I'm Competing With The Male Lead For A Woman - Chapter 1

Early in the morning, on Shili Street.

The rain marks on the capital’s main road had not yet dried, still holding a slight dampness. In an instant, snow began to fall, covering everything in a layer of shattered white.

Black boots stepped on the snow, and frosted flakes splashed up.

Eunuchs carried the phoenix and dragon wedding palanquin, moving steadily forward. The tassels hanging from its edges swayed and danced with the beating of the drums.

Today, at the hour of Mao (5-7 a.m.), it was the Fourth Prince’s time to get married.

The groom, a prince on a white horse, led the wedding procession from one end of the street to the other.

Eight eunuchs carried the palanquin, followed by over 40 guards, a truly grand display. The sounds of gongs and drums along the way woke up the residents.

The people rubbed their sleepy eyes, propped open the windows of their homes, and peered down.

However, their attention was not drawn to the Fourth Prince’s procession. Instead, it was completely focused on another team of cold, menacing soldiers down below.

This was because a wheelchair was conspicuously placed at the very front of the other formation.

And there was a person sitting in it.

Someone who should not have been there at all.

Xiao Jin knew what the onlookers were thinking.

Indeed, her proper entrance should not have been in a wheelchair but inside a coffin.

Of course, if she failed to snatch the bride today, there would likely still be a place reserved for her in the royal mausoleum.

“Host, please be aware, the wedding palanquin is only 500 meters away.”

“A second reminder, Host! You only have 1 hour of life remaining. Please manage your time for the bride-snatching and complete the mission as soon as possible. Completing the mission will extend your life.”

A mechanical voice rang out in her mind.

Hearing the system’s words, Xiao Jin felt a pang of emotion.

Even though she had transmigrated into a dog-blood angst novel, the system that came with it was relatively “humane.” At least it gave her nearly two days to prepare, instead of forcing a mission on her immediately.

Well, in essence, it wasn’t much better.

Yes, the person sitting in the wheelchair was not the Third Prince of Qi, Xiao Jin, but an innocent transmigrator.

Xiao Jin’s transmigration process was simple.

Two days ago, she had finished reading Empress of Great Yao, an online novel that had the facade of a powerful female lead but was actually a dog-blood romance angst novel.

After finishing it, Xiao Jin didn’t curse or wish ill upon the author.

She simply gave it a negative rating and commented nonchalantly:

“It’s pretty cliche, and my name is the same as the cannon fodder who doesn’t even survive three chapters. Tsk, I’m really scared of transmigrating into a book.”

Someone agreed and replied below:

“Hahaha, I suggest you read the entire text, sis,” and “Sis, you should hurry up and read the extras. It seems modern society can’t keep you.”

And then Xiao Jin transmigrated.

The system told her she had become an 18th-tier female supporting character.

A peculiar woman who was crippled, cross-dressed as a man, and was infatuated with the male lead.

The original character was a high-ranking official with countless military achievements, yet she was inexplicably obedient to the male lead. If he told her to go east, she would never go west.

What a forced-stupidity plotline.

The system explained: “Host, you’ve transmigrated into an ancient, dog-blood historical novel. Anything is possible, you know.”

“Due to the plot, you don’t survive three chapters. So you only have 48 hours of life remaining. Please complete the first mission as soon as possible. Completing the mission will extend your life.”

As a seasoned novel reader, Xiao Jin knew the tropes.

She nodded, indicating her understanding. “What’s the mission?”

“Mission 1: Snatch the Bride—forcibly marry the female lead, who is about to marry the male second lead.”

“Just a friendly reminder, Host, your life countdown will only stop and you will be able to return to your original world after you’ve completed all missions and then let the female lead kill you.”

Xiao Jin: “…”

Not to mention that the original character was the one who destroyed the Yao Kingdom, and the female lead had an irreconcilable grudge against her.

She simply imagined the scene of a patient with late-stage lung cancer who couldn’t stand up, coughing up blood while rolling a wheelchair to snatch the bride on the female lead’s wedding day, and her toes curled in embarrassment.

After some deep thought, Xiao Jin proposed a viable solution: “Can I just choose to die and end the story with a happy ending?”

“No, Host.”

••••

After two days of mental preparation, Xiao Jin was now a changed person, brave enough to lead the royal guards to the female lead’s wedding to snatch the bride.

The palanquin was right ahead, yet Xiao Jin had no intention of making way. Instead, she took a silk handkerchief from an attendant, covered her mouth, and coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood.

After she finished coughing, she even had the leisure to neatly fold the blood-stained handkerchief and hand it to her attendant.

Only when the palanquin got closer and she saw the Fourth Prince on his horse did Xiao Jin finally react.

However, her reaction was unexpected.

Xiao Jin lowered her eyes and pulled an arrow from a quiver on a guard’s waist.

The system told her yesterday that she had not only inherited the original character’s short life but also her skills.

Since the original character had been on the battlefield and became a high-ranking general, she must have had some impressive skills.

Even with crippled legs, muscle memory must remain.

Xiao Jin was curious just how good the original’s martial arts were, and as luck would have it, a perfect moving target had appeared.

The Fourth Prince rode a fine horse, holding the reins. Dressed in solemn and auspicious black and red robes, he looked full of high spirits, with his eyebrows raised to the sky.

However, Xiao Jin looked at him as if he were a white mouse moving at a constant speed.

Her knuckles brushed over the fletching of the arrow, and her gaze even held a hint of pity.

As if to say, you’re out of luck.

Xiao Jin only felt pity for a brief moment. Then, she nocked the arrow, aimed it precisely at the Fourth Prince, and drew the bow.

It must be said that this series of actions completely stunned the system.

What was the host doing?

The core of the mission was to snatch the bride, not to assassinate someone.

The system broke out in a cold sweat. “Host, although you have the original character’s skills and muscle memory, you can’t just take out the male second lead at the beginning…”

The people were also dumbfounded.

If they weren’t mistaken, the arrow that His Highness, the Prince of Yan, had nocked and drawn was aimed at the Fourth Prince?

The system wanted to say a few more words of persuasion.

However, Xiao Jin didn’t listen. She held the tail of the arrow with her fingers, pulled back, and smoothly shot it out.

“Whoosh—”

A child on a balcony, watching this scene, would have burst into tears if his mother hadn’t covered his mouth.

However, in the next moment.

When he saw the arrow graze the groom’s headdress and hit the curtain of the palanquin, the expression on his face gradually became happy.

A moment later, he giggled.

Of course, not everyone could laugh like the child.

Because of the cold arrow that had shot through the air, the scene below the balcony had descended into chaos.

Warhorses neighed, and the guards drew their swords, shouting loudly, “Assassin—protect His Highness!”

The morning sun rose.

The morning in the imperial capital had just begun.

••••

When the guards shouted and fought, surrounding the rebellious assassin, they fell silent.

Looking at the Prince of Yan sitting in a wheelchair, the guards felt like they were in a dream. It was also the first time they felt that drawing their swords to protect their master was a self-destructive act.

Now, with their swords raised, they couldn’t strike, and they couldn’t sheathe them. They were in a difficult position.

The Fourth Prince finally calmed his frightened horse. When he rode up to the “assassin,” radiating hostility, he was stunned.

Because he had run into someone who was even more hostile than he was.

The person in the wheelchair had dark, clear eyes and very pale skin. She looked as if she had some illness, and even with a dark fur cape, she couldn’t hide her listless state.

And yet, her features were so beautiful; her brows and eyes were sharp, as delicate as a woman’s.

However, due to this person’s temper, no one dared to say that out loud, only daring to mutter it in their hearts.

In reality, Xiao Jin also felt that the original character’s face didn’t look like a man’s at all.

Anyone with eyeballs could see that the original character was cross-dressing as a man. Yet, no one had exposed her for over 20 years.

As expected of a dog-blood internet novel from an earlier era—you’d lose if you used your brain to read it.

The system was still in a state of shock.

This was because it had just fast-forwarded the scene to the Fourth Prince being shot in the middle of his forehead, with blood splattering everywhere.

It never expected the host only wanted to… shoot the palanquin curtain?

When people from the Eight Banners got married, there was indeed a custom for the groom to use a bow and arrow to shoot at the wedding palanquin. But this was a fictional novel, and the host was here to snatch the bride.

She couldn’t possibly be taking herself for the groom, could she?

Just as the system was frantically speculating about Xiao Jin’s intentions, the scene became completely silent.

More accurately, it was a deadly silence.

The Fourth Prince stared at Xiao Jin from his horse, and the wedding guards and Xiao Jin’s guards drew their swords, ready to confront each other.

This bizarre atmosphere was finally broken by Xiao Jin’s coughing.

Xiao Jin frowned and took the handkerchief from the attendant.

In front of the Fourth Prince and the onlookers on the balconies, she put away her bow and arrow and began to cough violently.

Her coughs were heart-wrenching. The eunuchs carrying the palanquin listened to the life-sapping sounds and their legs trembled.

After coughing up the blood in her throat, Xiao Jin wiped the red from the corners of her lips with the handkerchief. She looked up at the Fourth Prince. “Fourth Brother, this is your big day. Although my legs are inconvenient, I should still come to offer my congratulations.”

Congratulations?

Everyone was silent. So your way of congratulating is to shoot an arrow at the groom’s head?

The Fourth Prince listened to Xiao Jin’s words and was silent for a long time.

After controlling his facial expression, he finally spoke, his words very direct. “Third Brother, what exactly do you want to do?”

It seemed the original character’s brother was very dissatisfied with her.

Xiao Jin coughed a few more times, thinking that she had to “win people over with virtue” or it wouldn’t be easy to complete the mission.

So, she began to do just that.

Xiao Jin put on the original character’s arrogant demeanor and calmly replied, “I came to snatch the bride.”

System: “…”

The Fourth Prince tried his best to suppress the anger in his heart and asked emotionlessly, “Why?”

Xiao Jin was slightly incredulous.

To snatch a bride, did she need a reason?

However, Xiao Jin decided to “win him over with reason” and retorted, “I’m the one who conquered the Yao Kingdom. Why do you ask?”

Upon hearing this, the guards’ eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

The eunuchs held the large red palanquin, their legs trembling, but they still held on, not daring to set it down.

The long street once again fell into a deathly silence.

Although Xiao Jin’s words seemed unreasonable, for a moment, no one could find a reason to refute her. This was because she was indeed the one who had conquered the Yao Kingdom.

The Fourth Prince, the son of Noble Consort Mu, had been pampered since childhood. When had he ever suffered such a slight?

He already had a bad temper, and now, unable to bear it any longer, he was filled with hostility. He looked down at Xiao Jin’s legs and asked with a sneer, “Even if you succeed in getting the beauty, I wonder if you have the good fortune to enjoy her?”

Noticing the Fourth Prince’s dismissive glance at her legs, Xiao Jin’s brow twitched. This was a personal attack, wasn’t it?

If a person doesn’t offend me, I won’t offend them.

So she decided to retaliate.

Xiao Jin looked up at the Fourth Prince and said unhurriedly, “Whether I have the fortune to enjoy her is a matter for later. Let’s talk about you first, Fourth Brother.”

“Fourth Brother, you are merely a prince. You have no official title, no peerage, and no fief, yet you dare to make a scene in front of me. You are quite bold.”

“It’s known throughout the country that I am the lord of the Yan territory and the Grand General of the State personally appointed by His Majesty. Other countries’ monarchs dislike me, but out of courtesy, they still call me His Highness, the Prince of Yan. And you…”

Xiao Jin’s voice paused.

Then she asked slowly, “What are you?”