"Willow Mu, do you even realize your mistake?" A robust male roar, intermingled with the sting of a whip against flesh, jolted Willow Mu back to consciousness.
Her eyes snapped open, and she was about to retort to whoever dared to lay a hand on her when she was struck dumb by her surroundings. It was a room steeped in ancient elegance, with rows of bright red candles, servants in traditional attire kneeling on either side, and red curtains hanging from the rafters. The center of the room had beaded curtains that chimed with the residual force of the whip.
The floor was littered with scattered cups and dishes, wine pots strewn about haphazardly, and the air was thick with the scent of alcohol, a testament to the debauchery that followed a grand feast.
Ten paces away, two men with painted eyebrows and revealing clothing knelt, trembling as they begged for mercy.
Willow Mu was bewildered. Where was she?
Hadnt she been in a car accident?
Before she could voice her questions, the elderly man before her, seemingly displeased with her demeanor, readied another whip.
Willow Mu might not have understood the situation fully, but she wasnt about to stand there and be whipped. As she prepared to dodge, a figure stepped in, shielding her from the blow.
A soft groan sounded by her ear, and as Willow Mu looked up, she saw the mans face.
He was a young man, bright as jade, and as valiant as a pine. The candlelight revealed his complexion, which was slightly pale, as if bloodless, but this in no way detracted from the aura of elegance between his brows. Instead, it highlighted his ink-like eyebrows and clear, discerning eyes, so clear that one could not help but notice the fleeting glimmer of disgust in them...
If he was disgusted, why shield her?
Willow Mu pushed him away, "You..."
She wanted to ask who he was, but was interrupted again by the elder, "Jason, get up. Why are you still protecting her?"
Jason?
The name sounded so familiar.
The man named Jason also let go of her and turned, kneeling upright with a sincere attitude, "Father-in-law, please calm down. Lady Mu is young and impulsive; it was not intentional. Please give her another chance to reform."
The elder was clearly furious, the whip in his hand cracking loudly, "Young? Shes seventeen this year. Others her age are already virtuously managing the household and assisting their husbands. Yet she dares to act so outrageously!"
"Her usual disobedience is one thing, but today she dared, she dared..."
The words summoned male courtesans were too shameful for a father to utter, and his face turned red with anger, "In any case, get up and dont protect her. Today, I must teach her a lesson."
Jason didnt rise, still pleading for her.
Amidst their argument, Willow Mu felt a sharp pain in her forehead.
Lady, Jason, Father-in-law...
Werent these characters from the male-centric harem fantasy novel "The Rise of a Scholar from a Cold Family" that she had read on a whim the other day?
Suddenly, a flood of images filled her mind, memories that seemed to be forcibly loaded in, chaotic and disjointed. But Willow Mu quickly pieced together the current situation based on the fragmented scenes.
She had transmigrated into the book, becoming the cannon fodder ex-wife, Lady Mu, who always looked down on the male lead.
The book followed the old, mainly about the protagonist, a man from a declining family who suffered humiliations and then secretly strived to become a top scholar.
But before he could revel in his success, he was framed for plagiarism, not only losing his title but also landing in prison. There, he met his second benefactor, Duke Wellington.
The Dukes only condition for saving him was that the protagonist, after clearing his name, marry his eldest daughter, whose reputation was already tarnished.
How tarnished was she?
Frequenting brothels, summoning male entertainers, listening to songs, watching plays, teasing decent men鈥攕he had done everything one could and couldnt do...
The protagonist was released from prison with a burden.
In the early stages, the protagonist was still innocent, grateful for the favor and obediently taking on this burden. But he couldnt handle the eldest daughters penchant for "physical interactions."
A slap when she was happy, a whipping when she was upset, she gradually wore away his gratitude.
Unable to divorce, he bided his time, worked hard, and eventually became the youngest prime minister of the Great Wei, with a thriving career and a dead wife.
At the same time, the harem plot unfolded, with drama at every turn...
The was old, but it was satisfying. Unfortunately, Willow Mu had enjoyed reading it so much, but now she wanted to cry.
Because she wasnt the protagonists white moonlight or his vermilion mole; she was the "wife" in the phrase "rise to power and wealth, and then the wife dies."
Remembering the original bodys proud nature, the various insults, and the final scene where she was tortured by the protagonists men and then strangled to death with a white silk rope, Willow Mu felt her back wound hurt even more.
She looked around, her head pounding.
At this moment, the original body was undergoing family punishment for summoning male pets, which her father had caught her in the act of doing, and the protagonist, who had orchestrated everything, was hypocritically pleading for her.
According to the original story, Lady Mu would rather die than admit her mistake and would curse the protagonist as a treacherous villain. Soon, her irritable father, Dibbin Mu, would whip her until she fainted.
But she couldnt follow the original story now.
Because those few whips had already hurt her back as if it were being roasted by fire.
So when Dibbin Mu angrily asked again, "Do you even realize your mistake?" she shouted, "Im not wrong!"
"You, you..."
The Dukes hand trembled with rage.
Willow Mu acted as stubbornly as the original body, "Didnt I just summon two performers to sing plays for me in the house?"
"Singing plays?"
"Yes, when my sister Celine Mu came to visit me last time, she told me that the performers at the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion were exceptional. If I was bored, I could invite them to perform and relieve my boredom."
"You punished me to be confined for a month, I was really bored, so I had someone find two performers, whats the mistake in that?"
At this moment, Willow Mu was grateful that she had arrived a little earlier, and the original body hadnt had time to say those outrageous words, giving her a chance to defend herself.
She was also grateful that Dibbin Mu was impatient, starting the punishment without asking any questions.
Hearing this, Dibbin Mu stopped with the whip, "Did Celine tell you they were performers?"
Willow Mu sniffed, "Yes, and they have painted eyebrows and powdered faces, what else could they be if not performers?"
In the original story, the Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion was indeed introduced to the original body by her half-sister with ulterior motives, but she knew what it was for and used it to humiliate Jason Han.
But now she didnt care, as long as she denied it to her death, Dibbin Mu would definitely believe her.
Because no father would assume the worst about his own child.
Especially Dibbin Mu, who was a doting father. Even though the original body had been very difficult, he indulged her, let alone in this "misunderstanding" situation.
As expected, Dibbin Mus expression gradually became heavy and tangled, wanting to speak but hesitating