An Author and Protagonist Got a Happy Ending [Transmigration] - Chapter 9

The story begins a few days ago.

Ever since the successive visits from the Old National Preceptor and the Princess, Xiao Muyu’s internal sense of crisis had reached its peak.

The Old National Preceptor was, of course, the number one villain—a sword constantly hanging over her head. And the Princess… although she didn’t seem intent on killing her, her rapidly shifting attitude was truly unsettling. Often, ambiguous intent is far more terrifying than explicit malice.

Xiao Muyu had originally planned to wait until her injuries were better before making a move. Currently, let alone her various wounds, she couldn’t even control her body smoothly. She wasn’t sure if it was a side effect of transmigration or because the original owner had been experimented on too harshly by the National Preceptor. In any case, she didn’t have enough confidence to escape and ensure her survival.

Under normal circumstances, Xiao Muyu preferred to take things one step at a time. She believed that as long as one lived long enough, a turning point would eventually appear.

—In other words, it was only because things had reached a “critical” point that Xiao Muyu decided to flee early.

A palace attendant had come to find Xiao Muyu in private, claiming the Old Emperor wanted to see her. The message was that the Emperor wished to discuss the matter between her and the Princess and summoned her for a private audience the following day.

The attendant arrived under the cover of night, head bowed the entire time as if afraid of being discovered, his voice lowered to a whisper. The Old Emperor, though bedridden and semi-retired, still held his majesty. When the courtyard maids saw the Emperor’s token, they were dismissed and didn’t dare object.

The Princess happened to be busy with urgent affairs during those few days, only occasionally asking Pei Qiuyue and the maids for updates on the Saintess; without an emergency, they wouldn’t even meet. Since everyone knew the Emperor truly loved the Princess, the maids assumed the visitor was just there to ask a few questions and didn’t report it to the Princess immediately.

That one lapse in judgment was all it took.

The moment Xiao Muyu saw that attendant, her intuition’s warning bells rang non-stop. Her gut told her that if she went, she might never come back.

During her days of recovery, she had racked her brains to recover some plot memories, including those of the Old Emperor. To put it bluntly: if the Old Emperor weren’t the Princess’s biological father and didn’t love her so much, he would be the primary antagonist of the series.

When it came to ruthlessness, the Old Emperor was not one bit inferior to the National Preceptor. The difference was that the National Preceptor was ambitious and hostile toward the Princess (and everyone else), whereas the Old Emperor only showed this side when the Princess was at a disadvantage—and his methods were even more final.

If the Old Emperor found out the Saintess had attempted to poison the Princess, he would find a way to kill her even if the Princess protected her with her life. As long as she was in this palace, he had a thousand ways to make her disappear quietly.

And the Princess wouldn’t know. In her eyes, the Old Emperor was just a kind father. She wouldn’t be overly wary of him. Xiao Muyu certainly didn’t expect the Princess to turn against her father for her sake.

Furthermore, if the Princess had decided to marry her, she would have kept the attempted poisoning a total secret. If the Emperor only wanted to ask about the wedding news, why wait until now?

Xiao Muyu was suspicious but had no time for deep thought. Facing the attendant, she maintained her wooden face and accepted the command with downcast eyes. But as the attendant turned away with a strange smirk, Xiao Muyu caught a glimpse of his face and felt she had seen him before.

As the door closed, a flash of insight hit her—he looked a bit like one of the Noble Consort’s attendants.

In a sense, the power of the original plot was formidable. To this day, the Noble Consort’s desire to kill her had likely not died.

Xiao Muyu was exhausted. She decided to run immediately.

By the time the maids discovered the Saintess was missing and rushed to report it, it was already the next morning.

The Princess sat in the small courtyard, her expression icy. To the maids, this was a sign of impending fury; those assigned to the courtyard were already trembling with fear.

Pei Qiuyue paced back and forth, equally worried, glancing at the Princess from time to time. In her view, the Princess was indeed in a bad mood, but not quite at the level of rage. The Princess was cold, but she wasn’t easily provoked.

“Should we… order the guards to search?” Pei Qiuyue hesitated. “But if we cause a scene and His Majesty finds out, I fear it won’t leave a good impression.”

This was exactly what Pei Qiuyue found difficult. For some reason, the Princess hadn’t yet informed the Old Emperor about the marriage. She trusted the Princess had her reasons, but if the news of the Saintess escaping got out, it would cause unnecessary chaos. Moreover, the Temple was still watching for an opening; the consequences would be unpredictable if they found her first.

This Saintess is truly a handful. I thought she’d at least be well-behaved… Pei Qiuyue’s opinion of the Saintess dropped several more levels.

But no matter her dissatisfaction, this was no small matter. The Princess had dropped everything to come over upon hearing the news, yet after entering the courtyard, she simply sat and drank tea without saying a word.

Only after Pei Qiuyue calmed down did she notice the Princess was staring out the window.

“Princess, what are you looking at?” Pei Qiuyue asked. “Do you have a lead on her disappearance?”

“I was thinking…” The Princess took a sip of tea, her gaze moving from the newly transplanted flowers outside to the half-remodeled interior decor. She said gloomily, “Is she perhaps… dissatisfied with my aesthetic taste?”

The Princess recalled that night when she was discussing the remodeling; Xiao Muyu’s face had clearly shown dissatisfaction despite her forced smile.

Pei Qiuyue: “…”

She didn’t know what the Princess was thinking, but it certainly wasn’t as subtle as she had imagined.

“She wouldn’t, over such a small thing…” Pei Qiuyue trailed off. Looking at the Princess’s expression, she was actually startled. The Princess set down her tea and stood up, the corners of her mouth curving into a distinct smile.

She actually seemed more cheerful because of the current awkward predicament.

“Don’t disturb the others. I’ll find her myself.”

The Xuefu Kingdom was large. Its palace was also large—especially when looking down from a high tower, it felt dauntingly vast. This was particularly true for someone who currently had to rely on two legs to walk out.

Xiao Muyu didn’t know the way at first, but while dreaming, she recalled a memory of the Saintess standing on the palace’s high tower during a ceremony. She had caught a glimpse of the entire palace layout, giving her a vague impression. The Emperor’s quarters were almost at the northernmost point, so to avoid that danger zone, she just had to keep heading south.

After surviving in the post-apocalyptic wilderness for ten years, identifying directions was second nature to Xiao Muyu. She could also suppress her presence enough to dodge the patrolling guards, though it made her progress slow. By the time the first light of dawn appeared, she hadn’t even covered half the distance.

She lay down in an empty loft to rest, feeling the cold. Her breath turned into white mist, blurring the warm glow on the horizon. This was a palace used for ceremonies, opened only once every few years and usually a forbidden zone. Since it held no treasures, the guard was light and the place was deserted. Xiao Muyu had slipped in easily.

The central loft was three stories high with a large platform in the middle. The view wasn’t as good as the tower in her memory, but it was better than being on the ground. The remaining distance to escape the palace was farther than she thought. And guards who could understand human speech and follow orders were much more troublesome than mindless zombies.

What a mess. Maybe I won’t be able to get out at all.

Whenever this thought appeared, Xiao Muyu crushed it before it could finish. One of the laws of the apocalypse: mental slackness is the gateway to collapse and destruction. Even if something is truly impossible, you must treat it as your sole conviction. This singular focus was how she had survived so long. It was only because the light was finally in sight that she had grown complacent during her final rescue mission…

Slap!

Xiao Muyu slapped her own cheek hard. The loud sound and sharp pain cleared her mind. She let out a long breath, sat up abruptly, and took one last look into the distance.

In the distance were the endless snow mountains—no new scenery to speak of. It wasn’t even as vibrant as that small, narrow garden she had seen that night. But only at this moment, seeing the vastness of the world, did she realize with absolute clarity amidst the piercing cold: I am truly still alive.

Xiao Muyu couldn’t help but laugh. Regardless of anything else, being alive was a good thing. If she could escape safely and never see the Princess or the National Preceptor again, that would be even better.

Thinking this, she stood up to continue her journey. The stairs in the loft were covered in dust, and the second-story height wasn’t too bad. Xiao Muyu didn’t overthink it; she stepped to the edge, propped herself on the railing, and vaulted over.

The soft grass muffled her landing. Xiao Muyu was so focused on looking ahead that she forgot to scan the “empty” grass beneath her.

A moment later, Xiao Muyu didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she crashed into a slightly cool embrace.

Looking up into a pair of familiar eyes, Xiao Muyu’s smile froze on her face.

The Princess, who had appeared out of nowhere, had the corners of her mouth slightly raised. She was smiling, her tone gentle, yet it made the hair on Xiao Muyu’s neck stand up.

“Are you having fun playing hide-and-seek?”