Prologue

The sky above the capital was painted crimson.

Whether it was the setting sun or the blood staining the palace steps, no one could tell.

Li Ruoxi knelt in the center of the courtyard.

Her once magnificent crimson robes were torn and stained with dirt. The noble lady who had once been admired throughout the empire now looked pitiful.

Around her stood countless officials, nobles, and servants.

Not one of them pitied her.

Not one.

"Li Ruoxi."

The cold voice echoed through the silent courtyard.

She slowly raised her head.

Standing before her was the man she had once loved with all her heart.

Shen Mochen.

His expression remained indifferent, as though she were nothing more than a stranger.

Li Ruoxi laughed bitterly.

"So this is how it ends."

No one answered.

Perhaps they all believed she deserved it.

The jealous villainess.

The woman who had stood in the way of true love.

The woman everyone wanted gone.

A familiar figure stepped forward from behind Shen Mochen.

Jiang Meilin.

Beautiful. Gentle. Beloved by all.

The heroine.

Seeing her, Li Ruoxi finally understood. No matter what she had done. No matter how hard she had tried. The ending had already been decided. She was merely the villainess.

And villainesses were never meant to have happy endings.

The wind swept across the courtyard.

A royal decree was unrolled.

The execution order.

The crowd lowered their heads.

Some were relieved.

Some were satisfied.

Others simply watched.

Li Ruoxi closed her eyes.

For the first time in years, she felt tired.

Very tired.

"If I had another chance..."

Her voice was barely a whisper.

"...I would choose differently."

The decree was read.

The executioner's sword rose into the air.

And at that exact moment—

Li Ruoxi opened her eyes.

.............................................

The wind howled outside the carved wooden windows.

The wooden shutters rattled violently against the frame as if someone—or something—was trying to force its way into the room. Inside, red silk curtains danced in the darkness. The candlelight flickered wildly, casting strange shadows across the walls.

On a magnificent bed draped in embroidered silk, a young woman lay motionless.

Suddenly—

Her eyes snapped open.

Li Ruoxi sat upright.

A sharp breath escaped her lips as she stared ahead. For a moment, she couldn't understand what she was seeing.

An unfamiliar room.

An unfamiliar bed.

An unfamiliar ceiling decorated with golden phoenixes.

Her heart raced.

"What..."

The word died in her throat.

A loud crash sounded from the window. Startled, Ruoxi turned toward the noise. The shutters had swung open. Cold wind rushed into the room, sending papers and curtains flying.

At that moment, hurried footsteps echoed from outside. The door burst open.

"Your Highness!"

A young maid rushed inside. Without hesitation, she hurried toward the window and struggled to close it. After securing the shutters, she let out a relieved sigh.

"Thank goodness."

Only then did she turn around. The moment her eyes met Ruoxi's, she froze.

"Y-Your Highness?"

Ruoxi stared at her silently.

The maid looked familiar.

Yet unfamiliar at the same time.

The strange feeling sent a chill down her spine.

"Who are you?" Ruoxi asked.

The maid blinked.

Then her face turned pale.

"Your Highness..."

Her voice trembled.

"I am Xiao Lan."

Ruoxi frowned.

Xiao Lan.

The name sounded oddly familiar.

As if she had heard it before.

Somewhere.

A place she couldn't remember.

Xiao Lan hurried toward the bed.

"Are you feeling unwell? Should I summon a physician?"

Ruoxi shook her head.

"No..."

She slowly lowered her gaze to her hands.

They were slender.

Elegant.

Far more delicate than she remembered. A strange uneasiness settled deep within her chest. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Your Highness, we do not have much time."

Xiao Lan's voice interrupted her thoughts.

Ruoxi looked up.

"What do you mean?"

The maid looked confused.

"Today is your wedding day."

Silence.

For several seconds, Ruoxi simply stared at her.

"My... wedding?"

"Yes."

Xiao Lan smiled.

"Today, you will marry Young Master Shen Mochen."

The moment those words left her lips—

A sharp pain exploded inside Ruoxi's head.

Countless unfamiliar memories flashed before her eyes.

A grand wedding hall.

Crimson robes.

A cold-faced man.

A woman smiling beneath peach blossoms.

And blood.

So much blood.

Ruoxi grabbed the edge of the bed.

Her breathing became uneven.

"Your Highness!"

Xiao Lan rushed forward in panic.

But Ruoxi could no longer hear her.

Because one terrifying thought echoed inside her mind.

Shen Mochen.

Why did that name sound so familiar?

And why...

Did hearing it make her feel afraid?

To be continued...

The soft glow of a phone screen illuminated the dark room.

A young woman lay comfortably on her bed, scrolling through the final chapters of a popular historical romance novel.

The title had caught her attention weeks ago, and now she was finally reading the ending.

A few moments later, she let out an annoyed sigh.

"What kind of ending is this?"

She stared at the screen.

The final scene showed the villainess, Li Ruoxi, kneeling in the palace courtyard while everyone celebrated her downfall.

Honestly, she wasn't surprised.

Li Ruoxi had spent the entire novel making life difficult for the heroine.

She lied.

She schemed.

She manipulated people.

And in the end, she paid the price.

The young woman shook her head.

"She deserved it."

Her eyes moved to the next paragraph.

Shen Mochen stood beside the heroine, Jiang Meilin, while the villainess awaited execution.

The ending everyone wanted.

The ending every reader had been waiting for.

Still...

The young woman frowned.

"I don't understand why she was so obsessed with him."

She tossed her phone onto the pillow beside her.

"If I were Li Ruoxi, I would've left him immediately."

The thought made her laugh.

Why chase a man who clearly loved someone else?

Why throw away your life for someone who would never choose you?

"Seriously," she muttered.

"If I were in her place, I would never act like that."

Outside, thunder suddenly rumbled across the night sky.

The lights flickered.

Once.

Twice.

Then darkness swallowed the room.

The young woman sat upright.

"Huh?"

A cold wind brushed against her skin.

The room suddenly felt strange.

Unfamiliar.

And before she could react—

Everything went black.

....................

"Xiao... Lan?"

Ruoxi repeated the name slowly. The maid looked relieved when she heard her speak.

"Yes, Your Highness. It's me, Xiao Lan."

Xiao Lan.

The name echoed in Ruoxi's mind.

Why did it sound so familiar?

She frowned.

Then suddenly—

A memory surfaced.

A novel.

A historical romance novel.

The villainess's loyal maid.

Xiao Lan.

The color drained from Ruoxi's face.

"No..."

Her heart skipped a beat.

It couldn't be.

There had to be countless Xiao Lans in the world. She forced a laugh.

"Right..."

But the uneasiness in her chest only grew stronger. The maid took a step forward.

"Your Highness?"

Ruoxi stared at her.

The familiar name.

The ancient room.

The strange clothes.

A terrifying thought appeared in her mind.

"No, no, no..."

She shook her head.

"That's impossible."

If this maid was really Xiao Lan...

Then...

Who was she?

Without warning, Ruoxi jumped out of bed.

"Your Highness!"

Ignoring Xiao Lan's cries, she rushed across the room. Her gaze landed on a bronze mirror resting atop a carved dressing table.

Her footsteps slowed.

For a brief moment, she didn't dare look.

Her hands trembled.

Slowly...

Very slowly...

She raised her head.

The reflection staring back at her was breathtakingly beautiful.

Long black hair.

Delicate features.

Phoenix-embroidered robes.

A face she knew all too well.

A face she had seen countless times while reading.

Li Ruoxi.

The villainess.

The room spun.

Ruoxi stumbled backward.

"No..."

The word escaped her lips in a whisper.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

She remembered it now.

The novel.

The tragic ending.

The execution.

And her own words from the night before.

"If I were Li Ruoxi, I would never make those choices."

A bitter laugh escaped her.

"You're kidding me..."

She looked at her reflection again. Then at Xiao Lan. Then back at the mirror. The truth was impossible to deny. She had become Li Ruoxi. The words echoed inside Ruoxi's mind again and again.

"No..."

She took another step back. This had to be a dream. A ridiculously realistic dream. There was no other explanation.

Yesterday, she had been lying comfortably in her bed reading a novel. Now she was standing inside that very novel?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

Yet the reflection in the mirror remained unchanged.

Li Ruoxi.

The most hated woman in the entire story. The woman readers cursed in every comment section. The woman she herself had criticized countless times. Ruoxi pressed a hand against her forehead. Fragments of the novel continued to surface. Li Ruoxi was born into a prestigious noble family.

Beautiful.

Talented.

Admired by many.

If things had ended there, she could have lived a comfortable life. But she had fallen in love with the wrong person.

Shen Mochen.

The man who never loved her.

The man whose heart had always belonged to another woman.

Jiang Meilin.

The novel's heroine.

Ruoxi remembered throwing her phone onto the pillow the night before. She had been frustrated while reading.

Frustrated by Li Ruoxi's decisions.

Frustrated by her obsession.

Frustrated by how desperately she chased a man who clearly loved someone else.

And now...

Now she was Li Ruoxi.

"Of all people..."

Ruoxi groaned.

"Why couldn't I become the heroine instead?"

Xiao Lan looked completely confused.

"Your Highness?"

Ruoxi immediately shook her head.

"Nothing."

She couldn't exactly explain that she had somehow entered a novel. No one would believe her. They would probably summon a physician.

Or worse.

A priest.

Ruoxi took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

Think.

She needed to think.

What point in the story was this?

Her eyes suddenly widened.

The wedding.

Today's wedding.

The color instantly drained from her face.

"No way."

The novel had begun with Li Ruoxi's marriage to Shen Mochen. Everyone praised the match.

The Li and Shen families celebrated. The capital envied her. But readers knew the truth.

That marriage was the beginning of her tragedy.

After marrying Shen Mochen, Li Ruoxi became increasingly jealous of Jiang Meilin. The conflicts grew worse.

The misunderstandings deepened.

And eventually...

The villainess died.

Ruoxi swallowed hard.

She remembered something else. Something she had almost forgotten.bShen Mochen had never wanted this marriage.

The entire union had been arranged by their families. At the time, she hadn't paid much attention while reading.

But now?

Now it terrified her.

If she remembered correctly...

At this point in the story...

Shen Mochen was already in love with Jiang Meilin.

The room suddenly felt colder. Ruoxi stared at her reflection. Her wedding robes were being prepared. The maids were waiting.

Outside, the entire capital was preparing to celebrate. Meanwhile, she was standing here knowing exactly how the story would end.

A wedding.

A marriage.

A betrayal.

A grave.

Ruoxi clenched her fists.

"No."

The word came out firmer this time.

"No, absolutely not."

If the universe had truly thrown her into this story...

If she had really become Li Ruoxi...

Then she only had one choice.

She would never walk down the same path.

Never.

Because unlike the original Li Ruoxi...

She already knew where that path led.

And she refused to die for a man who didn't love her.

To be continued.....

The room buzzed with activity.

Servants moved in and out carrying trays of jewelry, embroidered fabrics, and delicate cosmetics. The moment Xiao Lan announced that her mistress was ready to be dressed, the entire chamber seemed to come alive.

Li Ruoxi sat silently before the bronze mirror.

Although she had already accepted the reality of her situation, seeing dozens of maids bustling around her still felt surreal.

One maid carefully combed her long black hair until it flowed like silk down her back. Another selected the finest hairpins from a tray of gold and jade. One by one, the ornaments were woven into her dark hair, creating an elegant style worthy of a noble lady.

Ruoxi watched everything through the mirror.

The woman staring back at her looked nothing like the person she remembered being.

She was beautiful.

Painfully beautiful.

Her skin was fair and flawless. Her eyes were bright, framed by long lashes. Even before the maids applied any makeup, her appearance was enough to attract attention wherever she went.

No wonder Li Ruoxi had been described as one of the most beautiful women in the capital.

A maid lightly brushed crimson powder onto her lips.

Another adjusted the golden phoenix crown resting atop her head.

"Your Highness is truly breathtaking today," one of the maids whispered.

The others immediately nodded in agreement.

"Young Master Shen is fortunate."

"If I were him, I would never look at another woman."

Ruoxi nearly laughed.

If only they knew.

The novel's Li Ruoxi had spent years dreaming about this marriage.

Yet the man she was about to marry loved someone else.

The irony was almost painful.

Soon, the wedding robes were brought forward.

Layers of crimson silk embroidered with golden threads shimmered beneath the candlelight. Tiny phoenixes and flowers seemed to come alive upon the fabric.

The maids carefully helped Ruoxi into the robes.

When they finally stepped back, the room fell silent.

Even Xiao Lan looked stunned.

Standing before them was a woman who looked as though she had stepped out of a painting.

Elegant.

Noble.

Untouchable.

For a brief moment, Ruoxi almost forgot that this beauty belonged to a villainess destined for tragedy.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Miss."

A servant bowed respectfully.

"The wedding procession has arrived."

The room immediately erupted into excitement.

Ruoxi's heart sank.

It was time.

Outside the Li Manor, countless guests had gathered to witness the grand wedding. Red lanterns decorated every corner of the estate. Musicians played festive melodies while servants welcomed noble guests from across the capital.

The wedding hall was already filled.

Officials.

Noble families.

Military officers.

Even members of the royal family had sent representatives.

Everyone was eager to witness the union between the Li and Shen families.

As Ruoxi approached the entrance, whispers immediately spread through the crowd.

"Miss Li has arrived."

"I heard she has loved Young Master Shen for years."

"They truly are a perfect match."

The words followed her wherever she went.

Ruoxi lowered her gaze.

If only they knew how wrong they were.

At the center of the hall stood a tall figure dressed in dark ceremonial robes.

Shen Mochen.

His posture was straight and dignified.

His features were sharp and handsome.

With a single glance, Ruoxi understood why so many women admired him.

Unfortunately, she also knew exactly how this story ended.

The matchmaker smiled brightly.

"The bride and groom may now proceed with the ceremony."

Ruoxi slowly raised her head.

Her gaze met Shen Mochen's.

For a moment, the hall fell strangely quiet.

And then—

A thought flashed through her mind.

If she completed this ceremony today...

Everything would begin.

The marriage.

The suffering.

The betrayal.

The death awaiting Li Ruoxi.

Her fingers tightened beneath her sleeves.

No.

She could not allow it.

Not this time.

The matchmaker smiled brightly.

"The bride and groom may now proceed with the ceremony."

A servant stepped forward and handed Ruoxi one end of a red silk ribbon. The other end was already held by Shen Mochen.

The crowd watched eagerly.

Some smiled.

Others looked jealous.

Everyone in the capital knew how much Li Ruoxi adored Shen Mochen.

For years, she had followed him like a shadow.

For years, she had dreamed of this very moment.

Yet as Ruoxi stared at the crimson ribbon between them, all she felt was dread.

'One step.'

'All it takes is one step forward, and my fate will be sealed.'

The thought made her grip tighten.

Across from her, Shen Mochen remained expressionless.

Not once had he looked happy.

Not once had he smiled.

Seeing that, Ruoxi almost laughed.

'You don't want this marriage.'

'And neither do I.'

The matchmaker raised her voice.

"Prepare for the first bow!"

The musicians began to play.

The guests straightened in their seats.

Ruoxi's heartbeat thundered inside her chest.

She could feel hundreds of eyes watching her.

Waiting.

Expecting.

Believing they already knew how this story would unfold.

But they didn't.

Because this wasn't their story anymore.

It was hers.

The matchmaker continued.

"The bride and groom shall now—"

"No."

The word wasn't loud.

Yet somehow it silenced the entire hall.

The music stopped.

The servants froze.

Even the wind outside seemed to fall silent.

The matchmaker blinked.

"Pardon?"

Ruoxi slowly lifted her head.

Every gaze in the hall landed on her.

She could hear her own heartbeat.

Feel the weight of every stare.

But for the first time since arriving in this world, her mind was calm.

'If I stay silent now...'

'I'll become the villainess who dies.'

'If I speak...'

'At least I'll have a chance.'

Taking a deep breath, Ruoxi stepped forward.

Then she released the red ribbon.

The silk slipped from her fingers and fell to the ground.

Gasps erupted throughout the hall.

"What is she doing?"

"Has she lost her mind?"

"Did the bride just drop the wedding ribbon?"

The whispers spread like wildfire.

Ruoxi ignored them.

Instead, she looked directly at Shen Mochen.

For the first time, his expression changed.

Only slightly.

But enough for her to notice.

Surprise.

The great Shen Mochen was surprised.

Good.

Let him be surprised.

The entire capital was about to be surprised.

Ruoxi straightened her back.

Her crimson robes swept elegantly across the floor.

Then she spoke.

"I refuse this marriage."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Nobody breathed.

Nobody spoke.

It was as though the entire hall had forgotten how.

Then chaos exploded.

"What?!"

"Did I hear that correctly?"

"She refused?"

"Li Ruoxi refused Shen Mochen?"

"Impossible!"

The guests stared at her as if she had grown another head.

Several noble ladies looked ready to faint.

One young woman nearly crushed her teacup.

After all, countless women in the capital dreamed of marrying Shen Mochen.

Yet the woman who had finally succeeded was rejecting him?

It made no sense.

At the front of the hall, the matchmaker looked ready to collapse.

"Miss Li, this is a royal-approved marriage!"

"I know."

Ruoxi's answer was calm.

Which only shocked everyone more.

The elders of the Li family were already turning pale.

Some of the Shen family members looked furious.

Meanwhile, the gossip had spread through the hall like a raging fire.

"Has she gone mad?"

"She chased him for years!"

"Wasn't this all she ever wanted?"

Ruoxi heard every word.

But she didn't care.

Because none of them knew the truth.

None of them knew that the wedding they were celebrating was the first step toward her grave.

Her gaze slowly shifted back to Shen Mochen.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, unexpectedly, Shen Mochen took a step forward.

The whispers instantly died.

His dark eyes remained fixed on her.

Cold.

Sharp.

Unreadable.

And then he asked a question that made Ruoxi's heart skip a beat.

"Li Ruoxi..."

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

To be continued...