Xie Zhaozhao transmigrated into a book titled "The Prince Only Turns for Her Smile".
Yeah. With a name like that, you could already guess—it's your typical over-the-top Mary Sue romance novel, complete with a cold, aloof prince and a heroine with enough charm to melt glaciers.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the heroine.
She was… a blurry side character. The kind you'd miss if you blinked. Background furniture, basically.
When she opened her eyes, it was early morning in the Xie manor.
She was lying on an embroidered chaise in the west wing courtyard—a quiet, forgotten corner of the estate. The courtyard was small, planted with a few struggling rose bushes and one very sad peony barely clinging to life.
Birdsong filtered through the window lattice, and from somewhere outside, a sleepy kitchen maid was yawning, "Better send some pastries to Second Miss today."
Zhaozhao stared at the gauzy canopy overhead, then at her fair, slender fingers. One thought rang clear in her mind:
These hands were not made for labor. But also… not much else.
"System?" she called out softly.
Ding! Welcome to the Quick Transmigration Task System 101! Target: Prince Nanjing, Xiao Zhi. Current favorability: 0.
"…Are you sure you didn't mess up? Look at me—I'm a bottom-tier extra. Even a third-ranked scholar might not look twice, let alone some cold-faced, high-and-mighty prince."
Binding complete. Cannot unbind. Please commit to your role.
"..."
At that moment, her maid Xiaotao came in, carrying a basin of water with the utmost care.
"Miss, how would you like your hair done today?"
Zhaozhao looked into the bronze mirror. The face staring back was almost ethereal—glowing skin, delicate features, and a pair of big, dazed eyes that screamed, I don't know what I'm doing.
"…Anything's fine," she murmured.
Since transmigrating, she'd had three square-ish meals a day, but everything else felt like a fever dream. Like the oil-paper umbrella hanging crooked in the corner, untouched for days. Like her soft-spoken mother, Concubine Xie, who got picked on daily by the main wife.
And like the unspoken truth that hung in the air of the Xie household:
If you shine too bright, prepare to get smacked down.
While Xiaotao squatted in the corner washing clothes, she glanced up. "Miss… are we going to the street today? To 'accidentally' bump into Prince Nanjing again?"
"…Didn't he say he hates clingy women?" Zhaozhao asked without looking up from her book.
"Well, didn't you say emotional resonance was the key?"
She sighed. "Yesterday, I cried in front of him. He handed me a handkerchief and walked off."
"And the day before?"
"I threw myself in front of his horse. It didn't even slow down."
"…And the day before that?"
"I wrote him a heartfelt letter. He used it to patch a window."
"…" Xiaotao tried to comfort her. "Maybe we stop the love mission? There's a new cosmetics shop that just opened on East Street. Business is booming."
Zhaozhao closed her eyes. "Really? Think I might bump into him there too? Or should I go sell my art in the streets?"
"Selling art could work!" the system suddenly chimed in. New plot trigger: 'Street Performance Meets Cold Prince' – unlocks 'Pity Encounter' side quest. Favorability estimate: +0.3%.
"SHUT UP."
She wasn't here to play some love-dumb RPG. She was a poor reader who got yanked into a fictional world just for mocking the male lead online! She'd just left a sarcastic comment, and boom—NPC life, full throttle.
Not that she hadn't tried.
She'd once played the lost maiden outside the prince's residence—got dragged off and fed porridge at a beggar shelter instead.
She'd tried dropping handkerchiefs, slipping in mud puddles, even public serenades—his only response was:
"Miss, you're in the way."
Forget cold. The man was practically an iceberg with legs.
Zhaozhao threw up her hands. "System, if you're not gonna help, you might as well crash."
Didn't expect it to take that literally.
System entering maintenance and upgrade. Estimated downtime: Unknown.
"Wait—what?!"
Maintenance in progress. Do not attempt contact.
And then... dead silence.
Zhaozhao: "…"
She stood in her courtyard, watching the dawn slowly break through the clouds, and for the first time since she arrived, she felt cold.
As expected, trouble came fast.
Just after breakfast, Xiaotao slipped back into the room, whispering, "Miss, your mother was summoned to the front hall. Something about Second Miss's missing bracelet."
Zhaozhao stood up immediately.
The main wife had always hated their third branch, and Second Miss—Xie Qiuyi—was a queen of mean. Delicate, yes. Vicious, absolutely.
If her mother got dragged into this mess, she'd be lucky to escape with her dignity intact.
"Prepare the sedan. I'm going to the front hall."
She changed into a plain white gown, hair pulled up with only a sandalwood pin. When she arrived, she saw her mother already kneeling, head lowered.
Xie Qiuyi sipped tea, voice full of mock sorrow. "Auntie, care to explain how my bracelet ended up in your quarters?"
"I… I truly didn't take it…"
"But it was found in your room," Qiuyi sighed. "If you needed money, you could've asked. No need to steal."
Zhaozhao stepped forward and stood in front of her mother. "I took it."
Everyone gasped.
She met Qiuyi's eyes without flinching. "I saw it lying in the corridor and picked it up. I meant to return it, but didn't get the chance before this 'accusation' started. My mother knew nothing."
Qiuyi's face darkened. "Picked it up? How crude. A concubine's daughter dares lie so boldly? You think I'll believe that?"
Zhaozhao's eyes cooled. "If I truly coveted such a trinket, I wouldn't bother returning it. But dragging my mother's name into this over some bauble? You owe her an apology."
"You?! Demand an apology from me? You're not even worthy to raise your voice in my presence!"
"The concubine's daughter is still a Xie," Zhaozhao replied coldly. "If you're that heartbroken over it, send the steward to my courtyard. I'll pay for it."
Her words were sharp and precise—delivering a slap without raising her hand. Qiuyi was stunned. The once-timid third miss just flipped the script in front of everyone.
The matriarch let out a low hum and waved dismissively. "Enough. Sisters bicker, it's nothing serious. Zhaozhao, return the bracelet."
Zhaozhao helped her mother to her feet. As they turned, she caught a glimpse of a pair of guilty eyes peeking from behind the back.
She knew it then—stepping up like this meant breaking the house rules. Their lives were only going to get harder.
Qiuyi hissed behind them, "Mother, you're letting her off just like that?! That bracelet—"
"Quiet." The matriarch rubbed her temples. "I know full well how that bracelet ended up there. And your father's already under investigation at court. Do not make things worse."
"…Understood."
Back in their little courtyard, Xiaotao whispered, "Miss, you were amazing! But… what do we do now?"
Concubine Xie looked worried. "Was it really you who took the bracelet?"
"I don't even know what it looks like," Zhaozhao replied, sipping tea.
"Then why—"
"It was clearly a setup," she said calmly. "If I hadn't stepped in, Qiuyi would've thrown a fit and humiliated you."
Concubine Xie stood at the door, eyes red. "Zhaozhao… don't defend me again. I'm weak, but I only want you safe."
Zhaozhao smiled faintly and placed a cloak over her mother's shoulders. "We'll both be safe. Just trust me."
Before she could say more, rushed footsteps echoed outside.
A maid burst in, pale-faced. "Miss! It's terrible! The court just sent people… they say the Xie family is to be raided!"
Zhaozhao froze.
What? A raid?
That wasn't in the original plot!
Could it be the system's crash changed the storyline?
A storm was coming.
She held her mother steady, mind spinning furiously.
"A raid? What for?!"
"Lord Xie's accused of embezzling military funds," the maid stammered. "The Imperial Censor's report came this morning! Now the entire manor's in chaos! The ones who came—it's the Embroidered Guards! With official seals!"
Zhaozhao didn't hesitate. "Start packing."
Xiaotao blinked. "Run? But… where would we go?!"
"Not run—prepare. Once they start smashing things, it'll be too late to grab anything."
She pulled up a floorboard and retrieved a few silver pieces. "I'm a Gold Taurus! I can't live without money! Xiaotao, starting today, you're learning survival skills."
"…Survival what?"
"You got muscle, right?"
"Um…"
XiaoTao looked like she was about to cry. "Miss, you make it sound easy, but what can we do? I'm slow with embroidery, heavy-handed with salt when I cook, and I can't even kill a chicken properly…"
"Then tell me—are you at least strong?"
"…I can carry a sack of rice."
"Perfect. When the Xie family falls, we'll go haul bricks."
Concubine Xie nearly passed out on the spot.
Sure enough, the Xie household didn't last till nightfall.
Before the sky even turned completely dark, the courtyard erupted in noise. Officials barged in, flipping boxes and overturning cabinets. Their shouting shook the heavens. The servants who used to sneer at their branch of the family? Now they were looting like madmen—faster than anyone else. Someone even made off with the old, wobbly bamboo chair in her room.
XiaoTao clung to a flowerpot by the bed, crying like her world was ending. "Miss! They took our steamer basket! The one we steam buns in!"
"It's fine. That thing never steamed anything properly anyway."
Concubine Xie sat dazed on the threshold. "Zhaozhao… what do we do now?"
Xie Zhaozhao looked at the ruined courtyard gate under the falling night and took a deep breath.
"Mother, as long as we're still breathing, we'll figure something out."
She clutched the silver tightly, wrapped her arm around her mother, and with XiaoTao and a few others behind her, was driven out into the street. The sky had gone completely black.
That night, she sat on a ragged mat by the side of the road, staring at the empty vendor stalls around the night market. In her ears echoed the final words of her half-dead system:
"Under maintenance. Please do not attempt to reboot…"
"This stupid system," she muttered. "What a clean death."
In her heart, she made a decision: The romance failed. Men can't be relied on. The powerful have fallen, the sky has collapsed…
Then fine—she'll become the sky herself.