Chapter 10

I spoke of the unknown past, before I became a transmigrator.

[“I was adopted. My adoptive parents couldn’t have children at the time and believed the superstition that adopting a child would bring them one. Sure enough, I brought them their biological son and daughter.”]

[“Like those 99 transmigrators, I once tried my best to please them, to be a filial daughter. They seemed to dote on me too.”]

[“But no matter how obedient and dutiful I was, I was always an ‘outsider’.”]

[“No matter how good my grades were, they took my scholarship money to buy their own kids phones. They would rather pay for their unambitious son to go to college than cover my tuition.”]

[“After graduation, I found a good job and used my earnings to celebrate my adoptive parents’ birthdays. My unemployed brother grew jealous and set the whole house on fire. How ironic. Their own son set the fire. They did everything they could to pull their son to safety but pushed me, the most filial one, into the flames.”]

After listening, the system comforted me cautiously.

[“Host, don’t be sad, it’s all in the past.”]

I said, [“So I wanted to try being the child who is unconditionally favored, the one connected by blood.”]

The one who can throw tantrums at their biological parents without worrying about being abandoned.

The one who doesn’t have to cautiously please others, because blood ties will make them love me.

I applied this truth from my past life-“the child who makes a fuss gets more love”-and tested it on Chu Ye.

After I was released, I continued to be angry with Chu Ye, giving him the cold shoulder.

At first, Chu Ye was furious with me, his cruel nature returning.

“I am your Father Emperor! Don’t you forget that I am the emperor! Our relationship is first that of monarch and subject, then father and daughter!

-You damn girl, what’s with that look? I’ll have your head chopped off tomorrow!”

Chu Ye stormed off in a rage.

The palace attendants and hidden guards all advised me to go and appease Chu Ye.

I thought that made sense.

I planned to go apologize and act cute to the tyrant the next day; he probably wouldn’t be angry anymore.

But that night, Chu Ye suddenly appeared.

He sat on my bed, wiping away tears.

“Do you know how much I suffered when I was carrying you? For ten months, I didn’t get a single good night’s sleep! When I gave birth to you, I almost died. It took a whole day and night to bring you into this world…”

Chu Ye listed the hardships of his pregnancy, crying pitifully.

“When you were little, you wouldn’t take the wet nurse’s milk. I was the one who fed you, who raised you to be this big, only to raise such an infuriating little thing…”

“I raised you to be this big, only to raise such an infuriating little thing…”

I stood there watching him. When I touched my face, I realized I was crying too.

I had always treated this world as a game, following a strategy. I had never invested emotionally in any of the worlds I transmigrated to.

If childbirth is so difficult-Mama, why did you abandon me?

Why bring me into this world, only to leave me to suffer so much and ultimately die in a fire?

Chu Ye wiped his tears for a while, then saw me standing there dumbly with tears streaming down my face.

He rushed over, knelt down, and hugged me.

His voice was still full of grievance. “My sweet treasure, how could you not want your mama anymore…”

I hugged him back and just cried.

Crying and calling out “Mama…”

Such an absurd beginning, yet it was the first time I had ever touched true “maternal love.”

Mama…

…

The next day, I told Chu Ye, “Mama, I can’t sleep with you anymore.”

Chu Ye was horrified. “My treasure, you still haven’t forgiven me?”

I said no, it was because I had grown up.

Boys and girls should have separate rooms after the age of seven, and I was already ten.

Sorry, but I’ve tried all the beds, and none are as comfortable as the dragon bed.

It seems I was destined to be an emperor.

When it was time to pick a palace for me, Chu Ye said, “None of these are good enough. We will build you a new one.”

He took out a design blueprint he had prepared long ago. “My treasure, wait until it’s built, then you can move in. It’s not far from Shengchen Hall.”

I glanced at the overly ornate “Star-Plucking Tower” and repeatedly waved my hands in refusal.

The system asked why I didn’t want it.

[“Building a magnificent palace for his daughter increases the doting score. Many transmigrators never unlocked this achievement!”]

I said, [“What’s the use of that? What I want is Shengchen Hall.”]

In the end, we compromised. I discovered that even the side halls of Shengchen Hall were more luxurious than the palaces of the most favored concubines.

As expected, the emperor always has the best.

The wind blew through the chimes under the eaves, and the little dumpling grew into a tall young woman.

After I displayed my genius-level talents from a young age, Chu Ye began to focus on cultivating me.

Over the years, he never sent me away when discussing matters with his ministers.

When he reviewed memorials, I went from sitting in his lap as a child to sitting beside him, helping him approve them.

In recent years, as Chu Ye grew older, he no longer doted on me exclusively. He started to show affection for some of the other princes and princesses.