Qiao Qiu looked down and saw that there were indeed several tiny, colorless crystals set in the veins of the silver leaf on the ring. "These crystals are colorless; can you see them when they're lit?"
"It will turn into other colors."
"Oh, Xiao Jie, why were my ancestors given the cursed box?" Qiao Qiu looked up; she was more interested in knowing this.
"This... I can't tell you right now."
The ring seemed to hold some unspeakable secret. Qiao Qiu twirled the ring on her finger, her dark eyes calm as still water, her pink lips slightly pursed, weighing the weight of the matter in her mind.
The green volume indicator on the TV screen bobbed nervously, waiting for her to speak.
After a while, Qiao Qiu asked, "Tell me what you can say."
The ring seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, its tone becoming much more cheerful and attentive. "Master, you need to enter the next world to change your cannon fodder situation. When you leave the world and return here, the crystal will automatically light up."
"If I go, will I be controlled by the system again?"
"As long as you wear me, you will no longer be under my control."
"Which way do we go?" Qiao Qiu looked around and saw a door in the corner of the wall.
"Master, wait. The entrance to the passage is over there. I haven't finished explaining yet. You absolutely, positively must not kill the protagonist, otherwise all your efforts in that life will be in vain."
The ring spoke much faster, and by the time she finished the last word, Qiao Qiu had already walked barefoot to the door and placed her hand on the doorknob.
Qiao Qiu stopped, turned her head, and looked at the LCD TV. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
"Um, no..."
The moment the word "ring" left her lips, Qiao Qiu opened the door and jumped out.
"...Don't provoke him. I haven't finished speaking. Come back here!"
The ring was devastated, but the person was already gone and couldn't be brought back.
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When Qiao Qiu opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on an antique-style bed, with a light blue embroidered butterfly curtain in front of her. She sat up halfway and saw the crystal leaf ring on her finger, reaching out to touch it.
She was so eager to return to the real world that she walked too fast and forgot to ask the ring to tell her about this person's life.
As she pondered how to find out more about this body, she unconsciously turned the ring. Suddenly, countless pieces of information flashed through her mind—the entire life of this body.
After reading it, she gave a speechless twitch of her lips. This body was fourteen years old this year, also named Qiao Qiu, the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister, with two older brothers and a younger sister of the same age. The two brothers were named Qiao Liu and Qiao Yang, and the sister was named Qiao Dong. Qiao Liu and Qiao Qiu were born to the principal wife, while Qiao Yang and Qiao Dong were born to a concubine. In ancient times, there was a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, so the situation of Qiao Yang and Qiao Dong was not as good as that of Qiao Liu and Qiao Qiu. Their status was only slightly higher than that of servants. Qiao Liu and Qiao Yang were alright, but Qiao Qiu often bullied Qiao Dong.
The female protagonist of this world is Qiao Dong, a reborn person. In her previous life, she was bullied by Qiao Qiu at every turn and endured many hardships in the mansion. Finally, she made it to the imperial concubine selection, where the emperor chose her because of her beauty. Qiao Qiu, consumed by jealousy and hatred, slashed her face. Upon learning this, the emperor immediately banished Qiao Qiu to the cold palace.
Qiao Dong's misfortune turned into a blessing. Not only did her facial injuries heal without leaving any scars, but she also gained the Emperor's favor, receiving a promotion and a title for her brother, Qiao Yang. Unfortunately, her good fortune was short-lived. Qiao Dong was framed for having an affair with a guard. In a fit of rage, the Emperor ordered her to drink a cup of poisoned wine, kill everyone in her palace, confiscate the Prime Minister's residence, and exile all 137 members of her family.
After her rebirth, Qiao Dong vowed revenge and refused to trust anyone again. She re-entered the palace, navigating every step with cunning and ruthless ambition, ultimately ascending to the throne as Empress, ruling the six palaces and becoming the mother of the nation. Her brother, because of her, inherited the position of Prime Minister, becoming the Emperor's right-hand man.
As for Qiao Qiu in this life, Qiao Dongnian knew that Qiao Qiu had spent her last days in the Cold Palace in her previous life, and she must have felt worse than dead. So in this life, she also sent Qiao Qiu to the Cold Palace and did not use any great methods to deal with her.
Whether in her past life or this one, Qiao Qiu was always Qiao Dong's stepping stone, but their endings were the same: they both spent the rest of their lives in the cold palace.
This is a classic example of cannon fodder.
After reviewing the information, Qiao Qiu stretched, walked to the mahogany table, and poured herself a glass of water.
Knowing this body's past, it's time to consider what to do. Xiao Jie said that the female lead can't be killed, and the body also needs to change its cannon fodder fate. This is a bit difficult. This body is already fourteen years old. In both its past and present lives, it has offended the female lead twice. And since the female lead returned with a grudge, the first person she targeted after being reborn was Qiao Qiu. The situation is quite precarious.
If he wanted to reconcile with the female lead, that would be absolutely impossible.
Besides, Qiao Qiu would never have the idea of peacefully coexisting with the female lead. Although she was grateful to the female lead from her previous life for saving her, it was only her, not anyone else.
It would be a lie to say Qiao Qiu harbored no resentment. Every time she encountered a seemingly innocent but actually scheming female lead, she was always the one who suffered. Whenever she could send the female lead to her death with a single sword strike, the system would always intervene and make her do many things she didn't want to do.
Now that she's regained her freedom, in this first life reborn, she will absolutely not let the female lead have her way. The feeling of finally being able to unleash her full potential makes Qiao Qiu almost impatient.
The dim light shone on her chubby face, and her bright eyes smiled into crescent moons.
"Third Miss, I'm sorry, I didn't hear anything from inside. Please put on some clothes, it's cold at night, don't catch a cold." Just then, the maid got up, took some clothes and put them on her.
Qiao Qiu sized up the maid; she had delicate features, but her eyes held a subtle hint of hatred. She adjusted her clothes and asked, "What time is it now?"
"It's probably around dawn," the maid replied.
"It's not long until dawn. Find me a book on military strategy."
"Yes." The maid was a little puzzled, but she didn't ask any further questions. She curtsied and left.
Of all the children in the Qiao family, Prime Minister Qiao's favorite was his third daughter, Qiao Qiu. He doted on her immensely, granting her almost everything she wanted from childhood. As a result, Qiao Qiu had everything she could possibly want. It was precisely because of this that Qiao Qiu became so arrogant and domineering.
Qiao Qiu was glad that she had everything; otherwise, it would have been really difficult for her to get a book.
The maidservant brought it to her in no time. Qiao Qiu took it and sat down on the soft cushioned seat by the window. She said to the maidservant, "Go and make me another pot of tea."
"yes."
Qiao Qiu turned to the first page, but her eyes fell on the maid's back. This maid was named Huan Yu, Qiao Dong's confidante. After entering the palace, it was Huan Yu who instigated Qiao Qiu to slash Qiao Dong's face again and put on a big show. In the end, she became Qiao Dong's head palace maid. When Qiao Qiu was in the Cold Palace, she still didn't forget to step on her feet.
Qiao Qiu kept this debt in mind. Since she had taken over someone else's body, she should help them get revenge, shouldn't she?
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