An Author and Protagonist Got a Happy Ending [Transmigration] - Chapter 1

If she had known she’d transmigrate one day, she would have chosen to write a breezy, “slice-of-life” campus novel where everyone was a good person—not a high-fantasy power-leveling epic filled with villains, cannon fodder, more cannon fodder, and even more cannon fodder.

At the very least, she wouldn’t have started her transmigration fearing for her life.

Xiao Muyu thought this as she woke up in the snow, staring at the murderous face of a regal, elegantly dressed woman standing nearby.

Yes, Xiao Muyu had transmigrated.

She had landed inside her own novel, and worse, she was a minor cannon fodder character who only appeared for two chapters. She had arrived exactly during the character’s final “on-screen” scene before her death.

The original owner of this body was the Saintess of the Xuefu Kingdom’s Temple. A few days ago, at a ritual ceremony, she had offended the Noble Consort. After being punished by the Consort, she grew resentful. Manipulated by others, she committed a brainless act to frame the Consort, then knelt before the Princess’s palace, half-threatening the Princess to take her side.

As luck would have it, she ran straight into the Noble Consort, who was visiting the Princess.

Infuriated by the Saintess’s veiled accusations, the Consort immediately ordered a whip to be brought, nearly beating the Saintess to death. In the original plot, the Princess returned just in time to talk the Consort down, ordering the Saintess back to her quarters for reflection—temporarily sparing her life.

The Saintess was dragged back half-dead, but the Consort’s rage wasn’t extinguished. She eventually fabricated charges to throw the Saintess into the Great Dungeon, where she was tortured to death.

This plot point was originally just a footnote. Its only purpose was for the Saintess’s death to be blamed on the protagonist—the Princess—sparking a conflict between the Temple and the Royal Family, which officially kicked off the long “face-slapping” progression of the story.

But that was supposed to happen later. According to the original plot, Xiao Muyu shouldn’t even survive that long.

Even if she managed to survive a few extra chapters, she didn’t remember the rest of the story. She had started writing this novel during her free time in college, but the apocalypse hit before she could finish it. After struggling through ten brutal years in the post-apocalyptic world, her mind was only focused on survival. Those “to be continued” plot points had long been shoved into the dusty corners of her memory.

When she fell into the abyss while trying to save someone, she thought she was dead for sure. She never expected transmigration to be real.

Her consciousness drifted through pitch-black deep waters and across a vast white snowfield. Finally, she opened her eyes to find herself kneeling in the snow.

The original owner had just finished enraging the Noble Consort. Xiao Muyu woke up right in the middle of this mess, without even a chance to take back the disrespectful words. She could only stay frozen in a kneel, waiting for death.

Maybe this is just a final dream before I die, she thought. Even if it’s a dream, at least I can live a bit longer.

Xiao Muyu only hoped the original body wasn’t too fragile. If she died after just a few lashes, this “dream” of living would be a waste. Actually, she also wanted to see what her protagonist looked like. That was the most anticipated “dream” she had ever created.

Xiao Muyu’s thoughts drifted aimlessly. The bone-chilling cold was no different from the seawater in the abyss; it pierced into her marrow until she didn’t even have the strength to move. Finally, she grew numb. She blinked, shaking a few flakes of snow from her lashes, and her vision cleared.

The woman in heavy makeup took a whip from a maid and marched toward Xiao Muyu in a rage. As she reached her, the Noble Consort paused, her brow furrowing. She barked, “What are you laughing at?”

Xiao Muyu froze, then slowly looked up. The smile at the corners of her mouth deepened slightly. Her bright, beautiful eyes took on a soft curve. Her face, which was originally so enchanting that it easily invited prejudice, suddenly looked pitiable. Her voice was low and soft, carrying a slight rasp and a tremor that sounded almost like coyness.

“Hit me gently… okay?”

“…” The Noble Consort gripped the whip tighter, nearly choking on her own breath. Clearly, this brat was the one with the black heart who did shameful things, so why did it look like she was the one being bullied!

On the palace corridor, the Princess stopped at the corner. Pei Qiuyue and the maids behind her stopped as well, following her gaze.

In the snowy courtyard, the Noble Consort was fuming at someone, even brandishing a whip. This surprised both Pei Qiuyue and the maids. Although the Consort was known for her temper, she usually exercised restraint in front of the Princess and never raised a hand at the Princess’s palace.

They wondered who had the ability to make her this angry. Looking to the side, they saw a stunningly beautiful young woman in thin clothing kneeling in the snow, looking up at the Consort.

Pei Qiuyue immediately realized who it was—this was the Saintess, the one bold enough to offend the Noble Consort and then come here to blackmail the Princess.

“Is that the Saintess?” a maid whispered in surprise. After seeing the woman’s face, she couldn’t hide her envy. “No wonder she’s called the number one beauty. She really is gorgeous.”

This was the first time the maid had seen the Saintess’s true face. The Temple had strict rules and its members rarely ventured out. In previous years, the Saintess had kept a low profile and rarely showed her face even when she did go out.

However, rumors of her beauty were plentiful. Some gossips said she had the face of a “femme fatale” destined to bring ruin to a nation, and it was a pity she was locked away in that cold Temple.

Others were less interested in her, like those following the Princess. The reason was simple: the Saintess was a “empty vase.” She had no literary or martial skills, no divine powers, and no talent for cultivation. It was said she was barely literate—just a brainless, beautiful airhead. And now, she could add “willful, arrogant, and unreasonable” to the list.

In short, she was not well-liked.

Pei Qiuyue shot a glance at the maid. Realizing her slip of the tongue, the maid quickly added, “Of course, in my heart, the Princess is the most beautiful person in our kingdom.”

The Princess didn’t acknowledge the flattery. She stood silently, watching from a distance. She didn’t leave, but she didn’t move to intervene either. Her face was calm and cold as frost, and the air around her was so chilly it didn’t seem like she was just there for the show.

The maid assumed the Princess was being her usual cold, taciturn self. But Pei Qiuyue sensed the Princess was in a bad mood—especially when her gaze swept over the kneeling Saintess, looking at her like an eyesore or a dead object.

It seemed the Princess didn’t intend to handle this matter.

Pei Qiuyue was worried. Not because she pitied the Saintess, but because she worried about the Princess’s position. A hundred years ago, the Temple was a powerful institution. As imperial power strengthened, it became an empty shell. For several generations now, the Saintess had been nothing more than a symbolic mascot with zero actual power.

The Princess, however, was the only daughter of the late Empress. She had been named heir by the old Emperor at birth. In recent years, as the Emperor’s health declined, many affairs had been handed over to her.

Logically, the Princess was noble and held real power; she shouldn’t need to fear a mascot. But the Temple still existed and hadn’t completely declined. There were also those in the court who were unhappy that the Princess had been named heir over several of her elder brothers. Lately, rumors had been spreading that she was arrogant and cruel.

Furthermore, the Princess was young and lacked experience, and her strength wasn’t yet great enough to be absolute. Making too many enemies now wouldn’t be beneficial.

As the niece of the late Empress and the Princess’s cousin, Pei Qiuyue had grown up with her and cared for her deeply. Knowing the Princess was in a difficult spot, she had to plan for her.

The Saintess had started the trouble, so it was her fault. But if the Noble Consort beat her to death in a fit of rage, the blame would ultimately fall on the Princess.

Even someone as good-tempered as Pei Qiuyue couldn’t help but blame the Saintess for being so ignorant. She looked at the Princess’s profile—her mood was still poor.

Ever since a high fever a few days ago, the Princess had been acting in this cold, impenetrable manner. Pei Qiuyue couldn’t tell where her anger was coming from; after all, the Saintess’s incident hadn’t even happened a few days ago.

But the current situation had to be resolved.

“Princess,” Pei Qiuyue whispered as a reminder. “It reflects poorly on you to have the Noble Consort acting like this outside your palace. You should at least try to persuade her; anger is bad for the health.”

The Princess glanced at her, her expression softening slightly.

Pei Qiuyue struck while the iron was hot: “The Saintess has spent her life in the Temple and likely doesn’t understand the ways of the world, but her nature isn’t bad. It would be hard to explain if she gets injured.”

She meant for the Princess to use this as a chance to grant a favor, but the Princess only gave her a mocking, cold smile.

“Her nature isn’t bad even though she wants to kill you?” the Princess asked with a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

Pei Qiuyue was stunned.

The Princess turned away as if she had taken Pei Qiuyue’s words to heart and began walking toward the Consort and the Saintess. Pei Qiuyue didn’t have time to think and quickly followed.

Soft snow muffled their footsteps.

Xiao Muyu had already taken one lash from the Consort. Her numbed nerves throbbed with pain, and her already hazy consciousness grew even more dazed. She didn’t notice the newcomers. She realized this body was even weaker than she thought; if she took a few more hits, she really might die right then and there. She didn’t even have the strength to flinch, let alone save herself or call for help.

By the time she realized others had arrived, someone was already standing in front of her. A cold hand lifted her chin.

The weather was freezing, and Xiao Muyu had long since lost sensation, but the moment those fingertips touched her skin, the icy temperature made her flinch. She trembled and looked up.

The first thing she saw was a pair of pitch-black eyes. Reflecting the light from the snow, they looked like beautiful obsidian, but their temperature was colder than any gem—like a dark, deep pool.

Xiao Muyu bit her lower lip to endure the pain. Her eyes blurred with tears. For a moment, it felt like she was back in the cold, deep sea.

I feel like I’ve seen these eyes somewhere, she thought.

Then, she heard the person following behind hurriedly call out, “Princess.”

—A savior!

Those two words immediately pushed all other thoughts out of Xiao Muyu’s mind. According to the original plot, it was the Princess’s arrival that saved the Saintess’s life for now. As for the Consort’s later revenge, that was another story. As long as she could live now…

“She is indeed good-looking,” the Princess remarked coolly, tilting the chin to examine the face. “But putting this face on you is such a waste.”

She didn’t look for long, letting go and wiping her hand as if in disgust. “I heard the Saintess offended the Noble Consort at the ceremony. Did she go to apologize afterward?”

The Noble Consort was surprised by the Princess’s arrival, but hearing the Princess side with her, she raised an eyebrow. “Of course not! Not only did she not apologize, she showed no remorse. She was just out here making wild claims and being disrespectful to the late Empress. Everyone heard it. Even if I beat her to death, she’d deserve it!”

The Princess didn’t argue. She glanced at Xiao Muyu and said pointedly, “I’m afraid it’s more than just that.”

A chill ran down Xiao Muyu’s spine at that look.

“Neither my Father nor I summoned you. Entering the palace without permission is an additional crime.”

The Princess waved her hand to call the palace guards and said flatly:

“Drag her away and behead her.”

Author’s Note:

The story has begun! This is a long-form alternate world story. I have a backlog of chapters and will try to update daily.