After the Affectionate Second Male Lead Reincarnated

Part 1

01

Before the morning court session, the person behind me, holding a sword, had embraced me and lightly kissed my lips.

But now, the cold blade was pressed against me, the force increasing. I could even feel my skin being cut, with warm blood trickling down my neck and seeping into my collar.

It was all because I had read the diary about Pei Du's reincarnation and realized that everything he did for me was just an act.

He feared that I would turn my love into hatred and harm Song Yan Yu.

In the previous life, the original owner of this body had repeatedly tried to harm Song Yan Yu out of unrequited love for the male lead.

As I was about to turn around, the pain in my neck forced tears into my eyes. Through my blurred vision, I heard Song Yan Yu's voice.

"Your Majesty, what are you doing? Luo Yu... the Empress only came to chat with me today. She also wanted to return the repaired dagger to me." Song Yan Yu pushed Pei Du's sword away and hurriedly took out a handkerchief to press against my wound.

Pei Du, unwilling to hurt Song Yan Yu, quickly withdrew his sword.

"Luo Yu, does it hurt?"

I shook my head at her and handed the dagger to her.

"The dagger..." Pei Du looked at the dagger in my hand, most of the coldness in his eyes dissipating.

"The dagger was originally given to me by Xiao Yan. It got nicked by Zhen'er the other day. During a palace banquet, I mentioned it to the Empress, and she said the Imperial Craft Bureau had many skilled craftsmen who could repair it easily. So, she helped me by giving the dagger to Court Lady [2] Cui." Song Yan Yu became more agitated as she spoke.

"But Your Majesty, you drew your sword without even knowing the whole story. What do you think of the Empress?"

Song Yan Yu's words landed between Pei Du and me like a clap of thunder.

Perhaps in front of the person he loved, Pei Du remained silent, even deliberately avoiding her gaze.

What did Pei Du think of me?

A venomous snake by Song Yan Yu's side? A wicked woman who clung desperately to Xiao Yan? Or a suspect who attempted murder out of shame and anger?

I was never considered his wife anyway.

"I..."

"I've been having nightmares recently and accidentally hurt a few people upon waking. His Majesty was just worried I might hurt someone again, and acted out of urgency. I'm fine." I gestured for Song Yan Yu to let go and smiled to reassure her.

Although I said this, my heart had already plunged into an icy abyss.

If earlier, upon seeing the diary, I still held a sliver of hope that Pei Du might fall in love with me through our daily interactions, now I was left with nothing but despair.

02

Pei Du did not speak further, because no matter how one tried to cover this lie, it would always have flaws.

Everyone in the Xiao residence had seen Pei Du injure me with a sword, and surely rumors would spread by tomorrow.

The affection between the emperor and empress was not as indestructible as rumored; on the contrary, it was on the verge of collapse.

And indeed, that was the truth.

In the carriage, we remained silent the entire way.

Pei Du tried several times to check my wound, but I brushed him off each time.

The distance from the Xiao residence to the palace gates was not far, yet today it felt exceptionally long.

Upon reaching the palace gates, I got out of the carriage.

"I am injured, so I can't prepare the evening meal today."

I bit my lip to keep from crying, but the strong wind today made tears spill as I turned away.

In fact, I had already prepared most of the evening meal, just because he had mentioned he wanted to eat something I made personally.

I was never skilled in cooking, neither before nor after transmigrating.

I wasn't good at cooking, etiquette, palace rules, or managing the various affairs of the palace.

I did all this only because Pei Du had petitioned the late emperor to marry me, and because the night before the imperial decree of marriage was issued, he climbed over the wall into the Jiang residence and gave me a red sheet of paper with our birthdates written on it, marked with the word "Auspicious."

This was what he had done for Song Yan Yu in the novel, but that night, he stood under the moonlight, his gaze falling on me: "Will you marry me?"

That night, I thought I saw surging love in Pei Du's eyes until I saw the diary filled with pages of red paper recording his and another person's birth dates.

I realized then that what I saw that night was only my own delusion.

I couldn't hear what Pei Du said behind me; I just wanted to hurry back to my chambers and escape from here.

The empress was injured, and on the neck no less. On the way, every palace person who saluted looked at me sideways.

Each gaze seemed to cut me like a thousand knives.

I went to bed early, leaving all the affairs of the harem behind.

I had a long dream in which I was the original character, in love with the male lead Xiao Yan since childhood.

But Xiao Yan only loved Song Yan Yu, never sparing a glance at the original character.

Thus, the original character schemed against Song Yan Yu in every possible way, nearly causing her death several times.

Even after the two got married, she was still not content and schemed to become Xiao Yan's concubine, repeatedly trying to sow discord between them.

Like all vicious supporting female characters in abusive novels [1], the original character's schemes were eventually exposed by the protagonists. However, Song Yan Yu was kind-hearted and merely expelled her from the Xiao residence.

Yet Pei Du, who loved Song Yan Yu but couldn't be with her, did not let me go. In the dream, he still smiled as usual, but his eyes were filled with coldness.

Pei Du was skilled with the sword. He first severed my tendons, leaving me to struggle in agony for three days before delivering the final blow to my throat.

The long sword came straight at me, its gleam blinding, and all that was left was a warm crimson.

In the dream, Pei Du was nothing like I remembered, his actions brutal, like a smiling grim reaper.

I jolted awake from the nightmare, reality and the dream's scenes interwoven, making it hard to breathe.

I felt a coldness at the wound on my neck, and looking up, I met Pei Du's eyes in the darkness...

Footnote:

[1] "Abusive novels (虐文)" are a type of fiction that includes both physical and emotional torment. Physical torment mainly involves the protagonist's body being abused, or the protagonist suffering from a severe, incurable illness. Emotional torment primarily involves the protagonist being betrayed, bullied, and mentally devastated.
[2] "Court lady (尚宫)" is an official title for female officers in ancient China.