complements the rider's attire perfectly.

The man had extremely fair skin and wore a black robe. His hair was neatly tied up in a crown. He had a smile on his lips and exuded the air of a scholar, yet he also emanated a sharp and unapproachable aura.

The subordinate dismounted, cupped his hands, and reported: "General, I just went to Prince Jing's residence for a second investigation, and the princess... is indeed not in Prince Jing's residence. I'm afraid... I'm afraid what Prince Jing said is true."

Shen Yao subconsciously leaned against the wall.

Oh no!

Upon hearing this, the man gave a cold snort and a laugh, his gentle and refined demeanor vanishing instantly, revealing a cruel and bloodthirsty air.