Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times - Extra 4

This is the last chapter of “Dressed As a Consort in Ancient Times”, I hope you have all enjoyed reading this novel. Having finished translating this one, I have taken up another novel named “Reborn, I Became a Male God”.

Summary:

Chosen by the system, every time Jing Ling completed a task, the pile of scumbag men who hated her would grow. Eventually the accumulation of hatred led to an accident, causing her to be reborn into the 17 year old body of an alternate timeline version of herself.

In this world, although her gender had changed from female to male, the skills she had gained from the system stayed.

—

The face reflected in the mirror was handsome enough to cause the downfall of nations. An arrogant smirk appeared on Jing Ling’s face.

Don’t worry scumbags! I won’t play with you anymore, instead I’ll play with your girlfriends. You and your right hand will have a long relationship.

**Yu Xuan Year Ten**

That year, thick goose-feather snow fell relentlessly for more than ten days, piling high on rooftops. Icicles hanging from the eaves could be reached just by stretching out a hand—one could imagine how harsh the weather was.

In the exceptionally frigid capital, every household had already lit charcoal fires for warmth. Few pedestrians were seen on the streets, only a few people calling out as they roamed the alleys for a living.

Inside the grand and towering imperial palace, all the palaces and courtyards had tightly shut their doors. Masters, palace maids, and eunuchs were unwilling to step outside. Even though the snowy scenery was beautiful, few were seen out enjoying it.

In such a freezing world, where one could almost die from the cold, a few elderly eunuchs were gathered in a corner of the Cold Palace.

The group crouched down, seemingly observing something.

The head eunuch looked around. This was near the Cold Palace, a place rarely visited even in normal times—let alone now, when not even a ghost could be seen due to the bitter cold.

Feeling more confident, Eunuch Li reached out his rough, thin hand toward a little girl huddled in the corner.

The girl wore only a thin cotton jacket, and her socks were riddled with holes, offering no protection from the bone-chilling cold outside.

Her small face was red from the freezing weather, but even that couldn’t hide her delicate, ethereal beauty.

Eunuch Li’s bony hand grabbed her skinny leg, startling her into shrinking back.

But behind her was a cold wall—she had nowhere left to retreat.

“Little Princess, don’t be afraid. It’s so cold—we’ve come to warm you up…”

Young Jiang Ying was terrified. She knew exactly what these people intended.

She desperately shoved away the man leaning toward her, tears bursting from her eyes and unable to be stopped.

But she didn’t dare cry out for help. No one would come here, and shouting would only make these men crueler.

She forced all her sobs back down, kicking frantically at Eunuch Li. But being so young, she was no match for his strength.

When struggling didn’t work, she could only beg, “Eunuch Li… I’m not cold, I’m not cold… Can you please… please not touch me…”

But these old eunuchs—missing certain parts—already had twisted minds. Years of doing the dirtiest work, enduring frequent beatings and scoldings, had long corrupted their hearts.

With no outlet for their frustrations, they set their sights on the little princess left to grow up in the Cold Palace.

Though of true royal blood, she had been forgotten after her consort mother, implicated in some matter, fell ill and died in the Cold Palace. Since then, no one remembered that there was once a noble Fifth Princess here.

At first, they had only dared to sneak the occasional touch. But once they realized the emperor had truly forgotten her, they grew bolder—hugging, groping.

As the Fifth Princess grew more beautiful and lovable, their desires only intensified.

Even in such cold and snowy days, they didn’t want to let her go.

Jiang Ying was forced to open her eyes and saw a scene that would haunt her forever. She screamed in terror, slapping wildly at the man on top of her.

But Eunuch Li gave her two hard slaps—*pa pa*—sending stars dancing before her eyes. She almost passed out.

“Behave yourself!”

Blood was already seeping from the corner of young Jiang Ying’s mouth, but the three men paid her no mind and continued their torment.

She lay in the snow, eyes vacant, staring at the swirling flakes around her.

The sea of white almost blinded her. She couldn’t understand—why didn’t her emperor father care about her? Why, even as a princess, did she have to live so hard, to the point of being abused by these eunuchs…

Unwilling to accept this, she started struggling again. This time she got lucky—one kick knocked down Eunuch Li. Without stopping to pull her coat together, she sprinted off while they were still stunned.

But she was small and malnourished from years of poor food and clothing, much weaker than an average child. After only a few steps, Eunuch Li grabbed her by the braid.

“You dare kick me?!” His face darkened, and he slammed Jiang Ying to the ground, kicking and punching her viciously…

Just as Jiang Ying curled up from the pain, unable to make a sound—

“What are you doing?!” A young voice rang out. Several palace maids and nursemaids rushed over, pulling the three abusive eunuchs away.

“Ah!” Even the worldly nursemaids were shocked by the sight of the bruised and battered girl lying in the snow.

One quickly removed her cloak and wrapped it around the little girl, her face full of pity as she lifted her up.

Through her haze, Jiang Ying saw a little girl, younger than herself, striding over with great pride. She wanted to cry out and tell her to run, to stay away from these eunuchs.

But then she saw Eunuch Li fall to his knees in a panic, trembling and shouting, “Spare us, Princess! Spare us, Princess!”

Was that little girl… also a princess?

She seemed to be very favored…

In that moment, Jiang Ying stood in a daze, as if realizing for the first time how different she was from her sisters.

She watched the younger girl question the situation clearly with just a few words. The commanding aura she gave off nearly dazzled her.

She wanted to be someone like that too.

If she had her father’s affection and boundless power, would she no longer suffer hunger and cold? Would she no longer be beaten and tortured by eunuchs?

This thought flashed through her mind, and then, wounded and chilled to the bone, she finally fainted.

Jiang Libai summoned the guards behind her, ordering them to drag away the three eunuchs who had overstepped their bounds. She specifically told them to *severely punish* the offenders.

When the commotion quieted, Jiang Libai turned and lifted her chin, looking at the unconscious girl.

“Nursemaid, is she also my sister? Why is she dressed like this? Why was she being bullied?”

She was only six or seven and didn’t yet understand the meaning of being favored or not.

But seeing how pitiful this sister looked, compassion filled her heart. She had the nursemaid carry the girl back with her to Qingyang Hall.

Along the way, she listened quietly as the nursemaid repeatedly warned her not to let this matter spread. Jiang Libai obeyed, even using the excuse of feeling unwell herself when calling for the imperial physician.

Imperial Physician Zhao rushed over anxiously, only to see the Seventh Princess in the center of the hall, eyes wide and round, smiling at him with a hint of embarrassment. “Oh no, my elder sister is hurt. Hurry and take a look at her… But don’t tell anyone, okay…”

She tugged on Imperial Physician Zhao’s sleeve and led him to the side hall, stopping in front of her unconscious sister. She pouted. “Here, hurry and check on her.”

When he heard the Seventh Princess refer to the girl on the bed as her sister, Imperial Physician Zhao wasn’t sure of her identity for a moment.

But since the Seventh Princess had so earnestly summoned him, and the little girl was clearly covered in injuries and looked utterly pitiful, he didn’t refuse.

Jiang Libai sat on a chair, her short legs not yet reaching the floor, swinging back and forth in midair.

She waited a long time before she finally saw Imperial Physician Zhao put away his medicine box.

She jumped down from the wooden chair and ran over. “How is she? Is my sister going to be okay?”

Although the Seventh Princess was still young, Imperial Physician Zhao didn’t want to lie to her.

He briefly explained the girl’s condition, then sighed, “The external injuries are not serious. With good care, she’ll be fine. But… her legs have been broken by extreme force. Even if the injuries heal, she likely won’t be able to walk again…”

Can’t walk again?!

To young Jiang Libai, that was a shocking piece of news.

Her eyes instantly turned red like a little rabbit’s. “You can’t fix her?”

Imperial Physician Zhao shook his head. “It’s very difficult.”

In Jiang Libai’s heart, Imperial Physician Zhao was the most skilled doctor in the entire Imperial Medical Bureau. If even he said it couldn’t be cured, then it must truly be hopeless…

She wiped away the tears on her face, walked to the bedside, and reached out with her still-chubby little hand to touch her sister’s legs. “What do we do? Your legs can’t be healed… You won’t be able to walk again…”

Just as she wiped away her tears, a maid announced from outside that her mother, the Imperial Consort, had come to visit her.

Startled, she quickly wiped away all her tears, then tugged the blanket up over the girl’s body, covering even her head completely.

Seeing that not even a strand of hair was exposed, Jiang Libai took the hand of her nursemaid and went to welcome her mother.

As soon as Consort Yuan entered the hall, she hugged her daughter and looked her over. “My sweet Jia Ning, where do you feel unwell?”

Jiang Libai’s thoughts were not on her mother at all. She shook her head vaguely, and her big, round eyes kept glancing toward the bed.

Consort Yuan noticed her odd behavior and looked over as well.

After staring for a while, she walked over and lifted the thick blanket.

—

After listening to everyone’s explanation, Consort Yuan understood the identity of the little girl—Jiang Ying, daughter of the late Concubine Liu.

Concubine Liu had died a miserable death. The emperor refused to restore her honor and deliberately erased all memory of their daughter, Jiang Ying.

Looking at Jiang Ying’s deep wounds, even Consort Yuan felt a twinge of pity.

Since she was discovered and saved by Jia Ning, she would pretend she didn’t know anything.

“Jia Ning, that’s your Fifth Sister, her name is Jiang Ying.”

Jiang Libai blinked in confusion and nodded. “Will Mother blame me for meddling in others’ affairs?”

Consort Yuan smiled. “Let’s just pretend Mother doesn’t know anything. Once she recovers, she’ll leave your Qingyang Palace… Mother will arrange another place for her.”

Thus, Jiang Ying stayed temporarily in Jiang Libai’s side hall to recuperate.

Later, when she awoke and learned that her legs would never walk again, she lowered her head—no one knew what she was thinking.

Jiang Libai, afraid she would be sad, took her hand and said, “Don’t be afraid, Fifth Sister. Look, this wheelchair was made just for you. From now on, you can still go everywhere sitting in it!”

Seeing Jiang Libai’s careful smile, Jiang Ying felt a strange and complex emotion rise in her heart. She casually pulled her hand away and gave a low hum in response.

Seeing that she had accepted the reality, Jiang Libai pushed the wheelchair around in front of her. “Wherever Fifth Sister wants to go, I’ll push you there!”

Seeing Jiang Ying tug at the corners of her mouth, and not yet understanding people’s hearts, little Jia Ning thought she had made her laugh and smiled even more happily.

She had always been alone. Her other sisters kept their distance and didn’t like to play with her.

At first, she felt very hurt, not knowing what she had done wrong.

But after many rejections, Jiang Libai developed a sense of pride and stopped trying to play with her sisters.

But now things were different!

She had Fifth Sister!

From now on, she could play with Fifth Sister, push her wheelchair, and bring her all kinds of tasty treats…

Days passed one by one, and even after Jiang Ying recovered and moved to another palace, Jiang Libai still often went to visit her.

Sometimes she brought the most beautiful spring flowers from the imperial garden, sometimes she brought the famous roast duck from outside the palace, and sometimes she came empty-handed, plopping down beside her and sighing like a little adult.

With each interaction, hand-holding, hug, and conversation, Jiang Ying slowly lost herself.

In her darkest days, Jiang Libai was like a beam of light that lit up her whole life and made her realize that not everyone in the world hated or abandoned her…

She began to understand her feelings and looked forward more and more to each of Jiang Libai’s visits.

But she also realized that with their identities, the world would not accept them.

So her desire for power grew stronger. After becoming acquainted with the Third Prince Jiang Heng by chance, she began secretly conspiring with him…

To better understand Xiao Qi, Jiang Ying deliberately selected a shadow guard and silently inserted him into Qingyang Palace.

And to make Xiao Qi more open to the idea of mirror affections between women, she instructed the shadow guard to bring her many romance storybooks about women’s love…

Just when she thought everything was going according to plan, an accident occurred.

Even when Xiao Qi married someone else, she still couldn’t accept it.

Later, watching Xiao Qi become increasingly close with that man named Gu Yun, their feelings deepening and even having a child together, she was driven mad with jealousy.

She couldn’t wait any longer. She had to take her back before Xiao Qi completely fell in love with Gu Yun.

Wave after wave of shadow guards failed to kill Gu Yun. The last attempt even injured Xiao Qi.

At that moment, sitting in her dark study, she asked herself over and over, *Is this what I really want?*

Guilt, pain, despair… all her emotions piled up. In a fit of rage, she harmed herself.

It seemed only by doing this could she ease the torment in her heart.

Even then, though, she began to have second thoughts and no longer wanted to go through with their plans.

But Jiang Heng wasn’t someone easy to deal with, and their people had been planted for years—just waiting for the day their plan succeeded.

So she continued as usual, pushing the plan forward bit by bit.

Until she finally found out—it was Jiang Heng who orchestrated Xiao Qi’s loss of innocence; it was Jiang Heng who secretly manipulated things and kidnapped Xingxing.

She knew how much Xingxing meant to Xiao Qi.

She didn’t want to hurt Xiao Qi anymore or see her cry ever again, so she completely gave up on taking the throne.

After imprisoning Jiang Heng, she brought Xingxing back.

Looking at the soft, cuddly child who smiled just like Xiao Qi did when she was little, she felt joy and relief in her heart.

When she coaxed Xingxing into calling her “Mother” a few times, she felt there was nothing more she needed to pursue.

Xiao Qi was doing well. Gu Yun treated her well too.

That was enough.

When she fled the capital, she ordered Qiu Ju to give the emperor the antidote.

In the end, she decided to spare the emperor—not because he was her father, but because… Xiao Qi respected and cared for him deeply.

If it meant Xiao Qi could be happy forever, she could give up anything, even a lifetime of hatred.

Later, to avoid General Zhao’s pursuit, she dismissed her guards and had Qiu Ju find the body of a similarly disabled woman.

She tossed a torch into the house, and as the roaring flames engulfed it, she softly mouthed:

“Xiao Qi.”

“Wishing you happiness.”

“Farewell, forever.”