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~Chapter 03~
“They’re looking for a child to work as a servant at the Xiao estate. I don’t know the details, but the last child who worked there ran away, so they’re in a hurry to find someone…”
Xiao estate…?
I tilted my head at the oddly familiar term, and Madame Po beside me chimed in.
“The Xiao family just came here recently. They used to live in Shandong, but they brought their household here this time. Their young lady is ill, so they came for recuperation…”
Xiao estate, Xiao family…
“Aren’t there more famous doctors up north? There’s no need to come all the way here just for recuperation…”
“They say it’s just for show. But the young lady has a bad reputation, and some say she was sent away because of it. Her temper is so fierce that if you even say her name, she’ll tear your mouth apart.”
“No way… what’s her name? Is it strange?”
“It’s normal. Her name is…”
Then Madame Po whispered softly.
“Xiao Yanli!”
Xiao Yanli?
At that moment, certain lines flashed through my mind—lines I remembered from a novel:
[“Xiao Yanli of the Xiao estate… I have never seen a woman so beautiful.”]
[“The master has chosen a wonderful name for her. A beautiful nightingale. If she were to sing by my side for a lifetime, even the immortals would envy me.”]
[“Xiao, may I stay as a guest at your estate? I will stay here and protect you… You say it’s unnecessary? Ha ha, even your anger is beautiful.”]
A chill ran down my spine. I knew only one novel where such lines were scattered across almost every heroine.
‘Here it is…’
I silently screamed.
“It’s The Heavenly Sovereign!’’
Xiao Yanli (蕭嬿鸝)
The reason I remembered that name was simple: she was the only villainess in that novel.
So how did Xiao Yanli become the sole villainess?
[“Ridiculous. You are loyal to the martial hero you just met, but treat the woman who gave her heart to you like trash—and you call yourself a hero?”]
She didn’t fall for the protagonist.
Xiao Yanli was a minor character who appeared briefly in The Heavenly Sovereign and was the only woman in that world who never fell for the protagonist.
Of course, when she first appeared, everyone thought she would be one of the main heroines.
Because…
[“Her hair shone like jet-black jade, smooth as silk, her face pale and white as snow. Her dense eyelashes cast shadows over her delicate features whenever she looked down, giving her a mournful air. Her slender neck seemed fragile, and her graceful figure was as if a celestial maiden had descended to earth…”]
The novel described her across almost an entire page.
With praises like “the most beautiful in Central Plains,” “the most beautiful under heaven,” “the greatest beauty of all times,” who would suspect she wouldn’t be a heroine? Surely, one would assume she was competing for the main heroine spot…
[“Didn’t your father teach you manners?”]
But no. She didn’t fall for the protagonist; in fact, she openly insulted him at their first meeting.
[“I’ve heard much about Confucius. A young hero who values loyalty, they say? Indeed, you treat women as trifles and toy with them at will—would even Sima Wei be so generous?”]
“Th-That’s harsh!”
“Am I harsh, or is it your behavior that’s harsh? Surely you don’t think your rudeness is okay but others’ is not? You’re not a true man, but a petty one.”
Wow, that’s impressive.
Xiao Yanli’s anger was justified. When she refused to undress her collar, a drunken protagonist tried to forcefully do it, and she reacted rightly. The protagonist knew he was in the wrong, so he stayed quiet, but his failure to properly handle the situation angered her further, and she slammed the table.
Of course, Xiao Yanli didn’t back down.
[“Amazing, using force to intimidate a woman. Your ancestor must be proud.”]
“Enough! I’ll leave if that’s what you want!”
But the protagonist didn’t leave.
Because Xiao Yanli was too beautiful.
Sigh… figures.
At that time, I didn’t have high expectations. The protagonist was obsessed with women, but I thought this heroine would eventually soften and fall for him.
Not at all.
[“I didn’t expect much from the start, but this is worse than I imagined.”]
Xiao Yanli hated him from start to finish.
She might have been indifferent at first, but upon discovering his philandering, she treated him as subhuman. When she got hurt because another heroine followed him, her hatred peaked.
[“I’m sorry, Xiao… I didn’t expect her to do that…”]
“I don’t blame the young master. I know who’s really responsible.”
“Who? If you tell me, I’ll—”
“You, who claim loyalty while breaking your promises to the one who gave you their heart. Your only apology is to strike your own life with the Heavenly Mandate. Will you do it?”
“Xiao!”
I wanted to applaud.
‘Exactly, the one at fault should pay!’
But the protagonist was the type of jerk who thinks “if I do it, it’s romance; if others do it, it’s adultery.”
When Xiao Yanli spoke rightly, he stayed silent; when she demanded punishment, he went mad.
[“You speak too harshly! I don’t deserve such words from you. If I offend you so, leave this place at once!”]
And then she stormed off, thinking to herself she would never forgive him, no matter how much he cried and clung to her…
‘Damn it…’
But her wish never came true.
[“Are you talking about the young lady of the Xiao estate? It’s been a while since her illness, why are you looking for her…?”]
Xiao Yanli suddenly died.
Looking back, Xiao Yanli was terminally ill. The novel often mentioned she wouldn’t live long, and she even coughed up blood occasionally.
Even though I thought she might survive somehow after getting entangled with the protagonist, she died unexpectedly.
I was stunned. I thought finally, a supporting character I liked had appeared, only for her to be removed quickly after saying a few reasonable words.
‘Should I exit too?’
I should have quit then!
But it was too late; I was already transmigrated. At least I knew which novel I had transmigrated into.
‘…Though I don’t remember much.’
What I remembered was the types of heroines, the protagonist’s womanizing, and how he played them. But surprisingly, I remembered Xiao Yanli in detail.
Maybe because I had read her scenes multiple times out of regret, or because her death was so absurd. Once I focused on her, many details came to mind.
The most useful information:
[“Honestly, I don’t know how to cure her completely. But there is a way to alleviate her suffering. The approach to her illness has been completely wrong.”]
It concerned Xiao Yanli’s illness.
The protagonist, obsessed with her, once asked a doctor he knew from the martial world for advice to cure her.
[“People think her illness is Yang Deficiency and use ginseng, deer antler, astragalus, cinnamon, aconite, etc. But that’s wrong. It’s not lack of Yang, but excess Yin. Her body has too much stored energy and is about to burst. You need to remove the fuel. Use herbs that disperse energy: licorice, jujube, angelica, chuanxiong…”]
Although the doctor later added that it was only temporary, and even divine aid couldn’t cure her, finding a way to alleviate her suffering was a big gain. This also earned the protagonist the trust of the Xiao estate’s master.
‘If I tell them this…’
I’d gain the master’s trust, too.
And if I gained Xiao Yanli’s trust as well?
Then I, a simple girl, could live lavishly beside a wealthy villainess—one stroke, life completely turned around.
‘This is it!’
