A Cannon Fodder Who Became The Future Queen - Chapter 1

“Don’t hit her, Sis…”

“She’s going to die, Sis…”

Half-asleep, Ji Ping’an heard a faint, whimpering cry.

All she did was stay up until 3 a.m. to read a novel. Why was she hearing things?

The noise and a throbbing headache were unbearable, so she scrunched her brows and forced her eyes open.

But when she saw what was in front of her, she froze.

She wasn’t in her bedroom. She was in a dilapidated courtyard, and the cold night wind sliced through her, sending shivers down her body.

A girl of about seven or eight, dressed in peasant clothes with patched-up sleeves, was clutching her leg, her face wet with tears.

What was this? A TV show set?

Ji Suisui saw that Ji Ping’an had stopped hitting the woman, but she was still holding a thick stick. The words her sister had used before came rushing back.

“You eat my food and use my stuff, and you think you can talk back? Get lost.”

“If you say another word to help her, I’ll beat you too.”

“Ha, both of you are asking for it. Fine, I’ll give you what you want!”

A jolt of pain shot through her arm, but Ji Suisui fought her fear. With a shaky, tearful voice, she pleaded, “Sister, Ah-Jiu knows she was wrong. If you keep hitting her, she’ll die.”

Before Ji Ping’an could make sense of anything, she heard that name and finally noticed the person lying on the ground in the courtyard.

It wasn’t even spring yet, and the night was especially cold; a thin layer of frost was visible on the ground.

The woman was wearing only a thin linen robe. She was shivering from the cold but too weak to get up, so she just curled into a ball.

A side profile of her cool, beautiful face was visible, marred by red welts and even bloody scratches—definitely the work of a whip or a stick.

Wait.

The beautiful woman in the courtyard, the scarred face, her own self seemingly in the act of beating someone, and the name she’d just heard—Ah-Jiu.

A torrent of unfamiliar memories flooded Ji Ping’an’s mind. She finally understood what was happening.

She had transmigrated, and into the very novel she’d just finished reading!

A friend had shared the link with her, with a specific instruction: “You need to read this novel carefully. It’s best if you can memorize the whole thing, word for word.”

The protagonist, Shen Zhiyu, was once a Seventh Princess of the court—noble, graceful, and coolly beautiful. She was the object of affection for countless high-society families in the capital.

But she was betrayed by her royal siblings, lost her memory, and was then tormented by a villainous country bumpkin. After enduring countless hardships, she changed completely, becoming ruthless and cold-hearted.

In the end, she killed her brother and father, became empress, and exacted revenge on everyone who had ever wronged her.

The plot was exciting, the politics sharp, and the comments were all positive. There was even a game based on the story.

Ji Ping’an loved that kind of novel, but this one made her uncomfortable.

That was because the name of the villainous cannon fodder at the beginning of the book was the same as hers. No wonder her friend had told her to memorize the whole thing.

In this world, people would differentiate into a second gender—Qian Yuan, Zhong Yong, and Kun Ze—before they came of age.

Zhong Yong were most like ordinary people, while Qian Yuan and Kun Ze had a unique scent.

Society usually saw Qian Yuan and Kun Ze pairs.

This was because they were affected by the “sweet dew” and “rain dew” periods. If they weren’t marked, they had to buy special suppressant pills to get through it.

But for people in the countryside, after paying their taxes during the autumn harvest, there was barely enough food to get by, let alone extra money for suppressant pills.

The scoundrel got drunk and stumbled home one night, tripping over an unconscious Shen Zhiyu on the side of the road.

She kicked her a couple of times to vent her frustration, but then she realized the woman was a Kun Ze. A sinister thought took root in her mind, and she brought her back, intending to force a marking.

Who would’ve thought that Shen Zhiyu would destroy her own gland at the critical moment, making it impossible to be marked? The scoundrel’s plan failed, and she started a cycle of verbal and physical abuse.

She broke her legs, scarred her face, and tormented her until she was covered in injuries. She was truly a monster.

Fortunately, the scoundrel’s part in the story was small, and her ending was gratifying.

Still, since the character had her name, Ji Ping’an couldn’t bear to read the parts where the scoundrel abused the protagonist.

So she ignored her friend’s advice and just skimmed the beginning, skipping straight to the later chapters.

The only thing that stuck with her was the scoundrel’s ending, described at the very end of the book.

An iron rod slammed hard into her knee. You could hear the bone being shattered inch by inch.

A sharp knife sliced through flesh and bone as the shadowy guard dug the gland right out of the scoundrel’s neck. In an instant, her throat was a bloody mess, and the rest of her body was methodically carved away.

As she felt the scoundrel about to faint, the guard poured hot, salty water over her wounds. With a searing sizzle, the scoundrel writhed like a rotten piece of meat, only able to make a low, guttural gasp.

The scent of bl00d and flesh drew the starving wild beasts from the mountains. Her bones were picked clean…

Skinned, carved, and dismembered, leaving no trace behind.

Just a few hours ago, Ji Ping’an read these descriptions and thought, “That’s awesome, what a satisfying end! That’s what you get when you’re a villain!”

But now, Ji Ping’an looked at the woman on the ground and squeezed her eyes shut.

The universe truly had a cruel sense of humor.

According to her memories, the original owner wanted to force a marking on the woman tonight, but Shen Zhiyu bit her hand and managed to escape into the courtyard.

Unfortunately, she was too weak to go far and stumbled. The original owner caught her and started beating her mercilessly.

“Thought you could run? Why aren’t you running now?”

“I saved you, and you don’t even kneel to thank me? You dare to bite me?”

The abuse didn’t stop. At first, Shen Zhiyu resisted, but then she just curled into a ball, holding her arms, and stopped moving.

She looked like a dying animal, her breathing shallow and weak.

This was why the original owner’s younger sister was trying so desperately to stop her.

Ji Ping’an wanted to go check on Shen Zhiyu, but the girl clinging to her leg made it impossible to move.

“Sis…” Ji Suisui was so cold she was numb all over, but she refused to let go.

She thought Ji Ping’an was going to continue beating the woman, and with red-rimmed eyes, she said, “Sis, if you’re angry, just hit me instead.”

No matter what, another beating and Ah-Jiu would die.

Hearing that, Ji Ping’an quickly threw the stick away. “I won’t hit anyone. Let go first. I need to check on Ah-Jiu.”

Shen Zhiyu was still in a state of amnesia. The original owner wouldn’t have known her real name. She had just picked her up on the ninth day of the first lunar month and called her Ah-Jiu.

With that, she wanted to reach out and pat Ji Suisui’s head, to comfort her and let her know everything was alright.

But the moment she extended her hand, Ji Suisui flinched and wrapped her thin arms around her head, instinctively curling into a defensive position. It was a reflex only people who were beaten often would have, a way to protect themselves.

What kind of monster was the original owner? Ji Ping’an cursed silently. To beat her own little sister, who’s not even ten yet, into this state? Being skinned and dismembered was too good for her!

There was nothing she could do right now, so she just tried to soften her tone. “Suisui, go back inside.”

Then she quickly walked over to check on Shen Zhiyu.

As she drew closer, her eyes met the other woman’s.

Shen Zhiyu was so weak she looked like she might pass out at any moment, but her gaze was colder than the bitter wind.

Even though Ji Ping’an knew the plot, a shiver still ran down her spine, and her mind was filled with the original owner’s gruesome death at the end of the novel.

Her already shaky legs gave way, and she knelt beside the woman. “Ah-Jiu, are you okay?”

Shen Zhiyu had been out in the cold for so long that her body temperature was dropping, and she was barely conscious. But when she felt a Qian Yuan’s presence so close, she gritted her teeth and bit her tongue, trying to stay alert. She tightened her grip on a sharp rock she had found on the ground.

After a few seconds passed and she got no reply, Ji Ping’an saw the woman’s eyes flutter shut, her face ghastly pale.

She didn’t hesitate. She took off her padded outer coat and wrapped it around Shen Zhiyu, getting ready to carry her inside.

But just as her arm reached toward the woman’s waist, a faint blur streaked across her vision.

Ji Ping’an instinctively raised her hand. After a couple of seconds, she saw what it was.

Shen Zhiyu was holding a sharp rock, and she had used all her strength to try and stab her own gland.

Luckily, Ji Ping’an was fast enough. Shen Zhiyu had only just broken the skin on her gland; otherwise, it would have been a bloody mess.

A wave of dread washed over Ji Ping’an. She quickly pried the rock from Shen Zhiyu’s hand and threw it far away.

If she remembered correctly, in the original plot, Shen Zhiyu had wanted to prevent a marking and had sliced her own gland, making it impossible to ever be marked.

Ji Ping’an swallowed hard. No wonder she became the protagonist of the book. She was ruthless to others and even more so to herself, not even blinking when she destroyed her own gland.

With the rock gone, Shen Zhiyu had to open her eyes, her face even paler now.

She hadn’t forgotten that this Qian Yuan had just tried to force a marking on her.

She hadn’t had a drop of food or water since waking up, so she had no strength. Even with the rock in her hand, the chances of her stabbing the Qian Yuan’s gland were slim, so she had tried to make herself un-markable instead.

To her surprise, she had failed even at this.

Ji Ping’an didn’t know what Shen Zhiyu was thinking. She just tried to soothe her. “I won’t mark you.”

Then, she picked her up. If they stayed out here any longer, they would both freeze to death.

She hooked one arm under Shen Zhiyu’s waist and the other under her knees, lifting her steadily.

It was only when she was this close that Ji Ping’an realized how many wounds were on the woman’s body.

Her face, her collarbone, her ankles—even when Ji Ping’an touched her waist, she could feel the woman in her arms tremble. It wasn’t with fear like Ji Suisui, but from a genuine inability to endure the pain.

“Covered in injuries” was just a few words in the book, but seeing it in person, Ji Ping’an finally understood how cruel and violent the original owner had been.

Looking down at the woman in her arms, she couldn’t help but say, “I’ll help you heal your wounds…”

…and then I’ll let you go.

But before she could finish, a mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind.

【Ding! Discovering a candidate for the throne. Unlocking the Affinity Gacha System.】